I don't speak French, but I felt like 'fin' was more sleek than 'the end' :)
My trip is officially over and has been for awhile now (this post is sooo overdue).
Leaving Seattle was hard. While there, I felt completely happy and peaceful (as I should on a vaca), so when it set in that I had to leave and get back to the life that continually frustrates me and leaves me confused (as well as crazy stressed at times), well, it made me kinda bitter. In my time of separation/saying goodbyes, I heard myself cry out to God, asking Him "why do I have to go back to a life where I do not see as much worth or joy as I do here?". I heard God whisper in my ear "Beloved, I know where I have you and I know the desires of your heart". Part of me wanted to say "well God, I want to stay here, that is my desire" but I would have been fooling myself. Really I just wanted to escape from my frustrations and that would ultimately do me no good. It's shameful how selfish I can be. I was so focused on what my emotions were telling me and not listening to my brain or what's really in my heart. There is so much here in NC that I love, like my friends and family, and my church. But my frustrations with my career, singleness, education, living situation, etc. have slowly been eating at me and causing me to become bitter and angry. This is so not a good place to be. No wonder God was probably laughing at me a while back when I called out "God, I am ready. I want some change". He knew that I needed to work on what I had right in front of me before I bit into another mouthful of something. He wants my roots deeper, so that I can stand the stronger winds that are going to come.
...Now that it's been almost 3 weeks since I arrived home, I feel like another vacation would be lovely and welcomed ;). But then again, I really don't feel like I have to escape (good sign!). Life is okay, it's not exactly what I had in mind, but I know God's present and his way for me is prosperous. I need to continue to learn how to trust in God and learn to rejoice over the simple things/the things in front of me.
Okay, to sum everything up... Seattle did the trick, I came back relaxed and overjoyed. I felt God nurture me in a way that I so badly needed, and I walked away feeling like I was more in love with Him than ever before. And even though coming home wasn't exactly what I wanted, it's been for the better. Life in NC can be great too... at times :)
Until my next big adventure,
Rachel Grace
Coming to an end...
So my trip should be concluded; however, there were horrible thunderstorms, rain, and fog in the Dallas/Ft Worth area. So after circling around several times and then actually having to fly to a smaller airport about 30 minutes away for fuel, I am finally at DFW, but I am stuck here until I can catch a flight tomorrow at 6:50am. This almost makes me feel like a hardcore traveler... I have never had a canceled flight before (I've been flying for 10-11 years), so it's something new, but not necessarily exciting... At least I'm safe and this just means I won't get a good nights rest and that is all.
As of now, I can’t really tell how I’m doing with the whole time change. I know my eating schedule is way off, but I have been sleepy since 10pm, which is a good sign since it would only be 7pm Seattle time (waking up at 5:45am to take Esther to work is paying off).
Well, I think I might go read my book and try to catch some shuteye. Much love, my dear friends and family :)
As of now, I can’t really tell how I’m doing with the whole time change. I know my eating schedule is way off, but I have been sleepy since 10pm, which is a good sign since it would only be 7pm Seattle time (waking up at 5:45am to take Esther to work is paying off).
Well, I think I might go read my book and try to catch some shuteye. Much love, my dear friends and family :)
My Day To Explore
So yesterday was my day to explore on my own.
I dropped Esther off at work so that I would have a car and drove back home because it was too early to venture out. Then at about 8am, I packed up and headed Downtown. I stopped for breakfast at La Panier French Bakery and walked around Pike Place until everything else started opening up. Once shops were open, I mostly just went into the shops that Jonathan, Esther and myself hadn't had time for, like American Apparel and H & M. At about 12ish, I stopped in at the Chocolate Box off Pine St and I was going to order a hot chocolate, but instead ordered some gelato. Afterwards, I almost headed down to the Art Museum, but instead I headed home to West Seattle and took Rae and Fran (J + E's greyhounds) for a walk down to the beach and back.
At 2pm or so, I packed up again and headed to The Junction. I decided I was hungry and should eat lunch, I sat down in the West 5 diner and ordered one of their original classics (the restaurant has been open for a good long while). The place was pretty quiet since I was eating in the middle of the afternoon, and that gave me a wonderful opportunity to chat with my waiter, Don. Don had just come back from a 2 month tour with his band, Earth (http://www.myspace.com/earthofficial), from Europe. He was a lot of fun to talk to, as are most musicians and most Seattle residents. I think that's one reason why I like Seattle so much; it's thriving with such neat people. After lunch I walked around and poked my head into a thrift shop, an antique shop, and then back to the record shop (Easy Street Records). I decided I couldn't leave without buying at least one local artist's CD, so I picked up Mirah's most recent one because I had already been wanting it and when I turned over the cover and saw Olympia, WA, I was sold.
Once I purchased my CD, it was time to trek to Bellevue to pick up Esther. I can say that I have officially experienced city traffic, I was pretty much in a parking lot for bits at a time. My first reaction was to think whether or not there was an accident ahead, but nope, it was just congestion.
In the evening, Jonathan, Esther and I went to the Regal 16 theater in downtown and watched Wolverine. It was good, except for the computer animation in a few scenes, but pshh, it's Wolverine and that in it's self makes it awesome.
Today, I get to enjoy only a few more hours before I have to hop onto a plane and fly home :(
I really love it here and have enjoyed my stay tremendously, I am sad to say goodbye.
...I'm off to enjoy the last bit I have. I will write more tomorrow. C ya!
Night w/ Josh
The rest of my Thursday was very enjoyable. Josh picked me up and we headed to Azuma Sushi in The Junction area for dinner; the food there was very yummy and I discovered that I love sushi with cream cheese in it :). After dinner, Josh and I picked up dessert at Shoofly Pie Co., and then took our pie slices to the Alki Beach front and watched the sun set behind the mountains while talking about life. The sunset was majestic, I don't think there could possibly be a more beautiful sunset. I tried to snap a few pictures, but the photos didn't do it justice.
As for today, that will have to wait... I've been up since 5:45am this morning and I will be waking up again at that time tomorrow.
So, goodnight + sleep tight!
Days with Esther
Esther had off work yesterday and today while Jonathan had to go back to work, so it was just us girls hanging out during the day.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was a laid back day, we started it by walking down to Pioneer Cafe to eat breakfast. I ordered a chocolate croissant (yum-o) and my very first drink with lightening white espresso in it, a wide-eye chai. White espresso is lighter in taste, but contains 30% more caffeine and also has this peanut accent to it, it was good and blended well with the chai.
Esther had an appointment in the Eastlake area of Seattle, so we both drove there and then I got to wander around for about an hour and a half all by myself. I ended up walking out to the docks and taking a few pictures and then walking down the main st to a French bakery. I splurged and bought a strawberry tart, it was phenomenal, probably the best I had ever had. I ate it and read a book that I had bought at Elliott Bay Book Company until Esther was done.
After Esther and I met up, we headed to the Washington Park Arboretum and walked around for quite a bit. It was beautiful. All the tulips and daffodils are still in bloom, and all the trees are starting to blossom.
For dinner we stopped at Romio's, and Jonathan and I shared a glutinous pizza while Esther was able to order a gluten-free pizza. It's so great that Seattle is more health conscious than most other cities because I think it definitely helps Esther feel like she still has some options while eating out.
~~~
Today was Esther and my shopping day... :)
She took me to Pike Place Market again and we got coffee on the third floor of Lowell's. The sight was extraordinary from the 3rd floor; you could see West Seattle and the tops of the Cascades in the distance. Afterwards we visited some of the more big stores, such as Anthropologie, Urban, Nordstrom, etc., but also explored a few of the endless local shops. We then stuffed our bags in the car and drove to Wallingford for another appointment and then ice cream at Molly Moons. This might sound crazy, but Jonathan suggested that I get the balsamic strawberry ice cream, so I did and it was really different, but it was really good!
And now I'm back at the house and will soon be picked up by Josh Chiu for another night out 'n about town.
Mmm Coffee :)
I can honestly say that I have never had so much coffee in one week... let alone one day. Ever.
But the coffee here is so good, I mean like amazingly good.
But the coffee here is so good, I mean like amazingly good.
In the 5 days I've been here, I've been to 6 different coffee shops, as well as had my brother make me several lattes from home; he can make an extremely yummy latte. And the result of consuming all this caffeine will mean that I will definitely need to ween myself from it when I get back in Durham.
I really should be going to bed, but I'm going to quickly tell you what I did yesterday and today.
Yesterday, Jonathan and I took the Water Taxi to downtown Seattle and walked around the Pioneer Square area. We mostly checked out shops here and there and snapped pictures along the way. Two places that really made a stamp in my memory would have to be the Seattle Library (holy cow the architecture is OUTSTANDING, I don't think I've ever seen such a cool public facility) and The Elliott Bay Book Company. Elliott's is a huge bookstore that I could literally spend hours in if left alone. Today, Jonathan and I got to travel to Ballard, get lunch and again browse the local shops and then go to Fremont and do the same.
In the late afternoon I met up with Steph Gwaltney and had the 3rd latte of the day at a coffee shop called 'Hotwire' in The Junction. Yes, you read that right, I had 6 shots of espresso today, all of which were fully caffeinated. It was wonderful to catch up with Steph. We used to grab coffee or take long walks back in the day, so it was a treat to be able to do it again.
Tonight we had J + E's small group over at the house. We had dinner together, fellowshipped, and studied Matthew 4:1-11. It was such a blessing to be apart of the small group and heed the wisdom of the older ones surrounding me. One thing that was brought up that really resonated with me was the fact that while Jesus was in the wilderness, it says that the devil visited Him and honestly tried to tempt Him, in other words, the devil taunted Jesus. The devil even used practical things (like bread for his physical hunger) to temp Jesus, to allure Him into sin. Yet Jesus was selfless, he wasn't focused on taking care of his own needs/physical needs, but the needs of others. Jesus had every capability of turning rocks into loafs of bread, but he didn't because that's not why he was in the wilderness. Isn't that incredible? Way too often I give into temptation, I fall into selfishness; I put my physical needs above my spiritual needs even though Jesus clearly points out that it should be the other way around. Wow. I'm so thankful that Jesus loves me no matter how imperfect I am. He knows my heart, my selfish ways, but loves me just the same. My Lord is a marvelous God!
Okay, off to bed I go.
Night!
Short One
Here's just a short little bit about my day today. Today was really chill; I woke up about 9am or so and got to enjoy a bowl of cereal and read my bible for about 2 hours, it was a very nice treat. At about 1:30pm Jonathan, Esther and myself ventured out to 'The Junction' where we ate lunch, stopped by the Farmer's Market and went into one cool record shop. At the record shop, they had these music preview stations that were particularly neat; they were telephone booths, but they had headphones rather than normal phones. You had to dial in the number of the song you want too, which in my opinion is very cool. I'm thinking I might need to go back and snap a picture of them if nothing else.
At 4pm we all headed over to Jonathan and Esther's church, Wit's End, and attended their service. I really liked the pastor, he was genuinely nice and extremely intelligent. He applied scripture in a very applicable way that was refreshing and challenging. He spoke on baptism and what it means to be baptized.
For dinner we met up with Adam and Steph Gwaltney and Joshua Chiu at Mama's Mexican Kitchen in Downtown Seattle. I loved seeing those dear friends of mine :) I had really been missing all of them and it was so nice to catch up. We laughed a bunch too.
That's enough for tonight, I'm thinking I need to go to bed.
Much love!
P.s. I'm up to 1 iced mocha, 2 lattes and 1 cappuccino so far... :)
At 4pm we all headed over to Jonathan and Esther's church, Wit's End, and attended their service. I really liked the pastor, he was genuinely nice and extremely intelligent. He applied scripture in a very applicable way that was refreshing and challenging. He spoke on baptism and what it means to be baptized.
For dinner we met up with Adam and Steph Gwaltney and Joshua Chiu at Mama's Mexican Kitchen in Downtown Seattle. I loved seeing those dear friends of mine :) I had really been missing all of them and it was so nice to catch up. We laughed a bunch too.
That's enough for tonight, I'm thinking I need to go to bed.
Much love!
P.s. I'm up to 1 iced mocha, 2 lattes and 1 cappuccino so far... :)
Getting to know Seattle
Yesterday, Jonathan and I got to go explore just about every major attraction in Downtown Seattle.
We started at Pike Place Market, went by the original Starbucks, bought what Esther calls "squeaky cheese" from Beecher's. We traveled through the Alley ways to snap pictures (I absolutely love having other photography lovers in my family!), we visited Seattle's Art Museum (my favorite piece of art was definitely "Love & Loss" by Roy McMakin - you should try to Google it), we had lunch at "Serious Pie" which is an amazing pizza shop. We stopped at quite a few really cool paper and bookstores, we had coffee at Stumptown Coffee (their Holler Mountain blend is amazing, simple amazing...), we got to check out the Glazer's camera shops, which had photography stuff galore (Glazer has a total of three shops; one for camera bodies and lenses, one for film and lighting equipment, and one for rentals), if I could have... I would have bought just about everything in those stores. I felt like a child in a candy store and I was particular fascinated with the Nikon FA (an old 35mm) and just about all the Leica cameras. I was good though, I refrained from spending all my money and instead bought some film for my polaroid camera that I had been having a tough time finding. Okay, enough about cameras... I should probably tell you that I most definitely went and checked out the Space Needle and I can honestly say that being 520 feet above the ground was exhilarating. It made me wish that I had gone on "The Eye" while I was in London because you could see soooo much and it was beautiful. I love architecture, so it was a treat to be in one central location and be able to look around at all the gorgeous homes, offices, parks, and landmarks.
For dinner, Jonathan, Esther, myself and the two dogs (Fran and Rae) walked to West Seattle's 'beach' (which is about a ten minute walk from J + E's house) and sat on a bench to eat and look at the illuminating lights of the city from across to water - it was picture perfect. After having enough of the cold, we headed home.
I finished the day with a much welcomed quite time. God has continually been pressing on my heart how important it is to be open to who God might bring into my life to speak with about his love and salvation. He's also been speaking the importance of being led by Him. I often times call out for his will and guidance, but as a human, I almost always let Him know just how far I'm willing to go. This shouldn't be the case, I should utterly surrender my life to bring glory to His name. I know God has stored in me the desire to travel, but even more importantly, I think he has intentions for me to be more actively pursuing mission trips, especially when I am still young and do not have a family of my own to manage. I don't know if these mission trips mean overseas or not, but I do know I need to have an open heart and a heart to want to share everything I have with God's children.
"Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. With the counsel Thou wilt guide me, and afterward receive me to glory." Psalms 73:23-24
"For Thou art my lamp, O Lord; and the Lord illumines my darkness. For by Thee I can run upon a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the Lord is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, besides the Lord? And who is a rock, besides our God? God is my strong fortress; and He sets the blameless in His way. He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me on my high places. He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation And thou help makes me great. Thou dost enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped." 2 Samuel 22:29-37
Well, that's enough for now. Later Alligators :)
We started at Pike Place Market, went by the original Starbucks, bought what Esther calls "squeaky cheese" from Beecher's. We traveled through the Alley ways to snap pictures (I absolutely love having other photography lovers in my family!), we visited Seattle's Art Museum (my favorite piece of art was definitely "Love & Loss" by Roy McMakin - you should try to Google it), we had lunch at "Serious Pie" which is an amazing pizza shop. We stopped at quite a few really cool paper and bookstores, we had coffee at Stumptown Coffee (their Holler Mountain blend is amazing, simple amazing...), we got to check out the Glazer's camera shops, which had photography stuff galore (Glazer has a total of three shops; one for camera bodies and lenses, one for film and lighting equipment, and one for rentals), if I could have... I would have bought just about everything in those stores. I felt like a child in a candy store and I was particular fascinated with the Nikon FA (an old 35mm) and just about all the Leica cameras. I was good though, I refrained from spending all my money and instead bought some film for my polaroid camera that I had been having a tough time finding. Okay, enough about cameras... I should probably tell you that I most definitely went and checked out the Space Needle and I can honestly say that being 520 feet above the ground was exhilarating. It made me wish that I had gone on "The Eye" while I was in London because you could see soooo much and it was beautiful. I love architecture, so it was a treat to be in one central location and be able to look around at all the gorgeous homes, offices, parks, and landmarks.
For dinner, Jonathan, Esther, myself and the two dogs (Fran and Rae) walked to West Seattle's 'beach' (which is about a ten minute walk from J + E's house) and sat on a bench to eat and look at the illuminating lights of the city from across to water - it was picture perfect. After having enough of the cold, we headed home.
I finished the day with a much welcomed quite time. God has continually been pressing on my heart how important it is to be open to who God might bring into my life to speak with about his love and salvation. He's also been speaking the importance of being led by Him. I often times call out for his will and guidance, but as a human, I almost always let Him know just how far I'm willing to go. This shouldn't be the case, I should utterly surrender my life to bring glory to His name. I know God has stored in me the desire to travel, but even more importantly, I think he has intentions for me to be more actively pursuing mission trips, especially when I am still young and do not have a family of my own to manage. I don't know if these mission trips mean overseas or not, but I do know I need to have an open heart and a heart to want to share everything I have with God's children.
"Nevertheless I am continually with Thee; Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. With the counsel Thou wilt guide me, and afterward receive me to glory." Psalms 73:23-24
"For Thou art my lamp, O Lord; and the Lord illumines my darkness. For by Thee I can run upon a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is blameless; the word of the Lord is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, besides the Lord? And who is a rock, besides our God? God is my strong fortress; and He sets the blameless in His way. He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me on my high places. He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy salvation And thou help makes me great. Thou dost enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped." 2 Samuel 22:29-37
Well, that's enough for now. Later Alligators :)
Yesterday
Okay, a little bit about yesterday:
The flight to Chicago from Raleigh-Durham was pretty much an average flight. Waiting in Chicago was not quite what I expected though. RDU has really made the C terminal pretty nice, so when I got to Chicago, well, it was so crowded and quite dingy, which made for an interesting contrast. The flight I boarded for Seattle was packed full, there was not even one seat open. I really lucked out though, I had a window seat,which I always try to get, and my neighbor turned out to be a Christian who was in Chicago attending a theology conference. The man, his name was Kevin, was quite talkative when we were casually talking about why I was in Chicago, but when I finished and asked him why he was there, he seemed to turn a bit shy. He started to explain that he was there for a conference, but left it at that, so I went on to ask what kind, and he then added 'theology conference'. I think he was surprised because I then asked 'what kind of theology?'. He quietly and cautiously replied with 'Christian theology'. I honestly believe that he was shocked when I said 'that's great' and began to ask him about the speakers. It turns out that John Piper was mainly leading the conference and it was about the prodigal son. I saw this man go from kinda shy talking about his faith to being wide open and expressing his love and opinion of God like every Christian should. It reminded me that too often we settle as Christians, we try to fit in or not weird people out, but what we really should be doing is openly professing our love for Jesus Christ.
I can honestly say I felt so blessed to sit by Kevin and talk about our faith for about 4 1/2 hours. I left feeling like I gained some wisdom from him, as well as feeling like God used me to pour some encouragement and maybe even wisdom into his own life.
When the plane finally arrived in Seattle, it didn't seem like it had been 4 1/2 hours, but man was I happy to no longer be sitting down. Jonathan, my dear brother, was waiting for me in the baggage claim and thankfully we didn't have to wait to terribly long for my checked bag.
We left the airport and headed to Jonathan's house is West Seattle. Oh my gosh... I LOVE it here! The city is soooo intriguing and the mountains in the background are simply amazing. Jonathan's house is really cute and comfy, and the mini downtown area here is so much better than Durham and Chapel Hill's. For the rest of the day we ended up exploring California Ave, a street in the mini downtown area (known as 'The Junction') where we stopped for coffee and visited some really neat local shops. We then headed to Bellevue to pick up my sister in-law, Esther, from work and ended the day with dinner from Chipotle and a movie called 'Lars and The Real Girl".
Okay, well that's it for now. Today's journeys will have to wait, for I'm already having a hard time finishing this. So goodnight dear ones!
The flight to Chicago from Raleigh-Durham was pretty much an average flight. Waiting in Chicago was not quite what I expected though. RDU has really made the C terminal pretty nice, so when I got to Chicago, well, it was so crowded and quite dingy, which made for an interesting contrast. The flight I boarded for Seattle was packed full, there was not even one seat open. I really lucked out though, I had a window seat,which I always try to get, and my neighbor turned out to be a Christian who was in Chicago attending a theology conference. The man, his name was Kevin, was quite talkative when we were casually talking about why I was in Chicago, but when I finished and asked him why he was there, he seemed to turn a bit shy. He started to explain that he was there for a conference, but left it at that, so I went on to ask what kind, and he then added 'theology conference'. I think he was surprised because I then asked 'what kind of theology?'. He quietly and cautiously replied with 'Christian theology'. I honestly believe that he was shocked when I said 'that's great' and began to ask him about the speakers. It turns out that John Piper was mainly leading the conference and it was about the prodigal son. I saw this man go from kinda shy talking about his faith to being wide open and expressing his love and opinion of God like every Christian should. It reminded me that too often we settle as Christians, we try to fit in or not weird people out, but what we really should be doing is openly professing our love for Jesus Christ.
I can honestly say I felt so blessed to sit by Kevin and talk about our faith for about 4 1/2 hours. I left feeling like I gained some wisdom from him, as well as feeling like God used me to pour some encouragement and maybe even wisdom into his own life.
When the plane finally arrived in Seattle, it didn't seem like it had been 4 1/2 hours, but man was I happy to no longer be sitting down. Jonathan, my dear brother, was waiting for me in the baggage claim and thankfully we didn't have to wait to terribly long for my checked bag.
We left the airport and headed to Jonathan's house is West Seattle. Oh my gosh... I LOVE it here! The city is soooo intriguing and the mountains in the background are simply amazing. Jonathan's house is really cute and comfy, and the mini downtown area here is so much better than Durham and Chapel Hill's. For the rest of the day we ended up exploring California Ave, a street in the mini downtown area (known as 'The Junction') where we stopped for coffee and visited some really neat local shops. We then headed to Bellevue to pick up my sister in-law, Esther, from work and ended the day with dinner from Chipotle and a movie called 'Lars and The Real Girl".
Okay, well that's it for now. Today's journeys will have to wait, for I'm already having a hard time finishing this. So goodnight dear ones!
Here at last
I'm here :)
...and so happy to be.
I wish I could write in depth what my journey to Seattle entailed, but I am extremely exhausted (I guess that's what happens when you fly in a plane for about 7 hours). So for now, I will say that I'm here safe and sound, and that God has been so good. Today has been such a blessing and I can only begin to imagine what the rest of my week will behold. I will try to fill you in more tomorrow, but for now, I'm off to watch a movie with my bro and then hit the haystack.
G'night!
...and so happy to be.
I wish I could write in depth what my journey to Seattle entailed, but I am extremely exhausted (I guess that's what happens when you fly in a plane for about 7 hours). So for now, I will say that I'm here safe and sound, and that God has been so good. Today has been such a blessing and I can only begin to imagine what the rest of my week will behold. I will try to fill you in more tomorrow, but for now, I'm off to watch a movie with my bro and then hit the haystack.
G'night!
My upcoming adventure
In less than a week from now, I will be traveling to Seattle to visit my brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Esther. I am very excited about this trip because it will be the first time ever being on the west coast, and traveling for a long period of time all by myself. This trip will also be the first time that I plan to explore a new city partially by myself because we all know that Chapel Hill and Durham obviously don't count :P.
On another note (although, this can still be tied to exploring), I really want to work on a 'project' while I am in Seattle. Back in February I had an idea that was originally simple; it involved going to different coffee shops practically everyday and just experiencing the true Seattle atmosphere. However, my brain kept spitting out more ideas and finally, I decided to give myself an 'official project'. This 'official project' would include: visiting at least 5 different coffee shops, each on different days, snapping pictures of the space (I pretty much have to do this part :P), and then conducting a survey that would document the space/vibe, the products, people, etc. Ultimately gathering information to then create a book after I return home. I was even thinking about trying to get reviews from other coffee shop visitors and make connections with the baristas and/or managers so that once I have published my book (on blurb.com) I can share it with them. The purpose of the book wouldn't be to make any money, but rather to challenge and develop my journalism skills, which I feel I am somewhat lacking in. I also see this 'project' as a way to do more than the average tourist; it would allow me to become familar with the day to day and practical life of the umbrella city. So yes, I am going with a project in mind and we'll see what comes of it ;)
My mom probably cringes at the thought of this, but I am making an effort to go out all by myself, while in Seattle, to explore the town in search of some neat spots to document with my camera (of course) and simply for the sake of exploring. I guess you could say that I'm using this trip as a prep-course for all the Europe trips I hope will follow in the years to come. I think also, another reason to explore on my own would be because I so strongly believe that God has engraved in me a desire to explore and discover things, yet that side of me hasn't really been exercised as it should. I have a bad habit of getting too caught up in day to day life rather than really enjoying and experiencing the meaningful desires God has put in me. I can only comprehend that that's why I went overboard with picture taking when I first found out that being a photographer was not only a fun thing to be, but it was one of the utmost desires of my heart. So to sum all this up, I know this trip won't make me a better person or even equip me to be a great explorer, but I believe God's going to use this trip to bless me. I have a feeling that I'm going to come back from searching, growing, and experiencing more of God's heart, and hopefully have more of a vision of what I want to explore in my life.
On another note (although, this can still be tied to exploring), I really want to work on a 'project' while I am in Seattle. Back in February I had an idea that was originally simple; it involved going to different coffee shops practically everyday and just experiencing the true Seattle atmosphere. However, my brain kept spitting out more ideas and finally, I decided to give myself an 'official project'. This 'official project' would include: visiting at least 5 different coffee shops, each on different days, snapping pictures of the space (I pretty much have to do this part :P), and then conducting a survey that would document the space/vibe, the products, people, etc. Ultimately gathering information to then create a book after I return home. I was even thinking about trying to get reviews from other coffee shop visitors and make connections with the baristas and/or managers so that once I have published my book (on blurb.com) I can share it with them. The purpose of the book wouldn't be to make any money, but rather to challenge and develop my journalism skills, which I feel I am somewhat lacking in. I also see this 'project' as a way to do more than the average tourist; it would allow me to become familar with the day to day and practical life of the umbrella city. So yes, I am going with a project in mind and we'll see what comes of it ;)
Okay, well until my arrival in Seattle, farwell loved ones!
Rachel Grace
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