Thursday, March 18, 2010

on my way to DC...

I love Megabus and the fact that I can just get a $20 round trip to Philly or $30 round trip to DC! AND I'm actually on the bus right now, free wifi always a bonus. I'm headed to DC to visit one of my housemates studying there for the semester since it's spring break. It's crazy to think we're all having these different experiences...Katie in DC...Teresa and Jennifer in England...last semester Jill in Hungary...Kristen in Mexico...Grace in Ghana...we are all so blessed to have the opportunity to travel through Calvin!

NYC has been a whirlwind these past couple weeks. I can't believe 2 months from today I'll be in Grand Rapids. I miss it so much. And at the same time, I don't want to waste a minute in New York.

On the other hand, it's getting a little overwhelming and tiring. The mass amounts of people in the city is ridiculous -- 8.3 million is the rough estimate. I've always considered myself a "city girl" with plans to move to the Big Apple at some point in my life and do the whole art thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not regretting my decision to come here or taking any of these experiences for granted. New York City is the art capitol of the world and if I had it my way, I would just pick up all these artsy-fartsy people and their galleries and put them smack dab in the middle of Grand Rapids. If only it was that easy. I'm loving every minute, aspect, and person in the art world and I'm seeing artwork that I've studied my whole life.

But there are so many people. And nothing is personal. Just mass amounts of people. And it's overwhelming, looking out at the sea of crowds, to wonder if they all know the love of Christ like I do. It's overwhelming, to want to reach out to every person I pass on the street, to give money to every beggar on the train, to love everyone in NYC as much as Christ loves me. I'm just one person. Am I doing my job? To think of all the people out there that might not know or want or have that relationship that I thrive on is too much to dwell on. And the art world? Well it's so much of the time brutally honest and vulgar and biased and judgemental. Where is Christ in all that? Not to lump all artists and artwork into a vulgar category, but it's not easy to see the evidence of God in the mainstream, contemporary art world sometimes.

I'm trying to make art. I'm soaking it all in. I've made amazing friends. I'm appreciative. I love my internship. I do love it here. I just don't think I could live here forever!

1 comment:

  1. Mother Teresa was asked once when she was feeding the hungry and caring for the poor ,"how could she feed all the starving and lonely people of the world?" She answered one at a time.

    And yes the art world is starving and is desperate for the love of Christ. What a mission field and we don't even need to leave the country. God will use you wherever you are and wherever you lay your head down.

    Yes NY can be overwhelming at times, I think that is what Jesus must have felt too of the cities and why he often withdrew to a quiet place to pray and meditate, usually the wilderness or the desert...and then he would return to the cities and the masses of people.

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