They're quickly becoming my favorite things to do.

I have an eye for finding themes. This year, my theme is continually breaking down walls that I put up relationally to protect myself. It helps having a boyfriend who's not satisfied with vague answers or hints, as well has having two great roommates.

One of my roommates is in Kansas now, leading a month-long seminar for people working with people with HIV/AIDS.

My other roommate is here and works with a college, teaching on various subjects such as history, apologetics, theology. Sure that may sound stiff and boring to some, but I find it fascinating. She and I have had several hour conversations late into the night.

"I never had a 'best friend' growing up," I said to her Saturday evening. "I had a couple friends, but I couldn't trust them with my secrets. I never told anyone secrets."

"And my family moved every few years," she said. "I think one of the reasons I'm here is to keep learning how to develop lasting relationships."

I know that's one of the primary reasons I'm here. I've been asked to go to a few different places--was asked to stay in Switzerland to edit a book, have been courted to direct/lead the writing school in Texas again, have been asked to stay in Jamaica and write historical non-fiction novels.

But here is where I feel the ground is fertile, if you will. Even in the dead of winter when all that survive are the grains of ice salt on the sidewalk, and the naked trees brittle against the white-grey sky. Even though each winter I threaten to move south.

I'm here because it's a launch pad for what I want to do with my life. And at the same time, it's a deep planter with soil and nutrients to keep me grounded and growing.

Pardon the plant analogies (I just watered my roommates' many plants, so foliage is on my brain). It's as though the deeper my roots are going here--not necessarily physically or tied to family, but spiritually, emotionally--the further I can branch out.

There are endless opportunities of growth, endless ways to be stretched into doing something I'm not necessarily comfortable with at first. But when I try it out, when I know there are people here who back me up--I flourish in ways I would never have thought possible.

This teaching position in the writing school will open up further teaching opportunities internationally within the next few years. I'm also working to develop the writing school to be more effective, and the confidence and experience to do that came from my current job.

My job as head of the Communications Department has taught me to schedule, to coordinate, to brainstorm, to delegate, to design. It's still teaching me how to take something from practically nothing, and make it work. It's forced me to learn about graphic design and to get an eye for something that I previously just appreciated yet didn't know why. It's put me in leadership positions, at board meetings, at brainstorm sessions.

I'm excited to see where things lead...once my books are ready, more doors will be opened. One of the greatest joys I think I've experienced lately is finding out that I've inspired others to write or to consider life in another light. From an 8 year old who's writing a chapter book to a thirty year old who explored creative writing as a way of fulfilling a homework assignment she had given up on, to a sixty year old interested in helping the plight of women in developing nations.

It's not what I can do that's exciting me...it's that others can be inspired. It's about multiplication, development, training, teaching, inspiring. It's about going where others haven't gone before and bringing back a report, saying -- it's ok, it's not so scary, you can do it.

And this ties in with developing relationships and friendships, because without that connection, who cares? And without those connections with people, I wouldn't be who I am right now. People teach me, even when they annoy me to no end...there's something to learn from everyone. Something positive. Something that can be pulled out and embellished, encouraged.

(There's so much to say for what I learned just in my conversations over the weekend. But I'll end here. Those things are probably better left to a pen and paper journal, anyway.)

Needless to say, I think this is going to be a great year.