... destinations

so i recently arrived at a destination for a journey i didnt know i was on. has that ever happened to you? it really was the strangest feeling- because its not like an epiphany which comes out of now where and it wasnt a 'lets peel back the layers of heaven'- but rather it feel like i arrived somewhere.

what was my journey? it was a journey back to the corrine that left the mission field on august 11, 2010. she got lost when i came back to provo. but dont worry, without meaning it, i found her again. im really glad she's back because this corrine is a lot more productive than the old one-- and a lot lighter too.

no, i havent lost weight.... cheesy i know...... :) the lightness comes from something that the savior said: "come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and i will give you rest. take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for i am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (matt 1:28-30)

i have been reading my scriptures and saying meaningful morning prayers.... and that has made all the difference in the world!!


it feels good to be back!

...wisdom

so i was cleaning the dorms (which i do every morning for my second job) and i ran across this quote... "Do not ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive"... isn't that good!!!

man, ive been thinking about it all week and i realized that that is what i need to do-- find what makes me come alive. and then tonight, as i was sitting in Cultural Inquiry Club, i realized that we have made people in third world countries less human. how so? we have made them into no more than a statistic, a problem to be solved.

so the solution? they need to come alive. we need to help them become alive, we need to help them find happiness... gosh!! its so much MORE than raising their living standards. its so much MORE than teaching them how to fish.... its teaching them to find JOY in fishing, or hunting, or whatever it is they love to do!! we can help people most by coming alive, because then, and only then can we help them come alive too.

after all, isn't that what the world needs? people who come alive?

... scot!

so my daddy went to a scottish highland game festival in north carolina this past weekend. so i thought i'd delve into my scottish heritage (christison is scottish btw).

as i was pondering this, our clan's motto came to my mind: fide et fortitudine. aka fidelity and fortitude. so i thought i'd look these words up to see how im really supposed to be acting (i was suprised)

fidelity: 1

1.loyalty, strict observances to promisesone's country.

2. adherence to fact or detailffactact or detail.

3. accuracy; exactness

fortitude: mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation


wow! i got a lot of work to do but i really like what im standing for-- loyalty and strength. hopefully i can do both of those things.

or temptation ' courageously

wow...i got a lot of work to do! kind of cool thought huh? so that is my clan's motto!! i better start living up to it!

.... service

so my students and i did a service project this week. what did we do, you may ask? well, we went to the testing center and handed out granola bars with 'good luck' notes on them. then we joined one of the other groups in cheering for those who have come out of the testing center.

great idea no? probably not what you normally think of as service but i think it was successful. it was so neat (i think im going to start using this work more and more...i like it) to see my kids light up as they cheered others on, as they wrote notes of cheering for those getting ready to take tests. that is what service does....it lightens our spirits.

anyhoo, after we got back to the classroom, i asked my students if that counted as service? they all said "YES!" then i asked why. what is the definition of service.

emilee simply said:

"service is uplifting others"

beautiful isnt it?

... running

so apparently im really bad at remembering to write on this thing. but oh well, the new goal is once a week! i can do that right? simply as pie. hm..... i do love pie! and its totally pie season-- pumpkin being my favorite of course!

okay...so the 'running' part of the title comes in right now. i have decided to run a marathon in the spring. pretty hefty goal for a girl who used to hate running and has only run 4 miles in her whole life. i know what you are thinking "she is CRAZY!!" well, that little fact we knew already but just so you know, i no longer hate running...in fact, i LOVE it! it makes me feel good, it relieves stress, allows me to lose myself in the moment instead of thinking about all the things i have to do (like im doing right now)

anyhoo, so the reason im telling the world wide web is because i want to be held accountable for what im doing to say: i am going to run EVERYDAY from now until 2011. crazy huh? of course we are not including sundays.... and notice i didnt say HOW MUCH i am running because that will depend on the day, and with whom i am running. (dont you ever sometimes just want to use the word 'whom' so you reword the sentence so you can say it?)

sigh, i hope that made sense because my brain is going about a million miles an hour......

..... astonishing

ladies and gentlemen..... the semester is officially HALF WAY OVER!!!!!! WHOO-HOO!!!!!!!!

my first semester back off the mission hasn't been as bad as i thought however, that doesn't mean im not having issues. but one of the biggest things i've learned so far this year is that... i cannot be afraid to be myself. it doesn't matter if thats not who i was 2 years ago, or if that wasnt who i was six months ago...i must be me-- who i am right here, right now.

and that my friends, is a very hard thing to be. (especially if you dont know who you are). hm...... all i can think of is a song from the musical 'little women' (L-O-V-E it! which means i love it so much i will spell out the word love) anyways, its called 'astonishing'.... here it goes:

I thought home was all I'd ever want
My attic all I'd ever need.
Now nothing feels the way it was before
And I don't know how to proceed.
I only know I'm meant for something more
I've got to know if I can be
Astonishing

There's a life
That I am meant to lead
A life like nothing I have known
I can feel it
And it's far from here
I've got to find it on my own

Even now I feel it's heat upon my skin.
A life of passion that pulls me from within,
A life that I am making to begin.
There must be somewhere I can be
Astonishing
Astonishing

I'll find my way
I'll find it far away
I'll find it in unexpected and unknown
I'll find my life in my own way
Today

Here I go
And there's no turning back
My great adventure has begun
I may be small
But I've got giant plans
To shine as greatly as the sun

I will blaze until I find my time and place
I will be fearless,
Surrendering modesty and grace
I will not disappear without a trace
I'll shout and start a riot
Be anything but quiet
Christopher Columbus
I'll be Astonishing
Astonishing
Astonishing

At Last

hm... not what i had planned on writing for this blog....interesting.......but i gotta go.... its time to be astonishing! :)

... peter pan!

so last night i was talking with my sister and as she was giving me some tough love (which dont worry.... was totally needed) i wrote in my journal.... "I DONT WANT TO GROW UP!!!!!!!!!"


really mature i know :) but growing up is hard.... its kind of like a slap in the face when you realize you aren't as mature, or as grown up as you thought you were; that deep down inside you are still that 9 year old girl that just wants everything to be like a disney movie (with the bursting out in songs and everything!)

so here's to corrine's journey of no more peter pan....i need a little more wendy.

... contemporary theory

so i am an anthropology major (way cool i know!) and one of the classes i'm taking this semester is a theory class. basically, we are studying 'the social construction of reality'.... sounds cool doesnt it? well.... it has really caused me to look at my life in different ways and lately, well... i've been feeling a little...... homeless. i no longer feel at home in north carolina, utah isnt home and new york is a far off dream. so... where is home? i dunno.

in one of the readings for theory class, the author says "i remain without inhabitable places in which to remain". hm..... so basically, i'm living yet i dont have a place in which to live. try wrapping your mind around that one!

anyhoo, this sense of homelessness has caused me to look outside of myself.... to look at the big picture. "where is home?" i think to myself. will it be grad school in boston or london? will it be in ghana? will it be some other place ive never dreamed of? who knows! i'm excited to find out though.

...little things

i read this quote in one of my readings for anthropology..... and i L-O-V-E-D it!!! hope you enjoy it.... a little piece of deep thought for the weekend :)

"how dangerous it is to neglect little things. it is a very consoling reflection for a soul like mine, little disposed to great actions, to think that fidelity to little things may, by an imperceptible progress, raise us to the most eminent sanctity: because little things lead to greater.... little things; it will be said, alas, my God, what can we do that is great for you, weak and mortal creatures that we are. little things; if great things presented themselves would we perform them? would we not think them beyond our strength? little things; and if God accepts them and wishes to receive them as great things? little things; has one ever felt this? does one judge according to experience? little things; one is certainly guilty, therefore, if seeing them as such, one refuses them? little things; yet it is they that in the end have made great saints! yes, little things; but great motives, great feelings, great fervor, great ardor, and consequently great merits, great treasures, great rewards."
Jean Baptiste de La Salle
from Traite sur les obligations des freres des Ecoles chretiennes

...leadership

so i'm a TA for a student leadership development class. it's been way fun (i'm so glad macy gave me the opportunity to do this!) but anyhoo, the whole point of the class is letting students at BYU see that they can be leaders- in soooo many different ways. i'm really enjoying learning more about leaders in history and what it means to be a leader but i think the thing i love the most is learning from the kids i TA for.

they had to do a report on some famous leader in history. here's what i learned:

1. abraham lincoln was motivated, could keep his emotions in check and was very humble. one thing i didnt really know was how unpopular lincoln was when he was alive. see.... being popular isnt everything-- and doesnt always make a good leader.

2. joseph smith's leadership has stretched to the four corners of the earth and has inspired so many people to change their lives to become more like christ. he had a knack for being a trustworthy person-- and the people he knew truly did trust him.

3. gandhi never got discouraged or give up. he fought to his death for what he believed in. and his influence, his example has been used throughout the world to help others change their situations too!

LEADERS IN HISTORY are AWESOME!!! and we can learn so much from them, but we don't have to be a president, a prophet or a revolutionary to be a leader. john quincy adams said: "if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader"

:)

....blogger

well well well.... i finally made it on the blog scene. im not quite sure what do with myself-- ive never had this much literary freedom before but i will say, i'm excited.

what am i excited about exactly? im not sure. i think im excited to share my thoughts with the world. i think im excited to be accountable for those thoughts. but most of all, i think im just excited about life!

i titled my blog "a little piece of..." because i feel like that is what life is about-- little pieces of me spreading all throughout the world AND little pieces of the world spreading throughout me. that may be deep... or it may be totally ridiculous (im not sure which because i've now been on campus for 12 hours and im not sure what im still doing here! oh wait. im writing this blog!)

anyhoo, i hope i can keep this up. and share just a little piece of..... me.