Amazed

Wow! Being a freshman has been a crazy journey. As it comes to a close, I can't help but think about all of the amazing things that have happened this year. God has put some amazing people in my life. I have been encouraged like never before. I'm so happy. I can't wait for next semester!

At orientation, we were assigned "Leap" groups. I hated it. None of the people who I had made friends with was in my group and there was this weird guy from my district in my group. We took a tour of Nashville together. On the bus, I sat with a girl named Lauren. She was a missionary kid from Madagascar. After a 2 hour tour, I had found a wonderful friend. She is crazy, funny, and kind. I can't wait to hang out with her some this summer.

One of the first people I met when I arrived in the fall was Megan. My crazy, wonderful RA. I have never met a person like her. She is encouraging and has made my day on countless occasions. She has seen me in the good and the bad and still wants to be my friend. She is so caring and I love her smile. She is amazing. I will really miss her this summer.

Leap group gave me another friend besides Lauren. I met Emily one night in a leap group outing. We almost die because of Todd's bad driving. Emily was someone to run and have deep conversations with. I won't soon forget the night we tried to annoy Megan by acting like animals in the lobby. I can't wait to serve on RHA with her.

Emily's roommate Jeanine has to be the most logical person I have ever met. She makes sure she gets 8 hours of sleep a night, eats healthy, and wears ear plugs to concerts. I love our time spent after The Gathering talking about God and anything else that may be going on in our lives. She is wonderful.

While doing The Glass Menagerie, I met the quiet, hard working, cookie loving, Sara. I love how hard working she is. She gets why I put so much work into everything. She baked cookies once and I began loving her that day. I love watching Disney movies, SNL, and texting to let the other know the cookies in the caf are good that day. I have never met someone who understands my love of cookies like Sara. I will have to bake cookies and mail them to her this summer.

I'm sad to be leaving for the summer, but I'm excited to come back as Johnson Hall RHA president. I have some amazing job opportunities next year as well. There have been rocky spots, but things are amazing. God is so good. I can't thank Him enough.

"Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God"

Achieving Happiness

What do we want? We all want something. We want money. We want things. We want to be liked. I think deeper, we think we want happiness. But are we truely happy, just being happy. We need more. We need substance. We are a discontent people. We are never fully happy. Sometimes I want to be upset about something, but I am happy and I make myself angry just because I want to be angry. I don't beleive that this is uncommon. Being happy increases the happiness of those around us. If we can't be happy, let us not be selfish. Allow others to be happy and be truely happy that they are happy. Let the happiness of others guide us on our journey to happiness.

19 and still learning

There is so much brokenness in our world today. I feel that tonight, at a Good Friday service, God was teaching me about love. About loving the people in this world. This was not the message of the service, but something God was telling me as I observed the room. God loves everyone. The annoying classmate, the girl who wears werid clothes, the friend that doesn't always much the best choices. If God can show me love, I should be able to show the same love for others, no matter who they are.

Goal for this week: Be a friend for whoever needs one.