Yes, that would be my excuse. The end of the semester has taken me completely by surprise and I can hardly believe I only have 2 more weeks until finals and then I’m heading off to New York and settling in for a busy summer.
“So how’s life been?” you ask. Well, I must say I’ve been asked this question quite often lately, and I feel like I don’t have anything new and exciting to tell that I haven’t already told. I realized yesterday though, that that is a good thing. I’m enjoying my life as it is right now. I’m happy. I’m getting solid A’s and B’s in school. I’m finishing up a blessed semester spent volunteering in a 3rd grade classroom where I’ve been given continual responsibilities to lead the class and discover good ways to teach. I’ve gotten back on track with God this past week and have been rediscovering why I love him as I revel in his love for me. I lost a pound! 
Only 5 more to go…. It’s my 21st birthday this week and I get to spend the evening with my two best friends at the Happiest Place on Earth. I managed to swing a B on my last BIO test which replaced the D+ I got on the first one. I got to spend the weekend visiting friends I haven’t seen in months at APU and spending the night with Nicole at Biola after making some more plans for New York. I get to see my beautiful family next weekend. Yep, life is good. If I must complain, I’m unhappy about the cold that has lasted over two weeks now, my trouble with getting the rythms with the latest piano song I’m trying to learn, and crash dieting is not so fun.
Okay, let’s break it down. Everything seems to be due at school. I have a final project this week where I and my partner will be teaching the class about population ecology and leading an activity. I have two semester long notebooks that need to be completed and turned in this week. I have a quiz and a test in the next couple weeks before I start cramming for finals. Finals ended up being nicely spread out over the week this time, which is good since I have several challenging classes this semester.
I have two days left at Landell Elementary. It has been a wonderful experience. I love being in the classroom, and I’ve learned so much from my supervising teacher. She’s been great in letting me take over different things in her class. Tomorrow I will be leading the literature lesson as we read Charlotte’s Web together, talk about the vocab words and discuss what we’ve read. That’s a new one for me. Hopefully it goes well. I think it wil.
At small group this week Farah asked the hard question that she’s been faithful to ask me so many times. “How are things going with God.” It was quiet for a moment before I said, “I don’t really want to answer that.” She asked why and I had to get down and dirty and confess that I wasn’t being faithful in my quiet times and haven’t felt inclined to do anything about it. I hate being honest when I know I am being a slacker. It’s tough. I’ve had this conversation before a few weeks ago, and the only thing that came out of it was a quiet time that night. I’m happy to say, I’m back on track. I told myself I’d been going without God for long enough and I needed to stop making excuses, especially since I could feel his presence was missing when I stopped meeting with him daily. It does make a difference. My eyes are once again being opened to the blessings in my life and the beauty that is surrounding me. I’ve found myself to be patient whenI’m forced to go out of my way because it allows me to take a breath and not rush. Spring is by far my favorite season. I love the flowers that are eager to poke their heads out as the sun shines with a gentle breeze teasing my hair. I’ve discovered that my campus has oodles of honeysuckle and jasmine: my favorite scent ever. Inhaling jasmine as I waltz to class definitely puts a spring my step. Reading Psalms in church this morning praising God and speaking of his love stirred something deep inside. Since I’ve been neglecting to spend time with God, I’m having to rediscover what it means to be loved by the creator of the universe. I’m taking baby steps to rediscovering that and am enjoying every minute as I try to be patient with the finish line.
I put a small goal on myself months ago to get rid of 6 lbs. I’ve tried so many things, and it’s frustrating when my schedule doesn’t allow much time for exercise. I’ve finally managed to lose 1 lb. I’ve tried so many different things, eating light snacks instead of huge meals as I’ve discovered I eat when I’m not hungry quite often. I’ve tried only eating healthy foods. These things have only seemed to keep me stable at my current weight. I’m not losing weight for selfish reasons, but for healthy ones. I’m not trying to lose a ridiculous amount. I just want to stay at the average weight for a girl my height. Crash dieting is not my favorite thing. I’ve read so many places that it does nothing. But, it’s the only thing that I’ve gotten results from. Nothing else seemed to do anything. I haven’t stopped eating altogether. That would not be good. I just stick to one well rounded meal and lots of liquids to stay hydrated. I’m hoping that once I reach my average weight I will be able to go to those other options of healthy foods and keep my stable weight. I’ve been a little concerned with myself as I seem to be doing things contributing to my appearance lately. I’m currently loading an exercising video for after my blogging break, whitening my teeth, I cut and highlighted my hair, need to touch up my manicure, and now this dieting thing. I’ve been praying that my appearance isn’t getting in the way of me cherishing who God has made me to be. I don’t want to be blinded by the things of this world. But I do want to take care of the body God has given me. I’ve been praying that my thoughts toward these changes is pure and not out of line.
I can hardly believe my birthday is this week! I have a meeting in the morning, an enrollment appointment for my summer class, final projects due, and school all day. But my evening is free, and I’m excited about the prospect of using my free Disneyland pass with Nicole who has a pass and Farah who works there and gets in free. It should be an enjoyable day. I also bought a cute little tiara that looks great with my new haircut! 
Yes, lots of people get wasted for their 21st birthday. I decided being allowed to drink is not the most amazing privilege in the world and have chosen not to drink at all in order to prove that point. Plus, I don’t think I’ll even like it so I don’t want to waste my money.
This weekend I was able to get together with Kaitlyn which was awesome because she’s leaving for Vietnam for 2 years in the beginning of July. I can’t believe I won’t see her in that time, even though we only see each other twice a year. But it was wonderful to catch up with her and I felt very encouraged as she shared with me the things God has been teaching her and the ways that she’s grown. She pointed out that we’ve been friends for 4 years now, which is just crazy! We still smile over the fact that we were introduced by our exes and even though both those relationships are a thing of the past, we’ve stayed strong. Just one more reason why we’re thankful for the things God taught us and the blessings be brought us out of that time. I was also able to hang out with Sean and Bino afterwards which was an unexpected blessing. I always come away from hanging out with them feeling very happy that I know them and feeling like I had a very enjoyable afternoon of laughing and fellowshipping with two great people. I don’t see them very often either but it makes me even more thankful when I do get the chance to do so.
I spent the night at Biola and was able to make some more plans with Nicole. I feel like we still have oodles to do, but we made a good head start. We have our plane tickets. We have our Mary Poppins Broadway tickets. We found some free activities including a Yoga class at Bryant Park, Taylor Swift on the Today Show, a family concert at Central Park, two person kayaks for either 20 minutes unguided or 3 hours guided on the Hudson River. Grand Central Station looked good for getting souveneirs. We also looked into $12 ferry passes to Ellis Island and $25 metro cards that are good for unlimited bus and metro rides for 7 days. I also looked into some churches to see where we should go to church on the Sunday that we’re there. Calvary Baptist Church seemed to come up in a few different places. So we might head over there. We need to compile all the places we want to go and map it out to see what places are close together. Nicole was also very excited about Serendipity. Apparently it’s expensive but we can split some dessert there and perhaps spot some celebrities as has been known to happen.
I’ve really been missing my family. I haven’t seen them since Easter. I’ll be very glad to go home next weekend.
My summer is quickly stacking up with activities. I will be working at Tri-City Summer Day Camp. I’m taking an online Health class at MiraCosta. I’m taking my next CSET exam in July and the last one in September, so studying is going to take up my evenings again. 2 hours 6 days a week. I gotta pass! I will also be directing the amazing skit Lifehouse Everything Skit at my church with some youth. I’m excited for this service opportunity and for being able to provide a place for some youth to get invovlved. It’s been on my heart the way that there are so many people at church who have talents and just need an opportunity and an invitation specifically to them to get involved. That’s how I got into worship team. I’m hoping to do that for some unsuspecting youth at Generation.
That’s me ladies and gents. Hope you’ve enjoyed our chat. Maybe we can do it again soon.
