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| My best friend, Katelyn. |
Some of the highlights from Kate's visit were:
- Eating some famous KC bbq at Jack Stack
- Hanging out at a piano bar
- Me being forced to go on stage at the piano bar by the pianist because heaven forbid I was talking to my friend and not singing along to his song
- Finding super-duper cheap jeans (I got two pairs for under $30)
- Driving to Kansas City in pouring down rain. 1) When I get into a car lately, it starts to pour down rain. So, if you are in an area dealing with extreme draught, give me a call and I will drive by for a small fee 2) It was a ton of fun to just hang out and talk and catch up and be best friends.
- Watching Five-Year Engagement. I couldn't stop laughing, it probably annoyed Katelyn, but it was the most enjoyable movie I've seen in awhile.
- Nail-painting
- Hair-braiding
- Story-telling
- Giggling
I really miss my best friend. In the three years I've known her, we've been teammates, roommates, classmates, co-workers, sidekicks, gray ninjas, dance partners in an extremely well-choreographed dance to Ray LaMontagne's Be Here Now, compadres, Harry Potter nerds, partners-in-crime, amigas, besties. She's been my personal psychologist, tutor, secret-keeper, bad idea killer, hairstylist, motivator, and sister.
It's been really weird not being able to see my best friend. I'm extremely happy she was able to visit for a few days, I'm just sad I won't have anyone to braid my hair until Christmas! Just kidding, Kate ...kinda.
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| My favorite picture! |
So I've talked a lot about how it's been a struggle moving away from my family, friends, and dog, and how tough it is that my parents moved as well. I've been having a really hard time with it, I'm an emotional wreck. If you add up the total number of times I've cried in my life before June 25, 2012 and compared them to the amount of times I've cried post-June 25, 2012, I bet that I have cried at least 3 more times since being here. I don't know why, it isn't like I have not lived away from home before or that I'm in a bad situation, it's just something I am having to try and deal with daily for some reason. That's why it's nice to have a best friend to talk to.
This past week, I realized that I just needed to do something for me. I needed to find something outside of Ottawa that I can do, something to get me out of my comfort zone and something to meet people, so I started to search for a group to be a part of. This was kind of tough, because I had to figure out what I would like to do with other people. I've been watching the CrossFit games on ESPN lately and I just thought that would definitely challenge me! Sad thing is that I make less than $2/hour and CrossFit costs a lot of money. Plus, I know if I tried to do that stuff on my own I would probably break a few bones or quit because I wouldn't be able to push myself hard enough. Then I looked up the KC Sport and Social Club because I would love to play flag football and meet people and it would be fun. But we are about to start season so I wouldn't have time, it's in downtown KC so that's an hour drive each way, and it costs money...again a bad option. Then, I looked up something I never thought I would look up...churches.
Don't get me wrong, I envy people who are religious because they are able to believe so deeply in something, that's admirable. I haven't gone to church since around the 8th grade and I started to go because there was a skate park out front on Wednesday's that my mom would drop me off at. If you asked me to list the books in the Bible I'd say Genesis, Exodus...um...Matthew, Mark, Luke, John? What's my favorite Bible verse? Ummm, duh, it'd have to be John 3:16. Why? Well that's a silly question, it's always written on Tim Tebow's eye black.
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| Told ya. |
Okay, so it's safe to say I am not the most religious of people, I struggle with it because it seems so pigeon-holed, like you either think that way or you don't. A lot of this comes from people that I have encountered in my life that look down on others who don't think the way they do OR try and force it on you. Nothing makes me want to learn about a religion more than being hounded about it...
Anyways, back to my point. I was looking up groups to join, to meet people, to challenge myself, and to escape Ottawa at times. I figured that searching for a non-denominational church would be my best bet so I went to my favorite reference when searching for a new church, Google. I typed in "non-denominational churches in Olathe, KS" and got about 8 results. My biggest thing was to look for a church that wouldn't pressure me (I don't like that) and wouldn't ask for my money (I don't have that). Simply put, I didn't have a clue what to look for. To solve this problem I just read everything that they put on the websites, their philosophies, beliefs, recent sermons, pictures, groups, anything. I decided on going to Heartland Community Church because of their slogan fit me "A church for the unchurched" and they had a section for newcomers that made me feel comfy and I could wear jeans.
I think it was Wednesday that I was looking up this stuff and I decided that I would go on Sunday, that was today. Surprisingly enough...I did it. It was weird, I never talked myself out of it, I just decided to go and went. Needless to say, I was scared out of my mind and I felt like throwing up when I was driving there. I haven't been to church in forever, one of my good friends from childhood and I always jokingly called ourselves "Church C.E.O.'s" meaning we went to church on Christmas and Easter Only. I also only told two people that I was going, Katelyn and my mom, It isn't something I had to explain to anyone, I just felt the need to go and see what was up with it. I was scared, I was going somewhere completely new, foreign, by myself, it was just a really big deal for me.
I had one goal in my new journey, talk to someone. And I did! Sure it was a person at the info table and I asked her where the bathroom was, but she talked back to me. Mission accomplished.
Everything went well, it was relatable. I enjoyed it. I'll probably go again next week. I didn't feel out of place, I got to wear my new jeans, and I was brave. Baby steps...
