"You two are turtles... of the awkward variety."

Well, my classes officially started today! I started off with Social Issues, and I think I al really going to love that class {despite the homework load I have just from the first day}. But the first thing he had us do was write about an issue {locally or globally} the we were interested/concerned in, and we had to say what we thought was the primary cause of said issue. It was interesting to see the various responses throughout the room: the BP oil spill, unemployment, gay rights, stereotyping, etc. This warm-up directly relates to our first writing topic; which I'm pretty excited about actually. Yes, I will be writing what will probably be a rather lengthy essay on sex trafficking. It's cool because he's using this as a way to see what our interests are and to kind of see what we want to get out of his class. Well sir, please begin to prepare me for the IJM! Do you think he can do that?... Anyways, I met a girl named Megan in the elevator as I was leaving for that class {which she also had with me!}, and she was so nice! Something I though was pretty great: She asked me if I had gone out at all since I'd been here. I told her that I didn't drink. Her response? "That's so cool!" Wow, that one blew my mind! I'm so happy that I haven't been judged for my sober ways ONCE since I've been here. I haven't felt forced, pressured, or anything. It makes me feel happy and relieved :) But back to my classes! Carleigh is in my Critical Reading & Writing class, so that's good! Unfortunately, our teacher is actually a grad student, so we are his guinea pigs. Not only that, but the class looks like it's going to be a drag. Ugh. Anyways, I got lunch at D-hall with Andrea and Danielle before going to my Government class. I got to the building a little early and got to talk to Emily Wilcox for a short while! It was nice to see a familiar, friendly face! The government class might not be too bad. I can't tell as of yet. A lot of stuff is going to be done in teams though, so hopefully I get some hard-working people! So those were my classes for the day. I came back to the dorm and started my SOCI homework, and then met up with Kristina Elliot for dinner. Afterwards, we found a very convenient bus stop and showed each other our dorms. Then, the 8th floor ladies had to go to a "wedgie." Yeah, it sounds awkward, but really we were just painting and receiving door wedges, haha.

Danielle and I definitely needed one, so that was a good thing! After doing a little more homework, I went to the InterVarsity ice cream social with Brittany and Brianna; where I also saw J. Blair, Ashton, Rachel, and Daniel. I was the queen of awkward at that shindig, haha! I had the twins laughing uncontrollably; their eyeballs all leaky and whatnot :) Little spurts, like the title of this blog {which was actually directed toward Daniel and this guy named Patrick}, just send them over the edge. I love it! Those girls are too sweet. I have a feeling we're going to be tight :) The rest of my night consisted of showering {the lights turned off a few times while I was in there... weird} and doing more SOCI homework. I still need to work on that actually, so I'll stop here. I love you all! Don't forget to text me and whatnot whenever you want! I love hearing from you all :) Goodnight my loves!

{That tall building on the left would be my dorm :) }

It smells like a guinea pig...

I got to sleep in today! Yay for eight and a half hours of sleep! We actually got time to relax and chill today; which I was very grateful for. I chilled in the dorm for a while before going to lunch with Kelsey and Kim :) We were starving and our dorm was a scorcher! Well, we tried to go to Dukes, but the AC was dunzo. Thus, it was clearly a no-go. We ended up eating in D-hall and it actually wasn't too bad! I ate a yummy wrap with grapes, applesauce, and sweet tea. Yum! We left there to go meet our FROGs at 1. Today was our last day with them :( We had a short little farewell meeting before our final assembly. Oh Sally and Kristine, I am going to miss you all being our own personal guides! But yeah, that assembly thing, was so awkward. I can't exactly explain it well in text, but let's just say there was a woman on stage with a whip.... Moving on! After saying goodbye to our FROGs we came back to the dorm for some rest and relaxation. Danielle made everyone in our group a contact sheet complete with phone and room numbers! That will definitely come in handy! I had dinner with Kelsey, Megan, and Danielle before meeting up with people to go to a Young Life ice-cream social! There were SO many people there, but they were all super friendly. I also saw Sarah there! I practically ambushed her with a hug. Like I told her, it's been too long since I've physically seen a Tobey, haha. We talked for quite a while, and I met a few of her friends. It wasn't long, though, before I realized that the group that I came with left me. Yeah, they had all already left. However, there was a girl named Sidney there who was ready to leave, so I walked back to campus with her. As it turns out, she loves Jesus! We talked the whole way back to school about how our faith came about and how we wanted to continue in our walks. She was so very sweet, and I found it very easy to talk to her. Needless to say, we are now facebook friends :) And I believe she will also be at the InterVarsity ice-cream social tomorrow; yay! After I said goodbye to my new friend, I came back to the dorm and got myself situated for the night and the day that lies ahead. Ah! Classes start tomorrow! I better get some sleep so that I can focus! But before I do that, I really need to read some of Ephesians, so off I go! Goodnight my sweet loves :)

"We are daughters of a King."

Zonked.

Twas an early morning for me, unfortunately. I woke up at 8 AM after receiving less than four and a half hours of sleep... Anyways, I had a meeting for my major at 9:30 on the other side of campus, but luckily it was short, sweet, and to the point. Afterwards, Ashton came back form the meeting with me to visit my room. We sat and talked for a bit, and compared schedules. {So far, I don't have a single class with anyone.} Not long after her departure, I went to lunch at Duke's with my Penthouse Girls :) I ate lunch with Kelsey and Colleen, and it was pretty easy to keep a conversation flowing; success! I have a feeling Kelsey and I are going to be good friends. She's very sweet, and she seems like she'd be up to do whatever as far and hanging out and whatnot :) But yes, from lunch we went to this program titled "I am JMU." It talked about the diversity on campus and whether or not we even considered this school to be diverse. It was pretty deep, and they had all of us stand-up to declare our differences in characteristics and life experiences; all the while being cheered on by our fellow classmates. In all seriousness, it was quite motivating! Our FROG group had a discussion period afterwards where we wrote these poems about what we came from; old traditions, incidents from our past, home town descriptions, etc. A few of the girls read theirs, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how willing they were to open up in front of us. I really do like that, because even though I didn't want to share my thoughts today, I feel confident that these girls will be people that I can trust later on. So that was lovely and invigorating! I rushed back to the dorm to change after that to go to Ezara's pool {in her townhouse area} with her and Ellory! I was glad to see some faces from home! I got a tour of Ezara's humble abode {which is adorable!}, and then we just chilled by the poolside. Unfortunately, though, I had to be back at Eagle by 4:45; except I ended up being late anyways. It's okay though, I got changed and found two other girls who could walk to Festival with me. We ended up sitting together at dinner too. Friendships are in the making people! Haha, but anywho... An exhibition of a cappella groups, dance clubs, steppers, and such followed supper. I wish I had known that it was going to be three hours long though! I would have taken a nap and come later! Ugh, I ended up just dozing off a few times during the performances. {I pulled a Kelly, haha. Speaking of.. I'M SO GLAD I TALKED TO YOU TONIGHT KELLY!!!} And I felt bad because everyone did so good, but I am just exhausted! I made it through though, and we went straight from the ballroom to the convocation center; where we saw entertainer and mentalist, Craig Karges. My mind was ultimately and legitimately blown! I don't even understand how those things happened?! How did he know those things?! Oh my gosh, I could go on a tangent about just that, but I have to refrain before I pass out. Look him up, though. You will be utterly bamboozled. I found myself coming back to the dorm once the show was over, and I could tell you about my incredible almost-hour-long skype date went with Heather, but you know what they say. A picture is worth a thousand words...

{Daggers :P}

Happy weekend everyone! I hope yours has been splendid! I love you and miss you very much! Mwah!

Oh yes, and I decided that I am going to read the book of Ephesians. I feel like God is wanting me to do so. I know I mentioned the random piece of woof with "Ephesians 6:10" written on it. Well, tonight, one of the Christian a cappella groups had "Ephesians 5:19" written on their shirts! Ephesians AGAIN! This is definitely a sign for me; at least I think so! I shall try my hardest to start that tomorrow! Goodnight again!

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord..." {Ephesians 5:19}

J. Maddy is in a shoe-induced coma!

Well, I started off my day by taking a not so lovely three hour series of assessment tests on the other side of campus from 10-1. At least I can say they weren't difficult; more annoying really... Anyways, after that I went to lunch with Kim at E-hall; where we met up with Samantha and her friend Kendall {who Kim also knew}. Once we finished eating, we came back to the dorm for some much-needed chill time {where I tried and failed to find a dance class to fit my schedule} until about 3:30. At that time, Danielle, Kim, and I decided to take a stroll around campus to find our classes. It didn't take too long actually! Luckily, a majority of our classes are located right around the Quad; which isn't too far from our dorms. Danielle and I had to meet up with our FROGs at 5 so that we could go get dinner. Guess where we ate.. E-hall; with the other 4,000 freshman and then some. MAD HOUSE! Once that was over, we had a pep rally; which was pretty fun. However, Kim now wants me to try out for cheerleading with her, haha. I kind of thought I was going to hang up my pompoms after {over} 13 years, but I suppose we shall see. I came back to my dorm shortly after that, and I had an amazing skype date with my lovely little Heather! I  do love and miss her. Shoot, I love and miss ALL of you! I really want some visitors in the near future! Hint, hint.... Haha, but yes, Taylor paid me a visit tonight, and I'm so glad she did. We sat in my dorm and just talked for a while as we ate brownies, haha. We also took some pictures in our new {free!} class shirts.

{We're cool :) }

I also got to see Taylor's dorm for the first time tonight. I likes how colorful it was and stuff, but home girl has absolutely no room; womp, womp! Once I saw her room and met some girls on her hall, we went to Madison at Midnight to get free pizza, socialize, and do a little dancing. We weren't there too long though. We actually ended up going to our friend Daniel's sweet with Shontillious and Michelle {friends from Hermitage}. We sat around and talked for quite some time, and we could not stop laughing! I suppose we're just funny people :) And this brings me to the title of this blog... Daniel took his shoes off, and it literally smelled like dog poop; no lie. All of us girls had to hold our noses and fan away the aroma; not that it worked. And we laughed until our eyeballs leaked because it was that rancid! Well, Daniel decided that he would take care of the situation by throwing the horrid-smellign shoes into his room that he shares with J. Maddy. The girls were concerned for his well-being; since he was in a small space with that stench. And sure enough, as we were leaving at 2 AM, J. Maddy was out cold; flat on his back. We're convinced he's not going to wake up. I mean, that smell was just fowl... Anyways, on the way home, Taylor and I ran into this group of three people; one of which was rather drunk. He insisted upon taking a picture with us, and even tried to get our numbers. His friend {who I'm pretty sure was sober} saved us though, haha. And now I'm sitting here in my dorm typing this. I'm not sure where Danielle is, though; the shower maybe? I need to do that before I go to bed. I love you all so incredibly much! Pleasant dreams :)

A few things I forgot to mention in my last post!

• There are approximately 4,000 freshmen here.
• 438 people live in my dorm building; all of which are freshman (except for the RAs).
• Those of us on the 8th floor are now being referred to as "The Penthouse Girls."
• It seems like every boy here has their ears pierced and/or lives solely for the party scene.
• I saw this random piece of wood on campus while I was walking yesterday, and written on it was "Ephesians 6:10." It reads: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." Definitely something I needed to keep in mind yesterday amongst the chaos and anxiety of my first day here. Thank You God!

Okay, that is all :)

Greetings from JMU! {This one's a doozie!}

Hello my beloved friends! Sorry for the lack of update last night! I had to actually do my summer reading... fail. But anyways, let me do a recap of yesterday's events:

Okay, so I got here around 10:15, and all of my stuff was immediately grabbed by JMU students and carried right up to my room. Thus, I did literally zero transporting aside from my backpack and purse. My family and I started unloading and setting up my stuff, but we quickly realized that the whole room needed to be reorganized because we only have outlets on one wall. Think that doesn't make sense Well, how about this: the ethernet plug is on the opposite side of the room from the outlets. So, after moving around almost every piece of furniture, my father and I had to go buy a fifty foot ethernet cord so I could get on the internet. Not only that, but we had to go to Walmart (insanity!) for things such as food, bowls, utensils, detergent, etc. The whole time we were running these errands {and even before that, when it was just my dad and I in the room} I was on the verge of tears. I don't know exactly why, but in that moment of seeing my cluttered little dorm room, I just felt so incredibly alone. The fact that my family would soon be leaving and my friends were nowhere in sight made me momentarily shut-down. I was literally on zombie status from the time my mom and sisters left until my dad and I finished unloading the Walmart stuff in my room... But, as soon as my father departed, I didn't really dwell on that anymore, because I really couldn't. WE had spent so much time running around that I was 30 minutes late to meet my First yeaR Orientation Guides (FROGs). Thus, I had to make haste to meet up with the rest of the girls from my floor. We did some orientation stuff and got dinner together and whatnot. Then, around 10 or so, I got back to my room and just kind of took it easy. I saw Kim for a little while, talked to Heather briefly on the phone, and Danielle (my roommate) and I just talked. We have a lot in common actually; from how we want to live in our room to our relationships with our family and friends. This will be a lovely year together, I can tell :) I felt much better at the end of the day then I did at the beginning. I ended up staying awake until after 2 AM though because I had neglected to do my summer reading, haha. Some things will never change I suppose! At any rate, here's a look at my room and whatnot!

{My desk.}

{The wardrobe.}

{Danielle's desk, the fridge, the fan, and the TV.}

{My bed!}

{Danielle's bed.}

{Danielle and I's "rule sheet" that we had to make. We are both so chill, haha.}

{Enjoying one of the lovely cookies Heather made me!}

As for today, well I had to be up at 8 to get ready for a full day of orientation stuff. These days are so incredibly long, and I feel like all I do is walk! Haha, but it's okay. I have some very sweet girls on my hall! I do hope we become great friends! The girls across the hall from me are twin sisters, they love Jesus, and they are always laughing and smiling! It makes me happy :) And there's another girl down the hall who loves to dance {mostly modern and tap}, and her personality is just phenomenal! I'm kind of the loud on my hall, imagine that! But all in all, it's been a good day! We learned this pretty awesome dance thing in the formation of a DNA strand! Haha, it was pretty sweet! Here's a preview! I'll try to post the actual video of us doing is ASAP! But yes, I shall stop there for tonight. I might be meeting up with Kim in a little bit and I think I may go to this comedy act soon. I love you all so incredibly much! I miss you all! text me or something any time you want!!! Goodnight!

I will blog about today

tomorrow I swear! I am just so tired right now. I only got three and a half hours of sleep last night, and I'm waking up in less than six, so do not be alarmed! Everything is fine! I just can't write all that I want to right now. I love and miss you all already!

P.S.- If you wanted my address and I haven't send it to you on facebook, let me know!

It's hard

to say goodbye to your friends and watch them depart one by one. That's what today consisted of; packing and farewells. This morning, I had breakfast with Lindsay, and a few tears managed to escape my eyes; no matter how hard I tried to hold them in. I had a sushi date with Annemarie for dinner, and we said goodbye to each other during 1822; where I also had to say goodbye to Meaghann, Jonathan, and Nathan. From there, I traveled over to the South Hall to wait for Heather. Before Her and I went to Sweet Frog, I bid farewell to Mrs. Tobey; who is one of the sweetest women I have ever encountered. I hope she knows that I love her dearly... Yes, Heather and I enjoyed our last froyo date for quite some time before coming back to my house. Jesse, Nikki, John, Elsbeth, Kelly, and Addie all came by to see me before I leave. While everyone was here, we shared many laughs and cheerful banter, but it was heart-breaking to have them leave. You all just mean so much to me, and the idea of being away from you literally hurts. I cried for almost an hour after everyone was gone. Please know that no one can replace you in my heart, and that I will never, ever, forget you. If anything, my prayer is that our relationship will grow stronger. I love you all; more than you could ever fathom; more than I can express in words; always, forever, and for all eternity. Please come and visit me at JMU!

I'm sorry that this blog was short and rather choppy, my eyes are dry, my mind is numbing, and it's 3:30 AM...

Candice and Tammy asked

what was wrong with me today. I didn't know how to answer them. I wasn't sad necessarily, or anxious, or nervous, but I felt odd. Knowing that I'll be saying goodbye to my beloved friends over the next 24 hours isn't a thought that I am fond of at the moment. Perhaps my mind was just dwelling on that concept... Je ne c'est pas...

But you know, I'll save all of that for tomorrow's post; for your sanity and mine. Today was pretty awesome actually. I had lunch with Sophia and Chelsea; whom I love :) We ate and conversated at Red Robin for quite some time! And those two girls are so sweet. They made me little desert treats! The name of them escapes me at the moment, but they are delicious and I love them! They're almost gone, actually.... Haha :) Then, since I had gotten my check cashed earlier this morning, I went and got myself some Five Fingers! Yes! I got the black classics, and they make me happy. From there, Dad took me to get a rain jacket at Dick's. He was hesitant at first, but in the end her realized it was essential. After that, I came home and did some packing and whatnot before going to dinner at Dad's. Candice and Tammy joined us for grilled shrimp; yum! Then, I drove over to Scoob's to see a few friends before going to Target to return a defective picture frame, get new frames, the hooks to hang them, and a basket. So, naturally, I came home and put my photo prints into said frames:

Yes, these will be hanging on my dorm walls :) I'm sorry if some of you aren't in any of them. That either means 1) I don't have a photo of you and I together, or 2) the picture quality wasn't good enough for a print. Plus, you all know how indecisive I am! It took me forever to narrow down the number of pictures I have! Anyways, while I was working on that, Sam and Addie paid me a visit! I do love the two of them! And since then, well, I've showered, done a load of laundry, and packed some more. I have an alarm set to go off in less than six hours, so I shall now go upstairs for some shut-eye. I love you all to bits and pieces! Oh, the day ahead is going to be so difficult...

FREE Verizon Fios Wireless Router! {Slight water-damage...}

I would say you could go pick it up from Sam, Anthony, and Jeremy's house, but they threw it in the dumpster! Dumb, dumb, dumb....

Alright, so church this morning was lovely as always; at least that's my opinion :) I went to lunch with Heather at Stony Point; where we thought everyone else would be.... Apparently not, haha! We had a nice long convo before she had to depart; at which point I hit up Victoria's Secret. I mean hey, some things are essential before going off to college, haha. Anyways, on the way out to my car I ran into Elsbeth and Whitney. We had a brief parking lot chat before going our separate ways. I came home to tackle the immense amount of laundry that needed to be folded. Then, around 5:30, I went to my dad's to eat dinner and whatnot. Jenn and I ended up leaving around 8:30 though, because Jesse Woon was picking me up at 9! Our plan was to go to Sweet Frog, but they closed t 8:30; even thought the guy on the phone earlier today said 9:30! Ugh! Anyways, Jesse, Whitney and I ended up going to Gelati Celesti; twas yummy! Then, Jesse and I went to get Julie some fries while Whitney went to pick up Chandler. To make a long story short, we messed with Sam, Anthony, Allyson, and Jeremy's house. We TPed it, put tree branches on their porch, put {Cash for Gold, Flag Football, and BJ's} signs in their yard, threw water bottles into the grass, left a traffic cone on their walkway, and scattered random boxes across their yard; one of which had the wireless router in it. Haha! I am so mad that they're already cleaned it all up! Oh well, we got a good laugh out of it :) Haha, after the TP and branches {our first stop} Jeremy and Sam ran out and literally jumped on Whitney's car! Sam got off once we got a little ways up the street, but Jeremy held on for dear life until we went up the road and back to drop him off at their house, haha.

{Jeremy took this on his phone... haha!}

That was very entertaining. I laughed until my eyeballs leaked; not gonna lie :) At any rate, I am home now, and I am conversing with Jeremy via Facebook chat, and he just requested something of me; something that kind of took me off guard and made me really think... He asked me to explain my faith. Just think about that for a second. If someone came up to you this very second and asked you to explain where you were at in your faith, what would you say? How does one go about explaining that accurately? Is there even a correct way to describe that? I'm not sure if I explained it the way he was looking for, but he gave me some incredible advice and encouragement nonetheless. I'm so happy that God has blessed me with such amazing friends and mentors in my life! Whether you all realize it or not, you are the greatest support system I have on this earth. You help provide me with the strength and confidence I need to get through this insane obstacle course that I call my life. I love you with all of my heart; never forget that. Goodnight :)

This packing is ridiculous!

I mean, LOOK AT THIS!

And that's not all of it... I have some clothes that are still hanging up, and tomorrow I'm getting back all of my stolen clothes from Candice. Well, move-in day is certainly going to be... interesting.

"How is that comfortable for either of them? It's such a strain!"

Haha! I do love you Heather Tobey :)

Hey, hey, hey! My day consisted of laundry (four loads to be exact), Target shopping for college essentials, dinner at Applebee's with Jenn, and some hangout time with Heavs! We met up for a Sweet Frog date before coming back to my house and watching The Last Song. Twas a good movie indeed :) Heather and I always find a way to entertain ourselves; don't even worry about it.

:D

At any rate, tonight was fun! I would say the whole day was equally as entertaining, but packing isn't exactly my choice of a good time. Oh! And I finally got rain boots today! They have little whales all over them!

{They make me happy :) }

And, like I mentioned earlier via twitter, I am currently swimming in laundry. I have clothes hanging on both my mother's and my own drying rack, the railing dividing the kitchen and living room, the chairs in the dining room and computer room, the door to the bonus room, the door to the downstairs bathroom, and the railing that goes up my stairwell. I'm running out of places to put all of these clothes! Oh yeah, that list was excluding the pile the needs to be folded on the bonus room sofa or the load that's still sitting in the dryer! Ugh, this is going to take forever! But anyways, I'm in a happy place right now :) I'll be seeing most of you in 10 hours. Farewell 'til then my loves!

Lacking a clever title.

You know, it's really hard to speak your thoughts aloud sometimes; especially when they're contradictory to someone else's views. It's even harder to listen to things that trigger frustration and defensive tendencies without verbalizing serious rebuttal; especially for me... That's all I'm going to say about that though, because quite honestly it kind of bums me out. So! Moving on...

Today was round two of teaching hip hop classes. It went really well I think! After walking the girls down to their parents and changing my wardrobe, Nikki and I went to Fizzle Gizzle; sort of as a farewell date :( It was fun though! We took a stroll through Martin's for some condiments for the eighth grade camping trip before going to Starbuck's. I love just talking about anything and everything with Nikki. It makes me happy :) Once I got home, I quickly changed and straightened my hair before leaving to go to Jade's birthday dinner; which was awkward... Really awkward. Other than Jade, I knew one other person, and we aren't super close or anything. It's alright though, I left after about an hour and came home. Since then, I've been just kind of hanging out, piling up clothes for college, watching True Blood, and even got a short visit from Kelly! And now, honestly, I'm really quite exhausted. I don't know why I'm still awake, but I won't be for much longer. I love you all! May your dreams be lovely and sweet.

My name

is Stephanie. I am 18 years old, and only have five days left here at home. Nothing has been packed. The summer reading assignment has not been touched. My friends are leaving one by one, and there's nothing I can do about it. This life that I have become so accustomed to will no longer be my place of residence. I will know hardly anyone. I will be starting over. Very few people will know my name; much less who I am. I will be living somewhere completely foreign, and with someone who has never laid eyes on me in person. And worst of all, I will be leaving people that I love behind; back here in RVA. You always hear that college is a time of new beginnings, but I'm in denial of the end that is fast approaching...

Sorry, I know you all are probably tired of reading about my worrisome and somber thought regarding my relocation, but it's just weighing heavy on my mind right now... Okay, so today started off with me teaching two hip hop classes up at church. It wasn't too bad for my first time legitimately teaching a class; at least I don't think so. But, since tomorrow is round two, I suppose we will see just how good/bad I really did! Anyways, once that was all said and done, I had to rush over to my dad's to present him with his Edible Arrangement and cupcakes in a formation resembling an ice cream cone, haha.

From there, I rushed on over to Short Pump to meet up with Kelly at Barnes & Noble. We enjoyed some goodies from the café and examined various books on art, photography, sewing, and interior design.

{Yay for puffy chips that are shaped like hearts!}

We also took a stroll through the journal and sketchbook section. I do love their selection! There are so many lovely designs and textures to choose from! Kelly seemed fairly tempted, but she refrained; haha. We ended up leaving a little after 4; at which point I came home and relaxed for a few hours on my sofa as I browsed the internet. I ended up reading all of my old blog posts from March 9 (my first post) to May 12. You could ask me why I would do something of that nature, but don't expect an answer, haha. I say that, because I don't have a reason. It wasn't until 7:20ish that I finally got up and set out for casa de Tobey; after grabbing some Subway of course. Heather, Mrs. Tobey, and myself watched Alice in Wonderland while sipping on hot tea :) Afterwards, Heather and I played around with Bella, exchanged cheerful banter, and even had a brief exchange with Sarah. By the time we finished all of that, it was after 11, and Heavs was a sleepy bear. Thus, I drove on home, and now here I sit. I need to go shower and get ready for tomorrow. It's going to be an early day by my standards. I need to get up at 9:30; ugh. At any rate, I love you all! Pleasant dreams, sweet friends :)

Goodbye tears and hugs that aren't long enough...

Well, today way another day of sad goodbyes. My little Kathryn is leaving for Lynchburg tomorrow, and it's going to be truly bizarre. I feel like I spend every day with her and Elizabeth, and now they're going to be hours away :( I'm not going to lie, I cried tonight. It just hits you all at once! Ugh, I don't like any of this one bit; not at all! I'm just glad that I'll have Kim here with me for the week before we venture off to JMU. It's comforting to know that not all of my lovely seniors will be gone. And do you want to know what's sad? I almost started crying tonight just thinking about myself leaving. I know I have one more week and it's not over yet, but it's a terrible, saddening thought! I was hugging Addie and felt like I was on the verge. I hugged Heather and my eyeballs started leaking. And when I hugged Kathryn I just kind of broke. Oh Lord, help me maintain my stability throughout this whole process. I don't easily adjust to separation; especially when it comes to people I love. You know, we all knew that these partings were on the horizon, yet there was no way to really prepare ourselves for it. I think I had my mind tricked into thinking that this summer could carry on forever; reality a mere afterthought. But no, in less than seven days I'm going to have to face this myself, and I just pray that I won't turn into too much of a wreck....

And for those of you who wish to keep tabs on my life (Nikki.... haha!), here's the bullet version:

• Wake up at 10:30 and get presentable.
• Drop off "thank you" letters at Hermitage.
• Buy a message board for my dorm room door.
• Lunch with Ashlyn (so lovely!).
• Come home and choreograph a little bit for these hip hop classes I'm teaching tomorrow.
• Dinner at my dad's.
• Ascend the Hill and Ember Days concert (so good!).
• Farewell bidding at El Chaps :(
• Come home and work on more hip hop stuff.

And now, I think I shall shower and go to bed. Tomorrow awaits! Goodnight my loves! And Kathryn, I love you more than you may ever imagine. I know you are going to love Lynchburg, and you'll make plenty of awesome new friends :) Just don't forget about me, okay? You're one of my closest friends, and I'm glad that I've gotten to know you over the past year-and-a-half. Our friendship can only grow stronger in time; at least that is my prayer. Have fun! And like I said before, I love you.

To all of the friends I have to leave...

I know I'm not leaving until next wednesday, but it seems like everyone is leaving right now. Elizabeth is leaving today. Kathryn is leaving tomorrow, and soon I'll be departing as well. It's just too crazy... This song pretty much sums up how much you all have altered my life for the better, and how much I love you. I can say that over and over again, but I hope that you all legitimately know and believe it... because it's true.

{Kathryn, I'll miss moments like this!}

Inspired by the lovely advice of Elysia.

Friends,
Never, ever base your self-value or happiness on someone of the opposite gender. Don't believe that you have to be in a relationship with someone to be happy. Find happiness in yourself. The minute you start basing the foundation of your joy in others is the moment you begin to deplete your self-esteem and self-worth. You are beautiful, marvelous human beings just the way you are; you; a single individual. Relationships may not last forever, but you will remain yourself no matter what. So find inner peace and satisfaction with in yourself. Do not let others dictate your emotional status. You don't need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy. If you happen to be swept off of your feet by prince charming, then go for it by all means! But don't date around just to fill some sort of void that society tells us needs to be filled at all times. Trust in the Lord. He has His own timing and will not let your suffer needlessly. True love will find you if you trust in Him, and don't even try to doubt that. {I just went on a long tirade about how it's useless and stupid to doubt God's abilities.} But anyways, I felt like sharing this because it's something I've thought about on more than one occasion. I'm just tired of seeing my friends sad because they don't "have anyone." Cheer up buttercup! You do not need a man to make you happy. Trust!

So long, farewell, to you my friends...

Daily rundown:

• Buffy marathon with Jennifer.
• Visit Kelly.
• Pick up my photo prints.
• Get Envelopes.
• Assemble "thank you" letters.
• 1822.

Ascend the Hill and Ember Days were both so good tonight! I bought one of the Ember Days's teeshirts, and I love it. Elysia bought the same one, so one of these days we shall be twinsies :) {I cannot believe she's leaving tomorrow. Womp!} My plan for after 1822 was to go to Brooster's, and then go to Elizabeth's and hang out with her until until like 2 AM since she's leaving for college tomorrow. Unfortunately, she had to kick absolutely everyone out of her house by 10:45; which ended up being 11. Needless to say, I rushed over to her casa; since it was already 10:15. It still hasn't hit me yet that she'll be away at college tomorrow, and that I won't be really seeing her for months. I don't think that fact has really hit me yet; otherwise I may have bawled my eyes out. Elizabeth is one of my closest and dearest friends. Being without her is going to be a hard adjustment for me. We're always at her house, hanging out, or hitting up Waffle House. But I take comfort in the fact that we're both going through the same thing. It's not just like she's moving away and I'm being left behind. We both have to face college and all of the changes it brings. The same can be said for all of the seniors. It's easier to accept our parting because we are all leaving one another to grow as individuals; to make something of ourselves. Do you know what I mean? This is still going to be difficult for me though. I love all of my friends so dearly.... Okay, I need to stop now before this turns into a sob story. Okay, so we {Kim, Kathryn, Elsbeth, and I} all left Elizabeth's around 11, and I came home, sat down, and had a skype date with Heather. Twas lovely, as always :) And now I'm sitting here typing this. I love you all very much :) And I think I may write another post right after this, but I don't know. We shall see! Goodnight!

"Y'all got the munchies?"

Why no, my Waffle House amigo. We actually aren't on drugs or anything. It's shocking, I know :)

Okay! So I woke up really late today, but I decided that this day would be a productive one! After eating my breakfast, I ordered my prints of the Brazil photos I'm sending with my thank you letters, and I ordered all of my textbooks for next year. I even managed to save some money! Yay used books! Then, at 3:30, I had a Starbuck's date with Lindsay :) We caught up on recent happenings in each others lives, and it was a lovely and healthy way to just kind of let it all out; for both of us, I think. I love you Lindsay! I thought I'd remind you, in case you forgot :) From there I went to my dad's for dinner; after which I printed out all of my thank you letters. Once all of that was finished, I went to BK Study. It was nice to just sit and talk with my friends for a bit; even though I had slowly been developing an awful headache. I didn't leave Burger King until almost 9:30 to go to Capital Ale House; where a large group of friends had gone to at 8:30 to enjoy dollar burger night. Needless to say, I wasn't there long before they all left and decided we should go to Broosters. As it turns out, I was misinformed of the location. Thus, I drove all the way to the one on Patterson, and it wasn't until I didn't see anyone else's car that I contacted some people and Elsbeth told me they were at the one on Ridgefield. Keep in mind, my headache is still at full capacity. Anyways, so I drive all the way over to the other one, and we just kind of hung out. Elsbeth, Colin, and I lingered around for a bit after everyone else had left, and we just kind of talked about anything and everything. Mostly, we laughed; a lot. I do love those two. They just make me smile :) It was almost 12 when we departed, and I went to McDonald's before going over to Elizabeth's. We all just took it easy until about 3 AM when Kim, Elizabeth, and I went to Waffle House. We had our favorite waitress, Maegan! She gave us her full name so we can add her on facebook! She willingly partook in our obnoxious videos, and she even gave us parting gifts! {She was sad to find out that this would be our last Waffle House run before leaving for college.} I'm going to miss those late night trips with my dearest friends. We never laugh so hard, or so loud. We don't care about what anyone else in the place thinks of us, and we just have an amazing time. That's something I'm really going to miss when I go to JMU; being totally crazy and weird without being judged; because my friends are the same way. We make random noises, play with our silverware, and sing songs in a mutilated fashion. We make friends with staff members who think that we're high on drugs, haha. Oh my, leaving the Waffle House was kind of sad tonight, but I know I'll be seeing my friends again tomorrow night :) I got home at 4:30 to find Johnny sleeping on the couch. I'm not quite sure whether him and my mom got into a fight or what, but that altered my plan to sleep on the couch... Anyways, I'm going to bed now. It's 5 AM and I am quite tired. Good morning all! May the rise of the sun bring you bright and tangible happiness :)

Crest to trough...

Wow, that certainly does seem like a lot! Well, today was absolutely lovely! I got up, took care of the dogs, and then went up to WEAG. The service was awesome. We got to hear Brian King's pretty voice, and I sat next to two lovely friends; Heather and Elysia. I actually followed the sermon today; which is always a plus. And, after all was said and done, we ventured over to Stony Point for lunch. Heather and I got Chipotle while Elysia hit up Panera. We sat at a little table outside, and were later joined by Ezara, Kay, and Nikki :) Then, once it started raining, Heather and I perused around Anthropologie before I took her back to church. The rest of the daylight hours were spent taking care of the dogs one last time, family dinner at my dad's (including grandparents) for Jennifer's birthday. Then, around 8, I was informed that I had to complete the Alcohol Wise thing for JMU by tomorrow; which is technically today. So I did that while skyping Heather. I wish I could do that now... I hit my breaking point. I can no longer handle the nonsense and the idiocy. Being the bigger person has taken its toll on me. But then again, I'm starting to wonder if I have even been the better person. I thought I walked the high road, but I don't think others have seen it that way. I feel bad because I don't think God would approve of my conduct, and I feel guilty for that. Finding Christ-like love is difficult to channel amongst human hatred. I don't know what all I'm feeling right now. Anger, frustration, confusion, upset.... I need to go to bed; my apologies for the word vomit.

Mind blown!

This girl is 10 years old. Brace Yourself.

I'm feeling inquisitive...

Okay, here's a rundown of my day:

• Wake up at 7 AM to go and take care of Buddy and Belle.
• I failed to go by there later on last night; fail.
• I didn't fall sleep until 4:30 AM.
• Oh, and I was sleeping on the couch...
• Come back home and sleep until 12.
• Go back over to Kelly's to let the dogs out.
• Take Jenn through the Chick-fil-a drive thru.
• She can have what she wants on her birthday :)
• Come home, eat, shower, facebook, and watch Jenn open her presents.
• She got a Northface raincoat, underarmor sandal shoes, and iHome, and a TV.

• Help set up Jennifer's new TV.

• Maggiano's for a five course dinner.
• My body cannot handle portions of that magnitude anymore!

• Go home, change clothes, let the dog's out, and go to Sweet Frog.
• Annemarie, Elsbeth, Colin, Austin, Katherine, Kim, Elizabeth, Alex, Whitney, Carisa, Luke, Zach, Chandler Lizzie, Daniel, and I.
• Chill on a hill for a spell.
• Elsbeth, Colin, Kathryn, Austin, and I.
• It was the hill outside of Barnes & Nobel.
• Kathryn and I played around while we all just talked and Colin smoked a pipe.
• Hang out at the bowling alley for a bit.
• Hit up Buffalo Wild Wings at 11:30.
• We didn't finished getting served until 12:30 or later.
• Let the dogs out one more time before coming home.

After spending almost the entire day with my family, I realized something; more like reinforced what I already knew. I am more friend oriented then family oriented. My sisters aren't the problem; not at all. But for some reason, without her even really doing anything, my mother was just irking me. I felt so much frustration inside of me and I have no idea why. As soon as I met up with my friends, every ounce of that frustration was completely forgotten. This isn't really any sort of revelation, but I'm wondering if that's different than it is for most people. What about you? Are you more friend or family oriented? Just think about it for a second. I'm intrigued to see how you categorize yourself. I think the reason I lean away from the family side is because of the differences I've had with them in the past, and the numerous occasions where they've made me feel like a disappointment. My friends have never done that to me; at least not that I can recall. They have been the biggest source of happiness and support in my life, and they're more of my family than the one I was born into. But anyways! Tonight at B-Dubs we were talking about our first impressions of each other; what we thought of each other the first time we encountered them. It was really funny hearing what people thought of me at first. I love those conversations :) So I'm going to ask you all... What did you think of me the first time you met/saw me? Haha, I cannot wait to hear the answers to that question; if you decide to answer it, that is. Goodnight world! I shall see most of you at church in nine hours! I love you!

I almost cried

looking at this picture that Mrs. Seward put on facebook.

I'm not ready for Elizabeth to leave! I'm just not! I might get emotional the next time I see her; which may very well be tonight. Oh dear...

"I feel like a girl because I have to pee sitting down."

Haha! Thank you Matt Caldwell :)

{Photo cred: Kim!}

Okay, so I wake up this morning at about 9:30 to leave Heather's and go take care of Kelly's dogs. I make it to the kitchen when Mrs. Tobey informs me that my car was tampered with during the night. Yes, the obnoxiousness of man week strikes again. J. Blair, Destry, Chandler, and {of course!} freaking Josh took a wheel off of my car and put in on the front porch.

So, Annemarie had to drive me all the way to Kelly's, wait for me to take care of the dogs, and then drive all the way back to Heather's. Keep in mind this took over an hour... We were welcomed back by some lovely gluten-free pancakes, strawberries, and cherries; yummm! Kudos to you, Heather :)

Now, you see, our plan had been to go to the pool after brunch. But since my car was missing a wheel, and  I needed to find someone who knew how to put it back on, those plans were thwarted. None of the boys seemed interested in answering my phone calls. Josh was terribly rude via text message, and now I am planning revenge. None of them came to put my wheel back on. I feel like I shouldn't be surprised by that, but I was awfully irritated. But, luckily for me, the incredible Gabe was willing to come over and put my car back together! Never mind that we had to go borrow a wrench from Allen tires.... Ugh! Anyways, we left Heather's around 3, and I took care of the dogs before getting ready for the senior dinner! We met up at Champs at 7:30, and we just chatted amongst ourselves and enjoyed a nice meal together before people started leaving for college. Julie leaves tomorrow :( We went back to Elizabeth's and watched Cool Runnings; after which a group of us embarked on a journey that turned into an epic fail. But never fret, we will succeed in the end. I'm too livid to give up on it. We did have a good time though! Driving around, discussing girl things, and having entirely too much fun in Walmart...

Teehee. Goodnight loves! I love you like Jamaicans love bobsledding :)