Just a bit on Christmas

I've written before about Christmas.
About songs that annoy me and some present mishaps.
But past all the tinsel that's actually pretty easy to clean up, there's something else.
Why do we buy gifts for people?
To prove we love them?
Because it's socially demanded?
In hopes that they bought you something at least as cool / useful / expensive as you bought them?
Or because we really want to give them a gift as God gave us a gift on Christmas?

There are people who are having skinny Christmases this year.
There are people giving gifts of meals, partial tuition, car repairs, and new clothes for work or school this year.
There are people who literally have nothing to give to the ones who mean the most to them.
But we can all give something.
This thing isn't material.
It costs you nothing, so it fits any budget.
And it won't be forgotten by New Year's Day.

Give the gift God gave us.

Give the gift of sacrificial love.
(And I'm not just preaching at you, I'm talking about me, too.)

Love the people who love you.
Love the people who annoy you to death.
Love the people who make your life more difficult.
Love the people who are a bit prickly.
Love the people close to you, because you see them every day.
Love the people you'll probably only see once, because it means more than you might know.
Love the people who think they are unlovable.

We certainly were.

"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8b

Getting on my soapbox. . .

I'll be honest: I generally try to stay away from politics on the internet, and here's why.
1) Things get easily misconstrued.
2) The internet is great for many things, but a political debate - where body language, tone, and physical gestures are very important - is not one of those things.
3) People don't forget, but even if they do, your name is there along with your thoughts forever. Facebook comments are never really deleted.
That being said, I'm going to stand up on my little soapbox and put my name next to my thoughts and opinions.
Okay, now that being said, I am not here to make anyone mad.
I am not here to make enemies.
I am not here to step on anyone's digital digits.
I am here to try to persuade you to come around to my way of thinking, which - to be fair - is what every one does.
That's how people respectfully agree to disagree.
Now.
I am going to give my opinion of what's going on in the government of the United States right now, which you and I have every right to do: we're paying for it.
To do this, I will be heavily referencing the Phantom of the Opera, so buckle up and grab your capes -- we're going for a ride.
This may read a bit like a literary interpretation essay, but I promise you it's not.
I'd never get a grade on this.

Now, let's start at the very beginning.

For those who may not be Phans, I shall give you the bare, bare bones of what's actually a somewhat convoluted plot.
The Phantom has long since seduced Christine Daae into thinking that he is heaven-sent. She performs for him, she adores him, and she'd do anything for him. The pinnacle of their success is when she's at the top of her game. He takes her to his home (not for the first time, curse you Webber -- mea culpa, but your score was fantastic, every pun intended) and she begins to see what he truly is: not the angel he claimed he was, for starters.
Her childhood love, Raoul, shows up as a foil (contrast) to the Phantom. He truly loves Christine, and is more than a little worried about her obsession with some 'angel', even though she swears he's really what he says he is.
The Phantom does not get his casting choices approved for the next opera. He decides to show his acute displeasure by dropping the giant, 7-ton chandelier on the audience, killing some random woman. A freak accident.
Christine begins to really see who he is, though part of her still loves him. Raoul takes steps against him, and plans a way to show everyone what he really is. Long story short, it works. He's exposed, and slinks away, and the opera house is freed of his terror.
There are stories he fled to New York, but that's another subject entirely.

Where am I going with this?
Here.
I'm gonna name names, so if this offends you, I'm sorry, but this is my honest, thought-through opinion.

Obama has ideologically seduced mainstream media to follow him blindly, just as the Phantom seduced Christine. The mainstream media - like Madame Giry - sheilds him, makes excuses for him, and gives out his instructions. The first chandelier crash? I'd say that was Benghazi, the first 'mistake' with consequences of lives lost. That's when people kinda started to wake up, but it wasn't enough. I think this whole healthcare thing is hitting close enough to home that people are beginning to really figure out what is really going on.
The make believe is at an end.

The real question is, though, what's next?

In Defense of Those Who Drive as a Madman

People will say that I am a scary person to ride with.

That is totally not true.

What people don't understand is that I drive with purpose.

I drive to get from Point A to Point B with minimal distance in between.

Even when I'm not in a hurry, I strive to drive with purpose, because I don't want to be that person I'd yell at if I were trying to get somewhere.

Not that I yell at people. . .

Because I totally don't. . .

But I kinda view going slow(er than the rest of the traffic -- you may well be doing the speed limit, but hey, you're still going slow) as rude and selfish behavior. It's one thing if you're in the right lane.

That's where slower traffic belongs.

But if you're in the left lane, and you're riding even with traffic in the right lane, you're trapping everyone behind you.

Think about it.

Somebody could be going to a job interview.

Somebody could be trying to catch a flight.

Somebody could be going to a doctor's appointment.

Somebody might have to pee.

And for crying out loud, if your cell phone distracts you,

GET OFF OF IT.

This has been a PSA.

A Pinteresting Tumbl of a Day

I cheated.

This isn't from Pinterest or Tumblr, but it's a little late and too hard to try and incorporate "Quora" into the title of this series, so yeah.

This is basically the coolest thing I've seen all day week month year ever.

And it's people like this that make me wish I'd kept on in math and piano.

Find the whole thread here.

Being 21

Remember when you were a kid and you thought Sweet 16 was so far away? I mean, heck, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Snow White were married at 16!

And then you turned 16 and you realized that you didn't know anything and what the heck were those girls thinking, getting married at 16?!

You just got your driver's licence!

You thought 18 was the thing. You could tackle anything when you were 18.

Until you turned 18.
Then you realized you totally do not have a handle on much at all.
The next milestone is 21.
21.
Where you can literally - and legally - do anything you want.
Within reason, obviously.
Well, let me tell you, Girls-younger-than-21, 21 is not what it's cracked up to be.
Yeah, you can basically do whatever you want . . . but with that said, there's a lot of responsibility on your shoulders.
I know a lot of gals my age - including myself - that would just love nothing more than to curl up with a tub of ice cream or and popcorn and watch Disney Princess movies all day.
And maybe a little a lot of Doctor Who.
But we can't.
We've got college.
We've got jobs.
We've got bills to pay, assignments due, and people counting on us to get things done.
That's not to say that we don't have moments of calm or just time to have fun and relax, but those moments don't come often.
Girls-younger-than-21, treasure your moments of freedom.
You might be bored, but another word for boredom is free.
And treasure the innocence.
And the simplicity.
Enjoy it while you can.
It's not going to last.

"But I just wanna help. . ."

I'm pretty sure we've all said that at some point in our lives.

To most of us, the desire to help seems natural, almost impulsive.

We have to do it.

We want to do it.

And sometimes most of the time, we can't.

Not in the way we wanted to, not as much as we wanted to, or sometimes just not at all.

I saw this the other day on Pinterest:

It reminded me of a time where I was trying to help two individuals, but it just seemed like every time I tried, I hit a brick wall. I felt like I was giving, and giving, and giving, and giving, and it was just going nowhere.

One simply wasn't listening to advice - and instead making me their personal shrink complaining about problems they could have prevented, not if they'd listened to me, but if they'd used a bit of wisdom and common sense - and the other was simply convinced they couldn't forgive themselves for mistakes made in the past and that they couldn't change.

Needless to say, the fact that I wanted to help them so badly and I couldn't didn't exactly make me feel like a very good friend.

I felt like crap.

And that didn't help anyone.

That period ended, and those two friends and I just sort of . . . stopped.

Stopped everything.

Whether or not their situations got better or not, I don't know, and I'll probably never know.

I hope so.

All I wanted to do was help.

Fast forward about ten months.

I see that pin.

And I start thinking.

I realize that whoever made this pin is right.

You can't help everyone.

That's not to say your desire to or advice you may give isn't worth anything, but it just may not be what they need right then.

You may not have the experience, the knowledge, the skill, or the wisdom at that time to really help that person where they are.

But there's Someone who can.

And last time I checked, He takes referrals.

But there are people you can help.

People that need your experience and wisdom from where you are to help them where they are.

You may find those people to be few and far between, but they're there.

While you may not be able to help everyone, you can help someone.

And it's the someones of this life that count the most in the next.

If you won't learn from your own mistakes. . .

. . . at least learn from someone else's.

Namely, MINE.

Okay, freshmen, listen up: no, you don't want to cram your first two years full of gen-ed classes because you don't want to be slammed with whatever classes are required for your major. 

You'll go crazy.

But don't slack on your gen-eds . . . Like I did.

Namely, I was really good in taking my foreign languages while they were still fresh from high school.

I waited about four years to take my math.

I waited about five years to take my sciences.

Ten out of ten would not recommend!

So if you're one of those stubborn people who doesn't learn from your own mistakes, at least learn from mine.

(Oh yes, and I also have to take speech; ironically after I've given the bulk of my class presentations.)

Women are Funny

Women are really funny.

And not necessarily 'haha' funny - though some are really a riot - I mean funny 'weird'.

I can say this because I'm a woman.

I'm also blonde, so you really can't pin anything on me.

But yeah, women . . . we get attached to everything.

Point en case: my sister watches a ton of  HGTV.

Personally, I don't see the point in watching shows about things I can't afford (which is basically why I don't watch typical TV shows) but every now and then I catch a show or two while she watches it.

Oh. My. Gosh.

It's bloomin' hysterical.

Seems like on that show where they renovate their house and also look at new houses, the women want to stay and the men wanna move out.

Then it sorta comes out that she's emotionally attached to the house and he is totally cool with leaving.

There are a few episodes where it's the other way 'round, but this seems to be the norm.
Because to men, it's generally a house.
To women, it's a home.

The same goes for cars and other things that generally don't seem that important.
For instance: after I totaled my first car in an accident, my parents bought me another one for Christmas.
I loved that car.
But then the time came when it was highly suggested that I sell it.
I really didn't want to.
Why?
Not because it was a spectacular example of modern engineering of vehicles, but because I was emotionally attached to it.
It was a gift.
It was a second chance.
I'd also spent a lot of money on maintenance, but that wasn't the first thing to pop into my mind.
It was purely emotional.
It wasn't until I saw another car - that I could almost sort of afford - that the emotional attachment broke.
So I guess I basically cheated on my car.
But men don't tend to be like that.
I guess that's because they're normal.

 

Or not. . .

(Un)Happy Happenstance?

Sometimes everything goes just how you want it to.

And sometimes . . . okay, usually it probably doesn't.

That can't be the end of everything.

You can't let it beat you.

Beat it.

Try harder.

Change your plans to work with how things are now.

And win.

Who knows?

Things might turn out better this way. . .

Staying in Love ~ Part 2

For Part 1, click here.

We've already discussed just Whom we're to be falling in love with.

And as everyone knows, the "honeymoon" phase is wonderful.

But it doesn't last forever.

That's because the "honeymoon" phase is fueled primarily by feelings.

But love isn't just a feeling.

(I'm not going to tell you love isn't a feeling, because I'm 99% sure there are chemical reactions for 'love', making it basically a feeling. I'm fairly certain hormones play a pretty big part, too.)

True love is a commitment.

God's committed to us.

How committed to Him are we?

Would you go a day without talking to someone you love? Or even someone you like, for that matter?

If they wrote you letters, wouldn't you read them? Several times? Become so familiar with them that you knew the words by heart?

Well . . . we have that.

It's hard for us - being humans - to grasp having a relationship with someone we can't physically see or hear.

I'll admit that wholeheartedly.

But it can be done.

I'm sure you know people who have a great relationship with God and, like me, you're kinda jealous of them.

We can have that, too.

We just need to talk to Him.

We just need to read His love letters, as well as His letters of instruction.

We need to realize that a relationship takes two.

God's ready and willing.

How willing are you to stay in love?

Falling in Love ~ Part 1

People say falling in love is easy.

Sometimes it is.

Sometimes it is not.

People say they love God and God loves them - which is true - but I don't think people really understand what that means.

When you realize how much He loves you, it is so much easier to fall deeper in love with the Lover of your Soul.

He is a Father: He carries us when we're weak, He defends the orphans (Hosea, Proverbs).

He is a Friend: He shoulders our burdens, He listens to our cares (Matthew, 1 Peter).

He is a Lover: He woos us to Himself, He keeps us secure (Hosea, John).

He is a Judge: He is holy, He rules justly (Psalms).

He is a Redeemer: He justly forgives those He saves, He desires to save all (1 John, 2 Peter).

Do you see?

There is no one like this.

Even though we may know some people who have some of these general qualities in degrees, only God is all of them.

And He loves you.

And who could pass that up?

One Who loves you and sees past your mistakes, past your failures, and past your flaws.

One Who loves you and wants to heal your scars, provide for you, and shape you into a purer you.

I can't.

I've fallen in love.

Have you?

When "Short" isn't Short Enough

This is not a sponsored post.

Old Navy is not one of my favorite stores.

Or at least, it wasn't until I realized they have the best jeans for me.

They've got different jeans for different body shapes, and that's great.

I love those jeans because they fit perfectly.

Except in one way . . .

I'm 5'2".

I guess their "short" jeans are based on somebody who must be the same size, but must be like, 5'6".

There are literally about 3-4 extra inches.

On a SHORT.

*sigh*

I went there the other day with my mom and sister, and I tried on some jeans that were nearly half-price with the Labor Day sale.

She brought in the size I was about 4 months ago and they were too big! which is awesome . . .

but they were also too long.

She went back for a smaller pair, and I told her that if they had "Hobbit" lengths, that would probably work.

They didn't.

But still.

Also, as a sidenote, I'm too tall to be a Hobbit.

I'm too tall to be a Dwarf.

I'm to short to be a Human.

I'm too short to be an Elf.

Yep, you're lookin' at the cutest Orc there is.

I wonder if they carry Orc-sized jeans. . . ?

Oopsie Daisies

I'm sure we've all had that one moment where we went: 

"Oh. Poop. I did not think that one through."

I know I have, and I'm brave enough to tell you about it.

It's utterly hilarious, but at the same time really . . . not.

So this summer, I was working full time and working out afterwards.

That meant I essentially had 10 hour "work" days.

Needless to say, after that, I'd be tired, and rarely up for silly shenanigans, though I'm generally total game for a good shenanigan.

I was house sitting for a lady I know and watching her dog. He was a really sweet old thing, but nearly blind and almost if not totally deaf.

She had an alarm system - it didn't work on this one specific door - so she didn't use it; it's a pretty safe neighborhood.

Remember that. It's important later.

So every morning I'd let the dog out to do his business in the side yard, and every night I'd do the same thing when I came home.

Thing is, at night, this giant puppy would set off the motion-detecting light. It would turn on then off then on then off ad nauseam. 

It drove me nuts.

Well, on my third or fourth night there, I let the dog out and noticed that the light didn't turn on.

Whatever.

Well, the poor baby's deaf, so I had to go outside to get him; he wouldn't be able to hear me calling for him.

I go out there, all the way out to the end of the yard, and coax him in, and that light still doesn't cut on.

I still don't really care.

As soon as we get inside, the light snaps on.

And stays on.

Yeah, NOW I care.

See,

No, not of rational things that could actually inflict bodily harm.

Of Aliens (yes, capital A), the Flood, krakens, spiders, plesiosaurs, and other such monstrous calamities.

I legitimately prayed to not be the first ten minutes of Supernatural.

Yeah, I was freaking out.

I tried a few switches and decided there was really nothing I could do about it, so I went to bed, thinking I could ignore that infernal flashing outside my windows.

Ha.

Nope.

So I get up - and by this point it's about 12:30, 1 am - and I try the switches again.

None are connected to it.

I go outside to see if there's anything I can put in front of the sensor to make it shut the heck off.

There's not.

By this point, I'm really scared that someone's figured out I was staying there alone with an old, deaf doggie and they were out in the bushes waiting for me to give up and forget to lock the door.

I called my dad - who was 2 blocks away - and start blubbering (not crying, just tired, scared blubbering) about not being able to shut the light off and hence not being able to sleep.

For having been woken up at like, 1 am, he was incredibly gracious about the whole thing.

He offered to come over and check it out, and I figured it couldn't do any harm, so asked him to yes please, please come over, thank you, Daddy.

Fifteen minutes later, he pulls in and we begin our investigation.

We tried every. Switch. In. The. House.

Downstairs and upstairs.

Nothing.

By this point, the light seemed permanently on, so I got the brilliant idea of looking at the alarm panel.

See, there's a button there that said "motion".

I figured that maybe if I cycled through it real quick it'd turn it off.

Right. . . 

So, I push the button.

IT ARMS THE SYSTEM.

Yeah, so at this point, I'm feeling utterly defeated and I tell my dad he can go ahead and go home - I don't know the code because she doesn't use the system.

He says okay, goes through the living room to turn off the lights and-----

Now, I'd like to say I was cool and confident and merely went:

Um, no.

Try this on for size:

Yeah, that was the worst ten minutes of my life.

I tried calling her, texting her, punching in common pass codes.

Nothing.

Did I mention that by this point it was about 2 in the morning?

About five minutes into the alarm going off, I wondered "Where are the cops?" but either way they weren't there, so it didn't matter.

It ended up shutting off on its own, so my dad left through the door that doesn't work anyway.

About two minutes after he left, the house phone rings.

IT'S THE LADY.

I answer, and apologize profusely for waking her up so early.

She too was very gracious about the whole ordeal, but then confessed that she wasn't sure if she knew the code either.

Thankfully, she did.

She asked what had happened, and I told her.

Apparently, that light is just possessed, and there's really nothing that can be done about it.

It was about five minutes into the call that I noticed lights at the back of the house.

No sound, just lights.

And being that I was now basically alone, whomever it was could have just slept there, because as we all know:

Anyway, it turned out to be a cop.

Good thing I was still on the phone with the homeowner -- she got me out of a mountain of trouble.

I never did figure out how he was summoned, exactly.

I don't think it was dispatch.

Must've been a neighbor.

Ha, bet they loved me.

Anyway, after he left, the homeowner and I just kind of stood there in shock.

"How long ago did the alarm go off?"

". . . About 20 minutes ago. . ."

Yeah.

Needless to say, I was basically useless on 4-5 hours of not-so-awesome sleep.

And that is the story of how I awakened a neighborhood and learnt the lesson that if you don't know what it does, don't touch it.

Life vs. Death

Image credit to Jesschadlys (x).

There's a trend I've noticed building over the past few years.

I don't know what it started with, but I thought that - like all other trends - it would fade away quietly.

I don't think it will.

Here's the trend: death.

I mean, I understand that people die.

Acceptance of the fact is good.

Glorification of it is not.

What is with all this glorification of death, anyway? I can't walk into a clothing store without seeing skulls on shirts, undershirts, pants, leggings, accessories, basically everything. And it's not those 'cutesty' skulls: these are freaky, grinning skeletal fragments.

That really, really unnerves me.

And that's not all.

There's a growing literary fascination with vampires, werewolves, zombies, demons, and other undead creatures.

Don't get me wrong here: I'm reading Dracula. I've seen the black and white Dracula. For the record, I don't think there's anything wrong with Dracula.

The Twilight series is another story, and not just because I'm slightly a literature snob and I think - and have heard from reliable sources, namely college professors, peers, and Tumblr - that it's shoddily written and crafted.

That's my opinion. Sorry, not sorry.

I think you're completely entitled to yours.

And please understand, I'm not pointing the finger at anyone. If I am, I'm pointing it right back at me, examining what I'm filling my own mind with.

The difference for me, though, between Dracula and Twilight, for example, is the portrayal of evil and death.

In Dracula, it's clear who is evil and who is good.

Evil comes to kill and destroy.

Good stands in the path, seeking to save and redeem.

In Twilight?

Not so much.

Everything is blurred: oh, well, he drinks blood, and he really wants to drink mine, but he'll go and drink animal blood since he doesn't want to kill me. Awh, I think I'll marry this guy, since he's totally stable and trustworthy.

Or should I marry this other guy who's a wolf and has an amazing six-pack (c'mon, we all know that's most the reason most people saw the movie)?

. . . Yeah . . . Stellar choices.

As far as I know - and please do correct me if I'm mistaken - there is no clear cut model of good in the Twilight series.

There are plenty of evil models, but the evil tendencies are airbrushed over by a six-pack.

Believe me, I've heard the arguments made for Twilight:

"Oh, it teaches abstinence!"

Not really.

Bella and Edward aren't abstinent because they choose to be per se, but because he doesn't want to kill her.

Not really admirable.

I'll be honest when I say that I almost got into Twilight. But something nudged me and said "Hey, why don't you get a second opinion on that?"

I'm so, so glad I did.

And I think it's really the whole Twilight phenomenon that awakened me to the battle that's going on not only for young girls' souls, but also for their hearts and minds.

Yeah, there was Harry Potter mania when I was like, I dunno, seven, but I didn't care to read a 3-inch thick book at that time.

This is different.

And much more dangerous.

Not only are we getting this generation desensitized to death, but also disdainful of life.

Dead and undying creatures are glorified, made popular.

TV shows and movies about those who deal directly with demons are hits.

More and more teens and young adults don't take their lives - or the lives of others - seriously.

And the thing is . . . I don't think it's going to get better.

Not unless we can show them that there is more to life than death.

So much more.

First of the Last Days

Oh my . . . that sounded much more bleak and apocalyptic than I meant it to.

What I'm talking about is the first day of classes tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'm a senior.

It'll be the first day of the last days of my college education.

And while I'm really excited about that, I'm kinda bummed, too.

I feel like I've just hit this point where I'm ready to have a degree and start being a productive member of society, but I feel like I want to do so much more.

I want to go to Europe.

I want to own a salon.

I want to learn fencing.

I want to go to the beaches in Florida.

I want to see snow. (Not in August, obviously, but I do.)

I want to write what I want to write, but I don't know what I want to write.

I guess tomorrow is one step closer to all of that.

Yep, I suppose it is.

Blessing the Lord

There's this song, you may have heard it, it's called "10,000 Reasons".

I can't remember the first time I heard it, but I remember thinking, "Oh, I should go download this when I get home" because it was a good song and I liked it. 

Well, I forgot to download it.

Naturally.

Well, the next time (of note) that I heard it was at a funeral for a baby.

I was so emotional that I couldn't even sing it.

But I was thinking.

We can't just bless the Lord when we have everything. When everything's nice and sunny. When we have everything we need.

We need to bless Him when He takes gifts away. When He teaches us lessons. When He allows pain in our lives.

Because whoever said "God will never give you more than you can handle" was wrong.

God will never allow you to be tempted beyond what He gives you an escape.

And God gives us more than we can handle to teach us to depend on Him for everything.

And that tender, nurturing love is truly blessable.

The Difference Between "Working Out" and "WORKING OUT"

So, I don't know if any of y'all have made those New Year's Resolutions that go something along the lines of "I'm gonna get healthy and workout every day and lose a ton of weight and keep it off forever!" or not.

I'll be honest: I have.

To be even more honest, I still am.

I wanted to lose 15 or 20 pounds by the end of the year.

I was doing well at first -- I lost 6 pounds in January, but then I gained it back.

Know why?

I wasn't doing it right.

I wasn't eating a whole lot, but that was it.

That's not the way to approach it.

Now I'm working out at least three times a week, usually about four or five, in addition to watching what I eat.

I was counting calories, but now I'm not really. It's in the back of my mind to be conscious of it, but I'm working eight hours a day, so I don't have much time to eat -- nor am I really that hungry by the time I do get a chance.

I've actually started a Tumblr where I post workout plans and such for those that might just need a game plan for actually working out. The series I'm posting now is a week long SPARTAN Workout, which are mostly strength training exercises (don't worry -- you don't need a gym subscription or equipment at home!) I'm planning to start a S.H.I.E.L.D. Workout soon, which will focus on building flexibility and perhaps post a (theoretical) weekly menu. Maybe.

Another really good thing to do when trying to lose weight or even get healthier is to have support and keep track of your progress.

MyFitnessPal is great for keeping track of your weight, measurements, and calories (if you plan to count them). If you'd like to add me, feel free to!

MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Also, if you'd like a quick - but effective - workout, I'd suggest doing this one. It's 4 minutes long, but those 4 minutes burn about 130 calories!

There's just a few things that you really can't afford to forget:

- God made you the way you are. You're tasked with maintaining the temple, not overhaul renovations exactly. Just to be a good steward of what you're given. He's made you as you are purposefully and you're beautiful (or handsome, as the case may be) that way.

- You can't change what you look like too much. I mean, if you have curves now, you're probably going to always have those curves. If you curve-less now, you're probably not going to have a whole lot later. And if this gets you down, just re-read the section above.

- Don't do anything you won't be able to keep up for the rest of your life. As my mom says, don't diet, live-it! Don't do some crazy diet that promises to help you shed 50 pounds in a week because that's 1) not realistic, and 2) you can't eat - or not eat! - like that forever. Slow and steadfast wins the race. And if this gets you down, read the top part again.

Learning to Let Go

Normally, this is the time of year people are flooded with "OMg its like finalzzz peeps so scared lol" posts.

And this is sort of one of them, but not really.

I'm not really worried about finals this semester. I've already done three, and I only have three left, and only two of those are actual tests. 

No, I'm gearing up to learn a really hard lesson that they can't teach you in a classroom.

I'm learning to let go.

I'm not talking about a relationship, though this lesson has infinite applications.

No, for me, it's my GPA.

I'm not bragging here; I'm stating a fact: these past two and a half years, I've earned a 4.0.

And I'm really scared I'm going to lose it.

I know a B and / or a 3.9 is nothing at all to sneeze at.

And I wouldn't be letting anyone down by getting a B.

Except me.

And that's what I'm struggling to let go of.

I don't want that to be my idol.

I don't want that to bug me.

I want to have peace about it.

And I can.

It's just a struggle.

But it's a good struggle to have.

I mean, at the end of my life, God won't be judging me on my grades.

He'll be judging me on how I lived for Him.

And that's worth so much more thought than a GPA that only matters for four years.

Disney's Old School Sass

Can we just have a moment to talk about how sassy some of the classic Disney movies are?

I mean, look at just Sleeping Beauty.

Those fairies got some SNARK!

Although I do find it hilarious that Merryweather doesn't realize it's pink till Flora throws the whole roll over her.

And Merryweather minces no words.

I. Love. That.

And if you don't like Merryweather, we can't be friends.

Sorry not sorry.

"You can't sew! And she's never cooked!!"

And yet she never really comes off as rude, or disrespectful, just . . . young.

They can't really do movies like that anymore.

-sigh-

Still one of my favorite Disney movies ever.

I think this calls for a Disney Princess marathon.

Who's in?

21 Before 21

So today at 4 AM, I turned 21.

You didn't get up for my birthday?

Oh, it's totes cool; I didn't get up for that, either.

Anyhoo, I've heard of these "[things done] Before [Age of the same numerical value]" things before, and I figured I'd do one for my birthday.

These are in no particular order, save for the first one.

1. met Jesus as my Savior

2. graduated high school

3. published a book

4. been to Mile Zero, where I . . .

5. . . . inadvertently swam with tarpons

6. visited the Statue of Liberty

7. voted in a Presidential election

8. drank pigeon milk (my dad's cologne)

9. performed an amateur amputation 

10. made sushi

11. got a job (and still have the job)

12. got a full ride through college

13. went to the midnight showing of a movie

14. zip-lined

15. whitewater rafted

16. member of two honors societies

17. ran a 5K

18. changed a tire (yes, on the side of the road)

19. melted a plastic container on a stove by accident

20. had a pen-pal in another country

21. been to the Kennedy Space Center

So yeah, Happy Birthday to me! :)

21 certainly makes me no less clumsy . . .

. . . but oh well, nobody saw that.

And this is what I'd like to leave you with:

I know 21 isn't that old in the grand scheme of things, but thinking about it makes me feel kind of old.

I mean, I saw Y2K.

I saw 9/11.

I've seen Mad Cow disease, Avian Bird flu, and Swine flu.

I saw the capture and death of Saddam Hussein and the death of Osama bin Laden.

I've seen the funerals of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

I've seen the advent of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

I've seen the earthquake in Japan and the tsunami in Indonesia.

I've seen a lot, I think.

But this is really all that matters: