Quotes from my facebook (Don't worry, I will be writing more once I am done with this semester!)

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." --Abraham Lincoln

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" --Psalms 27:1

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." --C. S. Lewis

"It's a shallow life that doesn't give a person a few scars." --Garrison Keillor

"We live by faith, not by sight." --2 Corinthians 5:7

"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book." --Groucho Marx

"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." --Proverbs 26:12

"What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular." -- Unknown

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” --Dr. Seuss

"I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity." --Edgar Allan Poe

"I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born." --Ronald Reagan

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one." --C. S. Lewis

"I believe in Christianity like I believe the sun has risen: not just because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else." --C. S. Lewis

"I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose." --Ludwig van Beethoven

"Peace begins with a smile." --Mother Teresa

"Many Christians are striving in the flesh to do the works of the Spirit, and they are frustrated and tired. Wouldn't you rather rest in the Resurrection than try to overhaul the old nature that was-- and should continually be-- crucified with Jesus? New life is an eternal blessing, but it has no short-term benefit if we refuse to live in it. How do you get there? Not by straining for it, not by reading about it, and not by frantically immersing yourself in church life. No, just by asking. Ask often, trust deeply, let yourself be convinced by the promise, think about it often, and most of all give Jesus free reign of you heart. The power of His resurrection is available when the power of your self is exhausted. Live in His power. Or better yet, let His power live in you." -- Chris Tiegreen

“It doesn’t matter what course you take. Simply hang around until you catch the Spirit, or the Spirit catches you.” -- Robert Frost

"A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave." --Gandhi

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." --Gandhi

"And I think that's what our world is desperately in need of - lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about." --Shane Claiborne

“Most good things have already been said far too many times and just need to be lived.” --Shane Claiborne

"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” --Sylvia Plath

“Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences.” --Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now." --Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Just always be yourself, work hard, and you will be respected for who you really are." -- my daddy :)

"Love, laughter, and prayers." --my mommy :)

Looking through old pictures.

Looking through old pictures reminds me of this verse.


 Ecclesiastes 3:
1 There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:
 2 a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 6 a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 8 a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.

A Future of Possibility: Read About My Intensely Serious, Sarcasm- and Hyperbole-Free Journey to Peace-Inducing Self Discovery-- and Gettin' Filthy Rich $$$

I am a senior English and Writing major at an expensive university who is exploring the possibility of not teaching in my future career.

Yep, I'm one of those.

All those jokes about English majors now apply to me... fully.

I've joined the ranks of starving artists and further-education-enslaved debt accruers.

When people ask me what I'm going to do after graduation, I will now hear that semi-concerned, semi-mocking question that puts racing heartbeats, sweating palms, and longings for an escape route into motion for vague degree candidates everywhere: "So, what can you do with that major?"

Furthermore, parents will look at me on the street, with my mascara- and tear-stained cheeks, notebook in my back pocket, unique (odd) clothing, bag full of books, but empty wallet, and point me out to their children, saying in hushed tones, "See [insert any U.S. president's last name for the child's first name here], this is why you should go into a science-related field.  Writers become depressed and financially unstable because they think they can save people's lives with their writing; doctors actually save people's lives and make gargantuan amounts of money."

True Life: I'm a Vampire

Welcome to my blog!  I do have to admit that it will be quite difficult for me to not have structure, and even when I try to not have structure, it will look like a form of structure (though there will be some mistakes, believe me).  So just bear with me... I was trying to be quirky.  ;)

So... this is the last day before I go back to Bluffton!  I cannot believe it!  Each summer seems to go by even more quickly than the last.  This aging process and the fact that time is unable to be escaped is kind of scary!  I continue to remind myself to stop thinking about the future because when it comes, it's the present!  And I've been waiting for this present for a while. 

I'm 21, and I'm a senior in college.  I thought a lot of things would be different than what they are today, but I need to remember that God's plan is SO much better than my own.  I need to relish each day!  I need to be the person I want to be NOW! 

No magical event is going to make me the person I want to be in the future; I have to work towards becoming that person over time! :)  I listened to a sermon online last night that a friend sent me, and a quote that stood out to me was this: "The present will become the past and be present in your future!"  That's kind of confusing at first, but if we focus on it we realize that it is so true.  We need to work on our relationships, getting our consistent sin life cleared up, our goals and priorities, the way we act, our heart, our mind, our relationship with Christ all in order NOW!  Because the future is coming soon, and if we are not prepared internally to handle it, then we won't accomplish all those goals God put on our hearts.  I know I'm going to work harder from now on because someday I'm going to be doing great things for Christ (and I can be doing great things today!)

Having said that, today I feel lazy.  Tired and lazy.  I've already packed quite a bit, but though I'm all pumped up about working on the internal, I'm not very pumped up about working on this room of mine.  It does get easier now that I've packed a bajillion times to go to and from Bluffton, but I feel like taking a nap rather than making sure everything is in order.  My dad told me not to take a nap because then tonight I won't be able to sleep.  I don't sleep at night very often anyways.

And for that, my father is actually to blame.

Let me explain.

You see, my dad turned me into a vampire.

The other day I watched a movie called Dracula's Daughter with my dad.  It actually wasn't too bad.  She didn't really enjoy being a vampire, but in the end, her obsession over an intelligent man made her go off the deep end a little.  She wanted him to help her, but instead of just asking for help, she took his love interest hostage and tried to capture him and wisk him away when he came to save her.  She had a Phantom of the Opera quality to her... plus fake eyelashes and eyebrows too high for her face (why did they want them to look surprised all the time in those days?).

Growing up, I watched a lot of old movies with my parents.  It was so special to me... especially because it made me set apart from my age group.  No one else knew who Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, or Clark Gable was... they were too busy obsessing over Justin Timberlake and the likes (No Justin, it's not "Gonna Be [You]").  Old movies were like a secret world to me, where I could learn about love, comedy, science ficton, classic literature, and even God!

I usually watched old '50s science fiction and horror with my dad.  The Wolfman, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Frankenstein, Godzilla, The Twilight Zone (I was the only fifth grader who knew what the real meaning of "To Serve Man"), etc. etc.  So I kinda of blame my dad for my obsession with vampires and such.  Sometimes, we would be watching a movie and then right when it was getting to the climax, I'd hear those fateful, heart-dropping three words: "brush.  your.  teeth."

Why on earth would I go to bed now?  What's going to happen?  I need to study this, Dad-- I'm going to be a famous writer/actress/director/leader of the free world someday!

So, I became a little bit of a rebel.  I had smarts, why not use them?  I would whine and plead and negotiate and present my case. 

Let's just say that that didn't work.

So I started staying up in my room.  My brother wasn't always the most excited about it (we shared a room then), but I was usually pretty good at talking him into it.  I was watching the end of movies, music videos (I liked country then...), TV shows, and even the news!... all with the volume down.  Every so often, I'd sneak to turn the volume up a little, and my mom would sneak into our room to tell us to turn it down a little (my parents are opposites in many respects haha).

As I grew older, this obsession with staying up didn't dwindle.  I just couldn't fall asleep at night.  I had so many things to think about and pray about and plan!  My life was ahead of me, why go to sleep when there was much to do?!  My best writing was done after midnight.  My best Bible reading happened when it was almost time for the sun to come up.  I realized more about myself when I stayed up and reflected on the day.

Well, during the summers, I was staying up until the wee hours of the morning, and this made my sleeping schedule a little different than the norm.  I wouldn't wake up until 2pm sometimes, and I was embarassed of this fact.  I felt like I had wasted a lot of my day, but I couldn't sleep at night anymore.

And then... I started craving blood.

LOL just kidding, just kidding, just kidding.

But anyways, my dad started calling me "Vampira" after that.  I wasn't too keen on that.  My dad is addicted to his own sleep schedule.  Early to bed, early to rise.  I was and am the exact opposite.

But, as you undoubtedly can now see, by exposing me to awesome movies that would go past our bedtime, he made me that way!
I rest my case.