Towards a Joyful Soul

I just got back from Austria! I spent two weeks there with my mom, seeing family and friends, enjoying the mountains and lakes, and eating lots of good food! Here are two things that I learned about in my time there: 1) Identity For as long as I can remember, I've struggled to feel "Austrian enough." I'm not visibly and identifiably different. I'm white, don't have a foreign accent, and grew up in the US so I don't have any super strange international quirks. Unless I tell people, they don't assume I have any other significant cultural heritage. When I do tell people that I'm Austrian, they often interrogate me, making me prove it to them. Where you born there? Did you live there? Have you been there? Do you have their passport? Do you speak the language? This last semester, my counselor and I had a conversation. It was clear that the acceptance of others was a vain pursuit. So aspects of being Austrian were important to me?...

Huge (but quick) update! So if you read my previous blog post , you know that I originally was planning on working at a garden. Then, the site supervisor asked me interview with a tutoring center and, after contemplation, I agreed to switch my placement. Well, it happened again! I interviewed with an organization called Eden House  for my placement. Eden House is an organization that works against human trafficking. They do this through both housing and serving survivors as well as education and policy advocacy. I am excited about the important work that this organization is doing and I'm also excited about the relationships that I will have with the staff and residents there. However, I recognize that this work will be difficult. I'm a very empathetic person and secondary trauma is a real possible condition. With this placement, over the next year, I will need to be especially proactive about taking care of my mental health. Your prayers and support in that are much...