Excersing (the tiny) part of my right brain.

I'll never forget the day my Mass Comm advisor dropped a semi-huge bomb on me: I accidentally took the wrong class during my Sophomore year of college. Because of this, I would not graduate on time.

I was shocked. Because I was earning two separate bachelor's degrees (a BBA and a BS) I always had to be super on top of my schedule. Fitting in my 160+ credits was a nightmare. It was already going to take me 4.5 years to earn these 2 degrees (which actually isn't bad at all).

But now...a mistake? My adviser showed me the handbook. I had been using an old one to determine my graduation requirements, and I quickly realized that I took Digital Imaging instead of Photo Journalism. Probably not that big of a deal. But, I was stunned. I was always so on top of everything - how did I miss this?

My fabulous adviser ended up pulling some strings and got the Dean to sign off on the Digital Imaging class as a substitute for PhotoJ. Hallelujah. I could graduate on time and not have to stay a whole extra semester for one class.

Looking back on this situation now, I'm SO grateful I took the wrong class. Our professor for Imaging was a legit graphic designer with her own established company and decades of experience. She taught me so much about working with the Adobe Creative Suite- PhotoShop, InDesign, etc. She saw potential in me and really helped me push myself to tap into a creativity I didn't know I had.

I'm no graphic designer, but I would not have the design skills I have now if it wasn't for that scheduling screw up. It's funny how God worked that one out. Now, I love getting to flex my (small) creative muscle, especially in designing some materials for my church. Thought I'd show you a few things here that I've done. I also get to tap into my creativity when writing my monthly newsletter, and I've been known to do a project or two for friends. Enjoy!

Introverts and Extroverts.

I basically know nothing about Susan Cain, but I love her.

Her book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking," now holds a place in my top 5 favorite non-fiction books of all time. 

Several chapters in "Quiet" are devoted to introducing (and then debunking) the myth in our society of an "extrovert ideal" - that in order to be well-liked, successful, or a leader, you must be an extrovert. She defines this ideal as: "the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha and comfortable in the spotlight...Introversion, along with its cousins sensitivity, seriousness and shyness- is now a second-class personality trait.

Cain introduces an incredible amount of psychological and medical research in many of her chapters, especially those on the idea of personality and temperament. She closes, appropriately so, with a few chapters about living as an introvert in an extrovert world (and succeeding at it).

At the end of the day, I won't remember the intriguing stories, insightful comments or surprising statistics about anything Cain discusses in her book. But weeks after finishing the book I think about it daily, because it has greatly encouraged me to just be myself. It's given me insight into who I am, and helped me see that I need to be honest with myself about how God has made me. I have to live out who I am, regardless of what the world may think or expect of me. Dare I say, neither introvert nor extrovert is the true ideal - God made them both, made people to be one or the other or a mix of both. And that's good.

If you're an introvert, or dating/married to one, or you have one in your immediate family, or if you don't understand them, (...or even if you think you do)... I suggest checking out "Quiet."