“Every flower must grow through dirt”

Mmhm. 

Flowers

There’s a MidCountry Bank that I drive by everyday on my commute to work. Right outside the bank and along the highway is a signboard that the bank changes weekly with “inspirational quotes.” Their quotes are mostly of the sappy variety (e.g., “Trust all joy,” “Hope can always cope,” blah blah sap sap whatever), and I don’t typically pay too much attention to them, but a few weeks ago the bank had a saying that actually got me thinking.

“Bloom where you’re planted”

Hm.

It’s a fitting precept considering many in my generation are so discontent with where they presently are and are so eager to get up and head for “better things.” They’re convinced that where they are isn’t where they’re meant to be, so they spend their time complaining about it and living in the future instead of the present.

Now, I’m not saying it’s bad to be ambitious. On the contrary, ambition is a good thing! It’s good to develop yourself and strive for better things. People (myself included) just need to also be content and appreciative of where they are right now. You see, when you’re constantly living in the future, you miss out on fully learning the lessons of the present. Ambition isn’t all about grasping the future; it’s also taking firm hold of your present and using that to drive your future. So don’t take your current situation for granted and don’t immediately assume that you’re done growing and therefore above your circumstances.

Bloom where you’re planted, yo.

A wise and awesome band once said, “[There's] nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be (it’s eeaasyyyyy),” and I fully believe that. Wherever we are and whatever our circumstances are, I believe that there’s a reason for it. There’s always something to be learned, and no matter how small or mundane the situation might seem, it shapes our lives in one way or another whether the effects are seen immediately or much later down the road. Think about that. The situation you’re in right now might seem lame and pointless, but it will have an effect on your life. The effect might be big or it might be small, but either way you’re affected. So don’t be too eager to blow it off and move on because your circumstances might not be finished working in you. I think putting things in that perspective makes a person realize that while they might not be happy with where they currently are, what they’re going through is going to change them and bring them closer to where they want to be. That mentality makes it easier to be appreciative and thankful of a person’s current status.

So wherever it is that you’re planted, take advantage of it and appreciate it. Take the time to grow and flourish in your role, and soak in all the sunlight that your place in the flower pot allows. Then when you’ve fully bloomed and aren’t growing anymore, entice a bee to pollinate your seed so you can get planted and bloom somewhere else. Keep doing that until finally a botanist or a whimsical girl plucks you from the ground and presses, thus immortalizing, you between the pages of a heavy book.

Okay, so the analogy fails at a certain point, but you get the idea.

Bloom where you’re planted.

***

I think I might continue writing on MidCountry Bank’s signs. They’ve had a few good sayings since “Bloom where you’re planted,” none of which I can remember now… I guess I can write about their current sign: “It’s Limb Loss Awareness Month!” Yeah, I can definitely squeeze an inspirational essay out of that.

Stay tuned!

I would like to coin the following words:

1. truthify v. to make true
2. realer adj. more real

And while you’re adding these to the dictionary, you might as well throw in “depthy.” You can never have enough synonyms for the word “deep.”

You’re welcome,

Rachel

Yes, that's a castle and a cat

I never really had a firm stance on cohabitation until a year ago when one of the pastors at the Rock gave a sermon about relationships. He mentioned a lot of the same arguments made in that RELEVANT article and it freaking blew my mind. Just recently, my missionary friend Jordan linked this article on his Twitter and it’s been a great reminder of the downfalls of cohabitation before marriage. If you haven’t already clicked on the link, I recommend you do so. It’s a good read.

Essentially, some people who live together before marriage have the mentality of “Let’s try this setup to see if we’re compatible. If it turns out we can’t live together, we’ll just break up.” Of course, if it turns out they can live together, they decide to get married. Starting off this way is dangerous because that mentality can carry over after the couple says “I do,” and when disagreements start cropping up, they get divorced.

On the other hand, when a couple waits until after marriage to live together, they’re more likely to enter their living situation with the mentality of “I’ve already committed to this person and that commitment will be the basis of our compatibility and how we get along.” So instead of compatibility leads to commitment, it’s commitment leads to compatibility.

Does that make sense? I think it makes sense.

While the temptation to move in with a boyfriend is strong (ha, it’s funny (read: sad) that I feel that even though I’m not seeing anyone…), I’d rather wait until we’re married to live together. Besides, doing it that way seems more fun and exciting anyway.

1. It’s a no-brainer, but I’ll say it anyway: It’s always a good idea to do your homework beforehand and know a little bit about the company before speaking to their representatives at the job fair. Extra props if you come with well-informed questions.
2. If you weren’t able to research the company before the fair, that’s fine. Just make sure you’re respectful and don’t have the attitude of “I don’t know anything about your company so just give me your spiel so I can decide if you’re worth my time.” Basically, be interested and sincere in wanting to learn more about the company since you’re now talking to their representatives.
3. This might just be my opinion, but I think it’s better to start off telling the recruiters your background and interests instead of just asking them, “So what are all the employment opportunities you have?” Whenever someone started off telling me their background and interests, I was able to focus and elaborate on the specific jobs that they would be a good fit for. If I didn’t know the applicant’s background, I ended up just giving a broad overview of some of our positions, which the applicant might not have been interested in.
4. As an applicant attending job fairs, it used to bother me when recruiters would just say, “Apply online.” Now that I’m doing some recruiting, I kind of understand why recruiters say that. It’s their protocol. For my agency, applying online (through our application or by e-mailing a resume and cover letter) is the best way to figure out if an applicant is formally applying for a specific position. I collected resumes at the fair, but the act of handing over a resume doesn’t necessarily mean that the person is applying for a certain position. Unless applicants write down a specific job that they’re applying for when they hand me their resume, I have no idea what they want.
   • Nonetheless, I did screen the resumes I collected and some of those applicants will probably get interviewed based on their general, “no job indicated” resumes. This may not be the case for other employers.
   • Applying online after you’ve given the employer your resume is also a good way to follow-up with them. This strategy of submitting your resume and applying online can also help you stay on the forefront of the recruiter’s mind and separate yourself from other applicants they might have met that day.
   • If you do apply online following the fair, I’m more likely to remember you, your qualifications, and your personality/professionalism if you gave me a physical reminder (e.g., money—jk jk, I’m talking about your resume). This might only be an advantage if the representative at the job fair is the same person that looks at incoming applications.
5. When submitting your resume, make sure to include your phone number and make sure that your contact information is accurate! You could be shooting yourself in the foot if you have a typo in your contact section…
6. If you’re a job seeker at a job fair, take advantage of all the free swag employers give away. No, there’s no recruiting wisdom or reasoning behind this tip. I’m just saying that you should get all the free stuff. That’s all. As a recruiter this year, I didn’t get a chance to walk around and score free bags, pens, and stress balls, so take advantage of it while you can!
7. Lastly, don’t underestimate the recruiter and avoid talking to her just because she herself looks like a student/12 years old/not like a legit working professional. She could be a 22-year old alumna, who works in Human Resources and gets paid to do recruiting. So there.

Well, there you have it! Some insights/tips from an amateur recruiter. It’s pretty basic stuff, but hopefully someone reading this will get something out of it. However, if reading this has been a waste of time, I first off want to apologize. Second, I hope I can redeem your time with this video of two different species of baby animals spooning:

cuuuute…

Example:

-What I’m trying to define: “Something that has depth.”

-Existing word: “Depth”

(Cue thinking process… Ding!)

-My newly invented word: “Depthy!”

(Cue realization…)

-Already existing word: “Oh yeah… ‘Deep’”

Sigh… I have been robbed of so many potential words and opportunities to contribute to the English language…

Below is a link to a sermon from the Rock Church by Pastor Mark Darling. It’s creepy/amazing how much it really tied in with my posts on relationships and trusting God. Really creepy/amazing, especially considering that Mark gave this message the week after I wrote the posts.

So why, after four months am I posting the message now? Well, I’m doing it mostly for archival purposes and as a reminder for myself during those times I’m struggling with the sentiments expressed in my previous posts. Sure, I’ve got the message downloaded on my computer, but it’s sorta nice to juxtapose the worry and uncertainty of my posts and the wisdom in this message.

Without further ado, here is the link to the message:

Message from The Rock, 2010-10-01

(I swear, 38:15 to the end sounded like Mark was addressing me directly.)