Oh, and a quick Georgia Q&A!
Lists! Lists! Lists!
This one doesn't really need any kind of header, so we're just gonna jump right in.
3, 2, 1...
Are you in Georgia yet?
Yes, I’ve been here since last Thursday. No, I haven’t said ‘ya’ll’ yet. Yes, I ate a peach. No, I didn’t like it…it was smushy.
Are you eating?
Yes, mama. No more smushy peaches! We will persevere!
At home, I’m notorious for eating Moose Tracks ice cream for breakfast and calling a large fry a meal. Here in Georgia, though, I’m actually pretty sweet at this whole food thing (so far). Lots of lean meats and fresh vegetables.
Turns out if you don’t own it, you can’t eat it. Amazing.
Where are you living?
I’m living in a farmhouse along a quiet road, only 2 miles from Adventures. There’s a tire swing in the backyard, and last night I sat on it and flew around in circles until the whole world was one gold blur. (I immediately regretted it.)
(I’ll probably do it again later, though.)
Seven girls share the house, and it’s already a space known by its joy. There is always someone making tea, baking cookies, playing guitar, burning a cool man-smelling candle or feeding someone chocolate. I share a cozy room at the back end of the house, and its walls are covered with photos - you’re probably in at least one of them.
You’re more than welcome to come visit! Send me a message, and I’ll put some sheets on the pull-out couch. :)
What are you doing every day?
What a lovely question! Monday through Thursday this week, we had our welcome week.
Welcome week consisted of four 9-5 days at the Adventures office, where the four Fellows worked on various projects. Most were focused around helping us outline exactly what the heck we wanted to learn during our time here.
Right now (well, not right now, I’m not that talented at multi-tasking), I am working on an improvement project that my roommate and fellow Fellow (ha, ha!), Hope, and I will present to the Adventures leadership board. We choose to tackle mental health support for Racers struggling with anxiety, depression, and other interpersonal issues while on the field. Wooo!
Starting next Monday, and every week ahead, I’ll be working 25 hours a week in the Marketing department. The other hours will be spent with our program director, learning how to run a small business and undertaking more projects like the terrific one listed above.
Who are you working with?
I’m in the Fellowship program with three other people: Hope, also my roommate; Marcus, not my roommate; and Joe, who will also be working with me in Marketing. All three of them are full of the Holy Spirit, and have incredible visions for their time here.
My boss is a person named Mason. He believes in honesty, efficiency, and wearing white pants on Wednesdays. (The rest of us do not yet share this belief.)
We are able to encourage one another openly, and probably laugh more than is professionally appropriate. God really knew what he was doing when he threw us into this journey together. I am happy.
So, what’s the news?
I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ASK.
On November 1st, I am going to launch my own blog!
I don’t think you can even possibly imagine how much excitement I got just from typing those words just not. You just CANNOT imagine. I am BEAMING.
I’ve talked to Jesus, received feedback from multiple people here at Adventures, and it’s all the same: it’s time to start my own blog/website, separate from my World Race blog.
It will be a place devoted to two simple ideas:
Tell the truth, and
Be the truth.
I’ve known that having my own space here on the internet was something I’d get done…eventually.
Getting visibly stoked about, it, though, has felt borderline selfish.
But ignoring the gift of storytelling God's given me isn’t humility, it’s just me being dumb. God doesn’t get any glory when I hide my passion and talent (sound like a Bible story you know?). I think I’ve just been scared, honestly.
Like, what if it goes nowhere? What if it goes somewhere, but I can’t keep up?
WHAT IF?
The graveyard of dreams buried in the cemetery of What If rolls over hills, on as far as the eye can see. I don’t want to be another big dreamer killed off by the fear of failure.
The next time I post on here, I will share more details about what the website will look like. But right now, know this: I need your voice.
This thing will be a joint effort between you and I. I will need Readers who are interested in guest-posting, telling their stories, sharing the raw truth behind some of their fluffy social media posts, and giving a behind-the-scenes look at their honest, un-Instagrammed life.
It will be a radical, sassy, Holy-Spirit-filled creative collaboration, all centered around telling the truth.
And I’ll promise to do the same.
Interested in being a part of the launch? Leave a comment down here-ish, or send me an email at kaylaezilch@gmail.com.
Excited?
METOOISNTTHISJUSTTHEGREATESTTHANKYOUJESUS.
Done reading?
Leaving!