Interactive.

This week is finals week, and it's been stressful to the max! Ugh. No good.
But it's definitely been good for me to go through all of this. I'm learning how to better manage my time, and I'm learning what NOT to do. I'm learning that it's important to work really hard, but it's also important to step back and take a break.
I am working really hard. I understand what a HUGE blessing it is to be here, and I'm so thankful to all the people it took to get me here - I don't want to let them down. I don't want to let GOD down. So I wake up every day, I go to school, and I try my hardest on every test and on every paper.

So I had an idea. I am kind of having trouble finding things to write about - I know how everything is here, but I don't know what all you know. I want to know what you want to know about my life here and my experience!
Basically, I'm asking you to post your questions. What do you want to know about what I'm going through? It'll be easier for me to understand what to write about if I know what you want to read.
And seriously, this blog is for YOU. It's for me to keep in touch with you, and for me to keep you updated on how my life is going. Because you helped get me here - you deserve to have your questions answered! Please don't hesitate to ask anything.
I can't wait to hear back from you! It'll be like an interactive blog - we'll share it. ;)

Love you guys! Miss you!

Bye Hair!

Hey everybody! I got my hair cut! It's really short, but I like it. Hope you do too! One of the AIM girls here has her beautician's license, and so she cuts our hair for free. Yay!

I'm so sorry it's been such a long time since I've written. Life here has really picked up and gotten busy - we had midterms and some big tests and some hard assignments, so I haven't had a whole lot of time lately. But I will try to get better at writing and putting pictures on here. I know I keep saying that, but it's so hard!

I really need to go and get some homework done, but hopefully I'll get to write more later. I love you guys, and I miss you. Thank you for helping to get me here...you are a blessing.

Overload.

Wow, what a busy weekend! From my birthday to Area Church to procrastinating studying, it's been crazy. I'm ready for some stability!

I never have enough time to do anything. Actually, that's not true. God gives me enough time to do things - I just don't manage it well. I really need to work on that.

I miss you guys. But I'm hanging in there. This week is going to be better.

What I make it.

So my birthday was good, but it was hard. It was really hard. I think it was because it was my first one away from home. I was really homesick. And I think I just had a lot of expectations for yesterday that didn't happen, so I felt let-down and sad.

But all together, when I look back on yesterday, I'll remember how loved I felt. My classmates really took care of me - they took me out to eat, made me a cake, broke curfew to get the eggs for that cake, made cupcakes, bought me cards, everything. I felt loved, cared for, cherished, and valued by people I only met a month ago. It was wonderful.

Nineteen, wow. I hope it's a good year. But then again, I know it is what I make it.

Birthday.

Today is my birthday. I am nineteen years old. How did that happen?

To my family members who were supposed to come down -
I'm sorry the plans didn't work out. I wish I could see all of you, because I miss you a lot today. And every day. But we'll work something out soon. And be reassured by the fact that I'm surrounded by people who love me a whole, whole lot.

My classmates are showing me God's love every day - especially today. It completely blows me away.

God is so good to me.

Out.

I'm sorry it's been so long. Life has been really insane! I'm pretty much scraping by on everything - food, laundry, energy, sleep - so it's hard to find time to do anything! Most of my time goes to homework, which is getting more difficult as we speak. Yikes!

So anyway. I'm sorry for not doing better on keeping you updated - I promise, I really will find a way to get pictures up soon. And once things start to settle down, and once there are clean clothes in my closet, and once there is edible food in our pantry...then it will be easier to come on here and write blogs every day. And I really want to do that - I want you guys to be informed of what's going on here. It just gets hard sometimes.

Encouragement from home is much appreciated. Whether it's in the form of a letter, a package, a phone call, a text message, a comment, anything...I love it and it helps me. But if it's a comment, please put your name! Isn't there a way you can click "other" and then put your name? Maybe you should try it. I really like knowing who they're from.

Love you guys. I'm hanging in there, so you better do the same.

California, here we come.

We leave for California in a little more than EIGHT HOURS! I am so excited!

I have so much packing left to do though, and it's already eleven o'clock. Yikes. But all the shopping is done, now I just have to find a way to cram everything into my bags!

But in other news, our Area Church trip today was awesome. I took so many pictures, and we had such an amazing time. More details later though, I promise. I have to go pack!

I love you guys, and I'll miss you. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll hear from me somehow during this next week!

Love, love, love you.

How hard it is to escape from places. However carefully one goes they hold you - you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the fences - like rags and shreds of your very life.

-Katherine Mansfield