Spirals

Brick Rings

You should all leave Christy lots of comments despite her lousy computer right now, and congratulate her on an awesome photography show tonight! I was so excited that I was able to go and see her work on display. And I must say her photos were quite a hit!!! I'm so happy for her with all of these new and exciting opportunities that are coming her way! Quick post for me tonight because I'm tired and after having loads of coffee today I'm now experiencing the post-hyper-off-of- coffee-energy crash. HAHA! That looks really funny... This is a shot from around campus. Basically the whole campus is a pedestrian campus AKA no roads dividing it up with cars driving through... There is the occasional golf cart but that's it. Every so often there are these brick ring things (I'm not too sure what to call them) where a couple of paths meet together. Anyway, I snapped this shot earlier today between lunch and a class.... Heading to bed now cause the coffee has definitely worn off... Good night!

Day #1

Night Lights

Well today was my first official day as a college student and I have to say that 2 classes in one day, as opposed to 8, that finished at 11:20 AM in the morning was SO nice! I then had until 4, when I had soccer, to do whatever I wanted! I chose to make a Target run with Christy and do a few other errands with her. I then came back and hung out in my room with my roommate for a little while before she split for her afternoon class, which left me in the room for some down time by myself. Not too bad of a day! I know things are going to pick up speed pretty soon. Especially when soccer games start. This is another shot from my picture walk last night. I played with the color some but decided that I liked the color of the light with the brick too much to change it to black and white or sepia. So here it is! I'm going to try to get some shots the next couple of days of the campus during the day so you can see it in daylight... 

iTunes: Relative by Gavin Degraw

New...

School

Wow... There is so much to say so, where to begin? Well, I've now been living at McDaniel college for one week. It's been a very busy week. Monday started 2-a-day soccer workouts, Wednesday brought the rest of my freshman classmates as well as the start of orientation, Saturday the rest of the upper class-man moved in, and today (Sunday) was the last day of orientation... Thank GOODNESS, the bore-fest has finally ended! So, in addition to gaining new buddies, a new school, and new "life" I've also added a new camera to my collection of newness!!! Since Christy has upgraded to a DSLR I've now got her Sony DS-H2! I'm very excited!!! This shot I took tonight while out for a walk with a new buddy and my new camera. I knew I wanted a shot like this to be my first REAL post from college (the last didn't really count). SO I decided I  would make a list of some of the things that I learned this week, by the way, classes start tomorrow. Here goes-

1)  You can always be better than you thought you are/were.

2) Re-making friends isn't easy but it's a challenge everyone is facing, so be patient and you will meet people who need you as much as you need them.

3) Soccer- there is no such thing as walking. You either sprint, run, or jog. If coach wanted to see people walk he'd go to the mall and watch old people.

4) When living in a place you're more likely to keep it clean... I've never EVER compulsively cleaned my room EVERY day before this week...

5) Glar food isn't good....

6) Going to a place with athletic facilities is nice... Trainers a great people!

7) It is possible to smash 8 people in a tiny dormroom.

8) Chinese food makes great leftovers.

9) Text messages unite the world... or at least a college campus.

10) Hurt never goes away it just intensifies or lessens depending on the day.

11) It's okay to cry, it's okay to hurt, it's okay to open up to people who care.

12) IVCF is really cool.

13) Nice/Friendly people do exist in a church/youth group setting.

14) Change is good... 

15) Never think you know what to expect because then you get something else thrown at you which you never saw coming.

Double View

Silence- Jars of Clay

Take, take 'til there's nothing
nothing to turn to
nothing when you get through
won't you break
scatter pieces of all i've been
bowing to all i've been
running to
where are you?

where are you?

did you leave me unbreakable?
leave me frozen?
i've never felt so cold
i thought you were silent
i thought you left me
for the wreckage and the waste
on an empty beach of faith
was it true?

yes, i, i got a question
i got a question
where are you?

scream
deeper, i wanta scream
i want you to hear me
i want you to find me
i, i want to believe
but all i pray is wrong
and all i claim is gone

well, i, i got a question
i got a question
where are you?

yeah, yeah

well, i, i got a question
i got a question
where are you?

where are you?
where are you?
where are you?

Directions Take 2

Center City Directions

Tomorrow is going to be my last day in Center City before heading to school on Sunday. It's also going to be my last time seeing some of my IB buddies before all of us heading our separate ways for school. We're all excited and of course a bit nervous at the same time. I have to say my excitement greatly outweighs my nerves by a HUGE margin. I've been thinking about college since I was about oh... 10 years old. Now it's finally here! I'm so excited for the new challenges that are coming and for the new changes as well. Right now I need both of those things a lot. I need structure, I need my day occupied with many things, I need to be able to focus on something other than myself and my own loss. It's been one month since Ben died but it feels like so much longer than that. He would want me to be living it up in college and to have a great time just like he did. Ben, I'll do my best to make you proud.

iTunes: In Love With a Girl by Gavin Degraw

Little One

Picking up the pieces

Here's another shot from last week's vacation. This is my youngest cousin affectionately nicknamed "G" in many different forms ex. Lil G, G-unit, etc. Unfortunately Lil G came on vacation and proceeded to give 15 of the 20 of us the stomach virus... Not fun! It's okay Lil G we'll forgive you... Someday...

I love this shot of Lil G. She was so funny to watch on the beach. I played with the color in this shot and looked at it in sepia and black and white but I love the way the pink looks contrasting with the grays of the beach. Sorry this is so short. I'm heading off to work... 3 more days!!!

iTunes: Next to Me (Wait a Minute Sister) by Gavin Degraw 

Direction

"What saves a man is to take one step. Then another step." -C.S. Lewis

Shoreline

Colored Shores

I just got back from a week at the Outer Banks with my mom's side of the family. The weather was great all week. The water was amazingly blue everyday with really gentle waves and it stayed at a good temperature so we were in the water constantly. Unfortunately 15 out of the 20 0f us came down with the stomach virus, myself included, which was NOT fun at all... The week was good other than the whole sick thing though...

One of my favorite things about the week was staying up late and going down to the beach really late at night and just sitting looking at the stars. I'm such a city kid! On the rare occasion when I see a few stars I think "wow cool!" but being at the beach and seeing thousands of stars every night was amazing. I could have stayed down at the beach all night every night just looking at the stars and never gotten bored just looking at them.

One week until I leave for school! I'm so excited!!!!!

iTunes: Drop in the Ocean by Michelle Branch

Perspectives

Through the grasses

Another shot of my little Maddie just as I predicted. I feel so blessed by the cousins I have both younger and older. I had never really thought about the bonds that I have with each one of them. Maddie and I have ever since she was 5 months old and I met her for the first time have had a special bond. I still remember the first time that I saw her. I was sitting in the dinning room of my aunt and uncles' house in West Chicago the morning after my sister, my cousin and I had arrived. The night before Emily, Jake and Maddie had been asleep by the time we got to the house so our anticipation to meet our new twin cousins and to see our 4 year old cousin again had to wait until the following morning. I had woken up early in the morning after being just slightly jetlagged. I had gotten something to eat and was sitting at the table talking to my uncle while my aunt had gone running. We heard one of the twins crying and he got up to get the baby. I was VERY excited to finally get to see one of my new cousins. When my uncle walked back into the dinning room he had in his arms my baby cousin Madeleine who was wearing a soft, green pajama set. She still didn't really have hair just dark baby fuzz. I was so happy to see her, to hold her, to see her big blue eyes, touch her little round nose, and kiss her fat cheeks. Since then Maddie and I have had our little bond. I don't even think she realizes it... Every time we see each other she has to warm up to me again but with given time she's my buddy again. Last weekend in Lexington we cuddled on the porch after dinner and she told me from her expert 4 year old perspective about her new house. The next morning we sat on the deck of the house on the big swing together, I with my coffee and she with her baby doll. We just sat and swung back and forth occasionally venturing a comment or two. And the last post as well as this are proof of our fun little shoot the last night we were together. I love this little one so much. I wouldn't say I love her more than her twin brother or her older sister it's just that we have that unexplainable bond that draws me to her every time we're together.

Today I talked to one of my best friends on the phone for the first time in a few months. She lives in London and I haven't seen her in a whole year. I miss her so much especially during this time. We talk about everything together from clothes to boys, from music to our savior Jesus. Today one of our topics was heaven and what we each thought it would be like. We both said how we would be able to be with each other whenever we wanted and not have thousands of miles separating us. Nishma then ventured the question "Do you think there will be email in heaven?" To which of course we both laughed. I told her how I like to think heaven will be like C.S. Lewis' description of the "New Earth" at the end of the Last Battle. For all of the Chronicles of Narnia the "real" world and Narnia had been separated a person was either in the real world, or they were in Narnia and there was no being in both places at once and while you were in one of the places there was no telling how time was passing at the other. When the old Narnia was destroyed and the characters went "Further up and further in" to the new Narnia they see that the two worlds are no longer completely separate. The characters can stand on a hill in Narnia and see their parent's house in England with their mum and dad waving to them smiling. I'd like to think of heaven like that. I can stand on a hill and see Nishma standing at her house in Harrow, I can see Ben riding his piki around the valleys of Kenya, I can see Maddie running around her back yard in Kansas, and nothing separates me from them anymore. 

iTunes: Kindness/Give Us Clean Hands by Passion Worship Band