Thoughts on Jamaica

We recently took a week and went to work at a deaf village in Jamaica.  We did mostly construction work to help out the people of the deaf village.  Along the way we stopped at an infirmary (A hospital/nursing home for the elderly, blind, mentally ill and disabled) and an orphanage.  I will write more about the trip later.  Below are some life lessons I learned.

Life Lesson #1 – The poorest parts of West Michigan would be considered luxury compared to most of Jamaica

***We were all appalled at the sight of a massive mansion sitting at the top of a hill, when right below there was a house the size of our garage housing 20+ orphans...How could those people in the mansion live like that knowing that the lady running the orphanage below often can't afford diapers for the children?  Yet, upon further thought, while I don't have a direct view of an orphanage from my living room, I don't know how I'm any different, living in luxury while the rest of the world struggles.***

Life Lesson #2 – Contentment is completely a choice

***I think of the people we met in the infirmary who had nothing but a 6'x3' cot, with their belongings underneath.  The place reeked of urine, we saw mice, cockroaches, maggots...these were the unwanted people of Jamaica, those that had been dropped off by their families who no longer wanted them, or had a disability with no one to care for them.  These were people with nowhere else to go.  Yet, even in a place others would find downright miserable, we met several of them who had the joy of the Lord in their hearts and were genuinely happy.  How can I complain about such small things in life when people have nothing yet still choose joy?***

Life Lesson #3 – If I work hard, God will bless it

***We had the hardest team of workers.  We all seemed to be dragging every night but during the day God gave us the strength to give it our best, with the last day being our most productive.  It is amazing how much a team of workers can do in a week when they are all on the same page, unified as servants of the Lord.***

Life Lesson #4 – When God leads me, I better follow

***A lot of doubts filled my mind before the trip.  However, when you are doing God's work, all doubts are laid to rest and there is no greater feeling.***

Life Lesson #5 – The poverty in Jamaica has caused an ugly stain on a beautiful land with beautiful people. 

***Crime, violence, trash, hunger, sickness and homelessness are all things that are so rampant in Jamaica.  Jamaica had the highest murder rate per capita in the world for 8 straight years, and it continues to be at or near the highest.  I did not think of Jamaica as being a poor or hungry country before I went, I had never heard of Jamaica being a poor nation.  The focus of the trip was construction work in the deaf village and therefore I was not prepared for what I saw.  The thousands of tin huts, the people walking the streets with no shoes, the obvious homelessness were unfortunately blatant and obvious.  My heart breaks for them.***

Life Lesson #6 – Lastly, trying to loosen cement in a running, rotating cement mixer with a shovel is a bad idea.

***I'll leave it at that.***

Grandparents

I was just thinking last night how blessed I am to have the grandparents I do. I just wanted to write a quick post about it. How amazing is it that there is no divorce in my immediate or extended family. My parents have been married 30 years. And this year my mom's parents (Poppy and Grandma Haas) will have been married 60 years, and my dad's parents (Grandpa and Grandma Willink) will have been married 70 years! How blessed I am that I have such wonderful examples of what the commitment of marriage should look like. And how amazing it is that at 25 years old I still have all 4 grandparents in my life. They have so much wisdom, and so much love. It is incredible, and I am so grateful.

A Look Back

Note: This post was written mainly for future me, anyone besides future me will probably get bored with this post. Just a warning. This is not an essay that I am turning into school, it is an essay for me to look back on and remember. Also, this is all about me, I hate writing about me, but I thought there would be some important memories and lessons I learned that I wouldn't want to forget. I apologize if this comes across as arrogant in any way.

Running head: A Look Back

A Look Back

Josh Willink

Davenport University

4/3/2012

Intro

In exactly two weeks from today, I will get in my car, drive to Davenport University's Grand Rapids campus, sit through a 2 hour lecture, take a final exam and I will leave the class room for the last time as an undergraduate student. This is a big deal for me. You see, for the last 5 years, I have dedicated myself to working hard in order to achieve one of my major goals in life - receiving a Bachelor's degree. Now, despite the fact that I plan to continue on in school for two more years to receive my Master's degree, it is still a significant point in time. So much has happened in my life over the last 5 years, I feel like a completely different person.

I wanted to take a minute, write one more essay, and take a look back on my experience. There is so much that I probably don't remember. But some highlights truly stand out.

My first meeting with admissions

I called Doug one night to see if he wanted to hang out. This was back in early 2007. He said, "ah, maybe later I have a meeting tonight." "A meeting?" I said, "with who?" "With the admissions department and Davenport University. Hey, come to think of it, you should come too and check it out." I thought, why not? I had finished high school two years before that, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I eventually wanted to go to college but I had no idea what for. It's not that I hadn't thought about it, it was just that I was so indecisive. I decided to give it a shot. So I met up with Doug, and we went to his meeting. While the admissions counselor, Heather, was not unattractive, that had little to do with my decision. After all, I was already in a committed relationship. But she spoke about the school with such knowledge and passion, and what she said made a lot of sense. Doug and I left with a great impression, of the school that is, and we both decided that Davenport was the school for us. If I were to do it all over again, knowing what I know now, I would still choose Davenport. There have been some challenges, and some rough patches, but overall I have had a great experience and wouldn't change it.

You WILL fail a class

Before I started my first semester at college I had met a friend for dinner one night just to catch up. We hadn't seen each other in a while so we were bringing each other up to speed. I told her about my plans to start college. Her words were so inspiring to me. So much so that, 5 years later, I still use them to motivate me. She said to me "Josh, don't take this the wrong way. But college is HARD. It is not high school. It is not home school high school. It is really really hard. I say this so that you will not be discouraged when it happens, but Josh you WILL fail at least one class. Just know that, and when it happens, don't give up, just take the class again." That blew me away. Really? I will fail a class? I didn't even think about that. But the thought of it angered me to the point that I decided to make it my goal to prove her wrong. I never wanted to fail a class. Now, she didn't say it to degrade me, make me sound dumb or anything. She was simply trying to prepare me. Well, prepare me she did. And 5 years later, two weeks from the finish line, and I sure hope to say at the end of this class that I achieved that goal.

My first class.

A shy home-schooled kid who hated being in small groups for the fear of having to speak in front of a few people. I had never been in a classroom in my life other than driver's ed. Speech class. 20 people. Can anything be more intimidating?

I took this class with my brother, Teej, which turned out to be the best possible thing. I gave 5 speeches in front of that class, but it was my first one that I will never forget. I remember how nervous I was. Nervous was an understatement. To this day, if you were to ask me at what point of time in my life was I the most nervous, it wouldn't be my wedding day. It wouldn't be the time I asked Carrie's dad for his blessing to marry his daughter. Not the time I jumped out of an airplane at 18,000 feet, or my first time at the orthodontist, or any job interview. It is without a doubt, hands down the day of my first speech in speech class.

I remember going to the shed in our backyard and practicing my speech over and over and over...and over. I would pause while my make-believe audience would laugh hysterically at one of my jokes, I would use hand gestures and facial expressions to enhance my performance. I had a stop watch to practice my timing, It had to be perfect. I remember going to the library and renting a cassette tape on how to channel your nerves. I remember sitting in my chair before my first speech, heart pounding out of my chest, thinking how silly it was that I was so nervous. I looked outside and noticed people mowing the grass. What I wouldn't have given to be them in that moment. Just mowing the grass. Escaping the moment I found myself in. I envisioned what could go wrong, tripping, stuttering, losing my train of thought, throwing up, passing out, diarrhea...passing out. Of course, the more I thought about being nervous, the more nervous I became.

Something amazing happened during this semester, though. After that first speech, I can recall Teej giving me one of the best compliments anyone could have given me: "It was pretty good, I think you said um a few too many times but other than that...by the way if you were nervous I couldn't tell, you seemed comfortable." It was a compliment mixed in with an honest critique. Perfect. That was all I needed to hear. Every speech after that, while the nerves still came, they were good nerves, I welcomed them. It became an exciting thing for me. I guess that is what happens when you face your greatest fear and you realize you can do it. It becomes an adrenaline rush, one that you are drawn to just so you can say you did it again and again and again, and each time you did it, you got a little bit better. It is kind of like a child who is too scared to go down a tall slide. Once they realize they can go down, not get hurt, and it isn't all that scary...they realize, "hmm...that was kind of fun!" Do you think that child is going to want to do it again? You better believe it. I can honestly say that is what I felt, I truly looked forward to every single speech after that first one. After the last class, I will never forget the final critique given to Teej and me with no one else around. The professor telling us that out of everyone in class, she felt the most confident with Teej's and my public speaking abilities. That sounds prideful, but honestly I share that because future me and anyone else reading this may have a fear that they feel like they can't get over. This is proof that God will help you through it, despite how difficult it is or how difficult you perceive it to be, you CAN do it. I heard a statistic once that people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of dying. I completely understand that.

Other Memories

Throughout the years I made many more memories, 3 of my 5 years were done online though so I can't say many of my favorite memories had to do with school. But there were a few more.

Doing donuts in the school parking lot after a fresh snow fall. As I was leaving I looked back to see our overweight one-man campus security team running after me with his flashlight. Good times.

As mentioned in a previous blog post, falling asleep for 2 hours on a 3 hour timed accounting midterm exam. I don't know how I passed that class, so boring.

My accounting 101 teacher, a middle aged, heavier set woman whose wardrobe choices were only slightly uncomplimentary.

My tax class last semester, with a teacher that I would fact check in the back of the class room on my laptop EVERY time she went off script. Not the worst of which, was when she confidently told us that 50%, HALF, of all federal spending goes to the Red Cross.

Five years of my life, 116 essays, 14 presentations, countless hours of studying, reading, answering homework questions, preparing for tests. Close to $70,000 spent in tuition, books and supplies. All for a cap, gown, and piece of paper...wow.

WOW.

In conclusion

While I went about college the unconventional way, I feel like it is representational of my life. It seems I often don't do things the conventional way. I did not start college straight out of high school. I did not live in dorms, party, get drunk, spring break in Panama, etc. I waited until I was 20 to start college. I got married, worked full-time, lived on the other side of the country from my school, took mostly online classes. And yet, I enjoyed the last five years of my life more than I could have ever imagined. So wherever you are, whatever you are doing, raise your glass. Here's to the end of an era, and the start of the rest of our lives.

Works Cited

Willink, Joshua P. “A Look Back.” 3 Apr. 2012.

Lottery

The lottery tonight is a world record 540 million dollars. Which of course after taxes and if you take it in a lump sum, you are looking at more like around 200 m. I, of course, bought a ticket. How can you not spare $1 for the possibility of earning a 54,000,000,000% return on investment. I don't care how remote that possibility is. I heard that you are 8,000x more likely to be murdered and 20,000x more likely to be killed in a car accident. Which means if I do win the lottery, I should probably be pretty worried.

Anyway, quick list of how I will spend the money that I will inevitably win tonight. I will spend it in percentages not in actual dollar amounts.

10% to charity

20% to upgrading homes, probably a private island somewhere in Fiji

10% to family/close friends that need it

1% to buying exotic animals for my private island which would definitely include a pygmy hippo

15% to play with (jettskis, cars, courtside season tix to the orlando magic, disney on ice, etc.)

10% to buying a private jet and learn how to pilot

30% save and invest

4% misc.

This is going to be....awesome.

Uh-nuh-tha Day

Kobi ate through the dry wall in his room today. There is about a 3 x 3 foot square piece of drywall that is in place in the laundry room that acts as sort of a little door to a storage area. Kobi had been working on it a while, he finally ate through the bottom of it, causing it to tip over and wedge itself between the laundry machine and the door, making it virtually impossible to open the door. It took a little persistence and a little lowering of the shoulder and we were in.

Anyway, I know it was Kobi too. I have no eyewitnesses, and he hasn't personally given a confession of guilt. But the evidence is incontrovertible. The tennis balls that have accumulated on the other side of the wall, the traces of white powder on his nose that has tested positive for dry wall, and the undeniable look of guilt that is all over that 1 year old pup face of his. It was him. Although not catching him in the act has complicated the disciplinary actions that must be taken if we hope for this to end. I'll have to tighten my security measures. Time to get creative... *suspenseful one bar outro* <-- I have no idea what that means.

No baby yet!

It is an interesting time in our lives. I am at the age (25) where I am definitely looking, acting, and feeling older than people in college. In fact, Doug and I were playing pickup basketball at Davenport, and he overheard one of the guys refer to him as "that old guy," and Doug is younger than me! I know I will look back at this post 20, 30, maybe 50 years from now and say, oh to be 25 again. I know I am not old. It has just really hit me lately how fast time passes, it feels like just yesterday I was in high school.

I know I am definitely in the baby making years, in fact several of our friends who are younger than us have 1 or more kids. It just still feels to early for Carrie and I. We still have so many things we want to do before we are "tied down" so to speak. I felt this way before getting married though too. People made it sound like when you get married, all of the sudden you have to become a responsible adult who works 9-5, vacations in Virginia once a year, lives in a house with a white picket fence and watches documentaries on the civil war during the evenings. But what I've found in our marriage is that it is completely different than that. In my experience, married life is the same as single life. It is just that you have another person to share those life experiences with. I suppose if you marry the wrong person, things can get frustrating and those feelings might settle in. For me, marrying someone who appreciates the little things in life and who is as spontaneous as me, marriage has not ended those life adventures at all, but in fact made them so much more enjoyable.

So tomorrow Carrie and I are going to put together a bucket list of things we want to do before we have a baby. I'll keep you posted.

Bizzeeee

Wow, 2 posts in 2 days after not posting since 2010, I am so proud of me!

As you all know (...or just me, since I am the only one that reads this), I love my wife. One of the things I love about her is that she has so many talents. She is always doing something whether it is cooking, baking, designing, decorating, creating, photographing, organizing, cleaning, running, exercising, changing a diaper, playing with the kids, making food for the kids, dancing with the kids...you name it she does it, all of it REALLY well, and usually she does it all within the course of a day. I don't know how, she actually makes me really tired.

So one of the things about having that much to do...well...one tends to have a lot on his/her mind at any given moment. That leads me to a story about last night. You see, sometimes she will be thinking about something, have a question about it, but by the time she is able to phrase the question and allow it the opportunity to escape from her mouth, she has already moved on to something else she needs to be thinking about.

I can always tell when she has a lot on her mind, because her eyes will be somewhat glazed over, her voice somewhat soft, the words slow to come out, and the questions that she will ask me are typically spontaneous in nature, blurted out in the most random of times. And they tend to be phrased in such a way that leaves me no opportunity to comprehend what she is referring to, let alone try and put together a helpful and thoughtful response. Which, by the way, can drive me crazy because I usually love to give my input.

Such was the case last night. She is planning a date night for a couple and will be serving sparkling grape juice. Her question was an easy one. She was simply wondering if sparkling grape juice had a twist off cap or a cork. This was important because if sparkling grape juice did in fact have a cork, it would mean that she would then be required to bring a corkscrew. So, to make a short story long, I, sitting on the couch innocently watching a college basketball game, fell victim to the following question...

Carrie: "Hey babe..."

Me: "yeah"

Carrie: ".........um........do the................do the juice things have a twisty thing?"

Me: "do the juice THINGS....have a TWISTY thing?? ..................................*punches the nearest pillow*

..and that is a prime example of what happens at least twice a week.