Girls and Boys

Sunday, November 20, 2005

My family is full of girls. Me, my sister and my mom. Okay, so not full, but there's more of us than there are boys. Poor dad. He's outnumbered 3:1. But, he can't complain because he has 3 people to bake him treats instead of just 1! I know he loves us to pieces and I've never heard him once complain about the lack of sons. In fact, just after my sister was born a friend of my dad's asked him if he was disappointed because it was another girl and he said, "Heck no. The only thing a boy can do that a girl can't, is pee standing up." I still possess the same stubbornly independent spirit I had back then so you can only imagine how my stubbornly independent, yet innocent brain processed this information. After hearing this revelation, I went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, I came out triumphantly to proclaim that I proved my dad wrong...I could in fact, pee standing up. I'm not sure whether my dad was embarrassed or proud. Probably a bit of both. Although still as stubbornly independent as ever, I don't feel the need to prove myself by continuing to pee like a boy.
I recently watched a movie that is based on a book called the Whale Rider. I was told that the author wrote it for his two daughters, who after watching action movies asked why it is that the boy is always the hero, while the girl is the one that needs to be rescued. It is an amazing story. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet. I'm going to give away the basic plot line now, so if you don't want me to wreck the surprise, read the rest of this later.
A little girl named Pai is the heroine of the story who lives in a small community in New Zealand. All her life, she is made to feel inadequate because she is a female. With the death of her twin brother and her survival, she broke the chain of chiefs in her family that have descended from the ancient ancestors and ruled for more than a millennium. This is extremely upsetting for her proud grandfather and he states throughout the movie that a girl is of no use to him. Pai constantly strives to gain both her grandfatherâ€™s love and approval. In a heartfelt speech dedicated to her grandfather, Pai expresses that true leaders are those that encourage everyone and that sometimes the leader youâ€™re searching for is already among you. She knows that she is capable of leading despite the fact that she is a girl. In the end, Paiâ€™s sacrificial gesture proves her selfless love for both her people and grandfather. He finally realizes that Pai is truly the next chief of the people. In the end, the people launch a canoe, a maiden voyage, with Pai and her grandfather leading the way, together. Itâ€™s an amazing story, and my brief summary doesnâ€™t do it justice, so watch the movie, youâ€™ll be more than inspired.
Pai is an inspiration to me. Iâ€™m not oppressed, ridiculed or made to feel inadequate in anywayâ€¦so Iâ€™m not attempting to draw a parallel between our lives. I'm inspired by her selfless love for those around her that provided her with the strength she needed to survive and thrive as a leader in her community. I hope that one day I can lead a lifestyle like Pai, believing in truth, love and hope for her people and empowering others with a will to move boldly into the future, together.

Rate your Life

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Rate your life eh? So this quick little quiz is going to tell me how good/not so good my life is!

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	8.6
Mind:	8.1
Body:	7.5
Spirit:	7
Friends/Family:	7.1
Love:	7.7
Finance:	7.6
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

So 8.6/10? Not bad, I like to get A's in school so I guess I get A's in life too?
I wonder how they would rate me once they got to know me...

"Hi Daddy"

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

While working on a group project this last week I got talking to one of my nursing friends. We were chatting about the pain of having to ride the bus to school (or to and from wherever we needed to go) and dreaming about the day when we would finally own a car to take us exactly where we need to go. Heck, I'd be happy with anything...even if it was a Volvo! We also got talking about some of the interesting people you meet on the bus. Interesting is sometimes putting it lightly. Like the guy we saw last week eat off the floor. I mean, it was just popcorn. 5 second rule? I'm not sure when it was dropped so I'm not going to judge, especially when I know I've eaten off our kitchen floor and I have no idea the last time it was mopped. But another lady attempted to be friendly and compliment a baby, only to call it a beautiful girl instead of a boy. Let's just say those strangers did not become friends that fine day. And lastly, my most favourite bus story-Bus Stop Brian (Just ask my housemate Nicki about him!)
My nursing friend was saying that she was riding the bus in a sketchier area of town when all of a sudden, they drove past a correctional facility/jail type thing (she wasn't quite sure what it was exactly) and this cute little boy pressed his face up to the bus window, waved and yelled "Hi Daddy." That story just about broke my heart.
Alot of time when I have to ride the bus I often bring a book or put on my headphones so that people will get the message that I'm not looking for a new friend that day. Back off interesting people, I have more important things to do than to talk to you! But how selfish is that? I know there are times, especially in the morning, when people don't like to be bothered...but I miss so many opportunities to meet interesting people. Too often we miss the chance to make a difference in other's lives and let them make a difference in our own because of silly, selfish reasons. Interesting people have interesting stories and backgrounds that might be interesting to you, if you took the time to get to know them, even for a few brief minutes. So, each day when you get on the bus, don't miss the opportunity to meet interesting people, they might be looking to meet interesting you.

I hate to be right

Sunday, November 06, 2005

I hadn't been to Sunday morning church service in awhile...so this weekend, while I was at home in Sarnia, I went to church with my family. I think my mom was pretty excited to have the whole family together and sitting in our pew. But I must admit, that although it was great to be with my family, I was having a terrible time staying awake during the sermon. Maybe it was just from being out of practice with the whole Sunday morning routine, or the fact that I was tired from dominating the world after killing everyone in Risk the night before, but I continually found myself dozing, no matter how hard I fought.
All of a sudden, the preacher said something that struck me, right in the forehead. It was not one of those 'Hallelujah, wave your hands in the air, Praise Jesus' kind of revelations, but the one were you have a dumfounded look on your face and you find yourself thinking wtf (what the frig). Maybe I was dozing and missed the main point or insight, but here's a brief paraphrase of the message: "Sure, living the Christian life isn't alway easy, heck, it can be downright brutal at times. No one said it would be a walk in the park. And yes, reading the Bible is boring and difficult for even the most hardcore believers. Church is even a place that becomes routine and commonplace, nothing exciting. And yeah, the partying lifestyle is thrilling and fun, but we Christians can rest assured and get through each day knowing we're right."
We're right? Right.
Personally, in discussion, I live to be right. It's annoying, I know, but I love when people say "oh Rachel, you are right." It's a great feeling. But what a silly way to live life, always striving to be right, always to get people to agree with what you think, always having to have the last word. You will never get anywhere in life if you are constantly trying to prove your degree of right-ness. It's useless, you're bound to end up wrong sometime.
In my life, I don't go to church out of a desire to be right, to gain a point in God's good book, or jewel in a heavenly crown. I don't read my Bible to spit out condemning verses to 'sinners' or to bask in the knowledge that I've got things all figured out. I don't try to follow Jesus because I want to be right. Moreover, I don't think I lead that boring of a life either. Yes, I know I'm a bit of a nerd, but this nerd knows how to have a good time. Jesus isn't boring. My faith doesn't make me a fun-sucker.
Perhaps the way you approach things taints your perspective. If that preacher was talking about rules and religion, that's not something I want to be right about. If right is the goal, I think we've completely missed the point.
We should all hate to be right...right?