Ingenuity (Part 2)

Last week, I told the story of how I ripped up some Ziploc sandwich bags to make a belt for my pants.

I brought this story up because it reminds me of the reasons I had chosen to major in Mechanical Engineering when I entered college. Sadly, I am not still majoring in that, but it’s not because I couldn’t do it. I do have the mind for it, but it just wasn’t my passion and it’s so rigorous that you really need to love it to stick with it.

But one big requirement for that discipline, is a love or willingness to problem solve. I really love to fix a problem in a tangible way, which is exactly what I did in the story I mentioned before, but I can’t take all the credit for this passion.

My Beautiful Mom & I

My mom has this ability to see something that needs to be fixed and she comes up with a way to solve it. Sometimes it won’t be the most conventional fix, but it will always work.

When I started my previous major of Mechanical Engineering, I felt betrayed that my mother had the same capabilities as I did, but she grew up in a society that frowned on women entering such a technical field. Anger for her missed opportunity burned within me, but I now know that frustration was misplaced.

Having since transferred out from that major, I’ve realized that just because we have certain gifts doesn’t mean that we have to us them for only one big purpose.

I’m now majoring in a much more creative and artistic degree and I couldn’t be happier. I was miserable with Mechanical Engineering, but I thought that since I could do it, then I had to. That same thought process was what made me so angry with my mom’s inability to be an engineer, but she is just like me: where our passions rest more with the arts.

In having certain gifts (that God gives us in his infinite wisdom), we don’t have to use them all for grand, big things. I used to think my gift for problem solving meant I had to pursue a technical career, but I’ve since realized that ability is more to fix everyday problems like in the story I told and that’s perfectly okay.

Sometimes the gifts we have are supposed to be used in subtler manners, or just in different ways than our feeble minds could even imagine.

God gave us these abilities for a reason, but He is the one who knows all and truly sees why we are the way we are.

Ingenuity (Part 1)

On the first weekend back in school for the spring semester, I went to a camp. I am involved in a Christian ministry on campus that is called FOCUS and every year, we travel miles away to this retreat. Multiple days are spent there as we fellowship with one another and worship our Savior.

Now having said all that, here is the disclaimer for this post: I’m not really going to talk about the camp. I just needed to give a bit of background for this entry.

On the first day of camp, I decided to wear a dress, but for the rest of the time, I brought jeans. Never in my life have jeans fit perfectly and I’ve never felt comfortable without a belt to hold up the always falling clothing. Since I wasn’t wearing the belt I always had on (because I wore a dress instead), I forgot that magical accessory.

On the morning of the second day, I knew I wouldn’t survive the constant frustration of slipping pants. I had to do something. I couldn’t just live with the uncomfortable situation and like with any good problem, I had to come up with a solution.

So that morning, I took stock of what I had brought and tried to debate which item I would have to destroy to create a makeshift belt.

First, I thought about taking the ribbon belt out of my pajama pants. That would’ve been the perfect solution, but it was sewn into the pants. Darn.

Next, I thought about trying to tie an article of clothing around my pants, but nothing quite worked and I’d only packed just enough clothing for the weekend. So, not that either.

My Ziploc Belt

Finally, I thought about the two extra Ziploc sandwich bags I’d brought. That would have to do, so I tried to tie them around my belt-loops to tighten the waistband of my jeans, but they were just a bit too small.

Sighing, I knew what had to be done. With hesitant hands, I started ripping the bags. I ended up with many plastic strips and I started tying them all together. I strung it through my pants and it was the perfect length!

Now, this all does have a point, which I will get to next week…

So, please check back.