weekend in s.f.

This past Thursday I flew home. I love Southwest; I got on a flight 2 hours early and paid nothing. Brilliant.

The first event of the weekend was a family BBQ; so fun to swim, eat, and laugh with family. Everybody had questions about Gavin; he was choosing to go to the wedding- I was so grateful for that; he loves to be around his (step) family. After the BBQ, I drove into the city to see Matt Warren and Dillon Moffatt, and with the duo I found Andrew McGregor, Chris Osborne, and Dan Quon. Dillon, Matt, and I went out to dinner and we quickly went through the small talk straight into good conversation. I was blessed by Matt and Dillon's thoughts and opinions, especially as they unknowingly gave advice to me as a recent alum and for my interview that was the next day. Over dinner we discussed our own experiences on the Urban program. Also, Matt brought up facebook and how it is cool to be a Westmont student and to be "liberal" or "moderate." He thinks that Westmont breeds a type of socialism but then once you leave, you are forced to live out your opinions and beliefs on your own, leaving you with out a community to guide you and no one to impress. So really, his question came down to this: "If I really believe in these things (something as small as recycling), then how do I become the type of person who recycles or ____ (fill in the blank) in 30 years? How do we become people of service and not let that die out after 1 year of leaving Westmont? All of this, of course, made me think to the things that I so strongly believe in (or at least the things I talked about in my 4 years at Westmont) and the bummer part is that I have been out for 7 months and well, I haven't done anything proactive regarding the things that I "care" about. Interesting. Time for change. I need to be in a place that forces me to think, be proactive, and really live out what I believe. Because, after all, what I say I believe isn't what I believe, what I do is what I believe.

I interviewed on Friday morning; two hours late, I felt pretty successful. There weren't any questions that I stumbled across and didn't know the answer to; I was satisfied and felt like the real "me" came across to them clearly. It was a wonderful feeling to hear Brad, a Professor on the program, say at the end of the interview that he is so impressed with how far I've come and where I'm going, and that he could be a part of my story. And that's just it.... Urban is a huge part of my Westmont story. Urban led to 061 which led to being an RA, and of course meeting a ton of effective people along the way. I am so grateful for that semester. In the end, if I don't get the job, I am so glad I remember the way that program changed, molded and helped me discover more about myself.

The wedding. Maybe not the fanciest wedding, definitely a low-budget, but man, did I have a good time. No friends to catch up with and update about my life, just me and my family. So good to see cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, brothers' wives/girlfriends, parents, grandparents, step-siblings (especially!), etc. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the wedding and was fully present with my surroundings. The food was amazing, the music was great, the dancing was phenomenal... a totally memorable event. Also, I caught the bouquet. Hoooo freaking ray. Actually I think my new sister threw it to me on purpose. I enjoyed receiving it. The thought totally crossed my mind: maybe I won't be single forever. Okay, that's honesty/vulnerability at its best coming from the girl who preaches from the land of being single where not everyone gets married.

Pictures to come at a later date.