True beauty

Hello! Happy Wednesday!

I've had reason to think about body image and cultural perceptions of beauty as of late. It's so easy to get caught up in the endless-pursuit-of-beauty cycle - "must lose weight, must tame hair, must own *insert popular brand* jeans, must, must, must...." As my strike back against this in myself, I've started compiling a list of what defines true beauty - what measures we can use that see the inherent dignity and worth of others and ourselves, rather than a jeans size or a certain makeup style. So, I've started a little challenge for myself - seeking to identify what's really beautiful in others, and making that my standard. (I'm not discounting God's standard, either, by any means - rather, I'm attempting to reinforce it in my own small way by trying to find it where it exists in the culture around me, making it easier to connect the world I live in with what I know in my head to be true.)

So, here's my challenge for myself, which I also now pass along to you (you never knew you'd have homework if you read this!): the next time you go out in public - to the mall, the grocery store, school, work, etc. - see how many of the things on this list you can identify in people around you:

• A great laugh
• A parent bonding with their child
• An act of kindness
• A genuine smile
• Kind words to a stranger
• An intelligent remark
• (Feel free to expand the list! And when you think of more, let me know!)

Then, after making note of the people exhibiting these, ask yourself: are they beautiful? Chances are, the answer is yes, and it has nothing to do with emulating star-studded awards shows or magazine spreads. Envy these traits - not figure or hairstyle or anything on the cover of Cosmo. They're easier to attain than the airbrushed (and unreal) perfection, and they make the world a better place. Every person has the opportunity to be drop-dead gorgeous, and weighing yourself by these means a lot more in the end than the scale does.

Shannon

A new town!

I started this blog to keep you, our friends and family, up-to-date on our lives as we head back to Chicago. I also really enjoyed blogging the last time I did it (three years ago, for my wanderings overseas), and will probably use this not only for updates, but to share cool local finds, recipes, books read and movies seen, musings on life....we'll see!

As ya'll know, after a year and a half of marriage and two years of living in the Northwest once again, Chase and I made the decision to head back to the Chicago area - back where the two of us attended college and where we first met. The decision was the best thing for both our little family and for each of us individually, and after much thought and deliberation, we gave notice at our respective jobs and dived into the logistics of getting here.

Well, we're here!

We relocated to Naperville, a mere twenty minutes from Wheaton College and a short Metra ride into the city. My last day of work was at the end of July - my coworkers at the Motors threw an awesome party for me (I felt so loved). The first two weeks of August were a flurry of sorting, packing, paperwork, logistics, and saying goodbyes. Chase climbed a mountain during that time (a real mountain....as I put it, anything with "Mount" in front of its name automatically qualifies as a real mountain for climbing purposes, and should be heeded as a warning!) and finished up work a few days before the date of departure. We had a lot of help from wonderful friends and family, and then we were off on our forty-hour trek back east.

We arrived just over a week ago. We've spent our time reacquainting ourselves with the area, visiting friends and family (such as seeing my lovely college roommate once again, and enjoying lunch with my grandfather and cousin), and settling into life. Naperville is a very pretty city with a vibrant downtown, and I've enjoyed it thus far as its own entity (not pinning my college nostalgia onto it, as was easy to do the first few days!).

Courtesy of city-data.com

Chase started classes on Wednesday - his final semester!!! - and I plunged into the job hunt. I'll refrain from posting any potential employer names, etc., but I will keep you updated as that progresses. The current story: Friday afternoon, I turned in an application online; within a few hours, I had an invitation for an interview this morning. I'm slated for a second interview for tomorrow morning. It's a great organization, and the position seems to play into both my skills and things I enjoy....we'll see what happens!

I'm signing off for the night - Chase isn't the only one taking classes, and I have homework to do (I picked up a night class on Adobe InDesign, updating my publishing/design skills), so auf wiedersehen for now!

Shannon

P.S. Normally, I'll try to add pictures to these posts - however, as Chase may or may not have packed my box of "very important cords and cables NOT to pack" in some mysterious location, all pictures are currently trapped on my camera! : )