"I didn't fall!"

"It only counts if your hand touches the floor!" (I ended up falling twice... Minor fail.)

You may be wondering what on earth I'm talking about. Well, today was a roller skating social for SAO! Yes, Brittany, Kirsten, Jenna, and myself ventured over to Funky's where we strapped on some skates and let it roll.... along with the three birthday parties and Discipleship Now groups that were in there. Haha! It was SO FUN though! I hadn't roller skated since the field trip for my 8th grade gym class, and I suppose I didn't do too bad considering! Okay, but I already told you I fell. Well, one of those times was when I was trying to skate backwards while looking over my should to make sure there wasn't a kid behind me. The other time, the wipe out involved myself and two little girls that were probably about 4 years old, haha. They were skating towards each other in... my line of momentum. I tried to slow down and grab the little girl so she wouldn't fall, but she fell anyways. And she had grabbed on to me to hold herself up, so I went down with her. And I think her friend got so sidetracked with the two of us falling that she lost balance and toppled over also. Haha. No one was hurt. They were laughing. Everything was fine! Haha. Before we left, Brittany =, Kirsten, and I got to do the Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, and Cotten-Eyed Joe. So great :)

My little, Hannah, and I filled our Operation Christmas Child box today!

We have a lot of things in there! And it was a pretty nice mix of necessities and fun stuff considering we were working in the confines of a shoe box! From socks, to a giant Christmas pen, to glow sticks, to a travel mug, to nail polish, to headbands, to these awesome erasers that are shaped like food (they're kind of a fad these days).... I think we did alright! I hope the little girl likes it :)

We followed our shopping trip up with some dinner, which was nice :) I came back to my room and did a little school work before meeting up with Steph. We went to Duke's to utilize her punches and then raced over to Wilson to watch Jenn dance in the Asian Student Union Culture Show! She did so incredibly well! I was such a proud parent watching her up there :) When she saw that Stephanie, myself, and five of the Delta's came to see her, she was so happy her eyes leaked! She is a precious lamb, truly :) I love her so much!!!!

After mingling in Wilson for quite some time, Stephanie, Jenn, and I went to Steph's apartment and watched Burlesque :) Jenn had to leave early, but I was so happy to have her cuddle with us and take in the flick while she could! Stephanie had the exact same reactions as she did the first time we watched the movie.... Haha! She makes me smile :)

Random side-note... my Little has confessed that she is a terrible dancer. Haha! The other Deltas tonight were giving her such a hard time about the issues she was having with the dance they're creating. Even she had to laugh at herself, haha! As Jess said, "I feel like we all need rubber bracelets that say 'Save Hannah's swag!'" Bahahahaha!

(Haha! Steph was trying to help her out.)

And even though the clocks set themselves back, it really is 2:10 right now.... Oh dear. It's time for some sleep. I love you all! Goodnight!

Highs and low.

Notice the "high" part is plural. Today, overall, was very enjoyable :) Only one pesky thing put a bit of a downer in my day. So here are my day's highs and low.

Low: Dealing with the people at Sheehy. I called to check on the status of my car, and they have not touched it! Yeah. They were told not to work on it. Why? Because people are saying my warranty doesn't cover the repairs I need. Nevermind that I was told a week ago that, and I quote, "it would be taken care of."Apparently I was lied to. Well you know what, I finally ran out of people to talk to in that place, and now the General Manager has received a piece of my mind. Seriously, if this doesn't get straightened out... (I just won't even go there; this has already turned into a rant. Sorry about that!)

Highs(!): 1) I had an awesome Big/Little date with Hannah today :D We went to Earth & Tea and had our own little tea party!

She got "Moroccan Mint," and I got "Rose of the Orient." The consensus was that it was delicious! And I'm so glad we got time to just sit and talk about lots of things :) Yay bonding! On our way back to the car we stopped into this quaint place called Shank's Bakery. They have some yummy baked treats that one can definitely afford on a college budget! Hannah enjoyed some crinkle cookies while I snacked on a slice of pumpkin roll. Yummmmmm! We found our spot, haha. I LOVE SPENDING TIME WITH MY LITTLE!

2) After large group, I got to spend some quality time with people from my small group (and a few others). A group of us went to Sweet Bee, and a bunch of us were piled up in Rhett's car. Between Alton and Stephen shaking the giant SUV with their dance party, humorous conversation being thrown around, and Alton's laugh in general (it's basically the greatest thing ever)... It was amusing to say the least :) After getting our nom nom on, I went back to the suite where quite a few of my small group girls live. Mina, Lauren, Samantha, Stephen, and myself proceeded to spend about two hours on YouTube! Haha. It was so funny, and just a really good time :) It was nice to hang out with them; it's not something I get to do very often. They put a smile on my face :)

Well, this ended up being longer than I had anticipated. Woopsies! But hey, it is me after all. Haha. Goodnight loves!

Things I wanted to share:

This video. It is hysterical (particularly the last two boys)!


This song, because I find it soothing.


And I also have a prayer request: My mother is currently in the hospital receiving three rounds of blood transfusions. My little sister had to take her to the ER this morning, and if all goes well then she should be released either today (Friday) or tomorrow (Saturday). Please just keep her in your prayers. Hopefully I'll be able to talk to her tomorrow.

I love you all!

{1 Peter 3:8}

"Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble."

Today has shown me that what a lot of us want more than anything is to live our lives in unity as brothers/sister in Christ. Any point of division or fractions weakens us, whether emotionally, spiritually, or otherwise. Given the opportunity of vulnerability, I have expressed the burdens laying on my heart. In doing so, I had more love and support extended to me than I would have ever thought. I think that is something a lot of us struggle with, yet we desperately crave it: wanting to be vulnerable with our brothers/sisters, but not not being sure of how to break down barriers. There has to be a point in which our fear is diminished and our courage overwhelming; it is then that your community can formulate a bond that goes beyond superficiality.

I may sounds like a broken record, but my relationships are at the top of my priority list. And though I have come to find that others share in that same nature, there seems to be a disconnect in reciprocity. In other words, the love they pour out is only returned in part. When I read this verse, I see a basic guideline in how we should love and be in community with others. Be sympathetic; take time to listen to the burdens of others, and help them carry it. Do so with genuine compassion in your heart, and humble yourself so that you brother or sister realizes that you are there for them (not for self-satisfaction or gratification). Above all, love them as a brother/sister, for they are nothing less than that. God calls us to love, and to love everyone. When considering the value I place on my friendships, this verse came to mind:

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
{John 15:13}

This I can honestly say: When it comes to my friends, whom I love with all of my soul, I would lay down my life for them if necessary. No questions asked. Now here is my personal challenge: Would I do the same for a brother/sister whom I do not know in such an intimate way? My answer is not as certain, and in that sparks another challenge for myself: Genuinely love everyone. I don't have to hug them or hold their hand or squeal their name every time I see them, but in my interactions I can embody the love of Christ and allow that to guide my behavior. It certainly will not be easy, some may argue it isn't even attainable, but I believe that we are called to try. Whole-hearted intention will breed results; God can use that. He will use it. Because our love plants seeds, and our Father makes those seeds flourish-- in His time, and according to His beautiful and unfathomable plan.

"³⁷ When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body."
{1 Corinthians 15:37-38} 

I'm going to be honest with you, I'm not sure what all I just wrote, but I know that what I said was on my heart. I love you all, and hopefully this made some sort of sense in a way that can be applicable to your life in some way. May your day be filled with love, joy, and peace. Farewell!

Today's stage of illness: congestion headache!

Yayyyyyy!..... Except not really. Haha. It only really bothered me when I tried to lay down for a nap (pressure!) and when I encountered loud noises. An example of both of these occurred when I tried to take a nap in TDU, and then someone put money in the jukebox so that Michael Jackson music blared through the room. That happened twice in a 20 minute time span, not even joking. But it's really okay, it only irked me because of the headache. Ibuprofen helped me out a bit :)

Work went by pretty quickly, and that was a major praise! We got pretty busy because 1) quite a few cashiers called in sick, and 2) there were people on the commons with a billboard-sized display of aborted baby pictures (hence people came to Market One to avoid them). Yeah, the pro-life display led quite a few people to borderline vomit-enducing discomfort. I for one did not want to get roped into a conversation with the people there, so I steered clear from there as much as I could.

I watched the rest of Bowling for Columbine today (for my intro to social work class), and it reaffirmed my utter hatred of guns. I personally would love to see every gun around the world heaped into a pile and be burned until only dust was left. People argue that "people kill other people, not guns," but if they did not have a gun, don't you think the murder/crime would be less probable? The documentary covers the Columbine shootings, and gun crimes in general (especially interesting were the stats of the U.S. compared to other nations!). This story particularly struck me, because I had not previously heard about it. When kids as young as six become involved firearm usage, you know there's a problem. I have so much I could say on this topic, but I'll leave it at that for now. (Sorry for the tangent!)

I saw my Little multiple times today! That made me very happy :) I saw her first in Market One; she came to say hello to me while I was working :) I later saw her at the end of our SAO Bible study, where she spotted us over the APL balcony and said hello to all of us! Then, after I went and got Starbucks, I went back to APL to study with her until we were kicked out and forced to go to Carrier. She thinks that place is "crusty," but I still love it :) I also bought her some Stizz after a brief bickerment. At least I have a valid argument when she objects! Haha. I simply said "I'm your Big! I'm allowed to buy you things!" Zingggg! Haha :) But yes, I am very glad I got to spend time with her today. Oh! And she switched her major to Social Work this morning! YAY! That also made me happy :D

On a random parting note, I think my little sister is wearing the sequined pants to school tomorrow! She better. And I better get a picture darn it! Hahaha! (It's for decades day, not average day attire :P ) Goodnight all!

18 days...

...and I will officially be home for Thanksgiving break! Eeeep! SO SOON!

As much as I am loving the social aspect of school, I cannot wait to have a week away from the academics. Yes, I know that is the point of going to college, but I am in a sort of "sophomore slump." I have almost zero motivation to do anything, and although I get it done it isn't always my best work (this is mostly the case for studying.... oceanography in particular). The good news is that I am doing well in the classes that actually pertain to my major, the bad news is that I may not be able to pull off an "A" in oceanography because my exam grades have been sub-par... I really though I got a high "B" on the one I took today! Then I found out I got a 78. Needless to say, I was bummed. But enough about that!

I have some random things bouncing around in my head:

• I'm considering running for Vice President of SAO.
• Stephanie thinks I could do it ;)
• Definitely will be praying about that one! I have some time :)
• I want to make an official Big/Little to-do list! So far Hannah and I have:
• Tea date at Earth & Tea :)
• Sushi date!
• Make homemade funnel cakes!
• I'm afraid my class registration process will be stressful as per usual.
• I want to find the movie "Little Manhattan" on DVD.
• I caught the last 2 minutes of it on the Disney channel tonight... I was so upset I missed it! I literally have not seen that movie in at least four years!
• I still want to give me car a name. Feel free to share suggestions!
• Speaking of my car, I cannot wait until it's out of the shop!
• It took a week of hassling Sheehy just to get it worked on under warranty.
• I just sent an email trying to win a Feeling Stick prop from New Girl.
• Hahahaha! Dweeb alert? Maybes :)
• I SO wish I was in GCN this year! I miss it terribly!
• I'm ready for Christmas cheer to fill the air!

I can't think of anything else right now. I am very tired. Goodnight loves!

Happy Halloween?

Okay, so I know that today was Halloween, but there wasn't really any celebrating going on with this girls right here. The closest I got to Halloween festivities was 1) eating numerous pixie sticks while at the Boys & Girls Club, 2) seeing small children trick-or-treating around campus, and 3) having this guy in Carrier dressed up as the Joker borrow my pen. Haha. A lot of that had to do largely with the fact that I am still sick. Womp. I could not stop coughing in my anthro class. I felt so bad for the people around me. I was that girl. And even when I tried to hold it back, it just caused another fit. Rough, but I got through it.

I had dinner tonight with Kristina, which was nice. I haven't hung out with her in forever, so I'm gad that we finally got to catch up. We enjoyed some Chick-fil-a, and at the same time got to further support Justice Team's endeavors in building a well! Woop woop! (We're currently in a spirit week competition at Chick-fil-a to receive more money towards our goal.)

But yeah, I just now finished the stuff I needed to do for social welfare... I did do work while I was in Carrier with Steph, but I was a little distracted as you might imagine. Here's the really rough part: I haven't even started studying for my oceanography exam that I have tomorrow... I'm a little scared. Please be praying that my study efforts tomorrow are enough. Goodnight loves!