Friday, December 5, 2008

The semester's almost over

In 2 weeks, I will be at home for Christmas break. I am so ready. As much as I love all my friends here, it will be nice to have some time off without worrying about having homework to do.

I've been working in the dining hall, Lottie Nelson, for the last 3 weeks. It's really not very fun, to be honest. It's hot, and slightly stressful. But hey, I'm making money. It's better than any job I'd probably be able to find in Wayneboro.

This economic crisis/recession is really starting to become more apparent. Black Friday this year actually resulted in death. One Walmart worker got trampled in a mob, and 2 men shot each other at a Toys R Us. The materialism in our culture has made it so necessary to have all the things we want that we are able to justify running people over at a Walmart? Even when they tried to close the Walmart because of the man being killed, the people wouldn't leave because they wanted to keep shopping. Why is that more important than the fact that they had just broken down a door and killed a man? And why did those guys think it was ok to bring guns to Toys R Us? I just don't understand. I know that the economy is not good, but I just can't see any rationality behind being so determined to get what you want that you just disregard everyone around you.

For my one class, History of the Middle East, we had to read the published blog of "Riverbend", and anonymous Iraqi woman who started blogging about life during the war in Iraq back in 2003. (www.riverbendblog.blogspot.com) They published most of her blog into books. We read the first year of her blog and wrote a paper on it. It was really striking to see how different our perspectives are on all of this. I know that we get biased news here, but I had no idea how much I was unaware of until I read this. She definitely had a lot of anger towards American governmetn, but that is understandable when your country is being occupied by another country whose excuse for getting into your life is the accusation that your people were harboring weapons of mass destruction that ended up being nonexistent. I've been totally unaware of quite a lot regarding our relations with Iraq in the last few years. I wish I had been paying more attention.

Right now, I'm listening to NSYNC Home for Christmas. Remember that? haha it really brings back the memories. Wow.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I know it all, don't know a thing. I am changing, still the same...

I'm every color. I'm every color. I am Evergreen.

I am currently in love with that song. I think it's called Evergreen, and it's an unreleased song from the most recent Backstreet Boys album, Unbreakable. It's pretty incredible.

Anyway, recently I've been realizing just how incredibly important my friends have been this semester. The people I've spent 90% of my time with in the last few months have been an awesome influence. I'm not saying that my other friends aren't awesome, because they are. But I've realized just how special the ones I'm currently around are. They have helped me and encouraged me to be a better person, and to figure out exactly who I am. Some of the other people in my life just want me to like the things they like and to be into the things they want me to be into. I want to be myself, and I want to stand up for the things I believe. If I don't want to drink with you, I'm not going to, regardless of how guilty you might try to make me feel. I care about ALL of my friends, but there are some I trust more than others to just let me be myself. There are things I will stand my ground on.

At my school, we have this wonderful thing called J-term. The month of January is spent in one class everyday, for about 3-4 hours. The class ends in a month, and then you start spring semester. Technically you don't have to come for January, and you can go on cross-culturals if you want. Well, apparently I'm going to have my room to myself for January. It's going to be slightly depressing. I'm going to turn 21, and some of the people I was depending on to keep my drinking-happy friends away from trying to get me into that won't be here. It would seem that I will be spending the majority of my time in my friend's apartment, hoping that he'll make sure that everything goes ok. I really don't want to lose any of my friends, but if they try too hard to get me to do things I don't want to do, I will have to avoid them. And that sucks. I'm actually more worried about that than really anything else. It seems that no matter what I do or how far away I am from people, they still manage to involve me in their drama. This has happened so many times in the past year that it makes me want to scream. It's too complicated to explain, but I'm tired of people blaming me for things and involving me in their drama when it's not my business.

Ok, I guess that's enough of that for now. My thoughts are a little jumbled. Perhaps I will clarify when I don't feel sick, and when I have more clarity of mind.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

wow, my life is awkward.

So much of my time these days is spent being the extra wheel. I'm the single one, as usual, but it seems more pronounced these days. I guess I don't really mind that much, but it's been getting subtly more annoying each time.

All last year I had a hard time dealing with the fact that I've never had a boyfriend. I was thinking that I must be a loser because I'm 20 and single, but this summer I really got over that. I wasn't gonna say it, because I will sound silly to most people, but I have the Jonas Brothers to thank for that. Why, you ask? Well, I don't personally know them, but since around March, I've been paying more attention to the things that they do, and the way they live their lives. Through all of that, I've gained more confidence in myself, and I know that it will be ok. Even though I'm single, it doesn't mean I'm a loser. It doesn't mean there's something wrong with me. It just means that I haven't found the person God has planned for me. And I can deal with that. I feel much better about my situation.

Recently, though, the old feelings started coming back. I think that's because most of my single friends did study abroad programs this year, and now I'm here with all my friends who are in serious relationships. It made me feel a little bit inferior. Honestly, though, what is helping me now is Demi Lovato's new cd. That sounds just as silly as the Jonas Brothers comment, but it's true. She may only be 16, but she knows what it feels like to feel inferior, and not feel pretty. I can relate to her, and her music really is something that I understand. That's why I feel grateful to her.

Too bad I'll probably never get to tell any of them exactly how they've helped me realize who I am. They'll never know how much they've done for my confidence. But that's ok, because even if they don't know, I will. And that's the important part. Nothing else really matters.

I guess that's the end of this rant. That's where I am in my life currently.

The End.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

it's a new school year

everything is really different this semester. but i feel oddly at peace about it. messiah is a really beautiful campus, and i'm glad i'm here, even if half of my friends are in other parts of the world. i also have been fortunate to have some amazing conversations with the friends that i do have here. i have high hopes for this year (which include my high-off-the-floor bed, and the hope that i won't fall out of it. haha!)

i've been able to figure out a general pattern of how college students make and keep friends.

Freshman Year- try to make as many friends as humanly possible AND try to actually hang out with them. possibly lose some friends from home.

Sophomore Year- the college friends we've made are just too many to comprehend, so we ditch about half of them and only hang out with a few people who become close and amazing friends. some of the friends from home that we've accidently ditched start to become more important again, and our friendships with them start to come back.

Junior Year- We've realized that we did a poor job of maintaining connections with our friends from freshman year and therefore try to hang out with some of them again. (the ones who want to, anyway) hometown friends that still exist are the ones that totally have our backs 100% and are therefore some of our best friends.

now, i know this is a general thing, and i don't know how it is for everyone. this is just what i've noticed in my life, my friends' lives, and the lives of people i've noticed.

Monday, August 25, 2008

This song blows me away every time i hear it

"Unmistakable"

Anytime, anywhere, anyplace
You could be anyone today
Maybe I would recognize you
On a crowded street

Maybe you'll take me by surprise
Will you be the one I had in mind

[Chorus]
There'll come a day
When you'll walk out of my dreams
Face to face
Like I'm imagining
Baby how can I be sure
That you're the one I'm waiting for
Will you be unmistakable
Unmistakable

People say we're watching our lives
Through a glass
Desperately waiting on a chance
I know you're out there
Holding on, holding out for me

How are we to know the time is right
What if you're here and I'm just blind

[Repeat Chorus]

How can I know a song I never heard
How will I know your voice
When you haven't said a word
How do I know how this will end
Before we begin
Before we begin

There'll come a day
When you walk out of my dreams
Face to face (face to face)
Like I'm imagining (Like I'm imagining)
Baby, how can I be sure (how can I be sure)
That you're the one I'm waiting for (You're the one I'm waiting for)Will you be (will you be)
Will you be (will you be)

Unmistakable
Unmistakable

Friday, August 8, 2008

"Nick, Joe and Kevin seem to blatantly imply they prolly are dating the girls Ryan asks about"

SEEM to BLATANTLY IMPLY they're PROBABLY dating them? wow, some people need a grammar and intelligence check. sorry Popstar magazine, but honestly that is one of the most poorly written things i've read in a long time.

and as for the context of the quote, i have an opinion on that, too. why the heck is it our business who the jonases are dating? why can't they keep that kind of stuff to themselves? i think we need to leave them alone and stop asking them about it. maybe they're dating, maybe they're not. perhaps they just don't want to say something to offend the girl in question. or maybe they just don't want to publicize their private lives. give them a break!

ok, i'm done ranting now. i don't want to contribute too much to the neverending obnoxiousness that is the world of celebrity dating.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Do you ever feel totally out of control?

Like everything is completely beyond your power to fix? I feel like everything going wrong around me is somewhat my fault, and there's nothing I can do about it. I know it's not really my fault, but I feel somehow responsible. I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't like that I'm somewhat being shunned by people who have no idea about anything. I'm done with all this nonsense. I really am.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

It's Summer!

Well, it's finally summer! I need to find a job. I have a lot of things I need money for. The only problem is, practically no one is hiring. Maybe it's because of our economy being so bad, or maybe it's because everyone and their mother-in-law is trying to get a job to pay for the high gas prices. Whatever it is, there are no jobs. It sucks just a bit.

I've only been home for a few weeks, but I've already got the daytime schedule of the Disney Channel memorized. Kinda lame, right? Probably.

This is gonna be a crazy, but hopefully awesome summer. The only plans I know I have are the July 25 Jonas concert, and watching Camp Rock. This is should be fun. Anyone going to that Jonas concert should let me know, so we can meet up. I love making new friends! =)

I think that's all for now, but hopefully it won't be such a long time before I update again.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Majors

I am officially a History major. I don't know why, and I have no idea where I am going with this, but that's what I'm doing. Maybe someday I'll figure out what I'm doing with my life.

This semester is almost over. It's really strange.

I have 3 papers and a powerpoint presentation due tomorrow by 10:45am. I have one paper done. I still have a combined total of between 10-15 pages to write, plus a powerpoint presentation about a book I haven't read. I doubt I'm going to be sleeping tonight.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

In case anyone missed the Compassion Forum, and wants to know what went down...


I wanted to put a bunch of pictures on here, but I'm mostly computer illiterate and couldn't figure out how to save them individually from the slideshow. So, for anyone who might want to see pictures, go to...




and if you want to know everything that was said, go here...


If anyone has any questions about anything regarding this, feel free to ask me. I was not in the room, but I was here, and have access to much of the information about it.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

The Forum of Compassion

There were abortion protestors on our campus. They had a giant poster of an aborted fetus. It was extremely disturbing and inappropriate. Both Hillary and Obama are pro-choice, but that doesn't mean that McCain would actually do anything about the abortion issue. Maybe he has an opinion on it, but I think that the abortion issue will go untouched because of much more important issues that our nation is dealing with right now.

Wow. It was intensely strange to watch that knowing that I could get to that room in a less than 5 minute walk from where I'm sitting. It was also really weird seeing a bunch of my friends in the audience. 2 of my friends and I stood outside for over an hour trying to find out if there were any extra tickets. There weren't, so we just watched it from our room on tv. So strange. I am in that room every other day, and Obama and Hillary were there. Weird.

Anyway, I'm not so much of a fan of any of the candidates, but I do have an opinion on what was said. I think Hillary did a much better job defending herself and making a case for what she believes. I felt Obama was a bit sloppy. Hillary did a very good job of articulating the way she felt on different issues, especially abortion. Obama just seemed like he didn't quite know what to say.

I will say more about this later, but I have to study for my Spanish oral exam tomorrow.

This is why my school is cool!

The Compassion Forum is on CNN tonight at 8pm EST. All day today, the CNN correspondants have been outside the main building on campus. I am so pumped for people to see Obama and Hillary at my school! Yes, we are a Christian college, but we are also very aware of issues, and aren't the stereotypical Christian school.

So, tune in to CNN tonigth at 8pm EST and watch Obama and Hillary talk about faith and politics at the wonderful location of Messiah College!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

No McCain :(

McCain declined. What a terd. I guess he technically doesn't really have anything to worry about yet, since he doesn't really have any competition for the primary. But I still think it was extremely unwise for him to miss out on this. I mean, I know we're not a big school, and I know we don't have all that much influence, but a bunch of major Christian publications and other types of media will be there. Also, national news people are gonna be here too. Sure, McCain is probably gonna get a lot of votes from conservative Christians. But contrary to popular belief, Messiah College is NOT conservative. In fact, we are very liberal. for a Christian college. Truthfully, he kinda does need to campaign here if he wants to get votes from people at this school. People are gonna be a bit upset that he declined the offer to participate. I hope it doesn't come back and bite him in the butt.

As for me, I don't know who I'm voting for, and I'm extremely uninformed. I wish I were more motivated to know about their views on issues, but I just personally don't like any of them. We'll see what happens after this event goes down. I'm pretty pumped.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Clinton and Obama are coming to my school!

Messiah College is hosting this thing called the Compassion Forum. They invited Clinton, Obama, and McCain. Today, Obama officially confirmed his attendence, so now all that's left is for McCain to get his butt moving and confirm. Then it will be crazy. We are going to have the most absurd security on April 13, and the whole week leading up to it. Having ALL the main Presidential candidates all in the same room at the same time is gonna be hectic. Not a whole lot of students could get tickets, so I'll be watching it from the Student Union on campus. It's gonna be broadcast on a national news station too, apparently. Apparently Messiah can be pretty awesome sometimes! haha. According to an email sent to us all by President Phipps, "conversation topics will focus on compassion and social justice issues such as U.S. and global poverty; AIDS; climate change; Darfur; and human rights." Should be pretty interesting.

So, watch out for information on the Compassion Forum, and know that I'll be here right where the action is! woohoo!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Jonas Tickets!

Apparently, my awesome, amazing friend got me one! I totally didn't even know about it, until a few minutes ago, because she forgot that she hadn't told me. haha! Oh boy, now I'm super pumped. I thought I was gonna have to try to find one on ebay later. I don't have money right now, so that's why I was planning to buy them later. But, my friend is awesome, and is letting me pay for the ticket once I actually have monies. I win!

Kids Choice Awards?

I am a huge fan of the JoBros and all, but I was not a big fan of what they were wearing at the KCA's. Certain aspects of their outfits were nice, but I wasn't particularly a fan of Nick's pants or Kev's tie/shirt combo. It just looked a little bit awkward. I think Nick was trying to copy Kev with the hair. haha. I'm not complaining, he looked adorable still. I think I prefer his usual hair though, with his curls on his forehead. He needs his own style, he doesn't need to steal Kevin's.

Also, I think Miley needs to start acting/dressing her age. She's 15, so I'm not sure why she feels the need to dress like she's 20. I have nothing personally against her, and she's not really done anything for me to absolutely hate, I'm just saying I think she needs to act her age. And start recognizing the people that have helped get her to where she is: the fans. They're the ones that paid that ridiculous amount of money to see her Hannah Montana tour, so why didn't she give them the credit they deserve when she won TWO awards? I mean, I voted for her too, actually. Not because she's anything special, but just because I felt like voting, and she was the best in those categories. At least the JoBros don't ever forget that their fans are what make or break their careers. They ALWAYS thank the fans and continually say how amazing we are. I think Miley could do with a bit of that as well. Appreciation, that is.

Don't get me wrong, she's pretty talented, and she's a good performer usually. I saw the 3D movie, and she was pretty good. I've got to give her that. But her performance at the KCA's was a little bit ridiculous. For one thing, she was dressed a tad bit too mature for her age. She danced a bit too mature for her age. I understand that she was probably trying to impress all the older celebs out in the audience, but from what I could see of them during her performance, it didn't work all that well. Now, other people might think she did a great job, and that's cool. People are allowed to have their own opinions. That's cool. I didn't think she did the best job last night. But whatever, she still has trillions of fans.

I'm sure she's more down-to-earth than many other celebs, but I just feel like she could do with a dose of humility. At least a little bit. That's just my opinion.

I know this post has been a bit negative, but I didn't mean it to be that way. I was just trying to state my opinions, but they came across as a bit angry. Oh well, I guess.

I have been doing a lot of sitting around today doing nothing. I wish I had gone to church this morning, but I didn't go to bed til almost 3am. Stupid, I know. I don't really know how that happened. haha. I wasn't even really all that tired, oddly. Tomorrow, I need to remember to get the form I need to fill out to declare a major. I still don't know why I'm doing History, but I need to do something, or I won't be able to choose classes.

This is outrageously long. I think it's time for me to stop. haha. I suppose it's time for me to get back to procrastinating.

Chao!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Why the heck am I doing this?

It seems like I have too many blogs...so why am I doing this one?
Answer: I have no idea.

I have a private blog on a site I will not mention, well, because it's private. haha! This one I guess is so I can write what I'm thinking, and people that don't necessarily know me can perhaps help me figure out what I'm doing with me life. You see, I have a Xanga, but people that I don't necessarily want to know everything about my life have access to it. I have my reasons for not wanting certain of them to see some things. Maybe I'll explain another time.

I have to declare a major quite soon. As in, next week. Because I need to sign up for classes soon. The thing is, I still don't have the slightest clue what to do with my life. I guess I'm going to be a History major, but I don't really know why. I feel completely clueless about what I'm supposed to do. Seeing as how I'm about to be a college junior, it's pretty bad that I don't know what I'm doing.

It's time for dinner now. Good old Lottie Nelson Dining Hall best have something edible for diner tonight.

Adios!