Back at the Hat.

I'm back at school, and it's been a great half of a week. While I haven't officially started working on anything academically related, thus causing some of the satisfaction, I have been so blessed with wonderful conversations and moments with friends in just the last week.

The first day back, as soon as I finished unpacking, I grabbed lunch with Michele at a quaint coffee shop downtown. (A quick sidenote about Deland..as a friend once explained it, Deland is like Starshollow off of Gilmore girls...it's got such a cute, historic, small town feel..except our town can get quite sketchy after dark.) Michele and I were class buddies for a semester, and got really close over the stresses of school..including our first allnighter which was something we'd never like to repeat. Anyway, I just loved the time we got to spend together. We talked about fun memories from years past, about our breaks, and about what we were striving to accomplish this new year. What I loved most about our conversation is that we got to talk about what the Lord was doing in each of our lives in the midst of transition, and in the midst of uncertainty in regards to the future. What a great worship service in a small coffee shop over a delicious chicken salad wrap and some horrible sweet tea. (note to self: never order sweet tea at a gourmet coffee shop..silly Kaylyn)

Michele and I last year on a "let's see the night space shuttle launch" adventure. She'll not like that I posted this one, but it's a good memory :)

Wednesday I got to have lunch with one of the freshmen that I've gotten to know a little bit and it was a wonderful reminder that I am here for a reason.

Thursday after, switching a class at the last minute and a 3 hour meeting for planing our spring break mission trip I ran into my friend Marla. Marla and I are always a fun combination. In the past we've been known to encourage each other in stomp routines, comedy hour, Mary Poppins impersonations, and just general tomfoolery. I love this girl a lot, and have so many fond memories of trips to Ridgecrest, and late nights on the piano. (Marla was in a piano pedagogy class and I was her student for a semester. It was a challenge for her I know....probably the worst student she'll ever have. But a wonderful bonding experience for sure). I ran into her in the library and we got to talking and lost track of time. We weren't being our loud, obnoxious off the wall selves but were talking deeply from the heart about real concerns and struggles in our lives. I was crying (as per usual) and in the middle of the Dupont Library, on a really random afternoon we had one of the most enjoyable and challenging conversations of our friendship.

Sometimes I don't know why or where I get these faces..but Marla and I in the midst of a crazy moment I'm sure.

That night I went to the gym with my friends Jessica "Sally" and Zanolee. They are training for a 5k in February and probably have like -20% body fat so it was an act of faith even agreeing to go..but I'm so glad I did because I've missed these ladies a lot. Even though my "muscles" are still tight, I was pushed in a way only the personal training of Z could've pushed me and I felt so much better afterward.

Jess Sally and I after Dinner Theatre...I need a good pic of Z to post.

On top of that wonderful gym experience I went (for the second time) the gym the next morning at 8am with my wonderful roommate, Ashli. She is an encourager and makes me get up in the mornings when I'm a baby about the alarm. I'm thankful for the time with her in the mornings, as well as some nights where I have come in and made a pallet on her floor to veg and watch TLC or the History channel. She's a great roomy and I'll miss her next year.


Last night I got to hang out with Natalie, Brianne, and Mallory--some wonderful freshmen girls who have tugged at my heartstrings and made me laugh so hard all at the same time. Whew, they are so funny and prove to me that I am not cool by any stretch of the imagination. I'm so glad they allow me to be seen with them. They got to come over and hang out in my room...ya know, because I live in the nice upperclassmen dorms and not in the slums of new student housing. I got to introduce them to all of my fav's that i've collected in my three years here (e.g. trolls, gnomes, cards, pictures, legos, potato heads, and other nick knacks with fun stories to go along with)...and then we went over to the next town for some Chic Fil A!! I got ridiculously excited and even though there was a butt-ton of little humans running around I took a deep breath, faced my fears, and the food was worth it. We went back to their room, exchanged some more fun stories, and then watched the second half of the basketball game together. I had so much fun with them, and they bring a freshness to life here. So great, and can't wait to see them grow as we continue to learn and challenge each other.

A pic of me, natalie (black sweatshirt) Brianne (top) and another freshman, Jennifer (right)...Mallory is not pictured...obviously.

And if that wasn't enough, today I got to see one of my all-time fav's, Ms. Rachel Jeyaseelan. Rachel was my mentor of sorts when I was just a freshman in college. In fact the story above sounds so familiar to me, except the roles were reversed. Rachel and her roommate (also Rachael) spent a lot of QT with me back in the day. I pretty much lived in their room (ironically enough, in the same building I'm in now) some weekends and the transition wouldn't have been the same without them. Rachel is one of those people who I know will be a part of my life wherever I am, and no matter how much time goes by. She reads me like an open book, makes me laugh until my stomach hurts, and isn't afraid to ask difficult questions and call me out when that's what I need. Whew, I miss her being on campus, but am so, so, so thankful that the Lord has allowed her to stay close enough to campus that I can visit her now and then. In fact I start off every semester with a visit to Ormond Beach, where her family lives and they've been so good to adopt me and allow me to escape campus when need be. Rachel always makes me a CD for the new semester, and it never ceases to be awesome. This time she also gave me a book to read, "The Hiding Place" (the autobiography of Corrie Ten Boom)...so hopefully I'll blog about reading that.

We went to Peach Valley on the beach for an awesome late lunch and then on a walk through the neighborhood where she lives. I haven't laughed that long and hard in a while. A perfect visit, with a wonderful friend.

above: me and Rachel at the beginning of my sophomore year.

Below: Rachel, Rachael, Jessica, and I after our farewell dinner to Rachael Roberts at Bahama Breeze sophomore year.

Last semester I had some pretty challenging courses. I knew that I probably wouldn't end the semester with the grades that I began the semester and tried to prepare myself for disappointment. However, when a time came to make a choice I unfortunately chose locking myself in a room alone to study rather than have a social life. I chose books over people and stress over sleep. I chose snooze over quiet time, and fast food over exercise. And everything fed off of the other. I wasn't sleeping right, so I wasn't the most energetic person during the normal human hours. I wasn't exercising so I didn't feel well, and I wasn't spending enough time filling myself with the Word, so I wasn't ready to pour into others and invest myself to those the Lord had placed in my life. But praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning, much less every semester. I want to take full advantage of the blessings in the form of people on campus this semester. It's going to be harder once academia rears its ugly head, but I am committed to work at a balance. I know that I wasn't created to achieve a GPA, and while this can be a form of worship, all to often I find that it's a self-worship and not a worship dedicated to bringing the Lord glory.


So let's go Junior semester number two. I'm training for you, mind, body, and soul.

bee tea dubs...now only if I can get with the Philippians challenge....get with it Kaylyn!!!