Well, it’s the second week of the Faction-of-the-Week Challenge, where we’re putting Veronica Roth’s DIVERGENT factions to the test. This week… amity.
AMITY is the faction of: 1. friendship; peaceful harmony. 2. mutual understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations; peace; accord. 3. cordiality
Easy peasy. Everyone likes a heapin’ helpin’ of hospitality, as those famous philosophers The Beverly Hillbillies would say.
I thought this challenge would be a piece of cake because my already-set-in-stone schedule would be a surefire slam dunk of amityness. Monday night we had plans to go out with some of the college kids for the amazing Emily’s birthday. The rest of the week was taken up with planning and prep, because tomorrow is the ginormous Benefit Concert for tornado victims that has been planned by our teenagers and…ahem… overseen, as it were, by the hubby and me. So, to rehash, a night with friends + helping out our neighbors? Yep. Amityland here I come!
But here’s the thing. My six-month-old screamed/cried/whined through the whole birthday dinner, so I spent the whole time bouncing, sighing, and telling the hubby we needed to go. When we left, I told him that I was officially declaring myself a hermit and not coming back out again until Bren had cut every last one of his teeth. Amity fail #1.
As for the benefit concert planning, I’m not sure it was as bad as I imagined, but in my mind it went something like this… Random Teen: Do you think we should sell brownies? Oh, thinking of brownies, today at school the snack machine… Me (interrupting): CAN WE GET BACK TO BUSINESS?!??! Random band: We can’t make it after all. Me (not to their faces but, worse, to everyone else): WHATEVER HAPPENED TO RESPONSIBILITY?!?!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!??!!? Repeat a variation of these conversations 487 times. Amity fail #2.
The life lesson here is that Amity is less about your actions and more about your attitude. Mine could use some work. What about you?
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I’m convinced you can’t be in Amity if you’re a mom. Those two things just don’t mesh. Amity’s unhealthy anyway – you can’t be happy all the time and people who act like they are are going to end up with ulcers!
Amity was hard for me too! I think you’re right; it’s a attitude thing. It’s hard to be that relaxed no matter what frustrations life throws at you.
It just goes to show…we all have a mixture of the factions within us but can’t be one single faction all the time.
“The life lesson here is that Amity is less about your actions and more about your attitude.”
I love that statement.
Mine definitely can use some work too … *le sigh* But, hey, at least we acknowledge it. That’s half the battle, right?!?!
I agree with Kathleen, that statement really got me too! Amity was definitely not easy, but I think they’d react to flakiness exactly as you did! They’d value responsibility and owning up to promises etc.
Overall I definitely thought it was easier than Abnegation!
Urgh – teething babies AND random teenagers? You don’t need Amity, you need Xanax! While I think you’re right that attitude matters more than actions…well, I fought this one with Abnegation too. If the outcomes are positive, (i.e., you helped a tornado victim benefit get off the ground) does it matter that you were grouchy doing it? It matters to you, but what about to the victims who will benefit? Anyway, I still give you major Amity props for trying!