Orientation Retreat!

Greetings from 37,000 feet! 

We are (finally) on our way to Tucson! We spent the last week in Dickinson, TX (a Houston suburb) at the Christian Renewal Center for our JVC Orientation retreat.  Each of the four days was dedicated to the four values of JVC.  They are social justice, community, spirituality, and simple living.  We did a variety of community building activities within our own communities, as well as spent time getting to know the other JVs who are serving in our area.  We made friends with JVs from Mobile, AL; New Orleans, LA; Houston, TX; Austin, TX; San Antonio, TX; Albuquerque, NM; and Phoenix, AZ.

One of my favorite parts of the retreat was a mindfulness walk we took.  We walked in silence for about 15 minutes down a worn down path through the trees.  We were instructed to take in our surroundings and reflect on a variety of things.  I found my mind often wandering to different things going on at home.  I noticed that I kept looking to my left.  I then looked to my right and noticed a tree that was painted entirely blue.  After the initial shock of this Dr. Seuss-like spectacle, I finally was able to find something to focus my thoughts on.  How often to we miss things going on around us because we are so focused on looking one way?  Whether you take that literally or figuratively, I realized that this year, it’s going to be important to take in everything around me, and to not get lost in just one thing.

My community-mates and I really hit it off.  (Allie and Abi are currently helping me write this and requested personal shout-outs) Between the six of us, we cover pretty much every area of the country.  We come from six very different backgrounds and cultures, but we all share a passion that brought us to JVC.  It’s only the first week, but I think the six of us will grow really close and maybe I’ll have best friends in places like Oregon and New Mexico to visit for the rest of my life.  Not only did we finally meet our community-mates, but we also met our Program Coordinators (PCs).  The PC helps the communities in different areas.  If JVs were college students, PCs would be academic advisors. Ours is a wonderful woman named Cece.  She is the PC for the Tucson, Phoenix, and Albuquerque communities.  My community is extra lucky because Cece actually lives in Tucson!  She had so much to share with us, and I can’t wait to continue working with her.

As you may or may not know, for graduation, my beautiful friend Liz (not me, other Liz), gave me a key with the word “fearless” on it.  I have been wearing it on my wrist since Sunday.  During the reflection times during orientation, I spent a lot of time reflecting on what it meant to be fearless.  I came to the conclusion that no one explains it better than Taylor Swift.

“To me, Fearless is not the absence of fear. 

It's not being completely unafraid. 

To me, Fearless is having fears. 

Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. 

To me, Fearless is living in spite of those things that 

scare you to death.” 

I hope that this year, I can learn to be fearless.  I hope that I can take chances.  As I fly further and further west, more of my heart stays on the East coast. 

I miss everyone tons!

Keep being fearless.