The “In Between” Time

I would like to start by saying that even though I am incredibly grateful for my education, as a sophomore in college, I can confidently say that this experience has made me feel awkwardly “in between” the processes of life. It feels as if I’m so close to reaching my goals, but in current circumstances, it is not quite the right time to shoot for the stars yet. Big things don’t happen overnight, so I guess I’m asking, “How do you get through the time of waiting for the right moment to shoot for the stars?” Re-read that question because it is not an easy one.

The word WAIT is a challenging word. It actually might be my least favorite word out of all the words in the English Dictionary. Feel free to ask my mom, boyfriend, or anyone else in the world, and they will tell you waiting is just not my thing. So, to learn how to wait, I have created a goal to take the word wait out of my vocabulary entirely and change it to “patience.” The definition of patience is to take in all the experiences, whether that's happiness, sadness, feeling content, or whatever it is. Having patience means you choose to experience all those things calmly. You live through them with no discontent and no complaints. After reading about this, I thought to myself how much more pleasant my life could be in the “In-between” time if I didn’t just choose to wait, but I chose to be patient.

The second semester is always challenging, for me at least, and the gloominess of the weather does not help. If I’ve learned one thing so far, it’s that letting the gloom take over your sunshine is NOT something you want to happen. I’ve been on a mission to figure out how to navigate the hard times and turn them into at least a happy medium. My first challenge has been learning patience, and I’d be a big liar if I were to say I have accomplished it. However, I trust that patience is essential because I enjoy life ten times more when I say, “Jonah, calm down and be patient.” 

I find myself having difficulty being patient when I miss my favorite people. I learned that when I feel this way, I can NOT accept a gloomy day, so we are learning how to morph it into a day I’m excited to live! I’m also learning how to be positive if the morph I attempted to make to a gloomy day isn’t how I wanted it to turn out because being patient with yourself is just as important as being patient with anything else. 

I thought I’d share some of the big little things that I have been doing to make each day fun, different, and interesting:

• Jewelry Making! If you have been on this journey with me for some time, you know I LOVE making jewelry. Recently, I have been in the process of creating a jewelry line that I’ll hopefully be able to launch this summer. I’ve been so blessed with loving people in my life who make this creative process possible for me, thank you to you all! But for anyone who wants to get into the craft, I highly suggest watching YouTube videos, making trips to Michaels or Hobby Lobby, and just sitting down to get creative. Jewelry making does not require too much money at all, and classes, though helpful, are not needed :)

• Baking! Ever since I was little, baking has allowed me to let loose. My all-time favorite thing to bake is my great-grandmother's Peanut Butter Bars. On a day when you're stuck in the house, I encourage you to bake for fun!

• Arranging Flowers! My newest hobby has been that when my boyfriend sends me a bouquet of flowers, I rearrange them, trim them, and overall take care of them. I love searching up each flower and learning about the differences between them (like how long they stay alive, what weather they thrive in, and if they need more sun or water). My current challenge is to see how long I can keep them alive. This hobby has really brought me joy, especially on a gloomy day. It also provides something for me to do as I am patiently on stand by for a garden in the near future. (Thank you so much, my love, for being with me in this process of patience. I love you!)

I’m sure other things like reading, cooking, and movie-watching help me pass the time in the midst of the gloom, but these are some of my most recent discoveries that I thought I’d share. If you’re interested, I encourage you to try them! And I’d love to know about your experience, so feel free to share! I hope this was helpful for everyone in the process of patience, and I’m rooting for you all to keep trusting the process. We are in this together! Happy Valentine's Day beautiful people, and if you don’t have a Valentine this year, now you do because I’d love to be your Valentine :) Sending lots of love your way!

xoxo,

Jonah ♡