Announcement: I am an introvert. I am an introvert who loves being around people and needs contact and relationship to stay sane... but it is also draining. I have to have a place to come home to and be restored. Be re-energized. This causes some particular problems in this field where so much of my life and job are to be with people. I recognize that everyone needs some alone time and that all people crave human contact but there is a difference between the people who get their energy FROM other people and people who get their energy from being alone.
So says the source of all common knowledge, Wikipedia: Extraverts (also spelled extroverts) tend to be gregarious, assertive, and interested in seeking out excitement. They tend to think out loud and cannot solve things in their heads as well as introverts. However, it should not necessarily be assumed that just because one has many friends that they are an extravert. Introverts, in contrast, tend to be more reserved, less outgoing, and less sociable. They are not necessarily loners but they tend to have smaller circles of friends. Introverts have an easier time solving things inside their head without help. Introversion does not describe social discomfort but rather social preference. An introvert may not be shy at all but may merely prefer non social or less social activities. There are people who are inbetween, those that don't mind to be in a big crowd or alone. These people may have a large group of friends but don't mind spending time alone.
I am an introvert. So right now, I'm basically ready for a nap. Anyone else?
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Where has my blog gone?
Frankly, I blame it on poor time management. Alas, I'm going to try to get this going again for internship. I'll need my outlet!
I'll be moving out of my Chicago apartment on the 20th of August and driving to Billings in three parts - Chicago to St. Paul/Minneapolis; MN to Bismark, ND; ND to Billings. That way I get to stop in on family and visit and it is nicely chunked out in 6-7 hour pieces (20 hours total). I'm going to attempt to pack Henry and nothing else. I might mail a few boxes out west in the end, depending on how much stuff I have. And let's remember... I have a lot of stuff. I try to keep consolidating and what not, but I'm a single woman. I have a tool box; multiple sets of sheets and towels; wall decor; books galore; various kitchen objects that range from useful to fun; a laptop, guitar, and an xbox; and clothing including winter wear! It's going to be fun...
But I have a whole month to get there. Let me tell you what I've been up to this SUMMER!
That's right. I got/get a summer. One of the last, I'm assuming. That's the beauty of starting internship September 1st. But I got a summer job - several jobs in fact. Small ones but they are fantastic and put a little money in my pocket. The first is working for a youth mission program out of the seminary. For one of the programs (there are several), I spent three weeks with 16 high school students and a few other adult mentors. We spent a week in Chicago (meeting with various Chicago advocacy groups and professors, touring Hyde Park, learning about Islam and meeting with Muslim youth, and beginning to talk about traveling to Mexico...), one week in Mexico (at the Lutheran Center in Mexico City and CCIDD in Cuernevaca learning about the culture and the effects of NAFTA, meeting with Mexicans, and seeing where Liberation Theology was born), then a week back in Chicago (to meet with immigrants in the Chicago area, debrief everything, and say goodbye). Generally, this sounds like an introvert's version of hell but it was really quite fantastic. I got to work with some of my favorite people and the youth taught me a lot about how crappy it is to be a teenager right now. I couldn't be happier I did it though I was more than exhausted at the end of the third week.
Besides that, I've been meeting with youth groups coming to Chicago for the week. We talk about vocation and where God might be calling them - both now and in the future. I've been babysitting two fantastic youngin's - we go on long walks, chill, and talk about the alphabet. It has been ridiculously hot, so I've been sleeping a bunch (/recovering from school and the youth mission program) and staying near my AC window unit. I played through the rest of Mass Effect and borrowed Mass Effect 2 from my friend Nils who is out of the country and am happily making my way through that. I'm journaling. I'm reading books. I'm organizing my head and heart and soul and apartment all at the same time in preparation for the year ahead. I'm pumped!
I'm ready for internship. For open skies. For new places. For new people and faces. For a culture that might be as foreign to me as Mexico or as familiar as my home town. For new adventures. For getting stretched, humbled, and spiritually fed. For all that the year holds of which I have no idea. Can't wait, can't wait, but can totally take another month to get there. ;)
I'll be moving out of my Chicago apartment on the 20th of August and driving to Billings in three parts - Chicago to St. Paul/Minneapolis; MN to Bismark, ND; ND to Billings. That way I get to stop in on family and visit and it is nicely chunked out in 6-7 hour pieces (20 hours total). I'm going to attempt to pack Henry and nothing else. I might mail a few boxes out west in the end, depending on how much stuff I have. And let's remember... I have a lot of stuff. I try to keep consolidating and what not, but I'm a single woman. I have a tool box; multiple sets of sheets and towels; wall decor; books galore; various kitchen objects that range from useful to fun; a laptop, guitar, and an xbox; and clothing including winter wear! It's going to be fun...
But I have a whole month to get there. Let me tell you what I've been up to this SUMMER!
That's right. I got/get a summer. One of the last, I'm assuming. That's the beauty of starting internship September 1st. But I got a summer job - several jobs in fact. Small ones but they are fantastic and put a little money in my pocket. The first is working for a youth mission program out of the seminary. For one of the programs (there are several), I spent three weeks with 16 high school students and a few other adult mentors. We spent a week in Chicago (meeting with various Chicago advocacy groups and professors, touring Hyde Park, learning about Islam and meeting with Muslim youth, and beginning to talk about traveling to Mexico...), one week in Mexico (at the Lutheran Center in Mexico City and CCIDD in Cuernevaca learning about the culture and the effects of NAFTA, meeting with Mexicans, and seeing where Liberation Theology was born), then a week back in Chicago (to meet with immigrants in the Chicago area, debrief everything, and say goodbye). Generally, this sounds like an introvert's version of hell but it was really quite fantastic. I got to work with some of my favorite people and the youth taught me a lot about how crappy it is to be a teenager right now. I couldn't be happier I did it though I was more than exhausted at the end of the third week.
Besides that, I've been meeting with youth groups coming to Chicago for the week. We talk about vocation and where God might be calling them - both now and in the future. I've been babysitting two fantastic youngin's - we go on long walks, chill, and talk about the alphabet. It has been ridiculously hot, so I've been sleeping a bunch (/recovering from school and the youth mission program) and staying near my AC window unit. I played through the rest of Mass Effect and borrowed Mass Effect 2 from my friend Nils who is out of the country and am happily making my way through that. I'm journaling. I'm reading books. I'm organizing my head and heart and soul and apartment all at the same time in preparation for the year ahead. I'm pumped!
I'm ready for internship. For open skies. For new places. For new people and faces. For a culture that might be as foreign to me as Mexico or as familiar as my home town. For new adventures. For getting stretched, humbled, and spiritually fed. For all that the year holds of which I have no idea. Can't wait, can't wait, but can totally take another month to get there. ;)
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