OYAN Winter Workshop ‘20 Reflection: Journey
Happy New Year everyone! (2 weeks late but whatever.)
I was blessed to attend One Year Adventure Novel’s Winter Workshop at the end of the year.
Here’s my workshop in a nutshell if you don’t want to read until the end: It was amazing.
I'm not exactly sure how to share with you the impact Winter Workshop made on me this year.
I learned so much about writing and myself.
I re-connected with old friends and I made new ones.
I was a part of one of the best critique group I’ve ever been involved in.
I stayed up until 3am waiting for pizza and having deep conversations with friends.
I ran in the woods at dark, laughing side by side with friends I had just cried with.
I got perspective on my WIP and on my own personal story of life.
There was a dinosaur wedding and a breakfast club and impromptu musical sessions and poetry readings and crazy dances and so many hugs and kind words and welcoming in a new decade.
But thinking back on my adventure, one idea seems to stick out a little more than the others: The journey.
The journey is the part of the adventure that falls in between point A and point B. The section of the story that can move faster than you can believe or slower than you would ever wish for.
Sometimes the idea of “the journey” can feel cliche. I’ve seen too many plaques and wall decals full of all that sentimental Hallmark stuff.
But the journey is real.
The night before I left for my workshop, my flight got cancelled. I panicked (and spent an hour on the phone with customer service) but eventually I was rebooked on a different flight. Then my connecting flight was cancelled due to a mechanical problem. I had to rebook again but this time I wouldn’t get into the workshop until midnight effectively missing the entire first night of the event. I was devastated.
Full disclosure: I had a break down in the Seattle airport.
After hours of waiting, I finally made it to my destination. But it was hard.
I don’t know why those things happened. I can’t see the full story that God has written for my life.
If I’m honest, I would have rather arrived in Kansas City on time and been to the first night of workshop instead of being stuck 1,835 miles away from where I wanted to be. But it was out of my control. So I ate airport food and watched The Clone Wars on my iPad and tried not to cry when I read all the nice messages people were sending me.
I had to choose to trust God even though I was very sad and very angry and very tired.
I had to choose to trust Him in the waiting.
I wanted to get from point A to point B in the smoothest way possible. I thought that my journey would start once I touched down in Kansas City and hugged my friends. That the travel part was just a medium to get to my adventure.
Often, I find myself believing that if I just get this job or be in this relationship or live here or accomplish that, my life will finally start. That I won’t truly live until I can do or achieve that thing.
It’s a lie I am trying to overcome.
My entire life - from the moment I was conceived to my my very last breath - is part of my journey. It's not a journey towards an earthly goal such as getting married or getting a book published (although those are very valid and worthy goals and things I want someday). The journey God has planned out for my life is to grow to become the person He created me to be - the person He’s always known I would be.
But growing can only happen over time - over the journey. Flowers need time between the planting and the blooming and even then they need good soil, water, and sunshine. Even in the “waiting” you are still taking steps in your journey. Every choice, every milestone, every failure, every accomplishment, every snag in your plan, is a step in God’s adventure for you.
Another note before I wrap it up.
Don't compare your own journey to someone else. God has a different plan for every single one of His creations. I'm a hypocrite and I often compare myself, my writing, my journey to everyone else. (Yet another area that needs overcoming and growth.) Watching everyone soar off the runway and into the sky while I'm stuck on the ground sucks. Seeing people pass you by and achieving #lifegoals while you're struggling sucks. But your journey is just as worthy as someone else's. Waiting is hard, trust me. But I believe it will be worth it someday.
Trust God with your journey. Trust God in the waiting.
Okay I'm done. *steps off of soapbox*
Until next time!
~ K.J. Haakenson
I learned so much about writing and myself.
I re-connected with old friends and I made new ones.
I was a part of one of the best critique group I’ve ever been involved in.
I stayed up until 3am waiting for pizza and having deep conversations with friends.
I ran in the woods at dark, laughing side by side with friends I had just cried with.
I got perspective on my WIP and on my own personal story of life.
There was a dinosaur wedding and a breakfast club and impromptu musical sessions and poetry readings and crazy dances and so many hugs and kind words and welcoming in a new decade.
But thinking back on my adventure, one idea seems to stick out a little more than the others: The journey.
The journey is the part of the adventure that falls in between point A and point B. The section of the story that can move faster than you can believe or slower than you would ever wish for.
Sometimes the idea of “the journey” can feel cliche. I’ve seen too many plaques and wall decals full of all that sentimental Hallmark stuff.
But the journey is real.
The night before I left for my workshop, my flight got cancelled. I panicked (and spent an hour on the phone with customer service) but eventually I was rebooked on a different flight. Then my connecting flight was cancelled due to a mechanical problem. I had to rebook again but this time I wouldn’t get into the workshop until midnight effectively missing the entire first night of the event. I was devastated.
Full disclosure: I had a break down in the Seattle airport.
After hours of waiting, I finally made it to my destination. But it was hard.
I don’t know why those things happened. I can’t see the full story that God has written for my life.
If I’m honest, I would have rather arrived in Kansas City on time and been to the first night of workshop instead of being stuck 1,835 miles away from where I wanted to be. But it was out of my control. So I ate airport food and watched The Clone Wars on my iPad and tried not to cry when I read all the nice messages people were sending me.
I had to choose to trust God even though I was very sad and very angry and very tired.
I had to choose to trust Him in the waiting.
I wanted to get from point A to point B in the smoothest way possible. I thought that my journey would start once I touched down in Kansas City and hugged my friends. That the travel part was just a medium to get to my adventure.
Often, I find myself believing that if I just get this job or be in this relationship or live here or accomplish that, my life will finally start. That I won’t truly live until I can do or achieve that thing.
It’s a lie I am trying to overcome.
My entire life - from the moment I was conceived to my my very last breath - is part of my journey. It's not a journey towards an earthly goal such as getting married or getting a book published (although those are very valid and worthy goals and things I want someday). The journey God has planned out for my life is to grow to become the person He created me to be - the person He’s always known I would be.
But growing can only happen over time - over the journey. Flowers need time between the planting and the blooming and even then they need good soil, water, and sunshine. Even in the “waiting” you are still taking steps in your journey. Every choice, every milestone, every failure, every accomplishment, every snag in your plan, is a step in God’s adventure for you.
Another note before I wrap it up.
Don't compare your own journey to someone else. God has a different plan for every single one of His creations. I'm a hypocrite and I often compare myself, my writing, my journey to everyone else. (Yet another area that needs overcoming and growth.) Watching everyone soar off the runway and into the sky while I'm stuck on the ground sucks. Seeing people pass you by and achieving #lifegoals while you're struggling sucks. But your journey is just as worthy as someone else's. Waiting is hard, trust me. But I believe it will be worth it someday.
Trust God with your journey. Trust God in the waiting.
Okay I'm done. *steps off of soapbox*
Until next time!
~ K.J. Haakenson
beautiful sharing... and writing, I was right in there with you, learning at the same time..awesome
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