And Now to Write

Well, the new year is upon us! It's a perfect time to reflect on how we've done with our resolutions from last year as we plan new ones for 2020. In that vein, I'm coming full circle with this blog, by revisiting an old topic . Toward the close of 2018, I had chosen my word to focus on for 2019: everything. I wasn't entirely sure what that would mean, but that's what I felt drawn to. While I had spit balled a couple of ideas in that blog post, they only felt like that - sketches of ideas. I had noted that "everything" didn't just mean surrendering everything. It also involved God's presence in every situation, rejoicing in everything, and knowing everything that is good comes from Him. But I didn't quite know where to go with all of that. So, I unknowingly embarked on a mission to answer two questions: Is there something that unifies all of the ways the word "everything" is used in the spiritual life? Is it possible to grow in ...

The question "how are you doing?" is an interesting one. Wondering where am I going with that statement? Stop and think about the word "how." It is usually used when describing a process, whether it is outlining the process itself or discussing its quality. After all, the first three definitions for "how" are "in what way or manner," "to what degree or extent," and "in what state or condition" according to Merriam-Webster. Consider the structure of your own "how" conversations. When asked how a project is going, you launch into a commentary about your progress and hindrances. You talk about a process - giving some degree of background about the process itself and then evaluating it. The interesting thing is when we apply the how question to a person. We tend to give a "feeling check" as a response or choose whatever it is we want that question to refer to and answer that way. We might respond as if the ...

As many of my close friends know, I have a soft spot for environmental concerns. Growing up, I have memories of my brother trying to insult me by calling me a "tree hugger," to which I would respond by ginning and hugging whatever tree was nearby. Being in nature is one of my happy places. When I would think of my dream home during high school, it always included woods in the backyard or at least within a minute or two's walking distance. One of my answers to "what would you do if you won a million dollars" was to buy a large piece of wooded/marsh land that is being earmarked for development and turn it into a preserve with a nature education center instead. During undergrad my love for nature took on a slightly different form. When I learned the science behind climate change and how maltreatment of the environment often disproportionately impacts the poorest of the poor, my heart was grabbed. Instead of simply enjoying nature and getting upset when another co...

Good news: I'm learning interesting things in my classes. Even better news: I'm passing some of that knowledge on to you! Don't worry, though. I'm not going to go on a vaccine rant or spew out math equations at you. I want to give you a tool of sorts that you can easily use in your day-to-day life. What is this magnificent thing I felt the need to tell you about? Well, it's nothing new. It's the question we hate getting bombarded by: "Why?" I know, this is earth-shattering. But really, this is a super helpful question, especially when asked over and over again. My professor in my social epidemiology class started our semester with this approach, and I'm going to show you via her example why I think this is so important. Her main research interest is the effects of smoking on pregnancy. Now from the outset, you're probably thinking, "This topic is pretty closed. Don't smoke while you're pregnant." Ok, well consider women who ...

These past couple of weeks, I've been reflecting on the questions I asked in my last blog post.   And this week, my questions to answer were "What do I treat as my primary identity?  Why?  How does it manifest?"  I knew this series would take a lot of introspection to answer.  Thankfully, an activity in one of my classes jump-started the process for me. As a "get to know you" exercise, all of us in my Translational Evidence and Theory for Practice class were asked to draw and share a pie chart of who we are.  I'm a pretty visual person, so I liked the concept of the exercise; however, it had a flaw.  It doesn't take having a math degree to know that all the "slices" of the pie chart have to add up to 100% and that there cannot be overlap between said slices.  If you give Jack and Diane two slices of pie, you don't tell Diane that some of Jack's pie is also hers and Jack that some of Diane's pie is also his.  They will give you w...

Around this time of year, it's pretty common to hear people talk about their New Year's resolutions.  What they are, how they've already fallen short but are trying again, how long they think the resolutions will actually last, etc.  And then there's the group of people who boycott New Year's resolutions because of how they rarely make it past the one month mark.  I guess you could say I'm half-boycotter and half-resolutionist (sure, that can be a word).  Instead of choosing a goal like "exercise five times a week" or "wake up at 6:30 every morning," I choose a word to focus on for the year.  For example, the first year I did this I chose "humility" with the intent of growing in that virtue.  This year, my word is "everything." I know, it's an odd choice that sounds extremely vague.  The idea came to me while reading and reflecting on an Advent devotional centered on Mary.  While the devotional definitely emphasized...

What a year!  2018 had so many ups and downs, mistakes and lessons learned, beginnings and endings. Following the lead of many others on Facebook, I thought I would share some snapshots of my past year.  However, I want to do so in a slightly different way.  Next to each major event, I'm going to add something I've learned from it. Started off 2018 with a mission trip to San Lucas Tolíman, Guatemala with friends from my Newman Center and University Lutheran. What I learned: the story of Bl. Stanley Rother  who served his parish in nearby Santiago Atitlán during the Guatemalan Civil War, knowing it would lead him to his death. Also learned how fun it is to ride standing up in the back of a pick up and how terrible it is to have amoebas. My Grandma Wiskow passed away in February, suffering from the effects of her second stroke the previous summer.  While I still miss her, especially at family gatherings, I know she's where she has longed to be ever since ...

Arrowhead grads - do you remember how during sophomore year we had to give a bunch of speeches in our English class? While I don't remember what most of them were about, there is one that has stuck in my memory: The Soundtrack to My Life speech. Not because I got up there and froze or gave the best speech of my life. It's because the speech was about how some of the songs we listen to tell a story about us. We had to talk about 4 songs that resonated with us at various points in our lives. According to the outline I found, I chose "Graduation (Friends Forever)" by Vitamin C, "Tomorrow" from Annie , "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne, and "Real World" by Matchbox Twenty. Looking at this list, I wanted to go through the basics of this assignment again. Updating my list to reflect the 7 years that have passed (wow). So, here's a snapshot of my life via song. I've linked music videos to the song titles in case you don't know ...

These past couple of years have involved a lot of moving around for me. First, moving to Eau Claire for undergrad. Next, moving out to Italy for a semester abroad. A little over a week after returning from there, I left for Colorado and then for York, PA to spend the summer out east. Came back to WI for my final year of undergrad, and then I moved to Madison for an internship. And now, I'm sitting on my balcony in St Louis, gearing up for graduate school. Each move uprooted me in one way or another. Going to UWEC I knew a couple people from high school, but not many. I had some family there, but I didn't spend the majority of my time with them. I was still in school, but the structure of everything changed. To most people on campus, I was a complete stranger. Heck, I started off living with someone I had only met once before. In a way, my life was a blank slate. Yes, I brought my background with me, but few people knew where Hartland was on a map. No expectations were l...

This is the shirt. And yes, I have troubles knowing how to pose for photos. Back in high school, I went on mission trips with a group of teens from my parish.  Every Workcamp, we got a t-shirt with the week's theme on it.  I have developed quite the collection: Undeserved, Connect, Made, and What Do You Stand For.  The last one has resulted in the most attention.  Walking around in public with "What Do You Stand For?" in big letters across my chest often prompts people to ask me that very question. Starting from when I was 17 years old, I have been working on an answer.  I knew responding with "oh, that was just the theme from a mission trip I went on" was not good enough.  It didn't actually answer the question.  Sometimes, people would respond with their own answers.  This happened if a little kid or someone with Downs Syndrome asked or were nearby.  They would say something to the tune of "puppies!" or "homeless kittens!"...

One of the things I think about fairly often is how many people are struggling with feeling lost to themselves.  Who feel like they need to find themselves.  Who wonder what it is like to love themselves.  I think about this because I only briefly experienced it myself, and I want people to be free of these feelings. I think about how there's a departure at some point.  As kids, we don't ask these questions.  The idea of not knowing who you are feels absurd because you just are.  But then other thoughts creep in, whether they're from classmates, teachers, family members, friends.  We develop insecurities and lose ourselves.  Some earlier than others.  I met this battle head on my first year of high school when I felt a growing distance between my core friend group and myself.  Thankfully, a year later I was able to work through it and return to loving my authentic self.  Insecurities still exist, but I don't give them the power ...