Suburbia

That bumper sticker you see there is one you'll find on a handful of cars in Lenexa. It's a very reasonable think to proclaim on your automobile. Lenexa's a good city. However, you won't see me sporting those eleven letters any time soon.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed growing up here. I always felt safe and comfortable, and I was able to go to good schools. I'm not saying that I'm ungrateful for my parents raising me in a good place. But since I've started going to school in Kansas City, it's made me dislike - even hate - Lenexa.

It seems like most people around here feel entitled. I think it's a rare occurrence for a person to go out of their way for someone else. They would rather keep to themselves and avoid any and all contact with another human being. And if someone doesn't get what they want, it's the end of the world. People in Johnson County are spoiled. Some know it, but most don't.

I enjoy living in a secure area with beautiful scenery as much as the next person, but it gets suffocating after eighteen years. I've only been home for break for two days, and I'm already anxious to go back to school. I'm tired of cookie-cutter houses and soccer moms. It's so boring, and it has nothing to offer. I can't grow as a person. What opportunities does surburbia offer? Money-making opportunities? That's not what I'm looking for. I want to change lives, not make money. I need to get out of here. I need to leave my mark elsewhere. The suburbs have given me everything they have to offer, and it's time for me to move on.

I think this is my call to go on an evangelization trip this summer.

The Problem with Dating Your Friends

You know how people always say you should date your best friend? Well, I agree. You already know what kind of person they are, so that would be much more likely to work out than a complete stranger. However, it's not that simple.

Scenario: You're with your best friend and the group of friends that you two normally hang out with. You start to see your friend in a different way - oh crap, you're attracted to them. You're okay with the idea, though, because you care about this person already. So you start to think of ways to approach the situation until you realize who else is around - your other friends. The people whose opinions you care about. You remember hearing them gripe about how annoying it was when two of the people in the group broke up. Suddenly, the idea of you and your best friend together is a bad idea. Why?

Because for some stupid reason, our friends - the people who should care about our happiness - are automatically assumed to be the judging type, and will hate us for dating a person you've cared for for a while. I can't even begin to explain how many times this has stopped me.

Why does it stop me? Because I know how some of my friends are. They would constantly tease me if I started dating one of my friends. One of my bigger worries is that they would think we don't "fit" together and make a weird couple. Worse yet, they would talk about how crazy I was if the relationship ended. Dating someone in your friend group sucks, or at least from my perspective.

So I must ask one more time, why? Why do I allow my friends to stop me from pursuing something because of things they haven't even done? Why do I not trust my friends to be happy for me? Why do I even care what they think? I mean, if they aren't okay with it, they don't have to keep hanging out with me. Am I the only one who feels this way? I don't think I am. There are billions of other people in the world.

Screw it. Date your best friend anyway.

Emotional

Today in my Christian lifestyles class, we were talking about guys being emotional. My teacher then proceeded to say something along the lines of "It's okay for guys to cry or be sad, even when people tell them not to be."

I didn't know emotional meant you cry at everything.

Here are the definitions for emotional on Dictionary.com:

1. pertaining to or involving emotion or the emotions.
2. subject to or easily affected by emotion: We are an emotional family, given to demonstrations of affection.
3. appealing to the emotions: an emotional request for contributions.
4. showing or revealing very strong emotions: an emotional scene in a play.
5. actuated, effected, or determined by emotion rather than reason: An emotional decision is often a wrong decision.
6. governed by emotion: He is in a highly emotional state of mind.

Do you see anything that mentions crying? No, of course not. Because emotion is more than crying. Emotion is joy, sorrow, anger, fright, love. People always say being emotional is being a bad thing. Really? Then what are we supposed to be? Emotionless?

Bad idea. I would rather feel everything than feel nothing at all. Because at least you know you're living. You learn nothing from nothing. But reflecting on how you feel in certain situations can help you grow as a person and develop different skills for different encounters. Telling someone being emotional is bad is like telling them to not be happy.

So don't be afraid of emotions. They are an inherent truth that you should not ignore. They help you express who you are.

Guys, be emotional. Please.