What I've learned in the past month

1.) Marrying my best friend is the best decision I ever made.

2.) Navy life is unpredictable and at times, down right crazy.

3.) Training a 10 week old puppy is both fun and frustrating.

4.) Florida has a plethora of wildlife animals that are very curious about the inside of my house.

5.) Changing your last name and your state of residence in the same week confuses just about everyone.

6.) Car dealers can live up to their reputation.

7.) Making new friends helps you see the world in new ways.

8.) My husband will love me even if I sit on his Oakley's, ruin the muffins, and cry like a baby every time he leaves.

9.) Military bases completely intimidate me.

10.)  When dropping your husband off for his deployment, get directions off the military base prior to breaking down like a baby.

Hobbies

Amos and I had a conversation before he left about my hobbies. I told him I needed to find new hobbies, fill my time with something that makes me happy. He very quickly said, "You don't need to find new hobbies, you need to dig deeper into the ones you have." Very curious, I asked Amos what he thought my hobbies were. His initial answer: Grey's Anatomy. Not funny, smart guy!
On a more serious note, he talked about my guitar, and always wanting to learn to speak Spanish. Then he said this:
"You are lucky enough, that your favorite hobby will someday become your career."
How true! How lucky I am to be doing something I love. And how I had almost forgotten that. I don't like lesson plans, I don't like test, I don't like paperwork. I do love children. I do love teaching.
Today, I opened my text books with new curiosity. I want to learn about teaching. Not for the A's or the 4.0... I want to learn about teaching because I love it.

And I ask you this, what good is a mind like doing twenty thousand leagues under the sea?!?!? :)

Reasons to Smile

Yesterday I had a taste of the deep, dark, slippery slope of depression. Not wanting to move, having no motivation to do much of anything, moping around the house like someone just ran over my dog, wanting only to curl up and go to sleep just to make it go away. I got a taste of depression, and that's all I want. I'm a fighter, and as bad as things get, I refuse to give in. So today I have woken up with a new desire to live life to the fullest. A new desire to take life one day at a time and enjoy every moment for what it is and what it is teaching me. I intend to search for reasons to smile, reasons to be happy, reasons to be full of joy in a time that seems all but joyless. So, I hereby start my new blog project. I am going to purposefully look for reasons to smile, and document them here, if nothing else than to prove to myself that God has filled this time in my life with joy. Some of my reasons are sure to be shallow and other may accidentally reach new depths and by no means will they be in order of importance. I will simply post "as the spirit moves" and hopefully this can become a place where you and I can find reasons to smile.

Amazing Technology...

Who knew that some grocery stores have motion censored lights in the freezer section! It's so much fun! If you come across this amazing invention, the only way to truly appreciate it is to run down the aisle as fast as you can. Believe me, it's an amazing feeling to have that much power. :)

A change of pace

The finals are over and the grades are in...
I am surrounded by flat land and cornfields...
It's the middle of May and only 60 degrees outside...
I've made two trips to Wal-Mart in the past 24 hours...
The internet is actually moving faster than glacial speed...
I spent the past 4 hours cleaning...
I've been home only a few hours and have already seen 5 people I know...
It's 9:03 and I am the ONLY one awake in the house...

Ahhhhhhh, yes. It must be time for another FayCo Summer. Bring it On!

What a Weekend...

This weekend was much needed.

I slept in until 11:30 on Saturday. Then my fabulous friends and I went down to the lake and cooked hotdogs and s'mores in the fire that Janie built so wonderfully. We threw frisbee and football, and took LOTS of pictures.

It was just what was needed so close to finals week!

Caught between a Pit and a Throne

The media sells us a multitude of different things, some of which cost us money, others of which cost us more important things like self-esteem. The media sells values, images, and concepts about love, sex, romance, success and possibly the most destructive, normalcy. The media our society has created attempts to fit womanhood into a tiny box that can be tied up with a pretty pink bow. The problem is the message they are selling is full of contradictions. Women are to be innocent and sexy, virginal and experienced, opinionated and submissive. And as Jean Kilbourne says, "As all American women over the age of 5 have come to find out, this is tricky." All throughout video games, advertisements, movies, and television, women are shown caught in the middle of the "good girl/bad girl" fantasy.

The interesting thing about this message is that it is nothing new. Women have had to deal with this contradiction throughout history. What has come to be known as the binary ideology concerning women gained momentum during the Middle Ages when women were taught that they were carrying the legacy of both Eve, the "seductive temptress" responsible for the unrighteousness of man, and the Virgin Mary, who has "redeemed" women and all mankind through the virgin birth of Jesus. Both of these women were used to stereotype all women of medieval times. Women as early as the 8th century were completely confused as to who they were and who they were supposed to be.

Another major problem with this image, is that most modern women do not realize they have been contained within this contradiction because it has become so ingrained into our society. Realizing this fact makes the increasing rate of depression among women in America slightly more understandable. The feminine personality traits desired by our society are the same as those listed by doctors as symptoms of the major personality disorders.

This is the very condensed version of the research I have been doing. Here are something to think about concerning the topic.

How does this contradictory view of women affect both men and women in today's culture?
Is it possible that this theory of women has helped to increase the American divorce rate?
What could be done to rework these views on women into a healthier standard?
Who does the change need to start with? Women? Men? Media?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Hopefully it has been enlightening. If you wish to know more email me at mpfeifer@milligan.edu and I can provide more information.