Big News!!

I’m sorry that I did not post this last Friday. I was transitioning back to Seattle from London and now, I am on my way to California. With all the traveling I haven’t had time to put up a quality post. Over the next two months I will be working as a counselor at Mount Hermon in the Redwood camp. I am so excited for this opportunity to learn about Jesus with these campers and to show them how much love He has for them. I know that they will teach me more than I can teach them and I’m excited for all of us to grow. These kids have been on my mind and in my prayers for the last few months and I want to give them everything I have to make their experience the best it can be. With that said, I will he unable to post during this time. My hope is that I will be able to set something up so that the last two posts for the Unbound Journal series will go up over the next two weeks. Other than that, I will be taking a break from the blog will I serve these kids. I look forward to getting back in touch with you and telling you all about the journey. Thanks for your understanding and patience. As always, much love.

One of My Biggest Struggles

There is something that I struggle with that has impacted my life in lots of terrible ways and is something that I feel a lot of people deal with to some degree. I want to share with you my experience with trying to respect my body. Body image issues can be extremely devastating and have so many grueling impacts on life. In writing this, I want to be open and real with you about how it’s affected my life, and the ways I have dealt with it.

Appreciating my body was hard. Everyone can always look at themselves and see something that is “wrong” or “ugly”. I used to look at myself in the mirror in the mornings and my eyes were drawn to all the imperfections of my body. I focused on the negative things and this influenced the way I thought about my body for the rest of the day. Over time this led to so much insecurity. Constantly worrying that one day others might look at me and see what I saw in the mirror. Stress would fill me when I thought about having to take my shirt off or change in front of others. Body image issues led to comparing myself to everyone, and when I would do this, I would find everything I didn’t have in other people; The way their clothes fit them, their height, their slenderness, always ignoring any of their imperfections. This drained me of any confidence. I became timid because I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. Participating in things was a real challenge. I couldn’t live my life comfortably. The biggest thing I felt, and the most devastating affect of negative body image, is shame. Part of the definition of shame is “a painful feeling of humiliation”. At one point I believed that the way I felt about myself was no longer just my own opinion, but a confirmed understanding of everyone; a fact. So that’s how I lived for a while. Going through school shy and scared. I lacked confidence and like the definition says, it was painful. I was on the outside of life looking in at others enjoying it. Something inside me knew this wasn’t how it was supposed to be, that I shouldn’t feel like such an outcast. To be honest, I wasn’t at my worst when I was at school or outside the house. Things were the worst when I was home by myself, just me and the mirror. All those negative feelings escalated to new degrees and I started eating a lot. I guess at the time I didn’t realize why I was eating, or maybe I did, and I just didn’t care. I can’t remember. But I do know that it made me feel better and my mindset was that if they see me as this nasty, imperfect blob already, then why not eat and enjoy. I found sanction in food, in books and video games, and in solitude where I could escape and didn’t feel judged. It was around the end of middle school and beginning of high school that I started making more of an effort to make a change. I’m not sure what inspired me to start working out, but that’s where I started. I had one dumbbell at home, and I would use that to do mostly curls. Along with those were the occasional sit ups. I had some friends that I felt comfortable enough with and we would play outside a lot as well. I was active and working out, but my diet stayed the same, and I remember feeling discouraged because I wasn’t changing. Some of my friends and those around me never really worked out and here I was feeling like I was busting my ass and really trying to get into better shape but results just weren’t showing. So I decided that I just wasn’t trying hard enough. My workouts got a little more advanced, I ran more, but still the consistency and proportion of my diet was ridiculous, and I still wasn’t seeing a difference. I remember one time running on the tread mill for what felt like forever, and then getting Taco Bell on the way home. I was stuck in a torturous cycle. Nonetheless, it was right around the middle of high school where I really felt like I started seeing some differences. I had gained some muscle and got a little taller. I was still working out 6 times a week, which is exhausting and no way to live your life, and didn’t really have a clue about nutrition, but things were starting to look up.

From then until now (my sophomore year of college) I can assuredly say that the three biggest things that helped me to get control of my body image problems are; my strong support group of family and friends, fitness, and my faith.  Everyone around me gave me kind words and loved me for me, no matter what! My mom was always willing to get me good foods and paid for a gym membership and workout equipment. I learned so much more about working out in a healthy way and how to eat in a way that is enjoyable and nutritious. I learned how to give my body rest. And my faith, man my faith taught me that no matter what I am loved by the God of the universe. He sees me as perfect, complete, and lacking nothing. I have stopped searching so hard for other’s opinions of me, stopped listening so much to my own opinions of myself, and have been constantly reminding myself of the opinion of the only one who matters. My faith has led me to become surround by so many people who love and support me. These things have helped me to feel happy in my own skin… for the most part. Honestly, I still struggle at times. When I look in the mirror, I still sometimes see things that need improvement, but I also understand who I am in the eyes of friends, family and God.

I believe that social media, film, and advertising are just a few of the things that set the standards for what is considered “beautiful”. Unrealistic expectations are constantly being portrayed in multiple ways and platforms which are accessible to everyone, including children, so that from a young age it is very easy to get the wrong mindset on your body. The truth is, there is no mold that can contain you, no model that could mimic you, and that is something that you should cherish. Your body is perfect in its imperfectness. You should be proud and respect that your body is yours, and yours alone. One thing I have learned is that part of dealing with something like body image, is enjoying the journey and understanding and accepting the ups and downs. Some things aren’t in your control when it comes to your body. Life happens and if you focus on the things out of your hands it will drive you crazy. Also, working out can be tricky if you struggle with your image. It can easily turn into an obsession and quickly become unhealthy. As long as you don’t let it get to that point and don’t let it control your life, then I think that exercising is one of the best things you can do. Not only are you working on your body, but you are helping yourself to become healthier and it is a great way to relieve stress.

Not everyone has access to friends or even family that are there for them. You may not have that support group that encourages you and reminds you that you are loved despite your body. You may not have the ability or resources to pursue fitness. It may just not be realistic for you to find time and finances to eat a certain way or work out. Maybe you’re even dealing with a hindrance in some way that limits your body in physical ways, or mental issues that leave you too fatigued to exercise. But everyone, everyone, has access to a God that loves them just the way they are. I really hope that you don’t live in shame and insecurity, battling this on your own. Don’t give up on yourself. The fight against body image negativity is one that may never end, but you don’t have to do it alone. I am more than willing to be someone that you can talk to. It can get easier, and it will. It is a journey and it’s super important that you realize that because if you keep trying to reach some end point of perfection you are going to be constantly disappointed. I really encourage you to reach out to me if you need, and if you are at the end of your ropes, I can’t give you any better advice than to try reaching out to God, the one who made you out of love and sees you as beautiful.

What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

 

This is an essay I wrote this year that really gets to the core of what I want to do with my life. In simple terms, I want to be a storyteller. There are so many avenues that can be followed when pursuing storytelling, and I don’t necessarily mind how I end up working as a one. What I really care about is what makes a storyteller. The motives of great storytellers and the characteristics and values they have are amazing, genuine and rooted in what I believe to be some of the most important things in life. Being a storyteller means so much more than people know, and in this essay, I want to explain to you what it means to me.

~

Hi, my name is Chad Campbell-Gonzalez and I would like to share with you how I figured out I want to be a storyteller. Growing up, I loved writing. In elementary school when I was asked what I want to do I said become a writer. There was something about writing that drew me in. I think at the time it was the limitless expression that writing offered. Blank pages were like blank stories, empty worlds, and untraversed universes, waiting to be explored by my imagination and my pen. Each word I wrote added to this thing I was creating that came from inside me. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was falling in love with creativity.

Creativity is a critical aspect of storytelling, and it is so fascinating and unique. Getting to express myself through words and imagery is powerful. It’s personal. Creativity is like the key to a door that opens up a world of adventures in self-exploration and understanding. Through it, we try and better grasp who we think we are and, in the process, gain a greater appreciation for those around us. That’s why, although unique and definitely a self-journey, creativity is also a voyage of all people and an adventure that leads to building community.

As I grew older, middle school and high school weren’t environments where creative writing was prioritized. It was still there but you really had to search to find it. All that given, I drifted away from writing and pursued what I thought would make my family and those around me proud. I wanted to be someone important and powerful. I wanted a job that was hard to achieve and when I accomplished it, people would be impressed. I wanted to be everything except what my heart wanted me to be. And so I pursued those things. All through high school and through the beginning part of my college career I had myself convinced that was what I wanted. Over that span a few things happened that, at the time I didn’t know, but were slowly turning me back towards my passion for storytelling.

I found Jesus on May 30, 2015, my sophomore year of high school. My experience with Him has shown me how important people are, and most importantly how important love is. Love is one of the most powerful things on the planet, and it wasn’t until I started following Jesus that I really took a look at my heart and the love that was in my life. I was going through some family issues, as we all are, but I starting to really think about what it means to love and how to do it and I was able to start working through some of those things. Then my journey with understanding love grew even more in my senior year of high school when I read the book “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver. I could see him exploring ideas on love and trying to understand what it meant to him and I thought to myself, I want to do that! Carver helped me see how writing helps a writer work through and wrestle with confusing things in their life, and lets others see what they take away from it.

So, with these things in mind and my passion for writing starting to spark back up I decided to take a writing class at the University of Washington. It was amazing. Writing again I could feel the creative cogs in my head creak back into life. I felt like a kid again. I felt like me. I was able to start unpacking and working on things in my life that hurt me, confused me and I was able to express and share all the things that healed me and uplifted me. It was like all of these huge realizations flooded me and I was able to hear my heart again. I came to realize that being a storyteller means wanting to understand and love yourself, and more importantly, sharing what you discover with others so that they can learn, grow and be reminded that they aren’t alone in their struggles. I began to really appreciate the personal therapy session I received every time I put the ink on the page or my fingers on the keys. Being a storyteller means creating and it means listening. It involves getting out in your communities and sharing experiences. It means helping each other see their best self and get the most out of life. Being a storyteller means loving people, and that’s what I want to do with my life.

Why Do I Write?

 

I think this is a question anyone who writes should consider, and something any reader should think about when looking into a writer’s work. Writings can be great and intriguing, and sometimes that is all you want as a reader. However, I think that the reasoning behind the words and the story, play a critical role in how the experience can impact the reader. A good story or message is awesome, but if there is no concern for how it effects the reader, or it doesn’t present them with an opportunity to apply what they read to their own life, they aren’t getting all they could out of it. Having a clear intention for why you are writing helps connect the writer to the reader. Now some writings are solely for the therapeutic pleasure of the author. Sometimes, it is nice to just put the pen to the paper with no direction, and go at it. To me, this can actually be relieving and calming. These writings, that are usually not meant to be shared, don’t fall into this category of serving a purpose to the readers. They only benefit the sole reader who is also the author. There are a lot of different motives for writing, but the point is, someone who knows why they are writing, whatever the reason may be, can take their material to the next level and create something that truly moves those that engage with it. When an author knows why they are writing, it is apparent in their language, and their heart can be seen behind the story, influencing every word.

Every time I write something, I think about why I am writing it and I end up with a more or less unique reason for each individual story, blog, poem, etc. However, there are usually two main driving forces behind almost every word. The first reason I write is to encourage and reach out to others. If what I write can reach one person and have an impact on them, then I feel accomplished. Whether it is a funny story to entertain and bring joy, or a serious and deep message in a post/essay, or anything in between, if the reader comes away feeling better, assured, or asking questions about themselves then I am achieving my goal. The second reason I write is to help myself. Sometimes writing helps me work through things weighing on me. Sometimes it assists me in untangling complex ideas in my head and answering tough life questions. It also reminds me of the important things in my life. It reminds me of who I am in Jesus. I write to keep in touch with others, yes, but I also write to keep in touch with myself. More often than not, these two reasons will cross over in my writings.

I wrote this post so that you can know where I am coming from, and know more about me. I also wrote this for the purpose of connecting with you, the individual reading these words. I am not a machine, a series of digital letters, or a cluster of paragraphs on a screen. What you are reading makes up me, a person. I hope that this writing has reminded you that when you read someone else’s words, you are reading about who that person is and what they want to share with you. As always, thank you for reading this and have a great rest of your day!

My YouTube Channels!

 

I have been working on different ways to express my ideas and share them with others. That is partially why I started this blog. I have also made my own YouTube Channels to satisfy my creative hunger. Video editing has always intrigued me and I have made fun little videos on my various phones and ipods growing up. But at the start of this summer I decided to dive deeper into learning how to make quality videos. I started working with editing software, using a nicer camera, and taking more time to think about the content I was producing. I am super happy and love making videos as a hobby! It would mean a lot to me if you checked them out!

My first channel is my personal channel where I post music covers, trips, vlogs, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl5vIr8TkDUszx6PG3HB5Mg?view_as=subscriber

My second channel is for funny videos and videos I make with my friends.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQH-pIgwJjT_BKIszi6AX7Q?view_as=subscriber

My third channel is my fitness channel where I give advice, tips and tricks, and share my somewhat different approach to health and fitness. Also, I post about my personal journey with working out.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJxTHWW6yYM0EFtcWZlAEA?view_as=subscriber

If any of those sound interesting to you please check them out! Subscribe to them if you want to see more and make sure to like the videos you find interesting so I know what you want to see more of!

Thank you so much for your time! I hope you have an amazing rest of your day! 🙂

 

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me on my blog!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton