The Story of a Friendship: Roy and Tricia

TrishLeave a comment

I once heard that it is important to be close to your siblings because that is probably going to be the longest relationship of your life.  Parents die and spouses come later, but siblings can stick around in your life for 80 or more years.  Which is FINE BY ME, because my brother is the coolest person on the planet.

IMG_1716Roy is four years older than me, and I think I’ve always been in awe of him.  My childhood memories center around a common theme:  stumbling through the woods after Roy and his friends, watching movies that Roy thought were cool, playing the games that Roy got excited about.  Don’t get me wrong, I had my own nerdy little shy world, but so much of who I am is an effort to imitate his awesomeness.  Continue reading →

Falling in Love with Mumford & Sons All Over Again

TrishLeave a comment

Mumford & Sons has been one of my favorite bands for the last five years.  Naturally, when they announced their new album, I was ecstatic.  Also naturally, when I first heard their single “Believe” on the radio, I was appalled.  Rock had replaced folk, and my knee-jerk reaction was to recoil from change.

However, my love is nothing if not loyal, so I bought their album with the intention of listening to it until I loved it.  So far I’ve listened through the whole thing twice.  I might have done more, but I got stuck on “Broad-Shouldered Beasts.”  THIS SONG.  This song reminded me of everything I love about Mumford & Sons.  It’s still not folk and there’s still no banjo, but the heart of the band is the same.  Continue reading →

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

TrishLeave a comment

I LOVE getting backstory for a villain.  So while I desperately wanted Meyer to release the fourth and final volume of her quadrilogy, The Lunar Chronicles, Winter can wait.  It’s Levana’s story first!  Serving as a prequel of sorts, this mini-book (is 220 pages mini? I don’t know) was a fantastic look at the moon’s culture, an incredible insight into Levana’s motivations, and a tantalizing hint of main characters we’ve grown to love from the main series.  That sentence looks like I got lost in an overly expressive thesaurus, and I apologize.  I just forgot how much I love Meyer’s fantasy world!

Levana’s story is excellently handled.  Although we get to empathize with her (sadistic older sister, horribly disfigured) she is still consistently creepy enough that our allegiances never fully shift.  Her “love story” with Evret is terrifying, and a really compelling look into the nuances of the mind of a rapist.  Levana is such a great villain because she doesn’t realize that’s what she is.  She always thinks she is doing the best thing possible–for her country, for those she “loves,” and of course, for herself.  The fact that this leads her to murder on multiple occasions is why she’s the bad guy.

Although Fairest is a self-contained story that ends far before Cinder begins, it totally rejuvenated my love for Meyer’s series, and I cannot wait until Winter comes out in the fall!  Continue reading →

Jack Handey Quotes

TrishLeave a comment

I like to think of myself as a mixture of high brow and low brow, of deep compassion and dark humor.  Maybe nothing expresses my interest in low brow dark humor quite so well as Jack Handey and his Deep Thoughts.  Here are a few of my favorites for your enjoyment and/or disapproval.

A funny thing to do is, if you’re out hiking and your friend gets bitten by a poisonous snake, tell him you’re going to go for help, then go about ten feet and pretend that *you* got bit by a snake. Then start an argument with him about who’s going to go get help. A lot of guys will start crying. That’s why it makes you feel good when you tell them it was just a joke.

Continue reading →

Tricia Marries a Seven-Year-Old

TrishLeave a comment

Fatick, Senegal – April 2010

“I’ll be the queen,” Melody said.  She pointed at me, “You can be the princess, and Ethan will be the bodyguard.”

I leaned back, enjoying the shaded hut in the Forsythe’s front yard.  “I want to be the queen,” I said, lazily stealing a 9-year-old’s dream.  “I don’t want to have to move.”

1917526_530178347992_7414675_nMelody is nicer than me, so she quickly agreed.  “Okay, I’ll be your servant!”

This selflessness made me uncomfortable.  “No, I mean.  You can be a princess.  You can sit here with me.”

“No, no, no.  I’m your servant.  What do you want to drink?  Can I get you something to eat?”

“…Well.  A Vimto would be nice.”  Melody ran inside to satisfy my whim.

Ethan stood nearby with a stick.  “Do you want to jump on the trampoline, Miss Trish?” he asked.

It was so hot.  “I don’t think queens jump on trampolines,” I said sadly.

Melody returned, carrying a can of Vimto with a straw.  “I had the best idea!” she said.  “The kingdom is under attack, and you have to get married!”  Continue reading →

Why Do Good Girls Like Bad Boys?

Trish5 Comments

There is a stereotype in Western culture that good girls like bad boys, and like all stereotypes, there is some truth and some lies to it.  [A caveat:  this is not about girls liking bad boys in movies!  How could we not?  Villains are often attractive people with a confident sense of humor who are more fully developed characters than their heroic counterparts.  Everyone crushes on movie bad boys; that is not what this post is about.]

Although not all “good girls” (which is a ridiculous label) like “bad boys” (also ridiculous), I think it is probably a true statement that women are often attracted to people who they know aren’t good for them.  And although I don’t have personal experience as a man, I’m willing to bet that men are often attracted to women that they know are bad for them.  So why do we do it?  Continue reading →

Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey

TrishLeave a comment

The church is meant to be a place where sinners find Jesus and learn to love each other in unity on a journey toward become saints.  Unfortunately, the church remains filled with sinners who often devolve toward infighting and arrogance.  Those who grow up confused by the disparity between what is taught and what is lived out can be tempted to leave all of Christianity behind.

Although my church past is not as horrifying as Yancey’s, I still struggle to reconcile the strains of legalism and divisiveness that I was taught alongside grace and love.  Reading Soul Survivor was like taking a gulp of fresh air as I was encouraged to leave the bad behind and cling only to the good.

Yancey’s spiritual growth largely came from looking outside of the church to social reform leaders and literary geniuses.  As a soft-hearted bibliophile, I was utterly won over by his thirteen spiritual directors.  Much like the men and women described in the Bible, the people who most affected Yancey are complicated people who pursued the difficult life of forgiveness and reconciliation while also committing affairs and battling depression.  They are not perfect people, but they wrestled with God.  Unwilling to accept easy answers or the status quo, the people who fill Soul Survivor‘s pages are so inspiring.  I’m so grateful to Philip Yancey for his honest recollection of his past as well as his offering of spiritual giants to learn from and emulate.  Continue reading →

Linkin Park Preaches the Gospel

TrishLeave a comment

I used to think Christians have a monopoly on truth.  I thought that only we could see the world as it truly is.  But I have since come to realize that most humans are on the same page.  We all have a deep awareness of the fact that this world–and the people in it–is capable of beauty and extreme horror.  And I think we all know that something needs to be done in order for the beauty to redeem the horror.  I do think that Christians hold the final piece to the puzzle, the part that says Jesus and proclaims a God who died and rose again in humble love for a rebellious people. But there are people all over the planet, holding to all sorts of religions, who see the other pieces of the puzzle.   Continue reading →

Things I Will Miss About Texas: The Concerts

TrishLeave a comment

By far my favorite thing about living in Dallas (within range of Austin) has been the live music.  I’ve had the opportunity to see bands that would never have passed through Central Illinois.  Below are my five favorite concerts!

IMG_43591)  Sufjan Stevens.

EASY CHOICE.  Sufjan Steven’s Sing-A-Long Christmas Tour was the best concert experience of my life.  Alternating between original music and classic Christmas songs, this concert felt like a massive family gathering of weirdos celebrating a holiday together.  Spinning the Christmas wheel to decide which hymn or carol we would belt out together, Sufjan felt like a friend.  That is, until he brought things back around to “Casmir Pulaski Day” and reminded everyone that he is, in fact, a genius.

The concert ended with the incredibly long “Christmas Unicorn.”  Sufjan donned streamers and a bike helmet outfitted with a wing and a unicorn horn.  Everyone swayed and sang, “I’m the Christmas unicorn / Find the Christmas unicorn / You’re the Christmas unicorn too / It’s all right, I love you.”  It was absolutely ridiculous and lovely.  I wish I could welcome the Christmas season with a Sufjan concert every year.  Continue reading →

Choosing to be Happy for PDA Couples While I Sit Nearby, Very Single

TrishLeave a comment

There is nothing more conflicting for me as a single person than watching couples perform Public Displays of Affection right in front of my eyeballs.  On the one–nicer–hand, how great for them!  I’m all for PDA, and I plan to gross out as many people as possible when I start dating someone who feels similarly comfortable.  I think there’s something very sweet about people showing their love for their partner in public.  BUT.  On the other–much meaner–hand, I don’t think anyone should be allowed to show PDA until I am also engaged in similar activities.

With one exception:  Old people. Couples above 60, hold hands all the time!  Kiss each other!  Rub each other’s backs and smile close into their face!  I love it.  It’s 100% adorable and it gives me hope that long-lasting love is possible.  Continue reading →