Some things happening as of late:

1. Woke up Saturday morning, my throat felt like it was twice it's normal size and like all moisture had been sucked out of it. Feels better now, but I am going through my sickness of the year. Seriously, I never get sick. Of course, I'll be getting sick more often just because I said that. But it's the truth. The only time I get sick is when seasons change. Unfortunately, the season is changing to Fall. Therefore my head feels like it's locked in a cage. I've been drinking water all day, though, and feel better. This, too, shall pass.

2. Today, got called into the Principal's office. My teacher said that that is a good thing. I'm one of twelve or so people at my school who is officially a National Merit Commended Scholar! I got a certificate and everything! This is very exciting. We got cookies. There's going to be this family dinner in November then a formal thing in January where we get presented by the school board or something. I'm so relieved, and feel like my hard work payed off!

3. Took a Calculus test yesterday. I think I did well. But even if I didn't do as well it's okay. I got like a 99 on my last test. So there you go.

4. I have work tonight, then Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Ca-ching! But after that I'm DEFINITELY taking a break. My next paycheck will be pretty sweet, so I can afford it. The Oct 10-12 weekend I'm not going to work. Cy-Creek homecoming game, then homecoming dance! I'm very excited. Going with my Creek friends from church. Then the next week I'll go to the Cy-Fair/Cy-Creek game, as is tradition for me and Ally! I'm very excited. I love football games. I'm going to paint my face and go all out. BFND!

5. College application status: Sent in applications to Southwestern, UT (as well as Plan II Honors application, wish me luck!), UMHB, Baylor, OBU, and OkBU. Sent in transcript for all. Southwestern, UT, and Baylor already have my SAT scores. All I need now is to send SAT scores to UMHB, OBU, and OkBU, then Counselor/Teacher/Parent Reccommendation for Southwestern, then Teacher Reccommendation for UT, as well as an extended resume. Then I'm going to take a break from thinking about college until the letters come in. Sweet! I'm so glad that I'm on top of this and getting it done early. Oh, I'm also going to apply for this cool Leadership Scholarship thing for UMHB. Any church leaders want to write an awesome reccommendation for me? : )

6. School is still pretty easy. Still have an 85 in Government, but that's because we only have a quiz and essay grade in. Mr. Devries keeps forgetting to give us our Ch 2 quiz, and the test got moved to next Monday. Sweet!

7. SPEAKING OF NEXT MONDAY, daddy and I are going to take a roadtrip to Southwestern for a Pirate Preview day!! It will be from like 9-3 or so. There will be a tour, food, and I'm going to have an interview. Wish me luck! I'll take lots of pics and be sure to post about it. It's going to be awesome.

8. I've been getting back into ALIAS lately. I don't think I'll ever NOT be addicted to that show, no matter how many times I watch the seasons. I've seriously probably watched especially the first and second seasons about 5 or so times. But it never gets old. The pilot is still the best 2 hours of television I've ever seen. It gets better each time.

9. I've been learning a LOT about money management lately. It's been somewhat stressful for me, and something that occupies my thoughts a lot, as I have to pay for gas and food and buy birthday presents, etc. And, of course, the big dark cloud that is the IOU I have going for my parents is still  looming over my face. Little by little, I'll get there. I had a goal to pay them back by Christmas...but that will not happen. Right now I'm thinking that if I pay them back by the end of Senior year I'll be happy. But I still have money saved, and haven't been spending too much money except for essential things. And to help deal with my trust issues I felt led to tithe a considerably greater amount than I would normally, as I generally use the "10% rule", on Sunday. I felt it was an appropriate act of worship, as I was literally giving money, but also symbolically deciding to give over my attachment I have to my money and this newfound stingy attitude to God. It was a little difficult at first, but I made the decision to give cheerfully, and now I can see how it's definitely helped me. My money is not mine anways. I must remember that.

10. I used my Sonic Cruise Card yesterday! It was awesome. Even though it was pretty much the same thing as using my debit card because I used my debit card to put money on there in the first place online, it still felt neat. And I got an email saying that now if I load it up 15$ more, I can get a FREE regular Tater Tots, regular Onion Rings or a regular SONIC Blast! Now THAT's exciting. : )

11. I got to talk to Amanda last night! I miss that girl. We played Undo Me in practice (which is a song she sang last year - it was like, her song), and it made me very sad and reminiscent. Sigh.

That's all for now...

I was reading a post on the Thinklings about the movies "Facing the Giants" (which I saw) and "Fireproof" (which I have not seen, but suspect that I would like). And there were a lot of differing opinions on these. (By the way, both of these have Christian story-lines and are made by a church, with volunteer actors and staff. Low-budget, but in my opinion FTG was of pretty good quality considering the circumstances.)

While I thought Facing the Giants was a great movie of a moving story, other Christians disliked it. The reasons I have noticed that they hate it is because the bad acting/low quality of the film really bothered them.

I think the way different people see different movies is really interesting. I had this conversation with Jeremy, Danielle, and James on the way to Jr. High Camp. Personally, whether or not I like a movie is pretty much dependent on how it makes me feel. I'm very easily convinced, and so unless bad acting is painfully obvious I will not notice it (and when I say "painfully obvious", I mean like Mary-Kate-and-Ashley-bad-acting obvious), and even then it really doesn't bother me as long as it's tastefully cheesy. I really like cheese. It makes me feel good : ). I don't ever notice cinematography or directing or plot holes or anything. If I like a movie it's simply because of one of these things: the story really interests me; I get attached to the characters; I like the music (this is where my obsession with musicals comes in); it's a feel-good movie or has a feel-good ending, no matter how basic or cliche the story line is (hence my love of cheesy movies, including all Disney ones); it's a story of redemption with a bitter-sweet ending (epic movies such as Narnia or LOTR); or it is inspiring (this category is where all my fave sports movies would go, which is pretty much all sports movies ever made. Ex. Remember the Titans - seriously, who DOESN'T like that movie? -, Rudy, Hoosiers, etc.). Notice, all of these categories have to do with how the movies makes me feel; in other words, whether or not I like a movie depends on my emotional reaction.

I know what you are thinking: Doesn't that mean that you should like all movies? Why are you so picky - ANY movie can elicit an emotional reaction! But see, this is not true. Not for me at least. First of all, I can pretty tell whether or not I will like a movie before I even see it. Kind of like how I am with food. Some people call would consider this close-minded or picky, but I just call it high standards : ). But I pretty much can tell by just the preview. It's actually quite simple, really. Criteria: 1) Is it Rated R? If Yes, then it's off the list. No question. Rated R movies have too much of one of three things - language, violence, or you-know-what, none of which I have any interest in experiencing; 2) Is it a horror/mental or emotional thriller/scary film? If Yes, I'm not even going to consider seeing it. The Horror movie is the worst idea ever, if you ask me. Hey, I've got an idea! Let's create a movie in which the sole purpose is to give people nightmares and scare them half to death! So morbid. Kind of like how I feel about Haunted Houses. Cruel. And people who go to them or see horror movies and then come out really upset because they got so scared are stupid. I'm just saying. As for mental/emotional thrillers, my mind really can't handle it. This is why Thr3e was so disturbing to me. I feel so deeply and get so into the character's heads, and whenever they are going through some kind of mental turmoil, I kind of feel like I am too. I'm very emotionally involved in movies, and so movies like these could fry my mind or destroy my emotions easily, or pretty much scar me for life; 3) Does it look boring? If Yes, then I'm most likely not going to see it. If it's about anything I'm really not interested in then I'll most likely not even give it a chance; 4) Does it look like it has any hope at all? If No, then there's a 95% chance that I will hate it forever. This is why I hate Simon Birch. Great story, great movie, obviouslyb, but I'm never going to watch it ever again. I was crying literally the entire time. At some points I was like on the floor. It was ridiculous. It took every single one of my emotions and ripped them to pieces. I hate when movies play with my emotions and take me through all sorts of feelings, especially in a short amount of time. This is also why I don't like Hyponotists - I had to sit through a little bit of one at "APE" (after prom event) after Klein's prom, and it was so disturbing to me how everyone was laughing at them. The hypnotist basically took them through a wide range of emotions they genuinely felt in a short amount of time and I hate him for it; 5) Does it look like it has any kind of moral value at all? If No, then I'll most likely not see it. I mean, I love chick flicks, but some of them just look ridiculous. If it looks too "scandalous" or whatever then I won't even watch it. Pointless.

Okay, so now that you've seen all my criteria and what makes ME like movies, I'm interested to know what makes YOU like movies!

Tuesday: I think it was a good day. I remember being in a really good mood. Didn't get much sleep the night before though.

Wednesday: VERY hyper. ABS.com, always love it. It was great.

Thursday: Busiest day at Chick-fil-A ever. Nightmare.

Friday: Got a tardy because I forgot about the pep rally schedule (I don't have a first period, and all the periods were shorter. So class started like 5 minutes before I anticipated). Wrote an affirmation note to the wrong person in PALs. Long story, and on the surface it doesn't seem like a big deal, but I feel terrible because I really wanted to make that person's day. Pep rally was cool. Work was long and boring. Overall just a crummy day.

I'm really tired of having so many responsibilities. I don't even feel like I'm in my senior year or able to enjoy my senior year. Tonight was the homecoming game, tomorrow is the homecoming dance. My last high school homecoming events ever. And I am not going to either. Not a big deal in the long run, but pretty crummy when you find out that everyone but you is going and you have to explain to people at school why. Though I didn't have any money, I liked not having a job. No job means nothing you are required to pay for. And I owe my parents more than I started out owing them right now because of the stupid 40 dollar C-f-A shoes. This job is getting me nothing.

Crummy, crummy day.

Haa, I feel like I'm going from summer to school again. It's quite depressing : P.

But the grades are FINALLY online, thankfully, I found out online that I got a 98 on my first Calculus test! Woop woop. That gives me a renewed sense of confidence. My grades thus far are good, besides an 82 in Government, but that's only because there's only one grade in there, a quiz we took last week.

Wish me luck as I go to school! I hope it's a good day.

See you guys on the other side.

School tomorrow. Couldn't last forever...

I just hope my strong, stubborn personal convictions and opinions don't get in the way.

May I not seek Your hand, but Your face.

Keep me patient as I rest in the knowledge that everything will be revealed in Your timing and as I hope and trust in Your Word.

From one of my fave sites ever...

#405. Saying, "The Bible" when asked what your favorite book is.

If you ever ask me what my favorite book is and I say, "The Great Gatsby," I'm sorry, I just lied to you. I didn't mean to, it slipped out. I want to look smart but not weird obscure smart, so for a number of years, that was the answer I used to say.

The truth is that if favorite book is determined strictly by the number of times you have read a certain title, then mine is "Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan. It's a fantasy series that my wife takes great pleasure teasing me about because there's a white horse on the cover that looks like a unicorn. It's not a unicorn, it's a majestic white horse about to embark on an adventure of epic proportions where friends will become enemies, enemies will become friends and the fate of the world will hang in the balance of one young farm boy that … see, I'm a dork.

I should say "Bible" when someone asks me what my favorite book is. That's what you're supposed to say if you're a Christian. But everyone knows that, what about the harder questions? What do you say when people ask you the desert island question or the "who would you have dinner with" question? What then? How do you navigate that conversation? I suggest the following answers:

1. What are your two favorite books?
"The Old Testament and the New Testament."

2. Right, but what about other books?
"CS Lewis." (Regardless of if you have ever read any, just name drop Lewis. Works like a charm.)

3. OK, how about fiction?
"Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings. This Present Darkness is pretty good too."

4. What about favorite movie?
"That's a tie between the Passion of the Christ, Facing the Giants and Braveheart. The TBS edited version of course."

5. What would you take with you on a desert island?
"The Bible and CS Lewis."

6. He's dead though.
"Not on this island he isn't."

7. Fine, then what three people living or dead would you go out to dinner with? And don't say Jesus, you're going to spend eternity with him, surely you can go get baby back ribs with someone else.
"That's a tough one. How about Moses, Paul and Zack Morris."

8. Zack Morris isn't real. That's just a character played by Mark Paul-Gosselaar on the show Saved by the Bell.
"Why does that matter? In this dinner scenario you're bringing Moses and Paul back to life, why can't Zack Morris come? And not "College Years," Zack Morris, I'm talking about when he was at Bayside High. That Zack."

9. That’s absurd. This whole quiz has broken down. I'm not even sure where it's going.
"Good, then I win.

10. Win, win what?
"The Bible."

See, if you just follow those easy steps and answer the questions that way, not only will you get to look holy, you'll get to talk about CS Lewis and Zack Morris while concluding with "The Bible." It's a pretty nice little package when you think about it.

School isn't back until TUESDAY! That's 7 school days off. Which is ridiculous. But totally AWESOME! :)

I just really hope that they don't attack us with mounds and mounds of homework, because Chick-fil-A has decided to take full advantage of my employment next week - I work all the days possible: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Of COURSE on Homecoming Weekend, and the game - now I KNOW I'm not going! Haha. Hopefully I'll be able to make at least one football game. I haven't been as much of a "gung-ho" senior than I thought I'd be; last year, I was like, I'm going to ALL the games and doing EVERYTHING and taking full advantage of my last year! Hah. Oh well. I just don't want it to go by quickly, is all I'm asking.

I got a CHECKING ACCOUNT yesterday! It's quite thrilling. And when I get my card, it will be thrilling all the more!

I've been keeping track of my spending, too. I like doing things by hand, so it's all on a pad of paper. Maybe I'll make it electronic when I get really organized. I'm proud to say, though, that I have 30$ saved right now. Which doesn't seem like a lot, but trust me - for ME, to save ANY amount of money is a miracle. And now, instead of owing mom and dad $300, I only owe them $249! I'm very proud of myself thus far. My next paycheck from CfA comes next Thursday. I'm really excited! I haven't had to spend any kind of money at all this week, so by the time the next paycheck comes in I'll still be rollin' in dough. Well, in comparison to the "dough" I've been "rolling in" in the past.

I'm finally growing up and learning responsibility! : )

Tonight I finally got to eat a meal that does not include Goldfish or Easy Mac. Pappasitos!!! Woop woop. Then I got to see people that do not include my family. Love the fam, but I haven't been out of the house since Friday! It's time. So went to Weise house and hung out with like twelve or so friends. Played Mafia twice, and I was reminded of why we hadn't played Mafia for so long. Trey was a jerk and made everyone kill me off the very first round and left me no room to defend myself. I was the one who wanted to play the most, too! But it's okay. "I'm not mad". ; )

I must say that I'm slightly jealous of Taylor, who gets to go on this cool college adventure through Colorado and Oklahoma.  But this whole week off thing is really growing on me. I've actually gotten a LOT done, and there's still more yet to do! Clean room, do lots of laundry. Tomorrow I'm finally chilling with Allison!

Looking forward to much more down-time and pajama time. Soon I'll hopefully be getting my checking account!!!, and I need to renew my license. Gotta remember to do that.

And, of course, still more college research and stuff. The only reason that I'm sad that I wasn't able to go to school any of this time is because we were supposed to find out our class rank on Friday! Poo. This is critical information that I must fill out for college apps that I do not have. I dreamt the other night that I was 17 out of 650. Not too bad. I certainly should not be going down in rank, that's for sure, because my GPA has improved. But whatevs. I've gotten over the "GPA Game". I know that I've done my absolute best.

Alright, I'm out. My sleeping schedule has unfortunately been knocked off balance. I'm going to sleep around 2 and waking up at around 11. Not very good. Hopefully it will get back to normal before Monday. Man, it feels like summer!! So nice : ). I still haven't even really gotten the chance to get used to school. I hope my grades are okay right now. I can't tell whether I'm doing well because there have been practically no grades taken up or given back. So it's all kind of up in the air. We'll see!

I'd say that Senior year has so far been going pretty well...

Oh, several more things:

We watched the Return of the King, the ROTK Special Features, the Two Towers, and some of TTT Special Features. Tonight is Fellowship of the Ring night.

We played the most drama-filled game of Phase 10 known to man. It was pretty exciting. Here's the play-by-play...

Started out pretty normally - I think Beth was the first to lay down. It took me a few times to get past phase 2. We stopped after like 5 rounds I think and then picked it up last night. Then the drama started. Blake was CONVINCED that he had finished Phase 3. But the scoreboard said otherwise. And so that was about 10 minutes of him crying, us saying, well it really doesn't matter so you can start there if it means that much, and then him "nobly" saying he'd just start on Phase 3, It doesn't matter! And then, of course, he held that over my head for the rest of the game, saying things like, Well, if y'all would have let me start on the phase that I was actually on I could be in first place now...Which of course, is ridiculous. Anyways, for the meat of the game Beth was in the lead, with either dad or mom close behind. Then, all the sudden I started getting really lucky and went out like 4 times in a row or something. So then it was me vs. Beth vs. dad. And THEN - oh goodness, and THEN - the tides turned when Bethany played the most dirty I have ever seen ANYONE play. I loved it. To set it up: Blake had laid down and had one card left. I had laid down. But mom and dad still needed a card or two to lay down. Blake is in last place point-wise by far, and phase-wise, and I think I was a phase behind mom and dad at this point. Bethany was on the same phase as mom and dad I believe. She decided that there was no hope for her this round, and announced that she was thinking about discarding a Wild card and letting Blake just go out completely, because she was the one sitting directly to the right of him. Of course, mom and dad pleaded she not do this, because that would punish everyone. After considering her options, BETHANY DISCARDS THE WILDCARD. It was the most selfish, awesome move I have ever seen anyone do ; ). So NOW, the plot thickens, because the next round mom and Beth get into a Skipping war because mom is mad at Beth and then Beth is mad at mom for being mad at her, all the while Blake is laying down and only a few cards away from going out completely, though still a phase behind. I am now in first place, with dad and mom close behind. Beth is fourth, Blake is last. Dad is still mad at me because I had skipped him earlier in the game. Then, I'm pretty sure it was this round, Mom COULD HAVE LAID DOWN but accidentally didn't! And so then Blake, two people after her, lays down and goes out! Mom is frustrated now and feeling hopeless. I think it was probably at this point that the game almost comes to a complete STOP because I was feeling silly and brought up a really sensitive subject for Blake that is actually pretty funny, but always hurts his feelings and makes him cry. So now Blake is in hysterics, and dad is mad at me for saying that and walks out, saying that the game is canceled because we can't be nice to each other. After a lot of consoling and apologizing, Blake finally calms down and dad is ready to play again. WHEW. Then the game gets really interesting. To set it up: Blake is on 8th round, me and mom are on the 10th round, dad is on 9th, and Beth is on either 7th or 8th, declaring she's "given up". Me and mom are separated by 10 points, with  me in first. Dad isn't too far behind. Blake and Beth are still last by a lot. Blake lays down with ease, and dad lays down as well. Me and mom still need a card to lay down. THEN, all the sudden, Beth does the EXACT same thing she did with the Wild card for Blake, except this time, it was an ACCIDENT! Blake goes out, and me and mom are left in the cold. So now especially me and mom are mad at Beth and give her a hard time for the rest of the game. Beth is still bitter because everyone had been skipping her in the middle of the game just because she was in first. So now Beth is grumpy and defensive. So, now, for the last round. Me, mom, and dad on 10th phase. Each of us are separated by 5 points, I'm still in first. Blake on 9th phase. I don't remember which phase Beth was on. Blake, again, goes down with ease. My hand isn't looking too good. Mom needed one card. We go around several times, no one having too much luck with cards. Then, all the sudden, dad gets the card he needs. Lays down. As long as someone goes out before me or mom lays down, he's won. I freak out. Then. Blake goes out. It's over. Dad is victorious. I was THIS CLOSE. Poo.

And thus concludes the Epic Roberts Phase 10 Competition of 2008.

No school 'til Monday!! :):):)

Tonight I actually get to see people, and eat a real meal at Pappasitos. I'm extrememly excited!!!

Well, I suppose I should update about Hurricane Ike. I'll only say these eleven things about it:

1. It was cool at first because no school on Friday
2. It was double cool because I got 12 hours of much needed sleep Thursday night
3. Then it got scary and retarded. I woke up at 3 in the morning on Saturday and just looked outside the window. It was ridiculous and loud. Didn't get back to sleep until 5
4. Then it got boring because there was no power
5. Then things got hot and tense
6. My family has been around each other for four days straight now
7. I think I've set a new record for time spent in pajamas
8. No school until Thursday, news of this at first actually aggravated me because still no power and I knew I'd be bored
9. Then we got power yesterday and it was okay
10. Today we got internet and it was REALLY okay
11. Me and dad went driving around. Ike left a huge mess

That's all I have to say about that.

Now, for what I'm referring to in the subject line...

College applications! Ahh!

It's not even really about what college I'm going to go to anymore - I just want to find out all the colleges I could tolerate, all the ones that could be a possibility - I don't want to miss any chances! But I've kind of gotten back to my senses and now figure the Tennessee one is completely out.

Here are the ones on my radar and why:

1. Southwestern, obviously. I'm pretty sure I'll just end up going here after all the hooplah is over. Though, it could be like Gilmore Girls - all her life she wanted to go to Harvard, then, after all the pro-con lists, figured out that Yale was actually the school for her. But SW pretty much has everything that I would want in a school. Okay, that's an exaggeration. But I like the town, it's semi-close (about 3 1/2 hours away from Houston, and only about 1 hour away from Andrew!), it's SMALL, the campus is beautiful, it has SEVERAL programs of study that I would be interested in - a lot of the colleges I see only have one or so that I would even be interested in studying, which is really a gamble because I may end up hating it. At least with this one I have options. It's just great all-around.
2. UT. Honestly, I don't know why I'm applying. I kind of feel obligated to. I need to apply to at least one big Texas school. But there is no way that I'm going if I don't get into Plan II. But I'm starting to think that applying is more trouble than it's worth. Thankfully today I wrote the two obnoxious, painful Texas Common App essays, but there is still a lot more nitty-gritty things that need to happen with all of this. Bahhhh. I can't see myself going to UT. It's huge. But we'll see.
3. Baylor. I'm only really applying here because mom wants me to, and because it's free to apply ; ). I can't really see myself going here either. But who knows.
4. TCU. Why? I don't know. But they have several things that I can see myself studying. It's a good school from what I hear. So why not.
5. OBU (as in Ok. Baptist). I already submitted the application, haa. It took me like 5 minutes. All I have to do is send SAT score and transcript. I can't really see myself going here, if only because it's seven hours away. But again, who knows.

As of now, these are the ones I'm looking at.

Oh, and, sorry Danielle, but DBU is out. I tried. I gave it a chance. Great school, but I'm picky. It has nothing for me. : )

And, Ian, Ouachita is out as well. I think. Maybe. Great school, but I wish it was closer. It seems great for me, to be honest. It has a lot to offer me. But I just couldn't bear to be seven hours away.

Emily - to be honest, I've never even thought about SFA. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look! I'll keep you updated.

Oh, and just so everyone knows, A&M isn't even an option. Great school - but it has NOTHING whatsoever to offer me!

I really, REALLY like researching colleges! Give me MORE!

I've been kind of obsessed lately with figuring out what colleges to apply to.

And I must say, I'm really digging this new thing that some colleges are doing - they are waiving the application fee if you do it online! So it's easy and free. Which means that I'll be applying to more colleges than I originally planned.

I must say that though it's not stressful, it's kind of confusing. For the "Organizations/Activities" part, I never know what I can and cannot put. Can I include being in the Worship Band, or does it not count 'cause it's not really an official organization? At what point are things insignificant because I've only done them a few times - Habitat for Humanity, for instance? I feel really uninvolved when I try to fill out that part. I haven't been in Choir, Theatre, Student Government, Band, etc. I have only been in NHS, French Club, Key Club, and Book Club, though the last one isn't really legit.

At any rate, these are the ones I have started the online application for (though, of course, I haven't submitted any yet):
1. Southwestern
2. Baylor
3. UT
4. Union (this one is extremely random, I know, but Amanda said she thinks that I would really like it, and both she and Kate Weise recommend it strongly. And it's free to apply so I might as well. I was just looking at the site and decided to just start the application. I'm almost done, too, haha. It's that easy.)

I kind of want to cover all the bases. I'm applying to a small liberal arts school, a huge state university, a huge Baptist university, and a small, out-of-state liberal arts Baptist university. Who knows, maybe one of them will want to give me a lot of money to make my college decisions significantly easier ; ).

Of course, just because I've looked at starting applications or even started them doesn't mean I'll submit or go through with each of the applications. Right now I'm just "shopping" - I'm touching all the fabrics, slowly strolling down every aisle. I'm trying on a lot of clothes, even if they look like they won't fit or won't look good on me, or are too expensive. I know that I'll end up only buying one thing, though - the one, of course, that is most cost-efficient in relation to the quality and suitability for me. I'm definitely like ma mère in this aspect - I love researching things on-line!

There are few more I have in mind, too. I also welcome any recommendations/ideas. I will research them in full! At this point I'm trying to keep all options open. Though I definitely prefer in-state, and will probably end up going to an in-state college, any out-of-state ideas will be considered.

Sorry for not posting lately. Still here!

NO SCHOOL TOMORROW! : )

More later.

One of the weirdest parts, I've noticed, about the transition from summer to school is that I go from being around my church friends, pretty much exclusively, 5 or so days a week at church to being around a lot of people I don't know and who are not as encouraging to be around 5 days a week, 5 hours a day. It's discouraging sometimes, and my life feels so much different right now.

With that said, despite my previous statement, this has definitely the best start to a school year for me that I can recall.

I'm really tired but feel I should update. So I'm going to use short sentences.

Chick-fil-A. Was there from 5-9:45. I really enjoy this job because I enjoy serving people and feeling like I'm getting a job done well. But by the end of the night my legs want to fall off and my arms are sticky. And I smell like Chick-fil-A. Whatever that means.

Money. I need it. I'm wondering when the first paycheck comes. Bah.

I'm a part of Senior Women now. I have to pay 15$ for membership and t-shirt. See previous statement.

I'm in the process of learning how to actively trust God. It's not easy. It requires a lot of peace. And a lot of God.

PALs speech tomorrow. I'm definitely not going to lie to them - I have been extremely blessed. Especially in comparison to what everyone in my class has gone through. Reminds me of testimonies. Here's a good way to put it: I'm an "I grew up in a Christian home" testimony in a class full of "As I lay on the floor, a heartbeat away from death because of all the drugs I took, I saw a light and heard a voice..." testimonies. Okay, that's a little dramatic. It's tight though. I love getting to know who people really are by hearing where they've come from. I'm doing my absolute best to not judge anyone and to give everyone in my class the same grace and love that God has granted me. I like thinking someone is one way and then finding them to prove me wrong.

PALs convention in 249 October 2. I'm just excited to be at church during school.

That's all for now. My back hurts. Goodnight!

Thankfully, most of my questions were answered.

I'm sure I have many stories about tonight, but I'm tired. All I really have to say is that I was nervous, and I think it showed. But I definitely learned a lot! And I feel accomplished. I really like this job! : )



Me and my uniform!


Come visit me at the Chick-fil-A on HWY6 and West Rd : )

I am back into stress mode, though I'm still only in the "healthy stress" phase - the kind that motivates me. I am doing everything I can to prevent me from going into bad stress. Let me just list it all though. Talk it out. That's how my stresses are assuaged. You will notice though that, thankfully, none of them are class-related - I suspect it will be like this for the rest of the year.

- New job at Chick-fil-A. There are many things that I am still in the dark about, and I don't even have my full uniform, yet my first day of work is tomorrow. I think that my trainer thinks she has told me certain things even though she has not, because while I know everything there is to know about the food, health and safety, and how to take someone's order, no one has explained to me the work procedure, or has told me when I am working, etc. I'm hoping that it all gets cleared up tomorrow.
- The PALs tile/song thing, of course.
- Homecoming. September 27th. When it comes down to it, it wouldn't be a huge deal if I didn't go. But it's my senior year, so I feel obligated. But I have my stubborn rules about these things - number one, I'm not going by myself. Number two, I'm not going to ask someone else. I suppose one of these rules may have to be broken if I intend on going. No, seriously - I know, like, two guys at Cy-Fair. And then there's the dress stress, which is associated with money $tress as well. I'm just SO ready to not be broke!

At the moment, these stresses aren't bothering me too much, besides the fact that it's all just unknown and out of my hands. But I've already resolved this year to trust Him. So here we go...