On Interrupting Someone’s Meal

“Excuse me, can I just say something?” I turned from the vulnerable conversation I was having with a new friend and looked up at a middle-aged woman’s face. She’d been sitting two tables beside us, eating dinner with her teenage son. Upon rising from her completed meal of Panda Express goodness, she stepped over and […]

“Struggle Central” Excerpt #2: Alone at Church

Once again, it’s time for a special Struggle Central edition of Struggle Sunday! I’ve already posted one excerpt from my first book, and posted below is another! It’s the second sneak peak for Struggle Central: Quarter-Life Confessions of a Messed Up Christian, with at least one or two more reveals in the Struggle Sundays to come. Today’s excerpt takes […]

“Struggle Central” Excerpt #1: Shame on Me

It’s Struggle Sunday! Today marks a decidedly special Struggle Sunday edition, because posted below is an official excerpt from my upcoming book, Struggle Central: Quarter-Life Confessions of a Messed Up Christian. It’s the first sneak peak of several in the weeks to come! My first book releases soon! Subscribe to my email newsletter for your […]

IDENTITY: My “One Word 365” Spring Check-In

My “One Word 365” for 2013 is identity, and it’s time to check in for the spring. Though it’s technically not even spring yet, recent events beckon this post. My one word for the year makes perfect sense given my upcoming little-holds-barred book. Also, the Indian name I received at camp last summer has taken […]

Yes, Book Trailers Are a Thing

So, yesterday was a wonderful day. After a week and a half of faithfully/madly editing some personal video footage, I finally uploaded a book trailer for my upcoming project. Yes, book trailers are a thing. The reaction couldn’t have been more encouraging. From Twitter to Facebook to YouTube itself, the encouragement was overwhelming. Yesterday was such an affirming benchmark in the […]

My Oasis Haircut and a Long Lost Reconnect

On Monday I tried to get a haircut. Tried three times, actually. Even tweeted jokingly about the whole ordeal. Jokingly but kinda frustratingly too. Pretty sure the universe is against my getting a haircut after 3 failed attempts this afternoon. — Thomas Mark Zuniga (@thomasmarkz) February 18, 2013 First, I rolled by some Indian salon that specialized […]

On Starting a Newsletter, Writing a Book, and Mourning the X-Games

A couple months ago I teased y’all about a new, exciting newsletter for this blog, teasing you even further about a crazy book idea. I teased and I teased, and then I hit a writing wall while struggling to land work and move into a more ideal living situation. And thus the dream appeared dead. […]

Change is More Than Time Zones: Guest Post w/ Laura Coulter!

HEY FELLOW WANDERERS! Sorry for yelling, but I’m excited today. Thrilled to share a brand new post, straight from the mouth of the trout. But you won’t find it here. For the first time in a long time, I have the blessed opportunity to post on somebody else’s blog. And for the first time in […]

Tuesdays Are the Worst

Today is Tuesday — actually, it’s 12:27am as I type this initial draft of a post. So while it is now officially Wednesday here in southern California, it’s still Tuesday night in Hawaii. Wednesday evening in Korea. I don’t get time. I don’t know whether I should have capitalized the “Are” in the title of this […]

Summer Questions: I Don’t Know What’s Best for Me

I knew it had been a while, but I was blown away when I realized my last Struggle Sunday post occurred on… May 27th of last year. Yikes. Please don’t let me go that long without getting messy with y’all again. While my life seems to be peaches and cream at the moment — regularly […]

The Most Special Feeling in the World

I have a special feeling to share with y’all. A most special feeling, actually. At the inception of my California story in 2010, I tutored at a wonderful little middle school. For the last two years, that job supplied me income, yes. But beyond a monthly paycheck, that job launched me unabashedly into tutoring. Into […]

“Enjoy Your Mitsubishi.”

I used to hate the homeless. That sounds harsh, but it’s true. I’d see one and equate him to a stain on the carpet or a zit on the forehead. What’s their problem? Why are they so lazy? Why don’t they do something with their life? Why don’t they get a job? Why don’t they […]

One Word 365: Closing 2012 and Christening 2013

Happy 2013! I’m certain nobody — on the Internet especially — has wished you a happy new year yet. So let me be the first to wish such gleeful tidings upon you. Even though we’re now a week into this new year. Better late than never, right? For faithful followers of my blog, y’all know […]

When Words Won’t Come

I haven’t posted in two weeks. An empty blogless stretch unmatched on this site since…never. It’s never happened; I always have something to say. Something to write. I write about my life. My faith. I write about struggle. I write about my favorite music or my latest quirky observation of the world. I write about […]

Korea vs. California: A Reason and a Season

I have no idea what I’m doing with my life. Ever since graduating from college in 2009, I’ve gone about some routine, hoping/thinking/praying I’m doing what I’m “supposed” to be doing. Whether it’s the “right” thing. Or if I’m in the “right” place. I think I belong in California right now. Pretty sure, actually. I’ve […]

November: I Kinda Really Hate You

I hate November. Those who know me best know this isn’t much of a secret. Ever since my dog died six years ago this month, I’ve dreaded these 30 particular days of the year. Truthfully, I can’t remember experiencing a “good” November since 2006 attacked. I always anticipate strife and struggle and regret and remorse […]

A Friday Night Lights Kind of Change

A dear friend has been powering through one of my all-time favorite shows, Friday Night Lights. How fitting that this incredible show serves as inspiration for this post. I’ve been back in southern California for nearly three weeks, and I’ve experienced quite the gamut of emotions in that span. Relief? Check. Loneliness, despair? Check, check. Hope, frustration, […]

Lost and Found: From Coins to Cars

My Mitsy is mine again. After five long vehicle-less days and four lost interviews, she’s been repaired and returned to me. What was broken has been fixed, and what was lost is once more found. Now in the aftermath of this whole fiasco, I’m reminded of a story. A Lost Coin In Luke 15, Jesus […]

One Word 365: My Autumn Check-In

One Word 365: my succinct “theme” for 2012. I began this year with the declaration that these 365 days would be courageous. A year of leaps and bounds like never before. I checked in this spring with an update on my courageous moments. Not as a chance to puff myself up, but rather as a […]

Starting Over Again: The Tale of Westward Ho 2

Once again, my life is starting over in the same magical place. After a long week on the road, I’m back in southern California. Last night I stared out at the Pacific Ocean and felt certain peace to be back home. “Home” in the temporary sense that yes, this is where I am meant to be […]

California Re-Bound? The Ongoing Saga of Traveling Golden Trout

It’s been a restful lazy arduous rocky month. I’ve deeply missed blogging. As my life greatly transitions with this snazzy new layout, I certainly aim to blog with increasing regularity. I suppose I should elaborate how California figures (or doesn’t?) into this grand transition. After a life-changing summer working at camp, I returned home to […]

The End is the End

I was preparing to leave. Been salivating over the blissful thought the entire fourth session. Would I be sad to leave this magical place? Had I experienced countless blessed moments? Certainly. But I was exhausted. Wearily spun into emotionally seasick circles. Then a funny thing happened on the way to the life boat. I describe […]

The End is the Beginning

This “final” session at camp was a doozy. I utilize quotation marks for reasons to be revealed later. Probably at the end. It was certainly the most exhausting session of the summer, and at times the most defeating. Coming off a near-perfect session, it was inevitable that this session just wouldn’t compare. Simply wouldn’t stack […]

Braving the Real World: A Wandering Wednesday by Erin Bower

After a phenomenal summer of guest posts while I hang with kids 24/7, it’s time to bring it to a close. It’s fitting that my final Wandering Wednesday submission of the summer comes from a good college friend and a fellow writer/wanderer. You can follow Erin on Twitter at @Ebowerwrites, and she also runs a […]

A Most Incredible Devastation

My third session at camp now resides in the books, and it’s with legitimate sadness that I type this recap, because this session – these precious kids – rocked my world. And now it’s over. Now they’re gone. My role as “camp counselor” took on elevated meaning and purpose as nine incredible Tennesseeans flooded my […]

To Bama and Back: A Wandering Wednesday by Mitchell Yaksh

The summer rolls on and I’m continually in awe of yall’s wandering stories. So awesome. Up today for my summer guest-series is probably my most faithful reader and commenter. He goes by Mitchell Yaksh, and I hope I’m not the only one who can’t pronounce his last name. Oh well, nobody can successfully pronounce mine […]

When Boys Become Men

My goal going into the summer was to post a blog every single week about my life at camp. I quickly realized that a new post every single week was simply going to be impossible. Since my camp runs in two-week sessions, I figured a post every other week would be more feasible. I succeeded […]

In His Hands: A Wandering Wednesday by Cheryl Chen

It’s once again time for Wandering Wednesday: GPE! I’m loving everyone’s guest-submissions this summer. Totally rocking my world. Up today is someone I recently met at Phil Wickham’s Singalong 2 live recording, Cheryl Chen. Cheryl is a fellow writer/blogger, and you can check out her blog here. You can also follow her on Twitter @Cheryl__Chen […]

Steadiness in the Wandering: A Wandering Wednesday by Philippa Ball

It’s summertime, and the guest posts continue to roll in! Up today is a Wandering Wednesday from one of my faithful readers, Philippa Ball, as she tells a wonderful wandering tale all the way from the UK. You can follow her on Twitter @philamina11. And if you’d like to guest for me this summer, check […]

Eastward Ho: Milwaukee Melee

I recently drove across the country to reach my summer camp destination on the east coast. What follows is one of several real-life wandering stories from my incredible “Eastward Ho” adventure. Before I can talk about what I actually did upon my return to Milwaukee, I must first explain the magnitude of my initial arrival. […]

Wandering to Macon: A Wandering Wednesday by Joseph Craven

Wandering Wednesday: Guest Post Edition surges forward with a submission by the one, the only, the one with the only greatest blog of all-time, the Joseph Craven. You can follow ole JC on Twitter @thejosephcraven, which is not to be confused with @ajosephcraven. His blog is The Greatest Blog of All Time, and I’m not […]

Repetitive Rains and New Names

I’ve been at camp for two weeks, and the first group of boys have returned home. Time to tell the tale of session one… The Arrival Waking up on Opening Day, I was incredibly anxious. I’d just endured two emotionally draining weeks of training, and this was what it was actually all about: the kids. […]

I Don’t Have All the Answers: A Wandering Wednesday by Rob Shepherd

It’s Wandering Wednesday with a summertime twist, as I’m getting to feature some awesome guest-posters during my hectic camp-filled summer. Here’s a great one from one of my absolute favorites, Rob Shepherd. Be sure to follow Rob on Twitter @robshep and check out his hilariously transparently pseudo-pastoral-ish blog at robshep.com. If you’d like to guest […]

Eastward Ho: 30 Minutes in Chicago

I recently drove across the country to reach my summer camp location on the east coast. What follows is one of several real-life wandering stories from my incredible “Eastward Ho” adventure. I’d thought about just passing by. It was already dark and getting kinda late. I had 500 miles to travel the next day and […]

Jesus Hit Me

I’M AT CAMP. And finally, I’ve got a chance to report what’s been going on these last couple weeks. Excited to share my experience with y’all this summer! During camp training, it was engrained within all the counselors that we, under no circumstances, were to ever hit a child. They said nothing about Jesus hitting […]

Not All Those Who Wander: A Wandering Wednesday by Adam Stück

It’s time for another rousing edition of Wandering Wednesday: Guest Post Edition. Up this week is Adam Stück of typewritermonkeytaskforce.com. I had to Google the u with the two dots over it in order to type his name properly, in case you were wondering. You can also follow Adam on Twitter @coffeeologian. Wanna guest for […]

West Texas Highways and Lingering Essays: A Wandering Wednesday by Lauren Bailey

It’s time for another summer installment of Wandering Wednesday: Guest Post Edition. Today I’m honored to host Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com. Lauren, let your wandering tale now commence: It was a late December day at maybe five pm or so. The sun was setting […]

Lost in Yosemite: A Wandering Wednesday by Kevin Haggerty

IT’S SUMMERTIME BABY. Well, maybe for you it isn’t yet. Maybe you’re still taking classes or maybe the summer solstice hasn’t officially hit or maybe you’re living in Australia where it’s currently weirdly winter. Regardless of your/Earth’s situation, my camp-counseling self needed some blogging help this summer. And thus I present, “Wandering Wednesday: Guest Post […]

Struggle Sunday: I’m Not Worthy

I recently spoke in church. Like…big-people church. Not children’s church or Sunday School or the nursery. It’s about as insane a claim as my slam-dunking over Shaq. At the start of the year I’d have given greater odds to becoming LeBron Tom than Pastor Tom. But God’s been challenging me this year. Calling me out […]

One Word 365: My Spring Check-In

My One Word 365 for 2012 is courageous. After five months of this slightly less sparkly new year, I wanted to check in with my spring progress. Not in a puff-myself-up kind of way, but more of a trying-to-stay-accountable sort of way. In short, it’s been a life-changing year. In long… I met with one […]

On Finishing My First Half-Marathon

I ran my first half-marathon last week. I had several goals going into this 13.1-mile romp along the Pacific coast: Don’t walk. Just don’t. Don’t go to the bathroom at mile 8. Don’t resort to running shirtless because of nipple-chafing. Do keep blisters to a minimum because they will inevitably happen. Do break the 2-hour […]

A Birthday Baptism by Buccaneer Bay

I was baptized last week. It was more “unconventional” in the sense that the event did not occur within the traditional confines of a Sunday morning service of a standard church building. I kinda like that. But though occurring on a non-churchy Tuesday night at a non-churchy water park, my baptism most certainly occurred in […]

The Day Lies Died

I am worthless. I have no purpose, no “point.” I am doomed to fall, doomed to fail, repeatedly and hard, regardless of any earnest effort. Maybe because of my earnest effort. I am alone. I cannot love or be loved. Not the “right” way, whatever that even means. Having a spiritual “family” is an impossible […]

Twenty-Five Turning

What’s been your most memorable birthday? Least memorable? TELL ME A STORY. Phew, crisis averted. JESUS JUKE. Please don’t hate this post; I’m getting baptized tonight. BORING. At least far more memorable than 23 or 2. All things considered, turning 25 is sure to be memorable for decades to come. Well, as much fun as […]

Why I’ve Never Been Baptized

Several years ago I watched my younger siblings do it. I’ve often wondered whether I would ever follow in their footsteps. Been questioned about it plenty of times. But I already have Jesus in my heart. I love Him dearly. He is everything; He’s the only thing. For nearly 25 years God’s will has superseded […]

On Meeting My First Celebrity

I’ve lived in the Los Angeles area for almost two years now. Ah, LA—the Mecca for movie stars and beautiful people alike. And lots and lots of Mexicans. I’ve met plenty of Mexicans in two years, but never a celebrity. I’ve never expected to bump into Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie or their seventeen African […]

Baseball is the Greatest Sport of All Time, Pt. 1

Today I have the distinct privilege of guest-posting over at THE Joseph Craven’s Greatest Blog of All Time. Finally posting in that elite realm pretty much affirms my worth in the universe. So here below lies the beginning of my two-part baseball-obsessed post. You can click the link at the end of this post for […]

Good Enough for Loneliness

Today I have the extreme honor of guest-posting at one of my favorite blogs on the whole interweb, People of the Second Chance. Below is an excerpt, and you can click the link at the end for the continuation. Would love your comments over there and then your comments back here. And then you do […]

Spirit Fall

This week I got to blog a sermon recap for my church, ROCKHARBOR Fullerton. We’re currently doing a series through the entire Bible, “The Story of God,” and this week we landed in Acts. Here’s a snippet of my post! Click the RHF link at the end to read its entirety. During my first year […]

Why You Need to Get Lost

I’m training for a half-marathon on April 22. I realize this event could potentially thrust me into hating running forever, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. From now until April 22, my goal for each Saturday is to run 15 continuous minutes longer than the previous week. Last weekend I aimed to hit […]

My Letter to Me: From YouthWorks to Now

Last week I received one of the more unique letters the U.S. postal service will ever deliver to me. Yes, even more random than the birthday cards from my first grade teacher, received 15+ years after I presented my last show-and-tell. Last week I received a letter from none other than me, dated from August […]

A Week for the Ages

Remember that Full House episode when our beloved Uncle Joey strikes it big by getting free cable, winning a radio contest, and ultimately landing the heralded “Ranger Joe” TV gig? In his excitement he sent a “hug-o-gram” to the retiring Ranger Roy, only to uncover afterward that the exiting ranger had a physical condition that […]

Healing Wings

This week I got to blog a sermon recap for my church, RockHarbor Fullerton. We’re currently doing a series through the entire Bible, and this week we landed in Malachi. Here’s a snippet of my post! Click the link at the end to read the whole thing. One of my favorite worship songs is called […]

Sweet Seattle

I drove to Seattle this past week. I experienced heart palpitations upon first sight of that lovely city. The Space Needle — contributing to such a distinctive skyline. Countless shops and restaurants along a wonderful waterfront. Snow-capped mountains, including the biggest most beautiful mountain in the country — excluding that one in Alaska, which we […]

TMZ: Seattle Bound

This coming week I’ll be driving from Los Angeles to Seattle, with pit stops in San Francisco, Portland, and a magical redwood forest. Why am I doing this, you ask? Why not? I figure if I only live once, I should live. And since Hans Christian Anderson said, “To travel is to live,” well, there […]

Help Me Kill My Love for Running

Rob Shepherd is running a half-marathon. In the Outer Banks of North Carolina, no less. I ran track and cross-country in high school, and have miraculously continued running in the seven years since. But I’ve never run a marathon. Full or half. Or any distance greater than 7-8 miles, really. This needs to change. I […]

EARWAX BLOCKAGE

We’re about to get rullll intimate here at thomasmarkzuniga.com. I’ve spent nearly half a year and four Struggle Sundays with y’all, so I figure I can now discuss such details. Details I wouldn’t have dared discuss in month #3. A couple days before I left for the east coast last month, I, uh, had a […]

Like Everyone Else

Continuing a trend started a month or two back, I blogged for my church’s website this week. We’re currently going through a series on the Bible. Well, not just “the Bible,” vaguely speaking. That’d be like saying we’re learning about God. And Jesus. Oh, and words too. Our series is called “The Story of God,” […]

Struggle Sunday: To Boldly Go

My “one word” for 2012 is courageous. I picked such a word because of my struggle with boldness. And since courageousness is basically the antithesis of such a struggle, it just seemed like a fun combo deal. Like Happy Meals. When it comes to boldness, my life can effectively be split into two halves. I […]

TMZ RETURNS & One Word 365

Oh hey there, TMZ’ers. Remember how I called you that once long ago? I didn’t like it then, and I still don’t like it now. But like picking a scab though it’s wiser to leave it alone and let it heal, I recycle the silly term and immediately regret doing so. Blast. So anyway, TMZ’ers, […]

2300 Miles Later, Part 2 of 2

I wrote this post on Facebook in the fall of 2010 after transplanting my life from northeast Georgia to southern California. This second part expands on the first, shifting from my insights on the road to lessons learned after two months of a new life on the west coast. *** After moving to California, I […]

2300 Miles Later, Part 1 of 2

I wrote this post on Facebook during the fall of 2010 after transplanting my life from northeast Georgia to southern California. This first part covers insights from my five-day drive across the country. Tune in later this week for deeper insights discovered in the months following my move. *** I figure enough time has passed […]

Dear YouthWorks Milwaukee Students:

Hey guys. It’s me. No, not the bearded, guitar-toting one. Not the crazy one. And no, not the one who made you cry on a nightly basis during Club. The other one. I apologize to my fellow YouthWorks Milwaukee staff for these incriminating labels. But, uh, back to you guys. I miss you. Each and […]

Like a Christmas Tree Thrown Amid the Rapids

I wrote this doozy of a post on Facebook in January 2010. If you’re curious as to what I was feeling before I transitioned from Georgia to California, here you go. I thought it’d be fitting for re-posting on this day after Christmas, also known as the most depressing day of the year. *** I […]

EDEN-APPLE-HEART: My Heart (Part 3 of 3)

This is the final post in a three-part series. If you missed the first two parts, check out My Eden and My Apple first. This has been a fun series of posts — both to write my story and to hear yours. I was so inspired by all the feedback from Part 2, and I […]

When Faith, Hope, and Love Collide

During training week at the beginning of my YouthWorks summer, everyone in my area group was given a leather cord to act as a prayer bracelet for the entire summer — a reminder to pray for fellow staff in our own city and the 2 others in our area. But while the original intent of […]

Remember

A couple months ago my church started advertising a need for bloggers to help tell the story of our church; I was immediately intrigued and eventually met with someone about participating. Fast-forward to today, and I have the honor of having written a blog on my church’s website. It’s a recap of this past Sunday’s […]

EDEN-APPLE-HEART: My Apple (Part 2 of 3)

A couple weeks ago I started a three-part series examining my life’s “Eden,” “apple,” and “heart” moments, as inspired by one of my favorite musicians, Brandon Heath. Part 1, “My Eden,” was a fantasy-laden post chronicling my glorious childhood days of bikes and games and empty parking lots with siblings and cousins. Part 2, “My […]

(Un)Thankfulness

It’s Thanksgiving. Actually, it’s the day before Thanksgiving. But I’m not going to post this on Thanksgiving Day because everyone will be eating and sleeping through football and doing plenty of other things not at all related to internet-surfing. When I thought about what I’d blog for my first Thanksgiving post, I naturally thought about […]

Rediscovering Purpose: Field Trip!

I haven’t enjoyed many great days since returning to California in August. Three months removed from the summer, and I’m still very much readjusting to the new emotional weight I’ve either gained or lost. Either way, my waistline sure feels funky as I struggle to locate the right belt-hole. Fortunately, a couple great days have […]

Struggle Sunday: Shame On Me

So I’ve been blogging here for three months and have only written two “Struggle Sunday” posts. Just goes to show how hard it is to write about the tough stuff — topics I do regularly want to examine. So if it’s been several Sundays without a struggler post, feel free to nudge me on the […]

November Angst

Today is hard. Five years ago today I lost one of my best friends who just so happened to have four legs and an excitable little tail. And just last year, almost to the day, I lost a friend who I’d never even met in person, and yet profoundly impacted — indeed, continually impacts — […]

EDEN-APPLE-HEART: My Eden (Part 1 of 3)

Brandon Heath is my favorite male musician. Hands down. Dude never ceases to amaze me. His most recent Leaving Eden album hit me square between the eyes of my wandering soul and hasn’t let me go. I wrote about said album and my wandering nature in one of my first posts as a Revelife intern […]

“Are You Lost?”

You know the drill. You’ve had a really long day only to remember you’re out of milk, which we all know is the life-force of our refrigerators. You divert your course from home to Walmart and quickly become amazed that this many people actually go to Walmart at night. The only free parking spot is […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 9

This is the tenth of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my ninth and final week of programming, in addition to my one-day debriefing in Minneapolis. Be sure to check out my final postscript thoughts at the end! A logical place for such thoughts. If you’ve missed […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 8

This is the ninth of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my eighth week of programming. Be sure to check out my postscript thoughts at the end! A logical place for such thoughts. If you’ve missed any of previous recaps, flash back to Week 0. Also, check […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 7

This is the eighth of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my seventh week of programming. Be sure to check out my postscript thoughts at the end! A logical place for such thoughts. If you’ve missed any of previous recaps, flash back to Week 0. Also, check […]

Writing to Me, Circa 2005

Ever wish you could write a letter to yourself? And by “yourself” I mean the “you” from your past? Knowing what we know about ourselves now, wouldn’t that be incredible if we could mail ourselves some invaluable advice? Well finally, we can do just that. Actually, no we can’t. But we can pretend, right? There’s […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 6

This is the seventh of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my sixth week of programming. Be sure to check out my postscript thoughts at the end! A logical place for such thoughts. If you’ve missed any of previous recaps, flash back to Week 0. Also, check […]

Tight Hugs from Guatemala

One of the first goals I accomplished upon returning to California two months ago was sponsoring a child through Compassion International. I’d been wanting to sponsor for many months, but just never had the drive to make the goal a reality. Then came my incredible summer with YouthWorks (perhaps you hadn’t heard), and well, it […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 5

This is the sixth of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my fifth week of programming, which aligned with the special week of July 4th. Be sure to check out my postscript thoughts at the end! A logical place for such thoughts. If you’ve missed any of […]

Engineering Smiles

I’m on a bit of a YouthWorks kick to start out my new blog, which is fair, considering YW’s pinnacle role in my life. I’m halfway through posting my summer recaps and am still unpacking so much since returning to southern California. One of the first changes I noticed about me was my dealings with […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 4

This is the fifth of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my fourth week of programming. Be sure to check out my postscript thoughts at the end! A logical place for such thoughts. If you’ve missed any of previous recaps, flash back to Week 0. Also, check […]

Struggle Sunday: Fear of Man

I care. I care what people think of me. Care too much. And too much care has spiraled into fear, and that’s what this Struggle Sunday centers upon: fear of man. My particular fear of man majorly covers a facet I’ve long known about myself, but the root issue stems from something much more significant […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 3

This is the fourth of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my third week of programming. Be sure to check out my postscript thoughts at the end! Postscript, end — seemed like a logical place for such thoughts. *** I cannot believe I’m three weeks into a […]

On Tutoring and Mattering

This weekend I’ll be taking an academic test in my first step toward becoming an eligible substitute teacher in California. I’ve been tutoring middle-school students for over a year now, and I’ve determined subbing to be my next educational course of action. I relish the one-on-one aspect of tutoring, and I’m not sure about the […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 2

This is the third of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my second week of programming. Be sure to check out my postscript thoughts at the end! Postscript, end — seemed like a logical place for such thoughts. *** I’m now two weeks into summer programming and […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 1

This is my second of ten blogging installments from my life-changing summer in Milwaukee. In this recap I review my first week of programming after having two intense weeks of training and site preparation. Be sure to check my postscript thoughts on my first official YouthWorks week. *** I’ve got a week of camp counseling […]

Struggle Sunday: Doubting God’s Direction

To kick off my first “Struggle Sunday,” which just so happens to align with the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I thought I’d talk about something we all experience at one point or another: doubting God’s direction in our lives. I’ve never heard God’s audible voice. Never seen mystical writing in the sky or in the […]

My YouthWorks Summer: Week 0

Over the coming weeks I’ll be reviving posts from my YouthWorks summer adventure in Milwaukee. For those that missed these posts, I hope they’ll provide some deeper insight into both my past and present. And for those that have read these recaps before, I’ll be including more pictures this time around and add some postscripts […]

State of the TMZ: Life After Milwaukee

Now that I’m unfettered from blogging about the six huge chunks of Me, I figured I’d check in with a little TMZ life update. Before you run away for fear of boredom, let me just say that there’s LOST to be found in this post. Oh yes. This past summer I worked in Milwaukee for […]

TMZ: Wanderer

It’s been a fun first week christening my proverbial flagship, thomasmarkzuniga.com, detailing all these different facets of my life. Thanks so much for journeying with me. It’s certainly been a fruitful, eye-opening process for me during a time of extreme transition, and I hope you’ve found my introspective posts at least more worth your time […]

TMZ: Dreamer

The most memorable-slash-horrifying dream I ever experienced occurred when I was a child in Pennsylvania. I was standing at the top of our staircase, upon a small rug that was inexplicably placed there, when suddenly my little brother ran up and literally pulled the rug out from under me (note the correct usage of “literally” […]

TMZ: Creator

No, I’m not the Creator. But I am a creator. I love that the God of the Universe created, well, the universe, and then the universe in turn creates things ourselves. Blows my mind. People are so talented and gifted and creative. Seriously, how did we ever come up with automobiles or guitars or haikus? […]

TMZ: Brother

Life is hard. It’s an unfortunate reality that my 24-year-old brain is only still just beginning to grasp. Thankfully, we don’t have to walk this road alone. And that’s where my role as brother enters this blog. When I describe myself as a “brother,” yes, I am indeed a blood-related brother to two fantastic scratching/crying […]

TMZ: Struggler

As mentioned in my last post, I’ve basically been observing since the day I was wheeled from the hospital room. Being an observer has always been engrained in me, and I’ve got 23 (soon to be 24) journals to prove it. As for being a struggler: this is a relatively newer facet of my life. […]

TMZ: Observer

Post #2 at thomasmarkzuniga.com! Only 1256 posts to go until I hit 1257. And then I’ll have arrived. As promised in my inaugural entry, I’m going to start explaining the six topical words in my banner and how they’ll relate to this blog. First up, observer. Each one of us has been observing for a […]

Another TMZ for the Web

Oh, hey. Good to see you again. Perhaps you remember me from here. Or from slightly further back, here. Or more painfully from here. Please don’t click that last one. I swear I have learned to write better than a sixth grade girl since then; I’ll show you my college English diploma if you’d like. […]