Reflections on Summer
By Rachie | August 31, 2010
Summer is almost over. Every student must grimace at that statement as they relunctantly return to school. I meant to write volumes more over vacation but sadly it didn’t happen. A mixture of a busy summer and my own struggles to get motivated kept me from achieving that goal.
Now that I am actually writing, I’ve been searching for topics. I eventually settled on taking a brief look back at the summer, probably inspired by the various facebook albums popping up with titles like “Summer Memories,” and such. I suppose this is actually a review of the past year, since Autumn feels more like the beginning of the new year to me than January does. Not that this post will turn into a New Year’s tirade of successes, failures, and promises for the future. Nor do I intend it to be a Christmas newsletter on everything that has happened in my family over the past year. Christimas letters have their times and places, but my blog is not one of them, at least not momentarily.
If you know my family, then you certainly know that we’ve had our share of struggles. Our trials don’t seem to gradually come when we’re all feeling strong enough to face them. Instead they tend to arrive in spurts and all at once, though I can’t say why. A lot of them arrived this year and while we were also showered with gentle blessings, we still experienced some heartache and a whole lot of changes. Gladly, I can announce that we made it through but not without our share of scars. This brings to mind Sara Groves’ song, Less Like Scars. As the lyrics state, in God’s hands, “…the pain and hurt look less like scars and more like character.” Hopefully, this will become the truth for my family.
In some ways, this feels like the closing of a book, though I suppose it’s only the ending of a chapter entitled, “Summer of 2010.” Granted, the title isn’t as thrilling as the chapters out of contemporary novels but looking back, it has been a very interesting year. The most obvious changes include gaining niece number two, little (or should I say long?) Sophia Marie. I was also forcibly given a brother-in-law, but despite all our bickering I think we have become good, if weird, siblings. There are obvious challenges, not only in accepting new family members but in relating with those we already have. Things aren’t perfect, but we’ve weathered some fierce storms.
There are more subtle changes too. If I could describe this summer, I would call it one of growing. We five siblings are struggling to find our way in this world, sometimes floundering other times confidently swimming, and this summer I feel we have changed much. New roles were taken on, a greater independence was striven for, and in some ways we’ve begun to seek out our own places in life. We’re still together and I appreciate the time we have to be so close, but I can see that we’re also heading for our own individual futures (but futures where I hope we will still include each other). When I first learned this, I think I was much like Jo March from Little Women. I’m remembering a specific scene from the movie where she clings to the bannister watching her family from the stairs. A look crosses her face, one almost of sorrow, as she realizes how her family is growing and changing. I think I felt and still feel some sorrow at time gone by. However, then I was whisked off with a rebellious courage to try my own fate, determined that if everybody would strike off on their own, I would do likewise. Now I’m somewhere in the middle, I still miss the past but almost with a fond willingness to move on, I’m still rebellious but with a hope for the future.
I’ve had to learn to accept change and to watch my family change. Now I see myself changing too. It’s hard to describe but this summer or past year I’ve felt that I’ve been stretched more than other years, that I’ve had my eyes opened to more than I used to see. Numerous books, trips, friends and family have all served to teach and enlighten. I’m not always willing to learn and often even when I do acknowledge a lesson I will, “…take everything I’ve learned and teach myself some disregard,” (Relient K, When I Go Down). I know learning is a process but sometimes it’s way too easy to get stuck in a rut. Anyway, my point is that I feel I’ve grown some this summer, I still have a long way to go, but it’s neat (and a little scary) to see things in a new light
It’s funny how when you write, you may have a plan for exactly what you’re going to write and how you’re going to put it but it can so easily change. The original plan runs amuck and you get swept away in the process of exploring your own thoughts. It’s tiring and frustrating but altogether worthwhile.
If you can’t tell already, this summer has been a crazy one, every last dizzying aspect of it. Still, we’ve made it and I hope with more laughter than tears.
Topics: Wanderings | No Comments »
“Little Women”
By Rachie | August 31, 2010
I’ve recently read two classics that I’ve really enjoyed. The first was Pride and Prejudice and the second is Little Women. It has taken me awhile to finally sit down and blog about them but I’m hoping to get some of my thoughts out on both.
First off, I must admit that just as with Pride and Prejudice it took me a few tries to get through Little Women. Why this is, I don’t know. Maybe I have an unusually low level of patience and it’s beginning to grow or maybe I was so determined to finally finish them that I doggedly pursued them. Whatever the reason, I’m immensely glad that I read both of them in full.
Little Women is an equally beloved and treasured classic and, consequently, probably has an equally familiar storyline. Nevertheless I want to give a brief snippet of it. We must now trade in the Bennets for the March family. Instead of the rather disagreeable parents from Pride and Prejudice there is Mr. March who deeply loves his “little women” and Mrs. March, affectionately called Marmee. The book spans the childhood and eventually adulthood of the four March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Again I bring in the movie counterpart and point out that unlike the movie, which centers almost totally on Jo, the book dwells on each of the sisters at various points, developing their characters through many lessons.
Technically Little Women is intended for children but I found that only when I was older could I appreciate it (though I wish I’d learned some of the lessons it offers a little sooner). One of the most beautiful aspects of the book is its simple but easily forgotten lessons that it teaches, such as the joy work can bring and the appreciation it gives you for a little relaxation. Little Women emphasizes practical and simple virtues, but these are virtues that can be almost forgotten in today’s society, even though they are equally applicable. There was a part of me that loved the morals and delighted in them, I even took some of them to heart and have found them useful in my own life, but my more independent and modern self also has a hard time swallowing some of them. Women today are very different from women of the past. I miss some of what once was but having that spark of independence keeps me from completely desiring a return.
My favorite character in this book is without doubt Jo March. She is, as Meg describes her, “…a chestnut-burr, prickly outside, but silky-soft within.” Jo is bold and goofy, full of deeds of daring and surrounded by mishaps, yet she has a heart capable of a deep and possessive love. As a girl she is awkward and loud, rambunctious enough to be a boy. She dreams grandly of being an authoress, even while left at home acting as the protector of her family, since her father is away at war. Not to say that Jo is perfect, for she has a temper that flares quickly and often acts disdainful of those she doesn’t hold dear. I loved reading of Jo’s childish romps and adventures but I equally loved reading the development of her character from a wild child to that of a more subdued woman. In motherhood Jo is just as much fun, though as Meg foretold, falling in love brought out a softer side of Jo. It took time but, as independent as she was, Jo eventually grew the desire to be loved and to love in return, which she ends up finding in her poor but ‘rich in heart’ Professor Bhaer.
My criticisms of the book are few but I still want to mention them briefly. There was one instance where the author stressed the importance of doing good works to the point that it seemed to say good works will get you to heaven. Now I don’t know if this was the author’s belief or intent but there was one moment where I felt it was leaning toward that idea. My only other critique would be that at times, notably toward the end, I felt the book took on a preaching air. Instead of cleverly disguising the morals and lessons in the storyline, I felt they were being too blatantly stated. Now that isn’t a bad thing, but after having read so much of it I did feel a little annoyed by it toward the end.
My closing remarks are good. There was much to get out of this novel besides just an entertaining story with memorable characters. There were lessons that, if applied, can be very impacting and virtues that can bring back some of the innocence I fear this world has lost. Another advantage is that since this story covers such a period of time in the girls’ lives, there are things to learn from it regardless of what age you are or what phase you’re in. Little Women is a great reminder of what being a ‘little woman’ should look like and mean.
Topics: Literature, Reviews | 9 Comments »
“Pride and Prejudice”
By Rachie | August 30, 2010
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a large fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Many people would recognize those words and correctly attribute them to Jane Austen and her novel, Pride and Prejudice. It has been highly acclaimed, deemed a classic, and has graced Blockbuster’s shelves as a Hollywood movie…nonetheless it took me several tries to read. However, I have now won the struggle and I am pleased to announce that the best books are worth working through.
I didn’t struggle with this book because it wasn’t a great novel. I think it took so many tries because at first I couldn’t really appreciate it for what it was and since I was already very familiar with the story, there wasn’t much new, on the surface anyway, for me to enjoy. A very important idea on the writings of Jane Austen was noted in a blog on Emma at Literature, Worship and Life (see my links). Not to switch novels but I think this thought is an essential point, “What I love about Austen is that the more I bring to the table the more she has to offer me as a reader.” At first, having already known the story and looking at the novel for nothing else, I did of course quickly tire of it. After my latest mood for such literature wore off it was easy to toss the book aside while setting my eyes on something else. However, I think a combination of a growing patience for more difficult literature and a very slowly growing knowledge on books, character, and setting have allowed me a much greater enjoyment of Pride and Prejudice.
It seems almost useless to reiterate such a well-known storyline but, for the sake of the blog, here I go. The story follows the Bennet family, which is comprised of the sarcastic but disinterested father, the highly spirited mother (who is always on the lookout for possible son-in-laws) and their five daughters, each with a personality more colorful than the last. The second to oldest, Elizabeth, is the main figure in the novel. Witty, strong minded, and judgmental she makes for a bold and fascinating character. The story centers on her and Darcy, an upright but snobby gentleman. The two encounter and as can be expected, a battle involving wit, ego, hasty judgments, and two fragile but learning hearts ensues.
Pride and Prejudice is portrayed, hugely I think, as a love story. When a girl is asked of her dream husband, Darcy comes to mind. Every playful banter, every lyrical sentence, every word down to the last syllable is thought to be deeply romantic. Of course some of this is true. The story does revolve around the growing relationship of Elizabeth and Darcy and, as most Austen novels do, deals with the difficulties of matrimony in that era. However, there is more to Pride and Prejudice then merely a sigh and an ending kiss. In fact, I noticed (though a little regretfully I must admit) that the parting lines in the Hollywood version, notably the most romantic part of the movie, are not even in the book. The other side I speak of deals with forgiveness, lessons learned, and realizations reached. Neither Elizabeth nor Darcy are perfect. Elizabeth is quick to judge and condemn, Darcy to look down on others. It is only through a variety of circumstances, patience, and forgiveness that they both grow into better individuals who, in the end, are suited for each other. Without this development of learning and reconciliation I think that Elizabeth’s change of mind, from abhorrence of Darcy to that of affection, is not in any way believable. I loved reading the development of these characters and seeing how well it was written out. Nothing was assumed or magically became better. Both characters made mistakes, learned from them, and in the process grew to love each other.
The more you explore various viewpoints, characters, and the setting of a novel, the more enjoyment and understanding results from it. At least this is what I found with Pride and Prejudice. I still have much to learn about Austen and her novels, I’m no where near done, but the more insight that I glean from my reading, from various movie depictions, and from hearing differing opinions of it, the more there is to explore. The better I understand the time setting and the more accustomed I grow to it, the more the novel makes sense. I didn’t understand certain circumstances, insults, and humor until I grew further submerged into the Jane Austen world. There is still much I have to learn but that only means there is more to discover and enjoy up ahead. This novel was wonderful: for its story, humor, and well-loved characters.
Topics: Literature, Reviews | No Comments »
Juliet and Fireflies
By Rachie | June 18, 2010
Tonight I went to see Letters to Juliet with my sister and her mother-in-law. I was worried that the movie would be boring but I found myself enchanted with the story and even laughing aloud several times.
To make a quick summary of the story line, the main character, Sophie, goes on a trip to Italy as a pre-honeymoon with her fiance. While there, they spend little time together, but it allows Sophie to go off on her own adventure. Sophie visits a wall where devastated lovers and cranky housewives leave letters to Juliet, asking for advice about their various romances. Finding an old letter, long forgotten in the cracks of the wall, Sophie writes the author back. So begins a journey where she will find herself, and her view of love, drastically changed. The movie wasn’t perfect, but it stayed a lot cleaner than the typical movie of today (though I don’t agree with a “pre-honeymoon” between an unmarried couple).
My main point of this post wasn’t to do a movie review, though I suppose I did do one in brief. My thoughts stray more to the idea of “true love” and how people say chick flicks like this only harm relationships because girls have unrealistic dreams that guys can’t live up to. I guess there is some truth in that, we can’t expect a guy to always have the perfect words to say or such. But still, I can’t throw out the idea of love. Maybe I’ve allowed one too many chick flicks or love stories to go to my head, but if much of mankind’s literature and movies center around this topic, then surely there is something to it, or at least we long for it.
I think I recall someone saying that, “A person can love anybody,” or something along the lines of that. Basically, the idea that it just takes time for a relationship to grow and you don’t have to be in love at first. I can’t totally deny that, since I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I also think that love should be involved and that, while love does grow, someone can’t always just love anyone. There’s also the approach, addressed in this movie, that it’s all simply hormones but I have to believe that there is something more pure out there.
There’s some part of me that just can’t deny that there is real, honest love, even if none of our love is perfect. And part of me hopes that these tiny glimpses of love are small reflections of the love God holds for us. I want to believe that God romances, not just that He teaches and etc. I want to believe that He is unwinding a love story with each of us (The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker comes to mind right now) and not just a serious one but one that can include little, silly but meaningful things. Part of me sees evidence of that when I look at all He has created. Fireflies seem to be there just for their beauty, just to be shining jewels in the night that make my heart soar. Maybe it’s my own imagination, but then again, maybe not.
I guess my point is that I know relationships are often difficult and not just the happy romances that we see in movies. I don’t like to admit it but I know that is true. However, I still haven’t let go of the idea of love and romance and, honestly, I hope I never will.
p.s. I heard a quote the other day that helped me make sense of what I was thinking in my last post, it went something like, “A great story is life, with all the dull parts taken out.” (I looked it up online and it sounds like this line was by Alfred Hitchcock)
Topics: Wanderings | No Comments »
Elves, Hobbits, Wizards…and One Vivid Imagination
By Rachie | April 20, 2010
I love novels. From Jane Austen to J.R.R. Tolkien, I love falling into their unique worlds of adventure. On any regular day I grab my cloak and well worn traveler’s boots and journey to almost any land I wish. Not in the real sense of course, but in the imagination, completely. What is it that novels do that capture the hearts of so many people? What ties do they weave around our passions that cause us to cherish them so dearly. I know I’m not the only one, I know others must turn to their well-worn books for adventure, escape, comfort, and entertainment.
So like the Frodo from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” my heart longs for adventure, for lands yet unseen to my eyes. My feet itch to walk through the autumnal woods, leaves crinkling beneath my feet, sunlight and starlight alternating as guides. My eyes ache for lands both in the real world and those in the fictional (who wouldn’t want to visit Rivendell?). Still, just as Frodo, upon his adventures, comes to long again for the Shire, so I know I would long for home. If I, a cozy little bookworm, were on an adventurous journey (even if it didn’t quite involve carrying a burdensome ring to Mordor) I know that I would grow afraid and wish for the security, warmth, love, and even contented routine of home. Yet so it seems we are doomed to be, desirous of adventure, yet snuggling back ever more securely into our everyday lives. Ah, the burden of a book lover, ever seeking stories, so unsure of what their own will be.
I know that this life is the real one, and that truly, while this world is not supposed to hold contentment, it still holds the greatest love story ever told, between God and His creations. That is one great consolation to this Middle Earth hungry heart. I’ve been advised by a wise person (who else but my mother?) to enjoy books but not to hide in them and I see that as very true. Still, I appreciate the fantasy lands of my fellow writers, I will continue to love stories, but, I also hope, that I will learn to be content with my own.
Topics: Wanderings | 1 Comment »
Another World
By Rachie | February 9, 2010
Before I went to see, To Save a Life, my youth group went down to Detroit to pass out clothes, hot chocolate, and bible tracks. We were out on the streets, by a mission center, with tables and racks laden with clothes, letting people come up and choose what they wanted. I’m not an outgoing person, and handing out bible tracks felt awkward to me. Admittedly, I’m sure I didn’t try as hard as I could have to socialize and offer help. However, I still saw a glimpse of another world, one that is not cozy and comfy like the one I live in.
The hurt is harder to see in our world (meaning the comfier, luxurious world). Sure, we catch glimpses of it on the news, we act sympathetic and a lot of the time we feel genuine compassion, but then we forget about it and return to our worries of homework and such. But it’s not this way in Detroit, everything is not glossed over with shiny surfaces, new gadgets, and the “American Dream”. Here the hurt hits you full in the face, drives right through you, and doesn’t leave you any time to catch your breath. I’m not saying that we’re not aware of the hurt around us, or that just because we’re better off that we’re happy and not hurting. But I am saying, that in Detroit that hurt isn’t hidden by false smiles and glamorous jobs, it’s evident and plain.
On that trip, I saw an area littered with trash. I saw people walking out in the freezing cold, fighting over clothing because (I assume) their lives are a battle for survival, and that battle probably makes you tough, empty, and bitter as that January morning. I saw people lowered to the most desperate straits, and I can only imagine how terrible it would be to walk the streets in the cold, with the only image of a warm home being the one imagined in your head. I saw a tailless cat, making it’s way through the trash, animals and people alike condemned to the same awful conditions. I cannot claim to know about how it feels to be homeless, or what the people we served were feeling, but this is what I saw.
“This is one big trash dump.”
“And no one should have to live here.”
But they do, everyday.
One could call me naive or innocent. To tell the truth, I never really learned how much hurt there was in the world, or how unstable it was, until high school, and I’m still learning it. I’m sheltered, and it’s a mixture of a blessing and a curse. I’m also not the most compassionate person. I can be quick to judge, fast to condemn, and selfish, not traits to be proud of. For some reason, my compassion is usually directed more towards animals, though I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because animals are easier to love, or maybe it’s because they’re cute and fuzzy. Either way, love and compassion to people is something I need to grow in. But this is the image I received from Detroit, this is the hard truth I learned and cannot completely comprehend.
I cannot imagine what it would be like to have no home or to sleep on the streets, and as the cold bit into my toes and fingers, I was comforted by the fact that I could go home. But those people didn’t get that comfort, because they didn’t have a warm home to return to. On the way back, I thought about how easily we serve the homeless, but then forget about them as we return to our daily lives, and I am among that group. Once engaged in conversation I forgot, and even when thinking of them my thoughts were not unselfish. Even writing now, my concerns are not solely for them, but focused on me, my writing and so on.
My last thought on this is simply, we reap what we have sown. We chose the apple, and now people suffer, animals suffer, and the land suffers. Never have I seen this more clearly than in Detroit and I bet there’s an awfully big difference between that area, filled with hurt, and the original garden of Eden.
Topics: Wanderings | No Comments »
To Save a Life
By Rachie | January 31, 2010
“Is it worth it?”
The movie, To Save a Life, asked this very question. Is it worth it to be a Christian? Is it worth it even when we’re ridiculed? Is it worth it even when we feel like everything is falling apart?
Walking into the theater I had high hopes for the film, though I was a little worried about content. Thankfully, To Save a Life both met my lofty dreams and kept questionable content to a minimum. The movie follows the tale of Jake, the familiar high school jock who has it all, and his change in perspective after he witnesses his childhood friend commit suicide. Jake’s journey to follow God costs him much but, in the end, he realizes that it is worth it, no matter the cost.
Early on in the movie I thought I might be set up for disappointment. The dialogue and acting at first seemed awkward and it even had a low budget feel. However, as the story moved on I got used to the style and, even if the acting wasn’t extremely amazing, the message made up for any faults. The story dares you, it challenges you to really step out of your comfort zone and pursue friendships with the people deemed, “uncool”.
To Save a Life hit on a huge variety of issues, covering more than one would think possible in such a short time. One issue that was neat to see handled was hypocritical Christians. Probably one of the biggest problems people may have with Christianity, is that those who claim to be Christians don’t live the Christ-like lifestyle. The movie didn’t skirt around that issue but hit it dead on, challenging people to change, to stop judging, and to start living what they preach.
To Save a Life was awesome and seeing it with my youth group made it even better. We had around an hour long bus ride from the theater to discuss the movie. This took the movie’s challenge and put it in a direct context, making it even more real. Altogether it was a fun, meaningful trip, and one that I hope will change lives. After all, as Jake said, “What’s the point of all this, if you don’t let it change you?”
Topics: Movies/TV Shows, Reviews | 2 Comments »
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