1) Women - I have none.
Since I have been home I have been in one short-lived relationship, and dozens upon dozens of first dates. In fact, for the past 2.5 years I have been in no relationship whatsoever. I'm not saying I haven't tried, I'm saying they haven't. I'll take my mother's road and say that it's really the ladies' fault. I'm a relatively attractive young man, intelligent, talented, skilled, and Fresh2Death. I will say that I am a busy man, but I have yet to find a girl that actually likes me back (or at least shows reciprocated interest), is mature, and I am interested in, or any combination of those that includes the first one. Really, that first one has been the great stumbling block. I'm not going to speculate about why that is. I'll just keep trucking along.
2) Job - I have none.
I have held like three jobs for periods of several months since I have been home. I am just temporarily not employed. This is not to say that I don't do a lot of work. I just don't get paid for it because it's technically for my major. But man, if I got paid hourly for extracurricular theatre work, then I would make bank. But also, working part to full-time in theatre plus taking an average of 17 credits a semester leaves little room for gainful employment. But you know what, I do what I can.
3) Degree - I have none.
Not for lack of trying. I'll actually graduate more-or-less on time. It's just the whole semester before the mission didn't really count for jack when I transferred to BYU (BYU is significantly less than transfer friendly). That and I've changed my major as often as Mother Nature changes her mind in Utah. But the fact that I'll still graduate in 4 years excluding the pre-mission semester. And I'm really happy with my major and the work I do and the skills I have learned. So, bonus points to me. Once I actually officially declare my major.
4) Life experience - I gots oodles.
I've climbed mountains, worked a variety of different jobs, learned how to make people fly, created some really awesome theatre, been on a variety of dates, gotten to know a lot of people, made a handful of solid friends, and learned a ton about me and life. I've written successful blog posts, networked, danced, become a relatively consistent pitcher, purchased a pitcher, sent a sister off on a mission (like, a real sister, not like I dated a girl who then went on a mission), baked many great and glorious delights, and gone on many great and glorious adventures. I've even fired several guns. So life experience, check.
So even though if you took a snapshot of my life right now and saw that I was sitting on my couch in sweaty clothes, girlfriend-less, jobless, and degree-less, that snapshot does not in any way, shape, or form define my last three years of life. They have been (generally) happy, successful, enjoyable, and filled with love and adventure. Good friends, good eats, good times.
And now a brief photo journey backwards from Katie going through the temple back to me getting my mission call.
Katie is now a full-time missionary in Lubbock, TX.
We climbed a mountain.
Doing it like Bernie at Danny's wedding.
Tebowing at the top of the stairs from Rocky on the family Christmas Walkabout.
You know how we do, eating omelettes at the hospital.
This happened more than five years ago.
Perhaps my estimation isn't the best, being pretty crazy myself, but you're one of the best people I know-- one of the realest people that I know. Maybe you don't have a job or a degree or a girlfriend or whatever, but you've influenced so many people's lives for good, reminded them what it means to really live. And you've not been afraid to live, to be *you* unapologetically-- and at that, to be unapologetically good. So, thanks for being you.
ReplyDelete