The Next Chapter

Hello again my friends.

Yet again I have been hit with a large amount of change. A change that I have been waiting on for a long time. Ladies and gentlemen, I have finally found a job. I have started working at Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance in Ridgeland. So far I've only worked a week due to a previously planned vacation, but the first week was fantastic. Maybe it's because it is radically different from all the random food service jobs I have been forced to have all throughout high school and college. Maybe it's because it pays a bit more. Or maybe it's just because I simply have enjoyed what I've done so far. Regardless, I am very pleased. But despite the happiness, there is always that feeling in my mind that time is moving so much more quickly than I want it to. I follow a certain account on Twitter called The 90s Life that, of course, tweets about any and all things 90s. Seeing their posts remind me so much of my childhood and bring back so many memories. And I feel like I should still be there. I feel like I should still be living in Ridge Park, waking up early to watch Power Rangers, having my mom drive me everywhere, and only worry about school first thing in the morning, more as a chore than actual school. Deep down, I still feel like I should be a child, because parts of me feel like I still am. But I'm not. I am an adult with an adult job, a car, a motorcycle, and my own bills and responsibilities (and hopefully soon, my own house). I am not complaining, I am simply explaining how strange it feels to be at this stage of my life. Weeks feel like days now. Part of me longs for the past and is afraid of the future, but part of me is excited to see what God has in store for me. After seeing all he has done for me in the past, how he has provided everything I could ever need and more than I deserve of what I want, and how he has protected me from so many things despite me not living for him as I ought, I can only imagine what he is going to do in the future. And that, my friends, is what really keeps me going.

On a lighter note, the vacation that I mentioned earlier was a trip to North Carolina with my father to a remote place called Deal's Gap. There is a motorcycle resort in the mountains that is one of the most popular places to ride in America. We went in the middle of the week during what the employees referred to as a slow period, and there were still at least 150 or more motorcycles. Only downside was that the vast majority were Harleys and other massive choppers. My father and I felt very outnumbered. But It was still fantastic. The course itself was actually a public highway, but the traffic was 90% motorcycles. It contained 318 turns in 11 miles, many of which were complete 180 degree turns. It was an extreme adrenaline rush. You barely had time to come out of one hard turn before you were shooting straight into another. Some of the turns were so abrupt that I could hear the metal bottoms of my foot pegs dragging the ground. There was also a large degree of danger. In some spots, the side of the road dropped off into a ravine that I could not see the bottom of. But strangely enough, knowing that the danger was there almost made it more enjoyable. And the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. Mountains covered in lush green trees, enormous winding rivers and valleys, clear blue skies (for the most part). I'm not much of a camera man, but I took more photos and videos on this one trip than I have all year. If anyone wishes to see any of them, I would be more than happy to share. Some were even taken by professional photographers that had tents set up at some of the sharper curves. Best vacation I've had in years.

One of the biggest things my new job has done for me is give me a new found appreciation for Saturday's and the ability to sleep in and have a bit of freedom. So now, I am going to go enjoy that freedom. Much love my friends, and God bless.

"And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."