2 months in

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything- Sorry about that everyone! I had this list of things to do, most of which were time sensitive and this post ended up getting pushed further down the list. Now, finally with some spare time I can do an update.

All-in-all, everything is awesome.

It didn’t necessarily start out this way, especially when my supervisor went on maternity leave, but I really feel like now I have a grip on my day to day schedule.

Here are the 3 main sectors in my life currently (these are not in any particular order):

– Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity

– Beer City Crossfit (just joined yesterday!)

– Friends and Family (in Asheville and not)

Workwise, I’ve really enjoyed taking on more responsibility now that my supervisor is out of the office (her baby arrived October 15th! Same as my sister’s bday so it must be good luck). My first two days it seemed as if everyone waited until my boss left to call/email.. I was switched over as the main contact for volunteers with construction services so, when someone either called or emailed my boss, the automatic reply sent them to me. This meant I was jumping into the middle of a conversation and had to play catch up. But it got better. Even though I have a huge amount of respect and appreciation for my supervisor, taking over the majority of her responsibilities has made me appreciate her even more. It isn’t anything that is over my head, but I’ve had to understand pretty thoroughly what our department does and how to effectively communicate with volunteers. I still get the chance to see my supervisor (and the new baby!) to talk over any questions I have, but it’s always reassuring to know that I can call, text, or email to get direction on specific inquiries and situations.

As for outside of work, I joined Beer City Crossfit Tuesday! Just less than 3 years ago, I joined a crossfit gym in Rochester (Crossfit Boomtown- check it out) after being introduced to the workout regime by a team member on my women’s college ultimate frisbee team. I started it and was hooked. This isn’t meant to be an ad for the already freakishly cultish group, but to say how quickly I realized I wanted it to be an active participant in my life. The other week at our Friday reflection with my site director, we were led through an activity that helped us think and verbalize what we are compassionate about, what our strengths are, and how we can fit the two together. Selena, my site director, read us a quote by this awesome guy named Frederick Buechner who said, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”  She said that the sweet spot that we want to find (as part of our vocational discernment to the YAV program) is where our passions intersect the needs of the community around us. From our little activity, I came to the conclusion that I have been aware of for at least the past year- I have two passions that I don’t necessarily see intersecting: body care (aka physical health through eating and working out — Crossfit and Olympic weightlifting) and Earth care (how we can care for this super organism called Earth that provides us with life). The body care/ physical activity side has always been a “hobby” of mine, pursued outside of the classroom while Earth care was the main focus of my senior thesis at Wooster and has continued to be at the forefront of my spirituality. I don’t know if the goal of this year or of life is to combine these two but I know that I want both of these to be very present in my life.

Given my admiration for health and weight lifting, I was stressed about what I would do when I moved to Asheville. Gym memberships are not cheap and my stipend is already incredibly low. But the guys at Beer City are great. Not only will my membership be financially feasible, but the community that the owners and coaches (Abby, Jeremy, and Josh) have created is inviting and uplifting. Who knows, maybe I could instruct at a gym part time and find a job somewhere in the sustainability or environmental awareness sector 🙂 That would be my dream life.

There are still so many uncertainties at this point, but I know that I am in a beautiful place that holds the opportunity for protecting and caring for the environment as well as instructing and promoting healthy eating and activity. All I can do is move through the day and see where it all leads.

One last major announcement:

I RECENTLY MET AND SURPASSED MY FUNDRAISING GOAL FOR  THE YEAR ($3,000)!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED.

If you are still interested in donating to my site, to help sustain it as a site for future YAVs, please go to my “How to Support” tab at the top of the page. I warmly welcome all forms of support, whether it be prayer or financial. It really is comforting to know that people are reading my blog and sending positive thoughts and prayers for myself and my fellow YAVs. Thank you!