6 Word Summer Story

The other day I was watching some lectures on YouTube given by John Green at different colleges, conventions, and things, and started drifting through YouTube videos as it is far too easy to do. Soon enough I found myself watching The Hemmingway Challenge ft. JOHN GREEN! In case you are unaware of what the Hemmingway challenge is, it is when one attempts to write a story using only 6 words. Pretty entertaining as well as wondrous that such clear pictures and ideas can be communicated using such few words. For instance Hannah Hart (The 'host') wrote the story - "Puppies in windows still wag tails." So simple yet so beautiful...which feels strange to say, but I'm sticking by it.

So anyways I was thinking hey, Mariah, if you were to write a 6 word story in efforts to encompass the essence of this summer, what in the world would you write?! Well, after contemplating several ways to pursue this REALLY REALLY EXTREMELY DIFFICULT task I finally came up with one. One 6 word sentence that is supposed to hold the whole story of my summer, over 3 months, that I am not going to tell you. Not right now. No, first I'm going to talk about these months more in depth. 

I traveled to Germany for 22 days, got a new car, a new job, and went through a lot of guys. Most of these I'm proud of (all but the last quite obviously.) 

Germany - Wow. I've already blogged about this experience a few times so I'll keep it short, not 6 word short but short. Though I'd traveled in the past to other countries and come to know many different cultures and world views, I'd never seen Europe. Turns out it's very different from Guatemala and El Salvador. Who woulda thought, right? Being in Germany really broadened my view of life and the world in general. Someday I want to see the whole world. Literally the whole world. I LOVE TRAVELING. And I love learning, and trying new things, and meeting new people, and being pushed out of my comfort zone. 

New car... waaah. I miss my old car so much you have no idea. I'd only had one vehicle, a red Pontiac Grand Am named scarlet. I went through so much in that car. Many highs, many lows, including one minor accident, one ticket for failing to renew my plates on time, a number of legendary jam sessions, and the occasional screaming-while-standing-out-the-sunroof experience. It was the most reliable car ever and I used to joke that my relationship with my Grand Am was my longest relationship...slightly depressing now. But it died. Scarlet had a leaky head gasket which would cost almost what I payed for the car to repair so I didn't. Instead I drove it in to U Pull It, cried more than I did when my dog died (don't know if this more emphasizes the connection I felt to my car or the horrible pet owner I must've been) and moved on. I got a new car. It's a truly wonderful automobile, a Chevy Spark. Adorable, economical, also red, and I've been told "so Mariah" which I'm assuming means awesome or perhaps something more awesome than awesome. Kidding. I guess it just fits my personality thought, which I would agree with. It's taking some getting used to largely because it's a stick shift which my super cool bro Josiah taught me how to drive the night before I got my new wheels. Interesting to say the least, frustrating at times, but also pretty rewarding. So there's that. I like my new car a lot, and I'm very grateful to have it.
I got a new job! Yeah! Woohoo. I just started working for my church, Emmanuel Fellowship, as a youth intern. Basically I work with the youth group there by leading games, worship, announcements, special events, and all that fun stuff. I've been doing some of these things for quite a while, but I'm really excited to dive into more responsibility as well as get to know the kids on a deeper level. I just started this job last Wednesday so there's still a lot of discovery to take place, but I'm sure God will help me through every aspect.

Relationship goal: This.

Oh golly..guys, I'm about to talk about guys. Not in an informative or encouraging kind of way either, more in the eww way, and not the eww like cooties way, more the eww I suck at this way. My strategy here is to be wholly and utterly honest. Eww. This time eww because I don't really care to be fully honest about how much I suck at relationship stuff. UGH. (Gosh I am sounding like such a basic white girl...eww. Okay I'll stop now.) Anyways This summer was full of struggles for me. Struggles with ideas of life, seeking the Lord, and "talking" to guys. Since I obviously know I am terrible at relationships I decided not to do them anymore, no instead I'll just do the casual thing. Brilliant, Mariah. I won't go into the details, however I will tell you that I've realized a lot of things I need to take care of with myself that will probably help me with my suckiness in this area. This realization lead me to the decision to  force myself not to talk to boys for a month. Not like talking, but talking talking. You know? It's been 11 days and I'm feeling good. I'm going on a lot of runs, reading a lot of books, and spending a lot of time with Jesus and my Bible. Slightly related - I've also found a new love for angry Kelly Clarkson songs. Stay tuned. There will be more to come on this month of emotional celibacy as the weeks pass by.
Hopefully now that you know a little more of what's been going on in my life, you will better understand my 6 word story:
Enduring adventure builds trust and character. 
That's all. You can read into it what you want, that's the beauty of such a short thing meaning so much. Is enduring here used as a verb or an adjective? What/Who am I choosing to trust in? And what are the adventures that have been building my character these past over-3 months?
Now I want to challenge YOU. Yeah, you. What's your 6 word story for this summer? What have you learned? What memories have you made? How have you changed? Comment below! I want to hear/read your story!