Moving

Why Being Humbled is Like Being a Nobody

image.jpg

It's funny how small you feel when nobody knows who you are. ​

You may have experienced this feeling if you've traveled to another state or another country by yourself. Heck, you may have experienced it your first day of college walking into a classroom with no one you knew in it. It's this awkward, humbling feeling of, "wow, I'm literally a nobody."​

I experience this feeling the first time I moved out of state after college. I moved to Seattle, WA from Stillwater, Okla. In Stillwater, people knew me. I was a successful college student who knew a lot of people on campus, in church and in the community. I'd established a reputation, if you will. However, as soon as I moved to Seattle, I was a nobody. No one knew who I was, no one knew who 'Pistol Pete' was, and hardly anyone even knew where Oklahoma was. Talk about a humbling moment when your fun fact is, "I used to be Pistol Pete," and the person looks at you like you're crazy and asks who that even is. ​

It was even worse when I moved across the big pond. People thought the idea of anyone carrying a gun, much less a mascot, was a crazy idea. People had no idea who I was, where I was coming from and could hardly believe I'd never been to our nations capital because, "doesn't everyone have to go there?" There's nothing that makes you feel small like moving away from home. ​

Feeling small and moving away from home have their perks though. It's like you get a clean slate. People don't know you, so you kinda get to start over. I'm not talking about in a way that you should change who you are, but more along the lines of the opposite. You're in a place where you don't have to try to be someone you're not anymore. You're in a place where you can truly be you (hopefully you're already truly being you, but if you're not, it's a fresh start). 

There's also something about needing to be humbled. I think it's something we all need to experience- I sure did. I was up on my high horse thinking I was all that and a bag of cow chips when suddenly, I was no one. I needed that. I needed to be reminded that the world is big, I'm small, and I'm only here for a short period of time in a small place ​in a big world. 

Sometimes God humbles you Himself, and sometimes He has His creation do it for him. 

-Cliff​

Cliff's Note: The world is big. You're small. Be humble. ​