New Specs

Today, I received a package in the mail that contained my glasses. My parents mailed them to me. 

I love these things! They are cute and lightweight and they help me see details. 

Yay! 

Goofy :)

It's Gonna Be a Good Day

Well my faithful reader(s),

Today began with a nasty alarm sound as of 2 hours ago. Lucky for me and my morning brain, I had already planned out today's activities yesterday.

Here's The Plan for today.

• 7:50 Class (check)

•  Then, McConn (smoothie and muffin) or, quick stop at Baldwin.

*Stop (like a telegram). So I didn't actually get a smoothie. I thought about it. I got a DELICIOUS cranapple muffin that had so much who knows what icing on top with crumbly bits that I essentially just ate cake. Now I'm not a big cake eater, but I am when it's incognito. I also ventured out this morning beyond my typical Carmel Macchiato or White Mocha and tried a London Fog. I don't know how to make it, but lucky for you and me, the Internet does.

Here's How

 I don't typically like chai (I tried a vanilla chai from Starbucks once and hated it) but this is far enough away from Chai that I don't mind it.

I am eating such a healthy (see:not) breakfast because

• 10:00 Am today, give blood. I don't remember the last time I gave blood. I am fairly certain it was the fall of my senior year. When was the last time you gave blood? According to a t-shirt they gave me once at a blood drive, 38% of Americans are eligible to give and only 5% do. That's nuts people.
• 12:45- Lunch with my friend Liz. Lemme tell ya, this is a great time to eat in Baldwin. There's almost no one there so you can pretty much sit wherever and you don't have to wait in long lines. 
• 6:15 My speech class. I may do something afterwards, but you never know. 

Here are some other things that are going to be completed today but they don't have a time assigned to them yet:

1. Read my "So What Does It All Mean?" philosophy book (40 pages)
2. Edit 3 business letters for Writing for Results (W4R) (I was planning on using this time to do it, between class and blood drive, but I left the edited drafts in my room. I do have the computer to make changes, but no changes to make :-/
3. Go to the post office and
1. Drop off a letter for my grandma
2. Pick up a package (which, I believe, is my glasses! Picture to come)
3. Ask about business envelopes. I need them for W4R but I only have fun ones.
4. Visit the Registrar's office and sign off on my AP credits
5. Read A Writer's Companion Appendix 2 for W4R
6. Call dermatologists in Marion about BluLight therapy. I'm having some trouble finding anything online about results, exactly what it is, those kinds of semi important things. I have found a few sources, but nothing with definitive results. That makes me scared and a little bummed, like there's nothing that can fix it. Shoot. 
7. Also, if I get time, I am planning to paint my nails today.

As you can see, I have a LOT to do today. Yay, I love errands on a college campus. This is totally what I thought it would be like.

Also, my friend Kelly from high school and church told me the days she's visiting. I can't wait to see her! 

Ok, time to go donate some blood! Have a happy Tuesday! 

My Favorite Weather

It's rainy in Marion.
Rainy and warm. And wonderful.
My favorite weather of all time is warm and rainy. It's delightful! 
Today was also a wonderful opportunity to wear my lovely new trench coat :) 
I would post a photo of it, but I can't find that thing anywhere online! And no photo I take will justify it. Instead, I will post a photo of me from earlier today. 

Large earrings from my mom, heart shaped earrings from PacSun, tshirt is Simple Math album cover by Manchester Orchestra. I got it when I saw them in Chicago in May. 

Classes today went fairly well. 
We had a great discussion in my philosophy class and I am not as scared there. It was interesting and to relay it here would be seemingly impossible. I do want you, my readers, to feel intellectually stimulated so here you go:

Would you choose world #1 in which:

You have free will but are limited by love. You can only do things that are loving, but you have freewill to give gifts, hug, do acts of service, etc.
Why would you choose it? Why would you not choose it?

Would you choose world #2 in which:

You have free will but you are limited by power. You can only do things that allow you to gain power, but it could be gaining physical strength, being persuasive so that you have a bigger group who supports you, etc. 
Why would you choose it? Why would you not choose it?
Is either world ideal? What are the issues here? You can say no or yes to both (although I would be interested to hear what you have to say if you want to say yes to both worlds!), it is not a one or the other choice. Explain yourself. Why do you want this reality?
*Then, here's the kicker. Defend the other side! Say for example, you chose world #1 as your reality. Say why that would be terrible. Say you said no to world #2. Say why it's terrible.
As was said at the end of class today, you cannot have a sufficient debate unless you can recognize the other side as legitimate. Otherwise, it's an argument. This may be what you are looking for but is probably not going to get you too far. That's my opinion :) 


In my World Changers class, we talked about character and what that mean. One guy in class pointed out that Jesus talked differently to prostitutes than He did to pharisees, and our teacher said that's not what we are really talking about after he let the debate go on a little. What Kyle meant, I think that I'm understanding him correctly, is that perhaps Jesus lacked character because He changed depending on who He was talking to. I pointed out that you have to appeal to a certain audience, that I would not talk to my professor the same way I talk to my grandma or the same way I talk to my best friend. That does not mean I am telling a different truth, I would simply be presenting it differently. Does that make sense? Another girl in class, Tori, referenced the book "They Like Jesus but Not the Church" which is by Dan Kimball about how this book shows that nonChristians typically get Jesus. They like His morals and His teachings about being a good person, loving others, not murdering, that kind of thing. What they don't like is the judgmental and disapproving, and was also pointed out, boring, church of His followers. So Kyle says something like "That's exactly how I feel"


DING!!! A bell goes off in my head. I had to read that book for my 2008 mission trip to Matamoros, Mexico. I am pretty sure I brought it with me to college! (Remember a minute ago when I was talking about liking to argue, not debate? That's kinda where Kyle comes from. Often.)
At the end of class, I leaned back and said something like "Hey Kyle, I don't know if you are much of a reader but I'm pretty sure I have that book with me if you would like to borrow it," and he seemed really excited about it. 


Turns out, I do have it. YAY! I'm so excited for him to read it and look at how a Christian author explains this belief that many nonChristians hold. I am so grateful to God that He used by book selection as a way for me to connect with Kyle, who has straight out told us as a class he doesn't get this whole "God thing."


Writing for Results also went well. I need to edit my 3 letters based on the peer revisions we did, and then they should be good to go. I wrote to the Hilton about making their rooms more accommodating to people of a lesser stature, to TOMS asking that they make it more clear what kind of materials they use for their shoes, and to the Dean of Chapel asking that the microphones be turned down on normal chapel days when the sound does not have to carry to the back row of the top section. A little random, but I was stretched for ideas. I had lots of little ideas but nothing that I could pan out or focus on for long enough to write about it.
***Random thoughts by me and my brain below this line. I will bullet point them so you don't get lost. 

• The Chik-Fil-A on campus opened today, so that's exciting. 
• I gotta figure out what this whole dubsteb thing is. What is it? Wikipedia to my uncultured rescue.

• I love this stuff 

<------
They have it all over the place in Montana. Huckleberry this and huckleberry that. Jams and jellys and lotion and chapstick and candles. Not in Indiana. Sad day. Good thing i hardly ever use this stuff so I'm not running out. When I do use it, it makes me happy and Montana-y.

• Today, Ke$ha became a resident of my brain in Writing for Results. Yeah, that was not a fun battle. 
• My best friend is blogging again! I don't think she would mind if I plugged her blog a little :) That's what friends are for, right? 

The Chronicles of Kate Also, she's beautiful. She is spending this year of her life serving God by loving on the people of Oakland, CA with her team. You can donate to her cause too so that she can continue to serve throughout the rest of this year by looking at her Mission Year blog. I cannot for the life of me find it on the internet right now. Working on it, just for you!
AHA!  Kate's Mission Year Blog
Yeah, I'm an internet wizard. NBD.

• So here are the movies I have watched thus far at college:

Australia
Titanic
The Aviator
The Tourist
The Adjustment Bureau 
Yes, three of those far are REALLY long. And that's ok. They were all pretty good, but I rarely think a movie is straight up bad. I can usually find something I like about it. 

• I'm donating blood tomorrow! Yay!! Ps, you should too. You don't need all the blood you have, unless you actually do. In which case, you keep it. 
• I made some tea this morning that I drank in Philosophy- I think it intellectually stimulates me. Just saying.
• I am more than 200 pages into The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I am really enjoying it! 
• Hey, why don't people say "togever" for Together Forever? Perfect abbreviation! Yeah, I'm going to start that. 

That is a lot of random things at the end there. Sorry about that for all you who dislike stream-of-conciousness type writing. 

God's Plan is Being Revealed

I am about to go back and add photos to the blog posts that I have previously made in order to make them slightly more visually interesting. I want to go back and add tags too, because I always seem to forget those things. We'll see if that gets done today (meaning, it likely won't).

I had an amazing encounter with God last night. So here's what happened.

It all starts with yesterday morning (insert rippling screen with harp noises that let you know as the TV viewer that we are going into a flashback)

I woke up early so that I could video chat with Kayla, my sister. After we got all the technical difficulties out of the way, we had a good conversation about life and how things are for each of us right now. 

Then I went to Baldwin (the dining hall on campus) and had breakfast. I read Proverbs 14 because it was the 14th and that's what my philosophy professor suggested we do. Proverbs is 31 chapters long, so it's perfect. And hey, if you forget on the 12th, don't feel guilty like you need to read 2 chapters, then feel overwhelmed and quit. You get it next month or on a day when you really need some big wisdom.

I began reading Proverbs this summer and marking [wise] or [wisdom] every time I saw it. It occurs a lot! 

If you feel like you are lacking wisdom, I highly suggest Proverbs.

I went to my philosophy class and discussed what makes you who you are. Dave (ugh, yes, that is how I will refer to him but only per his specific instruction) began talking about Phineas Gage (see left) who, in an accident during his job on a railroad construction site, got that tamping iron (the one he is holding in the photo) through his head. It entered under his jaw bone on the left side near the hinge, above where you would take your pulse, and exited his head out the top right side of his skull. I'm having trouble explaining where I mean, so check out the other photo on the right side.

Woah. Needless to say, he blacked out. He survived (duh, there's a photo of him) and he was still able to speak. His frontal lobe was effected and therefore his personality was effected. He went from being a   proper business man and a hard worker to an impulsive and rude man. Here's the link to his wikipedia page if you want to know more: More on Phineas Gage. 

This story and another were told in order to set up the question: What makes you who you are? Your personality, your memories, your character?

Dave began asking about Alzheimer's and asking if that person is still them. I put up a big wall and rather shut down. I did not want to think about my paternal grandfather suffering for more than seven years with that disease before his death and all the pain it caused me, my family, and especially my grandma. That apparently stuck with me the rest of the day.

I went to classes, had lunch with a girl from my NSO group, and went to my Writing for Results class. Pretty soon, it was time for dinner and I had planned to go with my whole NSO group. Not everyone was there, but it was lots of fun. At the end, it ended up being me, Liz, and Wesley. Wesley starts talking about this relationship that he's not really in, how they aren't dating but they are talking very seriously about parenting styles and things of that nature and my judgemental nature kicks in. I'm thinking "you do not talk about stuff like that with the opposite gender until you are engaged. That's crossing a line" and THEN my head said "but, if you wait until you are engaged, your heart is already so involved that if you might be reluctant to call it quits even if you find out something that could be a major issue in marriage." He talked about how the love two people have for one another cannot stay between those two but must be shared with others. Not in a creepy Big Love kind of way, but that the happiness you have and the love you have been gifted with can be passed on an paid forward. 

Needless to say, I had a lot to think about. I went back to my room, sat down, and prayed. 

I don't know if you all get distracted in your own brain, but when I pray in my head I get distracted. 

I write my prayers in a journal. It's just for me and God and I would be pretty dang upset if anyone else read it. I still sometimes beat around the bush at what I mean in case it is found, but I would hope that, if I lost it, someone would be respectful enough to see that the pages are titled "Dear God," realize they were prayers, and return it to me. 

So I prayed. I went to the last night of our fall spiritual emphasis week session, called Summit. Dr. Kimberly Majeski was talking about Nehemiah and how the jobs he ended up doing were likely not what he thought he would be doing or what he was capable of doing. God led him somewhere and enabled him to do these different tasks because God has a plan for him. 

She said something akin to "if you don't know what you want to do [that is, a career] then just do things you love to do". And I thought "I don't know what I love. I don't know what I want to do!"

Worship began. As we are singing, I'm thinking about how maybe I should try out to lead worship, how maybe I should have auditioned for choir, etc. A lot of doubts. Then I get it. I love to sing. I love to sing hymns. Who loves hymns? The elderly. And people like me, but they are frequently associated with the older generation. Do you know what else I love? I love to make people smile. To hold their hand. To do word searches. To do puzzles. To play checkers. God had revealed it to me. I am supposed to go volunteer at a retirement home. I smiled. It was very cool.

I asked God to allow me to know if that was my own head thinking or from Him. 

Then, the band, who had been playing their songs (I assume, I hadn't heard them before) and two hymns all week, and one round of "How Great is Our God" begins to play Hillsong's "Hosanna". 

Hosanna Lyrics

The bridge to this song has meant a lot to me not only because the lyrics are amazing, but because a line from the bridge was printed on our team t-shirts that we wore every day on my mission trip to the Dominican Republic last January. On that trip, we spent one day in a leprosarium, which is like a hospital/nursing home for those with leprosy. People there are disfigured due to the disease and even though much more is understood about it today than was understood about it in Jesus' day, they hardly have any visitors. Some of the patrons are too sick, weak, or otherwise unable to leave their beds. They lay there all day and all night with no one to sit by their side.

This is me and the man I sat with at the party. I wish I could remember his name. I hope he is there this year too. I am so excited that my dad and I get to go back! This day's shirt says "Show me how to love like You have loved me" which was so fitting. Jesus was not scared of the people with leprosy in His day. In the same way, we are supposed to love people who our culture ignores or hates. Getting to hang out with the people Jesus spent time with is an amazing experience. 

As a team, we brought guitars and our few Spanish songs we know, including "Cuan Grande es Dios" (that's How Great is Our God, for you nonSpanish speakers) and Alabare, which is a favorite of the people who live there. We put on a show that includes puppets and dance. We bring them gifts like new socks, a Beanie Baby, a baseball cap, a new shirt. We make balloon hats for them. We talk to them with our (see:my) ridiculously bad Spanish. We put our hands on their shoulders. We hold their hands. We sit close to them because others will not out of fear. 

Right after this moment of revelation, I had a doubt. Right after this moment of doubt, the band began playing "Hosanna".

God is good.

When I got back to my dorm room that night, I called my parents and told them. I did want to blog, but that would stink to have to read it on the Internet first! 

 I saw the Outreach Coordinator (OC), Heather, from my dorm and spilled my guts about the whole thing. She was very excited about my passion. She gave me the name of another OC who leads the group to Colonial Oaks every week and I emailed Abby that night. I checked the schedule, and guess what, she goes Thursday afternoons. Thursday is my most open day. God totally lined this up. I am going in about 30 minutes to meet with Abby and then head out. 

I'm nervous and excited. Woooooooo God! He is so big and powerful. Wow.

PS. If you ever hear that Dr. Kimberly Majeski is speaking somewhere near you, I suggest that you do what you can to get there and hear her. She is personable, easy to listen to, has amazing stories, a lot of knowledge, a lot of wisdom, a sense of humor, and a big heart for the Lord.

9/11, Where I Was.

Ok, see how there was a major shift in energy there after my explanation of Writing for Results? That's because I found a bunch of 9/11 photos on TIME and looked at them. Many of them were from President Obama and the first lady visiting the memorial in NYC today, but then other photo galleries were photos from the day of the tragedy.  

I remember exactly where I was. Doesn't everyone? 

We recalled our feelings about 9/11 at my youth group the week when Osama Bin Laden had been killed (May 1 or 2, depending on who's time you are using). I was shocked to hear that many people didn't remember, didn't think it was a big deal when it happened, didn't understand it, didn't care, etc.

Wow. Yes, I was in 3rd grade. I remember and I knew it was a big deal. I can't remember a time when I was unconcerned about world events, although I am sure that time exists. In 1999, I watched news footage of the Colombine High School shooting and I understood that. I was 6. So while I am sure that distance and unconcern for world events happened in my world at some point, I don't recall. 

I was sick that day. It was picture day at Meadowview School and I was concerned about having to do retakes because I had never done them before. I must have confirmed with my parents the night before that I was, in fact, staying home because I know I did not go into their room that morning to ask if I could stay home. I am pretty sure I had strep throat. 

I got up, walked down the hallway into the living room, and turned on the TV. It was on a news channel from the night before, and I saw a building smoking. Burning. I didn't look carefully enough. I didn't read the text on the bottom of the screen. I assumed it was a news story about a factory. 

This must have been past 8:46 when the first plane hit tower 1 or after 9:03 when the second plane crashed into the tower. 

I changed the channel. I watched cartoons, I think. 

I don't know how long it was until my dad came running down the hall. I could hear voices from my parents room so I assumed they were talking about me being sick or allowing their radio to continue to play as they got out of bed.

My dad told me to "Change it to a news channel!" and I was annoyed. I changed it as fast as I could because I could tell he wasn't kidding.

That's all I remember of the morning. 

I know in the week to come, I watched a lot of footage, heard a lot of news clips, 911 calls, devastating phone calls from loved ones on the planes to their families on the ground, and asked my mom more than once if it was possible any one in the rubble was still alive.

I created this scenario in which, in the impact, someone was thrown against a vending machine and that's how they were staying alive, waiting for someone to find them. After about a week, my mom told me that it was pretty unlikely they would find any one else alive in the wreckage of the towers. 

I bought a book at my school's book fair about people who survived it that was a photograph of them and their story. I still have that book somewhere, I'm sure of it. The firefighters in the photographs, which were all taken in front of a white back drop in a studio, wore their uniforms that were covered with the dust of it all. They reported finding a lot of golf balls in the rubble. I don't know why that stuck with me.

I also remember one man in the book who was photographed with his white lab. He is blind and the dog was his guide dog. He was led by his dog down the stairs and to safety. I can't imagine that dog doing its job so valiantly and sticking to its training when it is scared. It had a job to do, to protect his master. The man said something along the lines of "Everyone else saw it happen, but I heard it. The pipes bursting, the walls buckling..." 

As much as I have pointed out this dog's courage, it feels absurd to not point out the bravery of the men and women of the NYC police and fire departments, as well as EMTs, hospital staffs, news reporters who stomached the scenes as helpless standers by like the rest of us, and all the people who pitched in the effort to find survivors, pull bodies out so bring closure to families, clean up, hand out masks, carry injured to find help, and everybody else. 

Considering the size of the attack not only literally but the impact it had on the hearts of Americans, specifically New Yorkers, I am proud to be a part of this nation. While it is easy to bludgeon politicians and say that they could have handled it better or differently, to say that someone might have foreseen this and prevented it, and to judge those conspiracy theorist, I urge you to spend today, or what's left of today, simply to honor the victims and those who survived them. I can think of a million ways to personify them. Here are just a few off the top of my head:

Children whose parents were just trying to earn enough money at their desk job for them to go to college one day, mothers whose sons sat scared in the seat of the airplane as they frantically thought of what they might be able to do to help others onboard, for the husbands of the flight attendants who were stabbed mercilessly, for the wives of the Pentagon personnel who thought that a desk job would be safe for their husbands and had to cope with the reality that their special plans for dinner that Tuesday night would not happen, and for anyone else. 

Do what you will to commemorate them; those who died, those who are left here without them, those who were badly injured, and to everyone who fought, who cried, who prayed, to those who were directly and indirectly effected by it. Pray for the wellbeing of this country, for our leaders and for the hearts of its citizens as we remember the decade between today and the day that we will NEVER forget. 

Classes, a first glance

While this is technically the 2nd weekend I have been on campus at IWU, it is the first weekend since I have been in class. Last weekend was full of NSO (new student orientation) things, so it was crazy-fest.

Now, I have completed a partial week of classes and almost completed this weekend.

Here's a little (or a lot) of info about my classes.

8:55 AM Mon, Wed, Fri

  Human Philosophy (I don't think we offer animal philosophy, but what do I know?)

  Our professor told us to call him "Dave". That's weird. Maybe it makes students more comfortable, but not me. Call me a traditionalist, uptight, or square, but I find it very odd. You are teaching college students at a respectable university. Calling him by his first name makes me feel as though I am demeaning his stature in the academic community.

  Secondly, one of our two texts for class is entitled "What does it all mean" and it talks about this crazy things like "how do you know things are real? What if it's an elaborate dream from which you will never wake? what if every one is a figment of your imagination? The only thing that is real is your mind."

Yeah, that's crap.

It feels like a waste of my time to consider these things that are clearly not possible. Even if that was true and none of this is real, then what is reality? That never ending becomes and is reality, right? It makes my head hurt. I know I said I was going to be open about things like this, but sometimes it's tough to control the eye rolling.

  Thirdly, he have guilds or break out groups that we will be meeting with for the whole semester. Each group of 5 is required to do a certain number of things together and report back to the class. This sounds inevitably difficult to coordinate. I was the first one to step up in our group to get the conversation going when we met for the first time on Friday, and it looks as though me and the other freshman in the group will be doing a lot of the work. In some ways, me unofficially being the leader is better than some bossypants leading, but I can see this becoming a source of stress. Bleh. Not feeling the philosophy from where I'm standing.

11:05 AM Mon, Wed, Fri

 UNV-180, World Changers for Pre-Declared majors.

  World Changers is a required course as a freshman. It's all about, you guessed it, how we can change the world with the light of God. This is, in theory, a great thing to offer a course about. However, when it begins with playing a name game that goes something like this: "Likeable Liz, Precious Penny, Bubbly Brittany, Amicable Andrew" and ends with using Play-Doh to mold our ideas of what life calling, job, career, and vocation look like, I have a feeling this course is going to be a breeze. Seriously, what the heck is this? Because the course I am in is for children with out a major (predeclared is a euphemism for undecided) we will be doing things like "take this quiz to find out your spiritual gift!" and "take this Meyers-Briggs test to find out about your personality!". A lot of doodling is bound to happen.

2:20 PM Mon, Wed, Fri

  Writing for Results

 This course is pretty intimidating. There are seniors in this course who are journalism or writing majors and that scares me. Our teacher has been teaching a long time and seems sweet enough, so that's a comfort. In part of the reading for class tomorrow, I read the "Letters from Birmingham Jail" by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was lengthy (something he addresses towards the end of the letter) and totally worth reading. Everyone should read it and the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen that prompted this response. Dr. King is extremely well read and a great persuasive writer. This course will be a lot of analytical thinking and a lot of writing. I am not sure I can handle it but only time will tell. Also, there's a guy in this class who used to go to my church when I was younger. I had a 6th grade health class with him and then, apparently, he moved down state. Now, he is in this class with me! So strange! He actually kind of remembered me which was kinda neat.

7:50 AM Tues, Thurs

 Principles of Sociology

I took a sociology course in high school and very much enjoyed it. I think this course will go well. The readings are often long, but I'll be okay. My teacher made it clear that she is actually human and talking about her family and past professional life made me gain respect for her. It will be just fine.

6:15 PM, Tues

 Speech Communication

This a required course for all IWU students. I figured I might as well get it done! Our first speech is this week. I don't have the course Thursday night because it is 3 hours Tuesday night. This leaves Thursdays relatively open, which is nice. We are to write outlines for the speeches, which I have already done this week but I haven't had anyone listen to me and grade it yet. 

Change is a brewing

Ok readers, I have chosen new theme. I am kind of sick of this layout and I sought out something a little more grown-up than the purple I originally chose. Don't be alarmed when you see something different, it is happening on purpose. And don't get me wrong, I love purple, but this change is for the better. I just looked back at my first blog post when that was my solution- oh beginning blogger me :)

I have finished almost all of my homework. I have less than 20 pages left of "Audiences and Intentions: A Book of Arguments"for my 2:20 tomorrow. That's a lot of 2's right there.

I have been so good about reading this far, so I feel like it's ok to write this. I'm reading for a persuasive writing course (Writing for Results) and this blog post kept rolling around in my head.

Here's some insight into writing this blog: I write bits and pieces of a post, save it as a draft, and then post it after I am out of ideas. I would rather have one random and long-ish post than a bunch of short little ones.

"I still have to get posters and stuff" I don't have anything Justin Beiber in here yet, so that's a problem"
That just came out of my roommate's mouth. That may be where I draw the room decorating line. I will cross that bridge when it comes.

A friend from Taylor University helped me pick out a wireless router so I am now unwired! My wireless printer now works, and my router is in the process of getting registered. Sweet! I love when friends are willing to share their skill sets with me.

My bracelets always rub my laptop when I am typing. Very annoying :(

It's tough to believe I have only ever posted one photo on this blog. What the heck? I love taking photos! I may go back and add some at some point, so keep scrolling back through old entries. Here's one of me and my silly bracelets.

That top bracelet (hemp, 3 beads) has a pink button for the hook. I made the exact same one for my best friend ever, Kate. I haven't heard from her in a while and I miss her, so I am wearing her bracelet. Well, our bracelet. Whatever, you get the point.

The center bracelet (green, blue and yellow flecks) is the prayer bracelet from Clydehurst this year. Every staff member who said the memory verse, (Acts 26:18 CEV, go check it out), which was everyone, got this cord. They melted the ends and then you stick it together so it's on forever. It apparently shrinks over time so one day I may have to get rid of it, but I hope not.

The bottom bracelet is from TOMS, they mailed it to me. It is unraveling because I had to tie id and untie it and retie it a few times, and it will probably fall off soon. I added the 3 UV sensitive beads from my high school's sun cancer awareness week before spring break. I added them when they were white, which I didn't even think about until I was in the sun and I saw that they were blue,purple,blue and I thought "thanks, God. I would have untied it so that it was a palindrome of color."

PS doesn't my hair look great here :)
Ok, now on to reading. Goodnight all. I am pledging more photos!

Feeling Accomplished

Only by the grace of God have I gotten this far and only through His grace can I continue.

College is going to be tough! 

However, I am often encouraged by looking back at things that I have accomplished, that is, things that God has strengthened and enabled me to do. So here we go. Today I :

• Can check the box on my first time going to each of my classes
• Used Post-its to colorfully label my notebooks, textbooks, and folders so I know what goes with each class
• I used those same colors to make a schedule on iCal (the calendar program on Macs)
• Conquered iCal! I feel so great about how it looks. Ok, that's not true. It's pretty intimidating. But hey, it's organized so hopefully I won't miss anything. In my head, that cheesy song "And I don't wanna miss a thing/Every time I dream of you/The sweetest dream will never do" Aerosmith? yes. 
• On iCal, not only did I put in when I have class and chapel, I also began putting in exams, breaks, and blocking out time to do specific pieces of homework. Lemme tell ya, I am swamped tomorrow- hello library!
• Began scouting out the best places to study in the library. I am still working out the best place to sit where I won't be insanely distracted by noise or people but that I won't freak out because it's too silent. Both have happened, both are bad. Essentially, I am seeking out the perfect spot. I'm convinced it exists. 
• Finished the reading and note taking for sociology. It wasn't even that long but I had spent so much time on it Tuesday that I felt as though my brain was turning to mush. Good thing I wrote notes on what I read before because I don't really remember it.
• Also, I got onto Blackboard, found a reading, and printed it with the help of a library employee who put me in the printing system. Unfortunately, I had to pay to print because my printer is not working. I have a plan to get it all set up tomorrow with a friend who knows computers and things of that nature. 
• Attended the Lodgeball tournament and met some of the guys on the brother unit. They are very fun and very crazy. 
• Made Arnold Palmer with the packet, and then I realized I didn't have anything to stir it with which was a bummer. I cleaned off my scissors and vwalah- nicely mixed Arny :) it was nommy. 

That's not everything I accomplished today but it's everything I can think of right this moment. Now a shower and a possible late night viewing of The Last Song? We'll see :) 

Happy Wednesday Night, readers! 

Ok people, I know what you're thinking

"what happened to that girl who's blog I once read? It was so witty and wonderful but then it stopped like a cold case file! Will I ever again get the chance to read her blog?"
Never fear. I have returned to the blog world.


I did in fact spend my summer in Montana and it was wonderful. I wish I could tell you about the whole thing but that might take more effort than me and my fingertips are willing to put forth. So here's some highlights for you

• Drove my first 4 wheeler
• Climbed a mountain. The hike they call Steeple is 2 hours up and 96% uphill, one part goes down because you have to jump over a stream. Then there's bouldering and actual rock climbing at the end! I got to see the camp from that far up and see the sun peek up over the mountain behind us. Absolutely breathtaking. Camp is 5,300 feet above sea level and Steeple is 7,800! 2,500 foot elevation climb in 2.1 miles (thanks to Mr. Chausse for the numerical data)
• Shot a gun! It was a .22 and then a semi auto .22 if that means anything to you. Apparently it's not that big of a deal in the gun world, but it counts in my world and I checked it off my bucket list. ps, I'm a great shot (for a beginner)
• Cleaned toilets
• Did a TON of laundry and hung it out to dry. I hope one day I live in a place where I can hang my laundry out to dry. 
• Served food to campers
• Ran industrial dishwashers
• Washed, shopped, and otherwise prepared veggies and other parts of meals during "kitchen prep"
• Am now capable of making enough Kool-Aid to keep 145 high schoolers happy
• Shared a bathroom with, worked with, and otherwise lived with 8 other high school girls. They were each amazing blessings to me and I miss them!

I did a ton of other stuff that I can't think of right now. It was amazing. It's so beautiful there. If you have never been to Montana and you like nature even a little bit as a vacation, you should go. The camp is in a valley and I looked around and thought "God could move these mountains"

That was really cool. Hearing the river at night before bed was really sweet. So camp was amazing. THEN I tried to get home. And if you are bored by stories easily, I suggest you scroll down and skip this section. I can laugh at it now but it was so not fun at the time.

So it's Saturday at camp and I am on laundry duty. We have So Much Laundry so we did what we could. The bell rings and it's time to say goodbye. Everybody is crying and hugging each other in this huge puddle of people. (*emotional moment 1) So that's a pretty decent way to start a travel day (NOT!) I had worked with these 50 staff people all summer and had grown so close to them. Saying goodbye was very difficult to say the least. If you have never worked on staff at a summer camp away from home, then you don't know what I am talking about. 

I get on a bus (*mode of transportation 1) with a few other kids to go to Billings, an actual city in Montana that's about 2 hours away from camp. In the parking lot, I say goodbye to the rest of the people on the bus. They were some of the people I got the closest to (*emotional moment 2) at camp and that was rough. Then I got in the car (*mode of transportation 2) of an operational staff couple who drove me to the airport. They just had their first baby this week (congrats!). I waited in line at the check in counter for like 30 minutes which is kind of redonk. There was 1 person checking in the 12 of us at the counter moving slow as molasses! I got through security without an issue and sat in the terminal for more than an hour (!) because the plane was coming from Chicago to Billings. It was late because of Chicago's weather so we were really late getting out of Billings going to Denver. So I get on the plane (*mode of transportation 3) and it's 2 seats, an aisle, and 2 seats.

I am on the window and Mr. Crazy sits down next to me. We didn't really talk at first but then as I was telling him about why I was in Montana and how beautiful it is, he starts talking about how he hears the mountains speaking to him.
(see the photo to the right that I took from Steeple. Maybe this mountain spoke to him?)


 Uh, what? Then he gets on about how America is the #1 richest country and the #50 healthiest country, how he went to church growing up and is now "spiritual but not religious", how cancer is a business and that they try and make money off you in your weakness, how your body has 7pH when you're born and 5pH when you die, how you are born 80% water and die about 65% water, how his wife is Jewish and they will let their boys decide what they want to be, how he had been away for a week and had drank the most he ever has in a week,  how his mother-in-law is on the plane also and it's her first flight, and other craziness like that. Woah. The man let me talk, and I tried to throw things in there that would say what I believe without offending him, but oh boy did he have a response for everything. He had 2 alcoholic drinks on the plane (they were screwdrivers and then I told my mom, she was like "how did he get that through security?" and I had to explain that's the name of a drink) and I've never seen someone get that on a plane. It was very uncomfortable and I prayed that I would say the right words to him but I felt very unprepared. I thought pH was stuff in your pool! He was a nut job and sounded very insecure about what he thought was true, like he had shoved it away so long that now it was coming up and he couldn't remember what he had taken a stand on long ago. 

That wasn't emotional per se but was stressful. Since I didn't sleep well that last night at camp, I had hoped to sleep on the plane. Yeah, that didn't happen. I got off the plane and knew it was going to be tight getting my flight to Chicago. So I bid Mr. Crazy goodbye and practically ran off the plane. I found a board with flights and realized my terminal to leave for Chicago out of the Denver airport I had jut pulled into was very far away. 

I began to run through the airport, backpack bouncing, face sweating, heart sinking. I found the gate and no one was there. I saw a man walking away from it in uniform and I said "Do you know where the B36 flight to Chicago is?" and he pointed out the window and said "that's it". Crap. "Thank you," I said, voice shaking. (*emotional moment 3). I get in line at a customer service desk and start to freak. It's the first time I had flown wholly alone and I missed my flight. Was it my fault? Had I done everything I could? I called my dad who tried to help me straighten it out. I called a friend from camp who's dad works in the Chicago airport to see if he could tell me about a connecting flight I might catch. After 8 people in front of me in line were helped, I stepped up to the counter and said "I missed my flight to Chicago" (*emotional moment 4) and could not keep my voice steady. The woman behind the counter just stared at me, my eyes welling up. Crap, I really did not want to cry right now. She's checking stuff on the computer and the whole time I'm trying to tell myself to full it together. She finally tells me there's nothing going to Chicago tonight, not even the Las Vegas to Chicago was available. She hands me a voucher with a number to call for a hotel room and a free shuttle to that hotel. 

I was stuck. 

I stepped away from the counter, found a terminal, plopped down, called my dad, and bawled. (*emotional moment 5)

I was scared. I was alone. I didn't know whether to stay in the airport or find a hotel room. I had never stayed in a hotel alone. Did I mention I was scared? So I call this number after my dad calmed me down (or tried, it was mission impossible at this point) and booked myself a room through an automated service. I wrote down my confirmation number with an eyeliner pencil I fished out of my bag after the call. I got back in the customer service line to ask where my bags were (a question my dad suggested I ask) and the woman called someone up to get me to the shuttle because her directions sucked. 

15 minutes later, a man barely speaking English walks me down an escalator to one of those indoor trams and tried his best to explain where to go after I got off. I step into the closest car (*mode of transportation 4) and it's full of strange men. There's about 8 of them and I am the only female. I put on my "seriously right now, do NOT mess with me face" (it could freeze you in your tracks, beware) the best I could, but I was so emotionally raw at this point it probably looked more like "I might emotionally explode all over you if you come near me" which was also effective. (*emotional moment 6) God totally protected me. I get off the tram, up some stairs, and see a shuttle counter. I stop for more directions and the man there explains that there are 2 different locations of the hotel that I booked my reservation at and that it's important I know which one. I had no idea which one I booked! Crap. (*emotional moment 7)

I walk across a few lanes of traffic and stare at the shuttles. None are labeled with the hotel I booked at. (*emotional moment 8) I call my dad and he says just to be patient, it will come. A shuttle finally shows and before I get on, I ask the driver if it's the one I want and another woman asks if I called that number because she did and she thinks this is it (*emotional moment 9). Wow. I felt so comforted by her. Maybe it was because she vaguely reminded me of my mom but that one moment of face to face reassurance really boosted my confidence.


So I get on this shuttle (*mode of transportation 5) and I think "I don't have deodorant. Or a toothbrush. Or toothpaste. Or new underwear". So a note to all you who have read for this long, your carry on is an overnight bag in case you get stuck OverNight. I fell asleep for a few minutes on the supposedly 20 minute shuttle ride that ended up taking 30. I could not even tell you what time it was when I got into the hotel because all that mattered was laying down. I had not eaten anything since Super early Saturday breakfast at like 7:00 Am. I get up to the front desk and as I am explaining that I need a room and I think I need a reservation, the clerk looks at me and says "Would you like a chocolate chip cookie?" (*emotional moment 10)
I choked out a "yes please" and took it. How sweet! Apparently it's a hospitality this hotel chain has going, and I loved it. I was able to get deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste. I took an elevator to my room, and realized I had no pajamas but ALAS! I had another t-shirt I had grabbed from the miscellaneous pile (see right for the t-shirt that most strongly reminds me that God is good)! I showered, washed my underwear with a bar of soap in the sink (TMI? Even so, it reminds you why you should definitely bring an extra pair!) blow dried them, and went to bed! It was at least midnight.


Because my flight the next morning was at 5:30 (maybe? around then), I had to take the first shuttle out of the hotel at 4:30. The hotel called at 3:45 to wake me up and I fell back asleep. My dad told me he would call and I am so grateful he did!
I got the shuttle and got through the security without any issues. On the other side of security, I got a bagel and a smoothie- it had been almost 24 hours of high stress with nothing to eat. It was my fault for not grabbing lunch int he Billings Airport. 


The rest of the story is not exciting. I got my flight to Chicago, met up with my parents, and didn't have to search for my luggage- the bags were coming around just when we walked out.


I was safe. God is good. He always has been and He always will be.