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a few of my favorites.

School's out for summer!

I cannot believe I have completed my first year of college. It seems like just a few days ago when I was moving into the tiny little hole that would be my home for the next nine months. I swear it was just yesterday when I went to my first TCU football game and took notes as a freshman in college on my first day of school. This year went by sooo fast. Let's rewind and relive my freshman expereince.


So excited to be accepted!

I was so excited to come to TCU. I could not wait to get out of the tiny town I live in and back into the city. I loved buying tons of new stuff for my dorm. Pictures, bedding, school supplies, and millions of other things began to pile up in the guest room. Soon all that stuff would be in my dorm. I moved in the day after everyone else did because my parents could not take me the day I was supposed to go. On the ride to TCU I was excited and nervous. I was mostly nervous because I had not met or talked to my roommate yet. That was definitely my biggest concern. We got to my dorm, I met my RA, and she walked me to my room. I opened my door and there were about 5 people in my room. I briefly met my roommate and then they all left so I could move in. Moving in was a long process. We had to loft my bed and figuring out where everything goes is like a huge puzzle. I hung up pictures on the hospital looking walls, and was satisfied with how it looked even though it wa so tiny.

I let them do most of the work :)

Dad testing out my tall bed.



Finally finished!

When my room was all done it was time for my parents to leave. Of course my mom was crying, but who could blame her because I am her favorite firstborn. After they left I didnt know what to do. It felt weird being here. After sitting in my room for awhile, I realized that I didnt know anyone here. It seemed like everyone in my hall already knew each other and everyone had friends already. The next few days were not how I pictured them to be at all. We had to do a lot of freshman meeting stuff, which was awkward and weird. The first week of school was when I started freaking out. Meeting people was alot harder than I thought. I would say hi to someone and we would talk for a few minutes and then the next time I saw them, they would look away real fast. And the thing about it was that everyone did it. Everyone I met made it seem like they had never talked to me before. It was even worse in my dorm. I would meet some girls 3 or 4 times and then they would still act like they had no idea who I was when I said hi to them.
Here's when things got really tough for me. I felt like no one wanted to be my friend because everyone already had their friends. My hall was full of crazy, loud sorority girls. These people were not the Christian people I thought I was going to be going to school with. Everything was different here. If youre not in a sorority, youre not cool. If you dont go out and party every night, youre not cool. I did not fit in here. Not at all. I missed my friends. I missed my boyfriend. Cue the stress and anxiety.

Having no friends was my biggest stressor, along with the actual school part of college. The classes were different, the teachers seemed to not care, and everything was a million times harder. I struggled in all my classes. The tests got the best of me everytime and I was close to failing one class. Towards the middle of the semester I started feeling like I was dumb. I did not deserve to be at this university with all of these smart people. I couldn't keep up in my classes. I pretty much felt like a failure. I wanted to quit school. I wanted to move back home. I wanted my boyfriend to give me a hug and tell me everything was going to be okay. I wanted to give up on everything. I wanted to transfer. I was not happy. But I did not let anyone else around me know that except for my family. I ended up passing all my classes. I went home for Christmas break and I did not want to come back for spring semester. But I did.

The second semster was so much better than the first. I had a few friends, and my classes were waaaay easier. My anxiety level was low, which was good. I had gotten adjusted to not seeing Zachary all the time, so things were a little easier. I had a lot more fun second semester than I did the first. I gave up on trying to be friends with people that did not want anything to do with me. I ignored the sorority girls, and I didnt take it personally when someone I had met looked away when I smiled at them. I had a few good friends in all of my classes and Chloe became my best friend. We did everything together and always ate at the nasty BLUU together. She helped me through alot even though she has no idea. Second semester flew by faster than the first, and before I knew it, it was finals time again.

Finals week was a lot less stressful this time around, which I am very thankful for. Packing all my stuff up at the end of the year was even more difficult than moving it in. I do not know how I fit that much stuff in that tiny little room. Saying goodbye to my friends was alot harder than I thought it was going to be. I dont have a ton of friends-but I have a few really close ones and that is good enough for me. My grades were better this semester. When it was time to leave for the summer, I realized I really did love TCU. I love the school, the area that it is in, and everything that surrounds it. I was going to be sad to be moving back to boring Ponder. I cant believe I made it through everything that I did. During my first few months here, I never thought I would make it a full year at TCU. Some days I wasnt even sure if I would make it to the next day. But I made it. I completed my first year of college with a little less than a 3.5 GPA and I cannot wait for sophomore year.

GO FROGS! :)

a different perspective.

I am thankful for...
The mess to clean up after a party...
     because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
The taxes I pay...
     because it means that I am employed.
The clothes that fit a little too snug,
     because it means that I have food to eat.
My shadow who watches me work...
     because it means I am out in the sunshine.
The spot that I find at the far end of the parking lot...
     because it means I am capable of walking.
All the complaining I hear about our government...
     because it means we have freedom of speech.
That lady behind me in church who sings off key...
     because it means that I can hear.
Lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing...
     because it means I have a home.
My huge heating bill...
    because it means that I am warm.
Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day...
     because it means that I have been productive.
The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours...
     because it means that I am alive.

There are three kinds of days:
1. Good days.
2. Great days.
3. Outstanding days.

By: Nancie Carmody

So I found this and thought it was really cool. Be thankful for the life that you live :)

a few things I have learned about myself lately...

• I am scared to death of loud noises.
• I actually like being by myself and sometimes prefer to go places alone.
• I don't have to wear tons of make-up every day to feel pretty.
• When visiting the huge selection of books at the library, I realized how much I missed reading.
• I am that girl who smiles and waves and then looks like an idiot because the other person ignores me.
• The smallest things irritate me. Examples: the way you breathe, chew your food, or leave the light on.
• I can go hours without eating and not even realize it.
• Babies and puppies make me happy.
• Girls (especially TCU sorority girls) get on my last nerve.
• I have a huge desire to go to Africa and spend time with the little orphan kids.

They look so adorable!

super tan people make me sick.

Attention girls who tan in tanning beds:
You will get skin cancer and you will die. Okay, maybe you wont die, but you do have a greater chance of it by tanning in tanning beds. Girls who feel the need to be ridiculously dark all year round are probably addicted to tanning. Tanning beds can seriously cause people to become addicted to them because they release some hormone called endophrine or something like that. Which is bad because whey you start using the tanning bed all the time you can become addicted and have withdrawls, anxiety, and become nauseous when you haven't tanned in awhile.
Girls think that they look better when they are tan and will obviously take risks like getting CANCER just to be tan and feel good about themselves. While sun tanning isn't exactly good for your body either, it is much better and safer than a tanning bed, especially if you use sunscreen. In a tanning bed you do not use sunscreen and do not have anything to protect your skin. The tanning beds emit strong ultraviolet radiation. Radiation of any type is not good for your body. Tanning beds cause melanoma which is a deadly form of skin cancer. Key word being deadly. They also cause will cause wrinkles, harsh aging, and leathery skin in the long run. Yeah you may look good now, but just wait a few years.

This girl will look like the lady below if she keeps her tanning habits up. If she doesn't die from skin cancer first.

Thats really attractive, huh?

My momma always told me: "Tanning beds will fry your insides."

lets talk Jesus.

When I say I love my church, I mean that I really love my church. I love the building, I love my preacher, I love the youth ministry, I love everything that my church stands for. I. Love. My. Church.


Last Sunday, I heard one of the best sermons I have ever heard. It was given by our new Associate Pastor, Thomas. First you have to understand that I absolutely love our preacher, Rick Atchley. He is such a good preacher. Every time someone else preaches, I find myself comparing them to Rick. But that didn't happen with Thomas. Thomas is young, hes from California, and he knows how to get his point across. He told the story of the woman at the well. He didn't just read the story out of the Bible though. He told the story in a way that made me really understand what he was saying. He made me picture the woman, and exactly how she was feeling.

The woman is from Samaria. Every morning, she gets up and carries a big clay pot to the well which is on the other side of town. She has to deal with the snickers and rude remarks from the people as she passes. The woman is struggling. She has sex with anyone that wants it because she thinks if she gives it away, she will get love in return. She meets Jesus at the well. Jesus asks her if he can have a drink of water from her cup and she looks at him like he is crazy. Jesus is a Jew, and Jews do not associate themselves with people like her. She questions Jesus asking him why he is talking to her. Then he tells her to go and get her husband. The woman does not have a husband. She has had many sexual partners, but no husband. Jesus had to have known this, so why of all things would he tell her to go and get her husband, knowing fully well that she is sleeping around.
I love the metaphor that Thomas used to describe the womans situation. Its like being in the ocean. You are surrounded with all of this water. Water, being one of the main things that you need to survive. So if you are in the middle of an ocean, with all of this living water around you, you would die. You would die from the water. The water that is supposed to keep you alive, would kill you. Ironic, isn't it?

This woman is surrounded by living water and  yet she keeps getting water from the wrong wells. She gets it from the well of sexual pleasure and lust, thinking that she will be loved in return. Now the question is: from what well are you getting your water from? Is it the well of materialism, or wealth, or drugs, or sex? If Jesus came up to you, what would he tell you to go get? (like he told the woman to go get her husband) What would it be for you?
For me, it could be alot of things. And when Thomas asked us that same question, the answer did not come to my head quickly. Then I realized that it would probably be something to do with materialism. I want to have the nicest car, the prettiest jewelry, the newest shoes, and the most expensive sun glasses. But none of that stuff matters to God. Our salvation is not determined by how much money we make or how many nice things we have, which is sometimes hard for me to remember. Especially here at TCU where I feel like girls are wearing a few hundred dollars worth of clothes and accessories on their body daily.


The weird thing is that in my sorority meeting on Tuesday night, we talked about the same story. I felt like God was trying to tell me something through this story, and though I have not quite figured it out yet, it has constantly been on my mind since that night. Maybe I am the woman at the well, or maybe I am the person that needs to help the woman at the well.
Figure out what Jesus would tell you to bring to the well. What do you spend so much time thinking about or doing, that it distracts you from the path of God? Think about it.


Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q49BbfgJbto


Listen to Thomas' sermon: http://www.thehills.org/files/podcasts/20110403-Dying_Of_Thirst-Fitzpatrick.mp3

BIEBER FEVER!

So yesterday I went to see the Justin Bieber movie with my cousins and let me just say, that if I kinda liked him before, I like him a lot more now. If you hate his music, or hate his voice, or hate how he is so young, then you better go see the movie before you start judging him.

His story is so inspiring. He was born to two young teenagers and his parents split before he turned one. His mom wanted to do everything she could to provide for him. Justin was really close to his grandparents. He got a drum for his second birthday and started banging on it like a pro. The videos were amazing. He could play the drums really well before he was five and soon his family started to realize he had real talent. This kind of talent cannot be fake or made up, or just a bunch of hype.

He is so cute. Like the cutest boy in a little kid kinda way. I am not obsessed with him like some girls are, but he is pretty adorable and  hard not to like. His personality is so cute. And he seems like a really nice boy.

This makes me like him even more <3