Do What You Love

Dog's bark,

Midnight lark,

Construction's churn,

Copter's turn:

Noise of DC.

Who knew that these trivial sounds would be the overture to my dream job.  "Do what you love" - so everyone says, although I haven't met very many people who can honestly say they are working their dream job right now.  Except for my dad.  I've always been jealous of my dad, because he graduated college knowing exactly what he loved to do and immediately got a job doing it.

Growing up, I never knew what I wanted to be.  Nor did I in high school.  I thought maybe I would know once I got to college, but graduation came and went leaving me still wondering "What do I want to be when I grow up?"  Then, I decided.  I decided that I couldn't find that one job doing what I love in my beloved Tennessee.  That one thing that you literally look forward to every day - the thing you feel alive when you do it.  So, jobless, and without any prospects, I moved my new, small family up to our nation's capitol.  And now, dear reader, I am twelve hours away from my first "job" in DC.

No, it isn't paid.  No, it isn't glamorous.  But one month into the job search, I have decided to test my mettle.  If you truly love doing something, you will love it regardless what you are being paid, right?  Is that true of your job?  Would you love doing it even if the money wasn't coming in?

I'm thinking a lot now that I'm here.  More than I have in years, and the ironic thing is that I'm thinking so much that it has become more difficult to write.  I find release and relaxation in hand-written letters occasionally, but that's about it.

Capitol Hill Baptist Church has been so good to us.  It has been so long since I genuinely felt happy - an overwhelming joy - to be a Christian, but I feel it here.  I am constantly thinking about things I never thought about before, and I enjoy praying for people I just barely met.  Change is hard, faith is harder, but oh, dear friend, they are so worth the struggle.

I write to you on the cusp of uncertainty; I am unable to see around the bend of the future, but I am so glad it is that way.  I trust my God more than I have before, I love my wife increasingly more every day, and I love my country.  I am in a good place...and I'm not sure I've told you that enough in our few years together.

I'm praying for you right now - I hope that God draws you to him, to the work you are called to (because all work is valuable and precious to Him - if you're a furniture mover, a Hill staffer, a lawyer, or an insurance salesman), and to a love for where you are in life.

I'm sure I'll have plenty to write to you about soon - after all, how long can the philosopher in me hold out working somewhere as momentous as Capitol Hill?

We shall see.

Our Cat is a Boy

Every now and then in Life, there comes a day that you can put your finger on and say, "this day marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another."  January 9, 2015 was one of those days, if you'll remember, I wrote to you - The Setting Rising Sun.  That day marked my last day of break before graduation and my last day of dating - moving into a life of engagement and a few months later marriage.

August 1, 2015 was another one of those days I could easily point to as a new beginning.  That day, I married my best friend.  Since then, my life has been a constant whirlwind of uncertainty.  Blissful, but still uncertain.  Am I meant to collect debt for the next few years? Should I stay in my beloved Tennessee, or should I pursue a career elsewhere?

February 26th, 2016 was another day that was obviously a turning point.  I had given notice at my job two weeks prior, and now I was required to truly put weight to my decision to move to Washington DC.  Oh, and partway through my workday I got a call informing me that the cat I have owned for several months - the cat I thought was female - was actually a male.  Talk about being thrown for a loop.

Life is full of uncertainty (I mean when you can't even count on what gender your cat is...), even on those days that are "set in concrete."  These are exciting times for Virginia and me, and they are scary times.  I don't have a job waiting for me in DC, but I am positive I am meant to go there.  I am meant to influence people in a particular way, and I am certain that I am to so it there.

Dear reader, I am so far from perfection, as I know you are aware.  I look for fulfillment in things like publishing a book (which I am now working to revise, as it is extremely difficult to find all your errors the first time around), but I find fulfillment in better things - my faith, my wife, and my Work.  I do not necessarily know what I am going to do in DC, but I go there with an open heart and more resolve than I've had in quite some time.

From my heart to yours, may this encouragement find you wherever you are.  You can do whatever it is you are meant to.  It will not be easy.  But I'll be here all along the way.

I'll write to you again soon.  My view from this proverbial hilltop of my life is stunning, and I eagerly await the view from the next.

I'll see you there.

J

Scarlequain is Published!

Dear reader,

I have been writing to you for quite some time now, and you have faithfully come back, again and again.  As I'm sure you could guess, it has always been a childhood dream of mine to be a published author, and thanks to Amazon Publishing, I have been able to publish a collection of letters, poetry, and short stories!  Some of it will be familiar to you, if you have been following me for very long, but much of it will be new, as I have included poetry all the way back to 2009.  In this book you can also find the complete gathering of the JTY saga, narratives, rants, and other writings, including a forward written by my lovely wife, Virginia.

Thank you all so very much for continuing to read my work, and for encouraging me to write.  Without you, I would just be talking to myself.

I will be putting a link to my book on the right side of my blog, and you can also find it by clicking here.

Again, thank you for reading.  Please let me know how you like the book!  I can't begin to tell you how excited I am.

Sincerely,

Jonathan

Don’t be Financially Responsible

Yes, you heard me right.  Don’t be financially responsible.  I’ll tell you what I wished I would have done when I was 18 in light of our current culture.

1) Going to college, make sure and go to the most prestigious school you can get accepted into.  That looks great on your resume.  And don’t try to do it debt free; I’ll tell you why in a moment.

2) Open a credit card as soon as you turn 18.  Pay the balance every month, but use it more than you use your debit card.  This way, you’ll build a credit score.  This does actually require you to be responsible enough not to abuse “free money” at 18.  And not to be a pessimist, but…good luck.

3) Every summer between semesters at college, don’t worry about your mounting debts, because you need something else to look good on paper – experience.  You’ll quickly find, if you’re motivated, driven, and want to make a difference, you’re going to have to get a job in a career area that is highly competitive.  Politics or policy, for instance.  So every summer, apply for an unpaid internship in the career area you want to be in one day.  You’ll work like a dog, you’ll probably have to use that credit card of yours to pay for food and housing (because unless you’re super lucky those won’t be provided), and by the time you’re done it will be school time again!  Huzzah!

When you graduate college, even with the ridiculous debt you’ve accrued, you’ll have more positive credit than someone who was financially responsible and took out no debt (go get that car you need now that your clunker died!), and you’ll have 1-4 years of relevant experience in the field you want to work.

Finally, 5) write up a killer resume, and realize that you spent all that money, got into all that debt, and spent all those summers, just so you can write a few lines of text on a page that will be electronically submitted to someone you don’t know who will spend less than 30 seconds reading it.

As unfortunate as it is, our society punishes young people who are responsible enough to work hard during their summers, get through school debt free, and who have never opened a line of credit.  You can’t get a small loan to buy a car (I’ve tried), you can’t get a job you’re passionate about, because even an entry level one requires experience (wait…so you’re telling me I need experience for the job I’m getting…for experience?), and your prized college education has been marginalized to being worth nothing more than a check in a box on your next job application.

So you tell me...in our current society, are there any young people out there regretting being financially responsible?

Playing House

“You be the Daddy,

I’ll be the Mommy,”

A teary glance,

A smile and a ring,

And two former children

Are applauded into the future,

Playing Life like Playing House.

In their hands their Rites

of Passage – the ring

and a Roll of paper:

bought at a high price

of Wealth and Time,

Years of their life dedicated

to one page of tree pulp,

Still unframed, guaranteeing no

more than an affirmative check

in a box, acknowledging completion.

Curmudgeons above sniff and scoff,

Holding their keys to success

just out of reach,

leaving the couple pretending

to know what they are doing,

where they are going,

And who they should be,

While the Experience Elite,

The Venerable Generation,

Exude expectations expecting

their advice to exonerate them

for their failure in parenting – 

Having failed their children,

Dooming an entire generation,

Leading them to believe

They can Play Life

Like they played House.