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Swim
In 2009, I went touched down in Austin, Texas for the first time. Walking across the campus of UT Austin for the Hell Froze Over Tournament, I entered the classroom where I was to compete in Poetry along with a group of other collegiate forensics members.Β I saw a man walk up and give tribute to his brother who had passed away and was also well known on the speech circuit. One of the key words he used in his performance was from “Swim” by Jack’s Mannequin, a song I was familiar with, but never fully listened to. The words stuck with me starting on that day, though. You gotta…
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Inspirational Women
Y’all, I just spent the majority of my morning writing a post about a guy I used to date and was so embarrassed that I had to delete it. Don’t worry, once I swallow my pride a bit, you’ll hear all about it.Β Instead, today, we are taking a trip to one of my favorite brunch places. Weird, right?Β I spent the majority of my time in Waco so concerned about community. I had an insanely amazing community in undergrad and I so wanted that community in Texas. The thing is, when you go for a professional degree, you forget that people have full time, or at least a few…
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Going Back to K-Vegas
A few months ago I was notified that one of the professors I was closest with from TSU was retiring, which of course means a mini reunion and a trip to Kirksville, Missouri. This place, where I spent a chunk of my formative years, is somewhere I very regularly joke about. I knew it as a place in the middle of nowhere fixed with a Walmart, Pancake City and a train bridge (it is exactly what it sounds like…a bridge that is suspended over train tracks where we would go and sit for fun). Once I graduated from Truman, I didn’t think I would miss it as much as I…
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I Am Not A Tree
βIf you donβt like where you are, MOVE. You are not a tree.β -Jim Rohn This quote has always spoke to me. Travel is something that intrigues so many, driving them to start something new, see something new, experience something new. At this point in my life, in my late 20βs, many of my friends are going through what you might call a quarter-life-crisis, not being happy where they are, not liking their job or living situation. For me, I couldnβt wait to get out of the suburbs of Chicago when I was 18 and experience…Kirksville, Missouri. Though some might go somewhere more exciting for college, I loved K-Vegas and…
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That Time I Hung Out with Monks
Christ in the Desert Monestary is possibly one of the most unique places I have been. While in seminary, I had the chance to spend about a week with Benedictine Monks, my professor Dr. Gloer, and a handful of my colleagues. Daily prayers beginning at 4 a.m. and meals in complete silence were all apart of our schedule, along with work either in the office or in the garden, class, reading, and exploring. Without going into a ton of detail, I made frienimies with Father Christian.Β Now, Father Christian was a no noncence man of God who lived tried and true to Ora Et Labora. He was a man of…
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6 Love Languages: Quality Time, Acts of Service, Giving Gifts, Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, and Chucking Snickers Bars
I donβt know what it is about being sick that makes me automatically curl up on the couch and watch terrible daytime T.V. but that is what I find myself doing today. It has been amusing to me over the years how this automatic response to a stuffed nose, plugged ears, sore throat, and swollen eyes that has me nostalgically make me watch to call my mom to bring me treats that I wonβt be able to taste and extra blankets, even though I am sweating like crazy. When I woke up at 4:30 this morning, after finally going in and out of restless sleep starting around midnight, I finally…
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My “Injured” Reputation
I have a tendency to get injured a lot. I donβt know what it is. I donβt know why. It just happens. From breaking my nose in a mud pit, to spraining my ankle dancing to the YMCA, and falling off a bus in Israel, injury follows me around. I hated this fact about myself. I hated that this was my descriptor. Not because I hated getting hurt, but because of how much attention it drew to me. β I know what you are thinking, especially those who know me who are reading this, βSam not wanting to draw attention? Yeah right.β Laughter is in my DNA. Any type of…
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Running in Bulgaria
I have known a lot of runners in my short life. At random points in my life, I even claimed myself to be pseudo runner. Honestly, I do not believe I ever met anyone specifically who claimed to love running, though. It was always a, sort of, thing that they did either because it was ingrained in them or they had to for various different reasons. That all changed when I spent my summer in Bulgaria with a woman named Britney Sue. Britney Sue, or B-Sue as she affectionately became known to others (and Mama Duck to our group of three that traveled with her), was one of those who…
