Friday, May 21, 2010

newness

I got the itinerary for our first days of orientation at World Vision (Side note: one of the things on the agenda is "Speed-dating Icebreaker"...). This, and reading the discussion board of our intern facebook group, made things hit home.

I'm doing an internship at World Vision this summer. There are 50 interns... all looking for a chance to learn and grow. Newness will be the theme of the summer... and I'm just now realizing it.

I do this.




Emily and I were 30 minutes away from Collegedale, TN when I realized that I had actually transferred from Walla Walla to Southern. Before that moment they had all just been steps. It's time for change so... fill out an application, figure out financial stuff, find somewhere to live, convince Emily to road trip to Southern with me... and then I was there all of a sudden. I was taking classes, meeting TONS of new people, feeling alone in a crowd, and getting my world rocked in a wonderful way. I remember becoming very somber in that last half hour... teary eyed and everything, leaving Emily with the impossible task of trying to make me see the bright sides.

{in the parking lot before the goodbye. we're trying to be happy...but if you look close you'll see that i'm definitely not}


I'm so excited about World Vision, I really am. It's just interesting that I don't realize I'm doing new things until those new things are right in front of me, waving their big flashy "newness" arms. Getting that internship was motivated by theories and steps... It's time for change so...I need an internship, I want to do social justice stuff, I need to turn in a resume, I need to interview, I need to decide, I need a car, I need a place to stay... and so I checked all the requirements off not realizing that I'd actually be DOING this internship. I'm not going to camp this summer, for the first time in five years. Five. Years. Sheesh that's hard to swallow.

But it feels wonderful. It feels wonderful to do new things, to grow and be stretched. It feels wonderful to have a dream and a passion and be going for it. God has done some amazing things in my life by pushing me to do new things. I'm just glad that it takes me a little longer to realize that I'm actually doing this stuff...


{but this is what newness has brought me... and i'm more than okay with that}


6 comments:

  1. Hurray Tara! You're doing the internship! I tried to force myself to realize that I was leaving for Collegedale forever this morning in bed for about 20 seconds. I couldn't do it. Since I was six this has been home and now it won't be. But either I have absolutely no emotions or it hasn't totally hit me yet. I hope it's the latter. (By the way, I love these words for the "word verification thing." Sometimes they're really funny to me for some reason. Today's is colan.)

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  2. I'm glad you put up a picture of this year's "family" along with last year's. Makes me feel happy. =) Also makes me miss Schnell. =(

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  3. I wish you luck at World Vision, I think you are really going to like it there. I know our friend Matt Turk liked. Wait, that also means that you will be in the same city as him? You can hang out with Matt, lucky you!

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  4. I'm excited you're in town now! I felt the same way about not going to camp, a bit sad and still excited for something new. I hope this summer is everything you hope it will be, Tara.

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  5. So, I'm sitting in the hotel in Nairobi, waiting to meet the nine other people I will share this adventure with. I don't think it's hit me at all yet. And I've been in Africa for a week.

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  6. Ahhh I miss those guys! Tara, I love your stories on World Vision and what you're writing here. I am so very proud of you! Madre

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