Rose, Bud, Thorn

One thing I've learned from leading small groups is the value of a good ice breaker. My current Bible study goes a little wild with them: tell us about a time you hurt your foot, what's the creepiest thing you've ever done, do you sleep with socks on, if you had to get a tattoo covering your whole back what would it look like, etc. Then there are the classics: what's one word that describes the past week, and high, low, buffalo, in which everyone shares the high point of their week, the low point of their week, and their buffalo, which can be something completely random. But my favorite ice breaker for the first meeting with a new group is always rose, bud, thorn.

The rose is something you're really looking forward to, the thorn is something you're really dreading, and the bud is something that could go either way. It's a great way to get people thinking about the next chapter in their lives. And as I only have a week and a half left until I get on a plane and move to Scotland, these things have really been on my mind.

I always start with the thorn so I can end on a high note. The thing I'm dreading most about this next year is finding community. I have never started over so completely before; when I transitioned into college, most of my best friends from high school came with me. Even when I graduated and moved back to Pittsburgh, I ended up living with two camp friends, down the street from three college friends, in a community group with at least ten people I went to college with, and at a church full of people I already knew. I don't know anybody in Scotland, so I know I'll need to be really intentional about making friends. I've got some good connections, and I know my cohort will probably be close, but it's still daunting.

My bud is the time frame. I like that the program I'm in will only be twelve months, so it's not a huge time commitment; however, something I've struggled with during my year between undergrad and grad school is investing where I am. It's been hard for me to be consistent in post-work activities and making/maintaining new friendships when I know I'll be leaving in a few months. I don't want to treat my time abroad like a transition period. It's going to be a challenge to fully 'be where I am', but if I can do it, it'll make my time there so much richer.

Finally, I have two roses. In reality, I have so many more than that, but for your sake, dear reader, I'll limit myself to just two. My first rose is travel. It's going to be so much easier to explore Europe when my home base is there. I am so excited to see new places and experience new cultures! My second rose is writing. I have loved writing for as long as I can remember, and I am beyond thrilled at the prospect of practicing and growing in my abilities. As burnt out as I was at the end of college, writing never really felt like work to me. Or if it did, it was life-giving work and not life-draining work. At the end of the day, it's just fun!

Book recommendation: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. It's a story of rebellion set in a rich fantasy world, and I think it's really well written. The first in a series (!) and another book you won't be able to put down.