dear snow, I hate you. really. I do.

So last night, we got like a million inches of snow and Skate City closed just when my birthday party was about to begin. STUPID. I gave literal meaning to "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to" (or if it gets canceled...) major bummer. AND... it is STILL SNOWING. like, a lot. Here the view from where I sit:We still ended up having fun, of course, but it was hugely disappointing. And now I have nothing funny to blog about. So as my blog-crush Stuff Christians Like writer said recently, I'll be continuing "to get all Lifetime Movie with my writing." Sorry.

I've given a lot of thought in the past few days to judgment. For some reason, it keeps coming up. At Challenge Day which I blogged about the other day, we talked a lot with the kids about not judging people and drew attention to all of the various circumstances that make a person who they are... point being, we have no idea - at first glance - as to who a person really is.
For SOME unknown reason, we got on this tangent at my Truth Project group this week too. My friend talked bout a guy he saw on Sem Campus with pink hair. Making all the obvious judgments upon seeing any person with pink hair, the guy ended up coming to his class and talking about how he had done it as kind of an experiment to see who would get to know who the guy really was.
My friend Chris, a while back, grew a really awesome mullet. It was truly epic. He had it for a while, and as a very friendly, approachable guy usually, he commented several times on how differently people treated him when he had that mullet! Isn't that silly? Needless to say, I keep thinking about this topic... and don't worry, I'm gonna bring it all home here in a sec...

So I think this is sad. I do it too, like, every 20 seconds. I'm going to be a counselor - and if I ever want to work with at-risk youth or anyone not in a private Christian school (not that there's anything WRONG with that...) I'm going to have to really get over this. I wonder about all the people I have missed out on in my life because I didn't bother to understand them, get to know them, introduce myself. Whether it was because of what they looked like, what style their hair was, or if they were rude - whatever it was, it's sad to think about the people we miss out on - and more importantly, the people who get missed out on, because we [I] don't take the time to listen, notice, ask.

Today I saw this video - and I want you to really watch it (if you haven't already) because I think it illustrates this point BRILLIANTLY. This woman is a walking sermon illustration. I love to see the crowd's immediate change of heart, the look on the judges faces, as she completely... well... just watch. It's beautiful. I cried.

Britain's Got Talent

It makes me sad to think of all the other talents who don't ever get a chance to shine. I mean, I got to sing a solo in 8th grade at the spring concert. I got a chance. I wanted to sing, and I tried it. I didn't knock any socks off with "That's What Friends are For"... let's just say that. But the kids I met at Grant MS don't always get listened to, or get a chance, because they're punks and they have fashion mullets. Kids (and grown ups) all the time don't get a chance. Susan Boyle didn't for 47 years. But when she does, finally, get her chance... isn't it beautiful?