Keep Calm and Carry On

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant." ~The Doctor

So I haven't blogged in a while.  Rather, I've started and abandoned several posts.  

Truth is, a lot of stuff has been going down in my life this month.  I keep thinking about everything and, I kid you not, things started getting crazy an hour after my last post here.  From that moment on, things really haven't settled down.

The first thing that happened was my decision to become a Creative Writing/English double major.  Yup.  So long dance minor, hello added English major.  Honestly, I am stoked for this!  I can't wait to start all of my classes in the fall (I'll be studying Faulkner, Shakespeare, Romantic British Literature, and writing Creative Non-fiction and Script).  My schedule will be packed with classes for the next three years, but it's going to be fantastic!  Besides, I'm not going it alone.  I'll have four other lovely people right with me in the double major.

Then came spring break. Sara, Trianne, and I stayed the week at Erica's house and had a fantastic time watching movies, listening to music, lounging on the beach, and chilling in the forests of Alabama.  Michael, Kerry, and Nathan joined us for Thursday through Saturday, which added to our grand old time (it mostly involved exploring an art fair in Fairhope, reading books, sitting around campfires while reading books, being awoken from a nap and nearly falling out of a tree house--not one of my finer moments--late night walks on the beach, and more reading).  After spending nearly two months straight in school without much of a break, the week off was much needed.  The best part of the break was being able to strengthen my relationships with these people.  I had several opportunities to talk with some of them one on one, and I feel like I've come away with a deeper understanding of who they are.
However, the break wasn't all fun and games.  That Thursday, I received a call from my mom, informing me of my grandmother's death.  Even though we had seen this coming for months, the shock was still hard to handle.  Right before I left for spring break, she had maybe three to four weeks left, and then it ended much more suddenly than we expected.
The following week was hard.  Being away from home made grieving difficult.  I've come to realize that this is the most challenging part of college: being so removed from home.  Anything could happen and I wouldn't necessarily know about it.
Beauty from pain though.  I've grown through the experience.  I have the hope that my grandmother is resting in Heaven.  And, through her death, I am praying fervently that my family members who don't know Christ will be drawn to Him.

The week after my grandmother's passing was rough because of a massive homework load.  But I got my very own published children's book out of it!  In my Children's lit. class, our assignment was to create an alphabet book that we wanted to have printed.  I wrote and illustrated an ABC book on animals, and then proceeded to base each animal off one of my friends here at school.  I should be receiving it in the mail sometime this week.  As soon as I do, I will post pictures.  Allow me to show some of it off:

As a bit of an explanation, Trianne is the Giraffe, Crockett is the Koala, I am the mouse, and Michael is the owl.  There are more, but I'm not going to put them all in here.  I'll definitely post more about it the moment it arrives.  Sorry, not sorry.

What I've written about is only a portion of what's been going on, but I'm rather cautious about what I put on the internet.  Just know that crazy things have been taking place; good, bad, and fantastic things.  

And this pretty much catches you up to the present.  Currently, I'm sitting on my bed with a cup of tea and a terrible cold (the craziness continues...).  However, despite my random illness, I am going out to the ballet tonight!  Yes, I finally have the opportunity to see Ballet Magnificat! perform tonight!  You would think that living in the same town they are based in would make it easier to see them, but apparently that isn't how it works.  Anyhoo, they're performing Deliver Us tonight, which is my absolute favorite ballet on the face of the planet.  

Now that we have come to close of my update, I shall post random songs as I seem to have a habit of doing lately.  I've heard a lot of good music over the past month (thank you friends with awesome taste in music), so there are a few this time.
The first is a mashup of Radioactive and My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark by Imagine Dragons and Fall Out Boy, respectively.  It's called Radioactive in the Dark.  Original, I know.  (btw, the links will most likely lead to my tumblr, since it's easier than youtube.)  I love this particular mashup, you should totally listen to it.
The second is one of my absolute favorite songs.  All About Us by Owl City and He Is We.  Seriously, this song is adorable.
Another mashup, Let It Go/Let Her Go by Sam Tsui is gorgeous!  I almost love it more than the original from Frozen.
I'm not sure if I've gone crazy or not, but I actually found a One Direction song that I like.  It's called Over Again, and it isn't half bad.  I think the reason I like it is because it gives off an Ed Sheeran vibe.  (don't judge)
The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee by Gloryhammer.  It's exactly what it sounds like.  It's a heavy metal song about a fantasy world being invaded by an army of undead unicorns.  I didn't know music like this existed... (I'm totally blaming Michael for this one and all other heavy metal, gothic bands.)
Finally, I present The Truth Beneath the Rose by Within Temptation.  Within Temptation is a gothic band very similar to Nightwish, only a lot better in my opinion.  I've recently become a fan of them.  So far, I haven't come across a song that I don't like.

...And this is why I shouldn't wait nearly a month before blogging.  There's way too much to catch up on.  (I never expected to post this much music either.  Whoops.)

I promise I won't wait this long again!  Until next time, I bid you all a fond farewell!

All You Need Is...

The Beatles said love, which is true in a lot of cases.  In a way, what I'm going to say relates to love.

Community.

If there's one thing I have discovered since being at college, it's that community will be one of the most important things you can possibly have.  Face it, being away from the home you grew up in for 18 years (or 19, in my case) is a bizarre, new experience.  One of the only ways you're going to survive (beyond relying heavily on the Lord) is having a community of friends who will look out for you.  God has blessed me by placing me in a group like that.

Valentine's Day was really where I started to see what I had been given.  Without any of the girls' knowledge, the boys of our group put together a fantastic spread of sweets, goodies, and flowers, and presented it to us at the park that night.  It was the most beautiful gift I've ever experienced.

The next night was the performance for Belhaven's Dance Ministry.  That morning, a bunch of my friends had said they wanted to come see, but I was unable to get tickets for them.  To my surprise (and utter joy) they came anyway and stood in line for an hour to ensure they would get in.  It may seem like a little thing for people to come to a dance performance, but it means the world to me.  

There are all the nights we spend at the local park and wandering about campus.  Some of my favorite moments are when we sit around under the night sky, telling stories, singing, and just relaxing.  During times like this, school and homework don't exist and we have the freedom to do whatever we want.

Then of course there are bad days.  A couple weeks ago, the stress of several projects was starting to wear me out.  These are the times when a community is most important, because I'm sure I wasn't a great person to be around at that time, yet they were still there for me.  With their help, I eventually got out of whatever funk I was in that day.  

And of course, all the random food trips we make.  (Not going to lie here... cafeteria food is everything people say it is.  Not good.  At all.  Abort.  No.  Every once in a while, we get a good meal when there are perspective students.  But otherwise...... just no.)  Taco Bell is a wonderful place.  It is entirely possible to eat tacos for dinner multiple days in a row.

Of course, we aren't perfect.  There will always be drama.  However, the sign of a really great group is if you can work together to get past the drama.  It's hard, but I've found that it only brings us closer together.  

Like I said, community.  Get one.  These are the people who will be with you every step of the way, from late night television binges, to last minute studying for tests, to listening to jazz or electric swing music, helping you with projects, to praying for you when you need it most.  I couldn't have asked for a better place to be.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken." ~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Song of this post, since it goes really well with my theme, is Hey Brother by Avicii.  This is seriously one of my favorite songs, just because of the truth behind it.  And I feel like it fits my friends here.  

Love you all!