This is Me - Sorry Mississippi
This is a post included in the This is Me series where I answer 1001 questions about myself as writing practice. Each post consists of me answering 5 questions about myself. Wanna share what you would answer to any or all of the questions? Do it in the comments section!
WHAT IS THE ONE GROCERY ITEM YOU MUST ALWAYS GET?
I sat and stared out the window for a solid 10 minutes thinking about this question. I actually just got home from the grocery store about 30 minutes ago so this is actually fresh in my mind. I can not think of a single thing that I always must get when I go to the store.
I mean obviously this question is highly predicated on how often one goes to the grocery store. The older I have gotten, the more frequently I go to the store. I find that going once or twice a week ends up with me throwing out less food that has gone bad. If I only went to the store like once every other week then there would be a whole host of things that I would need to get every time which would mainly include: eggs, cheese, ground beef, heavy cream and some sort of veggies so I could make salad. I eat quite a bit of salads.
One thing we have been getting recently almost every time we go is the 1 liter bottles of Topo Chico. I like to mix TC with my iced tea in my Stanley cup, but I don't necessarily need an entire 8 oz can every time I do that. I also don't like the glass bottle TC mainly just because it fees wasteful to me because the glass bottles aren't that big. These are the things that make up the weird and first world problems of a boring suburban life.
ARE YOU SOMEONE WHO ENJOY'S TRAVELING?
If you are reading this and you even know the smallest, tiniest bit of me and who I am and my life then you already know the answer to this question. If you are a complete stranger and don't know me at all, I'm guessing that by reading the first sentence you could accurately guess the answer.
I've been to every US State except for: Alaska, Montana, N. Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Rhode Island.
I've been to Japan, Italy, Mexico and Canada - an would love to do way more international travel.
I traveled with my husband for two years in an RV.
So yes, I am someone who enjoy's traveling!
WHERE HAVE YOU TRAVELED TO THAT PERSONIFIES YOUR BEST QUALITIES?
I would consider my best qualities to be thoughtfulness, kindness, timely, responsive and responsible. One quality that I do not possess is figuring out how a travel destination can personify peoples qualities. ;-)
WHERE IS ONE PLACE YOU WOULD NEVER GO TO AGAIN?
I had a pretty miserable time in Mississippi so I'm not sure I would ever voluntarily choose to go there again.
DO YOU THINK JOY AND HAPPINESS ARE THE SAME THING?
I love this question as it is a subject that I happen to feel very passionate about. Joy and happiness are 100% NOT the same thing...even in the slightest.
Happiness is a feeling, often fleeting, based on happenings. When someone says, "I just want you to be happy", they are essentially set up for failure as someone can be happy one minute and completely depressed/angry the next. No one is ever "happy" as a final state...aka...now that this has happened, I am now happy...for the rest of my life. No, that's not a thing.
Joy on the other hand is, in my opinion, a lasting feeling of satisfaction. Joy is not necessarily an emotion as much as it is a state of mind...a way of being. Even though it may seem counterintuitive, you can be filled with joy and also sadness at the same time. Sadness is also something fleeting...its not an emotion that someone feels forever, it comes and goes, just like happiness.
The encyclopedia definition of "joy" indicates a "feeling of pleasure that comes from success, good fortune or a sense of well-being." For the Christian, joy goes even further. Having joy stems from knowing and understanding the realities of God, his creation, the fall and the redemption that he has provided to those he loves. We have joy knowing that our future is secure. We may have trouble in this life...filled with struggle and hardship and we may experience great sadness at times as well. But underneath all of that is a sense of joy in knowing that one day we will be reunited to our Creator and all things will be made new. It's nearly impossible to not feel joy when you have that knowledge. That doesn't mean you will walk around smiling all the time or cheering or laughing or even feeling happiness...joy is deeper. Solid. Satisfying.
