What a fun month! I don't know about any of you, but my conversations were just a little more enriched when I remembered to ask friends, or when they brought up to me, our random fact Friday questions.

As a reminder, I'm doing this because of conversations I had in February that left me suspect to believe that our lives truly are more interesting than we often realize. And I think it's GOOD to remember the good. To "make life more about life" by celebrating the good and random, interesting things we've walked through, and not just focusing on what's in front of us now, that may just leave us, in our own eyes, feeling hum-drum or so-so (and don't you love dash-y words??) I say who we are is a sum of our life experiences, and I want to dig into those in a small way here.

So . . . I thought it'd be fun to dive into a few random facts over the next year-ish and ask questions to see what kind of random memories emerge for you too! At the end of the month, I'll wrap-up with what I've learned about various friends, sharing the "life about life" idea more broadly. Here are a few things March has taught me . . .

random fact #1: childhood entrepreneurs

This first month wound up being on childhood facts. The first question posed was, did you have a childhood business too? And if so, do you see any connections to that in your life today? So in addition to me starting my own short-lived paper products business at seven, I learned that these friends also did the following:

Heather: ran a lemonade stand with her brother and their neighbor friend one summer. She was older than they were, and her compassionate little heart wound up giving all the money they made to just her brother and neighbor . . . she didn't keep a dime! (and she added, her parents even went in the hole for them, buying supplies and providing them change!) So very true of her today is this heart of hers, as she shares her life in full-time children's ministry, and I see her always, always giving and sharing.

Mattye: also frequented the lemonade stands, and in addition, created a little greeting card business. She says she drew the cards and mostly sold them to her parents' friends and is pretty sure she tried to come up with categories and a business plan too. Today she has recently created note cards that help support her new love and marriage blog. She's such an encourager and loves to give and receive hand-written notes, and she's got more ideas along those lines coming. Super excited for her!

Emily: had a business where she sold soap and candles! (I love that. So random!) She created combinations of colors and fragrances, and worked on packaging too. SO very much like her job today as a marketing strategist for a fair trade organization. You can read the full details of her childhood business in the comment section of my entrepreneur post. Oh, and her mom added that yes, she did wear pearls even at that young age (love this little Southern belle!!)

Hilliary: As a middle schooler, she discovered her mom's old sewing machine and was instantly hooked. She and her younger sister took a purse/tote bag making class at Hancock Fabrics and began creating purses and beach bags for friends and family, and evidently, were pretty good at it for 11 and 13 year olds, so they started a business! They even made business cards (complete with the "Curlz" font, she says, ha . . . ) I so see these self-starting skills in Hilliary today. She's one of the most creative and fearless people I know! (She helped start an orphanage in Haiti . . . at just 22!)

random fact #2: awards received

The question: did you receive any awards in school, and if so, were they accurate then? Are they accurate now? So while I was being voted the quietest student, some of my friends were receiving the following:

Rianna: in high school was voted most artistic as well as most likely to brighten your day . . . and if you know Rianna, neither of these come as a surprise!! She's still being artsy and brightening days all over the place. Here's her beautiful site, if you're interested in coastal art especially: riannaturner.com. Oh, and she was also voted "prettiest hair" . . . shocker, right?? ;)

Jill: she had totally forgotten about the awards in her life and was laughing with me over the phone while sharing . . . she was voted "miss congeniality" in her school pageant--such a sweet honor! And like Ri, was also voted most artistic. Oh, and was also prom queen . . . still not sure how she forgot that one! ha . . . Having been best friends for over a decade, it was fun to help her remember and laugh with joy at these memories in her life :)

Mattye: as a self-admitted overachiever and one who sets a high bar of excellence, swept her middle school academic awards by storm in sixth grade! She was sweet to share a full comment about this award and what she's learned since then on the original blog post, so you can read those details there and how she feels it's shaped her life today.

my mom, Linda: shared with me over the phone that while she didn't win any awards, it meant a lot to her that in high school, she had both classmates and teachers signing in her yearbook, affirming a calling and passion for missions. She said to me that though she never made it to an international mission field, she still feels like God has used her life to be missional in her home, in her career as a nurse, and in teaching children in church over the years. I would agree! :)

Courtney: voted "most likely to change the world" . . . she and her best friend, Jesse (shown above) actually both won that award that year in their senior class; She says she felt it was pretty humbling then, and realizes a bigger depth of the meaning of that kind of recognition now. Being further removed from high school, and as she's grown in her walk with Christ, she says she knows the only real change we experience is because of Him. We're just the hands and feet to show and be that love.

my summary

To sum all of that up, I LOVED, loved learning these things about my friends and family that I didn't know before!! And it's really cool to see the passions and connections in their life from then to now. If you'd like to share any of these type experiences you've had in a comment below, please do. I'd love to hear from you!! And if you haven't yet asked anyone else these questions, it's never too late. Ask away and see what kinds of conversations it starts!

Looking forward to the next round! :)

Blog

wrapping up the random: March

random fact #1: childhood entrepreneurs

random fact #2: awards received

my summary