I Think I've Finally Found It

My last post, as far away as it seems, was about my new quest to find my true passion. I can happily say that I think I have actually found it! I thought it would take quite a long time to discover, but after spending almost 3 months teaching preschool in Egypt I have realized how much I truly love my job. I can talk about it nonstop, I can make preschool plans for an endless amount of time, and I find myself looking forward to my work. That being said, there have been some very difficult situations, some extremely hard days, and some instances where I have just wanted to give up. But through it all God has helped me try to stay positive, shed His character to those around me, and keep up my motivation. In reality, every job will have its ups and downs, but until now I have never found something that I continually hunger for and never grown weary of. Yes, there are days that I am ready to just come upstairs to my apartment and forget the worries of the preschool, but after I bounce back I am ready to step on the gas pedal again. I've realized that teaching preschool is an area that I am passionate about, and I believe that God chose for me to be here this year and that this is right where He wants me. I am learning so much, enjoying my job and my life, and growing in areas I never could have imagined I would. I thank God for sending me to Egypt and to this job, and I am so thankful for all of the preschool families, and the children especially. I have found my passion...my quest is complete!

PassionQuest

Last weekend I was camping with my siblings and some friends. We went on a long quading/dirt biking trek up a mountain and took a break when we got to the top. Somehow during this break my brother Tyler and I got into a discussion about passions...if we had anything in life that we were truly passionate about. I quickly realized that I couldn't think of something that I had a continuous drive to constantly be doing. I have many interests, but I don't find that most of them pervade my life or that I have a never-ending thirst to be taking part in them. I really want to find something that I constantly yearn to do, that I strive to improve in, and that I can attain a high level of expertise about. I started mentally going through all the things I enjoy, and these are what I came up with:

Volleyball, football, racquetball, hockey, soccer, swimming, quading, boating, snowboarding, snowmobiling, bike riding, frog hunting (just finding and releasing!), music, learning new instruments, traveling, missions, cooking, shopping, blogging, creating videos, children, teaching, being the subject of pictures, and school-learning from thought-provoking classes.

Of all of these, I definitely have the greatest thirst for traveling, yet it's not the type of area where one can become an expert in. It's more experience-based, simply sightseeing and traversing to new places. Yet it's something that I always want to do, and could basically be up for after a moment's notice. I also greatly enjoy missions, although I don't know if it's something that I yearn to make my permanent lifestyle. I want to find an area that I can become proficient in and that truly means something to me. Something that I find a deep meaning in. Something that burns within me. Something that others notice as a true passion of mine.

I'm wondering if teaching preschool in Egypt this year will bring about this type of passion. I know I enjoy working with children and I know that I liked teaching violin lessons when I was in high school. When I return from Egypt after spending a year teaching in a school setting, I hope to find a community music school in BC where I can teach violin lessons. I sent my resume to some music schools this week to see if they thought they would have any openings for a violin teacher beginning next school year. I've received 2 replies so far...each one saying that there's a possibility that I could get a job after I return. I'm really happy about this, yet I don't know if simply teaching private lessons is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I wonder if maybe one day I might combine my musical skills, my teaching skills, and my love for children into one complete package.

The other day I found a website for a center that combines music and music lessons with child care and preschool. I was quite fascinated by this concept, since I didn't know centers like this existed. It seems as if it's a daycare and preschool that uses music as a focal point and where lessons are also offered. I think that if I feel passionate about early childhood teaching after this year, then maybe I might be interested in getting a masters in some type of education area, such as early childhood education or special ed...which are both areas that intrigue me. Then maybe I could mix my work into different fields, or work in one area on certain days and another area on other days. I think it would have more of an interest factor to me if I taught at a community music school for a couple days a week, then worked in a school setting on the days that I wouldn't be at the music school. These are only thoughts, but if I find that my passions lean more toward this area after this year, then maybe these thoughts could eventually become reality.

In the meantime, I want to take part in all the activities that I can and really put myself out there to try new things, because I never know if something will catch my interest or if a new experience will become my lifelong passion. I plan to travel as much as I can throughout my life and keep up all my interests, and hopefully somewhere along the way I can find at least one single true passion that will enrich my life more than I could ever imagine. This year marks the beginning of my PassionQuest...I'm going to follow my heart and see where it takes me.

TV Show Episode #1

Danielle and I made a few episodes of a TV show during our last year at Southern. The show is called The Gniriuq-Alapprak Show (our last names backwards). We were planning on showing a bunch of different places where lonely freshman go on campus, but we only got one in on this episode, so more are to come in later episodes. This one didn't go exactly as planned but we still had fun anyways. So enjoy!

my future: the next 12 months...

so i've realized that a lot has changed since my last blog post. i don't know why it's taken me so long to finally post again, but for some reason it has. last time i wrote, i was trying to decide between a potential job teaching violin next year and going as a student missionary. now looking back on what i wrote i realize how much has happened between then and now. i decided against the job even though it would have been a great opportunity, because i didn't want to compromise my wish to serve as a student missionary. if i didn't take this chance now, then i think i would have a harder time trying to make my missions dream a reality in the future after i had already got settled into a post-graduate life. so all in all i feel at peace with my decision to let the job opportunity go and instead spend my upcoming year at a location very far away from home, doing something i've never done before. things have fallen into place quite nicely. yes, it's taken me a long time to get all the student missions paperwork in and get the process merrily on it's way, but i finally did, and now i'm looking forward to spending 12 months in egypt! i know it's going to be very different from what i'm used to. i've traveled a lot, but none of my trips have been anywhere near this extensive in length. i think the longest trip i've been on has been probably somewhere around 3 weeks, and the longest i've been away from home has been a semester, which i've done 8 times throughout my years at southern. but nothing will quite equal the experience of being in a foreign country for a year. i'm really excited about what's to come throughout the next year that's coming upon me so fast i can hardly believe it, but i also am getting a sense that this may very well be the first time i experience homesickness. i never felt homesick in the least while i was at college or on mission trips i've been on, but i'm wondering if the feeling is going to rise throughout my year. i really hope it doesn't, because i enjoy new experiences and being independent, yet i just have this feeling that my world is going to be so far from what i've known that i'm going to be feeling things i've never felt before. it doesn't help that my favguy will be across the atlantic ocean from me for an entire year too. i'm gonna miss him immensely, but i hope that with God's help i will be able to get through this year and come out a better person from the things i have experienced. i also want to be a witness to those that i meet in egypt, but i realize that it may be hard to witness in the typical sense of the word since egypt is predominantly muslim, and i may not be able to speak freely about God. yet i want to serve as humbly as i can. i will be in charge of running a preschool...something which i've never experienced, and which i have no professional training in. i've worked with children in different areas of my life and i've love it, but it has never been in a school setting. i just hope i'm able to do the job and be the willing person that God will want me to be. this year will be tough i'm sure, but i hope it will also be the most rewarding of my life thus far. i'm looking forward to it with a hesitant eagerness, if that makes any sense at all. i just ask for your prayers as i venture out into this new life that lies ahead of me...