Welcome to 2022! December was a whirlwind of a month, and we are like almost halfway through January, but it's time for another monthly check-in on how I am doing these 4 different areas of life: social, physical/health, occupation, and spiritual.
Social
Emotionally speaking, I have been doing well! December is usually a month where I get to spend time with family, which I always appreciate very much! Most of the month was spent either feeling joyful or grateful. This past month, I finished up a few Fellows classes, planned and attended a Bachelor Party up in Harrisonburg, shared a meal with the Fellows at Angus Barn, had our end-of-year Christmas party, celebrated Christmas at my new-ish home with the fam, and was Best Man in my brother’s wedding on New Years Eve. The week leading up to Christmas was very restful; all of the family was home, and my sisters and I were able to spend lots of time with our brother as he was preparing to go off and become a hubby. Those last few days with Braxton (my brother) were spent watching Hamilton and many other Marvel movies, and playing FIFA until 1:30/2:00 in the morning. Christmas day was 73 degrees I believe, and the 4 of us went to a soccer field to run and kick around as if we were all 8 years old haha. I truly appreciated that week, and we quickly got busy with wedding stuff after Christmas. Despite the filled schedule and sleepless nights, I had an amazing time reconnecting with extended family, new family, and old friends. I gladly welcome Emma (Braxton’s wifey) to the family as another sister; nothing against my bro, but we need some more brothers (in-law) to balance out this new sibling dynamic, but that won’t be for a little bit haha.
Physical/Health
Still kickin a ball around every week, and I wasn’t very consistent with going to the Y. Got a little crazy and went rock climbing a couple times with some Fellows and friends. My sleep schedule began to deteriorate once the structure of Fellows was lost, but at the cost of spending time with friends and family. The Omicron-variant really began to ramp up towards the end of the month, but my family and I were safe and healthy during the holiday season, and up to the wedding.
Occupational
As you probably already know, I got bamboozled out of a job, and my last day of work at the engineering firm was November 30. I spent the entire month of December unemployed, but I tried to make the most out of our allotted work days. I spent some of the remaining work days volunteering at Church of the Apostles, Refugee Hope Partners, Note in the Pocket, and Alliance Medical Ministry. Most of my tasks were just busy work, and they didn’t have much to do with engineering. But I really appreciated the work I was given, and I liked spending time with the Fellows employed at each of those respective places. I spent the latter half of the month working on my Resume, and started thinking about what it could look like to pursue a career long-term in the RDU area. My mentor, Eric Bolash (a king fr), reached out to some friends and helped make some connections for the pursuit of industry work later down the road, and I am grateful for all of the wise words he offered during my little unemployment stint.
Spiritual
For this month, I want to briefly focus on a book I finished over Christmas break. I started reading ‘Garden City’ by John Mark Comer earlier in the Fellows year. It is one of the best books I’ve read to this day, and it's ending came in a timely manner with my job situation. Generally speaking, it could be perceived that my job loss is very much a bad thing and an inconvenience to my schedule and finances and what not. God obviously has a plan for everything, and He is the only one who knows what lies ahead, so I have learned to place my trust in the Man with the Map. I really liked my previous engineering job, but I knew I didn’t plan on pursuing that full-time after Fellows. I think the Lord just provided an opportunity to broaden my occupational horizon and explore different types of jobs (no better time to do that in a year where I am living rent-free with little to no expenses). As sad as it is, the holiday season is typically filled with fueling self-righteous desires, and we tend to spend time thinking about what gifts/things we want, or where(who) we spend our time (with). Because of this, I really liked being able to serve people in the church, and at those companies, as it was a way for me to stop thinking about myself and my needs. As I worked those other jobs, it was easier for me to see how those other companies have a direct impact on helping people. Whether I was folding clothes, teaching kids, tending to a garden, or cleaning up things in the church, I felt those jobs were more meaningful at times than my previous engineering job. Comer highlights in the book that every single job presents us with the opportunity to spread the gospel, even if it may seem there is no direct impact with the work you are doing. Exercising the fruits of the spirit in the office, or even sharing meals with co-workers, are just a few ways in which we can be impactful in the workplace as believers. Your job can be a playground for kingdom-work, even if your occupation isn’t ministry-related! I look forward to enacting this mentality at every place I work moving forward.
Alright. This trolley long as a mug, but it’s time to get off. Until next time!
BB
** Some Fellows Pro Tips from the month of December
- There is a slim chance your professor may bring their puppy to class. I guess just try to focus, maybe??
- Bring warm clothes (and an extra beanie) for your outing at Angus Barn, because you may wait hours for a table.
- Don’t try to figure out who your Secret Santa is.
- Go on walks around the North Hills development when you have the time, you will appreciate it.