It's only been a year and a handful of months since my last post so hopefully you weren't holding your breath for this one! Life's been fun the last year...hang on to your diapies!
-Last spring I applied to nursing school here at San Diego State and naturally managed to mess it up since that's one thing I excel at. I didn't turn in my Spring 2012 transcript on time and got myself disqualified. More on that in a bit.
-All I remember about the semester was a lot of racing and traveling up and down the state with my team which made it flyyyyyyyyy by. In May I mistreated my Blackberry doing something very immature (Cinco de Mayo, take it how you'd like to) and then ended up joining the iPhone club. Dear ole dad really knows how to pull through. :) The day after that happened, part of our team traveled to Philadelphia for a regatta there. That was the trip of a lifetime and surprisingly really relaxing even though we went during finals week. The day after we got back from Philly, I moved out of my first apartment and stayed with my cousins and watched their twinsies for 3 weeks until my cousin was able to stay home and watch them. They were 8 months old at the time and SO darn cute. That was a busy month.
-Once I finally made it home to the Bay Area in June, I worked my booty off at the pool and elsewhere. I always manage to find plenty of work and I thank the Lord for continuously opening those doors! Definitely wouldn't be here otherwise. All that work in the sun really wore me out and I spent most of my "spare" time napping.
-My dear roommate, Emily, came north to visit in early July. She's from the midwest and hasn't seen a ton of California, so she was fortunate enough to follow me around for 8 days. Woo! I took her to work, to babysit, and even to hang out with my friends. ;) What a treat.
-August brought our annual family vacation up to Tahoe. As always, that was a a nice refreshing and renewing trip. I was beating myself raw by that point of the summer so it was totally needed when it came. A week later I found myself in the gorgeous Yosemite National Park. My dad and I did our usual marathon-long hike and I couldn't walk for about 4 days. Not too shabby.
-August 20th I moved into my second apartment with my same roommate ('til I die). We got to legitimately start from scratch and decorate this place top to bottom. We fell head-over-heels in love with our new place, and our third roommate just sealed the deal!
-Two weeks later, we fell out of love with our apartment when bedbugs were found. My skin still crawls at the thought and let me just tell you, it was THE worst physical experience of my life. I've never been more uncomfortable in my life. I itched from head to toe and emotion-wise: I was a wreak. I don't even cry often...but man, that was a dramatic week or so. We got treated and have been clear ever since, but they will forever haunt me. There's just something unsettling about finding a creature crawling around on your sheets.
-Fall semester was my first in the Kinesiology major. I enjoyed it but never felt like it was actually mine. I kind of felt like I was going to class for someone else those four months, but I managed to get the best GPA I've had since starting college, so that's nothing to complain about. It was also a lot easier compared to when I did nursing so I guess there's nothing wrong with that. :)
-Winter break was fantastic. I spent the first part of it in Nashville visiting some precious family members of mine. We toured downtown, stalked Jason Aldean, and just spent a few days reconnecting after so many years. I came home and then was lucky enough (cough cough) to drive back down to Orange County for a family gathering. Then drive back to northern California the following morning for another family gathering. I love my family, but 20 hours in the car in 40 hours was a lot.
-I survived the end of the world. It was really eventful...
-We celebrated Christmas by laying around in jammies watching movies and eating yummy food...complete perfection. However, I did start and finish my Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve and that was not perfection.
-Of course seeing all my amigos again was beyond wonderful. I just love those goofballs with my entire heart and soul; seeing them brings me so much delight and joy. There's just something about those people God chose for me and I couldn't be more thrilled with His pickings.
-New Years Eve was successful and much better than last year's. If you know me well enough, you'll know why. If not, just trust that statement. I'm still having a problem accepting 2013 as the new year because I really liked the sound of 2012. I just don't like odd numbers. Hurry up, 2014! But at the same time, take your time.
-I feel like I did SO much over break but I can't even remember anymore. Which is sad because it's barely been a month. When I came back to school the second week of January, I just laid around and rowed for a while. Then school had to start so naturally, that sucked. It hasn't been completely terrible, but 8am class/practice everyday is draining. I can't wait to turn off my alarm for once.
-Last weekend was the annual Athletes in Action Winter Retreat and an absolute BLAST. Holy moly, God is SO good. The community of believers is breathtaking and so encouraging. I've strengthened and started relationships and am looking forward to what the future holds. There was so much spiritual growth going on up there that my socks literally were knocked off. I just ended up duct taping them on by Sunday.
Now that most of my life is up-to-date, I can finally start preaching. This last year (and however many months) has really been a time of growth in my life. My heart has grown, my faith has grown, and my overall knowledge of life has grown. I couldn't be any happier with where God has me right now, and I know that it probably won't be like this for long, so I'm taking it in while I can. Life has ups and it has downs, but this up I'm trying to ride out forever. It feels so good to be on a Jesus high and love every aspect of my life. Back to the nursing school rejection- I'm so glad I'm not in the program right now. First off, it's extremely difficult and stressful, but I also wouldn't be able to continue rowing and that's become a piece of me. Second, it's really opened my eyes to graduate school (in nursing still) and I have the desire to go out of state and see the world. Spread my wings a bit! Without the denial, I would have never thought about leaving or reaching for something bigger. I've always been a very practical person, but now that I'm dreaming life's gotten fun! The retreat last weekend really brought me back to finding my identity in Him and reorganizing my "plans". I'm so grateful for the cross and the Lord who carried that cross solely for us. How could we need anything else?
Thanks for catching up with me! I think I had a lot more to write, but this should suffice for another year and a half. :)
