20 things: an anniversary post.
(includes obligatory kitten photos)
Each year, I post a list of things that occurred or stood out in the year. The number of things on the list corresponds to how old I am. This year, it puts us at a nice round 20. Flight Patterns, as of the last week of December, is officially three years old, and boy, it's been a wild ride.
This is a blogging tradition I've borrowed from Roseanna M. White.
1. The flood
We started the year (and the semester) out with a snow storm, frozen pipes, and a dramatic flood on campus that displaced half a dorm worth of people. It was a shaky start, and I don’t think I completely recovered that semester. I was also doing 18 credits, which was a lot on top of everything else.
2. Cascade Christian Writers Conference
I found the Cascade Christian Writers Conference through a writer I followed, enrolled and put it on my calendar. When I mentioned it to my advisor, she said that she often takes students to the conference. I would have gone, regardless, but it was nice to get a scholarship for the event.
The conference had a lot of older writers there, which was a change from the younger writers I was used to.
I attended several workshops, including one by
on screenwriting. The opportunity was serendipitous because I was also taking a screenwriting class at Corban. Mikalatos had co-written a TV show about hospice nurses, which was something Andrew and I had watched and found we both had experience with the subject matter of the show.I also had the chance to talk with a much younger writer, which was enjoyable, because I remember being the young writer with a binder full of stories.
3. Barista work
This spring, I enjoyed being a barista at the school coffee shop. I happened to be friends with the student manager when working in the dish pit last fall, so I already had helped out with stocking and after hours stuff.
But for spring semester I was a barista, which was a lot of fun. I got to know people’s names, learned how to make drinks, and, since I worked evening and Saturday shifts, was able to make progress on homework or read a book.
My favorite drinks to make were matcha lattes and London fogs. But I had one customer who was always experimenting, and she had the coolest taste. One time she asked for chocolate syrup in her strawberry smoothie, which was genius. Another time we were selling these really dry chocolate chip cookies, and she asked me if I could blend them into a milkshake. I also learned that lavender and raspberry paired really well together in raspberry smoothies or in tea, so that was my go-to if a customer asked for a recommendation. I called it English Garden.
4. Hair cut(s)
I’d been growing my hair out for years, but this year, I’ve been keeping it cut fairly short. In March, my mom cut it, the first time I’d had more than a trim in two or three years. My brother walked into the room, looked at the shorn locks on the floor, and asked if we had killed a rabbit. I really enjoyed having short hair, so in June, a friend cut it even shorter at a sleepover. (Oh the joys of 11 pm impulse decisions!)
5. Kittens
I really can’t do a recap list and neglect discussing the latest cat news. During spring semester, my roommate Dana and I fostered a kitten named Olive for a few weeks because she was very energetic and would keep her owner’s roommate up at night. The hope was that because we were home more, that we could play with the kitten and get her energy out, at least until the owner found a better home for her. The kitten was crazy and loved getting into things, but she would also just sit at the window by my desk. At night, when I got into bed, she would climb the ladder, slip under the blankets, and curl up at my feet. At least, until she got the zoomies and would tear around the room chasing ping pong balls.
Andrew, my boyfriend, knows how much I love kittens, so every so often, he’ll take me to a local shelter to visit the shelter cats. They always have the cutest kittens and it’s so much fun to see them. Those are always the best dates.
6. “Sunday School” skit
In the Spring I took a script and screenwriting class. When we were assigned to write a Sunday school or VBS type script, we wrote one about a substitute Sunday school teacher and three feisty kids. The point of the story was to show that teachers really do have an impact on their students.
But our group was four drama students who had just played children in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. So our Sunday School skit was basically one Children’s Ministry joke after another. And like proper theater kids, each of our characters had a well-developed backstory.
MATTHEW (ADHD kid from troubled family)
(Raises hand but blurts) My favorite book of the Bible is Matthew!
JULIANNA (Matronly substitute teacher)
…Very nice, but we’re talking about Genesis, dear.
MATTHEW
But I like Matthew better! ‘Cause I wrote it.
JULIANNA
(Nods) No honey, you were named after the writer of the Gospel of Matthew
ABIGAIL (Self-righteous Pastor’s kid)
I thought the Gospel was about Jesus.
JULIANNA
(opens book) Once there was a certain man named Lot. Lot lived in a very bad city–
ABIGAIL
(smug) Like Portland.
(JULIANNA looks to heaven for guidance)
7. I moved. Again.
When I left to live at college, one of my brothers was thrilled to get my room, and when I came back for Christmas, it was hard to find a place for all of us. So it wasn’t really an option for me to move back in over the summer.
The option came up to get a camp trailer, but I would have to live in it during the school year to make it worth it. I was hesitant about commuting, but ended up agreeing. We happened to find an undamaged sewer RV hookup in our yard while we were considering this option, which definitely looked like God’s Providence.
So ever since this summer, I’ve been living in a tiny trailer that somewhat resembles a hobbit hole. My family refers to it as the cabin. Some perks of trailer life are having my own kitchen and bathroom (which I’ve always had to share with a minimum of four other people.)
It’s small enough I’ve had to go through my stuff and be very considerate of the possessions I choose to keep, which has been a very mindful experience.
8. Crazy Blogging Week
I hosted a week long online camp/competition called Crazy Writer’s week, where I made a website and 10 resource videos and facilitated writing sprints and team competition. It was a little bit shaky, but that was to be expected on an event’s first time. I had also has someone agree to help but then ran into scheduling conflicts. I’m hopeful to do it again next year (I already have all the videos made this time) and have things be a little smoother.
9. VBS
Our church hosted its first Vacation Bible School (VBS) in a very long time. I signed up to be a floating assistant but quickly was assigned to be a “River Guide” (group leader) for a bunch of third and fourth graders. And now I know how my VBS leaders felt when I was the rambunctious third grader who wouldn’t get in line and thought the Bible story was boring because I already knew it.
Anyway, I put my power napping skills to use by catching 40 winks in the supply closet once all the kids had been picked up by their parents before heading to work in the afternoon.
10. Caregiving
My job was a little unconventional since I was also at school, but I spent the first week of January and all summer as a Caregiver in Assisted Living and Memory Care. I was an on call caregiver, which meant I didn't have much of a schedule, I picked up shifts as they opened up, which happened a lot, often very last minute. I formally left the job in October because I wasn't able to deal with all the calls at weird hours.
But while I was there I enjoyed caring for the people and helping them and making sure they had everything they needed. It was a challenging job, but I enjoy challenges.
11. Copywriting
A communications professor, speaking to our Freshman Seminar, suggested making a list of what our dream jobs or companies to work for would be.
My career goals involve working for small Christian presses, whether that’s writing, editing, graphic design, or marketing and PR. I did some research on a small press owned by a writing connection, discovering that Plethora Creative did much of the graphic design for the press. I emailed Plethora and after a few exchanges, landed an interview. Now I work as an independent contractor, doing occasional copywriting work for Plethora’s clients.
It’s been a really exciting and stretching experience for me.
12. Great Grandma’s memorial service.
Our great grandma was a strong woman. She came from a Mennonite family of 11 childen. She raised seven children on a pastor’s salary, during a time when making things at home was a nessecity, not a hobby. It was a big deal when the family got a washing machine. But this was not what we’d think of as a washing machine, it was an electric wringer. She lived to be 105, camping and biking well into her 80’s.
We attended her memorial this summer, and it was beautiful and inspiring to hear stories by Great Grandma’s children about all the different things she had done with her life. Great Grandma did everything thoroughly and to a high standard. She wrote a 5 page(!) instructional letter to a friend who asked how she cleaned her house. And she always had a positive outlook, even in when situations weren’t the greatest. She is truly a legend.
13. English Country Dance calling
This summer, I studied English Country Dance calling and organized a practice dance where I invited people that were familiar with ECD to dance while I practiced the calls and getting the timing and rhythm down for the ~8 dances that I had prepared. We had a really great time and I hope to call more dances in the future.
14. Driving and commuting
For the Fall 2024 semester, I lived in my trailer and commuted to school, about 30 minutes away, three days a week. This meant I spent about 45 hours driving during the semester, which has been a very relaxing and inspiring experience. I made a habit of getting to class early because I would get ideas for papers, poems and blog posts while driving to school, and needed time to write down all the lovely ideas.
In the evenings, I often listened to Focus on the Family or a sermon on the way home, which led to prayer and self reflection. These two drives book ended long hectic school days and gave me time to process the events of the day.
15. Getting a smartphone
I finally caved and got a smartphone. For three years I used a “dumb” phone that didn’t connect to the internet. But the phone bill was really high, and as my contract ended and the phone started wearing out, I went looking for an new, less expensive plan and device.
Do I like having a “smart” phone? Not really. The thing I miss most is my extensive music collection on my old phone. But it is handy for some things, like helping with homework. I added apps to it when I first got it like Duolingo and a few others, but recently deleted most of them in an effort to use technology less.
16. Young Adults group.
Our church had a large gap in youth ages. When my friends and I entered Youth Group in the sixth grade, most of the other youth were almost done with high school.
Now that my friends and I are done with high school ourselves, there’s nothing really available for our age group, which now has nearly doubled since sixth grade. So a group of us proposed starting an Young Adults Group, which has been meeting since early summer. We do Bible studies, service projects and the occasional game night.
It’s been a blast and really good for me to have intentional time with my church friends to see what they are reading in Scripture and to hear the questions they are asking about it.
17. Poetry Reading
My advisor/writing professor asked students from her Poetry class to be featured readers at restaurant in Salem. This was an adventure including squeezing five of us into a Subaru Outback, a formal dinner, and public speaking. (Also a random photo op with a sign advertising a Yoga studio.)
I was the first on the line-up, which added a level of nerves to my stomach. But I channeled my presentation skills from middle and high school and am proud of how I introduced myself and my poems. I think it helped the other readers because they introduced themselves in the same way.
The poems that I presented included one about the weirdest books I read as a child, dead raccoons, and my dreadful fear of laundry.
18. Things we made
I try to make things myself as much as possible. This year, I crocheted washcloths, not having time for much else.
My family made many things for Christmas, including popcorn garlands, dried oranges, and eggnog. I also did some baking for Christmas meals and presents.
19. House sitting
Through a fairly odd turn of events, I found a house sitting job for a relative the week before Christmas. It was quite a change to go from a tiny trailer to an entire house with just a cat. It was beautiful and quiet, and I got to do some Christmas baking (I don’t have an oven in my trailer. I also worked on Algebra (I’m studying to CLEP out of College Algebra, because taking a math class is not my idea of fun.)
I also mused about the concepts of stewardship and how I should feel about Christ’s immanent return. As some of you know, I tend to be more messy than I’d like. But at the borrowed house, there was always the thought of “If the owner of the house or his son came to the house right now, what would he want the house to look like?”
I was entrusted with the house to steward. I had permission to do basically whatever and use what I needed, just like Christ gives us liberty and dominion over the earth. Out of love and respect for the owner of the house, I made sure that I treated things well and kept things in proper order. Instead of asking “what do I want” I asked, “what would be helpful to the owner of the house?”
That’s the view that I want to have to the time, body, and resources that Christ has entrusted me with.
20. Flight Patterns
2024 stats:
39 blog posts///23 updates and recaps///4 audio posts
53 new subscribers///5 new paid subscribers///5,946 views
Thank you so much, and I’m looking forward to another amazing year.
Read the past lists:
19 things: An Anniversary Post
Flight Patterns officially turns two years old this month. In celebration of the blogiversary, my birthday, and the new year, I'm continuing my tradition of recapping the year in 19 significant things.
18 Things: An Anniversary Post
It's hard for me to believe, but it's been a year since I started Flight Patterns. I began the blog the week of my 17th birthday, and reflecting back, it's been an eventful year.