Right Now: College

Right now, I can only anticipate what these next four months, the four months before my life changes forever and I enter my college years, will hold.
Right now, I will continue to look at this picture, the one that hangs above my desk and occupies the background on my phone, waiting for the day that I get to see it with my own eyes.
Right now, I will continue to make a list of things to do before I leave, the things that have to get done before I can have peace of mind.
Right now, I will continue to study the campus map, even though I have it memorized.
Right now, I will continue to use the 3D map on my phone to explore the streets of downtown Chicago.
Right now, I will continue to read this blog to get a feel for the student life.

Right now, I will try to not cry at the thought of leaving my family members for months at a time, because I still have them right beside me.
Right now, I will try to not want time to fast forward, because I have this time to prepare for a reason.
Right now, I will try to not ignore school work, because it (somehow) is possible to learn something in the last seven weeks of high school.

These next four months are going to fly by. My time to leave and move on to this next part of my life is coming (SOON!) and I have a lot of mixed feelings.

Accepted

Yesterday I received my acceptance letter to study at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago this fall. I don't think I will ever get over the shock of this. I was not expecting to get into the Chicago campus on my first try, but I did! That being said, in about four months I will make my way 900+ miles away from the only home I have ever known to study the Word + communications at this amazing school.

Ecstatic to finally know where God has me going? DEFINITELY. Ecstatic to be leaving my family I so dearly love? Definitely NOT. It will be extraordinarily difficult, but I know that if God could get me into this school, He will get me through it.

Dear Rachel, We are delighted to inform you that your application for enrollment at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago has been approved for the fall semester of 2013. <--- the sentence I have to keep reading in case I misread it or the wording has changed.

Easter Sunday

Today was Easter! (!!) This is my family & I at church this morning. Every Easter our church decorates the cross with flowers. It's become a tradition for everyone to get their picture taken in front of it. So cute. Not so cute? The thought of Jesus being nailed into a cross that was probably pretty different from what this looks like.

It's a depressing thought, sure, but it's the truth. & the truth hurts. God sent His son to die for us. We're all completely worthless, in my opinion, which makes that whole thing even crazier.

So, yeah, let's just keep that in mind forever & ever. Amen.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him." - John 3:16-17

Metro Relief

This last Sunday, my dad preached at our church. (You can listen to it here.) In it, he encouraged people to join an outreach that goes on every Friday night right down the road from where we have our services. As a family, we've only done this particular outreach once. My little sister and I have helped out at another thing the organization, Metro Relief, does.

So we went tonight. We kind of just hung out. Played with a jump rope. The kids that come every week got their faces painted & took part in a Bible study. It's good stuff. Good to know that somebody is taking care of those that we, as a town, didn't knew needed help. Good to get back out there in serving.

Baby Boy

I would hate to find out how many pictures on my phone are of my dog. I just love him! He sleeps in my room every night. Sometimes on my bed. Sometimes not. He always snores. After two and a half years, I hardly notice it, but when I'm on the phone people always comment on his strange noises. Just more reason to love him, I think. When he does sleep on my bed, it's usually in the most inconvenient place. He's so cute, though, that I get over it.

& yes, I call him my baby boy. Not weird at all. He's one of two dogs we've ever had, & the only animal we've had to like me, so I hold on tight to him!

The Host

Once upon a time, I was obsessed with Twilight. Not hardcore, but I was definitely a fan. Being the good little fan I was, I had to read Stephenie Meyer's other book, The Host. Also amazing. So, when my best friend called me last night and announced that we were going to meet Stephenie Meyer today, the middle schooler in me freaked out.

She picked me up right after she finished her classes today & we headed down to the Barnes & Noble by NorthPark. It. Was. Packed. We got there around 2 & hung out in the Starbucks for a little bit. They called our group to be lined up, which is where the waiting really began. After about two hours, we finally reached the end (top picture). If you look hard, you can see Jake Abel & Max Irons at the table on the far left. I somehow forgot to take pictures of them where you could actually SEE them. My bad.

The sad part: my 16GB iPhone has been full for months (the thought of going through my pictures is intimidating), so it has been acting up for a while. SO I didn't get a picture with Stephenie. BUT I got her autograph, & that is all that really matters to me. The autographs on the poster belong to Max Irons & Jake Abel.

I'm still shocked. It all happened so fast. Middle school me is still freaking out.

The Harbor

We have lived in North Texas my whole life, so we have been to quite a few of the things that people usually go to see. Back in August, my parents first explored this little outdoor mall area on Lake Ray Hubbard. We knew we all had today off, but it took us hours to figure out what to do. Eventually, we decided to head back out to where they went. It was pretty chilly, but we only stayed out there long enough to walk around and take some pictures.

Right Now

earlier today: snuggled with my kitty & said goodbye to our first international missions team

- Thinking about when my next mission trip may be. This spring break marks three years since my first one & two years since my last one. Sad.
- Watching Love It or List It. I have a love/hate relationship with this show.
- Listening to my dad prepare for his sermon tomorrow morning on global missions.
- Dreaming of learning to quilt so I can make this or this.

-r

Monthly Music

last friday night, 3/1

My memory sucks. Possibly more than it should at 17. Because of this, I try to find every way that I can to document my life. This blog is part of that, but that's another blog post for another day. One of the things that I like to do is keep track of what music I'm listening to.

At the beginning of each month, I make a new playlist on YouTube to keep track of what songs I'm obsessed with, what random videos I find, etc. This last month, February 2013, I saved a wide variety of videos: new songs I'd heard, songs my dad used to play, a Q&A live stream from Jefferson + Alyssa Bethke, & random Jimmy Kimmel videos.

You can view the playlist here. Check it out. Let me know what you think. Know that I'm always looking for new music to listen to, but also know that I'm not a fan of rap or being screamed at.

-r

Hitting It Up

I'm 90% sure that title is not correct golf lingo. Oh well.

Today we went to Top Golf in Allen for the first time as a family. Overall, a pretty fun experience! My observations:
1) I do not care to do the technical golfing stance. I get halfway into it & then just hit the ball. YOLO?
2) Injecting chocolate &/or raspberry into donut holes is weird. I did not actually try one, but it was still weird.
3) My ideal time to go would probably not be on a Sunday afternoon when everyone else is there.
4) Get the kid's pizza instead of the chicken poppers. Seriously.

ps - tonight was the first episode of this season's Celebrity Apprentice & I already want to stop watching. Ugh.

End It Movement.

On Tuesday, 2/26, I saw some posts on Instagram about an End It Movement & disappearing from social media for a day like those that disappear into slavery. Honestly, I don't know much about the organization (company?), but I do know that I'm against slavery. Human trafficking (not the only form of slavery that they help with, according to the minute I spent on their website) is a thing that I've been very aware of for years now. I guess you could say that it's one of my passions.

So, I decided to disappear too. I wrestled back & forth with myself all day & whether or not I would do it, but I eventually decided to. So, yesterday, 2/27, I disappeared from social media. Side note: I'm one a lot of social media. I did not use foursqaure, instagram, Facebook, Twitter, GetGlue, YouTube, Vine, Pheed, Pinterest, Tumblr, or Goodreads all day. I didn't necessarily miss the social media, I was just shocked by how much free time I had. Overall, it did make me more aware. Maybe not in the exact way that it was intended, but still.

ps - End It Movement website
pps - this is my 100th post. yay!

bye-bye, February.

I figure that, before the month ends, I should post once more (since I've failed so miserably this year). Looking at the list of goals I make for myself each month, year, and birthday, I see how off track I am. Time to get going on that. Today I relaxed, so I'm ready to hop back into it (kinda).

Here's a picture from Saturday night (2/23).

-r

To-do list

There is lots to do right now. Read some Hamlet. Finish the laundry. Pack. Shower. Analyze a poem. Research a dude. Download my 365 project pictures. Study for anatomy practical. Journal. College essays.

Instead, though, I'll catch up on my favorite blogs. I'll write down all those things & get to them later. Oh, the beauty of being young + slightly carefree.

ps - Two posts in one day & both without photos? Yes. New thing? Probably not. Learning to find my voice? I think so.

The Lamb

In my AP Lit class, we do this thing called the Daily Bard. Each day, one person finds a poem & shares it at the end of class.

Today was my day. I planned on using a poem that a friend suggested, but it wasn't in the book so I instead settled for a poem whose title is (basically) what my name means.

The Lamb
by William Blake

Little Lamb who made thee
         Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
         Little Lamb who made thee
         Dost thou know who made thee

         Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
         Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
         Little Lamb God bless thee.
         Little Lamb God bless thee.

Lip Dub

Back in December, the day before the world was supposed to end, my high school filmed our first lip dub.

It started back in October when my yearbook teacher saw the McKinney High School Lip Dub. She showed our principal, & he took it from there by planning it with some of the student leaders in our school + the Career Center.

Leading up to it, I don't think many people (including myself) were excited about it. Once we were getting in place, though, it began to get exciting. They stopped the recording (as you can see) so that we could all book it down there to get into the pep rally scene.

Also, how cool is it that, after just being uploaded a few weeks, it already has over 6,000 views?




You can see me on the left at 2:03. I'm right after the bowling sign with a camera in my face. (:

Letterman

When I first learned about being a football filmer, I had the question of whether or not I would get a letterman. The answer? Yes. It was ordered the week after the last football game/the week before Thanksgiving.

Today, it arrived. We ran down to the field house after the final bell to receive our babies.

Now, before you think I'm completely crazy for getting a letterman mere months before graduating, just know that I thought about this long & hard. Even as we were walking into the field house, I was worried that I had made the wrong decision. I now know that I didn't.

If you know me, then you know that I hate money. I hate how dependent we must be on it, but that's another rant for another time. The point of me saying all this is that I did in fact think about this. My parents were in support either way, &, that discussing it with quite a few people, I decided to go for it.
So, here's my high school letterman.

Hawks

Today we went to Dallas Cowboys Stadium to watch some minor league football games, & then ate at Quaker Steak & Lube for the first time. They have super awesome bendy straws AND cheese fries. I was happy.

Quiet time

Today I had a nice little quiet time. I had apple sauce (normal) & Chick-Fil-A fries (not normal). It rocked.

Snow Day

Today we had a snow day. Except, we didn't get out of school for it.

Lame.

It was all melted by the time we got out anyway. Sigh. I love snow. Especially the kind that doesn't include ice! Just snow + the cold. I hope to one day live where snow is a common occurrence...

Bedside

Maybe it's because I'm lazy, or maybe it's because I'm efficient, but I keep all my essentials by my bedside.

Currently;
- 1 journal
- 1 Bible
- 3 pens, 1 highlighter
- 1 new Kleenex box
- 2 tickets to football banquet
- 1 iPhone cord
- 4 books (Christy Miller Collection volume 2, Q&A A Day, LifeStyle devotional, Praying for Your Future Husband)
- 1 Flip camera
- 1 3oz. Japanese Cherry Blossom body lotion
- 1 baby blue nail polish
- 1 bird house

Lights

Today, we put away our Christmas decorations. (I know, late). As sad as I am about that, it meant that I could snatch some lights to hang around my room. & I'm pretty ecstatic, to say the least.

Morning

One of the highlight of my mornings is the promise of a nice view on the way to school + a new day.

"They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:23

Greetings...

...from my dawg. (;

Today

Today, one of the most highly anticipated books (to me) arrived. I actually wanted to start it five months ago, on my birthday, but it just worked out to start it at the beginning of this year. Needless to say, I'm ecstatic to have yet another way to track my life.