Going Home

Last weekend (ok so now it's been more like 3-4 weekends ago)I went home from Friday to Monday, and I cannot describe how wonderful it was to fly in and see the space needle from the plane window. I've seen that beautiful sight much more than once, but never after being gone for three months. I love living here in SoCal, I'm not going to lie, but Seattle is still my home. It always will be, of that I am sure.

I originally decided to go home for Arthur - to surprise him at his show, and then God worked in that my sister would happen to need me and I could spend time with her that weekend as well. I spent a little of Friday afternoon and all of Saturday with her, and it was so great! I miss both my sisters so much, and I was glad I could be there.

The first morning I was there, I woke up in one of my own beds, went upstairs, climbed in my mom's bed with her, and we talked for at least half an hour. I've missed that so much! I also got to see both sets of grandparents this weekend - it had been too long since I'd seen them! I miss my family so much!

12/10/09
Well I wrote all of that a while ago but things have been so busy that it's been hard to post lately! Life has been very busy, and now it's only 8 days till I go home again! This time it will be for 6 weeks! =) I'm very excited. I'm really gonna miss my Biola girls though! God has blessed me so much with my friends here...
The past few weekends have been fun... a couple different random Disneyland Sprees =) It's decorated for Christmas now and it's SO MAGICAL! It's always magical, but the Christmas decor only makes it more so. When I went with Anna and Hannah a few weeks ago they made me go on tower of terror - ahhhh!!! So scary! But it was great fun too =) I know that probably doesn't impress all of you, but it's a pretty big deal for me... =P
Last weekend I went on Anna and Hannah's GYRAD (Get Your Roommate A Date) as Anna's date. We went to the beach and had dinner on the pier.. pretty great date! Plenty of the fun kind of awkwardness... =) haha =P
Thanksgiving break was such a relaxing and MUCH NEEDED break... I got to stay with the Tullsens and it was wonderful =) Lots of relaxation and quality time with some of my favorite people, and I even got some homework done as well.
The homework has picked up... but shouldn't be too bad now that I finished my 8 page biography paper for history - HOOOORAYY! I have a final tomorrow in English (an in class essay), one to hand in next Wednesday (it was a take home, open-book - how awesome is that???), an exam on Monday in Psychology (it's our 5th one of the semester, so pretty routine for me), one Tuesday in Old Testament (our 3rd one of the semester, so not stressed about it), NOTHING next Wednesday =) and a final on Thursday in my Foundations class. The end is sooo close! I can't believe I've almost finished my first semester at college and away from home.
Saturday is the gospel choir performance. I'm looking forward to that if I can find a ride... things are looking pretty bleak right now (so far only three students in a class of 25-30 can drive) and I REALLLY would love to go... Pray I can find a ride? If things all work out we will be at the church (it's an hour and a half away) by two so we can take pictures with our director, there's a VIP reception for us at four (sounds way cooler than it is - I think the choirs performing are the VIPs... he didn't really say), and then the recording starts at six. CDs and DVDs should be available after the show, so I'm happy my family can still hear it/see it!
Well. Seeing as my final is at 8, and it's 12:30 now, I should at least try to get some sleep. So goodnight for now, friends. Till next time. I love you all.

Dreams

I don't understand why God allows dreams to affect us so much. The past four years I've suffered from sleepless nights because of dreams. Any trial, any loss, any sadness in my life and it visits me in my dreams. So I've become afraid to sleep. But this isn't just me it's happened to... I haven't had sleep issues nearly as bad as some of my loved ones have who've been closer to some of the trials. And now it's happening to one of my dear ones. And I hate it. It makes me so angry.
I understand that life will be full of trials... I've accepted that fact. It's gonna happen to everyone, and I know that good does come out of it. But if you're going through a struggle, WHY must it invade your dreams??? It feels like a slap on the face, quite honestly. In psychology we've been learning about dreams and the different theories for them, and as far as I can tell from what I've learned and my own experiences, dreams involve unresolved problems or things from your day. So from that standpoint I can understand why you dream about the hard things you're going through. What I don't understand is why God allows that. There have been so many prayers for me and this dear one experiencing the dreams now... prayers every night before bed, "God please protect her mind and sleep from these dreams..." and yet they persist. Why?? I don't understand. And it makes me angry.
I love you all. Till next time...

LOVE

I have a lot of love for a lot of people in a lot of different ways. Isn't that amazing and wonderful how much love you can feel (giving or recieving)? It's just as devestating, however, as it was wonderful, when someone decides not to love anymore. I used the word decide on purpose. Cause with a true kind of love (romantic or otherwise) sometimes there are days when you have to make a choice to love someone. Cause people suck sometimes or get annoying or maybe it's just YOU who get annoyed, whatever the case is, you're not always gonna feel like loving people. So when that happens you have to make the choice to love them that day. (Example: Say you are not a morning person and you get rudly awakened by a friend, parent, or sibling, and you're really NOT happy. That's when you would have so say, "Ok I really DO love this person" and make that choice to love them even if you're really ticked off. You make the choice. Or maybe someone is having a bad day and needs a phone call, but you're havin a really good time with your buddies in the room and want to get off the phone. That's when you would need to make the choice to love the person and give them your time. See what I mean?)

This post is on love... I'm at a Bible school... who knows what I'm gonna say next??? Yup, I will never grow tired of this passage..."Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails." (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8). Ok so I pretty much suck at love if this is the ultimate model. Especially... well all of it. But in reading it over I just noticed how constant love is... or at least how it's supposed to be. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE NEVER FAILS. Now we as humans are obviously going to fail on the always and the never fails bit. But if the ultimate model is such a persistent, constant, always kind of love, doesn't that mean that that's the way love is or should be? Constant?

This question and subject has been on my mind ever since I moved here, and I'm finally writing about it. It was brought up each and every day as I was reminded of how much I love my family and friends and Arthur (two different types of love there). It was brought up when my Phsychology book told me (yup, it talks :P) that absence does not make the heart grow fonder, reality is more like out of sight out of mind. And finally it was brought up reccently when I was told that sometimes people fall out of love with each other. I don't believe either of the last two things. I belive that 1) love takes work and 2) sometimes that work involves choosing to love someone.


For example. I love Arthur Karl Fink with all my heart, and he loves me. That's how we know the long distance thing is gonna work, and has been working. Because it's worth it - he is worth it to me. But I can tell you that it takes work. Maybe work is a bad word... because work implies something negative. Let's go with commitment instead. Long distance has SUCKED majorly - I miss Arthur so much... it's a physical pain. But we both agree it's been so good for both of us because each and every day we've been learning how to love each other in a new and deeper way. It's been hard, but we're growing together and becoming stronger because of it.

So that's why I say I don't believe you can just fall out of love with someone, or have them outta sight outta mind. It can't happen if the love is true and real. Because love "always perseveres." I believe people can change so drastically in front of you that they become a stranger to you and how at that point you could not be in love with them anymore (yet still loving them as a person - two differents types of love here). I can see how you could move on from someone you lost and fall in love again with someone else. But, based on everything that I believe about love - that it's constant and is not just a feeling but a choice - I don't believe it can just change suddenly or dissapear. I was talking about this with my dad earlier and we were talking about the "Hollywood" type of love... how that's not really love... it's attraction. You can fall in and out of attraction very easily.. but it's not true and it's not real. It's not love.

I know I'm not an expert on love, and I know I still have a lot to learn about it. I know I will fail many people that I love in loving them. But that's the thing about it... it's always there, even if you don't feel it sometimes or even if you fail it. It's a constant. That's what I believe at least. This topic has just been on my mind the past few months, and just got brought up again, so I finally wrote about it.

I LOVE you all. Till next time.

Excitment =)

After my last slightly morbid post, I decided to update you all on the excitement going on. =) Well first of all, did I tell you all that Mary DEFINITELY met Adam from Owl City??? He's dating a girl at APU who is Mary's cousin's RA. So one day when Mary was hanging out there, he came to visit his girlfriend and she got to meet him! She was completely AMAZING and got me his autograph, even though it was a slightly embarassing moment for her... =P And she thought he was gay when she first met him... haha, it's a funny story. . but yeah, Owl City is my favorite band right now.. after the Coats. Which - more exciting news - I found out that I will definitely be able to attend one of their Christmas shows this year! Go look up Owl City and the Coats and listen - amazing! =)

Well the next exciting news is that Mary and I bought a fish!!! We went to Coldstone and Walmart with our new friends and neighbors in Alpha (who have cars), and we picked out Alfred because he was smiling at us through the tank. He appeared to be happy the first day of being in his new home, but now we think he's anorexic and blind... it's rather sad. So we'll see how long he'll be with us... oh my. Anyways, I've included a picture of him in the post. =) We love him.

The most exciting news right now is that (drum roll please) ARTHUR IS COMING ON THURSDAY TO VISIT ME!!!! I cannot WAIT because it's been WAYYY too long since I've seen him.. it will be 2 months on Sunday since I left. Wow, can you believe that? Time flys down here. I'm so excited to see him... did I mention that it's been too long since we've seen each other???

Alright well I'm off to tackle my English homework, and then head to dinner with HAAMM soon. I love you all! Till next time =)

P.S. 4th bit of exciting news - It's supposed to pour down rain tomorrow!! I've missed that so much! It's been 2 months since I've seen rain!!!

Seaching for some words to say...

Sometimes I feel like there are no words fitting what I feel or want to say. And yet I talk and talk all the time... that's how this weekend has been. Full of long phone conversations.

I was able to talk to Arthur's mom yesterday =) which was great. I really miss her and the rest of his family. I talked to Ian today - we hadn't talked in forever! It was great to catch up with him. I've really just been feeling this need to keep up with the ones that I love... cause you never know what can happen.

Most of this weekend was spent talking to my sweetie Arthur, Shanna (she's amazing and made so much time for me the other day!), Heather, and especially my parents. We got some bad news Friday, and I would love it if you all could be praying for this family I'm gonna share about. My cousin's brother-in-law passed away suddenly... he was just 21 I believe. It's really quite tragic, and everyone is just so heartbroken about it - he was a great guy. Please pray for his family - I can't imagine their saddness.

Everytime I hear about something so sad like this there are just so many thoughts bouncing around in my head. I remember (not like I ever forget them, but remember especially) the loved ones in my life who have passed away. It reminds me of all the loved ones I still have, and to let them know that I love them. It's so easy to get busy and forget to tell people you love them... I don't want to do that. Hearing about something like this is just like a shock back into reality. It gets you thinking.

Alright well... off to homework! I love you all. Till next time...

Love for the little things...

It's been a while, so it's probably time to update you all on what's going on with me over here! =) Well. Lots of exciting things have been happening.

Last weekend I went home with Mary for Saturday and part of Sunday - it was such a great break from the Biola bubble! Don't get me wrong, I love the Biola bubble, I really do. But it is nice to get off campus every once in awhile. The Spagnola's are such sweet people and totally treated me through my time... Mary and I were treated to pedicures, and having a car at our disposal, having a home cooked meal, tie dying, hanging out in the jacuzzi... it was so nice! We went through Mary's closet and found about 10 pairs of shoes (along with other articles of clothing) that we "needed" here at school... =) I think one of the best things though, was just being in a home, not a dorm. I totally miss home... so it was nice, and made me miss my home more, to be in Mary's.

Sunday we went to a different church, but I didn't like it. I mean, different aspects of it were good, but I don't think I would ever go back. I'm so picky when it comes to churches now... that could be a good thing, or maybe bad... maybe it's both. I really like the one I'm going to usually... Grace Evangelical Free. And I like going to a service at 11 and leaving at 12:30. It's nice to just go in and sit down and then leave... the whole focus of church for me is the message, so I can learn more about God, and the worship, so I can praise Him. Ya know? There's nothing else... I'm not going because I feel like I should, or because someone is counting on my being there and serving that day.. Which don't get me wrong, serving at church is so important and good, but not for me right now. I don't have any desire to get involved or "plugged in" here, and that's fine. For now.

Oh! something exciting that I found out the other day as I went off campus... There's definitely a starbucks within 2 blocks of the school. It's amazing. And then, there's also a bank and grocery store within walking distance.. AMAZING! =) I'm so happy about it all... Mary and I went to the store and we got peaches, yogurt, and cream cheese for our bagels. HOOORAYYY!! I was never so happy to go grocery shopping as I was on sunday when we went. Peaches and yogurt. =) I could just about die happy now. ;)

I've definitely been having some "God send" moments through friends and some coffee dates... I'm just so thankful for HAAMM what sweet girls they all are and how we've been getting to know each other... they're friends of mine, not just people I eat with or hang out with because there's nothing else to do... I'm just so glad for them.

I've been missing all my friends back home so much... just as I know I'll miss my friend here when I go home. I'm so glad I can talk to most of them though...like my Jordan girl =)... but it's been SO HARD with Shanna being so far away and not being able to call her when I want or need to. =( But I'm so glad she's in Australia and I'm SO PROUD OF HER for all she's learning and becoming. She's amazing. I will be so glad when we're both in the same state again though! Read her blog - you will be blessed by it and by her openess to what God's doing in her... here's the link. http://shannalarson-john627.blogspot.com/

ARTHUR MAY COME OUT NEXT WEEK!!!!! Ummm this is basically the greatest news of my LIFE, I miss him so much! It's one of those physical hurts... I can't wait to see him soon! So please pray that everything works out and I can find rides to the airport and back to get him and all that fun stuff! =) I miss him so much... it's so hard to be far away. No one else is worth this, and no one less would last. But he's worth this. It's good for us in the end. I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE HIM!!!

Ok. Well I've got to go. I love you all. Till next time!

A short hello...

This past week was filled with tests and papers... but I've finished them now, and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! I was never really nervous about any of it, but it's a relief to have things done, ya know?

Well. Oddly enough, I have nothing more to say.

Oh wait! I remembered some things... Mary and I are wanting to invest in a couch soon. And curtains. And a rug. And twinkle lights. Sooo basically, our room will be amazing. :) HOOORAYY!

Ok. Till next time. I love you all!

As many times as I blink...

The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere
'Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly
But I'll miss your arms around me
I'd send a postcard to you dear
'Cause I wish you were here

I'll watch the night turn light blue
But it's not the same without you
Because it takes two to whisper quietly
The silence isn't so bad
Till I look at my hands and feel sad
'Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly

I'll find repose in new ways
Though I haven't slept in two days
'Cause cold nostalgia chills me to the bone
But drenched in vanilla twilight
I'll sit on the front porch all night
Waist-deep in thought because when I think of you
I don't feel so alone

I don't feel so alone
I don't feel so alone

As many times as I blink
I'll think of you tonight
I'll think of you tonight

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again
And I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you
Oh, if my voice could reach back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear,
Oh darling I wish you were here

Vanilla Twilight - Owl City. This is definitely my new favorite song... and I'm sure you can see why... oh dear. Today was definitely a "missing you" day. It was really discouraging. And then encouraging. Totally confusing. Ya know?
I was just on facebook (it's totally an evil, evil place sometimes) earlier and I was looking at my friends profiles... the friends (and there are several) that found their perfect school half a hour away from their home. And I was just soooooo jealous for a while. Why did my perfect school have to be two states away? Why did I have to want all this change and meeting new people so badly?? Ah. I'm such a brat sometimes! I had a quiet time with the Lord though, and I just got my thoughts together and calmed down. I'm so THANKFUL that I have this amazing opportunity to be here. I remembered that I told God I want to be used by Him, and use this time here to learn and grow, and that sometimes growing HURTS. I know I'm supposed to be here for this time, I'm so happy to be here... today was just one of those days I guess.

I still just want to be home. I miss home. I miss my family. I miss Arthur. I miss his family. I miss my girlfriends. I miss being able to talk to Shanna anytime I want. I miss my youth group friends. I miss driving. I miss my daycare kids, and my co-workers, and boss. I miss the rain. I miss my slippers. (haha weird one I know) I miss a capella choir. I miss my teachers. I don't miss my school (cause it was just TIME TO GO from there) but I do miss being so comfortable in a place, and knowing a place inside and out, and knowing who everyone is... funny how last year I hated all those things.

But ya know what? I love this new "home" of mine as well. I LOVE SoCal. It's beautiful and sunny and warm and the palm trees everywhere are AMAZING. I love living "on my own" most of the time... I'm sure learning lots! I love learning how to love Arthur in a different way (because we're 2 states away from each other... it's different)... and seeing day by day that he's the one I want to be with now and always... being apart drives some people away from each other, or can bring people closer if it's really right, and it's really right for us. That's wonderful to see... I love him more every day. I love being close to my Tullsen family down here. I've so missed living nearby for so long, and it's wonderful to know they're close if I need them. I love my new girlfriends... God has blessed me so much with them! I love going to a church where I DON'T know anyone! It's amazing. I love not spending money on gas all the time. I love my new choir... gospel choir :) and I love my new teachers. (well... most of them.) I love (usually) meeting new people all the time, and being in a place that's new and interesting. I really do love it here.

So the long and short of it... I miss home more than I can bear... at least that's how it feels some days. Today was just a crying day. I know there will be more. But in the end it's wonderful to know that this is where I need to be. And I love it here. I'm so thankful for this opportunity! I love and MISS you all. Till next time!

Prayer

I've been thinking about prayer a lot lately. After growing up in a Christian environment and now attending a Christian college, I've heard and said the phrase "I'll pray for you" more times than I could ever possibly count. And I think that it's lost its meaning.

Take a minute to think about all the people you've told you'd pray for them this week. How many times have you actually done it? I've been really convicted about this lately. I can have the best of intentions, and even remember to pray for them once or twice, but it's not always continual prayer.

I feel like saying you'll pray for someone has become a phrase - something to say when you're not sure what to say. That's dumb. And I don't like it. So I'm gonna try to change that in myself. I've made up a prayer list of all the people I've said I'd pray for reccently. It's going right by my bed - the patch of wall I see last before I fall asleep every night. Maybe that will even help me get to sleep better... praying. I want to try and pray with people immediately when I say I'm gonna be praying for them.

I dunno. This is just what was on my heart and mind lately. I love you all. Till next time!

So the milk went sour this morning...

Oh. Have any of you ever experienced that? There are some days when you can really tell that this is my first time "out on my own." Today is one of those days. I didn't even realize milk expired. Till it was on my cereal, and then in my mouth. GROSS.

Then this past weekend I was a little sick... still have that cough and ickyness, but it's a lot better. I can get out of bed, and I'll be able to make it to my classes and such, so no worries. I did have some good news reccently though! I got an A on my first college paper. :) I'm very excited about that! It was my "autobiography" paper for First Year Seminar, so, truth be told, it's probably not all that difficult to recieve an A, but I think I will still glory in it for a little while.

This morning I'm staying in from Chapel (ah that's why I hate required chapel credits... I feel like pond scum every time I opt out of it) to write a paper for English. It shouldn't be that difficult because I already wrote a page of it (it's only a 3 pager -super easy still), but I'm still struggling with just getting words on paper as opposed to sitting, staring, and forming the perfect words in my head first. Why is that? It's so easy for me to just write and write and write for this blog and my journal and letters and such! It's all psychological.

(By the way, it's sad I know, I was pretty darn excited when I finally learned how to spell psychology correctly)

Ah. Prayer would be awesome. I'm feeling burned out by school already, and we haven't even hit the first round of exams. (those start next Wednesday by the way) I know a lot of it is due to the lack of sleep... I'm starting a new routine beginning tonight. I have to take my sleeping pills by 9:30 (any later and I'll be a drugged elephant in the morning) then be ready for bed, and IN bed by 10:45. That's the goal. Then getting up by 6:45 should be fine. I know. I sound pretty ambitious. But I need to or I will stay sick forever and finally get so sleepy I'll just fall asleep for the rest of the semmester. That can't happen.

Ok, I'll depart. I hope and pray you all are doing well. I love you! Till next time :)

how to deal

That's the title of the book I'm reading now. Mrs. Tullsen got it for me for my birthday, actually, and I'm almost done with it. I love it. It's got me hooked. :) I love it when a book can do that.

I have quite a long reading list actually... all my friends here are readers. :) which is AWESOME and I love it. So it's been really great cause if you just talk to any of them about a book you've read they'll jump in with, "Oh man, I have a book you need to read! You'll love it!" It's amazing. I love being surrounded by readers.

We've also been like that with music lately. Oma and Opa got me an iTunes gift card for my birthday, and I've already spent most of it... :) I've been getting music recomendations though from a lot of people, and it's been wonderful... I'm gonna have to make a new playlist soon!

my life, at least the past four years, has a playlist. Each year of high school I kept a running playlist on iTunes of all the songs from that year. It's amazing the power music can have! Listening to those song lists totally transports me to a different time and place. It's incredible to then see how much I've changed and grown (well, hopefully that's what I see!) from the time when the playlist was put together.

Books and music are some of God's greatest gifts to us. I mean think about it - when you read a good book, doesn't it just bring you such joy? Even if the book is sad... maybe you need a cry. A good book can give that to you. Same with music. You can hear that turn up the radio, roll the windows down song and melt the stress, or grumpiness, or hurt away... even if just for a few minutes. And when you really need a good cry, guarenteed there's a song written in just the perfect words to explain your sadness. It's just theraputic. And healing in a way. God is amazing for giving us those ways to deal with things. Well. That's how I deal with things at least. Sometimes that can be the best comfort there is. Not always, but sometimes.

Ok. Well that's my thought for the day I guess. I'm off to read. Some pleasure reading, some homework reading. bahhhhh. Oh, if you could pray for me, that'd be awesome. I'm feeling sick... just ickyness. I don't think I have a fever, just sore throat, headache, TIREDNESS, etc. Thanks! I love you all. Till next time!

Sleepless nights

I feel like I have a lot of those. Haha, that's probably because I do.

I'm feeling discouraged today. I started out so strong a few weeks ago... (almost a month actually! Friday it will be a month since I moved). Started so strong with sleeping I mean. I was out when I lay my head on the pillow, and could sleep almost the whole night through. I think I got 7-8 hours every night for maybe 2 weeks even. I was so sooooo excited about that. Apparently things are back to normal now. 4-5 hours nightly.

I wish you could just turn off your brain at night. How amazing would that be? I'm listening to Owl City (one of my favorite bands at the moment), "Saltwater Room." They're who I listen to on these nights... and Shanna's "sleep" playlist she made me. Just turned it on, Shanna! :)

Haha, so here's a story you all will like :) This morning, around 6 am (finally fell asleep at 2 last night, planning on getting up at 7) I heard this banging on my door. It was pretty frantic and at first Mary and I thought it was just Mary-Beth (our adopted roomie), but she's not obnoxious like that, so anyhow, we let the knocking hands in (stupidly), and it turns out the hands belonged to our RAs. Well. They told us we had 5 minutes to get up and get out to the hall. I was PISSED OFF. (We'd been hearing terrible stories all week about random "initiation/bonding" times for dorm halls) So we got into the hall, stood amongst other angry girls, and got our faces painted. We were then told to hold hands as we all walked out of our dorm to a grassy knoll on the other side of campus. There we were given a donut, a card from our RA's (who begged us not to hate them), and a schpeal about being a "family"and I honestly don't know what else cause I wasn't really listening. Then we had to hold hands with a girl we didn't know, and walk back to our dorm. Mary and I walked into our room to hear our wake up alarms going off. How DUMB. I'm not a fan of any sort of initiation or orientation things. In case you couldn't tell.

I was soooooooo mad alllll day... first thing I did today was call Arthur and vent. Unless someone needs to cry or talk or something like that, I will NEVER be happy about being woken up early. It angers me tremendously. I sound like a drama queen I know. But since I don't usually get a lot of sleep, all the hours I do get are VITAL. So this morning did not bode well with me. Sadly my RAs are too nice to stay mad at them for long, however. Bahhh.

HAAMM has quite a few weekly rituals now. It's wonderful and I love it. Tonight most of us went down to the workout room and worked out while doing hw reading. It was such a great stress reliever! When we were done we played around on the stairmasters, trying to see what would happen if we put it on the highest level. I won't try to describe it, just know that it was pretty funny. :)

God has truly blessed me with these girls and our friendship. I can hangout one on one with any of them and have a great time. We're all friends. It's a blessing. THANK YOU, GOD! It's been so weird though, to make new friends who know nothing about you or your story yet. Well maybe not nothing, but ya know what I mean? That's what I wanted. And I'm glad I have it. I just didn't know it would be... hard. I'm used to having friends around me who can read my mind. Depending on the friend that was good or bad, but I miss the comfort in the good of that. It's weird having to explain my story to people. Not that I really have yet. But it's a weird thought for me. It's just another way God is streching me. Cause I happen to believe we all, each and everyone of us, have a story to be shared. Every one of them is beautiful and perfect even if you don't know why yet. I believe I have a story that should be shared... I want God to be glorified in it. Maybe that's part of why I'm down here, in a place where people now know me, but don't really know... me.

haha or maybe I'm just a drama queen. I shouldn't write this late. How embarrassing. Whatever. I love you all. Till next time!

By Your Side

By Your Side - 10th Ave North

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fallIn the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

(Chorus 2x)
Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

This is one of my new favorite songs. It was played a couple times yesterday at the His hope in Crisis Seminar and it really spoke to me. Look it up on youtube. It's worth it. I'm listening to it now actually. =)
So the rest of the seminar was, again, INTENSE, but so amazing. I think it changed my life. That may be an exaggerated statement but it was seriously amazing. I was sitting there, sobbing for a good part of it, really wishing my parents could be there with me. You both would LOVE it. I'm gonna try and find it on DVD or CD. I also wished that Katie and Heather could be sitting next to me throughout the whole thing. It would have blessed you both I think. It was so hard though. Yet totally GOOD for me. The first night was hard because of the stories he told. Very graphic and hitting SO CLOSE to home. I don't handle that well. Yesterday was hard because we learned about the stages or grief and about Post Tramatic Stress Disorder and things like that. It was so good for me to hear about it though, because I had never heard most of the things he talked about. I felt like he was talking to me for some of the things he said. He addressed a lot of the fears I've had these past years (like not being able to reach someone on the phone, or hearing an ambulance siren - even though I've never been present when any of my loved ones have been taken away in an amulance, they still scare me) and he said they were NORMAL. Who knew? It was so wonderful to hear that from somebody who didn't have to tell me that. Ya know? He talked about how sorrow can actually be physical sometimes. You can actually truly get nauseous or get headaches and it's totally legit. Which explains why certain days out of the year I just can't eat. This is NORMAL. He talked about what you should and should NOT say. It was amazing... I really wished I could've heard this seminar when I first lost someone I loved. Cause I definitely just heard all the things you should not say. That's why I want to do this, that's why I want to help people experiencing loss... because I know how terrible it is to feel like you are doing it all wrong, like you'll never be normal again... like everyone else in the WORLD can handle hardships better than you. It's not true! It's different for everyone, and trials and loss does change your life. You can still live it, but you won't ever be the same. And that doesn't mean you're crazy. I want to make sure everyone grieving out there know that. And loss isn't just losing someone you love. It can be losing anything you love... I dunno. It makes sense to me. You can't compare trials or losses.People do that too much. If it hurts, it hurts. And you should be able to have a grieving process. I don't think enough people know that or have that. And that just plain SUCKS.
He talked about how to share the gospel with someone who's experienced trauma or crisis. I loved it. You start out by just listening to them. Just listen, or just be silent with them. Let them cry. Attend to their needs and just BE with them. Eventually they'll want to know your story. Your story encorporates His (God's) story. His story can become part of their story. It's beautiful. Some people were upset he didn't talk more about evangelism in the seminar but I wasn't. I think just being there, and showing God's love can be the best evangelism you can do in certain situations. I have a whole big theory on this, so you can ask me if you want to know, but for now I'll just move along.. =)

He also talked about how to become a "chaplin" and what that entails. I want to do it with all my heart! You have to first attend 2 other seminars like this, then fill out an application. They're super picky about references, they call all of them and ask very specific questions about whether or not the applicant could do this kind of work. Once you're accepted you will be notified when they need you, ususally for things like natural disasters or acts of terror etc. You'll have to leave immediately, then spend 7 days in the area just loving people, listening to them, and attending to their immediate needs. Food and shelter is provided, but you have to find you're way to the destination. I can't think of anything else I would want to do MORE. I want to be able to do that more than I can say. Now is not the time I don't think - I don't have the ability to pack up and leave at the drop of a hat. But someday I want to.

wow, this post will be long, but I have more to say, so bear with me please! I've been loving my homework reading. =) I read an exerpt from Romeo and Juliet the other day... it's so BEAUTIFUL! Speaking of Romeo seeing Juliet she was, "taken prisoner the wild motion of Romeo's eye." And then when he compares her as the sun to the moon, "But soft! What life through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, that thou her maid art far more fair than she." Oh man. I just can't tell you how beautiful I think that is. I've also really been enjoying my Bible reading.. man there are so many stories they do not tell you about in church! Mary, Mary-Beth and I have been swapping them from our readings. I had completely forgotten about how Lot's daughters (I belive) got Lot completely drunk so they could sleep with him to have children to keep their family line. (Genesis 19). SO GROSS! Haha, so we've been finding stories like that and reading Genesis and Exodus (for Old Testament History and Lit), and it's been really interesting. I just started reading Hosea. Never read it before, never knew what it was about. For those of you who don't know, God told Hosea to marry a prostitute (haha her name is Gomer - isn't that amazing? I keep thinking Andy Griffith), and how the whole book is basically this incredible demonstration of mercy. Hosea gives continual mercy to Gomer (as she keeps being a hooker), just as God gives continual mercy to Israel. The two stories are paralleled in the book and it's the most beautiful thing. Mary has a book called "Redeeming Love" that's a more modernized version of Hosea. I'm gonna read that next.
One last thing to tell you! HAAMM have new weekly rituals. (Again, HAAMM = Hannah, Anna, Anna, Mary, Mary-Beth) Friday nights are movie nights (last Friday was the Devil Wears Prada), then Saturday nights we jog on the soccer field track. =)
Alright well I love you all. Hopefully I didn't bore you guys with my ramblings. It's so weird. I can't believe how open I was about all the seminar stuff. Cause I honestly don't know who all reads this. But again, I've decided I need to talk about that stuff more. If I want to use it in my life, I've gotta start talking about it sometime. Anyways. Till next time!
Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Sharing Hope in Crisis

Last night was the first 2 hours of the Sharing Hope in Crisis seminar. Remember how I was kinda nervous cause I thought it would be intense? I was right. It's INTENSE. I don't think he could've said anything else that would have made me cry more. The whole time I was there I wanted to run out the door. I generally avoid hearing tragic stories about death and sorrow and loss, and this was like one big tragic story FEST. But I stayed because it's going to be really good. I want to learn about this. Today should be better anyways.. he said last night was the morbid part, and that today is progressing on from that. Today we're supposed to learn about what to say or not say to someone experiencing a crisis, what to do or not do, how to pray for them, and how to take care of ourselves while taking care of others. So I know it's going to be a good thing. It's going to be a good thing. I'm still excited about what I'm learning, it was just even harder than I anticipated.
If you think of it, I would really appreciate your prayers today. Love you guys! Till next time.

lot of things...

Hello all!

I have so much to say... ahh! Well first off, I just wanted to thank you all for reading my blog and for the sweet comments and texts and emails :) They bring me joy. Thank you! Sadly, I'm too technologically challenged to know how to comment back to you (there's some sort of thing I have to sign up for that I don't have and it's just weird), but I read them all and they make me so happy! I'm glad to see somebody is actually reading this! :) Thanks.
Next I should say that I had the most amazing birthday weekend last week with the Tullsens. :) Oh we had such a lovely time... We went shopping :) and had dinner at the Cheescake Factory, we went to the movies - Julie and Julia is AMAZING, go see it! - and Time Traveler's Wife (eh. depressing), and we went to the beach :) which I just love, we layed in the sun, I did homework, we had great food :) a birthday party for me with a funfetti cake :) and we watched the Office, we talked, read, (Mrs. Tullsen bought me a book from Barnes and Noble for my birthday :) ) and I just had the greatest time. It's so wonderful to know that you have such good friends they're like family.
Oh! I'm not sure I told you all that I joined the gospel choir here! haha :) I LOVE IT! Our director is amazing, and the choir is soo enjoyable... There are so many "hallelujah"s and "oh sweet Jesus"s.. haha AHHH it's great. :) We're now preparing for a live recording we're doing in December... :) :) I'm so excited! It's my favorite class. :)
I'm learning SO MUCH here and I love it - but I'm so swamped with reading... oh my goodness. it's ridiculous. But I love it. I'm just a tad overwhelmed at this point. This weekend (as in tonight and most of tomorrow) I'm attending a Billy Grahman conference, "His prescence in crisis" seminar. We're learning how to help and pray for people experiencing crisis, and after the seminar we will be fully trained to go out with chaplins around the area to pray for and with those who have lost their homes in the LA fires. It's going to be amazing. I'm so excited for this (free!) opportunity (and it's not a coincidence it's on Sept. 11) but I'm kinda apprehensive too... It sounds intense. But can you believe it? I mean it just sounds so perfect for me and what I want to do... I so want to know and learn how to be a help to people in crisis... mom and dad, does this not sound absolutely perfect? I'll let you all know what I'm learning :)

Alright, well I'm off to lunch with HAAMM --> Hannah, Anna, Anna, Mary, Mary --> and then I'm off to do some MAJOR homeworking! Love you all... till next time!

I wrote this a long time ago... but it seems applicable to how I feel now. So up it goes... I hope you like it.


On Dreams

I met you in my dreams last night
And it was then I realized how
You’re a big part of my life
And I miss you being around
It was a beautiful dream
We just went out to dinner
You wanted to see how I’d been
And if I was doing better
We sat and talked for hours
And I told you all my troubles
Boy you have super powers
To make me forget that rubble

But it was just a dream
And from it I did wake
Why does it always seem
That reality must take
Those precious hours away from me
Because you know I’ve like
Nothing better than to be
Forever by your side

You met me in my dreams last night
And now I can only think
That you should come back tonight
And help me through this week
Cause life is getting crazy
And I need a listening ear
So I was hoping that maybe
You would have some time to spare?
We could walk along the beach
By moonlight like we planned
My troubles would be out of reach
And we’d walk hand in hand

But even so…

It would be just a dream
And from it I would wake
Why does it always seem
That reality must take
Those precious hours away from me
Because you know I’d like
Nothing better than to be
Forever by your side

my brain will explode

Oh my goodness, I'm learning so much here! It's awesome though, I love it =) In freshman seminar for undeclared majors today we talked about our strengths. We had taken a test online to determine what our top five were - it was pretty remarkable actually. My top five are Empathy, Developer, Belief, Responsibility, and Harmony. It was so cool to read about them too because I realized so many things about myself that I never knew, but that are so true! Such as the empathy one... the description was talking about how I can have empathy, understand how someone else is feeling, and yet maybe disagree with the person or not condone what they're doing. That definitely is me.. mom, this explains why I would always feel a little heart sore for the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, or Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd. They were both twisted, messed up people who did terrible, sick things, and yet I always feel pain for them. I don't know if that makes sense to you guys, but it totally explained some things for me.

We've also been learning to focus on strengths, not weaknesses. People will always tell you to focus on your weaknesses so you can make them strengths as well, but it really doesn't make sense. If you focus on the weaknesses and let your strengths lie, you may get a little better with the weaker, but the strengths will start to fade a bit. If you're good at something, and if you love to do it, ya gotta focus on it basically. Not saying you should ignore your weaknesses, but you don't need to make them strenghs. Not everyone will be good at everything, and that's OK. It was really nice to hear. We were told to keep a running journal of activities that make us feel strong at the beginning, middle, or end of them. Those are your strengths. At the end of a week we're supposed to pick our top three. It's been very thought provoking. I'm enjoying the class.

I just typed up all my test and paper dates... wanna see them? It's pretty INTENSE. They're all so close together!

UPCOMING PAPERS


September 10 – Autobiography, Seminar

September 24 – Biblically centered education, Seminar

September 24 – Essay 1, English 110A

October 8 – Essay 2, English 110A

October 15 – Theology of Work, Seminar

October 15 – Essay 3, English 110A

October 28 – presentation, US History

November 5 – Media Analysis, Foundations

November 3 – Essay 4, English 110A

November 17 – Proverbs Paper, Old Testament History and Literature

December 9 – Biography, US History

December 17 – Worldview paper, Foundations


UPCOMING TESTS


September 30 – Exam 1, Prologue – chap 4, Intro to Psych

October 1 – Exam 1, Introduction – Pentateuch, Old Testament

October 14 – Midterm, US History

October 26th – Exam 2, chaps 5-7, Intro to Psych

October 29 – Midterm, Foundations

November 11 – Exam 3, chaps 8, 9, 13, Intro to Psych

November 12 – Exam 2, Conquest – United Kingdom, Old Testament

December 2 – Exam 4, Chap 15-17, Intro to Psych

December 14 – Exam 5, chaps 14, 18, Intro to Psych

December 15 – Exam 3, Divided Kingdom – Conclusion, Old Testament

December 16 – Final, US History

December 17 – Final, Foundations


So if you ever feel that I'm neglecting any of you, this is why. I'm so sorry - I feel like I have no time for anything but homework. I feel like I'm in such an artsy mood lately.. I want to journal and write poems and just hang out in my gospel choir ALL DAY, but I don't even feel like I have time to do any of that. I get up at 6:45 or 7 every morning, and have that slow wake -up and eat process till 8. Then I either go to class, or homework till chapel at 9:30. I do homework all day in and out of classes, go out with friends (to the caf) for lunch and dinner, back to homework, work out around 8, then hopefully am finished with all homework by 9:30ish... then I can write a letter, call Arthur and somebody else (whoever else I need to call that night) and go to bed HOPEFULLY by 11- 11:30ish. I just feel like the day slips away so quickly. There's so much I want to do.. but I feel like there's no time. So I'm sorry if I haven't been reaching out and communicating with everyone back home.. just believe and know that I want to, but I'm rarely able to. I do love you all though. And I would LOVE to recieve phone calls, texts, facebook posts, blog posts, or emails... anything really from you guys! But, sadly, I'm not really in a place right now where I can initiate all that with everyone... I'm sorry about that, but that's the way it goes sometimes. I know you all are busy too... sighhhhhh. Well. Even if we don't talk for months at a time, I still love each and every ONE of you that I sent this link out to, and you're in my heart and thoughts and prayers. (sappy enough for you all? haha). I LOVE YOU GUYS! Till next time.. =)

A different kind of smog over here...

So yesterday, as I was walking around outside with my friends, I believe it was Mary and Mary-Beth, I was commenting on how cloudy it was outside and wondering if maybe it was gonna rain... I got kinda excited about rain :) I miss it a bit. Anyways, I was quickly informed that no, the clouds above were not rain clouds but smoke clouds from the LA fires.... sighhh. I keep forgetting how different La Mirada is from Seattle.
I guess I really miss the rain because yesterday in one of my classes, (Old Testament History and Literature) I could've SWORN that I heard the sound of heavy rain outside, and I was SO EXCITED to get out and stand in it, and that's when I realized that it wasn't rain at all, but the room's air conditioner making the noises. SIGHHHH.
Don't get me wrong - I love the weather out here! It's so nice to be able to know exactly what the weather will be like today, tomorrow, next week, or next month even! It will be HOT!Planning picnics is a heck of a lot easier here. I truly am enjoying it. I would be complaining a little if there was no AC, but the whole campus has a good system, so it would only be really bad if you were to run in it or something like that. So I love it. But I do miss the rain.

Homework from classes is getting pretty heavy. I'm ahead of the game though, so it's all good. I was really worried about my first paper (just a mini 2 pager) for English the other day. It was just a rough draft, but I'm a perfectionist, and in high school I NEVER had to do more than one draft of a paper. It was a painstaking process, but if I spent hours (usually a whole day) in front of the computer writing a paper, I wouldn't have to re-write it, and I'd get an A every time. It's a stupid process I know, but that's how I would do it in high school. THIS IS NOT HIGH SCHOOL. I'm fully aware. And the previous method of paper writing shall NOT be used here at Biola. I'm not an idiot. So anyways, the point is that writing a rough draft is hard for me. And I had to turn it in Monday. fjklad;jfdlka;jf. But I did it, turned it in on time, and GUESS WHAT! My professor put a section of my paper up on the powerpoint in front of the class as a GOOD and CORRECT example of how it was to be done. I was quite thrilled because mine was the only one put up as a good example... all the other she tore apart. Which I personally have a HUGE problem with. She didn't say whose paper it was or anything like that, which is good, but still, I just think it's slightly cruel to put up a paper in front of the whole class (including the author) and say, "what's wrong with this?" People are harsh. My goodness.

Ok. I'll depart. I gotta read Old Testament Today, and take notes. How in the WORLD will I ever retain all this reading I'm doing? Any helpful tips would be very appreciated!

Oh but first! I have one more rant real quick. It's my opinion that students are the most underappreciated group of people in the world. We work hard all summer to make a good amount of money, so we can go to school, to work even HARDER, and by the end of all this hard work, guess what?! You're back at the summer. With no money. Needing to work hard. I came up with this little theory after spending $515 for textbooks this semmester. I had one more $100 book to buy but my dear friend has the book already (we're in the same class) and she's letting me share it with her. BLESS YOU, ANNA!
and I can just hear my dad laughing his head off at this rant, telling me "Welcome to the world, Anna! Life isn't fair" and pulling out his "mini violin" and I can just see my grandpa handing me one of his "cards" saying, "Your story has touched my heart, never before have I heard of someone with such troubles as you. Please take this card as a token of my sympathy." I realize that you two as well as allllll the moms and parents reading this are laughing at me. But give me a break, I think school work is harder than a job work. Well maybe not, but still. You felt this way too at one point, so just be understanding, ok??

Ok I'm really done now. Till next time!

CLASSES

Ok so I'm busy. =/ So far I've had four out of the six classes, and in general I like them... I'm just overwhelmed. I need to figure out blackboard (cause pretty much the WORLD is on there... and you don't print things out in college apparently, so it's all done on blackboard...) and then how to register and use my "clicker" for the bigger classes. Once I do that I think I'll feel better.

Today was weird... and good I think... I actually shared my "story" with someone. We had to, you see. In Enlish 110 our first assignment was to interview someone in the class and write a profile on them, and in turn they're doing the same for us. So we basically had to share our story... the biggest event in our life and how that's shaped us and is incorporated in our dreams that we have today. HOLY COW! I was totally gonna cop out and share something trivial or random, but then I decided that now is not the time to be doing that. Yeah, maybe there are times when you don't wanna open up to people and share your life story, but I don't think that I should do that as much anymore... Cause I have a God-given story, and if I truly want to be used by Him, shouldn't I share what He's done in my life? I think so.
So I shared. I shared that I lost my best and "sister" friend, Claire, in a car accident, a month before my freshman year of high school started. I shared that I'm not, nor ever will be, over that, but that I truly believe that God works EVERYTHING for GOOD for those who love Him, and that my biggest dream in life is to be able to use the trials I've had in my life, to help someone going through something similar. That's what I want to do. I want to be able to help people and see firsthand something good come out of a bad situation. Cause otherwise what's the point? I don't know.

So that was today. Kinda rough, overwhelming, and LOTS to think about and TONS more to read, but that's what I'm here for, ya know? Here to learn and to grow. Mmk, till next time!

Orientation Week

I've been SO BUSY being here! Sunday was a full day... Mary and I got up and went to breakfast with my family - Panera Bread has really good bagels, by the way - and then, after taking Mary back to campus, we headed to Grace Evangelical Free Church for their service. I loved the service. I mean I got in there, looked at the bulletin, and right there in the bulletin, it had all the numbers for the finances... like what last week's tithe was, and what the budget was. So, crazy concept, the church actually has a concept of what's going on! Well, that's how it appeared to me at least. Who knows. So I liked that, and I like that there's 3 pastors on staff, and, as far as I understand things, they all kinda trade off with the preaching and the administrative stuff.. I liked that. The pastor who taught yesterday was the professor of the Theology class I sat in on last October when I toured BIOLA. He's actually the reason, or his class rather, that I decided to come here. So it was really cool to hear him again. He's a great teacher.

After church, I had lunch with the family and then had to say my goodbyes... :( It was sad, but I didn't cry or anything... I had a event with my SOS (Student Orientation Services) group right after, so I didn't really have time to think about it. The SOS event was great :) We got together with three other groups and then piled into random cars (all going to the same place of course) and headed to Downtown Disney for a scavenger hunt. Such a great time :) We did some fun, random things... (see picture) like making a pyramid, and having two strangers join in, jumping in one of the disney fountains (we found an undercover security person that way... whoops!), etc. I met some more people - everyone here is so nice - including another person from Washington! Turns out he, and the other Seattlite in our group, both know some of my friends back home.. weird the connections you'll find with people! We got back and had dinner in the Cafeteria, then went straight to some orientation thing (it was kinda.. odd. Mary and I felt very awkward about the whole thing... we "joined the circle") and then had "singspiration" which is basically a worship service. After that we had hall "mixers" and met people in the dorms.. met lots of people that way. :)

Yesterday we had ANOTHER orientation meeting at 8:30 AM, then had a few hours of "free time" before the next meeting, and the next meeting... ahhh they are sooooo pointless! I'm very ready to be done with orientation meetings. Actually EVERYONE is ready to be done with orientation meetings! I think there was one part of ONE of them that I actually appreciated having them give us the information.... other than that ya could've just asked and had a 5 minute conversation with someone and found out all you need to know. Ew. But then beach day was yesterday at 3 :) My new friend Anna and I rode in the buses together - turns out she's a kindred spirit - her favorite movie is the same as mine.. BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. =D So we had a nice chat. The beach was great and BEAUTIFUL just like a vacation spot, and Anna, her roommate Hannah (yeah, the three of us have fun standing in circles together and introducing ourselves... "Anna, Hannah, Anna..") Mary, and I played in the sand, felt like little kids, and just talked and talked. I loved it. Big worship time as well - it was a good night. :)

Today - more of the same. 4 freakin hours of orientation meetings (again, mostly pointless), then lunch... now just trying to organize my thoughts and books and notebooks for THE FIRST DAY OF CLASSES TOMORROW!!! Been praying for Shanna - she heads to Austrailia TOMORROW! I'm so proud of her. Proud of Arthur too - he finally got his car! And it was the one he wanted... he looked for a long time and found a good one :) I can't wait to actually see it and drive around with him in it! :)

I just realized my birthday weekend is gonna be a long weekend, and I'm really excited about it! I'm not a big birthday celebrator (I actually don't like birthdays), but it'll be nice to maybe relax or do something fun on it. :) I don't miss Seattle as of yet... just a few people in it. I love you guys. Thanks for the emails and such! I really appreciate it! It makes my day :)

lots of changes...

Heyy!

Well as all of you should probably know, I'm here in sunny So Cal attending BIOLA. :) I packed up last week and flew down with my family this past Tuesday. Wow - it's been so crazy! Saying goodbye was reallllly hard... Monday morning I said goodbye to my Shanna which was really hard... It was a little too reminiscent of another similar goodbye 11 years ago... :( SAD DAY. The rest of the day was good though... Arthur came over and distracted me from the sad part of the day... we gave gifts to each other :) and talked, then went out to Rositas (my favorite restraunt ever) for lunch, then headed home to pack more. We basically just relaxed and hung out, listened to music, sat on the dock, hung out with my family etc. It was very sweet. Tuesday morning I flew out at 8 am. Arthur was able to come to the gate with me (we learned something about the airport - if you don't like the answer one person gives you, go try someone else till you get the answer you want.) and it was really hard to say goodbye... :( I miss him so much!

But the point is, I got through the goodbyes alright so far. Not TOO many tears... so far. Wednesday we went shopping (we being mom, dad, and I - Grandma, Grandpa, and Sarah stayed at the hotel) for dorm things - by the end there was hardly enough room for me in the car! Then we met up with some of my FAVORITE people ever - the Tullsens! HOOORAYY! I finally, after almost 13 years, get to live in the same state as them! Only 2 ish hours away too :) Some things just never change. Wednesday was Disneyland day! My cousin Will has been working there this year and he and a buddy of his were absolutely AMAZING and awesome and got us all (all 6 of us) in for FREEE! We had a blast. :D

Yesterday was moving day! Ahh I had SOOO MUCH STUFF!!! I felt sooooo self concious! But it's alright now - everything is packed and organized and there was actually an abundance of room for all my mountains of clothing :) I was quite pleased. I found somebody else who also brought 7 pairs of jeans, and 5 pairs of shorts, and about 6 dresses... I'm in good company here. :) I LOOOVE my roommate too - Mary is the best. We both had our first night in the dorms last night.. just talked and set up our room some more... turns out we have a lot in common :) I also got to go out to Newport Beach last night, and we all had dinner at the best place ever, BJ's, with Will and his girlfriend, Vicki. We had great conversations and lots of laughing - it was very nice. :)

Today was the first day of Orientation. I got my student ID this morning, then went straight to the Gym for the SOS kick off. (still don't know what SOS stands for.. but it's about orientation week I know! :P) The leaders did a skit, then we broke up into our SOS groups and got to know each other a little bit. I met several really nice people, even one girl from Seattle! I'm really very happy. It's going better than I thought so far.

So I will try to keep this updated. And I want you all to know that while I'm having fun, I'm still missing all of you, my friends. I love you guys. You're probably all up on my wall - I have a lot of pictures to put up! Can't wait to be reunited with you all in December. Till later!