Cherish

Friends are an amazing thing. Cherish them. You never know how long you will have with them, so please, please, savor every moment.

High Hopes

Von Goethe said that "in all things it is better to hope than to despair." But what happens when hope leads to despair? Like when you just get your hopes up so high, allowing anyone to come along and crush them in mere seconds. It's kinda one of the worst feelings. I need to learn to keep my hopes low, maybe it would cause less disappointment. Sorry Von Goethe, but you might have missed the mark on that one.

Pray Pray Pray.

Are you ever just in awe at how God answers prayers? Because right now, I'm kinda blown away. I never used to think that prayer was that important, but I am constantly being reminded lately of just how much of a difference it can make. Thank you Jesus.

Little Reminders

Went to my first CBU sporting event tonight. A basketball game against APU: our rivals. We won, of course. But being there made me miss BFA basketball so much. They even had a little pep band like BFA! (not middle schoolers this time though). Haha but nothing will compare to those cold Friday nights in our little falcon gym. Will a time ever come where I can simply go through my day to day life without being painfully reminded of that place I love so much? The memories hit me in the gut, almost like that time when a basketball player from a base team team flew right into my lap as he tried to save a ball from going out of bounds. True story. Slightly awkward. Anyway, basketball is just one of those things that is so closely tied to BFA for me, especially after managing the girls team for two years, so being around it again tonight made me a little reminiscent of days gone by. I don't yet know if a day will ever come when things stop reminding me of BFA, and honestly, I think I'd be ok if it never did.

Tattoo

I've been thinking about getting a tattoo for a while now. Something to be a constant reminder of my roots in Germany, and the great times I had growing up there. A while ago I found this picture on Pinterest (where else?!?) and fell in love with the idea. Mine would have the map coordinates to my old home in Kandern. I know a tattoo is a big decision because of how permanent it is, but I don't think I would regret it one day because of the meaning behind it. I kept telling myself last semester that I would get it once I had a job and could afford it. Well now i have a job. Should I?? :)

Just decide

I am constantly being remind of how terrible I am at making decisions. Today, while trying to pick out shoes at the mall for my new job, I just became so overwhelmed by all the options. They were all hideous, and were all pretty much the same. Black, chunky, rubber-soled restaurant-style shoes. SO my style. But anyway, I was kinda shocked at how long I sat on the floor like a little 5 year old, trying on and re-trying on the same shoes over and over. If picking out a pair of work shoes practically makes me break out in a cold sweat, how am I ever going to be able to make important life decisions? I'm just a little concerned for myself at the moment. Maybe CBU should offer a class called decision making 101. I'd take it.

Smoothie

I'm trying to be healthy during my last few days at home, because I know the moment I go back to school, that all-you-can-eat cafeteria with those AMAZING chocolate chip cookies is going to be the death of me. I've been pretty good today...worked out in the gym and then came home and made myself a smoothie. Since my selection of ingredients at the moment is rather slim, I had to be creative, and I kinda just threw anything I could find into the blender. It actually turned out to be quite delicious. You should try it sometime :)
Grape juice
1 banana
cherry yogurt
Frozen strawberries
Lots of Frozen Blackberries

Enjoy!

Ellen

Ellen Degeneres. You ever seen her? Of course you have. She's awesome. Well today I saw a lot of her. Christmas break + being extremely bored = Watch EVERY SINGLE ELLEN VIDEO ever put on youtube. So that's what I spent my entire day doing. Waste of time??
NO.
Best decision ever.
Here's one of my all time favorites from her show. Never gets old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hf8uk7foSo

Wanelo

Today I discovered Wanelo.com.
oh no.
It's like Pinterest, but possibly even better. I haven't really used it yet, but I'm pretty sure everything you see on the site is actually for sale somewhere, which could be trouble for this ever-broke college student. As if Pinterest didn't already take up enough of my time...
Here's just a sampling of the things I can already envision myself purchasing. I'm going to need an extra dose of self-control.

How cute are these? How can you pass up an extra dose of glitter in you life??

Love this! This would be perfect for always-way-too-hot-Riverside. 

That looks like the most comfortable bean-bag chair I've ever seen. If only our dorm rooms were a bit bigger... :)

Tyler Knott Gregson

I found this blog through Pinterest (of course!) and it's just too good not to share. Even though I'm not really blogging for the point of a ton of other people reading this, for the few who actually do, I think you'll enjoy this guy.
www.tylerknott.com
Here's one of my favorites that I've found so far...

This is exactly how I feel right now. My dreams are consumed by people from my past. People who I no longer speak to, yet still love deeply. 

Unplanned Joys

It's a new year: 2013. Driving in the car the other day, my dad, the usual question-asker of the family, made us all go around and say what we will miss most about 2012. Our favorite memory, most treasured moment, or most unforgettable experience. Multiple occasions ran through my head. Was it traveling to Africa for a 3rd time on a missions trip with some of my best friends in the world? Or maybe the long-awaited trip to Barcelona that had taken months of planning by us 8. Who knew so many memories could be made in just 4 days? Or was it Graduation? The culmination of 12 years of hard work behind a desk, finally paying off. An exciting day, but too much sadness to be my favorite memory. In 2012 I experienced my first real job. I never expected playing with 4 year olds to be such hard work, but it was oh so rewarding. Looking back, I am so thankful to have had something to keep me occupied during what could have been a very long and hard summer. 2012 brought CBU into my life. Move in day was terrifying, but that place has come to feel like home, regardless of the hard times scattered throughout my time there so far. The past few months I've been able to start driving; a long awaited experience that living in Germany didn't let me have at the usual age of 16. And 2012 was the first year I really got to spend quality time with my nephew. He actually knows me now! I'm his auntie kk, someone that I wasn't really able to be to him with the Atlantic ocean between us. So with all those memories, and many more floating through my head, it's easy to see why answering my dad's question wasn't too hard. 2012 was a great year, and I have many memories to prove it.
Then he asked, "Ok, so then what are you looking forward to in 2013? I was silent. For quite a while. Nothing comes to mind when I think of 2013. I will finish out this semester and be done with my Freshman year of college, I will have a long summer of 4 months, where I hope to work at camp again with maybe another job on the side. Then I will resume life back at CBU in the fall, move into the apartments instead of the dorms and continue my education. None of that is particularly exciting to me at this point. I have no traveling planned, something that this international heart of mine will miss greatly. I have so many friendships scattered across America and I know 2013 will only separate us more as our lives get busier and we head in various directions. Not gonna lie, 2013 just seems like a crappy year.
But when I am tempted to be sad about what is now gone and what is to come, I have to remind myself that joy isn't always found in the big things. It's found in the spontaneous trips downtown at midnight with random people piled into cars too small to fit us all. It's found in long-talks with unexpected friends. It's found in a bike ride under the sun, helping to relieve the stress of those 4 papers you have to write. And as I look towards 2013, I can't predict those moments yet. But I have to trust that those moments will happen, despite the fact that none of them are written down on my calendar, unlike how many of the exciting moments of 2012 were. I'm excited for December 31, 2013, where I can look back on this year and say, wow it actually was a good year. I can't wait to experience the unplanned joys of 2013.