Well I lied slightly… in honor of it being the halfway mark of my World Race adventure, I’m going to list five and a half random things I’ve learned about myself thus far. Then at the end of the Race, I’ll finish with another five and a half random things I learned in the second leg!
1. It means a lot to me when people think I’m funny!
- It’s a joke amongst my friends at home that I think I’m hilarious but no one else does. Most of the time they’re laughing at me because I’m laughing at myself, and I’m totally ok with that. But here on the Race, especially with my sisters on Rebellious Love, I feel so incredibly loved when people genuinely think I’m funny. And it has nothing to do with actually being funny, because I’m still not that funny, I just say ridiculous things – but it has to do with the fact that they know me so well, so deeply, so genuinely, that they really do think I’m funny because they love me.
2. I love living with people.
- For the past 21 years of my life I’ve preferred to live without roommates. Even in college I became an RA, which meant I got my own room, and it wasn’t until my senior year that I got tired of it and lived with two other suitemates. It was one of the best years of my life, and now on the Race, I live with my sisters 24/7. While for some it might be hard, I personally love having people I do life with around me constantly. I do enjoy my precious alone time, but I also have no trouble almost never being alone. So I’ll definitely be looking for a roommate when I get home haha
3. Sometimes I’m not a fan of sarcasm.
- Don’t get me wrong, sarcasm can be pretty hilarious, but it can also be pretty hurtful, even if it’s unintentional. On the Race sarcasm has been a pretty big factor of day-to-day life. Sometimes you just gotta make fun of a situation in order to laugh about it and ease some tension. But sometimes it just hits a deep wound and the comment seems completely unnecessary. Sometimes it’s hilarious to be the butt of a joke, and sometimes it’s not. I think I’ll always prefer honest words over a potential backhanded joke that might be hurtful, but I don’t think all sarcasm is bad.
- P.S. I’ll still like you if sarcasm is your second language, I’m still sarcastic, I still laugh at sarcasm, and I’ll always be honest if I’m hurt by it. I have friends from home that are sarcastic all the time and I think they’re some of the funniest people I know.
4. I love being uprooted…
- …while knowing that I have a constant home to go back to one day. For some people being uprooted every month and needing to become reestablished and get used to a new place all the time is uncomfortable and difficult. For me, I love it. I love the constant change, I love the unexpected, and I thrive in exploring new situations. But, I love knowing that I have a home to go back to in America. I love knowing where exactly my family is and that I’ll for sure get to see them soon enough. I like knowing that I can return home to the same house I’ve lived in since I was two years old. I think it makes it easier for me to completely love this uprooted adventure. I feel called back to America after the Race, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I established a home there, then traveled and uprooted myself occasionally for fun. An equal balance between having a constant home while still living an inconstant life every so often.
5. Living without wifi all the time is a blessing.
- Living in constant community without constant distractions is awesome. You don’t get bored and it’s really not the end of the world, I promise. Instead, you get creative. I’ve probably laughed more in these past five and a half months than I have my whole life. When you don’t have constant access to the outside world you have great talks, hear about people’s hearts, give each other guidance, and play awesomely hilarious games from which tons of inside jokes come. Jokes that then cause deeper relationships because you’re bonding constantly. And since you live with the same people 24/7 for months on end, they’re not just surface, they’re genuine. I’d encourage everyone to try turning off your phone when you’re spending quality time with people you care about (Chr*st included), you might be surprised by what happens!
6. I still love bar m*nistry.
TO BE CONTINUED…
