the MOVEment

So... a couple of months ago in THIS post I challenged myself to be more proactive in my daily life. This personal movement of mine is developed around the idea that I'd like to 1) finish what I start and 2) do new things that challenged me. I noted that these activities "won't necessarily be over-the-top-remarkable, and certainly not unattainable, but honest and realistic goals. " I also told myself that they would be completed and recorded BEFORE I graduate (tomorrow my friends!).

This was the criteria I challenged myself with:

"1. MAKE something- Use my hands to create something meaningful.
2. DO something- Physically partake in something that I never have before.
3. SAY something- Use my speech to articulate something that speaks to me."

MAKE



Apart from a few various little things I have put together in the past few months, my greatest goal was to put together a new Bible cover! You see, Sonia's poor Bible suffered a bit while at a retreat LAST summer, which left her without a cover at all. Yet I could not let go and buy a new one! So it was a high priority of mine to get this done!

How to Make a Bible Cover with the Limited Amount of Resources Lying Around the House:

To start off I made the cover using pieces of a shoebox! I just measured, cut, and then sewed particular pieces together to hold on! The hot glue gun then became a reliable friend...

The only issue that occured was that the cover wouldn't close completely, so I realized I needed a type of latch. So I searched the house with a pair of scissors looking for anything that might work. I ended up finding a random super-strong magnet lying around. Realizing I couldn't find it's opposite attraction, I cut a piece off an advertisement on the side of our fridge (whoops).

To finish off I put it all together by bonding pieces of cardstock paper to the Bible and inside covers. A good 4 hours later (within random intervals of cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, and singing/dancing)...

DO

I wasn't exactly expecting that my "do" portion would involve this, but it required a bit taking a step back from my comfort zone, discipling myself to persevere, and quite possibly embarrassing myself in publilc. So what am I speaking about?...

ZUMBA!

For those of you who have never heard of it before, Zumba is "an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party that’s moving millions of people toward joy and health" (according to their website). And yes, it is quite the party. I don't think I can actually put the true Zumba experience to words, to take a look for yourself:

It's crazy, fast, and really does give you a great workout! But anyways, this is an activity that my lovely mother and I have adopted, and will continue to be a weekly mother-daughter date! I can't wait for my sister to come home for summer break so she can join us!

SAY

The most difficult, and surprising, of these three goals has been this right here. I walked into this challenge thinking that it would involve me speaking a message or sermon of some sort, but it clearly turned out to be so much more different than that.

These past few months have opened up many doors for me to become angered, offended, or hurt very easily. And through all of the situations I did not learn to sit back and accept things as the way they were. Rather, I did the exact opposite; I learned to be both patient and assertive at the same time. In the past I had always feared of asserting myself with the notion that others may not like what I had to say. I had learned quite early that although that compassionate, peace-loving Sonia held the stage for 98% of the time, when the remaining 2% makes its appearance it.is.not.pretty. Seriously.

So long story short, I never had any balance. I was not able to distinguish the fine line between assertion and aggression, so I would always remain a good hemisphere away from both sides. But these past few months--if anything, really, the entire school year--I've been given the opportunity to test those limits. I'll be the first to admit that I am NOWHERE near perfect, but I have indeed surprised myself.

Although my timeframe of pursuing this challenge ends tomorrow, that doesn't necessarily mean it has to end. I mean, I couldn't imagine a better way to end this season in my life, but can one imagine a better way to start?