Lessons Learned interviews Notions on Being

As you might have noticed, I haven't written anything here in a long time. I'm going to stop making excuses and saying how much I wish I were still writing regularly (this is all still true, but these musings sound empty at this point). So instead I'll just get to it.

I asked Rachel at Lessons Learned if she would interview me because I thought it might help motivate me to put some words to screen again. And lookie here... I just wrote you a small novel.
Enjoy!

1. You have been granted the power to change the world. What do you keep the SAME, and why?

It may seem like a simple answer, but I would keep the creation of art. I started to say, “I would keep music.” But then I realized that what I’m thinking about music, is true for all forms of art. As I thought through the various things I love about the world, pondering what I would keep… what I would change… I realized there are elements of almost everything that I would at least find a way to slightly (sometimes drastically) alter if granted this power.

But when it comes to the creation of art around the world, I wouldn’t change a thing. As I mentioned, I intended to say music. I had this idea because I can think of nothing that I appreciate more about this world than music. All over the world, people create music… and while it is different from place to place and has changed throughout time, it truly is the universal language. You can get a sense of the culture and even the history of a people, I believe, by listening to the music they create. This awes me. Likewise, I would preserve theater, dance, visual arts, and (of course) authorship. There is just something about individuals’ ability to create that is so precious… and, as a Christian, I see this as the most beautiful evidence that we are created beings… beings who long to mimic our creator.

2. Do you have a hero? If so, who? (Please do not name a famous person or figure—who in your personal life do you consider heroic or admire?) If not, why?

This one’s easy. My father is and always has been my hero. I’ve been blessed with many heroic people in my life—namely Mere and Nicky, who selflessly… whether they know it or not… probably saved my life on more than one occasion simply by being my friends and carrying me when I didn’t have the strength to stand on my own. Dustin, my college pastor, is another hero who helped mold and foster my faith in countless ways and, in so doing, also helped save my life in ways he never knew. But when asked to narrow it down to one, I’d have to say the most heroic person in my life is undoubtedly my daddy.

I feel like I could write a novel about all the ways my dad has been a hero to me, but I don’t think anyone else would want to read it. So as briefly as I know how, here are a few reasons:

• When I first got sick and Friends was the only thing that could make me laugh, my dad went through the entire series with me and grew to love it, too, because he saw firsthand what that silly show did for me during that dark time.
• When I was a child and struggled to understand the difficult relationship I had with my mom, he would take me for drives and remind me over and over again that she loved me very deeply and when things were hard, it was never my fault.
• When my brother went through a series of incredible trials during college, my father did everything he could to encourage him. And when he found out someone was making life even more painful for him, after all my brother had already been through and worked for despite these trials, our father was able to bridle his anger and confront the man in a strikingly composed but forceful manner.
• When it’s been a while between phone calls, my dad will call me up and say, “It’s been a while. I just wanted to see how you are.” And after I’ve told him what’s going on, he’ll often spend the next hour talking about characters in books or movies or TV shows that I love and he’s (often at my encouragement) learned to love as well. I believe I owe my eccentric imagination to him… and I couldn’t be more grateful.
• When we were growing up, my brother, sister and I would wake up (begrudgingly, of course) for school and as we got ready and walked into the kitchen to grab some breakfast, our father would be sitting at the dining room table reading his Bible. As an adult looking back, this is extraordinary to me for a number of reasons. One basic reason is that my father is Catholic, and Catholics aren’t traditionally encouraged to study the Word on their own time. However, my dad loves the Lord and has always desired a deeper understanding of His teachings. This, maybe above all, makes my dad a hero in my eyes. Because it has instilled in me the desire to seek knowledge… to never take for granted anything I hear or think I believe. Whether reading the personal journals of Winston Churchill to better understand a man he admires or studying the Bible each morning before work, my dad has always demonstrated the desire to truly know everything he can about whatever it is he believes or values. I can think of no characteristic I’d rather emulate, and I only hope I can continue to grow myself in this way.

3. What is your pet writing project, the one I bet you’ve been working on forever? What is it about and who’s your main character? Are you still writing it?

Oh how I wish I had just one of these that I’d devoted any real energy to. Sometimes I’m ashamed to call myself a writer because I haven’t truly begun anything real. I have ideas, and I’ve jotted down notes, spent evenings brainstorming, asked friends’ and mentors’ advice… but I’ve done very little else. I’ve started the notes for what I’m hoping might become a semi-epic poem about the phoenix… but I have a LONG way to go before I can call this a “project.” I’ve also determined the topic for what I hope might be my first book… but beyond putting a lot of thought into a sort of theme and general idea, I’ve done almost nothing. I happen to be one of the most social people I know, and this demanding personality trait has kept me from doing much of anything in the way of major writing projects. It’s a trait I think I’m going to have to commit to abandoning, at least for a season here and there, in order to get anything in the way of real writing done. I’m hoping the motivation to do so comes soon.

4. If your life had a motto, what would it be and why?

I can’t seem to think of anything creative for this one. No matter how much I think about it, the only truthful answer I can think to give is as basic as this: “Be a friend.”

I say this because there is nothing I value in life more than friendship. I have so many amazing friends, and I can’t even imagine trying to count them. This fact gets pointed out to me on a pretty regular basis, and without intending to sound arrogant… I truly believe that I have all of these wonderful friends because I try really hard to be a good friend. I know I fail miserably and often… but I do try. And in all honesty, I put more effort into relationships than anything else in my life.

5. If you had to live anywhere but where you are now, where would you choose to live and why?

I think I’ve probably talked about this no less than 5 dozen times over the few years I’ve been blogging, but the answer remains… New Zealand. And the reason is simple—because it looks like this:

[I don’t think I’m feeling creative or witty enough to answer number six right now… but I’ll think on it for a while, and I may try to answer it at a later date.]