33 Years Old

This is it—the big 33. I’ve been anticipating it for… six years or so? The reason: Jesus began his ministry at the age of 33. I would also like to begin my “life’s work” at this point. Expecting it to happen, and comparing myself to Jesus in this way, is presumptuous. I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong, though, especially if it motivates me to persevere.

Last year I swore off fanfiction and video games. I made it to around this time of year and before diving back into video games. I’m pretty sure I didn’t last nearly this long with the fanfiction. For some reason, though, I can’t find any fanfiction that holds my attention anymore, and video games are only slightly more interesting. During the week I only have about three hours of free time, so it’s not difficult to fill that up. I do cleaning, woodworking, and lately I’ve started playing tennis. I was playing guitar for a while, but the other activities have mostly replaced that. I also talk to Jared and I’ve watched some TV with him, but none of it was riveting.

I’ve established some good habits, like preparing my food for the week. I do a decent job of passing the time in a productive manner. My biggest vices nowadays are shopping and eating, especially eating at Sheetz. My plan for avoiding this is to tell myself when I go to the grocery store that I can buy anything that I can take to work as long as I don’t go to Sheetz. It’s warm enough now that I don’t need to ride with the others to avoid the cold, so I can just stay at the jobsite for lunch. I’m starting this plan tomorrow.

Shopping is mostly related to my other pastimes, especially woodworking. I’m justifying it by saying that it’s an investment and an incentive to spend time productively. There may come a time soon that I will need to be more frugal, though. I may end up student teaching in the fall after all, and I might have to take a class in the summer as well, which would be expensive.

I’m going to spend time studying the Bible and praying. I also want to look for service opportunities. That’s my plan for 33. Let’s see how well it goes.