Nothing can really prepare you for life outside of your parents' confines. I mean, people can try to tell you what to expect, but it's bound to be something that you have to figure out on your own, and for some it takes a while. I know when I "moved out" (left for college), I was completely astonished at the amount of decisions I had to make on my own. When my friends asked me to go out with them I'd start to respond with, "lemme check with my mom first" then realize that, I'm an "adult" and the only person I needed to check in with is was myself. How crazy! I totally commend all you adults out there that have been doing this adult thing for many years, because I'm on my second year of "adulting" and boy, let me tell you, I miss my mom (mom, if you're reading this, which you undoubtedly are, thank you).
Alright so this spiel about adulthood is important to my article today because, since I'm an adult I get to decide how I get to spend my spring break. My first week was spent in Portland, Oregon where I spent a week doing service projects based around education and children with 11 other students and 1 advisor. We stayed at Reedwood Church for the week, and on Wednesday they had a soup kitchen event, which we all had the privilege of helping with. After prepping the food, I got the opportunity to sit down and chat with some pretty incredible people, including Don and Donnie.
Don was in his 60s, very small, and very easy going. Donnie was the exact opposite. Tall, what looked to be late 40s, very jolly and red faced. As I approached their table I was very nervous about how I'd be received, and second guessing my choice to not take a nap instead. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about. I was greeted with a loud "Howdy, how ya doin?" from Donnie and a warm smile from Don.
As we got to talking I realized these two men have literally been through hell and back, and they had nothing but positivity to offer. That really astounded me. Upon asking them how they manage to get through life with the outlook they have, Donnie immediately blurted "without positivity life becomes difficult, it becomes muddled, we start to lose focus on what's important." I don't know about you, but this is the last thing I expected to hear from someone who was eating what was probably their only meal of the week in a soup kitchen.
With this being said, Don's answer to my question is what really struck a chord with me. He didn't speak. He simply looked up to the sky, lifted one finger and pointed to the sky. Even though there were no words exchanged, I knew exactly what he meant. He was referring to God. I let out what could only be described as an affirming sigh, and said "I couldn't have said it better" and a wink, which was received with laughter from both of them. I strongly related with Don's answer so much because I recently made the choice to fully commit to my relationship with God. The first thing I did was end the other relationship I was in, with someone I thought was going to be a significant part of my life, because the relationship wasn't built on faith. Don's simple gesture towards the sky meant more to me than words could ever express, I felt as though my choice was validated. Which led to my final question.
I asked, "do you have any advice about life that you think will help me along my journey?" This time Don, who usually took his time before speaking jumped in right away and said "if it's too good to be true, it probably is!" I couldn't help but laugh at his bluntness. This was met with Donnie's answer which went along the lines of being careful who you choose to hang around. Both these answers were very wise and seemed to have a lot of experience to back them up.
If I could define my feelings after listening to Don and Donnie in one word it would be grateful. Not only did I get to meet two of the kindest souls I've ever encountered, I got the validation of being on the right track. I got more from this service trip than I expected, and the biggest thing I can take away from Don and Donnie is that it's important to draw focus on the things that matter to you, not anyone else and that the right thing isn't always the easiest thing.
