Posted by caleb on Nov 26, 2009 in
Personal As the turkey and pumpkin pie settles in our stomachs, it’s important to take a look back and remember God’s faithfulness.
What I’m Thankful For:
- God’s Provision- Just as He clothes the lilies of the field, He’s always provided for me.
- Family- No matter what, we’re there for each other.
- Friends who truly care- Sometimes a person who listens unconditionally is all it takes.
- The gift of time to spend with older relatives- We never know how much time we have left.
- A college education- So many in the world never have the chance to further their studies.
- Employment- After looking for over two months, God provided me with a steady paycheck.
So many times throughout the year we grow calloused to the idea of God providing, and we take for granted that his mercies are new everyday. May you and I never forget His Love.
Tags: college, Family, God, Pumpkin Pie, Thankful, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving 2009
[This is an essay I wrote earlier this week. I've republished it here.]
Stereotypes are cop-outs. Each of them is just a way for us to pre-judge someone before we actually become acquainted with them on a personal level. They are tools we use to lock each other into specific, predetermined groups and behavior patterns. We use these mind tricks to exert control over other people, to gain traction in a difficult situation. Instead of facing the challenge of exposing ourselves to another individual, we take the easy way out and brush them aside with the passing thought, I’ve seen their kind before. What if, however, we took the time to give the benefit of the doubt, even to only one person? A few more minutes out of our busy schedules would not be missed. We spend that much time daily dialing the telephone or ordering coffee in the Drive-thru. Why not put those minutes to better use? If we did, we would discover that a person is more than the sum total of his or her parts, labels, and appearance. Appearances are deceiving, for we are each more than our stereotypes or labels alone allow for us to be.
As an eighteen-year-old sophomore at a small state university, my life is full of interesting topics and paradoxes, puzzles and quirks. My life is based on suggestion, on stereotype, on societal expectations, but my habits are geared against the grain. I do what is thought impossible and am seen for whom I am not. People expect me to be a certain way, but I surprise them by being even better. I believe in forging my own path and setting my own agenda, but rebellion is not what I seek: I fight apathy, and work to make my positive mark on the world. It is what this time of my life is supposed to be about. As a college student I have some of the biggest and hardest-to-shake stereotypes placed upon me, that I believe in an “anything goes” world, or that I fought to see Barack Obama elected. But after busting through these grandiose façades, I drop the biggest bombshell of all: I am a young conservative. I believe in personal responsibility, limited government, and the rule of law. I work for lower taxes and less government intervention and involvement. I want to live my life the way I see fit, by taking responsibility for the consequences, and not by following a ten-step plan developed by a bureaucrat. I believe in making money, in capitalism, in success for the individual, and in freedom for us all. Of course, being politically conservative and educationally an undergraduate leads to some interesting encounters. Many of my peers do not understand why I believe what I do, and many older adults approach me in disbelief as well. It seems most think youth should be a time of frivolity and a more carefree lifestyle; I do not necessarily disagree, but I look to my future as well. I am not a boring old codger while still a teenager, but I dream of one day being a successful, financially secure professional, and that dream cannot be fulfilled by following the plans and ideas of the other side of the political spectrum.
If liberalism on campus is such an accepted belief and lifestyle, why I am so different? Why does my belief system differ from the supposed norm? To fully investigate this issue, it is necessary to investigate my past, my experiences, and my goals for the future. Understanding one’s lifestyle choices is not an easy task. My political affinities come from several different places. To begin, since both of my parents are Republicans and very conservative, it would be easy to discount my ideals as something handed down and accepted without challenge. It is true that as far back as I can remember knowing what a political party was, I have identified myself with the GOP. However, neither of my parents has ever forced their political belief system on me. They’ve presented their views, but always left my choices in the matter up to me. Saying that my party affiliation and governmental philosophy stem solely from my mother and father is a vast misstatement. Perhaps my parents led me in the right direction, but it was by my own free will I came to believe we should as strictly as possible follow the plans laid out for us by the Founding Fathers in our nation’s seminal documents. How did I arrive at this conclusion? Even as young as I am, I have had enough life experiences to realize how important it is to keep and follow those democratic ideals. Right now, as a young adult, I am watching as the grand era of prosperity of my early teenage years dries up and our nation sinks into a deep recession. The most treacherous example is of the recent government bailouts. Instead of allowing companies who made bad business decisions and granted sub-prime mortgages to go bankrupt and restructure themselves, our government is using billions upon billions of our money and money borrowed from unfriendly foreign lands to artificially prolong the lives of those failed ventures. To me, that idea is unfair and, at the least, not in line with the spirit of our Constitution. Why are we who made good decisions being forced to help those who did not? I believe in helping others in need, but it must be my choice, not the government’s. Life experiences such as these catalyze my beliefs. They make me look toward the future and realize that as this spending continues, my dreams become a little farther off, a little less attainable. If success is punished and failure is rewarded, why will any company try to succeed? Where is the motivation to hire the best and brightest talent and sell the best products if the federal government is only going to tax their profits into losses and save them if they fail? How will I, or my children, for that matter, ever ascend to the peak of our abilities?
That hope for the future and worry that my dreams will not come to pass is what most strongly motivates me. America is a great nation, and I cannot bear to see her flounder. I want America to achieve her epitome of greatness with the restoration of our Constitutional values. As for myself, I want to someday work for a multinational computer electronics company. I want to be able to provide for my family, and I want my future children to have even better opportunities than I had. Neither one of these dreams is easily possible with the current onward march of liberal policies and socialism, at least not according to some of the greatest political minds. Many have equated our recent lapse to that of Western Europe after World War II. It is a commonly held belief in the United States that Europe is very similar to our country, but in truth, it has many problems we have never had to deal with, including strangled access to healthcare. Here, generally speaking, if one is insured he or she can schedule an appointment with a doctor and have met with him or her within a week or so. In other nations where socialized medicine exists, everyone has access to healthcare, but many people’s health suffers because of long lead times for life-saving surgeries and routine checkups. Also, the citizenry is taxed beyond belief, to the point where the tax rate reaches atrocious and unbelievable amounts. At what point do we say enough is enough? The idea of healthcare for all is valiant, but the execution is wrong. Providing healthcare is not government’s job. Many argue that private companies cannot and should not be in charge of providing medical assistance, that they wield too much power of people’s lives. However, the evidence points to the contrary. Even with their problems, private companies tend to provide a much better service, due to competition in the market. All the government needs to do is encourage that competition by lowering taxes, and thereby fostering growth, and repealing senseless regulations. Look how much government has regulated education in America. Does it sound exciting to be required to take a standardized test to verify your lifestyle choices before doing a urine analysis? Do you want to have to write your Senator just to have an emergency appendectomy? I have experienced such a surgery, and I can assure you that sitting up is murder, let alone handling a keyboard.
My conservative beliefs do detach me from my peer group of young college students, at least from the majority. This aspect of my being cannot be separated from me as a whole; it makes up an integral part of my being, of who I am as a person. They do not fit the expected mold, but I accept that and embrace it. I will not change who I am simply to force myself into such an idea. We can never fully escape stereotypes, because generalization is part of who we are as human beings. However, we can rewrite them to include more facets of other individuals. Once we have broadened those horizons, we must do all we can to transform stereotypes from the crystalline stones they are today to the malleable clay they must be tomorrow, changing and updating them with each new person we meet, as we learn to connect more deeply.
Tags: bailouts, barack obama, college, college students, Conservatism, conservative, government, liberalism, Senator, sub-prime mortgages, universal healthcare
Posted by caleb on Nov 27, 2008 in
Personal Thanksgiving: family, turkey, and shopping. At least that’s how it generally goes for me. We talk, eat, and shop, but generally we don’t give a lot of thought to our many blessings, at least en masse.
This year, I thought I’d share some of what I’m thankful for.
- God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. I’d be sunk without it.
- Family and Friends. They keep me going everyday.
- Homemade pumpkin pie and greenbean casserole. It’s not Thanksgiving without truly delicious (but fattening) foods.
- Freakin’ awesome Black Friday bargains. Better hurry up and check out BFAds if you haven’t already… you’ve got five hours in Central Time.
- Apple, Macs, and iPods. Ease-of-use and future careers are nice. Besides, I couldn’t live without my MacBook Pro or my iPod touch.
- Gov. Sarah Palin and Conservative Values. Like I said, the future is great, but unless we all get on board, it’s going to be a long road ahead, no matter how amazing Gov. Palin is.
- Sleep. I’m a teenager and a college student; I think this goes without explaining.
- School and Scholarships. Yea, I know, but I’m happy to have the opportunity to create a better life for myself.
- the “and Scholarships” part. I’m also thankful not to have to pay for it.
- Music. My life would be boring without a little beat pumping through my earbuds.
I posted this late because I like to think Thanksgiving goes on through at least Friday, if not Saturday morning (also because I was too busy eating and browsing the Black Friday ads to break away to write this…), so join in the great turkey call and tell me what you’re thankful for.
Tags: 2008, Apple, Black Friday, college, Family, Friends, God, iPod, Mac, Music, Palin, Pumpkin Pie, school, Sleep, Stellar Kart, Thanksgiving
Posted by caleb on Jul 31, 2008 in
Uncategorized This is my last summer at living home, and it’s probably been one of the most exciting I’ve ever experienced. It’s been a little backwards… starting with an end (graduation) and ending with a beginning (starting at Pitt State), but it’s been completely worth it.
A week after graduation, I took off on a road trip with three of my friends (Bryce, Tyler, and Hannah) and we drove eleven hours to Beaumont, TX to see our friends Vernon and Lois Wells and, of course, visit the beach. It was our first venture (except for Hannah!) out on our own, and it was refreshing, exhilarating, fun, and tough. All of the sudden all of those “given” things, like what we’re going to do today, are gone… but along with that realization comes amazing freedom and responsibility, and let me tell you, it’s completely worth it. We had a blast hanging out with Vernon and Lois at their house and at the beach when we all took a trip out there and when we went alone. I’ll never forget Hannah pulling the car over to scold Vernon and Tyler… nor have I ever seen anyone hold their hands up in the air that long! The bird that escaped into the Yukon was pretty awesome, too. Especially since it pooped on Tyler’s seat…
Overlapping that trip was our (first of the year) family vacation. Mom, Dad, and Corrie came down to visit Vernon and Lois and the two groups were there together for about a day and half. Corrie was about to celebrate her 15th birthday, so the four of use decided to help her do it in style. We made a Wal-mart run and picked out some awesome gifts and we made her a tasty cake that we decorated ourselves. It was incredible. After my friends left, we saw some movies [I saw Ironman while they saw Indiana Jones... I'd seen it the week before] and relaxed in Vernon’s pool. Oh, and Dad and Vernon got in a huge water fight… that was pretty awesome.
I had Pitt C.A.R.E.S (Orientation) and my Honors College Overnighter soon after and met some new people (including my roommate for the fall) and got enrolled in all of my classes, a task that was, unfortunately, not any easier than high school.
Later that week, I left home once again for Joplin, MO and the Ozark Christian College Campus for Highest Praise 2008, The Voice of the Savior. Brad, Courtney, and Zack went, too. It was great to get to see all of my amazing HP’ing friends again and the savor my last year on tour. But, then, there were the eight hour rehearsal days: totally exhausting and totally worth it. We learned that music, oh my! If we weren’t eating or sleeping (who sleeps on HP, anyway?), we were practicing, practicing, practicing, but it was great fun. Then, we headed off for the Great American Southwest on a whirlwind tour that stretched from Broken Arrow, OK to Phoenix, AZ to Oswego, KS. Over the course of the days on tour, it was so cool to see and feel God working in my heart and in the hearts of my friends on tour and the in the audience, as well. It’s so breath-taking to realize that God is using you, but more than that, it’s humbling in the biggest way. Starting with HP, God started really working on my heart. Rather, I started to open myself up to what He had been saying all along: “I’m real, I love you, trust me with everything.”
That led into church camp a week later, where God took that seed He had planted and dumped a whole ton of Miracle-Gro on and said, “Go and do. Reach people for me,” and I really started to listen. It was difficult, though. I started the week with on of the worst colds I’ve ever had in my life, and I was miserable, but I felt that God was testing me and teaching me, showing me that He wants me no matter the circumstances. I’m trying… I’m Ever Moving Forward ™… I’m still not there yet, but I’m getting there. I want to be wholly His, and He’s pushing me right along. This year at camp, I had an amazing and incredible camp family, too. It was kind of funny, too, because Brad and I were in a group completely made up of College Heights people… even our Mom and Dad were from College Heights. It was cool, though, because, well, they were basically just amazing people. Everyone bonded almost immediately, but our friendships definitely began to cement with the building of our Flower Power cross duct tape sculpture… nothing says sticktuitiveness like a roll of Duck brand duct tape!
And tonight, we just got back as a family from Beaumont, again, after taking somewhat of a sabbatical trip for Dad. He’s working on this amazing project (writing a book!) and it was a good time for him to be able to get away and actually do it. We took our bikes to the Galveston seawall and rode about twelve miles. Mom and I actually rode less because my bike got a flat tire on the way back, but walking is great exercise,too, you know. While in Texas, we ate amazing food and saw several movies, like WALL-E and The Dark Knight. Both were good, but I liked the Batman feature a lot more. Vernon, Lois, and I also checked out this huge, castle-like playground and splash park in Port Neches, TX on the banks of the Neches River. It’ll be a great spot for him to take his Praiseville kids.
I’ve still got some stuff coming up, like finishing up work at Oswego Public Library and VBS, but, for the most part, all of my big summer plans have been fulfilled, and it’s been good, and relaxing.
What about the beginning? It all starts August 23, bright and early, when I move into my new accommodations at Pittsburg State. It’ll be an emotional day, but it’ll be worth it. I’m moving on to another phase of life, and I’m excited and ready. I’m still working on buying dorm room equipment, like bedding and a new laptop, but it’ll all come together. As I’ve learned this summer, this is one of the most exciting times in life. I’m not going to waste it.
Tags: Brad, Bryce, college, Corrie, Courtney, Dad, Hannah, Highest Praise, Lois, Mom, Pitt, summer, Texas, Tyler, Vernon, Zack
