Soul Mates

It's natural to have several pet fish over the years.

Right?

Wow. It has been such a long time, blog. I'm sorry that I've been away so long, but that's the great thing about you, blog.  You can't yell at me for neglecting you. Neither can plants...or fish....so that explains my history with both of those things.

Either way,  I am happy to be writing again.

I have officially completed my freshman year.
Insane, right?
I remember that first day like it was yesterday.
As soon as our parents left, Joy and I turned to each other in tears and hugged for about 5 minutes, trying to comfort each other about the reality that this was our life now.

I cannot describe what this year has meant to me, what it has taught me, and how much it has changed me. There are no words.
There is no way for me to write in this blog and send it out into cyber space how amazing it was to look back on everything that happened in my life this past year and see God carrying me the whole time.
His sovereign plan written on every page,
 on every day,
 on every friend I made,
in every song I sang.

Even when it was all over, I came back to the same family I've had my whole life.  Of course this includes my actual family, but I am also talking about my friends.  The distance of college and the newness of our separate lives was no match for the bond that we have. These girls knew me when I was a fatty, when I was annoying, when I really loved Clay Aiken, when I was awkward (still working on that one), and even when I thought it was really cool to part my hair down the middle and wear Jelly shoes.  They have stuck with me through it all.  They are a part of me. One of the best parts of me.  I know that most people only have one soul mate, but I already have three.

Nazarene Squirrel

It's natural to think about the future.

Decisions. That has been the word on every senior’s lips these last couple of months, whether they like the taste or not. We are no longer promised another year safely tucked away in the halls of High School, identification badges around our neck and a hall pass in hand.

This, personally, is fine by me.

Recently, I visited Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee. Being raised Presbyterian, I was unsure to the inner workings of this “cult” called the Nazarenes. Given that we both worship the same God (I think), I decided to give the school a try. I asked God whether or not Trevecca was somewhere I belonged. I figured getting accepted was a good sign.

We arrived at the church early that Saturday morning, and my weariness mixed with the annoying fact that I knew no one beyond my friend Jenna, put me in a mood as we loaded the church vans. I felt very much like Mr. Darcy. Our van contained a variety of characters, and I soon found that I couldn’t keep pretending to sleep. Two guys from Charleston, who referred to themselves as “big daddy” and “big nasty” provided the entertainment during the 8 hour drive. While I contemplated the largeness of these boy’s egos, and unwillingly, the origin behind their nick names, "big daddy" proceeded to inform me that he had a grand total of 10 Brittany’s in his contact list. He then prank called every one of them, pretending to be Radio. As in the movie, Radio.
Inappropriate? Maybe. Entertaining? I’d say so.

This is a public apology for all the Brittany’s of the world.

It was strange being the only non-Nazarene on the trip. I felt like they were all in a club that I just wasn’t apart of, like there was some sort of unspoken bond between all of them.

When we finally arrived in Nashville, we went straight to Trevecca to eat dinner and attend the basketball game. I was excited to finally get out of the van due to the deadly combination of teenage boys and Wendy’s chili. What is it with church vans having no ventilation at all?

As soon as I stepped foot on campus, there was this guy just sitting on a bench playing violin. There was something very beautiful about it. I immediately loved it. The campus was peaceful at night. You could see all of Nashville lit up with lights and the dreams of hopeful musicians. The next day we drove around downtown Nashville looking for Tim and Faith in hopes that they might adopt us.

We stopped at the Parthenon (which is just a replica of the real one in Greece) overlooking this huge park. People were playing music and Frisbee and reading.

It was very much my scene.

To begin our tour, the President told us about his first day at Trevecca. They had planned on placing a huge Jesus statue in the middle of the school, but only the pedestal was done when the president arrived.

Jesus was apparently getting some work done.

That night, some students got together and created a six foot tall paper mache squirrel, and placed it on the pedestal. The squirrel wore a sign around his head that read, “Jesus is coming!”
My next thought was:

Where can I sign up?

More thoughts on college to come.