People Watching in New York City

At the beginning of December I traveled to New York City for the weekend. I loved being surrounded by so many languages and cultures. As I overheard a different language or walked through Chinatown, I momentarily thought that I was in a foreign country rather than in my own. I have grown to appreciate traveling because I can experience other cultures. I enjoy observing how other people live so differently, yet we are all still similar.

I discovered New York City to be the perfect place for people watching. There is much hustle and bustle with everyone coming and going. No matter where one sits or walks, there are plenty of people to observe. I particularly found the subway intriguing as everyone crams onto the trains, but no words are exchanged while you stand nose to nose with a stranger. Some people tune out their surroundings with headphones, others escape with a book, while the majority stares off into an empty space to avoid eye contact with strangers.  I could not help but look around and take note of the diversity in cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds represented by all the passengers on the same train. I found myself wondering about each person’s unique life story.

People watching can be entertaining especially when there is a hackey-sac hand juggler guy on the subway train. I am sure we also provided entertainment for fellow passengers when we started singing “Happy Birthday” to Heather at midnight. Surprisingly the next day very few people were alarmed when we started yelling as the doors quickly closed on Heather's arm while she was left on the outside of the train. With no help from other passengers, she luckily got her arm free and took the next train eight minutes later where we were reunited at the next stop.

Surrounded by the continuous activity of people coming and going, I found myself contemplating my own life. I reflected on how much I have changed since my previous trip to New York City with my high school senior class. I definitely have a greater appreciation for life and traveling than in high school. I also remember as a high school student being overly concerned about what other people [watchers] might think about me. Now, six years later I am back in New York and my perspective has changed. Now I am less concerned with other people’s opinion and have learned to appreciate differences in style, culture, and language. Now, rather than worry about what other people think I have taken the seat as a people watcher.

"The Famous Wrap Around Photo" in Time Square
The Adventure Seekers: Amber, Heather, Emily, and me

In the last six years I have...

v  Resided in six different cities-Chapel Hill, Kansas City, Wilmington, Valle Crucis, Puntarenas, Raleigh/Durham

v  Lived in two states-NC and Missouri

v  Traveled to/through twenty-three states

v  Lived in two countries- U.S.A. & Costa Rica

v  Traveled to an additional two countries- Nicaragua and Honduras

v  Attended two colleges (three if counting my study abroad program)

v  Called fifteen different apartment/houses "home" (That's a lot of moving!)

v  Lastly, I have shared a living space with twenty different people

I have done a lot of coming and going in the last six years. Although it is not as much as some, it sure is a lot for someone who likes consistency!

More to come on my favorite past adventures and future travels!

The Beginning of Change

I decided to start this blog recounting that monumental first year after high school which transformed my life.

Growing up in an analytical family, I spent a considerable amount of time planning out my life leaving little room for spontaneity or last minute decisions. Since middle school I always knew that I would attend UNC-Chapel Hill to study medicine. Thus my senior year of high school, I wasted very little time pondering my college destination. Funny thing is that I never even stepped foot on UNC’s campus until the day I received my acceptance letter.

That first semester at UNC-CH I found that my faith was definitely challenged being in an environment with so many differing views, lifestyles, beliefs, and perspectives. I spent a lot of time contemplating life and my beliefs that semester.

Over Christmas break I flew out to Kansas City, MO for the One Thing Conference. During this time, I prayed and believed God called me to stay in Kansas City, MO to be part of a six-month young adult internship. At that time in my life, I needed to focus on seeking out the truth and building a strong foundation for my beliefs.

Before I returned home from Kansas City, I had already applied and been accepted into the internship which started in a mere few days. I only had two problems…my next semester of school started in five days with everyone expecting me to return to UNC. Second, I needed to come up with $3000 beforehand to pay for my lodging and other expenses related to the internship.

The night I returned home, I eagerly told my parents about my prayerful consideration to drop out of school and move to Kansas City for this internship. They were shocked, needless to say, especially being planners like myself. Thankfully they prayed with me about the decision. My parents said that I could go to Kansas City if the money they had paid for the upcoming semester would be refunded and if the $3000 was provided without them having to pay for it.

This seemed very unlikely since classes now started in two days and few people knew about my financial need let alone my desire to go to this internship.  Well, let’s just say that in less than a week I had dropped out of college, moved out of my dorm room, and boarded a plane back to Kansas City to spend the next six months seeking God at the International House of Prayer. God provided in a miraculous way. My parents received a full refund from UNC, and an anonymous donor paid for my internship (I still do not know who or how to this day). This is my testimony. God is Jehovah Jireh...“The Lord will provide.”

This began the journey that over the next few years would take me to several different cities, another college, a different country, and well a lot of spontaneity in my otherwise planned out life.