You know,

I'd rather see my friends happy than have my own happiness.

I'd sacrifice my own sense of elation if it made someone else feel better.

I'd do it because I love them, not because I feel like I have to.

Because I want to :)

My brain is exhausted...

I shall skip over classes and whatnot that I had today, for that is all a blur now in these late hours. After working on some psyc homework for a bit (and seeing that I got an A on my first exam in that class!), I went by the commons and purchased a bracelet from the St. Bernadette Bracelet Company. These bracelets were made by children at the St. Bernadette School on the island of LaGonave, Haiti. Making these bracelets allows the students to earn money for themselves and their families who typically live on less than $30 a month due to the little job availability on the island. Out of the $5 I spent, $4 of it is going directly back to Louis Tendy, the boy who made my bracelet. The other dollar is going to be used to purchase the supplies needed to make more. I love supporting organizations like this :) From there, I went and met with my Big, Ariel, for some chat time. I interviewed her, and got to know a little more about her; we have to interview all the sisters and candidates before we can be initiated into SAO, you see. I want to share her favorite piece of scripture with you:


       Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; 
       but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
        {Proverbs 31:30}

I love that verse :) I'm not sure if I have really read it before tonight, but there seems to be a very real truth rooted in it-- as is true of all scripture I suppose :) I really enjoyed just taking some time to relax and talk; that isn't something I get to do often here. I feel like I'm always either sleeping, eating, in class, or doing homework (when I'm not at an IV or SAO event, that is). Moving on, I ran into Melissa and Betsey (my small group leaders) on my way out of TDU, and I hugged them both and conversed for a bit. That also made me happy :) From there, I got dinner at Duke's with Brianna before walking over to the library to get some homework done. I think I might actually like the library. I'm considering spending a good chunk of tomorrow there. Random fun fact: the Starbucks in Carrier library stays open 'til 1 AM. That's what I'm talking about :) Anyways, since I've been back in my room I have been doing pretty much non-stop homework, ad I may very well do some reading after I shower and before I go to bed. I'm not really sure. Goodnight my loves! I hope all is well (or as good as it can be). I love you! Enjoy this presentation of my small group's skit from retreat making fun of freshman life....

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=421788033413&subj=657906876

To whom it concerns,

You have full access to this post, but I doubt you'll take the time to read it-- either because of it's length or just because you don't care enough to take the time out to give it at least a skim. I want you to know a few things. Exclusivity is not attractive, nor is ignorance. The constant whispering, gossiping, eye-rolling, sighing, and general disrespect is hurting others-- people that I love and care about. I call you friends, but I'm starting to wonder. If I could confront you face-to-face I would. But that's not an option. Stop neglecting others opinions and feelings, and realize that you cannot simply linger in contentment for the rest of your days. Your life isn't perfect, you don't have it all together, and I know you have struggles; saying that you don't is a lie. I am tired of you making people I truly love and care about feel sad, alone, or outcasted. It kills me to know that you're inflicting those emotions, because I thought more highly of you. I love you, but I don't love the way you're acting.

And for the record, God calls us to spread His word. There's nothing wrong with doing so. If there were an issue with it, why would Christ have had disciples? Thus, I will take this opportunity to share some verses with you. It isn't meant to be "shoved in your face," but simply to make you aware. I hope you don't have a problem with that, because there's no reason to-- especially given your proclaimed faith.

Proverbs 3:6

  "in all your ways acknowledge him,
       and he will make your paths straight."

Acts 18:9

^"One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent."

2 Timothy 3:16

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,"

John 5:24

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

I do apologize if my implied tone was offensive or aggressive, for that is never my intention... Like I said before, I do love you-- very much so in fact. But a change needs to take place.

And for my dearest loves who have fallen victim to this situation:

2 Corinthians 4:8-11

^"8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body."

Goodnight, dear friends. May your dreams be pleasant and peaceful.

Coming my way!

Aladdin
Pocahontas
Hercules
Peter Pan
The Jungle Book
Anastasia
Sleeping Beauty
Mulan
Fantasia
The Swan Princess
The Lion King
Tarzan
The Little Mermaid

My friends and I are so pumped right now. I don't think you understand, haha!
:D

Once upon a Monday dreary...

I only say that because of the rain, haha. Speaking of which, I was so excited to wear my rain boots! Too bad they gave me a blister after simply walking to and from my first class! Womp womp. Well, after taking care of that, facebook browsing, blogging, and skyping Kelly, I went to D-hall for lunch with Daniel. I swear, I have never encountered so many Hermitage people on campus in such a short time frame, haha. It was fun though. We talked about retreat, classes, and things of that nature. Then I had my government class, which wasn't too unbearable. After that, it was time to really start studying for my PSYC test tomorrow. Ugh, please pray that I will do well! I only get three grades for the whole semester, and this is the first of them. At 6, Taylor and I walked together to go met up with our small group. We ate dinner together before heading over to our reserved classroom, where we had a fun period of learning a little more about each other before hearing Melissa and Betsey's testimonies. I love hearing people's stories. You learn so much about their struggles and their faith, and it's always cool to see barriers being broken down. That way, you can truly know and understand that person because they were willing to share their vulnerabilities. These are some verses that my leaders used as tools of inspiration and guidance:

¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted 
       and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

{Psalm 34:18}

²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

{Romans 8:28}

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

{Romans 8:18}

⁸Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
¹⁰And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
{1 Peter 5:8-10}


¹³You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
{Galations 5:13}


¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
{Jeremiah 29:13}


I suppose now it is time for me to bid thee goodnight. But before I depart, please enjoy these lovely bits of music that I have been listening to throughout the day. I do love Disney :)



Goodnight my loves!

Excerpts from my SOCI reading.

It makes me so angry, scared, and heartbroken to read things like this. Have a look...

 {continued below}

{When I read this, all I could think about were those all of those precious little girls I met in Sao Paulo. Julia, Bianca, Rebeca, Jeovana, Ana, Paloma... What if this happened to them? The thought made me want to cry.}

When I read things like this, I know that I'm pursuing the right career path. As for what I can do here and now, I am definitely applying to be a part of IV's justice team, whose emphasis this year just so happens to be sex trafficking, amongst other injustices. They shared this video with us during retreat.

{If I do get the privilege of working for the IJM one day, God willing, I hope to truly make a difference in the lives of the people victimized by trafficking, enslavement, and violence.}

Human trafficking brings in $32,000,000 annually; that's more than Google, Starbucks, and Nike combined. Just take a second to really think about that...

And I will adore You :)

New Student Retreat

was lovely :) Thank you for leading me there, Jesus :)

As you all know, it is nearly impossible to summarize amazing experiences such as these in words. I will, however, leave you with a glimpse of what we discussed, and what we did. Let me start by having you read this article that was in Sports Illustrated, and once you've read it, watch this video.

I cried when I heard this story, when I watched the footage, and during the worship that followed. Yes, my dad loves me, but I honestly don't think he would do that for me. As saddening as that may seem, God would, and He does everyday! We are all born with the disability of sin, and day after day God pushes and pulls us through life. He takes us out of the darkness and into the light of His love! It is because of Him that we can find freedom, glory, and salvation in a life that often debilitates us. Our Father never gives up on us; He never loses hope. What love He has for us :) How could we not love our Lord with that knowledge in mind?

 ¹⁴ Sing, O Daughter of Zion; 

       shout aloud, O Israel! 

       Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, 

       O Daughter of Jerusalem!

 ¹⁵ The LORD has taken away your punishment, 

       he has turned back your enemy. 

       The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; 

       never again will you fear any harm.

 ¹⁶ On that day they will say to Jerusalem, 

       "Do not fear, O Zion; 

       do not let your hands hang limp.

 ¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you, 

       he is mighty to save. 

       He will take great delight in you, 

       he will quiet you with his love, 

       he will rejoice over you with singing." 

{Zephaniah 3:14-17}

Our discussions this week were centered around knowing God, being known by God, and making God known. We talked about how...
Faith is meant to be personal, but not private. 
God calls us his sons and daughters. Do you believe Him? 
God tells us that we too can be righteous. Do you believe Him?
Christianity is not about managing our sins.
We all need to be carried to the finish line, and we can't do it alone. (article)
We are called to be a witness, not an evangelist. 
It is important to befriend non-believers and Christians alike; even before the disciples made professions of faith, Jesus called them friends.


I think that last point is crucial in our role as children of God. If you think about it, we all started there. There was a point in all of our lives when we did not/could not comprehend the Gospel. I know I was once a non-believer-- not because I had rejected God's word, but because I did not know it. And though it did not happen instantaneously, you all embraced me with open arms and I could see the glory of God being put on display. Grasping the idea of Christianity is hard at first, but it is so much easier when you see and receive the love of Jesus through your peers. For He is the center of that love, kindness, and compassion. I want to be to someone else what you all were to me :) This retreat has kindled a flame in my heart to be a witness-- to bring my new friends and acquaintances into God's open arms :) Eeep!

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow 

       come down from heaven, 

       and do not return to it 

       without watering the earth 

       and making it bud and flourish, 

       so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the

       eater,

 ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: 

       It will not return to me empty, 

       but will accomplish what I desire 

       and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

{Isaiah 55:10-11}

And now, the picture portion:

 {Brianna and I.}

 {Bonnie Jean and I. Talk about eyes of glory!}

 {We fit at least 10 of us in the truck bed, no big deal.}

 {Melissa is scary.}

 {Awkward.}

 {Back seat crew: me, Bonnie Jean, and Paige.}

 {The front: Betsey, Kim, and Samantha.}

{My friendship bracelet I made. It's too short though, so unfortunately it's stuck being a keychain. Oh well!}

Goodnight, dear loves! I miss you all quite tremendously! I am thinking of you always :)

NSR!

I just two short hours I will be leaving to go on the IV New Student Retreat! I'm pretty stoked :) It will be a lovely chance to get away for the weekend and focus on something other than homework. Yay! I cannot wait to see what Jesus has in store for us!

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, 

and all mankind together will see it. 

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. 

{Isaiah 40:5}

I want to give you guys a brief snippet of what my blog would normally look like if it were tonight around 1 AM. You know, the usual :) I got to sleep in today! I didn't have to meet for SOCI because we did an online discussion board instead {which we do every other friday}. I didn't have to go to my writing class either because he had scheduled conferences {which he will also be having on monday and wednesday of next week}! So, I had my conference today with him, and guess who got an A on their first official college paper?! ME!!!! That made me happy. Twas extremely encouraging :) Anyways, I went to the library after that meeting. After studying government for about half and hour, it was time to meet Danielle and Brianna for lunch at D-hall. I had my standard lunch: a wrap and a bowl of applesauce. I followed that up with froyo, which is always lovely :) Then it was time to face the music and go take my government test. It wasn't as bad as I though it was going to be! It was all short answer, bit he shortened it to 10 questions instead of 15! I think I could get a B :) Anyways, I just finished packing for this weekend, and now I just have to figure out what homework I need to bring. I won't be doing it the whole time, but some things need to be done if at all possible. I love you all! I hope you have a spectacular weekend!

Dear GPOSC 225, I severely dislike you. No love, Stephanie

Okay, so today went pretty well I suppose. I slept until about 10:20, and I  lolligagged around the room longer than I should have. {I was avoiding writing my paper, you see.} I got a few sentences of that done before it was time to meet up with my small group leader, Melissa, for lunch! Yum, Market One! Burger Junction is fabulous; my first experience was a winner :) Anyways, I loved spending time with Melissa. She's so sweet and easy to talk to; we need to go on more dates! From there, I went and sat in front of Moody for about 30 minutes before I needed to be in class. So I worked on my paper some there, but even then I only had about a paragraph. GCOM was same-old-same-old, but PSYC was pretty good! Uncle Bijan went over more of the chapter, showed us some questions that are going to be on our exam next class, and then let us out 45 minutes early! Praise! I used that time to work on my paper some more, and I had it done before 6, all three pages of it; haha! I think he only wanted it to be about two pages, but he can deal. Once that was accomplished, I picked up dinner at Mrs. Green's and brought it back to Brittany's room where we socialized for quite some time; Andrea made the occasional appearance. It wasn't until 9ish, though, that I decided to start studying for my government exam tomorrow. Ugh! I don't want to take it! It wouldn't be so bad if it was multiple choice! But no, it's 15 short answer questions. DUMB! Yeah, and my studies were somewhat interrupted when Andrea and Brittany came into my room and decided that we should make popcorn and watch Spice World, haha! We didn't watch the whole movie though, because Brittany got tired and Andrea has to get up at 6:30. So yeah, I just showered and now I must get back to government. Boo :( I hope you all have a good night! I love you!!!!

"I just want to put him a little boat and watch him!"

Haha. My friend Rachel things our government professor is the cutest thing ever, especially when he speaks in German :)

Anyways, today was another early one. I went to class, had lunch with Sarah, Emma, and Lauren from my small group, had more class, and then I started on reading before allowing myself to take a much-needed nap. I crashed for about 45 minutes or so. I wish I could say I woke up feeling rejuvenated, but it really just made me rather crabby. {My sincerest apologies to Brianna, Brittany, and Andrea who first encountered me after my alarm disturbed my slumber.} After I got some more reading taken care of, I took a successful bus trip up to Festival to have dinner with Brianna, Brittany, and Andrea of course. I do love sesame chicken and steamed rice! Yumm! Anyways, I love these girls so much! There is never a time that we hang out and I don't laugh hysterically at one point or another; I'm beginning to think that would be impossible :) Then, Brittany and I rushed back to Eagle with Andrea so that she could get ready to go roller skating with Alpha Phi {the community service fraternity her on campus}. I don't know how she made it there in time, but she did! From then on it was work, work, work, here in the dorm. Luckily, though, I had two lovely breaks for socialization with two of my dearest loves. Kelly surprised me with a humorous phone call, and I had a skype date with Heather :) Haha, you know what that means... EMBARRASSING PICTURE TIME!

You know Heather, I'm kind of shocked that you haven't dished out the awkward photos of me on your own blog. Haha! Or maybe I've spoken too soon ;) Either way(!), I shall continue on. Luckily, I was able to complete my discussion board assignment for my SOCI class tonight, which means I don't have to worry about it anymore; even though technically it isn't due until friday. Now all I have to do is write a paper and study for my government exam. But all of that must wait until tomorrow, for I am quite tired. Goodnight my loves! Lub lub :)

² Our mouths were filled with laughter,
       our tongues with songs of joy.
       Then it was said among the nations,
       "The LORD has done great things for them."
 ³ The LORD has done great things for us,
       and we are filled with joy. 

{Psalm 126:2-3}

Oh the workings of my brain...

I had something that I was thinking about earlier, so I want to discuss that. Let me start, though, by giving a run-through of today:

• Got lunch with Kristina.
• Went to GCOM and government.
• Got dinner at Mrs. Green's.
• Ate dinner in my room while I annotated this ridiculous essay. (Keep in mind, I chose this article; thus this particular writing sample was not required for me to read. However, my strong opinions regarding his statements make it much easier to write a lengthy response.)
• Went to see a boring movie for government with Ariel (my Big!) and a girl named Stephanie who's also in my class.
• Came back to my dorm and bumped-out a three page analysis of the previously mentioned essay.

College life can be boring sometimes, as you can see...

Okay, so as I was walking back to Eagle after class, a thought occurred to me; we all experience moments of selfishness. At one point or another, we are all somewhat self-involved, if only for a moment. I agree, this isn't any sort of shocking or life-altering revelation, but it got me thinking. Is it okay to be selfish every now and then if you place God at the center of your life? If He is the core of your being? Is that even the same as being self-centered? Does that all depend on your standard or definition of "selfish?" My thoughts include (but are not limited to) this: No, you should not be selfish in regards to focusing your thoughts on yourself in a fashion that brings about self-gratification or satisfaction. However, I think it's important every once in a while to evaluate your spiritual status, faith, and relational standing with the Lord. All of these aspects are somewhat "self-centered" in that you are contemplating and analyzing you. Reverting back to my original question: Is this okay? Is it to secular? Are we missing something essential when we do this? Does it depend on your motivation? Is all of this circumstantial?

Maybe that made sense to you, and maybe it just sounded like a bunch of mindless babbling. It wasn't poetic, nor was it profound. Nonetheless, it was on my mind, and I would love to get your opinions if you are willing to share. If I learned (or rather re-confirmed) anything after reading that article, it is the importance of an open mind. Not only that, but others need to be taken into consideration. Condemnation and judgement will get you nowhere, especially in the eyes of Jesus.

^1"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ²Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? ⁴Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"

{Romans 2:1-4}

Well, this certainly turned into an odd collage of thoughts didn't it? My apologies for the randomness of tonights tangent. I just have one more odd bit to throw in here:

{My first thought: Anonymous. Right?}

I love you all so much! Don't forget to send me your prayer requests if you have any! Goodnight my loves :)

^23"Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love."

{Ephesians 6:23-24}

"Smile, you look sexy today!"

I wish I knew who wrote that on my white board! Haha.

Okay, so waking up this morning was not fun. I always feel like molasses when I get up at 7:45. Not only that, but my eyes are all glazed and my energy levels are less than adequate. At any rate, SOCI was pretty good today. I love that Isaac applied this story to our class discussion:

Mark 12:41-44 (NIV) 

 ⁴¹Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴²But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,^[a]worth only a fraction of a penny.

 ⁴³Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

That made me happy :) After class, I walked back with Isaac and one of my new sisters, Katelyn. We chatted, we laughed, and it was lovely. I just kind of took it easy until my writing class, where I got assigned a 3-4 page draft due wednesday. So dumb! Anyways, I had lunch in D-hall with Andrea and Danielle, and that is always fun. Government wasn't too bad I suppose, but I really need to study for that test on friday! Ahhhh! Moving on, I skyped with Heather at 3 :) I do love skype! God, thank you for its creator! Then, I hung out in Brittany and Brianna's room for a bit before going to dinner with my small group! Once we finished eating, we were split up into teams to do a photo scavenger hunt! My team didn't win, but we certainly had fun! The tasks included (but were not limited to): taking a picture in the fountain in front of Burruss, on the stage in Wilson, on railroad tracks, playing frisbee with someone, playing ring-around-the-rosie with random people, with the James Madison statue, with a Duke's employee, ballroom dancing with someone in Top Dog, with someone who has a beard, a boy kissing one of our hands, and building a pyramid in front of D-hall. Haha! Needless to say it was quite amusing. everything, that is, except for when we trying to find "James Madison" to get our picture with her {since that was one of the tasks}. Her roommate happened to think is was mean and rude for trying to exploit her that way. I'm sorry, but she kind of exploits herself by dressing in the full-garb. And our intent isn't to mock or demean her in any way! Quite the contrary, we think she's pretty awesome, haha. But anyways, once we all shared our pictures with Melissa and Betsey, we went to an empty classroom to decorate journals that they bought for us! They're going to be out way of taking notes and whatnot on retreat and for the rest of the year! It was fun! Mine looks like this:

So yeah :) Taylor, Kim, and I walked back to Lakeside together, and since then I have showered and done very little homework, haha. I'm laughing now, but I am going to hate my life come tomorrow when I have to come up with that paper. Ugh, well there isn't much I can do about it now! I am going to catch some shut-eye. I love you all so very much! Goodnight!

P.S.- If you all don't mind, could you be praying for my sister, Candice? She just has a lot going on right now, and she needs the help and support of the Lord now more than ever... When it rains, it pours.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

{Jeremiah 29:11}

Prayer Requests

If any of you have a struggle, need, or burden that is on your heart, I invite you to share it with me so that I can be praying for you. The comments you leave will not be made public, and I assure you that it will remain confidential. I love you all, dear friends!

^"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

{Galatians 6:2}

Stuck in my head.

Not that I'm complaining :)

Ascend the Hill beats Justin Bieber any day!

ΣΑΩ!!!

Okay, so today I was an early riser. I went to Aletheia for the 9 AM service with Brianna, Brittany, and Melissa {my lovely small group leader who graciously gave us a ride}. The service was awesome! The worship, the sermon, and just the vibe in general was superb :) Once returning to the penthouse, I did a little PSYC homework, listened to the most incredible voicemail EVER from Heather, Kelly, and Ellory(!), and took a 30ish minute nap. After that brief period of slumber, Taylor and I had lunch at D-hall, which was delicious as always. Unfortunately though, I could not avoid my homework forever, so I finished most of my PSYC before going to the bid ceremony for Sigma Alpha Omega (ΣΑΩ)! I met the rest of the Gammas...

My amazing Big, Ariel!

Oh, and let me not forget my Great Aunt, Abbey :)

Once we were done with the picture-taking festivities, we went to McAlister's for a group dinner! It was delicious, and I loved getting to meet and talk to all of the other girls! This is going to be an incredible experience for me; I can tell. All of these women are lovely and beautiful, and they center their focus on God :) How awesome is that?! I may very well have just found my support system {my rock, if you will} in terms of further building and continuing my walk with Christ. I'm not going to lie, I was worried about that coming into college; you know, since I had to be away from WEAG. But I know God has plans for my in this, for all of us in fact! Needless to say, I am very, very excited :) I'm also quite stoked to meet the rest of my fam! My Grand-Big {Kelly} and my Grand-Grand-Big {Sarah} :) They've already left me love on my wall, and I cannot wait to hang out with them! Ah! I am just so happy right now! I've got amazing friends, loving sisters, and everything is seemingly splendid! Goodnight my loves. I miss you! And I hope you had a phenomenal time on retreat!

{Alphas, Betas, and Gammas! ΣΑΩ!}

^"12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  

¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

{Philippians 4:12-13} 

"I met this guy, and we went down the slip n' slide together..."

Yay for funny awkward moments at IV! Haha. Maybe you had to be there...

Hello all! Today was so nice! I hope you can say the same :) I didn't wake up until 11 {a new record for me here at JMU!}. I'm not surprised though, since I didn't get to bed until 4! Yeah, as some of you may already know, someone pulled the fire alarm not long after the SAO girls came and went. This means that we all had to evacuate the dorm, and that I had to go down {and come back up!} 16 flights of stairs at 3:30 AM. Not fun. But anyways(!), once I was up and got myself presentable, Brianna and I went to B-dubs for lunch! So yummy! And it was Brianna's first time ordering wings from there!

{Historical moments must be documented ;) }

Then, once we were all done, we walked back to Eagle to get some homework done before the IV bonfire at the Natural Chimneys :) It was so pretty! We did a little climbing {some more than others}. Have a look!

{Brianna and I}

{Brittany and I}

{You see that crazy person up there? Yeah, thats J. Blair. I was so scared the whole time he was up there. He had no clue how he was going to get down. I literally prayed that he wouldn't die or be injured on the way down.}

{See the blue shirt on the left peak? That's Jonathan trying to climb down. Funny story... he made a piece of rock break off. And I had to yell for this kid to watch his head so that he wasn't knocked out or worse. The rock missed him by maybe a foot. I was scared, not gonna lie. The good news is that he made it down okay. Yay for the power of prayer!}

Once we had completed our rock-climbing excursion, we ventured over to the fire and all sat in a circle. There, we sang worship to Jesus and a few freshmen shared their experiences with the Lord {and IV} since they've been at JMU. I didn't stand up to share, but my friend Sidney did! And when she was talking about what brought her to IV, she said that I was the one that sparked her interest! I just thought that was so cool. It made me really happy to know that I somehow helped influence her to become a part of a faith community that she has come to love :) Is that weird? Haha. I don't know, but I shall continue now. We ate s'mores together before everyone went their separate ways. Delicious! After Betsey dropped a bunch of us off at our dorms, I met up with Brittany and Brianna to go get some food at the Dog Pound. Good nachos. Awesome cookie. 'Nough said :) When we got back to the eighth floor, though, it was time to get some work done, shower, and facebook stalk of course :) And now, I really should go to bed. I'm going to the early service at Aletheia, and thus I must be up in less than seven hours. Goodnight my loves!

Thank you Brianna and Brittany

for sharing this loveliness with me, haha! You will laugh :)

And right after I posted that blog....

ALL 15 OF THE SIGMA ALPHA OMEGA GIRLS CAME KNOCKING AT MY DOOR!

{Normally, this picture would really embarrass me, but you guys love me no matter what. Thus, I don't care all that much, haha!}

Yes, it is 2:18 in the morning. Yes, I did look a hot mess {sports bra, basketball  shorts, and the retainer... oh dear}. But.... I GOT IN I GOT IN I GOT IN!!!!! Yay yay yay! So stoked about my bid :)

Isn't this how every college kid spends their Friday?

What. A. Day! Okay, I'm just going to skip classes; quite honestly they're boring. I had lunch with Andrea, Daniele, and Brianna, and that was quite lovely. Those D-hall wraps make me so happy, just saying. After we finished eating {and Danielle and Brianna took their leave}, I walked Andrea to the bus stop and waited with her until it came. She's at home for the weekend for Yom Kippur. I certainly am going to miss her while she's away! After academics, I came back to my dorm, ran into Taylor, and she proceeded to come to my room with me to just hang out for a while. We discussed many things, but eventually we decided that making a ridiculous video would be more entertaining. You all may not think this is as funny as we did, but our eyeballs leaked when we re-watched this, haha!

Then, once Taylor left for her afternoon nap, I finished getting myself ready for my interview with Sigma Alpha Omega {the christian sorority}. So, my interview was scheduled for 5:30. I leave my room at 5. I'm walking towards east campus when I see a row of buses getting ready to depart. I'm thinking, "Awesome! I'll be extra early!" Wrong; so very wrong. This bus was in fact not going to my desired destination like it had said on the outside. No. It took me off campus to a bunch of apartments and stuff, and then circled back around to where I got on the bus. In the end, I made it to the bus stop that was fairly close to Festival, but not as close as I would have preferred. The time? 5:40. That is when I got off the bus. From there, I took my shoes off and literally ran {in a dress..} to get to the building as fast as I possibly could. I arrived there short-winded and rather frenzied. The girls were so understanding. I was grateful for that. The interview went pretty well I suppose. I was nervous though, and you could hear it in my voice. Ugh... It's okay though. I find out in the next 24 hours whether or not I get a bid. If I do, great! If not, that's okay too. It just means that God had other plans for me. After my interview was completed, I had dinner with my small group before heading over to IV large group :) Twas lovely! I really enjoyed the worship, and the sermon was thought-provoking. No complaints from me! I met up with Brittany and Brianna afterwards, and we walked back to the dorm to chill for a bit. Brittany went back out after a while, though, to go bake cookies and climb things with her small group. Before {and a little after} she left, we had some fun with photobooth:)

{Brittany, Brianna, and I!}

{Teehee.}

{Brianna and I :) }

When Brianna and I were done with that, we started youtubing. Oh yes, we ended up watching old 90s music videos for 2 hours! Haha. We relived the glory of Youngstown, 3LW, 98 Degrees, A*Teens, No Secrets, Play, Lil Romeo, Lil BowWow, P!nk, Britney Spears, Christina Milian, Play, and a few others. We could not even believe our lives, haha. It was so fun! Brittany came back a little before 1, which is when I decided it would be a good idea to shower, blog, and go to bed. So here I am! Goodnight my loves! Many of you are at Camp Willow Run right now, and I hope you're having a lovely time! Peace out, cubscout :)