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I am a Christian feminist nerd who loves to travel. I grew up in Peoria, Illinois with an older brother and our parents, and since then I have lived in Tennessee, West Africa, Illinois again, Texas, and Greece. I have worked as a piano teacher, office drone, teacher’s assistant, missionary, children’s librarian, nanny, counselor, and recovery program coordinator. I can’t seem to stop going to school, so I have a Bachelor’s in Sociology and Psychology and a Master’s in Counseling. For now, this is the end of my higher education…but I’ve said that before.
As a Christian, my faith affects the way I see the world as a beautiful place made by a creative God that is unfortunately twisted, broken, and occasionally truly evil. My trust in a good God working out a plan of redemption and renewal is what allows me to fight against the injustices of the world by looking forward to a day when all will be well.
As a feminist, I believe in speaking up against injustice, pointing out cultural flaws and doing my best to live a more respectful and egalitarian life. Women have been marginalized, objectified, and oppressed for millennia–a brief glance at the media, at paycheck stubs, or at worldwide statistics of female infanticide can attest to that. I believe men and women are equally capable of both working and nurturing, and I try to support women and men as individuals before boxing them into a category based on sex or gender.
As a nerd, I fangirl a lot. When I was eight years old, I recorded Star Wars onto a cassette tape and painstakingly wrote a script of A New Hope. When I was in middle school I read and watched The Fellowship of the Ring, kick-starting a lifelong obsession with Middle-earth. I love books, movies, TV, music–I cannot get enough of all things creative. Fantasy is my safe place where I can mentally escape for an adventure and wrestle through moral quandaries without the immediacy of Real Life Pressure. As such, my boundary between real and imagined is heavily blurred, and I will cry for hours about fictional characters when perhaps I should be cleaning the bathroom or paying bills.
As a traveler, I love getting outside of my normal routine and seeing new places, meeting new people, and learning new things. The world is vast and full of interesting and beautiful experiences, and I want to participate in as many as possible. I’ve been to four continents to vacation or work, and I’ve made friends who have shown me different ways to approach the world. There is no doubt in my mind that traveling has broadened my perspective and made me a better person. Chasing more of those experiences, I tend to save money for traveling instead of, oh, clothes or sometimes groceries.
This blog is my outlet for discussing my favorite things: books, travel, random thoughts that catch in my brain until I write them down. Hopefully there will be something here to inspire you or make you laugh. Feedback and interaction is always welcome! Please feel free to reply to posts with any questions or comments, and I will do my best to respond.
Trish
Love your blog. As a fellow INFJ, it’s great to hear the thoughts of another.
However, I’m just curious why you are a fervent Christian. In your travels, both literally and figuratively, as an INFJ I am wondering how you’ve managed to keep your faith. For me, this is hard to do, experiencing the nature of religion and those that seek to use it to their advantage. The NF part allows us a “second-sight” almost of people’s true intentions and what we know is real–but with that comes a loss of trust, or faith.
Is there a way to restore this I wonder? I’d been keen to know your thoughts.
Regards
Troy
(From the other side of the world)
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That’s a great question, Troy. In some ways, I am losing the faith I grew up with, when I was focused on a faith that was based on rules and fueled by performance. And I 100% understand your frustration with those who use religion for selfish or cruel purposes. But despite that, I just can’t let go of Christianity (or to use a Christian idea, it won’t let go of me).
In my mind, Christianity is the only religion that adequately addressed both the horrible cruelty and senseless destruction of the world (including religiously cruel people) as well as the overwhelming beauty and inspirational hope in the world. On top of that, the NF in me is completely smitten with the story of a God who lovingly created a world, who continued to love and redeem and pursue his creations despite how many times they hurt him. I’m in love with a God that gives up power in order to serve, and in all my travels, I have yet to experience a religion as beautiful, true, or encouraging.
It sounds like there is a story attached to your questions, and if you’re comfortable sharing it publicly, I’d love to hear more.
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