Do Not Be Afraid

Happy Sunday! Not only is it the last performance of Arab/Israeli Cookbook, but also the last week of classes before Spring Break. Not only does this mean March is getting closer and I'll have a life again, but it also means that my trip to Malawi is getting closer and closer as we speak. We haven't technically started the actual class for this Study Abroad trip, but we didn't realize how much details were needed to be figured out before we traveled. And thank god we did!

It has definitely been a love/hate relationship working on this play. While I do get credit for helping out with Arab/Israeli Cookbook, it takes a lot of time and commitment to work on a show, especially one like this that is so prop-oriented. I need to work on losing my "Arab/Israeli food baby" I've gained by working on this show.

I've learned two things from this experience:
1) I'm not cut out to be a theater major: I love theater, and the theater community needs both actors, backstage workers, and lovers of theater. I've realized that while I'm not the best actor in the world, there are ways to improve. I'm planning on taking an Acting I class offered at my college next fall. Luckily it counts towards my major so it's not like I'm wasting a credit.

2) Don't let fear stop you from living your life: This is probably the most important lesson I've learned. The play has to deal a lot with the conflict on the Gaza Strip, and how ordinary people live their lives in spite of this conflict. You can't re-route your life, and the people who get up in the morning, despite what is going on in the world or in their lives, are what make society work.

I'm not a fearful person entirely, I mean I fear snakes, heights, conflict, those sort of things, I just don't always have the courage to speak up or take initiative. I'm not afraid to go to Malawi don't get me wrong, but I've only traveled to one other country (if Canada even counts). Some anxiety is a given, especially since I'm one of the first students from Aquinas to travel to Malawi. While I'll be with my best friend Rachel and a great group of other students, it will still be quite the shock traveling that far alone for the first time.

But I won't be alone, I'll be with God. I saw a photo in Pinterest that inspired me think more about this:

I'm not a huge religious person: I believe in God and I pray, that's about it. I try to go to Church, but I don't usually go out of my way in order to do so. But no matter how I decide to continue my faith or how far I travel in life, God is always with me, through the thick and thin.