Maddie Grimes is serving as a Good Faith Media Ernest C. Hynds Jr. Intern for the spring 2022 semester. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in publishing from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and seeking a minor in interdisciplinary ethics with an emphasis in philosophy.
1. What story, verse or passage from your faith tradition’s sacred texts has significantly influenced / shaped your life?
What Jesus says in Matthew 25:34-40 has always stuck with me. I think at times we could all use the reminder that to humble ourselves to the overlooked and the forgotten members of society is to humble ourselves to what is righteous.
2. Who are three people (other than your family) who have shaped your life and worldview? And why?
Taylor Swift’s music has been the soundtrack to every stage of my life since I was five years old. As a child, Taylor taught me that romanticizing the mundanity of my own life is a precious skill to be nurtured and sharpened. Today, she continues to be an example to me that embracing the full spectrum of emotions is an act of great strength and wisdom and that I should always be my own biggest advocate.
My high-school best friends taught me the immeasurable value of having people in your life who both know and love you fully and that even when each of you moves on into different phases of life, those people will always be a part of who you are.
The writer John Green shaped so much of my youth and now my young adulthood. He continues to inspire me to believe that hope is not naive and that unironic enthusiasm is one of the best qualities a person can have.
3. List three of your “desert island” books, movies or TV shows.
The movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, the book Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and, obviously, the TV show The Office.
4. What is one of the most critical issues people are facing today?
The compulsion to have opinions that are loud before they are informed.
5. What are a few of your hobbies?
Reading has always been my lifelong hobby. Lately, I’ve also taken up adult coloring books and making collages from old magazine pages.
6. If you could freeze your life into an already-lived 10 seconds, what would they be?
Any of the many 10-second snippets of my life during which my cat, Alex, fell asleep while purring and lying on my chest.
7. Our tagline at Good Faith Media is, “There’s more to tell.” What’s your “more to tell”?
I think your life becomes infinitely more enjoyable once you start seeing yourself as your own best friend.
Reflection and resources at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens.
