Handbells and Kayaks

Of all the titles to have, I chose handbells and kayaks. What do these two things have in common? I love both of them, but do not often get to do them. This, I hope to remedy this year. Amongst the four classes and two labs I am taking this semester, I also signed up to audition for the handbell choir, and to get information from the outdoors club. There are a LOT of kayaking events on the calendar, so I hope to do a couple of them. ^_^ I also signed up for dance ensemble, but I don't have much information about that either.

The first two days of school have gone pretty well. My professors are all really cool, and so are the classes. Despite the fact that I'm taking anatomy and physiology, and chemistry, I'm really excited about them. I love science. I know they are hard classes, but so far, the resources for doing well have been provided, so I don't feel scared about the semester. I'm just excited in general. I hope it continues.

Well, until next time, shalom!

The next step of the joyful adventure

It has now been three days since I arrived on the grounds of Messiah College as a brand-new first year student. I was so happy to be here when I arrived, and I'm still pretty happy. My roommates are great, the campus is beautiful, the food is good. The schedule has, however, been crammed with necessary but annoying orientation sessions on all kinds of things. The things I'm most fuzzy on have not been covered in the sessions or schedule. Oye vey.

Classes don't start until Tuesday, and I'm both glad and anxious for them to come. Glad because some of my textbooks have not arrived yet... but overall, I'm excited for them to start. I'm taking some really cool classes (courtesy of being in the nursing program and the honors program), like the writing class on the amish, anatomy and physiology, and foundations of marriage and family. I'm so excited about anatomy and physiology, and also for chemistry. I am such a scientist because I LOVE to learn about God's creation and explore it. I love all the labs in chemistry, and I love learning about the body. Each system is so complex, so that when you put them all together, they completely blow your mind. How can anyone say that we came from a mass of exploding gases?

On another note, my dorm building's theme is "Choose Joy." This seems to be a recurring theme in my life. In middle school, back when I was that awkward little kid with the weird obsessions and such, my mom told me that I needed to choose joy in life, because if I looked at all the pain and sorrow and strife, life wouldn't be so hard. The first week at the Springs, Pastor St Cyr spoke about joy - real joy. So often people use "happy" and "joyful" synonymously, when they really aren't. Happiness is based on circumstance - "I'm happy to see you" or "You make me so happy" or even, as my friend's dad puts it, something can have "happy-making qualities." Joy, however, is rooted in contentment and in God. It is deeper than happiness. It is more than happiness. It is something that burrows deep into your soul and thrives in contentment.

Joy is beautiful. Happiness is fleeting, joy is eternal. It is only when we take our Lord as our companion that He shows us the priceless value in joyfulness.

So, it is fitting for my first-year theme to be "Choose Joy." It hasn't just been a first-year theme; it is a life theme. The picture here is a graphic my friend Aaron designed. His website is www.worksofhishands.com if you want to look at the other artwork he's designed. In any case, the scripture he's chosen for joy fits perfectly. Our souls are joyful because the LORD, the Lord Almighty, has compassion on his children. We are redeemed because he loves us so, and we rejoice because of that. Because of that, we find so much more joy in knowing God.

Shalom, and may you find simcha (joy) this week!

The Journey

Yay! There's a new pretty background! I especially like the birds. ^_^ I'm changing the colors and format from this point on, but I'm going to leave the old posts. The light orange looks pretty with the pink (although it makes it terribly hard to read).

Anywho, I've sadly neglected this poor little blog. Not that very many people are reading, but I still feel bad about it. Let's see. I'll try to describe what's been going on in this long absence.

At my school, the seniors have to complete a senior thesis, complete with oral defense, during the course of the year, to be finished at the end of the year. We have to describe ten loci of the Christian faith, give an apologia on a topic we choose, and then integrate our faith into a chosen vocation. It's a tough project. Every one goes into this project fearing it. I wasn't as worried about it as others in my class, but I was a little nervous. This project came to an end on the 13th for me, and I did really well on the oral defense part of it! ^_^

With the end of high school, I plan on going to college to pursue a nursing degree. Those of you who know me well know that I love writing and wonder why I am not going to be a writer. My dad pointed out that I don't have to have a degree in creative writing to write novels. As long as I keep my craft up, I should still be able to write the rest of my life. So I'm going to college. During that time I'm trying to work out a study abroad in Israel for a semester which will be AMAZING if it works out. Once I have my B.S. in Nursing and have take the exam to be an R.N., I hope to work for a bit to save enough money to continue schooling to become a nurse-midwife. THAT I am really excited about. God's given me such a passion for unborn babies and expectant moms. He's really blessed me.

Of course, if God points me out to a nice young man in the midst of that, hehe, I'm going to have a talk with Him. ^_^ I really would like to focus on getting my R.N., but I do know that if God tells me the time is ripe to be married and to raise a family, I will very, very willingly do so.

Other things: I've been really involved in the drama and music departments at school. I worked crew for a production of Annie Jr. and also made a cameo in the N.Y.C. scene as a tourist. That was fun. And I've been singing this year in chorus, which has been amazing. One of my favorite songs of the year is "All Who Dwell in the Shadow of the Lord." That's a mouthful, so we often call it "All Who Dwell." It has such a beautiful melody, and the alto harmony is gorgeous. I can't describe how beautiful it is. And now, we're preparing for a pop concert, and I have a teeny solo in "I'm gonna wash that man" from a Rodgers and Hammerstein medley. I was a little less than thrilled about it, since I was hoping for the Eponine solo in "One Day More." However, I spoke with my director, and she's helping me with my projection. Maybe someday I'll get to sing Eponine.

I've also fallen in love with Les Miserables, but I believe that will have to wait for another day. :-)

I shall write again at a later date (not too late though!)