Ch-ch-ch-changes!
I had this great post in my head, about how all these things were changing and I was going to announce them all at once. But alas, my extensive planning has been intercepted and changed once again by a far greater and better plan (I just don't know any of the details yet). I was holding out on this post until I had final word that I was indeed moving out of campus housing into a flat. However, today was the day the flat would be held for me and I still haven't gotten a straight answer from my housing office if I could be released from my accommodation contract. So, instead of getting a "yes" or a "no" from God, I received a "not yet." I am a bit disappointed, for this flat would have been a good fit for me and promote a more structured living environment (more on that later), but God decided to turn this into a lesson on patience and trust in a greater plan I just don't know about yet. I'd be up for a couple of hints though.....God? No? Ok.
So, onto the next changes.... Sad news or random news first? Let's go with sad, shall we?
After a lot of thought, reflection, and prayer, Bevis and I decided to no longer pursue a relationship. Well, to be honest, I decided, but he listened and respected my reasons and in the end, agreed. The process of returning back to London after holiday in Italy, and saying goodbye to very dear friends made me realize that my true home is Seattle, and the probability of me staying in London after September plummeted significantly. Realizing that my time here was short, it gave me a new perspective which questioned the wisdom of investing in a relationship (especially a relationship where faith was not shared). It was one of those -"this is going so well, that it is better to end it now before it gets harder to end" things. And the Tower Bridge Starbucks will be forever deemed "the break-up Starbucks," and I figured if I had to ruin a coffee shop, it might was well be Starbucks. Things ended on good terms, amidst the sadness, I feel a lot of peace about it. So, single once again (and I'm saving a lot of money on my phone bill).
The random news, but a significant change, is my abandonment of contact lenses. Weird announcement, I know, but it's big for me, and it's my blog, so there. My glasses got lost after a weekend trip in November, and after procrastination extreme, got a new pair that arrived the day before Darbee and I jetted of to Italy. Intending to save packing space, I did not bring my contacts along, and quite enjoyed the extra few minutes getting ready and going to bed usually spent sticking my finger in my eye. My first morning back in London, I awoke with eyes so swollen, I couldn't have put an eyelash in my eye, let alone a contact. So to review: falling out of the habit + minimizing primping time for the sake of writing overwhelming papers + laziness + channeling academic vibes = Lynn is a glasses girl. I feel a bit more European, and I like the look. Here are a few pictures so you can feel the vibe along with me:
I would say the biggest changes for me this new term are internal. After a lot of prayer and reflection about whether moving into a flat would really help things, I had to honestly evaluate what I felt was "wrong" with my current living situation. The two things that were quite easy to identify was (1) the kitchen and (2) living "on campus." For those of you who might not be as up to date on my last few years, I have been struggling with maintaining a healthy and complete relationship with food. Making space for eating well is a big challenge, and sharing a kitchen with six other girls (with varying cleanliness standards) and having limited storage space has really impacted how often I cook and have food available. The second challenge, is having my entire world being restricted to a two block radius. My room is my sleeping, studying, living, and eating space. I found it very hard to create blocks of study time, my room being too distracting and the library being too close to create intentionality (of going and staying). Living in a flat, with a greater amount of control in the kitchen, and being a half hour walk away from campus would address these challenges a bit more, by forcing me to create more structure. However, as I was in the limbo of waiting to hear from housing, I realized there were intentional changes I could make in my current living space. I am proud to say (with the help of Real Simple) I cooked two meals last week (planning ahead in scheduling time and grocery shopping) and today with some friends from church I officially made Salsa Bean Soup an international favorite. I've realized the more I create a "life" not defined by my academics, the more eager I am to spend intentional time as an academic. God has blessed me with some great girlfriends from church, and they have opened their flat to me. I go to coffee shops in the morning to study, and the library in the afternoon. I have also scheduled time for "thinking" and "prepping" for my upcoming essays, so they are actually worked on before the end of term. So, even though big picture I think moving to a flat would be a beneficial thing, I've been able to make some changes in my daily schedule that have given me more space to make healthy choices.
So, to review, I'm wearing glasses and am very hopeful about this term. Coming up will be stories and pictures of Italy. Ciao!
So, onto the next changes.... Sad news or random news first? Let's go with sad, shall we?
After a lot of thought, reflection, and prayer, Bevis and I decided to no longer pursue a relationship. Well, to be honest, I decided, but he listened and respected my reasons and in the end, agreed. The process of returning back to London after holiday in Italy, and saying goodbye to very dear friends made me realize that my true home is Seattle, and the probability of me staying in London after September plummeted significantly. Realizing that my time here was short, it gave me a new perspective which questioned the wisdom of investing in a relationship (especially a relationship where faith was not shared). It was one of those -"this is going so well, that it is better to end it now before it gets harder to end" things. And the Tower Bridge Starbucks will be forever deemed "the break-up Starbucks," and I figured if I had to ruin a coffee shop, it might was well be Starbucks. Things ended on good terms, amidst the sadness, I feel a lot of peace about it. So, single once again (and I'm saving a lot of money on my phone bill).
The random news, but a significant change, is my abandonment of contact lenses. Weird announcement, I know, but it's big for me, and it's my blog, so there. My glasses got lost after a weekend trip in November, and after procrastination extreme, got a new pair that arrived the day before Darbee and I jetted of to Italy. Intending to save packing space, I did not bring my contacts along, and quite enjoyed the extra few minutes getting ready and going to bed usually spent sticking my finger in my eye. My first morning back in London, I awoke with eyes so swollen, I couldn't have put an eyelash in my eye, let alone a contact. So to review: falling out of the habit + minimizing primping time for the sake of writing overwhelming papers + laziness + channeling academic vibes = Lynn is a glasses girl. I feel a bit more European, and I like the look. Here are a few pictures so you can feel the vibe along with me:
I would say the biggest changes for me this new term are internal. After a lot of prayer and reflection about whether moving into a flat would really help things, I had to honestly evaluate what I felt was "wrong" with my current living situation. The two things that were quite easy to identify was (1) the kitchen and (2) living "on campus." For those of you who might not be as up to date on my last few years, I have been struggling with maintaining a healthy and complete relationship with food. Making space for eating well is a big challenge, and sharing a kitchen with six other girls (with varying cleanliness standards) and having limited storage space has really impacted how often I cook and have food available. The second challenge, is having my entire world being restricted to a two block radius. My room is my sleeping, studying, living, and eating space. I found it very hard to create blocks of study time, my room being too distracting and the library being too close to create intentionality (of going and staying). Living in a flat, with a greater amount of control in the kitchen, and being a half hour walk away from campus would address these challenges a bit more, by forcing me to create more structure. However, as I was in the limbo of waiting to hear from housing, I realized there were intentional changes I could make in my current living space. I am proud to say (with the help of Real Simple) I cooked two meals last week (planning ahead in scheduling time and grocery shopping) and today with some friends from church I officially made Salsa Bean Soup an international favorite. I've realized the more I create a "life" not defined by my academics, the more eager I am to spend intentional time as an academic. God has blessed me with some great girlfriends from church, and they have opened their flat to me. I go to coffee shops in the morning to study, and the library in the afternoon. I have also scheduled time for "thinking" and "prepping" for my upcoming essays, so they are actually worked on before the end of term. So, even though big picture I think moving to a flat would be a beneficial thing, I've been able to make some changes in my daily schedule that have given me more space to make healthy choices.
So, to review, I'm wearing glasses and am very hopeful about this term. Coming up will be stories and pictures of Italy. Ciao!
posted by lynnfredd at 2:51 PM
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