Five: Being Taught In the Midst

(I'm sick of those posts detailing the week's happenings.  Let's do something different.)

>>> Fresh air and open spaces are a really great cure-all. <<<

>>> Mondays aren't all that bad. <<<

>>> Striking up conversations with strangers is worth it. <<<

>>> Fear has no place in the heart of a christian. <<<

>>> Late nights are great, but only if you can sleep in the next day. <<<

>>> Small church > mega church. <<<

>>> Looking perfect every day isn't a good goal. <<<

>>> Alone time is very important. <<<

>>> Itching to create something is a natural occurrence; don't ignore it. <<<

>>> Balance, balance, balance. <<<

>>> Staying on top of homework is a must. <<<

>>> Honesty really is the best policy. <<<

>>> Give of yourself freely, but don't open your heart to just anyone. <<<

>>> Sometimes you need to say "no." <<<

>>> Listening to good music every day is almost a necessity. <<<

>>> Hard work is the best kind. <<<

>>> Time with God every morning is huge. Never, ever skip it. <<<

The Fourth Week of College

Life at Liberty has been progressing at an alarming rate.

I have been here a month now, but it still feels like it's only been a few days.  Like, what why and how??? O_O  Let's just say, I'm so looking forward to the future, when we're not bound by the constraints of time anymore.  That will be amazing.

Anyway, as I was saying, I'm done with a month of college, and it's been so good.  Between classes and homework, I've been snowboarding a few times, and, surprisingly, getting better.  Which has been so cool.  Snowboarding is fun.

So, I'll just keep this post short and sweet, and y'all can look forward to a more detailed update next Sunday. :)

P.S. HAPPY [early] HOBBIT DAY! ^_^

Week 3: Jaws and Snowboardng

So two "firsts" occurred in my 3rd week of college life: I saw Jaws and I snowboarded.

You might have already seen this on my Youtube channel, but if not, here's a little vid I put together of my attempts at snowboarding.  There's lots of hopping and falling and not much gliding, but it's pretty funny.  Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at, right?? ;D

So, I hope you're curious about whether or not I made it on the team -- though you can probably guess the answer. ;D  No, I wasn't chosen to be one of the beginner snowboarders, to be taught how to do tricks in 8 weeks and at the end compete against the other teams.  Which I'm totally okay with.  I think I prefer learning to snowboard on my own time.

Which leads me to the second part of this snowboarding fiasco -- a bunch of the other "rejects" and I have created our own little snowboarding group!!  One girl thought of the idea and sent out an email to us, and our first practice / get together thingy is tomorrow.  I think it'll be such fun, to practice snowboarding with other people who can't do it any better than I can. ;D

And now: JAWS.  Ehm.

Well, what can I say.  It's a classic for a reason -- but it's also quite rough.  As in... lots of blood, gore, and otherwise questionable content.  I don't think I'll be seeing this one again. ;)  On the other hand, watching a crazy movie for class is pretty great.  Film appreciation for the win, right!?! ;D

Now, I'm off to do some homework... yay philosophy reading...

Week Two, Two Weeks

And just like that--

my second week of college is a thing of the past.  And this is what I learned:

college is what you make it.

I've had so many options these past two weeks as far as what I could be feeling -- happy, sad, excited, disappointed, energetic, lazy, friendly, lonely, upset, joyful... but I can only "feel" as much as I allow myself to feel within my circumstances, and in this mindset, I've been learning to look at the positives.

1) I'm not friendless.  Okay, no, I don't have any "bosom buddies" yet, but I also don't feel as lonely as I did last week.  I've met so many wonderful people at Liberty so far, and for that I am so thankful -- but this week, I'm thankful for being able to deepen a few of those acquaintance-ships.  It's so easy to take friendship for granted, and my loneliness has made me value a smile on eye contact much, much more than I used to.

2) I'm not bored.  There have been so many fun opportunities this week, including Liberty's mini-film festival! (Dan Gordon and Stephen Kendrick being the biggest names of the guests. Like, whaaaaat!).  Plus, now I'm sick, so I get to enjoy lying in bed sniffling my little heart out in my free time.  Which makes me really sad, because Liberty was showing Avengers: Age of Ultron last night after the first football game of the season, and I was dying to go... but I didn't... 'cause I'm sick and tired and not bitter at all.

3) I have fun classes.  Yeah, fun.  Sewing class, film appreciation, history of life, and philosophy have all been genuinely enjoyable.  Biblical worldview and "university core competencies," on the other hand, have not been fun, but I will survive, and they're easy classes anyway.  So, I'm super thankful for the fact that I have something to look forward to every week-day morning. (:

4) I've got God on my side.  Even if the whole world turned against me, you know who'd still be there for me?  That's right - Jesus Christ.  I believe I can handle this college thing pretty well with Him on my side.  I've been so glad that I've been able to consistently read the bible every morning; it's been my calm in the craziness. ^_^

5) It will get better from here.  Homework will get harder, courses will become more stressful... but I'll also meet and better get to know so many people, learn so much more academically, and - prayerfully - grow in my relationship with God.  I've got four stinkin' years of college ahead of me, and I'm determined to make the most of it. (:

Sooo, lastly... tomorrow begins Week Three.  I'm looking forward to the snowboarding competition tryouts on Tuesday (if I make it onto the "off-campus" team I might die from excitement), watching Jaws for film appreciation class (this course is seriously boss), and the Jurassic World movie night on Friday (yayy for getting to see it for the first time!!).  It'll be a good week.  I wish you a good week, too. :)

Until next Sunday! ^_^