Almost there!

Holy cow. In just a little more than 24 hours, I will be back in Texas. The journey I began more than a year ago is wrapping up! In two weeks, I should know where I’m going be for the next 2+ years. So crazy.

Tuesday evening I leave for College Station, where I’ll be interviewing for graduate school until Friday afternoon. Saturday I’ll take three flights to Detroit and a car ride to Bowling Green, Ohio, where I’ll interview at another grad school until Tuesday evening, when I’ll fly back to St. Louis. It’s a whirlwind week, but it’s been a long time coming.

This time last year, I wasn’t even 100% sure I was going to grad school. Just out of curiosity, I opened my journal to this time last year. Here’s some things I wrote:

• Mission Statement: It is my goal and mission to develop freshmen into successful college students by encouraging them to discover who they are, build strong relationships with peers, grow into leaders, find their own faith and become responsible Christians and community members.

• Short-Term Goals
  • Become a FIG SC
  • Research grad programs
  • Focus on God
  • Grow close to Him at LT
  • Grow closer to friends at the Rock

• Continue to guide me in the right way for my future. It all seems so unclear and uncertain right now. Show me where I need to be after graduation.

It’s so exciting to see how God has helped me accomplish these goals and lead me in the direction of my future!

PTL!

In the mean time, I’d like to ask for a few prayers.

• Safe flights
  I will be on six plans throughout the next week. Pray they all are on time and don’t lose my luggage.

• Good interviews
  I have somewhere between 10-20 interviews throughout the next week for various assistantships. Pray I am able to show off my best traits in a collected, non-anxious way.

• Boldness
  Throughout the next week have the potential to meet 100+ people. Between current students in the programs I’m applying to, other applicants, faculty and strangers on planes, I want to talk to strangers and maybe even share the gospel. Please pray for courage, boldness and opportunity.

Thanks, y’all! I’ll keep you updated!

Song for the blog: “Almost There” from Disney’s The Princess and the Frog

Accomplishing goals left and right!

Time for a life update!

This week is going to be ca-razy. But before we talk about why, let’s catch up on how things have been this February.

I was officially invited to interview for student affairs master’s programs at Texas A&M, Texas State and Bowling Green State University. After a lot of fretting, praying, pro-con-list-making, talking and obsessive-flight-checking, I have decided to interview at Texas A&M and Bowling Green!

(Un)fortunately(?), the interviews for both those programs are back-to-back, Wednesday through Friday and Sunday through Tuesday. I’ll be flying down to College Station next Tuesday, interviewing there, flying to Detroit on Saturday, interviewing at Bowling Green, then flying back to Saint Louis, all within a week’s time. Thus, craziness.

Before I leave next week, I have a lot to accomplish. Today I had a test and short paper due. Thursday I have a six-page midterm draft. Friday I have another short paper. I also have two fairly long papers due while I’m out-of-town, which means I must finish them before I leave. Yikes!

On top of all the homework I need to do this week, I have a couple pretty big events I must attend. You see, I have been selected as a member of the Class of 2011′s Mizzou 39! This is a huge honor — to be recognized as one of the top 39 seniors in our class. It’s such a joy to celebrate four years of blessed experiences and opportunities with 38 of Mizzou’s greatest student leaders. Because of this honor, I have even more on my schedule this week! Last night we had a candlelit revelation ceremony on the quad; tomorrow we’re being recognized at the half time of the Mizzou basketball game, and Saturday night is a celebratory banquet. That means my parents and sister are coming to visit me this weekend! I’m very excited to see them and hang out with them, but I also know I could use this weekend to prepare for next week. Oh, well! We’ll make it work.

So if you’ve been following along, this post mentions two of my Spring 2011 goals, which I have now met!
1. Be chosen as a member of Mizzou 39.
2. Interview at two graduate schools.

Now on to accomplishing another goal: Get into Texas A&M!

Celebration!

Happy Birthday, blog!

PLUS: MORE AWESOME GOOD NEWS UNRELATED TO MY BLOG’S FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Today is my blog’s 1st birthday. While I have participated in several blogging endeavors throughout the past eight years, this is probably my favorite project.

It all started around this time last year when I developed with a friend crush on my boss, Laura.

This is actually not a great picture (it's blurry; I'm sweaty because it was 100° outside that day; I've got some awkward acne going on...), but this is Laura and me!

She was our new hall coordinator, and I just knew we were going to get along swimmingly! She had a bachelor’s in journalism (like me!) and had gotten her master’s in college student personnel (like I want to do!). She always wore cardigans and loved to craft. And she had a blog. I had been thinking of starting up again, and I was inspired.

Blogging over the past year has been a really amazing experience, and I’m so thankful to all of you who read! In fact, as I talked about last week, I was hoping to make it to 10,000 views by my blog’s first birthday, and I am happy to announce that, as of this post…

I’ve had more than 10,400 views!

Thanks, guys! I hope you’ll continue to read throughout the next year, too!

And now for the good news!

#1. My beautiful sister was offered a position at the YMCA of the Rockies Day Camp! This means it’s more than likely that she’ll be out there with me this summer, God willing!

We were adorable children.

We're pretty okay looking now, too.

#2. I have officially been invited to interview at Texas A&M University for their Student Affairs Administration in Higher Education program! I could not be more excited for this opportunity! Whoop!

One step closer to College Station! Thanks and gig 'em!

All I can keep saying is “Everything that has breath praise the Lord!”
I’m so excited to see what God has in store for me in this next year!

 

Growing pains

School started just a little over a week ago, which means I’ve started working on my semester’s goal list for about a week as well.

So far, I’m pretty pleased with how things are going. I’m consistently going to bed before 1, and though I haven’t been perfect in some of my daily goals, I’m getting better.

But I am also in pain.

Goals are not supposed to be easy — goals should challenge and stretch you, and I can say from the past week that my goals have stretched me —literally!

Blistered toes: Right now both my pinkie toes have blisters on them from new shoes I bought for professional interviews. I wore some of them for the first time yesterday and learned that they are good standing and sitting shoes, but maybe not good walking-across-campus shoes. But interviewing for Mizzou 39 is a step I must take if I want to be selected, so I can get past the pain.

Piles of dirty dishes: Last night I also faced an enormous pile of dishes. You see, my kitchen is miniscule, and I have neither a double sink nor a dishwasher, so dishes pile up easily, especially when I cook, which means I don’t usually cook. But it’s a goal of mine to start cooking once a week, and so far I am two for two! Last night I made delicious pork with cranberry sauce, recipe courtesy of the Pioneer Woman. It was definitely worth washing the pile of dishes I had once I was done.

Sore muscles: Monday I went to a Tiger X class where the instructor described it as “an advanced boot camp style class.” What had I gotten myself into?! It might not have been so bad if I had been regularly exercising in the past two years, but, um yeah… I haven’t been. So that class nearly killed me and it now hurts to get out of bed, walk, use stairs, sit down, move in any way, etc. But at the same time it feels good, you know? I love knowing that I’m getting my muscles back in shape and that the work out actually did something. I’m looking forward to yoga tomorrow so I can stretch everything out again!

Stretched faith: I haven’t been 100% on top of my Bible reading since I added The Rock’s read-through-the-Prophets plan to my daily readings, but what I have been reading has been stretching my faith a lot. Why are there so many hard-to-pronounce names in I Kings? What the heck is Paul even talking about in I Corinthians? How literally relevant is this stuff to me now? I don’t have all the answers, but I’m excited about digging deeper and finding out more.

So while it’s tough sometimes feeling growing pains, it’s a “hurts so good” type of pain, I think, and I’m ready for more of it this semester!

Gooooalllssss!

It’s that time of year, again; time for me to set my semester goals. I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, but I do try to set goals for each “season:” fall semester, winter break, spring semester and summer.

I decided this semester to make goals in five main areas of my life (God, People, Finances, Work/School, and Health), which are outlined in the book I read around this time last year called Chazown.

Without further ado, here are my Spring 2011 goals!

God
• Listen to my Daily Audio Bible podcast five mornings a week.
• Read at least one chapter of the Bible per day, which works out to finishing the New Testament this semester.
• Continue Saturday sabbath. (Work out, read, play guitar, spend time with God, write letters, Skype/call people.)
• Put all my memory verses on cards. Start memorizing them.
• Pray for at least one person every day.

People
• Skype/call one person a week.
• Write two letters/encouraging notes a week.
• Spend Friday afternoons when I don’t have journalism tours meeting with people to talk about how life/God is going.
• “Neighby dinner” once a week. (Neighbies = my apartment neighbors Sam and Breezy)
• Regularly spend time with non-MTCGers. (People not in my Mark Twain Canvas Group)

Finances
• Keep better track of where my money goes (laundry, eating out, entertainment, groceries, gas, etc.). Budget once I understand my spending. (Thanks to Breezy for introducing me to mint.com, which will help me immensely in accomplishing this!)
• Pay off interest on my student loan.
• Tithe 10%
• Save 40%

Work/School
• Be chosen as a member of the Mizzou 39.
• Graduate!
• Interview for at least two graduate schools.
• Get into Texas A&M.
• Find somewhere to live in the fall.
• Complete my online portfolio.
• Always go to class.
• Participate in discussions (do reading, at least have some sort of input).
(The last two goals are what kept me from “Get all A’s” last semester. Learning from my mistakes!)

Health
• Work out three times a week.
• Cook once a week.
• Computer off by 12, be in bed by 12:30, lights off by 1.

Bring it on, last semester at Mizzou!

#100: Ohio reflections

I just realized this will be my 100th post on this blog!

Dang, when I started this thing back in January, I didn’t really have a huge plan for it; I just knew I wanted to be open in sharing what God has been doing in my life. I never expected to be so blessed by friends and acquaintances’ comments and encouraging responses to my writings or even the personal reflection this blog has been able to give me. I look forward to sharing my one year anniversary with Lindsay in Progress in about a month!

Meanwhile, it’s my last full day in Ohio. Sitting on Kristen’s futon and watching the snow fall gently outside, I’ve been reflecting back on the past few weeks since Thanksgiving break. Here are some things I’ve been thinking about.

#1. I miss my family.
I mean I’ve always missed my family since I left for school in August of 2007, but in the past 6-ish months I have begun to miss them all the more. I absolutely adore my siblings and love spending time with them; Thanksgiving definitely reminded me of that. I can’t wait to go home and see them in a week! I also wish Blair wasn’t going to school in Arkansas because, God willing, I’ll be back within reasonable driving distance of our home base next year and can actually come home for junior high band concerts or high school graduations. I wish our whole family could be close again.

#2. I don’t have a college best friend.
Don’t get me wrong, I have several incredibly close friends at school without whom I couldn’t survive sometimes, but I don’t have one stand-out “I tell her everything, and she knows everything about me” best friend here. My life has been a weird cycle of new friends every few years. Unlike my sister who has had the same best friends since kindergarten, my core group of friends has changed with the seasons in my life. There were my elementary school friends, then junior high friends, then early high school friends, late high school friends, orchestra high school friends, early college friends, journalism college friends Rock college friends, LT friends… I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing necessarily; it’s just something I’ve noticed.

#3. I am so incredibly excited for LT 2011 regardless of if I get to go or not.
LT 2011 and I have been going back and forth all semester. There are days I just can’t even wait to be back in the mountains, but there are also days that the idea of working housekeeping 40 hours a week for 12 weeks just really turns me off. I’d say I swing back and forth between 95% for sure going to LT and 60% for sure going, but the past few weeks I’ve been more and more excited about it.

I know of at least three to five Twain girls are considering going, and they are what I am most excited about. I want to see them grow in God and develop their leadership skills. I want to watch them lead Life Groups so badly. If I were asked to lead a Life Group again, I would say yes, but with the caveat that if there were a younger girl in my Project who had some leadership potential that they be asked first. I want so badly to be in a Life Group with Sam or Michelle or Katie or Mariah and watch them grow into even more beautiful women of God as they lead.

In the same hand, I think I’d really like to try to lead a Project Group. If I’m not asked, I won’t be upset at all; in fact it would be a good summer or rest before I start the next chapter in my life. But if I were asked, I think it could definitely be an awesome learning experience and challenge for myself this summer.

As for the me possibly not going, I mean it is a possibility. I’m going to apply and get ready as if I were going, but if a get a graduate assistantship that starts during the summer, I’ll be taking that.

Overall, I’m not really worried about any of this; I know God will put me where I need to be this summer, whether that be at school or in Colorado, leading a Life Group or a Project or just relaxing with Him.

#5. Christmas Break is taking FOREVER to get here.
I had a week and a half of class after Thanksgiving where I had maybe two big things. Now I’m in Ohio with another two big things due next week. So that’s like four things spread out ever-so-slowly over three weeks. It’s like home is slowly inching its way toward me, and it’s driving me crazy. I just want to be done and homeward bound. At least I only have one more week of slow agony left!

Lastly, I’d like to ask for some prayers.

• First of all, I’m a bit worried about my flight back to Missouri tomorrow. It’s supposed to “snow squall,” and I really don’t wat my flight delayed. Also pray for my friends who are driving an hour to Cleveland and back to take me to the airport.
• Secondly, I have a lot to get done in this next week, namely some SC organization stuff, a magazine editing test, a 10-page paper and two grad school apps. Pray I get this all done so I can GO HOME.
• Thirdly, prayers for a productive break. I have a lot of things I want to do and accomplish this break, but I’ll need discipline to stay off Facebook and make good use of my time. Pray that I have the desire to accomplish my goals and that I can grow closer to God even when I’m away from my community for four weeks.

Good luck to everyone with finals this week. Safe travels to you all, as well!

When will my break begin?

So last weekend I went out with some of the canvas group girls to see Tangled, the newest Disney princess movie, and I must say I rather enjoyed it. I really liked Mandy Moore’s voice and singing, especially in the first song, “When Will My Life Begin,” about what Rapunzel does all day while she’s in the tower. The song made me laugh because even though Rapunzel is sad she does these same things over and over, it’s exactly what I want my winter break to be!

And so I’ll read a book
Or maybe two or three
I’ll add a few new paintings
To my gallery
I’ll play guitar and knit and cook
…
Then, after lunch, it’s puzzles, and darts and baking,
papier-mâché, a bit of ballet and chess,
Pottery and ventriloquy, candle-making,
Then I’ll stretch
Maybe sketch
Take a climb
Sew a dress
And I’ll re-read the books
If I have time to spare
I’ll paint the wall some more
I’m sure there’s room somewhere
And then I’ll brush, and brush
And brush, and brush my hair

Now, my break probably won’t be this diverse (I doubt I will do anything with papier-mâché or candles, and I definitely won’t need to brush my hair as much as she does), but I do have a list of things I want to accomplish over my 4-week vacation, the biggest thing being NOT WASTING TIME ON FACEBOOK. I have no work or school obligations, and while I want to get rest and recharge, I have so many other productive things I want to do! I haven’t had a full winter break without ResLife obligations in three years, so I need to take advantage of it! So here’s what I’m thinking for my daily routine:

• Wake up at the same time every week day. I’m thinking 8:30 or 9 because that isn’t obscenely early, and that’s probably going to be my daily wake-up time next semester.
• Eat breakfast and read the Life & Arts section of the Star-Telegram.
• Go for a walk with God. Have quiet time wherever I walk to. The one nice thing about Texas not being super-cold is that I can probably go on a walk in sweats and not freeze to death.
• Take a shower.
• Eat lunch. Possibly with the few friends I have in town on occasion or with my little brother at school.
• Check e-mail/Facebook/Twitter briefly.
• Interchangeable afternoon activities:
  Read a magazine.
  Read a book.
  Write a letter.
  Talk to someone on the phone.
  Learn to parallel park.
  Write all my memory verses on cards/memorize them.
  Catch up on Dexter/watch any weekly TV shows that have new episodes.
  Bake things.
  Blog.
  Play guitar.
  Play viola.
  Play piano.
  Start making my high school T-shirt quilt.
  Catch up with friends.
• Make dinner.
• Eat dinner with my family.
• Hang out with friends/family.
• Go to bed at a reasonable time.

These are the goals I have set. Let’s see if I can keep them! Just about a week until I can start!

OFL: Two apps submitted!

Oh hey, so I kind of decided on Bowling Green State University for my second choice for grad school. It was kind of an arbitrary decision, but the program is solid and there’s H2O (church, not water), so I think I could cope there if A&M doesn’t work out.

I submitted the online applications to both BGSU and A&M tonight! I have very few things left to get in before I’m squared away at both schools:

1. Ensure my three academic references for A&M return the necessary recommendation materials.
2. Print and mail resume to A&M
3. Request transcripts from Mizzou and TCC for A&M
4. Write, print and mail an Autobiographical Essay for A&M
5. Print and mail Career Statement to BGSU
5. Deliver reference forms to two references and ensure that they are sent to BGSU
6. Ensure that my third reference for BGSU returns the necessary recommendation materials.
7. Print and mail resume to BGSU
8. Request two transcripts each from Mizzou and TCC for BGSU

DONE.

Now I just have to pick my last school. I’m thinking UNT or Texas Tech, but Georgia and South Carolina are also in the mix…

And I mean the dream is A&M; I’m just applying to other schools to be safe.
Prayin’ about the process daily! Join me, will you?

What joy! What peace! You make beautiful things.

The retreat is over! What joy! What peace!

Not that the retreat went badly, or even that planning it was a bad experience; it was just another thing on top of my three jobs and classes and other activities.

Don’t get me wrong: I really loved planning the retreat with Jake. I think we did a really good job, and from what I can tell, a lot of people had a really awesome time. I’ve seen a lot of positive status updates and gotten a lot of compliments and “thanks”es, so I’ll chalk up a tally in the win column.

The thing about planning a retreat is that it’s not really a retreat for you. Do I think Jake and I could have done a better job at planning so it could have been more of a retreat for us? Yes. But that’s okay. It was a really great learning experience.

I learned that you should not delegate more than one task per person. I learned that you shouldn’t delegate yourself any one task for the actual event. (Before the event is okay, but it’s better not to be in charge of any one thing.)

I was really distracted this weekend. Worship was honestly completely shot, my mind filled with “What am I going to say in this announcement?” and “Who is going to make that coffee tonight?” and “How exactly is this lettuce-eating contest going to work later?” I couldn’t chill out enough to have a quiet time during the time allotted. I do feel like I got something out of Dave Megill’s talks, but I am really looking forward to them being posted online so I can really listen without distractions.

And that’s why today has been nice.
#1. I caught up on a lot of sleep. On average I’ve been getting to bed sometime between 1-2 and getting up between 7-8. Last night? 12:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. GLORIOUS.

#2. I got to chillax. I went to Justin’s, we ate waffles, and finally, after almost a month, watched some Dexter. We’ve got three episodes of season four left!

#3. I got to worship some on my own. Zach Burmaster introduced us to some really awesome songs this weekend, and while my heart wasn’t in it yesterday, I got to dig into the lyrics and learn some more guitar today. It was really good. Here are the songs:

Death in His Grave
“On Friday a thief; On Sunday a King. Laid down in grief, but awoke with keys of Hell on that day. The first-born of the slain, the Man Jesus Christ, laid death in his grave.”

What Joy
“What joy, what joy for those whose trust is in the name of the Lord. What peace, what peace for those whose confidence is in Him alone.”

Christ is Risen
“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death. Come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave.”
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? O Church, come stand in the light. Our God is not dead; He’s alive, He’s alive!”

Beautiful Things (Not actually a new song yesterday, but just a newish one I really like.)
All the lyrics are really good.

#4. I got to hang out with my chicas Sam and Breezy. We went to Campus Bar & Grill for delicious $1 burgers and fries. Yum and fun.

So God made the retreat a beautiful thing, and I have much joy and peace now that it is over. You see what  did there?

Here’s to a new month! Hurrah for October!
(And I get to cross another goal off my list!)

I’m waking up

One of Sam's door decs she made me

September is almost over! And today I got to check off my first goal of the semester: “Score competatively on the GRE.” Hurrah!

The test went pretty well. It wasn’t as stupendous as my ACT scores, but they’re above the 70th percentile, so I feel pretty decent about them. I somehow scored considerably better on the math section than I did on the verbal section. Maybe it was because I was wearing my “lucky” maroon Mizzou T-shirt.

Sporting my last MU Bookstore purchase—a maroon Mizzou tee.

But really I think I was so freaked out about trying to recall everything I learned in 9th grade geometry and 10th grade Algebra II that I didn’t even bother studying vocab, which came back to get me. Oh well.

It’s been a surprisingly good week. I was dreading it for the GRE and for all the final retreat details I’d have to pull together, but it’s been better than expected. I got to have some awesome meals with Max and Ben, had some productive study time for the GRE, got a lot of last minute retreat stresses taken care of, found out that Mark and Macie are having a baby (!) and have had some amazing girl time with Breezy, Sam, Amanda and Funfetti cupcakes.

There were 18 cupcakes on Sunday. Now there are two.

On top of that, it’s been a good day in general. I slept in, watched Glee, did some homework, took my test, had some SC check-ins, celebrated the end of the GRE with Thomas with tacos and my first margarita, finished up some stuff for The Rock Fall Retreat in a few days, filmed an LT promotional video, watched Gossip Girl and watched Modern Family.

I even got good mail today! I got a letter from my LT friend Melissa, an encouraging note from one of the Rock staffers Mazvita and my, Emily’s and Amy’s tickets to see Spring Awakening in a few weeks!

I <3 real mail!

But you know what the best part of today was? All the prayer and encouragement I got from my friends. I got so many Facebook wall posts, text messages, door decorations (posted below!) wishing me luck and asking me how it went. Thanks so much, friends. It seriously meant a lot to me. I am so thankful to have you all supporting me in Operation Finish Line!

Breezy and Sam's decorations!

Slying making fun of the giant lost of goals on the other side of my door.

Thanks for the encouragement, gals!