Dream Career

Undecided is the most popular major for incoming freshmen at UW Whitewater.
(And I'm sure a lot of other universities.)

It's about that time where I need to sit down and seriously consider what I want to pursue as my career. Or major, at the very least.

I've already ruled out a few options. Such as math. Or computer science. Or engineering. That's a step in the right direction...

Right?

Oh, what the heck. Maybe I'll just interview to become a sled dog after all.

Birthday Boy

Birthdays are always an exciting thing.

Today is my brother Caleb's birthday. Though he may not look like this anymore (I've grown up quite a bit too!), I thought it'd be a nice throwback to the good ol' days of cardboard box forts and carefree living.

And Mickey Mouse sweat suits.

It's hard to grow up and see your siblings head off in different directions. And it was especially hard for me to let go of Caleb. Not only is he closest in age to me, but we've been through a lot together. But I can't wish for what we once had; I have to look forward to all of the memories we're going to make in the future.

I didn't get to see the birthday boy today. But if, by chance, you see him, wish him happy birthday, and tell him I miss him.

'Cause I do.

Happy Birthday, bro.

May this year be filled with exciting new adventures.

Back to School

Remember when you were little, and that feeling you got the day before you went back to school? Excited to see all of your friends again, but nervous too, because although you'd gone through the drill before, it was a brand new year with brand new adventures, fears, and possibilities.

Well, that's how I'm feeling today.

Time to start my Sophomore year at Whitewater, and although I'm incredibly excited for what this year is going to bring, I've also got some pre-school jitters. Not only do classes start tomorrow, but I also start my job as a Campus Assistant, and I give my first official tour! Time to put my 2 weeks of training to good use.

But, I'd be lying if I said the thought of tomorrow didn't send butterflies flitting around my stomach.

I'm also coming to find that I put way too many things off until the last minute. Like getting my textbooks, for example, or organizing my room, stringing up Christmas lights, and practicing giving a tour.

Did I mention that I'm still trying to change my class schedule? 

Procrastination, it's a killer.

So, here's to the last day of my amazing summer, and the start of what looks to be an amazing 2nd year at Whitewater.

God bless us, every one!

Growing Up

It's crazy the places life takes you. It's been a year since I started at UW Whitewater, and now I'm back again. My whole world expanded, and I've met so many incredible people. Come the end of my freshman year, I thought I had grown up so much. This summer, my goal was to grow up even more. And it's funny looking back, because I see how much I still have to learn. For me, going home meant reverting back to being a child, and I didn't want to feel that way. But honestly, I have the most amazing parents, and they never gave me grief about being an independent college student. I am incredibly blessed.

I did grow up in some ways this summer. I didn't learn how to cook, go grocery shopping, and play the guitar like I wanted to, but I did learn other things. I worked a lot, and although being a server assistant in a restaurant is hard work, I loved it. It was intimidating at first, but I fell into place, and I also grew to love each and every one of my coworkers so much. Even though it wasn't always easy to love some of them, I tried to stay positive and encouraging. I hope they were able to see Jesus through me. Honestly, I miss it, which some might think is crazy, and maybe it is, but I know I got the job at the Grand Cafe for a reason. I learned a lot about hard work, and also about myself. I grew up in a different way than I was expecting, which is how life goes more often than not.

And now I'm back at school, training to be a Campus Assistant. This year I'll be a tour guide at UW Whitewater! This week has been jam-packed with information, and although it's a bit overwhelming now, I know I'm going to have a blast. My fellow CAs are amazing, and I'm so excited to be working with them. I mean, how often do you get the chance to play wheel chair basketball? Just sayin'.

Life may not always go the way you plan; my summer certainly had its ups and downs, but that just makes it more of an adventure. One thing I did learn is this: I'm only 19, and I don't have to grow up overnight. I still have plenty of time to figure things out, and sometimes, if need be, act like kid. Ultimately, I want to glorify God with everything I do with my life.

So, look out world. This sled dog is ready for her next adventure.

Chapter Focus Week

There's so much to be said about Chapter Focus Week, and yet I've put off writing about it for so long because it's difficult for me to find the words to do my experience justice. For starters, on May 12th, 11 individuals from InterVarsity - including me, but 13 including our staff - set out on an epic adventure to Cedar Campus in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. An 8 hour drive was the first step of our journey, and although I didn't get much sleep the night before, I drove my car with fearless tenacity the whole way. Luckily, I had a great group in my car that gave me lots of support. Good times.

Cedar Campus was absolutely beautiful, and the ladies and I were blessed with a cabin that had a bathroom connected to our room, a great view of the lake, and that was close to the Meeting Center. After arriving and having a few hours to settle in, we jumped right into the week. Now, I have to be honest - I didn't really want to go to CFW. I wasn't sure if I was going to walk away challenged, retreats come with a price tag, and I needed to work so I could pay for college. But at the last minute, everything fell into place so I could go, and I was determined to get the most out of it. For the week, we were separated into different "tracks." The members of our leadership team would meet together everyday to plan what InterVarsity would look like for the next school year. Those who were going to be small group leaders were in the small group leadership training track. I was in Mark I with 2 others from my InterVarsity chapter, and we went through and dissected the first 8 chapters of Mark. Talk about intense! I was never very good at manuscripting, which is a specific way of looking at the text and picking it apart (focusing on who, what, when, where, and how, and spotting any references to other parts of Scripture - we were provided colored pencils so we could color code our findings), so I was incredibly intimidated. Not to mention we were split up into 6 tables, and our table made up our small group for us to share and discuss with. I was way out of my comfort zone, but God knew that was exactly what I needed. Throughout the week, the overarching theme we focused on in Mark was Jesus' authority, and how that authority should have an affect on the way we live our lives.

In the large group meetings, our speaker Rick taught on Moses. He connected it to us by saying that Moses was destined for greatness but he didn't know it - we, on the other hand, know that God is getting us ready for greatness. After all, there are no insignificant roles in God's big picture. We need to find our identity in Christ and be faithful, humble, and willing to take risks.

Now, something that my chapter does that I absolutely loved was "Secret Encouragers." The first night we were there we all drew names, and we got to encourage that person all week. People came up with some creative ways to secretly encourage, and I know I had a blast with it. But my secret encourager blew me away by drawing me this picture. Sled dogs, of course, hold a special place in my heart, and this picture is such a great reminder to me that I have to obey my Master and follow His direction. Not only was this picture an encouragement and a challenge, but it also serves as a great reminder to all the things I learned during CFW, and how I grew so much closer with all the individuals that went.

Every night we had "chapter time," to meet up and catch everybody up on what we were learning in our tracks and see what thoughts our leadership team had for next year. There were plenty of laughs shared, but we also got incredibly vulnerable with one another. God moved. He broke our hearts for our campus. He challenged us to be intentional with our summers. And for me personally, He taught me to not write people off as being too far out of His reach. I was face-to-face with someone I had known from before, and I knew wasn't a Christian before, but it was amazing seeing the transformation, and God convicted me of how easy it is to give up on people. But even though we might give up on people, God doesn't, because of His great love for us!

After a week like this, it was hard to leave and say goodbye. I had an amazing time and learned so much. I'm excited for what the future holds. God is awesome. Life is an epic adventure.

Some highlights from the week: running into my small group leader Hannah from Summit, the girls serenading the boys cabin with "I'll Make a Man Out of You," hiking to Gnome Rock, hiking Narnia trail, being prayed for by my track leader, having group time out on the Floating Bear (the pontoon boat) one night despite the cold, being a rebel and going to the other side of the lake with Justin to eat dinner our last night, and jamming out in the party car.

With that, there's only one thing left to say...

Go team.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

We've all had them. Those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, where one not-so-good thing domino effects into a whole list of other things, which ends in a bad day. Mine started with dropping two glasses of water off of a tray at work. The first two glasses I broke on the job. But not only did I spill water all over myself, I also spilled water into my apron pocket, where my phone happened to be residing. Not a whole lot of water, mind you. But apparently enough so that when I checked it later, it had black screened and read me the message "USB Download Mode." I promptly took the battery out to find a few drops of water, which I knew was going to be a bad sign. After I got home from a long day at work, I threw my phone in rice, hoping it would come back to life - before my phone had short-circuited, I saw that I had text messages and voicemails waiting for my attention.

Needless to say, it's been a long day. There's been tears, and fervent prayers, and telling myself how stupid I am, and researching online to see if anyone else had the solution to my problem, and going to the Verizon store with my dad to see if there was anything they could do, and more tears... You never realize how much you need something until it's no longer available. I find my reliance on technology somewhat pathetic after something like this happens. I shouldn't be so attached to an inanimate object that it causes me to shed tears. But unless some sort of miracle happens, everything I had on that phone is lost: all my pictures, and text messages that had sentimental value. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do.

The one good thing that did come out of this circumstance is I got to spend time with my dad. He calmed me down when I was upset over my phone, took me to the Verizon store, went shopping with me at Wal-Mart, and then came over to the house I'm dogsitting at to watch a movie with me. Since I won't see too much of him tomorrow on Father's Day, I enjoyed our time together. Thank you, dad, for always looking out for me.

Well, there's gotta be a silver lining to this situation somewhere. I just gotta trust that God will work this all out for His glory. Until then, I have a husky literally laying in my lap during a thunderstorm. I knew sled dogs made the best cuddle buddies.

It also happens to be my dear friend Kelly's birthday today. Happy Birthday, darlin'. May God bless you abundantly in the coming year!

See You Soon

I can't believe it. My freshman year of college is coming to a close.
I turned in my last assignment last night - I'm officially done!

I still remember move-in day, with all its uncertainty and excitement, and now I'm packing up and moving out. The beginning of the year feels like ages ago, and yet like it was just yesterday, all at the same time. And people keep telling me that every year after this continues to get faster. Not quite sure what to think about that.
Two years ago, I never thought I would be at Whitewater. But here I am! And this year has been absolutely wonderful. Sure, it's had its fair share of drama, tears, stress, and lack of sleep. But there's also been laughter, joy, excitement, and adventure. I've met some incredible people, and I don't know what I'm going to do without them this summer.
Also, the men of Whitewater took me by surprise these past couple weeks and have been opening doors left and right! I am blessed and impressed.
I've had so many adventures these past few weeks as I enjoyed the short time I had left of my freshman year in Whitewater. From sleepovers, to late night walks, to snuggling with puppies, to secluded riverside lookouts, to jumping over waist-high lamp posts, to how-to-drive-a-manual-car lessons (I dare say, if picking a major doesn't pan out and I run out of options, I could teach a driver's ed course on driving stickshift) - I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Not to mention, I got to room with my best friend. Some cautioned us that it might not work, but I think we made out just fine! We're rooming together next year, so that's a good sign, right?

My dad will be here soon to move me out, and I'll only be home briefly before I head up to the UP for Chapter Focus Week with InterVarsity. I'm excited - it's going to be amazing.

So that means saying goodbye to the campus I've fallen in love with, my room, my friends, and to my freshman year. Some of the goodbyes will be harder than others.

Goodbye, Benson 329. We've had a good run.

And freshman year, I've learned a lot - I've grown so much, and I'm excited for what next year's going to bring.

To the rest of you, however, this isn't goodbye - I've never been very good at goodbyes. But this is, simply...

See you soon.