mmmm... summer is finally here! When summer first started, I'm going to admit, I wasn't overly excited for this summer. All I could think about was how many jobs I could get so that I could save as much money as possible. And now... my mindset has changed a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to work a lot because I need money for Europe, but I'm starting to realize that I need to take advantage of opportunities, even if it means possibly having to take out a loan to go to Europe. It will all be worth it in the end. Example: the youth pastor at my church approached me about going to California with the youth group to a convention. I guess I would kind of be like a chaperone? And the cool thing is that my sister is going, so I would get to spend a lot of time with her. But here's the catch- I would have to pay $600 plus all the spending money for a week. My first reaction was, no way...there's no way I can afford that. And then I realized- I have the money. I should do it. The $600 that I would pay would cover plane, hotel and food. When else am I going to be given an opportunity like that? Who cares if doing this means I end up needing to take a loan out for my Europe trip next summer. These are opportunities that I need to take advantage of. Once I get a job and get married (hopefully...haha), my chances to see the world are going to start to dwindle. I have to do everything I can while I have the chance to do it. So yeah- I think I'm going to do it. I'm going to spend a week in Cali! YAY! Annnd... I'm going to go to visit Meg in New York City for a weekend with Lauren and Bridget. I absolutely can not wait for that weekend. It is going to be so amazing. I was supposed to go to Knoxville Tennessee for a math conference in August sometime. But I don't think I'm going to do that. It conflicts with my plans to take the Praxis and to go to NYC, and I know it would look good on my resume and stuff, but oh well. I'm going to do something for me for once. Just because I want to and because I want to have fun. And there's no way I'm giving up my NYC trip to spend a week listening to people talk about math. I refuse.
Something else that has been pretty cool this summer is that I have become addicted to running. Or maybe it's the time I get to spend talking to God while I run. Either way, my morning runs are like a high for me. It's so amazing to be out on the track early in the morning and watch the sun rise while I'm running. I think the sky is my favorite part of creation. I am in awe of it every single morning. And it's cool because I'm actually spending a lot of time in prayer each day, which is a part of my Christian walk that had been suffering. I didn't have time set aside each day to talk to God. And now, I do, and I love it. I've also started going to a Bible study at my church on Tuesday nights. Setting aside time to spend talking to God and getting into His word has really made such a difference in me lately, just my attitude about things and everything... I like it. I like it a lot.
There isn't really anything else going on. Same old, same old. I love my friends and I love getting to spend time with them. Working for Dr. Faires, although challenging at times, is turning out to be an amazing learning experience. Both of my Grandma's have been doing really well, Norma's surgery went really well... things are just good. Real good. I like that.