Naturally, a degree equates to a calling, right?

Posted in Everyday Life by Kelsy

“He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow. You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great. You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.“

Psalms 18:34-36

Sometimes God trains our hands for roles and positions that we never anticipated for ourselves.

Maybe even something (gasp) we didn’t get a college degree in.

Sometimes four years of collegiate training doesn’t equate to being on the perfect track for your life. I’m currently working in a field quite opposite of my degree and I love it. For the longest time, I didn’t have a “dream,” but now I do and it’s within my current line of work (I thinkkk.)

If you’ve ever done weights at the gym, beginning to strengthen your arms is NOT fun–I would wake up the next morning sore and wondering why I ever wanted to have Michelle Obama arms in the first place. And even if your arms are strong enough, shooting a bow is another story–it’s tough! It takes a lot of careful training, precision, and core strength. I tried it once and the arrow flew into the air…and landed at my feet.

You might not think you’re functioning in your “calling” (I hate all the baggage that comes with that term) because maybe you’re doing something different than what your degree says or the dream you had for your life back in middle school–but be encouraged: God is training you and preparing you for something for something you never imagined. To be perfectly elementary, it’s kind of like Dora the Explorer and her backpack. Along the journey, you pick up new experiences and lessons that God has given to equip you for later. You might not use that map now, but it was not a mistake that you picked it up.

Also, I don’t know about you, but I love how verse 36 clarifies that God has made a WIDE path for our feet. As a clumsy person (in every way), I need all the grace I can get. God’s supply is never short–He anticipates our needs. He never takes a coffee break from being our Shepherd and supporting us with His right hand.

You might feel in the dark or completely lost, but take heart: God is training you & equipping you for your own version of the verse’s battle. This is not a wasted time.

5Dec2013

What NOT to say to a Depressed Person, as told by gifs

Posted in As Told By Gifs by Kelsy

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Sounds familiar

WARNING: EXTREME SARCASM AHEAD. Not for the faint of heart.

(The absolute irony of explaining depression using gifs delights me. The juxtaposition is almost cold, isn’t it? Belittling the explanation of feelings with a pop culture reference. So postmodern. I love it.)

The past few months have been some of the worst I have ever experienced. I’m not going to sugarcoat it.

The long and short: I’m moving far away to a place I don’t think I’m supposed to be and essentially all because I broke my foot & cannot drive or work for 12 weeks (and other reasons which are too exhausting to recall.)

Everyone means well, but I’ve discovered how terribly difficult it is to comfort someone. I myself am not good at it–I’m too logical/don’t have a great bedside manner & people don’t like that. The past few weeks, however, have really taught me that comforting others cannot be a careless endeavor. People are really hurting & want more than empty platitudes, even if the intent is good. If I encounter someone going through the same “series of unfortunate events” I am (or just any kind of hurting at all), I’m going to try to not use these platitudes:

(note: I would never react like this to those who say these things, nor am I offended when people offer these words up to me. I appreciate every morsel of kind words! Sometimes I just overanalyze words to the point of banality.)

“Feel Better Soon!”

This is me being a grouch but…I don’t have the flu–I’m not sick. I broke my foot. I’ll only feel better when it heals in 49853459 weeks.

“God has a plan.”

Anchorman-snarling

I knowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

“Maybe you’ll meet your dream husband there.”

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Barf. Please, for the love of God people, STOP SAYING THIS TO ME. When people tell me this, I simultaneously throw up/die inside. Is that really what people think I’m after? Should I start wearing a shirt that says “I’m 22 and NOT LOOKING FOR A DREAM HUSBAND, just living normally”?

The slightly less offensive cousin…”Maybe you’ll find your dream job.”

funny-gifs-lazy-dog-eating-kibbles-off-the-floor-2 anigif_enhanced-buzz-15828-1369272826-0 Nah, I was thinking about just staying home & living out my dream to be the girl version of “Failure to Launch.”

“You have such a great attitude!”

If you’ve seen “The Butler,” you’ll be able to recognize an award-winning performance when you see one. Also, positivity is/was my top strength. I try.

And…drumroll please…this is THE ABSOLUTE WORST THING YOU COULD EVER SAY.

Are you ready?

“This is all for a reason.”

chuck1

No…just…no. This is not what to say to someone when they’re going through hard times of ANY nature. Illness, devastating natural disasters, unexpected loss, you name it. If it’s any sort of unpleasant life event, it is ALWAYS inappropriate to say this. Even if true, people do not want to hear this.

So, what IS something good to say when someone you know is going through a rough patch? (Also, aren’t those gifs of Chuck Norris absolutely mesmerizing? I’m getting distracted by the synchronicity.)

Well, at least for me, just be there. We don’t even have to talk about what’s going on (I prefer that honestly) but it’s nice to have someone just checking in on you now & again. Don’t give up on those who draw away or even lash out (like with sarcastic gif posts) because they honestly need you the most. Sometimes saying nothing is the best thing. Or just praying for them–and WITH them. Let them know that when they do want to talk, you’re a safe place & won’t be “burdened” by their honesty.

Depressed people are not fun. Don’t expect other results for the time being. Sometimes it’s really hard to maintain relationships, but trust me–now more than EVER are they so vital & life-bringing.

Everyone goes through dark times, but the very most essential antidote is knowing that you are understood & not alone. I know “it’s always darkest before dawn” but it’s hard to be sitting in pitch black wondering when the sun’s going to come up.

28Aug2013

Kelsy, Who Lives At Home

Posted in Everyday Life by Kelsy

The summer after I graduated high school, my loving sister Katie decided to look up statistics about the probability of people moving back home after college & loudly declared one day at dinner that after I left for college, I’d never come back home ever again. Not to visit, not to live…I was basically gone forever apparently. This made my whole family quite upset (as the oldest of four, so naturally, my presence is as vital as oxygen to our family unit ;) ) and 2009 me tried to graciously reassure them that I’m sure I’ll at least visit once in a blue moon.

My family circa 2009: You can interpret my look as "I'm graduating and moving to NYXC< snitches!"

My family circa 2009: You can interpret my look as “I’m graduating college and moving straight to NYC, y’all!”

Fast forward four years of college and here I am, living at home. (They just can’t get rid of me that fast!) Apparently, I’m not the only one: according to a recent Pew research poll, 21.6 MILLION people ages 18-31 live with their parents right now. Just look at us:

I <3 research.

Living at home is really the most financially sound option at the moment and it’s honestly not THAT bad for now…especially with this cool new trick I learned:

So, you know in romantic comedies when the heroine is getting on an airplane, sees a handsome guy by an empty seat, and prays to God that empty chair belongs to her? Well, that actually happened IN REAL LIFE to me this past June–I sat by this heartstoppingly good looking, personable, and well-traveled guy in the military and we talked during the entire plane ride about literally everything. (I never did get his name (kind of on purpose so that I could say that line wistfully)).

Usually I end up sitting by couples who makeout on the plane. Not lying.

Usually I end up sitting by couples who argue during the entire flight.

At one crucial moment in conversation, Beautiful Mystery Man asked me if I live with any roommates back in Nashville. –Spoiler alert: I live at home with my entire family of 6–When I told him this, he ever so graciously told me to tell others I just have 5 roommates.

…I mean, that’s basically true? I DO have 5 roommates… but only 2 of them pay rent/utilities (which would be a pretty cool, yet ultimately unfair real life housing situation) and force the rest of us to do manual labor and chores/ threaten to make us live outside if we don’t go to the gym everyday…

Beautiful Mystery Man taught me a valuable lesson: everything’s all about perspective! You could make your situation in life sound lame or…you could jazz it up (even jokingly, as I do with the 5 roommates line.)

If you’re reading this post and suddenly realized “Oh my gosh, so that’s why I’m sitting in my bedroom of my parents’ house the past few months. I have been living at home!!,” no. No, you don’t. You live with X amount of roommates. Duh.

19Jul2013

Interviewing for a Job, as told by gifs.

Posted in As Told By Gifs, Everyday Life by Kelsy

When I graduated (a mere 75 days ago, but who’s counting?), I honestly didn’t think finding a job would take such a long time. I imagined that like the magical boomerang, I’d just have to send out my resume and maybe an application once, and then BAM. Something would fly right into my lap on the first try.

Well, that hasn’t happened. I’ve applied for dozens of jobs, sent out my resume to every agency in town, got an agent (yeah, I know), and even had to fend away a couple of pyramid schemes (which was something that Google, not LeeU, helped me recognize). Along the way, I’ve had quite a few phone interviews and some in person interviews (the holy grail of interviews). (I almost had to Skype interview once, but thank God that was cancelled. Skype freaks me out.)

Except the guy in this scenario is a job here in Nashville.

Job hunting is not fun. Like, crazy not fun. I’ve heard it said that while unemployed, finding a job IS your job, which makes it the least desired job in the world, right after being Nicolas Cage’s hair stylist. The past 75 days haven’t been easy, but I’ve been learning a lot about myself, life, God, everything, etc, so this time has been meaningful. I’ve been also able to freelance on several awesome projects, which helps too!

Aren’t interviews the best though? They’re like Sonic Happy Hour drinks after a long day driving in a car without AC or windows that go down (yeah, that’s my car): refreshing to the spirit. FINALLY someone replies back to the thousands of emails you send or applications submitted into the big, black void of the Internet. You’re on top of the world again! You’re ready to bring your A game & get that job!

Phone interviews are always somewhat awkward though, as you can’t see the other person react & gauge your responses to their body language. They’re always a bit tough for intuitive, “I talk with my hands all the time” communicators. One time on an interview, I could tell that they put me on speakerphone & then muted their end when I was talking, which was kind of intimidating. Like, you know they’re talking about you, but you can’t really do anything about it…

In person interviews are my favorite too because I love to dress up for them (dress to impress!) and also try my absolute hardest to gain rapport with my interviewer. (In spite of the small talk with the receptionist or security guard as I wait for the interviewer to come to the lobby.)

But all the rapport and jokes in the world can’t make up for THE WORST QUESTIONS EVER ASKED. God forbid you ever deal with this & just have nice, totally normal questions.

Oh yes. The double questions. The ones when the interviewer wants you to admit something horrible or further prove that you actually don’t know anything about the job/skills/company. Sometimes I’ve caught them & saved myself, sometimes…no.

There’s always that turning point in an interview when you just KNOW it’s too far gone to rescue & that you will not be asked back for another interview. That’s happened to me before (usually I’m super confident in all my interviews) and I was totally correct–didn’t get the job.

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But despite the rejection from some jobs, I’m not too torn up. Obviously, those weren’t the places God had me to be! There’s a finite amount of rejection in a person’s life–with each one, there’ll only be less to deal with! All these “no”s are just leading me to my “yes.”

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Back to the job hunt!

Tag Archives: postgrad life

Naturally, a degree equates to a calling, right?

What NOT to say to a Depressed Person, as told by gifs

Kelsy, Who Lives At Home

Interviewing for a Job, as told by gifs.

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