Graduation surprises…?

It’s a strange thought thinking I might not have any homework for the rest of my life…that is, if I don’t end up at grad school. School is something I’ve done for so long, it feels odd knowing I won’t be enrolled in any classes for the fall. Graduation was here and then gone in a blur, but it was most certainly an interesting one. I waited to walk into Zorn Arena at UWEC next to the most funny and interesting guys and fellow graduates. One of them had half a beef stick in his pocket, coffee in hand, and sandals on his feet. The other sported a blue tie with swirls that changed with the position of the lights. And still another said he showered but forgot deodorant; he wanted to give us a heads up. Their funny, relaxed comments and persons made me feel more comfortable waiting to walk into the arena full of people who would be watching us. We had good laughs before the ceremony started.

A few days before hand, my biggest concerns were I wouldn’t know what to do, or I would trip going up the steps to get my diploma. I came home Friday night after work, the day before graduation, and discovered a horrible truth.

The perfectly imperfect dress

The last few weeks have been busy, fun and crazy – all at the same time. I found myself in a lovely little Italian buffet style restuarant in the Cities, in a teal peacoat on these, at times, chilly April days, and at the Viennese Ball at UWEC.

Getting fancy – VBall 2015

The VBall was beautiful as always. Such great music, treats and dancing. Craig and I agreed it went way too fast! One of my favorite things about it is the man they get to play piano and sing songs. He’s funny and a very talented player. There’s nothing better than singing “Piano Man” with a bunch of strangers all dressed up in a dimly lit room. Some students jumped up on the small stange with him and sang along with their arms around each other.

Every year we go, Craig gets me a piece of this absolutely fabulous Snickers cake. It’s so good! Very rich with chocolate frosting and pieces of the candy bar on the top. It’s usually the first thing we do when we get in. It goes great with a cup of coffee, and it’s fun to see how perfect of a lip print I can get on the white plastic cup from my plum colored lipstick.

Last year, I had some major dress mishaps that ultimately led me to get the light green one you see me wearing in the picture on the left. It’s a long story, but I originally bought this gorgeous, pink, fairytale dress. In my mind, it was the most amazing dress, and I got it for a steal of a deal. It fit perfectly when I tried it on – I’ve learned my lesson about trying on clothes, especially dresses, before buying them. When I got home, it would not zip up at all for whatever reason. My dad even grabbed one of his tools from the garage to try and force it to go up.

A hodgepodge and a hedgehog

Hello everyone!

I’m getting so close to graduation. I can hardly believe it! Classes just started back up at UWEC this week. I found myself in the final and top journalism class. It’s amazing and also intimidating sometimes to be in a room with so many great and talented students.

Everything feels a little different this semester. I only have 9 credits, and one of them is online since there were no sections offered in class. I guess I don’t mind. I have experience taking online classes, but just during the winter.

I’m thinking about writing on Africa and projects like Teamwork Africa in our area that raise money and do other things to help our brothers and sisters over the oceans for my first story. If any of you know anything about different programs in Eau Claire or if you’re a part of them, I would love to chat with you about it.

This post feels like a hodgpodge, probably because it is. Now for the hedgehog!

Blogging in France!

Behold, readers and followers, our student blog from France!

Nice, France

And my individual stories so far…

World War II memories

Puppies in France

I hope you enjoy these!

 

 

Think about this

Dearest followers and readers, hello!

School is at last coming to a close. It’s been an incredibly busy end to the semester, but everything has been most fruitful. It was amazing what God did for me in the past weeks. I had a huge weight lifted off my shoulders when one of my teachers moved a project deadline for my class to give us some extra time. That made all the difference in the world! Between preparing for a mock trial court case and writing a couple of group papers and giving presentations, I was so relieved to have some due dates moved around.

My mom and I talked for a while when I came home for the day, and I ended up only studying for a test I had today for a little less than an hour. Luckily, I was able to get up this morning and spend some time on the material, but I didn’t get as much studying in as I wanted. When I was getting ready to leave for my test this morning, my mom commented on how calm I seemed. I thought about that for a bit, and it occurred to me that I did feel good. I felt relaxed. I knew worrying wouldn’t help. It would only make things worse.

Tonight I was on Pinterest for the first time in what has been a while, and I found this…

 

I smiled when I saw it. I read it quickly, but if you let it sink in, it has a lot of meaning. So do that. Let it sink in. And let it go. Give all of your worries to God.

There’s plastic, garbage, disaster…but God says take heart!

I always imagine this as God’s hands.

I never have given much thought to environmental matters before this year. I signed up for a class on conservation of the environment because I thought it would be interesting. That class has proven to do more than just intrigue me.

Honestly, I think that class should be required. It changed my life. A lot of times, I don’t really remember what I learned from certain classes, and I certainly don’t expect to walk away from a class with a new outlook.

Part 2: College will do that to you….but God is good!

First, I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I can’t believe it’s already over…and to think December is in a week! One thing I’ve learned in college this semester is this: When I think all of my projects are done, there are more. There always seem to be more.

Not too long ago, I was so excited for November to come, not because of turkey dinners, but because I thought I was out of the swamp patch. College, however, isn’t terribly easy; it does require work and dedication. November is a month after midterms finish up and a month before finals, but still, there are many projects and papers scattered throughout the days. My focus for most of the month wasn’t on much more than all my homework.

Finally Thanksgiving week was coming, and I started to get sick. I didn’t think much of it, but it was annoying. It’s just another cold, I thought. Two days before Thanksgiving, I was home from school, but then my mom brought me to the hospital because I was feeling so awful. I had to wear a mask inside the building, which felt a little strange. After a few tests and such, it was determined I didn’t have strep throat. I had some sort of viral infection.

Days went by. I was getting worse. Swallowing was becoming impossible, and eating stung the back of my teeth terribly. On Thanksgiving, instead of being thankful for anything at all, I was complaining about my situation. I wondered why I wasn’t better, why the sickness had to find me of all people, why I felt so awful, etc. It was hard to think outside of myself.

College will do that to you…but God is good!

I know it’s not true, but sometimes it feels my teachers get together in a tree house and talk about what day they can make all their assignments due. And that’s ok, because it tests my ability to stay focused and stay strong. The last few days have been long, but satisfying. I must say, I’ve never been so happy to know it’s a Wednesday. Today I had a history paper, profile story, audio script, and video narrative due in different classes. I was up into the early hours of the morning, but I finished all my work, and I feel I did well on my projects. It feels amazing to be done with all those assignments!

If you ever run into a situation where you have a lot of work due on the same day, I would avoid drinking too much caffeine. Last night, I had a Coke, and this morning, I had a white mocha from my favorite coffee shop in Eau Claire. For some reason, I’ve been drinking Coke like water lately. (I used to love Dr. Pepper, but my taste buds must be changing.) As far as coffee goes, I appreciate it when I’m tired or in need of a sweet treat. (I don’t usually like black coffee unless it’s with a dessert.) As it may seem, I do indeed have a sweet tooth. Chocolate is my favorite. While sweets do help brighten my days when I have a lot to do, I’ve found the best source of motivation comes from God alone. This week, it’s been incredible to see what He has done for me.

Whether you’re 5 or 19, change is sometimes big

I may be in the odd bunch around my family, but I’m excited for school to start. It’s been an incredibly busy summer, but one that I will remember. My family and I have put our house up for sale in Bloomer in hopes of moving to Eau Claire. Of course, there were some things around the house that needed some work before we did this. We took the old tile out of our kitchen floor and replaced it with wood. My five year old sister Beth was not pleased with this idea. She insisted my parents could only put tile on the area leading to our steps slightly outside of the kitchen, but not in the kitchen itself. She was so upset by the change, she cried for awhile. Now, Beth likes the new floor, especially since she can slide not only herself, but toys and such, across the ground. Over the past few days, I’ve watched Craig make the transition into college. The night before he moved away from Bloomer, I realized how real the situation was. It was strange to think we wouldn’t be riding around on his four-wheeler with his cute sheltie Scottie chasing us the whole way, or lounging around on his trampoline on a sunny afternoon. His dorm room was the first one I had ever seen.