The DL (also known as a life update).

Here's what I currently am doing in life (just in case you would like to know)...

1) I go to grad school. Pretty exciting, I know. I am taking the Psych of Women and Advanced Stats...fun.

2) I lead 3 discussion groups of Human Sexuality.

3) I coach basketball - a crew of 6th graders.

4) I am involved in a weekly prayer meeting.

5) I ride my bike to school everyday.

6) Soon, I will be working with the youth at church.

7) I am doing research on infidelity, gender roles, and reliousity.

That's really about it...
-Jess

15A.

Today, I was remembering a bit about this summer at camp, and in fact, the last four summers.

I was lucky to have some great campers who made me laugh. One particular memory comes into mind. On our trip out (a privilege for Bunk 15), they decided to buy a small aquarium and two fish (later named Nemo and Dory). The fish survived for maybe a week, living in our bunk. One day, they discovered that Nemo was "fins up." They staged a funeral during rest hour and wore all black to lunch. They proceeded to release Dory into the lake, where she faced certain and immediate death (though this was unconfirmed).

I had the privilege of watching them grow up from 12 year olds who were the top dogs at the Inter socials to the oldest bunk at camp this summer (Bunk 15). My bunk has been apart of my camp experience every year and they will be missed at camp this summer.

Here's to summers at One Great Place.

-Jess.

BNB.

In the game of life, I play for the Bad News Bears.

Jess.

Questions for the Week...

The questions for this week's class...discuss amongst yourselves.

How would you define sexuality in your own words? How has your own sexuality shaped you as an individual (or has it) and does it play a role in how you identify yourself? Do you think that sexuality is biologically based or learned from one’s environment?

Consider this statement from Lauren Winner – “In contemporary society, sex is public – moms go on talk shows and confess to sleeping with their daughters’ boyfriends, Calvin Klein models expose their body parts in magazine ads. But if sex is public, it is not communal. Americans consider sex a fine topic of public disclosure but we insist that sex is also private, nobody’s business but mine and the person with whom I’m doing it. I can show you my midriff in public, and I can make out with my boyfriend on a park bench, but there is no communal grammar that allows you to talk to me about this body I am exposing in front of you.” Do you agree?

Why is it that we are bombarded with sexual images through various sorts of media, and yet, we find talking about sexuality to be difficult? Do you find that there is tension between sex and sexuality being a personal and intimate topic for most and at the same time being so out there in the media? How, if possible, do we resolve that tension?

As we look back at how different eras have viewed sexuality, it seems that sexuality is a fluid concept. Since our society is constantly evolving, how do you think our concept of sexuality will change over the next 25 years? What do you think will be a factor in causing a paradigm shift in the way we view sexuality?

How do different media outlets positively and/or negatively affect how we view sexuality?

Why are morality and sexuality bound together so tightly? Should they be? Is sex a moral issue?

-Jess.

We Write Children Stories...

My fellow co-counselor, Abi, and I began a tradition of playing the game (before counselor meetings) where you make up stories and the each person adds their own little bit.

This is our most recent story via Facebook:

Once upon a time, there was an evil snapping Turtle. It's name happened to be Abi. Abi traveled all through East Pond looking for things to snap up. Until one day, she meet Jess Berryhill who said, "Why do people in ship mutinies always ask for "better treatment"? I'd ask for a pinball machine, because with all that rocking back and forth you'd probably be able to get a lot of free games." At that point, Abi R. was amazed by this earth-shattering thought.

At which point the vicious snapping turtle that was Abi R thought to herself hmmm what an amazing business prospect. The thought of an arcade full of pinball machines aboard a ship, a tourist magnet for sure. So the commercially minded snapping turtle asked the smallest fish in east lake pond (named Jessica Berryhill) to go into business with her. And together they began what would soon become an empire of arcade ships. They named their business...

OH SNAP! (like a snapping turtle)! (Arcade Adventures on the Open Seas with Abi R. and BHill). Of course, Abi R. was out to trick BHill (of course, it's an vicious snapping turtle! What'd you expect!). She would first claim to be partners in this new business, and then she would trick the small wonderous little fish into playing the hypnotisizing pinball game that she invented. At this point, BHill was a little suspicious of the turtle's motives. So, she decided that she would...

...have to plot against the vicious snapping turtle and commenced thinking of a plan to take down Abi R. BHill thought and thought, but as she was only a very small fish her brain was also very small and thus all she could come up with was to plot a mutiny! So the smallest fish of East Lake Pond began to rally her fellow sailors to join her in the ... See Moreplot against Abi R. The crew of OH SNAP were jealous of the great and powerful snapping turtle and thus were easily swayed into joining the revolt. And so Bhill's plans were laid, and before the little fish knew it, the day of the planned mutiny had arrived. On this particular morning the weather was stormy and grey and fortold of events to come...

But, what no one knew was that BHill was not planning an epic, evil mutiny. The small little fish might have had a small brain, but a very large heart. She realized that like the Grinch, the snapping turtle's heart was 3 times too small. So, instead BHill planned an INTERVENTION for the cold-hearted snapping turtle named Abi. The crew of OH SNAP thought this plan was masterful. They would each tell Abi how they felt. So, it all went down. They called a ship meeting to get Abi to attend. As they sat down, BHill said, "Abi, we have come here because we love you." Sammy the snail was the first to start the birage why an intervention was necessary. He said, "Abi, I am scared of you. I think you might have anger issues." At this point Abi, the vicious snapping turtle, got up and said....

PAH! Spat the snapping turtle. What a load of codswallop, I have never heard something so insulting. I am the all powerful Snapping turtle of east lake pond and my wealth and beauty are known all the way to Waterville, I will not be taken down by an insignificant bunch of riffraff like yourselves. And so Abi R made the crew of OH SNAP walk the ... See Moreplank and then sailed the ship to a far away shore, swearing that she would never again enter into a business deal with a small little fish. She sailed for what seemed like days until she reached land, where curiously Abi R found a field full of small pink cabins. Dodging the larger and more powerful boats the snapping turtle steered the OH SNAP to shore and alighted on the sand where she met...

and came across a sound so disturbing. It seemed like a thousand screaming sirens piercing Abi's ear drums. These noises were actually coming from children, who were now gawking at her and saying, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT'S A KILLER TURTLE!" They shimmied farther away in fear. Meanwhile, Abi R. didn't realize that though she might be rather smart, she was very slow on land. She was now in grave danger. Someone mentioned that a "MEAN MACHINE" was coming! Well, perhaps you wondered where the faithful crew of OH SNAP had gone. Well, the very intelligent Abi R. made them walk the plank, and yet, this seemed more like gift for a crew of fish and snails who had been living on a boat for a bit. Nonetheless, they too had stumbled upon this strange shoreline, but had not wanted to risk approaching it. They watched as Abi R. sat washed up on the beach. They decided that they had to rescue her (good Karma, you know?!). So, they decided to steal the small boat that was docked near the shore (a WHALER?). They all hopped in, but...

...as usual, SCRA had somewhat faulty equipment so the whaler wouldn't start. They called on the famous captain Scuba Steve to fix the boat and in minutes they were racing around the other side of the bay to rescue Abi R.
Meanwhile as Abi R sat surrounded on the beach she noticed that all the MEAN MACHINE were wearing pale pink t-shirts and looked ... See Morelike a bunch of girls. Once again the snapping turtles ego got the better of her and she decided she could fight this bunch of pink shirt wearing pansies. At once she was viciously flipped on her back by the most violent and evil mean machine of all who had arrived out of nowhere on a canoe. Abi R was in grave danger. She was stuck with her shell on the ground and her legs in the air. It looked like a very unfortunate ending, but then...

BHill and the crew decided that there was only one way to save Abi R. from the destructive forces of the most violent and evil mean machine.

DANCING!

BHill and the whole OH SNAP crew jumped on the beach and started dancing to Macarena and Cotton-Eyed Joe and Soulja Boy in the most epic dance display EVER. The Mean Machine were mesmerized! ... See MoreThey danced and danced until Abi could upright herself and sneak back safely into East Pond. After seeing that Abi made it back safe, the finished off with a dancing rendition of "Apologize." They bowed and did back flips back into the water. It seemed like a happy ending...

-Jess

A Prayer to God

Here I stand, broken.
God, I am perplexed
By what it means to be "alive"
In a state such as this.

Endurance takes on a whole new meaning.
God, the ongoing birage of trials
Have left me at a loss for words.
My resolve is wearing thin.

The word LwhyL wants to spew from my mouth
and take aim at you, God - my God,
looking for answers and an understanding.
Is this, a grasp of the absurd, what I need?

But, instead, you scoop me up, broken bits and all.
Your grace-filled hands mend the broken me.
Sometimes, I wonder, "How many times can I ask You to pick me up?"
I break, You mend.

I am so loved.

-Jess.