Choose your own Adventure

Robert Frost talked about the road less traveled....getting to a spot where the road we are taking splits and goes into two different directions. One, the beaten comfortable path and one the less traveled....he chose the less traveled path.

For my generation, we know it as the choose your own adventure books. We eagerly read the first ten pages just to be confronted with a choice... usually it intended something along the lines of going into a very creepy door, or running the opposite direction in an effort to live. Most importantly, we dreaded reading the book and realizing we had chose the wrong path and died.

With these books being such a huge part of most people's childhoods now a days it is easy to see why many 20 somethings are petrified by making the "wrong choice." I myself am not exempt from this at all. Literally, 20 minutes ago I set up my first real job interview post college...at a corporate event marketing firm.

For most people that know me, they are wondering....why on earth am I trying to get a job at a corporate place. I am petrified of being a corporate cubical junkie that wastes away the best part of the day doing work. So, I am worried that if this job actually happens my next chapter will have a dreadfully awful illustration of my back to a cubical working way to hard for not enough money.

But then I realized one important thing. At the end of every chapter in life theres another choice, a chance to reinvent things...so maybe I am actually make the right move...heck maybe this is a transition chapter where there is no right or wrong move?  

Let the adventure begin...

A Tribute, advice, and a glimpse of inspiration

Okay, one thing that has been clear about my adventure into blogging is that I am not a habitual writer, forget the J result on the Myers-Briggs, sometimes I enjoy a bit of spontaneity. This blog is no different, posts will happen whenever I feel inspired, and today my inspiration came from one word, from a very, very, close friend.

Starbucks

For those of you who know me, you know that probably 50% of every paycheck I got from Taylor was spent on some type of coffee product, no matter if it is overpriced or not. But, it was this phrase from my dear friend that truly made me think.

"Heck, I could work at Starbucks for 5 years, work at a church for free and love my life."

Work at a church for free? Wait a second, people work for free anymore? Some people would classify that as a volunteer, but whatever happened to, as he put it, "rolling up my sleeves and getting my hands dirty." And more than that, doing it because you WANT to do it and you find JOY in SERVING the LORD instead of having people EXPECT you to do it because you are the paid staff person..... interesting concept don't you think?

Okay, the true inspiration also came from that one word Starbucks.  A few of my friends from home have been telling me to get a job there and I have been hesistent for one reason...pride.

I'll be honest, I just graduated college and feel like that a "real job" should have just fallen into my life by now. I have a lot of experience, a great education, and the ability to work hard. So why would I want to waste my time at Starbucks? Tonight my friend has made me realize that sometime your job that makes the money, will not be your full time occupation....Dave Brown...thank you.....

A Cure for the Taylor Hangover

A hangover, it is something I can say that I have experienced based on a couple nights with an excess amount of coffee and caffeine intake. That groggy, queasy, headache ridden day seems to drag on with every second feeling like an hour.

Don't believe me? Try for yourself.....

Anyways, the fact of the matter is a conversation came up about the idea of a Post-Taylor Hangover. With many Seniors still staggering around after the whirlwind weekend known as Commencement, some of us are just now waking up to the real world...and not liking what were seeing.  Some are challenged by the idea they are now alone in their faith, some are feeling lost without the group of friends, and some are just afraid to wake up.

Well, my friends I think this weekend has set the Taylor alarm clock off in my head and I have woken up, kinda wondering what the heck just happened. This past weekend I had the privilege to watch Rob Bedinghaus and Kate Yoder get married, and I was surrounded with some of the best friends a guy could ask for. I found myself sitting back in the car trying to reflect on my Taylor experience, something that I have been avoiding.

Reflecting, in itself, is the beginning of accepting the end. My room is still not unpacked, I am still looking for a job and I still honestly believe that in a month of a half I will be surrounded by everyone again, I mean to be honest I have seen Taylor friends every week this summer. 

This hangover can be dangerous. It allows us to wallow in our own self-pity, it allows us to remain in the past instead of trusting God for our future, and most importantly not value the moments I have had in the past month and a half....

A common hang over is treated one of two ways....tons of water and aspirin, or drinking the substance that caused the hang over in the first place, thus giving the body what it is with-drawling from.

The Cure for the Taylor Hangover....well, my title may have been misleading. Realistically, there is no cure for the Taylor Hangover. The closest thing I can figure out is being okay with taking one day at a time and enjoying every minute of it. Being thankful for the experiences God gives you, and trusting that everything is okay.