Wednesday, September 28, 2011

STUDY BREAAAKKK!!!

First off I would like to say--still haven't had any coffee!!

Midnight Study Breaks in college consist of...
-Popcorn and M&M's
-Cookie Dough
-Turning up the music (thank you Pandora!)
-Thinking about doing laundry, but deciding you can go a few more days. (Yes, people do laundry at really weird hours... so what?)
-Getting excited about Honduras!
-Massive "YOU CAN DO IT!" encouragement text messages sent out to all of my friends who I know are studying too.

And... back to studying! Gotta love having 3 tests in ONE day!


Monday, September 26, 2011

"Dam! Dam! Dam!"

Every Monday morning, I go to an elementary school in Bryan (just outside of cstat) and work with two 1st graders and help them read. My first child is bilingual...

So today I was helping the little girl (she barely speaks English so there is a MAJOR language barrier, b/c even though I understand some Spanish, we have her speak English, THANK GOODNESS!), and we were labeling pictures on a worksheet. (So dumb... such boring busy work... too bad I'm not allowed to be creative and make it fun!) For example, there would be a picture of a box, and underneath it would be ____ox, so they would have to write the "b".

Well, we get to a picture of a dam. It takes her a little while, but she figures it out. She writes the "d" and I went to praise her for knowing the difference between "b" and "d" when she stands up on her chair, jumps off and runs around the classroom squawking "DAM! DAM! DAM! DAM!"...

What the heck?! Who on Earth would put a picture of a dam on a worksheet that is geared towards young children? Geesh Louise!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Heading Chome

After the week I've had, I'm heading CHOME for the weekend!

I've been majorly stressed out about tests and school stuff, and trying to fit in polo and studying and still be able to have fun and see my friends. Literally, I've been losing hair this week, and the last time that happened was the month after my Gramma passed away.

There was a rainbow today though! I had just rode my bike through a rain storm right before I found out that I didn't do well at all on my political science test this week. (Rain always reminds me of a saying that my Gramma used to say when it was just her and I watching the rain/snow -- "I love it when it rains because it reminds me that those in Heaven are watching over me".) Ever since she passed away rain has meant a lot to me. It rained on my 18th birthday, and the day that I graduated. It rained on her birthday, and the 6 month anniversary of the day she made it into Heaven. I cannot see it rain without smiling anymore, and I love it. Well, I had just rode my bike through the rain, grinning the entire time. I found out my exam grade and took it pretty hard. I decided to get off of campus and so I went to Target for some therapeutic shopping (yay for gift cards!), and on my way I saw a BEAUTIFUL rainbow. It was the reminder I needed of the rain and the metaphor that is for me. It was also a "hey, things do turn out well. there's beauty behind the storm" thing for me.

Well... I've been needing to get out of C-stat and so when the opportunity to go work a retreat at Cho-Yeh came about, I immediately said yes. So, I'm going CHOME (Cho-Home) this weekend! I will be able to see two of the ladies that were instrumental in my summer and also get to hang out with some other counselors. I can't step foot onto camp property and not be grinning ear-to-ear, and so therefore I know that being back for the weekend is going to do wonders for me!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Something a Professor Said

"Those of you who go to bed want to wake up in the morning... those of you that don't are suicidal"

Thank goodness for professors who know how to make college kids laugh! I don't think I'm going to be able to ever say "I just want to go to bed and not wake up for a long time!" the same way ever again!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Who Knew?!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” --Dr. Seuss

^^That was the quote that was on the inside of my graduation invitation, and I had no idea how true that statement was until this semester.

In college, you really can be ANYBODY that you want to be. College has really taught me who I am and what I stand for more than anything has so far.

Your identity is found and defined by three things.
1) What you are apart of.
2) What you do on the weekends.
3) What you put on facebook.

For me...
1) I am apart of the TAMU Women's Water Polo Club, and the Cho-Yeh group that is prevalent here on campus. There are quite a few other things that people are involved in... I heard about the "Illegal Substances Club" the other day, and somehow walked through the cigar club's meeting (nope, couldn't breathe walkin' through that!). There are some pretty crazy things on campus, but I think I've found a good set to be involved in!
2) On the weekends, I hang out with my friends (without going to bars or clubs or drinking or being brought back by the cops, or any of the other crazy things I have witnessed) and I study. I go to church on Sunday's, and then out to eat with Kevin before we go back and study together. I go to the football games with my friends, and instead of going and having 1 beer for every touchdown (which happens A LOT... or one "something" for every touchdown), we go and get frozen yogurt. If I'm not in c-stat then I'm either in Livingston working, in Houston with the family, or road-tripping to see Cho-friends!
3) This is HUGE. I don't understand why some people put up the things they do as far as pictures and status' go. It's ridiculous and absurd.

I thought of that quote tonight as I was sitting in an education meeting. Dr. Seuss is SO right!!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

18 Hours in Evans....

(Evans is our library on campus)

FRIDAY: 3:00-5:00, 6:00-9:00
SATURDAY: 10:30-3:30
SUNDAY: 3:00-8:00

Those are the times that I have spent in the library over the past 3 days working on political science ALONE! Not to count the hours that I have spent in my room or on my couch studying for polisci and other classes. I literally have polisci oozing out of my nose and ears at this point. GROSS! My head hurts (yes, it's possible!), and I'm so ready to just be done with this test. I've been stressing out WAY too much over this, and am ready to get the first one over with! My exam is tomorrow!

The rest of the week is going to be positive though:

Monday afternoon: Lunch with Kevin, seeing Kristen Dennison (Cho friend), polo for an hour, than sitting in on a "meeting" where a professional story teller is coming in order to fufill an assignment for my education class.

Tuesday: Geography, Lunch with Kristen Trapnell, Music, NO HISTORY (whoop!), education class project meeting, water polo, dinner with Shannon (polo friend), then BREAKAWAY!!

Wednesday: Class, LONG BREAK!, Class, LONG BREAK!, water polo, Cho-Yeh Bible Study!

Thursday: Class, Impact Small Group Lunch/Hangout, Class, Class, no polo :), NCIS premiere night with Kesli and Renee (impact counselors)!

Friday: Class, long break, Class... then...

I'M GOING TO CHO-YEH FOR THE WEEKEND!!!!!! I need out of cstat stat (haha), and know that a weekend surrounded by camp friends is just what I need to be remotivated to come back to A&M have a good next week :)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

"Did you..."

"Did you dye your hair? It looks darker?"

"Did you color your hair? It looks blonder and lighter?"

"Did you cut your hair? It looks shorter?"

"Did you highlight your hair?

"Did your hair grow? It looks longer?"

No, I didn't!! All of these questions were asked (sometimes by 2 or 3 different people) within 30 minutes... I guess this is what happens when I wear my hair in something other than a messy bun or a french braid. Hmm...

It gave me a good laugh :)

Friday, September 16, 2011

Feels like Home

As I was walking back from class today, I realized that after being here a month (yes, it's already been 4 weeks!) this place is starting to feel like home. I know my way around for the most part, I know my schedule, and I have surrounded myself with a good set of friends. I have remembered how to laugh at myself when I do dumb things (like walking into a pole this morning on my way to class), and I'm more "me" than I was earlier. I'm back in the elementary schools once a week, and so being surrounded by kids is such a comforting feeling and something that I have missed SO much. Polo has started up, and so I'm back in the water 3ish times a week. Genny and I can essentially read each others minds, and I've found a really good friend that is also on the water polo team and we have dinner every night after practice together. It's starting to feel like home.

I made a comment earlier about how I have missed being around kids, which has probably been one of the hardest things about being here (besides missing my family and my camp friends). Seriously. Senior year I was teaching swim lessons, was at the elementary school 3 times a week, and was volunteering with the children's programs at church. I was ALWAYS surrounded by kids, and I loved it. This summer I spent 10 weeks LIVING with 8-10 year olds. Then, all of a sudden, I'm thrown into this world where I live on a college campus and don't see kids ever. It was depressing!

Thank goodness c-stat is starting to feel like home. Maybe it's because I'm constantly busy and have something that I look forward to everyday? Monday is "lunch date with Kevin" day. Tuesday is "lunch date with Kristen and Breakaway" day. Wednesday is "Cho-Yeh Bible Study" day. Thursday is "Impact hangout/lunch" day. Friday is, well, FRIDAY! I already had my lab this morning, and only have one class left today. Then I'm having lunch with Kevin, and studying for polisci for a majority of the afternoon. Tonight is midnight yell, and tomorrow is the first day since classes started that I get to sleep in!!!!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Walmart Extravanganza

I bought some interesting things at Walmart today, considering I live in a dorm room and don't ever make real food


  • 4 Kids Lunchables (remember those?!)

  • Cookie Dough (no, i don't have an oven. Guess I'll just have to eat it like we did at camp!)

  • Shredded Velveeta Cheese (to eat with bread... duh)

  • 2 hot dogs (yes, a package of just 2 of them)

  • DUNKAROOS!!! (haven't had those since I was a kid)

  • Off-brand bread, delish

  • 4 bottles of chocolate milk (only problem, they wouldn't all fit in my fridge so I had to drink two as soon as I got home!)

  • Fold-top lunch baggies! (i didn't know they still had those... plus I got 100 for 50 cents!)



I mean... those are a normal combination of things to get at walmart right?

This is What I Have Learned...

Velveeta Mac'n'cheese is SO much better than easy mac.

The fact that I have 3 tests on one day is going to cause major torture.

Off brand bread tastes just like "name brand" bread.

Peanut butter tastes just as good on a knife as it does on bread and crackers.

Funfetti cake mix is actually really good by itself. But don't talk until you have swallowed all of it.

All of the sorority houses are on one street.

Food at the Rec is worth waiting 15 minutes for.

It is perfectly okay to put your laundry in the wash, go to class, come back and switch it into a dryer, take a nap, then come back and take it back to your room.

8 AM classes are just torture.

Staring at a "countdown timer" actually makes the class go by faster.

The library is WAY too quiet to ever study in there.

It is possible to make it a week without coffee. I've gone 4.

Going 4 months without rain causes some people to forget how to drive when it does actually sprinkle.

Pandora is amazing and is about to surpass the website I visit the most (yes... nearly beating facebook, google, and blogger!)

Shredded velveeta cheese can be eaten by itself, and my roommate doesn't even look at me weird anymore.

There is never a "bad" time or location for a nap.

Ice makes everything taste better, even cstat water.

When professor's cancel the next class, they need to wait till the end of the current class to announce that, because if they say it at the beginning, they have no hope in regaining our attention.

People walk in or leave class 25 minutes early/late like it's not a big deal.

Holding an ice-cube on your tongue after you burnt it hurts really bad!

Early morning bike rides are relaxing (if you are up in time).

Never answer "yes" if somebody asks you if you are a freshman. They are going to want you to sign up for some club and waste your time telling you about it. And more than likely, you don't have the time.

That's about it for now... I've learned a bunch in college!!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Sorority Houses Scare Me

That is what I realized tonight. We had our Cho-Yeh Bible Study at one of the sorority houses. Oh. My. Gosh.

First of all, the place looks like the White House. SERIOUSLY. HUGE! Second, I'm pretty sure the room that we were in had more expensive furniture than I have ever seen. I was scared to sit on the couch it was too nice... geesh.

I could never be in a sorority.

15 Pages? REALLY?

So... my prof doesn't like our textbook but we are still being tested over it even though what he is lecturing about and the chapter we are supposed to be reading don't correlate AT ALL! Makes perfect sense, right? He gave us 4 pages of things that we needed to know out of the textbook chapters (essentially he could have just said "know everything" and saved a bunch of trees). I FINALLY finished today... this was the outcome.



Tuesday, September 13, 2011

14 Hour Tuesdays

It has been 14 hours since I have been back in my dorm. This is ridiculous! And unfortunately it is going to become a typical thing for Tuesday's. Get this.

9:35-10:50: Geography
11-11:50: Study in Commons
11:50-12:30: Lunch with Kristen
12:45-2: Music
2:20-3:35: History
3:45-5:15: Meet with TEFB project group
5:40: Walk over to Rec
6:15-7:30 (Normally until 8:15): Water Polo Practice
7:45-8:15: Dinner with Shannon at the Rec
8:20: Walk over to Kyle Field and wait to get into Breakaway
9-10:30: BREAKAWAY
10:30-11: Walk back to dorm

11:07: Arrive at dorm and kerplop. Down a gatorade and a huge glass of water. Blog. Now to start studying...

As much as Tuesday's are going to be tiring for me, I LOVE that I get to end it (kinda) with Breakaway!!

Monday, September 12, 2011

Collegiate Polo :)

It's official! I am a part of the Texas A&M Women's Water Polo Team! WHOOP!

2 years ago I never would've dreamed I'd be playing water polo in college. Ever. I was the littlest on my high school team, and was too scared of getting a foul called on me to ever be aggressive. Lookin' back on that, I laugh. This past season I was called for fouls ALL the time, and even got ejected once or twice (or several times...). Somewhere between then and now I became sightly more aggressive... hmm...

When I toured A&M in the spring of 2010, I watched the girls team play in a tournament. It was then that I realized the possibility of me playing polo in college. Look here for my blog from that time.

Now, I'm on the team! I am one of the fastest, and still one of the littlest (although there are 2 girls smaller than me!). It was so much fun getting to practice with the team today, even though we all quickly realized how out of shape we were. The group of girls seem really nice, and I'm excited to have the opportunity to play for Texas A&M!! YAHOO!!!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Deposit Done!

I just mailed my deposit... It's official-I will be spending a week in HONDURAS on a mission trip with Camp Cho-Yeh in January!!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

One place on my mind

Honduras. So many little things have been revealed to me this past week, and I know that I'm supposed to be in Honduras. I'm planning on sending my deposit in this weekend to secure my spot! GAH! So exciting :)

Class. Bike. Study. Eat. Talk. Skype. Sleep.

Is it bad that I can essentially sum up my college life in 7 words?

Class: Luckily, they don't seem to bad! I mean, I have polisci which is destined to be a fun-sucker but other than that they are okay. My professor's are decent, some are even funny and enjoyable to listen to. I have also learned that I will never again be taking an 8AM class if I don't absolutely have to, nor will I have classes on Friday if I can avoid them. I don't know WHAT I was thinking when I put my lab on a Friday!!

Bike: Oh, I have several funny stories that include me and my bike. First of all, I LOVE having a bike on campus, I can essentially get anywhere in under 10 minutes now, and my farthest class is only a 7 minute bike ride. YES! First funny story... it's 7:45 and I'm riding my bike to my 8AM class. I'm exhausted to say the least. I'm trying to eat go-gurt while riding my bike, and kinda sorta ran into a stop sign. Not like a full on collision, more of just a side scrape. Luckily, nobody saw... phew! It was super windy and cold outside and when I walked into class, my professor stopped me at the door with this "2 things to ask you this morning: 1) what on Earth are you eating? 2) Why do you look like you just walked through a hurricane?" GREAT!!! Bike story number 2... I'm not the most coordinated person in the world, everybody knows that. You can probably think of several ways I could potentionally hurt myself. I have one that you didn't think of! An acorn fell on my head!!! Now, that doesn't seem like a huge deal. But, did you know that a typical acorn falls at 28 mph? And it has a force of 19.6 Newtons? Yeah, betcha didn't! IT HURT!! Geesh...

Study: That's about all I do. I read, and take notes, and read some more. Thank goodness this reading isn't too terrible right now, and I'm keeping caught up for the most part. I mean, I only study typically 6-8 hours a day. No biggie, right? Ha. I have no life. Luckily, nobody else has a life either :)

Eat: Oh food. I have actually semi-expanded my horizons. I eat a lot of turkey/ham/cheese sub sandwiches. And a lot of mac'n'cheese. And grilled cheese! Oh, I had a really good grilled chicken sandwich the other day. mmmmm :) I have taken a liking to burritos, and will have those along with wraps occasionally on campus. I even tried a Sbisa sandwich!! I know, you've never heard of it.. neither had I, which typically means I wouldn't even touch it with a 10 foot pole. Let me describe it to you... Warm and soft cookies make the bread, and ice-cream goes in the middle! DELISH! (yes, it's a menu item :D )

Talk: I seem to do that a lot lately. I spend a lot of time on the phone late at night with my camp friends. I spent 10 weeks with them, and I miss hearing about their days and what is going on in their lives. I also enjoy sitting on "my couch" (it's a couch in the hall of my dorm that literally nobody ever sits on. I study, talk on the phone, read, listen to music, do about anything there. It's awesome!) with some of my friends from Impact and just talking about life and what God is showing us through daily things. It's pretty great!

Skype: When phone conversations just aren't enough... Typically Carley and I skype 2 times a week, and I've skyped Renee once. It just makes me SO happy to see their faces! I miss them!

Sleep: When all of the previously listed things are done, I get to sleep! I normally get a nap on Monday/Wednesday's, which is awesome. I normally go to bed around 12:30-1, and am always up at either 7 or 8. I'm constantly tired, and rarely sleep through the night which is weird. I wake up and realize all these things I didn't do, or things I need to remember to get next time I'm at Walmart, or things that I forgot to tell somebody, or a text message that I never sent. It's SO frustrating!! Blah.

There's college for ya :)



Friday, September 2, 2011

Honduras?

I absolutely love to serve. It is something I am really passionate about and enjoy getting to volunteer and minister to others.

So... when I found out about 30 minutes ago that Cho-Yeh Staff was going on a mission trip, I got really excited. I've only been able to go on one actual mission trip with my church (not counting little mission projects), and I've always been bummed when the dates conflicted with vacations or summer camp. Serving + camp = destined to be AMAZING!

The trip is a week in January to HONDURAS! We would spend the morning building 2-3 houses, and then run a day camp in the afternoons/evenings for children in Honduras. That's what Cho-Yeh does best, ministering to kids.

It's definitely going to be something that I'm going to be praying about, but I really want to go!