unSocialized Educated at Home; Engaging the World

Today is one of those days when I can read Ecclesiastes and be like..."Word."

You know?

When you feel like there's no point. When you feel like you have all these plans and you have no way to put them into action when you feel like going around grumbling to yourself and the world,

"Vanity of vanities. All is vanity."

Maybe the reason I feel this way is because it's a new year, I'm 16, and I want things to start changing already. I think I know what I want to do with my life. I've always been interested in writing, and recently I've developed an interest in scriptwriting and film. I've even made a short documentary with my sister Sarah which we entered into a contest (we didn't even place). Nevertheless, I still enjoy doing it immensely and want to pursue it as a career.

I'm sure there are others at the same point as I am. That place where you want to start distinguishing yourself from others by coming up with a portfolio so amazing that no college would turn you down. In my case, I'm striving to come up with an amazing story. Something that no one's ever seen before. And then the feeling of discouragement quickly descends on me when I realize,

"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

Then the questions and fears start flooding you mind. "How in the world can I possibly stick out?!?"
"Is there even a point in trying?"

This is the age where you're supposed to start planning for your future, and let's face it. Sometimes it just seems so futile. I mean, the world is a crazy place. The future is a crazy concept. Everything seems so hard and sometimes even impossible. I mean what would be the difference if you just sat around for the rest of your life doing nothing right? What if you never even tried? It would be easier that's for sure. Especially since,

"As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity. For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool." (Ecclesiastes 2:15-17)

We all have those moments when we ask ourselves, "What's so wrong about being the fool, huh?"

That's when I have to step back and remember what's wrong about that. God has a plan for my life. It might not be what I'm planning for myself, but there's definitely a reason why I'm here. And if I just stop stressing so much and stop worrying and just do what's right, everything's going to work out exactly how it's supposed to.

But then I get impatient! Why can't it happen now? Why do I feel so stuck? Why is there nothing going on in my life? So I have to realize (again) that everything happens not when I think it should, but in His time.

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

So I need to be patient, and wait, and enjoy being a teenager with little responsibilities. That doesn't mean I should stop planning for the future, it just means that I should chill out a little bit and let things happen. However, that doesn't mean I should just do whatever I want because I'm a kid and this is the "time to make mistakes" or whatever either.
 

I suppose the whole point is without God, all is vanity. So on those days when we feel like there's no point and we should give up, we need to realize God is the purpose in this life, and the life after. With Him, our future is sure. With Him we don't have to worry because we are totally taken care of.

So next time you feel like "All is vanity and vexation of spirit", read the book of Ecclesiastes from beginning to end. Read it as many times as you need to to understand that God. Has. A. Plan.

Word.

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Also, I am now starting my own blog which can be found by following this link: Defy Definition.

Right now, there's only this one entry on there but I plan to be adding many more posts in the upcoming days, and weeks, and months... (:

What would your life be like if you were born and lived in a different country? The site ​If It Were My Home ​lets you answer that question. They have a comparison tool that enables you to pull up stats on living conditions in other countries and how they match up with the U.S. and each other. 

I tried it out by doing a comparison between the U.S. and Slovakia, (where my husband's paternal grandparents were born and emigrated from). I was presented with a Google map that showed the size of the country in relation to the U.S. In this case, Slovakia was shown overlaying Greenville, SC. You can also view a full "zoomable " world map. 

It told me that if Slovakia were my home instead of the U.S. I would....

• consume about 75% less oil
• use about 58% less electricity
• spend about 81% less money on health care, but also make 54% less money and have 30% more chance of not having a job
• life expectancy  is lower there, too, by about 2.5 years

The site gives additional basic information on the country, and recommended reading lists for further information (none were listed for Slovakia). You can also vote on whether or not you'd rather live in said country, (no, thanks), and "sound off" about your decision in their comments section.

 Kind of a different way of doing a geography lesson.

While curating my new "pinterest," ​Teaching With Sci-Fi ​I came across a site with some teaching ideas using Star Wars and ​Star Trek:

​Formulate Your Star Wars Name: Two variations of this is presented. I like the first one, because my name comes out sounding much cooler. I am Trako Enbro. They suggest adding a "Darth" or "Grand" on there to make it more dramatic. Darth Trako​ - hmm, not bad.

So what does this have to do with learning language arts? Well, the site suggests this as a way to reinforce the use of capital letters in names. I think that's a bit weak. But what about using it as a lead-in to talking about the origins and meanings of names? For example, the name ​Anakin ​is like the name for the giants, the ​Anakims, found in the book of Deuteronomy. This could, in turn, lead to a further study of names in the Bible. We like to read the Bible together as a family, and one of the things we've come to enjoy is the somewhat strange and humorous names we come across. For example, in the books of ​Ezra and ​Nehemiah, there are references to the ​children of Darkon, which sounds like the title of a sci-fi. Then there's Mahli and Mushi; Bebai; the Zamzummims, Jehoshaphat, Mehuman, Zelophehad -- there are so many I can't think of off the top of my head. And what about the origins and meanings of surnames of the many ethnicities and nationalities that make up our country? That could make an interesting study too.

​Metaphor and Allegory With Captain Picard If you're a ​Star Trek: TNG ​fan, you may remember the episode, "Darmok," in which Captain Picard struggles to communicate with an alien captain whose language is expressed through allegory and metaphor based on his race's history and folklore. The site suggests this could be used to examine misconceptions in communication: how a metaphor may mean one thing to one person, and something different to another; and also the need for grammar and structure in language.