sarah friedlander

Imperfect perfectionist living life to its fullest.

  1. My Relationship with Catholicism (Mi Relación con el Catolicismo)

    Written in Spanish and then translated into English.

    Español

    Desde febrero de 2010 he querido a escribir sobre este tema. Pero no he tenido tiempo hasta ahora porque puedo escribir en español. En fin no me importa el idioma, todavía tengo la capacidad para discutir mis sentimientos sobre mi religión.

    En los últimos dos años he tenido un renacimiento espiritual. Esto comenzó a fines del año 2009 cuando hice un número de resoluciones para el año nuevo (de 2010). Todas mis resoluciones eran cosas importantes para mí, pero después de la universidad desapareció de mi vida. El culpable más o menos fue el ajuste de un estudiante de universidad en un trabajo profesional. A pesar de que tenía más tiempo en la universidad sentía como que tenía menos tiempo después del trabajo – estaba cansada y solamente quería descansar o usaba mi computadora.

    Como sea … Sentía que necesitaba pasar más tiempo pensando sobre mi fe. Sabía que podía usar mi fe como un forma para buscar la felicidad y entender la ruta de acceso que necesitaba tomar en mi vida. Hace un año y medio empecé ir a iglesia cada semana como había hecho durante mi niñez. Me encantaba el sentimiento de estar iglesia y creo que mi religión me dio la fuerza durante ese difícil año.

    A pesar de ser un católica hay muchas cosas que me molestan. Me gusta llamarme “Católica v2.0” porque creo que los homosexuales tienen los mismos derechos que heterosexuales. También, no me gusta las reglas que la iglesia pone antes de matrimonio. Hay muchas otras cosas que no creo por completo, pero siento que siempre seré católica porque es mi niñez y en general me gustan muchas otras cosas de la religión.

    Es interesante porque empecé a ir a iglesia cuando era niña por mis padres – ¡no tuve más remedio! Como muchos jóvenes durante la universidad rechazaba mi religión con excusas, como por ejemplo, que estaba tan ocupada. Y ahora me reúno conmigo mismo en la religión en tiempos difíciles.

    Ahora, enfrento nuevos desafíos con la religión. Obviamente la misa en Chile será en español. A pesar de que el mensaje es el mismo a veces es difícil sentir los mismos sentimientos cuando estaba en la iglesia en Estados Unidos. Sólo puedo esperar que después de algunos años más en Chile mi español será mejor y podré disfrutar la misa y la religión en la mismo forma que hace diez años.

    English

    Since February 2010 I have wanted to write about this subject.  However, I haven’t had time until now because I can write about it in Spanish.  In the end it doesn’t matter which language it is in – I still have the ability to discuss my feelings.

    In the last two years I have had a bit of a spiritual rebirth.  This started at the end of 2009 when I made a number of New Year’s Resolutions.  All of my resolutions were about important things that after college disappeared from my life.  I blame this a lot on the transition and adjustment from a college student to a working professional.  Although I had more time in college I felt like I had even less time after work – I was simply tired and just wanted to sleep or use my computer.

    Anyways … I felt the need to spend more time thinking about my faith.  I knew that I could use my faith in a way to pursue happiness and to help me understand the path I needed to take in my life.  One and a half years ago I started going to church every week  - the same as I had done during my childhood.  I loved the feeling of being in church and I think that my religion gave me the strength to continue during such a difficult year.

    Despite being a Catholic there are still many things that bother me within the religion.  I like to call myself a “Catholic 2.0″ because I believe that homosexuals should have the same rights as heterosexuals.  Also, I don’t like the rules that the church places on couples before marriage.  There are other things that I do not entirely believe in, but I will always be a Catholic because it is a huge part of my childhood and I like many other pieces of the religion.

    It is interesting because I started to go to church when I was a child with my parents – I had no choice! Like many young people during college I rejected my religion with excuses like being so busy.  And now I have reunited myself again with my religion because of difficult times.  (It’s funny how things change!)

    Now I face new challenge.  Obviously the mass in Chile is in Spanish.  Although the message is the same it is sometimes difficult to have the same feelings than when I am in a church in the United States.  I only hope that after a few years in Chile my Spanish will improve and I can enjoy mass and religion in the same way I did in the United States ten years ago.

  2. Lent and Amazon

    Lent is the forty day period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter.  This is a time of prayer, reflections and sacrifice.  Each year I try very hard to find something to sacrifice during Lent but to no avail.  I remember my mom telling me how she gave up the using the backs of chairs for Lent as a way to constantly remind herself about what Jesus endured for our sins.

    A few weeks prior to Lent I had a friend tell me I would never be able to survive living outside of the United States because I wouldn’t have my “precious” Amazon.  Although I used Amazon in college, since moving out to the Bay Area over four years ago and signing up for Amazon prime which bundles free 2-day shipping for all packages, I have become quite addicted.  Tooth brush heads, mascara, books, CD’s, undergarments.  You name it, I’ve probably purchased it on Amazon.  And therefore it seemed like the perfect sacrifice over Lent.

    First thing, I made it.  I allowed myself one purchase on Amazon through Lent, which was a digital camera for my sister’s birthday.  All other items were either canceled or not purchased.

    This exercise taught me a lot about my consumerist habits and the changes that I would like to embody moving forward into April:

    1. I can buy things in physical stores.  It’s not scary.  Meeting people is wonderful  and I can endure the CA  tax hike.
    2. I don’t need most of the things on Amazon.  I  have too much as it is.
    3. I spend a lot of time on Amazon just perusing random products that I don’t need and/or don’t really want.  It’s an Internet addiction and phenomenon, dare I say similar to Twitter or Facebook.
    4. We are very blessed to live in the United States where prices are low and we can get relatively anything we want within a few short days notice.  There are many countries that do not have these benefits and instead are taxed with high shipping charges and import fees.  Be thankful.

    So what will come next?  I think I’ll still buy things on Amazon.  With family and friends dispersed all over the United States (and the rest of the world) the ability to ship items directly is a wonderful feature.  I do think I will try to embrace my local community a bit more and lay off some of my consumerist habits.