the good, the bad, and the chelsea

the good ...
well there is a whole lot that i could say for "the good." namely that God is good, in every way, all the time, and there is nothing better to focus on than Him.

in more specific news (ha!) i love writing for the snapper. i love majoring in journalism, and even though i come up with new "life plans" on a regular basis (things like becoming a philosophy professor or a personal trainer, or there's always being a dog walker at the beach. or an actress.) and i have no idea which plan(s) will actually pan out, at least i am having fun with my major. and i can totally see myself pursuing journalism as a career.

this week i had a blast writing about the new juice bar at school (mostly because they gave me a free peanut butter cup smoothie, yum-o.) and interviewing firefighters and ROTC members. hilarious. especially because i wear my excitement on my face like a kid in a candy shop. "whoa this is so cool! i've never been in this building before! it's awesome!" i said when i was getting a tour of the dinky little ROTC building. i was genuinely stoked though, i guess because i love new places and experiences and the idea of getting insider information. the guy laughed and said, "wow you must be easily excitable ..."

what might've topped that outburst of excitement was when i came across as a complete bimbo at the end of the interview with the firefighters. they tried to convince me to volunteer. i told them i'm afraid of fire but they didn't seem to think that'd be a problem. i should have mentioned that i do not even run my finger through candle flames, i am THAT afraid of fire.

when i started to thank them as i was leaving, i couldn't stop myself from word vomiting about how exciting this was and how the only thing i could compare this experience to was the movie ladder 49. they laughed and said, "oh yeah and that's real life."
"really?"
"no. that was a joke, it's the exact opposite."
"oh. well like, which parts aren't like real life?"
and then they stared at me and i realized i sounded like an idiot who thinks that movies are the spitting image of reality. oops.

the bad ...
this morning while i was studying i overheard a woman say, "i think it's just a reality that most people will have two marriages now. one for having kids and another when that doesn't work out." record screeeech. excuse me?!

not that it would have been more acceptable, but i think i would have been less surprised had this comment come from someone my age or younger. but this lady definitely seemed "old enough to know better." what an awful mentality. i could rant about this for hours, but i'll try not to get too carried away other than to say this scares me. devastates me really. my dad always says, "divorce is worse than death" and i guess no one will ever know if that's true because you can't experience both in one marriage, but it sure seems like an accurate enough assumption.

there is something terribly wrong with a world where marriage is just a flippant choice made without true commitment. her comment reminded me of an engagement ring advertisement that i HATE because of the tagline that reads: "because you only get married for the first time once." it's like everyone is giving up before they even start trying.

please don't give up! God designed everything like He did for a reason and it will to be worth it. i'm not harping on people who get divorced, i'm not judging you - my heart breaks for you if you ever had to or have to go through this ... but at the same time divorce has become too much of an option. instead of a last resort it seems like a first resort, and maybe even an expected resort? again, don't give up. we can't dwell on the culture of this earth to define reality ... we need to determine our minds and hearts to dwell instead on the culture of heaven that is perfect in every way. easier said than done, but again: it will be worth it. life doesn't have to be what people tell us it will be. it can be better than the statistics, better than the past. don't accept divorce as an inevitable reality.

and the chelsea ...
one time the airport security guard checking my ID started complimenting my smile, big time. i suppose a good response would have been to just smile, say "thank you!" and move on. but instead i just said, "i had braces." and he laughed and THEN i moved on. finally. so smooth.

almost as smooth as this week when i was buying crest whitestrips and the cashier asked me if they work. again, i suppose a normal response would have been just to say "yes." but not me. i shrugged and said i haven't used them in awhile then showed him my teeth. and not by smiling like a normal person. i showed my teeth like you'd show a dentist. or like you smile when someone tells you to smile but you do not want to smile so you flash a big fake cheesy grin. and he got a really confused look on his face as our conversation ended and i left.

why did i do that? i don't know. i had braces.