It Is Trish

The Story of a Friendship: the Forsythes and Tricia

February 20, 2015February 20, 2015TrishLeave a comment

Moving to rural West Africa to work for five months with a missionary family that you’ve never met could go catastrophically wrong. Luckily for me, the family I worked with were the Forsythes. Made up of six people who could speak four languages in order to connect with Senegalese people by discussing daily problems and spiritual significance, the Forsythes could be an intimidating bunch. However, they are also delightfully weird, and this makes them infinitely relateable.

Kimberley and Travis Forsythe are a power couple of emotion (Kim) and logic (Travis). They get things done, whether its arranging to get a new generator for the local hospital or starting a kids’ Bible study in their front yard.

The fact that I love Travis is astounding, since our first conversation was about how he enjoyed shooting stray cats for his neighbors. My overlooking this horrific hobby ought to demonstrate just how great he is in every other area of life. One afternoon when I was napping at their house, I woke to see he had moved two standing fans from the living room (where he was) to the foyer, so I could sleep in a cool breeze.

Kimberley began as a mentor, and while she still very much is one (she helped me decide to go to Greece by reminding me to “never make a decision based on fear”), I am so happy to call her my friend as well. Her passion overflows whenever she talks about God, her family, the people she loves, or the hurt in the world. She has a childlike joy that is infectious to be around, just like her wonderful laugh. Continue reading →

Introverts Dealing with Internet Hate

February 19, 2015February 19, 2015TrishLeave a comment

I recently had a conversation with a professor about being an introvert on the Internet. It has been my experience, observing both myself and others, that introverts can be just as silly, crazy, and excitable as extroverts. The main difference is the comfort level that is required for this zany side to come out. Extroverts who gain energy from being around people can get crazy fast. Introverts, whose energy is drained by being around people, need to feel comfortable and safe before showing anyone their interior world.

The Internet changed all of this. Suddenly introverts could share their thoughts, jokes, and silliness from the comfort of their bedroom. They got the intimacy of conversation without the fear attached to actually being around new people. Of course, this is largely a facade, but it is a really great one. It’s the reason I have blogged almost every day for ten years. Unfortunately, the Internet is not actually a safe place. Continue reading →

Scary Close by Donald Miller

February 18, 2015February 12, 2015TrishLeave a comment

Donald Miller is one of my favorite authors because he writes honestly and deeply about faith, relationships, and trying to live a meaningful life. When I heard he was writing a book about intimacy and vulnerability, it was a no-brainer to pre-order it. I read the whole thing in one day, alternately overjoyed and disgruntled depending on if his words hit a little too hard to home.

Scary Close is not a self-help book. Instead, it is Don’s story of how he grew into relational health after realizing he consistently found himself in manipulative relationships in which he was trying to use a woman to fulfill his own deep-seated needs. Sometimes I felt like he was peeking into my brain, especially when he described how he has always used humor, intelligence, and writing to get people to like him. It was helpful, then, that he shared a lot of the wisdom he has received from therapists, friends, and his fiancee Betsy. Continue reading →

There’s Some Good in This World, and It’s Worth Fighting For

February 17, 2015March 24, 2015Trish3 Comments

I cannot watch this scene from The Two Towers without crying. It has become my inspiration and motivation as I prepare for Greece. Saying that, I immediately feel dumb, because who am I to compare my decision with the epic quest of Frodo and Sam? But perhaps my feelings of insignificance are exactly what qualify me as a hobbit. Continue reading →

Tricia Makes a Japanese Friend in Senegal

February 16, 2015February 7, 2015TrishLeave a comment

Fatick, Senegal – March 2010

One of the most powerful bonds between people is formed when people who feel like outsiders find solace in each other. This is especially fun when there is nothing connecting these people other than the fact that they are outsiders.

While I lived in Fatick, there were fourteen people in the city who were “toubabs,” and eight of them were on our mission team. There were three other Americans in Fatick doing work with the PeaceCorps. There was one Korean girl who worked at the hospital and two Japanese girls who taught at one of the schools. “Toubabs” are people whose light skin obviously differentiates them from the local Senegalese. Any further national divisions were often hilariously wrong. I was usually recognized as being from the United States, but only because I am tall. My housemate Liz, also from the United States, was usually assumed to be from Japan, because she is short and has dark hair. But no matter what, whether from Asia or America, we fourteen were all “toubabs.” Continue reading →

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

February 15, 2015August 21, 2015Trish3 Comments

OH MY GOSH THIS BOOK. After I read the last page, I literally held The Hollow Kingdom in the air, shook it, and rasped, “I love you so much!” It’s been a while since a story was so exactly catered to my interests, and I’m still reeling from its perfection.

I mean, first of all, the goblin kingdom is one of the coolest worlds I’ve read about. It is lovingly detailed, full of vaguely argumentative doors, polite monsters, and pets with pets. I loved seeing goblins through Kate’s practical English eyes; at first she can only see the horror. But when she returns to the human world, she realizes just how attached she has become. Hers was a slow fade into appreciation and love, which felt very real. I, however, was more like younger sister Emily, quick to awe and adoration. Continue reading →

Happy Valentine’s Day!

February 14, 2015February 14, 2015Trish6 Comments

Whether you’re getting ready for a date or settling in for an evening of treating yourself, there’s always time for some Internet goodies! Waste away the day with these Valentine’s Day-related links.

If you’re into Valentine’s Day, but you’re not all that romantic, check out these Valentine’s cards.
Fill your brain with hilarious advice from Grace Helbig in anticipation for the holiday.
Find some healing and humor by naming cockroaches and scorpions after your ex at San Fransisco Zoo.
Maybe you don’t have a romantic partner, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate your friend-love with this funny and heartfelt comic.
You can also figure out how not to get a date with Viral Video Film School’s hilarious video about Internet Dating Experts.
Some of you might be panicking at this point because you just remembered it is Valentine’s Day. No worries! Here’s a list of the best and worst last minute gifts you can give your significant other.

There you go! Enjoy the Internet, and enjoy whoever you’re spending Valentine’s Day with, even and especially if that person is yourself!

Valentine’s Week Posts
February 8: How to Plan a Galentine’s Day Party
February 9: Top 6 Romantic Songs
February 10: Top 6 Heartbreak Songs
February 11: “Romance” in Senegal
February 12: Top 8 Romantic Books
February 13: A Romantic Ideal: Harold and Jean Stark
February 14: Happy Valentine’s Day!

A Romantic Ideal: Harold and Jean Stark

February 13, 2015February 14, 2015Trish8 Comments

I tend to have an unhealthy view of romantic relationships, either by idolizing them and assuming marriage will solve all my problems or by demonizing them and assuming marriage is a playground of horror. Thankfully, I have men and women in my life who model healthy relationships. None more so than my grandparents, Harold and Jean Stark.

I once asked them to describe the hardest thing about marriage. “Oh, it’s not that hard,” Grandma said.

“What? Come on. What do you fight about?” I asked.

Grandpa drummed his fingers against the table. “We don’t fight.”

Grandma covered his hand with hers, cutting off the repetitive noise. “Stop that, Harold. Well, I get mad with how fidgety he is. But that’s pretty much it.”

I think there is a 100% chance that they have fought at some point in their marriage. But after 61 years of living together, I find it extremely adorable that those times of animosity have faded into something inconsequential. Continue reading →

Top 8 Romantic Books

February 12, 2015February 14, 2015Trish6 Comments

When life is not giving me what I want, I almost always turn to books to meet my emotional needs. Romance is no exception. I can almost stand being alone when I can live vicariously through the banter between Jane and Mr. Rochester. Healthy? Probably not. But sometimes a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do.

1) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
I am aware that it’s problematic to love a relationship founded on lies. But…what can you do? I remember being shocked that Jane Eyre was written in 1847. The dialogue between Jane and Mr. Rochester sparks with wit and sexual tension, and I was immediately hooked. I also really love the character of Jane; her self-confidence and devotion to doing what’s right is incredibly admirable. It doesn’t hurt that she’s plain but winds up catching the eye of a rich man either, hey-o!!

“I have for the first time found what I can truly love–I have found you. You are my sympathy–my better self–my good angel–I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wrap my existence about you–and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.”

Continue reading →

Important Men in My Life

February 11, 2015Trish2 Comments

Studying Genesis 3 in my eschatology class and talking about the origin of the Battle of the Sexes made me want to fight this us-versus-them tendency by affirming some of the men who have made an impact on my life.

I am grateful for:

My grandfather, Harold Stark, for his gentle silliness and the unconditional love he has shown me for 27 years.