How do you know?

A little known fact about myself is that I went to college on a forensics scholarship. No, it so didn't pay for all of the private school tuition, and no forensics is not CSI. It is speech and debate. Don't ask me how after 16 years of dance training I did not make the Dixie Darlings, my original plan, but instead ended up with a scholarship in speech and debate, something I had little to no experience in. It's like all of my life, a loooong story. Anyway, I've recently been reminded of those days after coming across a group of the people I debated with on Facebook.

Again, I have no idea how I ended up doing debate. I am the most non-debating person you will ever meet. I hate conflict and avoid arguments like the plague. I could give a mean informative speech and my college roomate/best friend Karen can still quote the introduction to my speech on the hydrogen car (I was so ahead of my time!) from 9 years ago. Somehow quiet, daydreaming, balleting Emily fell into a world of 24 news watching, news article downloading, and hanging out with boys (and a few girls) who spent hours arguing (and that inlcuded arguing about the directions on how to get to tournaments) and discussing foreign policy and utilitarianism. If I don't have anything else to show for my college degree, I can tell you about utilitarianism!! By the way, as an 18 year old freshman can I just tell you that my knowledge on foreign policy probably made Paris Hilton seem educated!

I was only at William Carey for a year and one trimester. I decided to change my major and they didn't offer it. I often think back on that time and wonder exactly what God had me there for. I got my best friend out of the deal, and that totally makes my million dollars of student loan debt and the tortuous weekends when EVERYBODY on campus got to home except for me and handful of other kids worth it. But recently I have decided that there was another purpose not only in me being at William Carey, but also for putting me on the debate team. Her name is Sarah.

I've talked about Sarah before and her strong will. Did I also mention she likes to debate? I've decided recently that saying she likes to debate sounds better than arguing or talking back. I am fully convinced that one day Sarah will be a national champion debater. And...if it pays for her college education I will feel that it is my reward for our daily "debates". Bless her heart, Sarah is one of those people who could argue with a wall. She's so much smarter and more curious than I ever was. When I was little and asked why the sky was blue, my mom could say "God made it that way" and I would say, "Oh, okay, that's cool". When Sarah asks that question I need to be prepared with a flow chart and multiple sources to explain precipitation.

While there are times when I just want to scream "Can't we all just get along?", I am also challenged and excited by Sarah's debating abilities. While my feeble little mind is so easily swayed by whatever people may tell me, Sarah never takes anything at face value. Today on the way home from school we were talking to her friend Brittany about how Josh's uncle was going to bring his plane to take us flying, but the weather was too bad. Brittany said that airplanes scared her and I got scared that Sarah would decide she was scared too. I shared that I have never been flying and Brittany said that she hasn't either, but it just scares her. Without skipping a beat Sarah asked, "How do you know? How do you know it's scary?"

You see, that's my Sarah. She's not going to let someone decide how she should feel about something. She has to experience it. How many times have I been too scared to try something new because someone else told me it was scary? How many times have I taken someone else's word about a person without taking the time to get to know them myself? How many times have I accepted the boring, short response instead of delving into the detailed, complex, but so much more interesting answer?

I feel challenged. When I am tempted to shy away from a new experience I hope I'll be brave enough to ask myself "how do you know". I might find something I really like!!