Life Can be a Fairy Tale

Life is like a fairy tale.
Woe. Woe. Woe. Where's my pumpkin carriage and Prince Charming, huh? You might be thinking, but think about it, every fairy tale starts with someone who's been in the dumps for a while.

Cinderella was a servant in her home.

Aladdin was a street rat.

The Ugly Duckling was... ugly.

Rapunzel was sheltered.

Jack was poor.

Belle was odd.

You get the picture.
Surely you can relate to at least one of these hopeless heroes or heroines.

We tend to assume that our lives will never get out of the servant, street rat, ugly, sheltered, poor, odd stage of our fairy tale. That we'll remain there forever. The thing is, all of these heroes and heroines had to do one or all of these things before their "fairy tale" life started: sacrifice something they loved, tolerate the things they hated, rebel against what was expected, step out of their comfort zone, or accept themselves for who they were. Don't these look familiar to our own lives?

Also, we have to get passed the "bad guys", being either circumstances or real people that stand in the way of our happy ending. Sometimes the villains will be what we least expect. Fear of the unknown, waiting until it's too late to do anything about it, and even family and friends (peer pressure or guilt) can hold you back from reaching your happy ending.

Now, from a spiritual perspective, what we want for our happy ending might not be what we need. I've always envisioned that I would be married to a super attractive Irish guy, have a couple of Oscar or Tony awards, and retire somewhere on the Moors of Ireland. But, that may not be what God has planned for me at all. God always puts us in places that He knows we will grow. He loves us too much to leave us where we are. He wants us to go higher up and farther into Him, always.

One of the pastors at my church talked about how important our relationship with God is. Remember when, in the Bible, God asked Solomon what he wanted most in the world? Solomon asked for wisdom. God was pleased with that, and in addition to wisdom, God said that he would give Solomon riches and a long life if he walked as his father, David, walked. David, even though he did a lot of unspeakable things, always  came back to one thing- God's heart. To ask Solomon to walk as David walked was a pretty big condition that Solomon, I think, interpreted wrong. He gradually fell away from God, and his life ended in desolation and stupidity. In shambles. For generations, his kingdom turned from God. In contrast, David's life ended as a worshiper of God. Because David's focus was on strengthening his relationship with God, his life had a happy ending.

I would say that David lived a fairy tale life. He went where God wanted him to go, and when he strayed, he made sacrifices and repented.

The way I look at it is this: we are all living a fairy tale. And, it may not be ending up rich, or married to Prince Charming, but it will have a happy ending. Strive to go where God needs you to go, not where you want to go. If you continually dive into a deep relationship with him, you will find that life is less like the servant, street rat, ugly, sheltered, poor, odd life you have been living. It will be hard, there will be villains who try to stand in your way, but God will bring you to your happily ever after.

Be Bold. Be Blessed. Be Bodacious.
~Ana

Goals for College

 Hello =) I am currently in the process of applying for scholarships so I can go to college in the fall. This is an essay I submitted for a $10,000 scholarship about my goals.... It had to be under 550 words, so if it seems like it's missing something, it's missing words people.

Planning goals for my future has never been easy for me. When people asked me what my plans were after high school, I would give a vague answer that usually included the phrase, “it is all up to God.”  It was not until I actually graduated high school that I started making goals for myself. I decided I wanted to go to school for journalism, but still be able to pursue my passion for acting. I set these two goals, along with others, for myself: find a college that supports my beliefs and offers the major I want, and be able to pursue my passion for theater, simultaneously.

Finding colleges that offered my chosen major was the easy part. Almost all colleges offer journalism as an extension of their communications majors. But, finding a college that supported my beliefs was an entirely different quest.  As a Christian, it was important to me that I went to a Christian college, so that I could grow in my relationship with Jesus. I believe that each walk with Jesus is different, so I wanted to go to a college that did not preach a textbook, “this is how you need to do this,” kind of Christianity. I wanted to go to a school that challenged my faith, but also did not push students to go to chapel every school night, shun Harry Potter books, and confiscate all rated R movies (except The Passion of the Christ, of course). After searching for a long while, I finally found and was accepted into Colorado Christian University, which suited my needs as a Christian and journalist major. Also, it is only an hour and a half drive from my home, and right outside Denver, where dozens of acting agencies that I could apply for while in the process of studying journalism as an actual career.

 Which brings me to the second goal I had set for myself: pursue theatre while I am in college. I have been acting on stage since I was twelve years old. I was told I had a talent, and I have been practicing it for a long time. Honestly, I cannot imagine my life without some connection to the theatre. It was preferred that I could have at least a minor in theatre when I went to college so that I could pursue theatre through focused classes, rather than having it as a passion that may or may not be remembered once I graduated. Since the college I plan to attend does offer theatre as a minor, I am not so concerned about losing the connection I have to theatre. But, I am also going to college just 20 minutes outside of Denver, which holds many different acting agencies that I could apply for and build on my talent.

I think I have both of the goals I set for myself pretty well in hand.  I have been accepted into a college that promises to challenge my faith, offers journalism as a major, and I will still be able to thrive in theatre. Going to college is a big step into my future. I am so glad God has blessed me with this opportunity to learn and grow into the kind of person I believe He wants me to be.

 
It took me three days to write this, and I'm pretty proud of it. Everything's turning out all right =)

Be Bold. Be Blessed. Be Bodacious.

~Ana