Dear 28 year old Adam,
I've just turned 27. 2014 was the year I backpacked around Europe with Freado, his wife, and her cousin. I saw the freaking pope. I met a wild horse on a mountain. I saw the sistine chapel ceiling. I tasted a family meal in Rome. I watched God's faithfulness create food from dirt at the Arawak garden. This is also the #yearofthebeard14 in fact as I am writing this I still have the thing on my face. This was also the year I did the Parish Farming Internship in Norwood with Erin and Robert. 26 has been a very good year and I'm excited to enter into my late 20's.
Things I'm doing now:
I live in Clintonville with Travis, Brian, and Ellen. I'm still working at the VECC I've been there about a year and a half now. I'm still trying to learn how to play guitar but finding time to practice hasn't been easy but I do find that when I can it is very rewarding. I finished my first season at the Arawak Garden and I can't begin to put into words how that small patch of land makes me feel. I have confidence that you will always remember the way it felt to work that land even if you forget what crops God grew.
Things I hope you're doing:
I think this year I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up. I think I want to be a Kindergarten teacher but I don't want to go back to school. I'm not ready for homework and school debt just yet. I'm not sure when I will go back to school but at least I have the vision and the path I'd like to take. I love the preschoolers I work with now. They teach me so much about how to be a human and how to live life. I want to keep learning from children for the rest of my life and I want to hopefully teach them some things in return. I hope you are enjoying a beardless face. Remember how difficult eating was. Remember the pain when a kid would pull on it. Remember how your friends would laugh as things would get stuck in it or you would act like a caveman. I hope you are still working at the Arawak garden or you've bought land of your own in the city and started working it. I hope you went to Egypt. I hope you climbed Mt. Whitney. I hope you still have this amazing long hair. I hope you never worry about money. I hope you keep fighting for freedom for others and yourself. I hope you are still hanging out at Fruit of the Vine and I hope you never stop. I hope you're still learning at Franklinton Gardens.
Things I've learned since turning 26:
I learned what I want to be when I grow up. I learned more about who God is. I learned about community in Norwood. I learned how important it is to be hospitable. I learned how difficult and yet how rewarding it is to need other people. I learned how we, the living, depend on the sacrifices of the dead in order to continue in life. I learned how none of us are self sufficient and how thankful I am that we aren't. How strange it is that men can grow beards. What is a beard? Hair pushing out of my jaw and cheek. How does this much hair fit behind my skin? Why is it that long hair on our heads is feminine yet hair on the rest of our bodies is masculine? What is it that if I let go and allow hair to grow it completely changes my appearance. I look older, I look different. I look scary. I look crazy. How does letting a beard grow naturally do all of those things? Why did God allow some men to grow beards? After growing this beard for 11 months I think I have realized like most things in our lives God doesn't want us to simply let nature take over. I first started growing the beard as an act of letting go and it has become a test of my word. But as the year has gone I've realized that we humans are called to constantly be shaping Creation, with respect, shaping. Eucharist is not simply wheat and grapes. There is a rendering that takes place first. We are not simply naked. God rendered the first clothing from animal skins. We are called to shape, render, create, in this life. Along with that comes unique grooming. Shaving, tattoos, piercings, hair cuts, jewelry, clothing, I believe God wants all of the different cultures to be expressed and celebrated in this life and in the reality after. I look at myself in the mirror these days and I see a man who has let go and I find confidence in the fact that I can let go but I find freedom that I don't have to. In the mirror I see the animal part of me, coming to terms with my mortality. Humans stink, we bleed, we die. I am no longer trying to avoid or deny my humanity. I sin. God as Jesus didn't flee from humanity, didn't flee from the mess why should I? Today I exist and today I celebrate existing for 27 years I can't guarantee I'll make it to 28 but at this moment I exist and that is so rare and beautiful. I am thankful I am not simply an animal and I am not simply an angel. I am that beautiful rare creation in between. I am human. I am Adam. I learned life is about dependency, community, hospitality, mercy, and most of all LOVE. With all this good I also learned that marriages can fail. I learned that if we don't work at it our lives can fall apart. I learned that friendships are the greatest things to invest in. It seems like every year I learn more about love. This year I learned love is more than something towards a woman. Love towards my friends is a very beautiful thing. I'm learning to value the love we have for each other and how long we've been friends. I'm learning that the love between friends is a powerful thing and as years pass I don't think I'll fully understand how valuable they are until I'm on my deathbed looking back at this life I've spent. I know with each passing year more and more of these men get married and have children. I am trying to enjoy the time I can spend with them. I am enjoying those friends who are single at this point. I'm growing and healing together with them as we go through divorces, as we become fathers, as we become husbands. As we enter our careers. We are facing these parts of life together. We are facing these fears not alone but with love and support. I know this season will one day pass but for now it is beautiful and I am so thankful for it.
1987 Born
1988 00
1989 01
1990 02
1991 03
1992 04
1993 05
1994 06 Started Grade School
1995 07
1996 08
1997 09
1998 10
1999 11
2000 12
2001 13
2002 14
2003 15
2004 16
2005 17
2006 18 Graduated High School
2007 19
2008 20
2009 21
2010 22 Graduated College
2011 23
2012 24
2013 25
2014 26
I've just turned 27. 2014 was the year I backpacked around Europe with Freado, his wife, and her cousin. I saw the freaking pope. I met a wild horse on a mountain. I saw the sistine chapel ceiling. I tasted a family meal in Rome. I watched God's faithfulness create food from dirt at the Arawak garden. This is also the #yearofthebeard14 in fact as I am writing this I still have the thing on my face. This was also the year I did the Parish Farming Internship in Norwood with Erin and Robert. 26 has been a very good year and I'm excited to enter into my late 20's.
Things I'm doing now:
I live in Clintonville with Travis, Brian, and Ellen. I'm still working at the VECC I've been there about a year and a half now. I'm still trying to learn how to play guitar but finding time to practice hasn't been easy but I do find that when I can it is very rewarding. I finished my first season at the Arawak Garden and I can't begin to put into words how that small patch of land makes me feel. I have confidence that you will always remember the way it felt to work that land even if you forget what crops God grew.
Things I hope you're doing:
I think this year I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up. I think I want to be a Kindergarten teacher but I don't want to go back to school. I'm not ready for homework and school debt just yet. I'm not sure when I will go back to school but at least I have the vision and the path I'd like to take. I love the preschoolers I work with now. They teach me so much about how to be a human and how to live life. I want to keep learning from children for the rest of my life and I want to hopefully teach them some things in return. I hope you are enjoying a beardless face. Remember how difficult eating was. Remember the pain when a kid would pull on it. Remember how your friends would laugh as things would get stuck in it or you would act like a caveman. I hope you are still working at the Arawak garden or you've bought land of your own in the city and started working it. I hope you went to Egypt. I hope you climbed Mt. Whitney. I hope you still have this amazing long hair. I hope you never worry about money. I hope you keep fighting for freedom for others and yourself. I hope you are still hanging out at Fruit of the Vine and I hope you never stop. I hope you're still learning at Franklinton Gardens.
Things I've learned since turning 26:
I learned what I want to be when I grow up. I learned more about who God is. I learned about community in Norwood. I learned how important it is to be hospitable. I learned how difficult and yet how rewarding it is to need other people. I learned how we, the living, depend on the sacrifices of the dead in order to continue in life. I learned how none of us are self sufficient and how thankful I am that we aren't. How strange it is that men can grow beards. What is a beard? Hair pushing out of my jaw and cheek. How does this much hair fit behind my skin? Why is it that long hair on our heads is feminine yet hair on the rest of our bodies is masculine? What is it that if I let go and allow hair to grow it completely changes my appearance. I look older, I look different. I look scary. I look crazy. How does letting a beard grow naturally do all of those things? Why did God allow some men to grow beards? After growing this beard for 11 months I think I have realized like most things in our lives God doesn't want us to simply let nature take over. I first started growing the beard as an act of letting go and it has become a test of my word. But as the year has gone I've realized that we humans are called to constantly be shaping Creation, with respect, shaping. Eucharist is not simply wheat and grapes. There is a rendering that takes place first. We are not simply naked. God rendered the first clothing from animal skins. We are called to shape, render, create, in this life. Along with that comes unique grooming. Shaving, tattoos, piercings, hair cuts, jewelry, clothing, I believe God wants all of the different cultures to be expressed and celebrated in this life and in the reality after. I look at myself in the mirror these days and I see a man who has let go and I find confidence in the fact that I can let go but I find freedom that I don't have to. In the mirror I see the animal part of me, coming to terms with my mortality. Humans stink, we bleed, we die. I am no longer trying to avoid or deny my humanity. I sin. God as Jesus didn't flee from humanity, didn't flee from the mess why should I? Today I exist and today I celebrate existing for 27 years I can't guarantee I'll make it to 28 but at this moment I exist and that is so rare and beautiful. I am thankful I am not simply an animal and I am not simply an angel. I am that beautiful rare creation in between. I am human. I am Adam. I learned life is about dependency, community, hospitality, mercy, and most of all LOVE. With all this good I also learned that marriages can fail. I learned that if we don't work at it our lives can fall apart. I learned that friendships are the greatest things to invest in. It seems like every year I learn more about love. This year I learned love is more than something towards a woman. Love towards my friends is a very beautiful thing. I'm learning to value the love we have for each other and how long we've been friends. I'm learning that the love between friends is a powerful thing and as years pass I don't think I'll fully understand how valuable they are until I'm on my deathbed looking back at this life I've spent. I know with each passing year more and more of these men get married and have children. I am trying to enjoy the time I can spend with them. I am enjoying those friends who are single at this point. I'm growing and healing together with them as we go through divorces, as we become fathers, as we become husbands. As we enter our careers. We are facing these parts of life together. We are facing these fears not alone but with love and support. I know this season will one day pass but for now it is beautiful and I am so thankful for it.
1987 Born
1988 00
1989 01
1990 02
1991 03
1992 04
1993 05
1994 06 Started Grade School
1995 07
1996 08
1997 09
1998 10
1999 11
2000 12
2001 13
2002 14
2003 15
2004 16
2005 17
2006 18 Graduated High School
2007 19
2008 20
2009 21
2010 22 Graduated College
2011 23
2012 24
2013 25
2014 26