Become Something Bigger.

If you know me, you know that I love reading and learning about different cultures and about the experiences people have when interacting with people that are 'not like them'.
Freshman year of college I took a sociology course and the teacher made us read an ethnography. The one I chose to read was about girl gangs in different cities around the United States. On one of the days that my professor couldn't make it to class he had his grad student TA tell us about her experiences in Central America during her time in the PeaceCorp the year before. Needless to say, this was my favorite course I ever took in college and it was so valuable in the sense that I learned what I love learning about.
I have spent plenty of time looking up and down the aisles of non-fiction at the library searching for ethnographies/memoirs (if you have ever aimlessly scanned the non-fiction shelves you know how hard of a task this is). Last week, when I went to the library I happened to check the 'Just In' section and ran across a book called No Greater Love by Levi Benkert. I read the back cover and decided that it was most definitely something that I would enjoy reading. Long story short the book was about how a young man from California went on a two week trip to help start up an orphanage in Ethiopia (the orphanage was for mingi children--children who were killed for a variety of ludicrous reasons that stem from the superstitions of the tribes that live in the rural south of Ethiopia). The two week trip turned into him returning back to California to sell his home and belongings and to pack up his family (wife and 3 small kids) to turn around and head back to Ethiopia indefinitely. The book explains their struggles and their triumphs with the orphanage and with their new lives in Ethiopia. In the end they were unable to accomplish setting up the adoption process for these children due to government restrictions and international adoption agencies that do not hold the child's interests to the highest degree possible. --No worries, the orphanage in rural Ethiopia has nannies that dedicated their lives to taking care of the mingi children.-- Levi and his wife and kids ended up moving to Addis Ababa (capital of Ethiopia) and now run their very own organization Bring Love In (link--bringlove.in). Bring Love In's mission is to create new families from widows and orphans in Ethiopia. It is such an amazing organization and their journey is an incredible one, I highly recommend everyone and anyone to read it. The moment I finished the last page I was signing online to send an e-mail to Levi expressing how fortunate I felt to have read his book.
Anyway, the purpose of this post was to not summarize my latest reading for you, but instead to explain how moved I was after reading it. First off- I was ready to board the next plane to Ethiopia if it weren't for that fact that I don't have a passport.
 In the book Levi talks about how he and his wife both knew that they were supposed  to go to Ethiopia, it was their calling... they knew that they were made for so much more. 
They had both done humanitarian work in various countries when they were a bit younger and pre-kids. Once finishing the book all I could think about was how little I have completed compared to these two amazing souls. I know that I want to help people, I want to stretch my arms out across cultural barriers, and I want to make a difference. I want to help people that are less fortunate than I am and I want to learn about them while doing so. That is my passion. I want to be the one writing down my experiences in a journal that someone years from now picks up and is able to learn something about the world through my words.
I know I don't have to cross oceans, or even state lines in order to partake in my own journey of helping others, of becoming something more than I am. 
I don't think I can adequately express how this book made me feel... but I must leave you guys with a video off of his website. It's one of those that really make you think about your life compared to the lives of sooo many others. Hope you enjoy.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bDinseiC4y8)

--Kaila

Blogging & Check Marks.

Hi,

I've been wanting to write for weeks (probably months) now. I haven't written for a few different reasons. At first I didn't have anything to write about or by the time I had a moment to drag out my outdated laptop I had already forgotten what I wanted to write altogether. Lately I've been thinking about my blog, partly because I had a brief conversation with a friend who isn't a fan of them, and it got me thinking that maybe my blog wasn't good enough, maybe I shouldn't be sharing my thoughts or feelings or pointless banter, maybe my writing is not of good enough quality, maybe when people are reading it it is just a waste of their precious time.
Eventually I started pushing those ideas out of my head and began trying to remember why I started my blog in the first place. Not saying that the reasons above aren't true[--maybe they are at times], but the reason I blog is because I like writing.
No one is forced to read it. People are entitled to their own opinions, but when it come down to it you cannot allow others opinions to stop  you from doing something (especially when this 'something' is as harmless as writing!). I am someone who is affected by how other people feel about things, so at times it is really hard to muster up enough self confidence to publish my writing for all of you (however few or many of you there are) to read. But, I need to remember that pleasing everyone is impossible and not everyone will like you or care about what you have to say. So with that being said, I'm sorry if I have wasted time in your life that you will never be able to get back, but I'm not sorry that I have a blog, and I will not apologize for writing about the things that interest me or anything I feel like sharing on my blog for that matter.



Okay, on to lighter things... I wanted to update you with the progress of my 15 by '15 bucket list!

1. Spend an entire day phoneless.
-About a month ago I turned my phone off before 8am and didn't turn it back on until 9:15pm (mainly because I needed to set an alarm for work the following morning). It is honestly so weird how much we rely on our phone to keep us company throughout the day (sounds sick, right?). For the first hour or two I kept grabbing for my phone before remembering that it wasn't with me. I kept thinking 'Oh, I should check twitter', or I would want to look to see if anyone was texting me [I also had decided that if I was going phoneless I couldn't use the internet either]. It's like we just check our phone out of comfort or something, & of course it is a habit. Thankfully after the first couple hours I was used to not having it on me and no longer was reaching in my purse to feel around for it. The rest of my day was actually pretty productive (imagine that) and it was honestly nice without it. Although I went the majority of the day without my phone, I will not officially be checking this item off until I go a full 24 hours. But  I know that I can do it & even enjoy it!

2. Find a new job. 
-Yep, nope this one has not happened.

3. Get a passport.
Look what I picked up on Friday!!


I'm headed in the right direction with this one :)

4. Reinvent my wardrobe.
Last week I went through my closet, again, to try to donate more clothes that I no longer wear. I got rid of a handful of things--thank god because I need any extra closet space I can get. While going through my closet I was also trying to bring the spring/summery things to the front. By doing so I realized I have no spring/summery clothes... so in order to solve this problem I have done some shopping. I also knew that I wanted new clothes for my California trip in June, so my collection has been growing and I love it!

5. Become a Big Sister. 

I set up my interview with Big Brothers Big Sisters in January to become a Big Sister and received this in the mail a few weeks later! I have completed everything on my end, so now it's just the waiting game until they find a suitable Little Sister for me. So excited for this :)

6. Go on a shopping spree.
No big shopping sprees for me yet, but I have been buying clothes and shoes lately so I'm just preparing myself for the big one ;)

7. Go on a wintertime vacation.
Although winter is still lingering around in the Midwest, I don't plan on taking a wintertime vacation until the end of the year. No planning has started since I still have quite awhile but I am hoping this one still happens!

8. Redesign my room.
I've actually become really OCD with the cleaning and organization of my room, which I am not complaining about. I have ideas with new paint colors and artwork and whatnot, just a matter of time until I am ready to break up with my purple walls.

9. Make new friends.
I wouldn't say I've necessarily made new friends. yet.

10. Read 15 books.

Pretty impressed with myself on this one. Currently reading #13 too!

11. Pay more of my loans off than the minimum requirement.
Although I've only had two months of payments I can proudly say I've paid over $150 extra both months.$$$

12. Plan a trip to somewhere new.
Well, in June I will be traveling to Santa Barbara, which I have never been to. It looks gorgeous and the hotel and beach are only separated by a two lane road! Can I go tomorrow??!
I've also got another trip in mind that I'm hoping takes shape soon.

13. Build/create something.
Actually kind of forgot about this '15 bucket list item. I guess I should sign onto Pinterest after I'm done with this post.

14. Explore somewhere new-locally.
Haven't done this yet, mainly due to the weather. We are lucky if we see the temp's get higher than the 30's! I really want to explore new outdoor places so I can't wait for the nice spring weather that is hopefully on its way.

15. Take a class... or two.
Hahahaha, so I decided that maybe I wanted to take a yoga class. I have never done yoga before so instead of jumping in head first and showing up to a class without any idea of what I was getting into I decided to buy myself a Beginners DVD. Can I just say Best Decision Ever. I would have been mortified if I hadn't... I totally suck. I'm pretty horrible and honestly I just can't really get into it. So I thinking I might have to think up another idea of what I want to take a class in.

--
As you can see I really cannot officially check off any of my year's bucket list items. When I think about it, it kind of freaks me out because I feel like I am failing, we are already 3 months into the year for godsake! I just have to be motivated and confident that I will be able to complete most of them, if not all, by the end of the year.

Plus, all good things take time... right?!! ;)

xox, Kaila