Hi there! I’m Jamie Jo. Welcome to my blog!
I was born in Salt Lake, Utah in 1985, have spent the majority of my life there, and I love it. I love the dry heat of the summertime, the sparkly snow in the wintertime, and the way my hair stays light and beautiful! It’s almost unexplainable, this deep love I have for my home. There’s just something about it. When I’m here, it engulfs me like a hug, and the world just feels like it’s been put right again.
Growing up in Utah, I’ve enjoyed summertime campfires in the mountains, rollerblading on steep hills, reading books, canoeing the Great Salt Lake, making crafts or sculpting, eating Garbage Hash at the Belge, watching meteor showers in the cool and dry summer night air, rock climbing, Café Rio!, hiking, dollar theaters, kayaking, fry sauce, canyoneering through backcountry desert, and the giant Jesus in the Mormon Temple Visitor Center. Yeah, my grandfather’s name was Joseph Smith, talk about a calling!
I am addicted to Diet Coke, and I love music of all sorts! If you asked me to, I would bake some sort of pretty and tasty dessert for you, but in general, I do not like to cook. I love dictionary.com and things that are absurd. I like cleaning and fixing things. I love flowers, but I hate gardening. There was a time in my life when I wrote poetry regularly, and I love Emily Dickinson! I like logic and puzzles and thinking strategically. My favorite color is green. I love flip flops and being barefoot. I like calendars and maps. I’m a contact info. hoarder, and I love Jesus with all my heart.
I hate Satan, fruit flies, and Kansas. I find brushing my teeth to be a nuisance, though necessary.
It may sound dull or lazy, but my favorite thing to do is watch movies by myself, getting lost in the quiet, uninterrupted darkness of a make-believe world.
For the last two years, I have been a Teach for America corps member, teaching high school in urban South Atlanta, mostly special education and math. I have been studying at Georgia State University in a masters program for Mild Learning/Behavioral Disabilities.
I received my bachelors degree in English from the University of Utah, and I have recently been accepted to The Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education to receive a masters in Severe Disabilities. I may underplay my excitement over this, but don’t be fooled. The favor of God astounds me, and I feel over and beyond blessed to be presented with such an amazing opportunity!
I’m going on The World Race because I’ve heard the gentle, exciting voice of God to go. My life for the last couple years has been a challenging desert, and this is sure to be my oasis. Though tired, I’m definitely not done working in education with low-income communities. This is simply a time of rest, renewal, and an opportunity to grow before I jump back into the issues our country is facing. I’m looking forward to God breaking me in ways I didn’t even know I needed to, and molding me in ways I’ll know was essential looking back.
When I return from The World Race, I hope to teach students with severe disabilities in Baltimore or Washington, DC, and with a new outlook, no doubt.
Overall, each day I continue to live on this Earth, the more I feel that the only thing that really matters is God, worshipping Him and doing His work. We can spend our lives “doing” like Martha did, cleaning the house and getting things in order, but Christ tells us that it is better to be Mary, worshipping at His feet. I’ll go anywhere and do anything, as long as it is Christ who has called me there. He is my love and my life, and my aim is adoration.
Thank you for taking an interest in me. I can’t wait to share this journey with you!
