(xaris and shalom)

One of Jacob and Merry’s favorite Sunday afternoon activities — and by extension one of my favorite things to do on a Sunday afternoon — was reading the beautiful  Saint George and the Dragon  together.  We’d read the book and then act it out, taking turns as George, Una, the dragon. To be honest, I had very little respect for Una.   Girl, I know you’re a princess, but why aren’t you killing your own dragon? I always thought while reading the story. It seems like a bit of a cop-out — a dragon is ravaging her kingdom, so she goes off to find a knight to kill the dragon, brings him back, and then goes and waits off to the side while he’s locked in mortal combat with the beast. I mean, really.   At least she could help George. ~~~~ It’s been a growing consideration for me, over the course of this year, that perhaps Una’s role is no easier and no less vital than George’s.   That, if anything, it may be harder.   It is hard to wait and watch and witness desp

As people on my team describe me, they keep using the word artsy , which makes me laugh, because I wouldn't use it to describe myself. Maybe partly because I read a lot of the Babysitter Club books, and Claudia Kishi was the artsy one, which meant that she had an incredible sense of fashion and was talented at drawing... and painting... and sculpting... which is not precisely an accurate description of me.  (I did also get interested in sign language through those books, so I'd say they had some value.) But as I consider my apartment, I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't argue too much. I do love beauty. And I love finding ways to bring it into my home so that I can share it with other people (and enjoy it myself!)

I entered college with the intention of majoring in philosophy — an intention which changed to a minor in philosophy fairly early on, when some of my hallmates questioned what I wanted to do with philosophy and I realized that I didn’t have an answer for that question.   At least, I couldn't come up with any practical answers, and while I love and enjoy a lot of academia, I don't have much patience for ivory tower scholasticism, which seemed like where I'd be headed if I stayed in philosophy.   I don’t regret that decision; it freed up credit hours to take a conglomeration of classes that turned into an independent major in Cross-cultural Studies, which has proved to be pretty perfect for where I am and what I’m doing now.   Yet the urges that drew me to philosophy in the first place still stir in me.   One of the foundational questions in Western philosophy has been “What is the good life?” and it’s well worth examination, study, and thought.   I think that a lot o