Jamie Hilao

Life can get hectic with work, things-to-do-lists, and other obligations… and even during those rare moments of alone time, it’s easy to forget how lucky I am in all areas of my life.

I’m thankful for:

• A wonderful, caring family who stands by me through thick and thin - from Chicago to LA and the Philippines (Happy Belated Birthday, Lil’ Sister!).
• A gorgeous, loving boyfriend and his awesome brother with whom I spent Torfukey Day (Thanks for making the day so special, honey!).
• Friends that have stuck by me through thick and thin, near or far away.
• My cat Tigger, who always welcomes me home, even though at times he can be a big pain with his crazy antics (MEO-ROWWWWWWWWW).
• A stable job that has allowed me to make 1.5 years of mortgage payments.
• A group of great co-workers/friends that make the daily grind bearable.
• Being involved with an amazing organization, A Window Between Worlds - my “second job”, if you will - that keeps me balanced and allows me to make a direct impact on the lives of domestic violence victims and their children.
• A blessed life which gives me the opportunity to love, laugh, and learn out loud!

It’s crazy… Through Facebook, I was recently able to reconnect with a bunch of people from that hellish Fundamental Baptist grade school I attended from grades 1-9, and I’m realizing I’m even thankful for my experience there.

(If you think “hellish” is harsh, ponder this:

• The movie “SAVED!” could have been based on life at my now defunct grade school, Oak Forest Christian Academy.
• The books were printed by Christian publication companies that taught that the theory of evolution was bad because we came from monkeys. No real teaching of what the actual theory was… just, that it was - and I quote - “bad.” When I questioned any of the Christian textbooks, I was scolded for questioning “The Bible, the Word of God.”
• The teachers that I actually respected were fired because they refused to comply with the newly added requirement of giving 10% of their already meager salary to the church. Yes… fired!
• I’ll save the school’s rules & regulations for another blog entry. Or two, or 100… But, to give you an idea… this is where they recommended we attend college. If you haven’t heard of Bob Jones University, it’s the school that GW received harsh criticism from the media when he campaigned there during the 2000 election due to its ban on interracial dating. Due to the bad press, Bob Jones III himself decided to remove the ban. But don’t worry, there are plenty of other wonderful rules to abide by. Check out their Student Expectations, which include “requiring a chaperon when students date” and banning students from wearing Abercrombie & Fitch since the company has “shown an unusual degree of antagonism to the name of Christ.” Oh, and the best one yet… rock, jazz, and even contemporary Christian music is not allowed to be played on campus.
• During grade school, I think I attended enough church services for a lifetime. Exaggeration? I think not. My mom forced me to go Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, in addition to the Monday / Wednesday / Friday required sermons at school and the Tuesday / Thursday Bible Study classes. Don’t forget the summer Christian camp fun!
• A Women’s Etiquette class where I was taught how to become a “proper lady” in the eyes of God replaced sex eduation.

This is for real. I could seriously write a book on my experience there.)

Me, the uber-liberal, treehugger, spiritual but not religious yogi, former raver, advocate of (SHOCKING!) pre-marital sex/gay rights/Roe v. Wade/interracial dating, registered member of the Green party… yes, I am thankful for my fundamental Baptist upbringing.

I’m learning as I grow older and -ahem- wiser(?) to embrace all of my experiences, good and bad… It’s how I grew into this wonderful being I call ME!

At any rate, hope you & yours had a Happy Tofurkey Day!

Now, on to the holiday frenzy.

Sigh…

Where did the year go?!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 1:34 am and is filed under Jamie, Random Thoughts, Family, Friends, Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.