Today, I am moving home. I haven't lived at home in over two years, and it's not something I was especially hoping to do again. I'm going to miss my independence and the feeling of owning my own space. However, it's simply necessary because of money. Living at home didn't work through all my teenage years, which was filled with rather dramatic teenage angst and almost constant lock down.
However, I think this time will be different, because I am different. Even though I'm not looking forward to moving home, my brothers are really excited. The other day, I reminded my brother Braden that I will be moving home for the summer. His response? "I know, and it's going to be so much fun!" I have since begun to look at moving home in a different light. I have 5 little brothers, and they're growing up way too fast. Some of them don't even remember my ever living at home. This is probably the last chance I will have to spend this much time with them, and that time is valuable.
I guess it's really about perspective. I just hope I am granted lots of grace and patience this summer, because with my large family, I will need it!
Love,
Katy
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Have you ever made a really, really big mistake? The kind of mistake that makes you unable to do anything efficiently, to study, or to think. One that keeps you up at night and gives you nightmares when you are asleep. Well, I did recently, and it has affected many important relationships in my life. It's consumed me so much that writing about anything else seems impossible.
However, it's not really about what I've done. Really, everything is about grace. So much of my life has been a lesson in the power of the grace of God. As I approached Him with this mess I made, I deserved nothing less than rejection. However, all I have received is love. Undenying, awesome love. This love has also been reflected to me through other people, and it is changing my soul. How great is our God!
On a more positive note, I am receiving all As this semester, which makes me quite happy. The only class I was worried about I skipped often and always fell asleep in, however, I pulled through in the end (this involved my staying up all night the night before the final to complete an entire lab manual and to study). My dad says that this only gives me a false sense of confidence in my ability to procrastinate. I say that it shows that I have mad cramming skills, and should do absolutely nothing to change my habits! ;)
May you experience the Lord's love for you as affluently as I have these past few days.
Love,
Katy
However, it's not really about what I've done. Really, everything is about grace. So much of my life has been a lesson in the power of the grace of God. As I approached Him with this mess I made, I deserved nothing less than rejection. However, all I have received is love. Undenying, awesome love. This love has also been reflected to me through other people, and it is changing my soul. How great is our God!
On a more positive note, I am receiving all As this semester, which makes me quite happy. The only class I was worried about I skipped often and always fell asleep in, however, I pulled through in the end (this involved my staying up all night the night before the final to complete an entire lab manual and to study). My dad says that this only gives me a false sense of confidence in my ability to procrastinate. I say that it shows that I have mad cramming skills, and should do absolutely nothing to change my habits! ;)
May you experience the Lord's love for you as affluently as I have these past few days.
Love,
Katy
Monday, April 26, 2010
I've realized that I'm terrible at blogging. I guess I just feel like no one wants to hear about the mundane details of my life. Also, when I write something, I tend to go into academic-mode, and writing something recreationally that will be read publicly seems odd to me. Regardless, I'm going to blog today. Why? Because I had a great weekend.
This weekend didn't start out so awesomely, however. I began my trip to Huntsville by getting lost in downtown Dallas during rush hour and ended it by riding to Huntsville in the dark from College Station. To make a very long, stressful string of events short, the trip took 7 hours, when it should have taken about 3 and a half. Oh, well. I was happy to make it in one piece. Heaven only knows how dramatic my driving adventures can be.
Blake and I spent most of Saturday in the library, like complete nerds. He wrote papers and composed, like a responsible student. I ran around collecting books on sweatshops, feminism, and the sexual roles of Asian women. While he wrote, I sat at the table with a pile of books in front of me and told him random, upbeat statistics, such as that women working for Lucky jeans can't go to the bathroom, even though they work 14-hour work days. Or, that in Vietnam during the war, women were hired by the military to have sex with between 40 and 50 American soldiers a day, and when the program was shut down, 90% of those women tested positive for STDs. I tend to be a ray of sunshine when it comes to social injustice, I know.
Saturday night, we went to see Rent, the musical, with some of his friends. The production was quite good, although sitting next to my boyfriend during a scene of stripping and pole dancing has never been especially high on my list of things to do. The choreography and staging, however, was very impressive, and I had a lot of fun with his friends, whom I adore.
I've really been realising lately how incredibly blessed I am. I get up every morning of my own accord. I have a boyfriend who loves me and tells me I'm beautiful. I live a life in which I can have dreams and visions, and I serve the most wonderful God in the world. And did you know that realizing can be spelled realizing or realising?
- Katy
This weekend didn't start out so awesomely, however. I began my trip to Huntsville by getting lost in downtown Dallas during rush hour and ended it by riding to Huntsville in the dark from College Station. To make a very long, stressful string of events short, the trip took 7 hours, when it should have taken about 3 and a half. Oh, well. I was happy to make it in one piece. Heaven only knows how dramatic my driving adventures can be.
Blake and I spent most of Saturday in the library, like complete nerds. He wrote papers and composed, like a responsible student. I ran around collecting books on sweatshops, feminism, and the sexual roles of Asian women. While he wrote, I sat at the table with a pile of books in front of me and told him random, upbeat statistics, such as that women working for Lucky jeans can't go to the bathroom, even though they work 14-hour work days. Or, that in Vietnam during the war, women were hired by the military to have sex with between 40 and 50 American soldiers a day, and when the program was shut down, 90% of those women tested positive for STDs. I tend to be a ray of sunshine when it comes to social injustice, I know.
Saturday night, we went to see Rent, the musical, with some of his friends. The production was quite good, although sitting next to my boyfriend during a scene of stripping and pole dancing has never been especially high on my list of things to do. The choreography and staging, however, was very impressive, and I had a lot of fun with his friends, whom I adore.
I've really been realising lately how incredibly blessed I am. I get up every morning of my own accord. I have a boyfriend who loves me and tells me I'm beautiful. I live a life in which I can have dreams and visions, and I serve the most wonderful God in the world. And did you know that realizing can be spelled realizing or realising?
- Katy
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
at this rate, I'm going to need some pretty mad sewing skills
I've decided to try to stop buying things from China. I'm tired of participating in an industry that takes part in exploiting so many people. You'd think that since we're China's number one consumer of exported goods we would consider ourselves somewhat responsible for their manufacturing industries, but we don't. Many Chinese workers work in filthy, dangerous sweatshops, for little to no pay. Have you ever wondered why it's cheaper to buy something made halfway across the globe and shipped to the U.S. than it is to purchase something made in our country? Logically, someone has to come up short.
It's frustrating to realize all of the immorality and irresponsibility in our consumerism. I'm adding "China" to the list of suppliers I won't purchase from- a list already including Wal-Mart, Old Navy, The Gap, Nike, and Converse (sweatshop use), and Target (owner funds abortion providers). It's sad that I'm going to be hard-pressed to buy anything at this point. My newest idea is to make some of my own clothes (I have little to no sewing skill, we're talking simple shirts and skirts) in order to clothe myself in good conscience. This should be mildly entertaining for all involved. As a country, I really wish we cared more about other people.
Love,
Katy
It's frustrating to realize all of the immorality and irresponsibility in our consumerism. I'm adding "China" to the list of suppliers I won't purchase from- a list already including Wal-Mart, Old Navy, The Gap, Nike, and Converse (sweatshop use), and Target (owner funds abortion providers). It's sad that I'm going to be hard-pressed to buy anything at this point. My newest idea is to make some of my own clothes (I have little to no sewing skill, we're talking simple shirts and skirts) in order to clothe myself in good conscience. This should be mildly entertaining for all involved. As a country, I really wish we cared more about other people.
Love,
Katy
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Feminism is not a bad word
According to the the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, feminism is:
"1. Belief in the social, political, and economical equality of the sexes.
2. The movement organized around this belief."
urbandictionary.com (a dictionary with "culturally relevant" definitions of words) lists definitions such as:
Feminism: "A federally funded, politically correct, hate group." In fact, this entry compares feminism to Nazism. All entries under it are similar in nature and portray feminists as man- hating, illogical and psychotic females who "demand that we treat men and women as exactly equal unless it suits the woman to differentiate between the sexes."
I think these very different definitions pretty accurately exemplify what our culture has done to the word feminism.
Quick history lesson: The feminist movement originated in the late eighteenth century with women like Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Although there have been feminists (that is, those advocating for women's rights) throughout history, the beginning of feminism as a movement in the United States is normally attributed to the famed Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, during which women congregated to discuss the many disadvantages women faced at the time, both socially and politically.
Over time, feminism has become a word meaning something quite different than "equal rights for women". It has become a word that conjures up images of women leaving their husbands and burning their bras. We as a society have come to think of feminists as women who are extreme liberals, with no other possible political affiliations. Feminists are wild and crazy, and are to be avoided. Growing up, these are the impressions I learned about feminists and feminism. Many churches have become especially adverse to "feminists". I have seen numerous books and even heard speeches on the evils of feminism, which will make you God-hating, man-hating, and family-hating. (Supposedly). I grew up harboring the idea that if I became a feminist, I would be a "flaming liberal", overrunning the streets with protests and burning my bras.
I have a confession: I am a feminist. I am a feminist, and I adhere to none of the above practices.
I am a feminist, a Christian, and pro-life. It may seem that these ideals are contradictory, but to me, they are not. A short defense: As a feminist, I am pro- woman. I believe abortion damages women, both emotionally and physically. Along with being pro-woman, I am pro-life for the approximately 24,775,852 female fetuses that have been aborted in this country. And in other countries, such as India, girls are much more likely to be aborted than boys. In my mind, being pro- life makes me more of a feminist, not less of one. (However, that was a side note. This argument is not about abortion, it is about feminism).
Some may believe women's rights are no longer an issue. After all, women don't have to wear corsets. Women have the right to vote and to receive an education. Their husbands can no longer beat, rape, and kill them legally (some of which activities were still legal until 1972).
However: 70 percent of those living in absolute poverty are women. 1 in 3 girls will be sexually violated in her lifetime (as opposed to 1 in 10 boys). 67 percent of the world's uneducated are girls. Most victims of human trafficking are girls, a market that generates 9.5 billion in annual revenue.
And no, women are not completely liberated in the United States. Women still make only 78 percent of what men do, on average, for doing the same labor. Women are portrayed condescendingly and even brutally in our media and in the pornography industry. Women are more likely to face discrimination in the workplace then men, and women are almost always the victim in cases of domestic violence.
Not just as a woman, but as a person, I believe in equality. I am pro- woman, and therefore, despite society's pollution of the word, I am a feminist.
Male or female, you should be too.
Love, Katy
Resources: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language; urbandictionary.com, globalfundforwomen.org, nrlc.org, What Feminism Boils Down To by Molly Ivins
"1. Belief in the social, political, and economical equality of the sexes.
2. The movement organized around this belief."
urbandictionary.com (a dictionary with "culturally relevant" definitions of words) lists definitions such as:
Feminism: "A federally funded, politically correct, hate group." In fact, this entry compares feminism to Nazism. All entries under it are similar in nature and portray feminists as man- hating, illogical and psychotic females who "demand that we treat men and women as exactly equal unless it suits the woman to differentiate between the sexes."
I think these very different definitions pretty accurately exemplify what our culture has done to the word feminism.
Quick history lesson: The feminist movement originated in the late eighteenth century with women like Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Although there have been feminists (that is, those advocating for women's rights) throughout history, the beginning of feminism as a movement in the United States is normally attributed to the famed Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, during which women congregated to discuss the many disadvantages women faced at the time, both socially and politically.
Over time, feminism has become a word meaning something quite different than "equal rights for women". It has become a word that conjures up images of women leaving their husbands and burning their bras. We as a society have come to think of feminists as women who are extreme liberals, with no other possible political affiliations. Feminists are wild and crazy, and are to be avoided. Growing up, these are the impressions I learned about feminists and feminism. Many churches have become especially adverse to "feminists". I have seen numerous books and even heard speeches on the evils of feminism, which will make you God-hating, man-hating, and family-hating. (Supposedly). I grew up harboring the idea that if I became a feminist, I would be a "flaming liberal", overrunning the streets with protests and burning my bras.
I have a confession: I am a feminist. I am a feminist, and I adhere to none of the above practices.
I am a feminist, a Christian, and pro-life. It may seem that these ideals are contradictory, but to me, they are not. A short defense: As a feminist, I am pro- woman. I believe abortion damages women, both emotionally and physically. Along with being pro-woman, I am pro-life for the approximately 24,775,852 female fetuses that have been aborted in this country. And in other countries, such as India, girls are much more likely to be aborted than boys. In my mind, being pro- life makes me more of a feminist, not less of one. (However, that was a side note. This argument is not about abortion, it is about feminism).
Some may believe women's rights are no longer an issue. After all, women don't have to wear corsets. Women have the right to vote and to receive an education. Their husbands can no longer beat, rape, and kill them legally (some of which activities were still legal until 1972).
However: 70 percent of those living in absolute poverty are women. 1 in 3 girls will be sexually violated in her lifetime (as opposed to 1 in 10 boys). 67 percent of the world's uneducated are girls. Most victims of human trafficking are girls, a market that generates 9.5 billion in annual revenue.
And no, women are not completely liberated in the United States. Women still make only 78 percent of what men do, on average, for doing the same labor. Women are portrayed condescendingly and even brutally in our media and in the pornography industry. Women are more likely to face discrimination in the workplace then men, and women are almost always the victim in cases of domestic violence.
Not just as a woman, but as a person, I believe in equality. I am pro- woman, and therefore, despite society's pollution of the word, I am a feminist.
Male or female, you should be too.
Love, Katy
Resources: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language; urbandictionary.com, globalfundforwomen.org, nrlc.org, What Feminism Boils Down To by Molly Ivins
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
college makes me crazy
I don't like school.
All of my life, I have told myself that I do. I mean, I feel as though I should. Like liking school would make me smart and motivated and all kinds of other things.
However, school mostly just stresses me out.
I wasn't made to sit through one-hour-twenty-minute classes. I start to shake and wiggle and daydream and grumble. I hate standardized testing and busywork. I hate the pressure I put on myself to make good grades and the way I crumble when I don't. I hate that I rarely learn valuable information and that my head hurts when I finally leave class.
In my school, students would go outside when the weather is nice. They would get to eat in class (why can't we eat in class?!) and their opinions would never be laughed at.
In my school, attendance would not be taken because it would be the student's business to see that they succeed. Students could crochet or draw or laugh while class was in session.
In my school, learning would be about knowledge and not about retaining information. School would be about thinking and living, not about taking in and spewing out facts.
Oh, and ice cream would be served on Tuesdays.
I really should start a school.
Love always,
Katy
All of my life, I have told myself that I do. I mean, I feel as though I should. Like liking school would make me smart and motivated and all kinds of other things.
However, school mostly just stresses me out.
I wasn't made to sit through one-hour-twenty-minute classes. I start to shake and wiggle and daydream and grumble. I hate standardized testing and busywork. I hate the pressure I put on myself to make good grades and the way I crumble when I don't. I hate that I rarely learn valuable information and that my head hurts when I finally leave class.
In my school, students would go outside when the weather is nice. They would get to eat in class (why can't we eat in class?!) and their opinions would never be laughed at.
In my school, attendance would not be taken because it would be the student's business to see that they succeed. Students could crochet or draw or laugh while class was in session.
In my school, learning would be about knowledge and not about retaining information. School would be about thinking and living, not about taking in and spewing out facts.
Oh, and ice cream would be served on Tuesdays.
I really should start a school.
Love always,
Katy
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