Dream a little dream

What is your latest dream?


[Insert Ife's latest dream here. It's top secret. Can't have EVERYONE knowing.]


I was looking up quotes about dreaming on the internet and found a few of these quotes by a few lesser known peeps and a few by the greats.

"A person starts dying when they stop dreaming."-Brian Williams

"But the delights of solitude don't only consist of dreaming. Next in enjoyment, I think, comes planning." Anna Neagle 

"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams."-John Barrymore

"A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes." -Mohandas K. Gandhi

"I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams." -Jonas Salk

"But God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in bed. He whispers in their ear and terrifies them with his warning. He causes them to change their minds; he keeps them from pride. He keeps them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death." Job 33: 14-18

Basically what I'm saying is that dreams are important and significant. When we stop dreaming, I think we lose a very crucial balance between our realities and imaginations. Life doesn't stop when we start sleeping, but instead, this is what drives us to continue. I'm not saying anything new, but simply emphasizing that (even as adults) we should continue to dream: in the literal sense and abstract one as well. 


Whenever people ask of what I want to do after college, I used to tell them what I thought they wanted to hear, but I realized that my dreams (o sea the dreams that God has given me) are bigger than what people can define me to. My life and the events in it used to be driven by my dreams, but now I've gotten stuck and to be stuck is to not see what lies ahead. If I see the great things that lie ahead, I'll do whatever possible to not get stuck. Trust.


Aight, I'm done. Do what you must, but whatever you do, keep dreaming.


Much love, peace, and dreaming grease,
      Ife 'Quipayan' S. 


P.S. I'm super excited about the rest of this year because I now realize that the real world cannot offer what I'm going to experience/what I have experience in college, so I better live it up! Going rock climbing today and out with some amigas for a birthday celebration!

Consequences of cabin fever

Oh splendid, splendid reader. You are the delightful surprise at the end of lull-inducing day.

I do a lot of self examination. (Nothing too deep otherwise I'll find something about myself that disgusts me).

 Life has been quite interesting for me. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I want my last year at WashU to be like and what I'd like to spend my last year doing.

And I've come to a conclusion: I want to spend my last year doing things that I love! Now, this is all rather relative because I can only do things that I love once I've gotten past doing things that I may not love. Ejemplo: I'd love to spend every moment singing, dancing or acting, but in order for that to happen, I have to do hw so I don't fail out of school.

However, there just isn't enough time in the day to do all that. What to do?? This is where I am now. How in the world is it possible to get all this done?

-----Also, I've become rather pessimistic these past few days. It's quite the problem. I barely even notice it either, that's how bad it is. I know when it started, but I can't credit that one incident to my recent outlook on life. Story: I read an article in StudLife today about how WashU's ranking dropped from being 13th to 14th (essentially breaking the tie between itself and another university). My reaction was to laugh. I laughed at what I thought was a stupid system of grading universities and how trivial this article seemed. I also attributed this decline to the students at the school. I feel like each year is less intelligent than the previous...or are we all just kidding ourselves in our level of intellectualism? But really though. The people here don't seem that much more intelligent that people I know elsewhere who attend non-ranked universities. -------

I have cabin fever and I want to get out. So badly. People at WashU are making me so upset it's crazy. I've never felt this way before and I hope it goes away otherwise I'mma get a 4.0 and peace out without doing much or enjoying my last year. I kinda don't care at this moment. I really just don't care. Unfortunately.

I may have dug too deep.

Let's be honest with ourselves....

Student-Morning-Dread syndrome

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

I'm a senior in college!!! 3 years of experience under my belt and you would think I've figured it all out.

False. 

I woke up early and the first thing I felt was fear and disdain for my lifestyle as a student (late nights, early mornings, half-baked assignments, no breakfast, 4 hours of work ahead, strange smells in the kitchen etc). Those emotions, for me, create a cycle of being stuck and not knowing or desiring to move forward. I hate those moments. What makes it worse is when I can't catch a break to figure it all out. When I have that break, I just want to sleep (but really though). I call this the SMD (Student-Morning-Dread) syndrome. Define it however you like.

La vuelta al cole/ Back to school sales

Tonterías en vertical: [La vuelta al cole]

I love school...and can't get enough of back to school sales, but because I am on a budget, I didn't get all the things I wanted to. I'd rather go to Nigeria than spend $4.00 on a fancy pen, cachai?

So, enjoy this blog en español (which includes drawings!! My favorite).

Good night and much love.

Ife 'Quipayan' S.

Jesus and I. We're like this: &

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to death---even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:1-11. I thought focusing on the entire passage would be too much, but after reading it over and over and over and over, etc, I realized that there is something about this passage that forces me to see the overview of who my Savior was and is.

It talks about what Paul would like to see in those who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord (Christians) and then it talks about the actions and humility of Jesus. I don't know about you, but when I think of Jesus, I tend to separate Him from me. We generally don't exist on the same page. Yes, I talk to Him. Yes, I read His Word. However, the idea of including myself and Jesus in the same line rarely comes up. But  Paul makes that connection because of the way Christ lives in us.

'Unity with Christ. Fellowship with the Spirit.' Here we establish the fact that Christ does not desire for a long-distance relationship. No way! He wants to kick it with you and your friends at the movies and sit with you in class. He wants to love you and be your friend. In this, we are united with Christ. And in our unity, we [need to] reflect the nature of Christ himself, this humble guy that figured dying was the only way to give me life. Go figure.

'He humbled himself. Therefore God exalted him.' These phrases reflect the nature of Christ Jesus. That means that if this is what Chris is doing, then this is what I need to be doing. No, I am not Jesus Christ, but by being one with Him, I should humble myself. In doing so, Christ exalts me.  <--that can be further explained another time.

Sooo...long story short: Jesus and I are united (friends!) thus, we share similar traits (humility)---at least we should.

It's a work in progress, but I know that it will happen. I can get there. Claim it. Pray about it. Work on being one with Christ. (If you need assistance, holla atcha home giiiirl 'cause I then can point you to the Bibliaaaaa).

I'm out. Deuces.

Much love, peace and unity grease,
    Ife 'Quipayan' S.

P.S. I'm getting ready for my Spanish TA interview process. ?Hablas español? Chuta.

She got soft

I'm sitting in my dorm room thinking about what I want from this year in college. It's my last and I'm semi-scared that I won't do everything I want to do or fortify the friendships I hold so dear to me. (The following has nothing to do with this).

Reconcile

There are some things in life that are simply difficult:

• Learning how to ride a bike
• Losing a friend/family member
• Being BROKE!
• Waiting
• Being sincere about asking for forgiveness

The latter is what this passage (Genesis 32:1-5) focuses on. These 5 verses outline how Jacob went about reconciling with his brosky. The thing is that he was in the wrrrrong! Like, the farthest point from right. That's where Jacob was. 

(Some history: Jacob and Esau are brothers. Esau is older. Jacob is a thief. Jacob stole Esau's birthright and the blessing that is reserved for the firstborn. Jacob is a con man. He tricked his own daddy into thinking that he was Esau so he could get all this. Jacob is in the wrong.

Ladies and Gents...this is HUGE. Imagine having a relative falsify their identity to be you and then take ALL the $$ that was left for you!!! How would you feel? Precisely. Esau swore to kill his brother. Jacob is a coward. He ran away to live with his uncle for 20 years, who is also a con man; it runs in the family obviously.)

Back to the story: So God tells Jacob, enough is enough. He has got to reconcile with his brother...20 years later. He could have simply forgotten about the who ordeal and kept living his life...far, far, far away from his brother. BUT....that's not the way things turned out. He:

1. Traveled long miles to his brother's hood--initiated the process
2. Sent a message calling his brother 'my master' and himself 'your servant'--he humbled himself
3. He expressed that he hoped to "find favor in your [Esau's] eyes"--he sincerely asked for forgiveness

Honestly, I have a hard time with asking for forgiveness, especially after such a long time. I like to think time heals, but the steps Jacob took led him to having a great relationship with his brother and expresses what God wants for us in our relationships. God heals.

There are people I've never asked forgiveness from (though I really don't think it was ALL my fault) and probably should; who are those people for you? Take some time to think about it and what steps do you need to take to reconcile.

Much love, peace, and reconciliation grease,

       Ife 'Quipayan' S.

P.S.I'm all moved in here at school. But I feel like I've been here forever (I got in two days ago). I have sooo much to do before Tuesday (classes begin!). Yikes. Pray for me!