Music and Crinkles

All right, I updated the music and the youtube video at the bottom. If you guys want to know how to do that, just ask me on facebook or something. I added some awesome oldies songs including "Raspberry Beret" and "Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra. ELO made me also think of "Electric Feel" by MGMT. :D I also added our favorite Hall and Oates songs. :) Yes. Music is lovely. Next time I add music I'm probably going to have to add some Selena Gomez, just to warn you guys. Ha ha!

Also, random update: for some reason, the song "The One That Got Away" by Katy Perry makes me super sad and introspective. I've listened to a clean version of it about 20 times in the past two days. It's weird. Ooooooooohhhhhhh, I just realized: I have two minor crushes (aka "crinkles") AND it's that time of month. Put those two together with a king size bar of chocolate and you have the perfect touchy feely mood to help you find deeper meaning in a Katy Perry song. :) Enjoy!

Love,
Cass

Zombified, But Coming Back to Life

Cassi - basically from your post I was overwhelmed with excitedness and funness :) I am happy that you are doing so many wonderful and neat things :) Your apartment and your friends sound like such a blessing. I am happy for you :) Your prank war sounds totally rockin', but that dude is pretty lame for being a party pooper, just sayin'. I'd love to do a prank war with peoples for sure!

Jenny - wow I am sorry that things are so stressful for you. That is a handful most definitely. I'll be praying for school that it would lighten up. And I'll be praying for your patience with your relationship with Sam. I understand that frustration and I pray that you'll find comfort in your dating :) You know, the beginning of this year I was overwhelmed with all these people getting engaged and married and it seemed everything was throwing this idea of marriage on me. It was one day when Zach snuggled me during a movie that I looked at him and realized, I love dating him. And the thought came to me, we get to spend "all" our lives married, but we only have this time of dating once. You can never go back to it. So, maybe as some comfort to you, think of that. Enjoy each moment and cherish it. And maybe try to think of it from that perspective - I think it really helped for me :) As for the situation with your roomie, goodness what a toughie. I pray that you'll have patience with her and also encouragement despite your stress. I know that it's especially hard to want to come to her and talk but to find that you end up helping her instead. But Jenny, I know that by you being there and listening to her (even if it's the same thing over and over and by her own choices) you're being a great encouragement. She'll look back and be so appreciative I am sure. :) Hang in there. Congrats on being "regular" baha! But really, that is so good!

Now as for me....goodness where do I begin? This year has been the toughest yet. I think the best way to sum up how I've felt is - weak and zombified. 4-5 hours of sleep every night, severe nausea and stomach pain, 8 hour work shifts, and full class load. Those are the tough parts. I've considered possibly quitting Tim Horton's simply because I want to focus more on school. But I need to pay rent as well and I like paying off my loan early :) I do enjoy working there though most of the time. School has been rather rough. Honestly, I'm behind in my work and it's eating me alive. (maybe literally, Zach thinks I have an ulcer, hence my nausea and pain and difficulty eating much food). I'm slowly getting back on track what with having an extra day off work every week (I definitely think that was a God thing because my boss gave me a day off work every week without me saying anything). Aside from my personal "choice" stress, Zach has had an extremely rough year as well. His "friends" have not been great comforts and have actually been saying really not cool things to him. He's literally just been broken this year, so that's been really tough seeing him hurting and not being able to fix it. I, too, understand what Jenny was saying about your friends really just not understanding you. All the friends I had prior to this year have kind of gone to the backburner. I still love and care for them of course, but we don't really connect as much. My one friend (who is Zach's ex) is back to ignoring me and has starting glaring at him....not sure what sparked that. It's spread to her dormmates. Which is really sad honestly. I was having kind of a rough time not having any girlfriends I can go to on campus. There wasn't a single one I felt I could call up and just say hey and ask them to pray for me. Not even having to talk or give details, just a simple, hey could you be thinking of me. That was hard. But you know...God is good. :) I recently met two girls here who have added a spark to my life. They are literally in the exact same boat as me when it comes to relationships - down almost to the nitty gritty. They also have different "flavors" that really encourage me to be more adventurous again. I've been missing that. They got me to go to Zumba and let me tell you ladies - it kicked my butt. Two nights later and my thighs are SORE. Squats did me in. But I love love love it. I think we should start our own personal POG class on breaks :) My goal is to whip my body in shape big time. I've been slacking. haha. Also, I recently learned some really really tough news. I don't feel at liberty to share, but just be thinking/praying for me that I'd look past the circumstance and always see the good. That I wouldn't ever see the people involved in any less of a light and to love them still the same. And to also not be haunted by this news as the days progress that instead I could come to forget about it and move on. It's going to be tough at times, it already has been to not let it come into my mind, but slowly but surely I know it's working. The good things in my life have been the small details that just really comfort me. Like taking care of Cindy, the woman who let me live in her home. She had surgery and to be able to care for such a tough, not liking to rest, but still such loving woman is such a blessing to me. I also got to play hide n seek with Hannah, one of the daughters and her friend. And Zach....gosh. I'm learning so much still about his heart. I was in class all day Friday after Cindy had her surgery and so Zach came right on over and sat on the couch with her. I come home to find them both fast asleep on the couch. His heart is so giving (sometimes to a fault haha). And he's so tender about things. He really does have the sweetest heart. I really hope that I can always come to appreciate it and never take it for granted. Okay, I'll stop the mushy gushy ;) Well I'm just gonna head into more.

I love you all. I hope to hear from those who haven't written yet. I'm so thankful for each of you and the wonderful blessing you have brought in my life. :) You each have a certain spark in my heart. Haha...I thought of a car and spark plugs and stuff. haha Weird. I appreciate that we still are friends and sharing life together. It's truly amazing. Know that I love you and think of you each day. (I'm always telling fun stories about all of you haha). With Love.

Replies, Updates, and Venting, bc i can ;P

okie dokie, so when i tried to reply to Kera about lunch, it wouldn't let me comment, idky. so my dear Karot: If you have access and time to microwave a lunch, I highly reccommend Smart Ones Creamy Rigatoni with Chicken and Broccoli, tis quite yummy and takes about 5 minutes to prep.
If you do not have time or access to a micro, as i do 3 times a week, i pack my lunch the night before and just toss it in my lunchboxbag (its box shaped but not a sturdy box really, so its a boxbag. lol) in the morning. :)

so yes, cassi: 1) sounds like your apartments are AWESOME!!! 2) i like the xkcd stuffs and 3) i think i can speak for us all when i say we miss you too!!!!

okie dokie. replies out of the way, i can now update you all on my life. First off, ONU switched to semesters, and i dont really like it overall. I was a Psych minor, but in order to complete it, i have to take more classes per term than i did under quarters, and its causing me to stress overly much, in turn causing my grades to suffer a bit. Hence, I am dropping the minor. but dont be sad about it, bc i believe its part of this new thing for me called focusing. God is teaching me what my limits really are, and to focus. Focus on only certain things so that i can do those few things better and focus on Him so that i am better equiped to handle life in general. lol. so yes, that's the big thing for me academically.

lets see  . . . Sam and I are doing well. ups and downs for sure, but that's mostly fixed as I learn to focus on God more. tho i do have to be patient with sam in terms of the rate of our relationship. its hard for me to be surrounded by all these girls getting engaged and married (aka my roomie and a bunch of girls in Kappa Phi) and knowing that i really dont want anyone else but not getting the same idea from him. idk if that made sense, but basically, he and i have talked about it and if we graduate from college and remain a couple, it will still be at least a year before i see a ring . . . so yes, i have to learn some patience. lol.

Speaking of my roommate, i love her but she is super stressed and therefore difficult to deal with. sometimes it feels like she thinks no one else is stressed but her. but its difficult to empathize because pretty much all her stress is a direct result of choices she made. She wanted to get married ASAP, but didn't want to be married while still in school. so she's graduating a semester early. to do that, she has taken summer classes both summers. in addition, she has to take a lot of classes per term, which is stressful in itself. related, since they were engaged, her fiance moved to ohio last summer (2010), and they chose to get an apartment together. in order to help pay for this, beth (roomie) decides to start an Amway job, which means more stress. also, they decided to get a cat, so more money stress. and it just gets really difficult in general bc i can't vent to her about my own stress bc i just get her situation all over again. i get that she has a lot of stress, i do. she has more than i do, but can you see why its not easy to empathize? so yes. that is a good portion of my venting. lol.

the other portion is that other than sam and bethany, i dont feel like i can vent to any of my friends here and recieve the sympathetic reactions that i always got from all of you and its weird. like 95% of my friends here are nothing like you guys . . . its just strange . . . and i know its junior year, but i def still miss you all . . .

in other news . . . oh! so i told you all about my weird period issues, even tho its probly TMI i'm going to update you that things have been fairly normal since July. not regular, but normal for me. so that's good. :) i dont have any serious health problems that i know of. lol.

ummm . . . idk what i'm going to do over the summer bc i want to tutor or something related to my field, but i know the school wont hire me, even if its part time. but i know im not going back to McD's. i refuse. so yeah . . . i dont really have any fun stories like Cassi . . . i'm sorry ;P

i hope y'all are doing well! i love and miss you!
~jenny

Updates and FUNNIES!!!

Hello everyone! 

First of all, MY PHONE IS LOST/BROKEN. Just an FYI to not be offended by my non replies in that respect. 

I may as well update you on how things are going for me since that's the point of this blog - to keep in touch with the lives of each other! I also want this post to have some funnies it in as well though. So power through the boring updates to get to the funnies. 

Classes are pretty good. My favorite is piano! Yeah man, I'm learning to play piano! It's so great. Best homework EVER. I love music. Last week in class we played "Drunken Sailor" as an ensemble and it was awesome. It made me think of that Office episode where Dwight thinks he's steering the booze cruise and so he's singing that song. Awesome. :)

Love life.... My roommate texted her home teacher (in our church we have pairs of people who visit you and check up on how you're doing; girls are visited by a pair of guys (home teachers) and a pair of girls (visiting teachers) at least once a month. Any questions? Ha ha.) who is 1/4 Hawaiian and is pretty cute. She texted him, "Hey, my roommate Cassi Williams thinks you're cute and I think you should ask her on a date." She didn't tell me she was going to do that so I was a little bit..... Upset when I found out? But then I was okay with it. :) However, it just made things really awkward around him and so now he doesn't really talk to me.... UGH! But whatever. It's kind of funny. Nbd. 

Mary, Natalee, Susanna, moi

Roommates: Well, we have a 6 person apartment, but they only sold 4 of those contracts, so we have a ton of extra space!! It's awesome! It means two of my roommates have their own rooms. Mary and I still share, because we're boss roommates. So yeah. :) Oh, and because of how the bedrooms are set up, mine and Mary's room and Natalee's room are attached with a bathroom in between, so we all share that one, and then Susanna, our other roommate, just gets her own bathroom. Her own room and her own bathroom. QUE UNA PRINCESA!!! It's all good. :) We all get along so well, and we even have "roommate prayer" together every night. It just helps us be a lot closer and speak more kindly to each other on a daily basis. I love it! It's also awesome that Susanna is like a tall Mexican (oxymoronic, ha ha!) melancholy version of myself. And major brainwaves, i.e.: I go to my grandparents' on a Friday for the weekend. Susanna stays in Provo. I get back on Sunday. We start talking. We look at our nails and notice that we both decided to paint them the exact same color of TAUPE on Saturday. TAUPE. I mean really. Who paints their nails TAUPE? So that was when we knew we had something special. :)  

Okay funny stuff time: 

*Prank war. RG APT 107 (the girls - team Midnight Stranger) vs. C2 APT 2 (the guys - team Ninjormon). It all started with a couple of friendly swipings of personal electronic devices and putting passwords on them (MS - 1, NJ - 0) and creating a scavenger hunt for my mp3 player, complete with a hand off in a parking lot at 1 in the morning (see photo: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=156272241131697&set=a.108391245919797.16226.100002467673625&type=3&theater)(MS - 1, NJ - 1). But then all of a sudden, we found ourselves stealing a mattress out of the guys' apartment... We wrote a standard ransom note for anonymous guy friend to get his bed back, but instead, he goes and gets a random mattress from somewhere else and refuses to follow our ransom instructions. So thus ended the prank war, in my opinion, with a major major act of poor sportsmanship and ending of the fun. Heck man, when this anonymous guy tied one of my flip flops to a bag of rocks and threw it in the deep end of a pool, I fished it out after 15 minutes of hard labor! Therefore, I was kind of disappointed in his lack of willingness to look a little bit silly in this harmless prank. Especially since at this time, he had stolen my apartment key and then made me go out in the rain to find my piano book under a stairwell... Lameness. Moral of the story: be a good sport, or the fun will end. However. There is a happy ending to this story: Team Midnight Stranger was forced to pair up with Team Ninjormon when Team Rotten Food attacked all of us. We got them with teamwork as I filled up a pitcher of cold water and handed it to one of the guys to drench the other team in the FACE. Oh yeah. It was awesome, and their rotten corn couldn't do us any harm. :) So. We all ended up being friends again anyway and it was awesome. 

OKAY GUYS. This website was basically MADE FOR US. It's a comic. It's witty. It's simple. There are math jokes that Jenny would understand. There are puns. It's for US! It's xkcd.com. LOOK IT UP! I hit the random button a lot. But here are some funny ones that I've found: 

http://xkcd.com/674/

http://xkcd.com/965/

http://xkcd.com/309/

http://xkcd.com/542/

Enjoy. And guys. I love you all. I miss you. And I hope your lives are going okay. Please update on here and let me know what's new. 

Let the New Year Commence!

It's about time someone posted on here, just sayin'. :) What's been going on with me.....

I've been working full-time, going to school full-time, and sleeping about 5%. haha. I have consistently gotten 4-5 hours of sleep every night. Needless, to say, I've been exhausted and I am sure rather humorous to those around me. I've been stuttering! And guys, it's becoming a bigger issue that I am developing an accent. My a's are becoming like that of Michiganders and I say Bible with a Southern accent. There are other words that come out with a Carolina hint. Though, I think the accent is a bit more permanent and not connected to the sleeping issue.

My classes are AMAZING. I have been excited to read my social psychology textbook. Though it's super convicting and frustrating. haha. It knows people too well. Zach and I find ourselves constantly saying, "Well that was this principle." or "that was this theory." Nothing we do cannot be rooted back to social psychology. Can you imagine how frustrating that is? haha It's also enlightening however. What's convicting about it is that there's some theories in there that make you cringe. For instance, social comparisons. The idea behind social comparisons is that we evaluate ourselves based on what we think of others. On the surface, that doesn't seem too bad right? The examples they used made me go, "ow, ow, ouch...ooh man.." The one said that we see ourselves as pretty if we perceive others to be uglier than ourselves. Gosh! haha It's all fascinating though! And my professor is hilarious. The class is more discussion, so we tend to giggle a lot naturally. What's also neat is that my classes all coincide in some way. I am taking Social Psychology, Statistics, Juvenile Delinquency, and Politics and American Culture. What's neat is based on what I've learned in social psychology, I can then explain the behaviors of juvenile delinquents. Then the theories I learn in JD I can then apply in social psych. Statistics obviously says a lot in social psychology when evaluating research. Then politics has been incorporating some ideas from others. I really love that I am beginning to feel like a well-rounded individual. I enjoy that I can sit down with classmates or my parents and have intellectual discussions. My friends and I (just like us from home) actually sit around a table, drinking coffee, and discussing LIFE and all that we learn. All of us have different majors, but we find a way to apply each of what the other is learning into one basic idea. (which of course, is something we happened to discuss in social psychology SEE WHAT I MEAN?)

As to work, I work a Tim Horton's. I actually really enjoy it. I've met some interesting people and had the opportunity to be blessed. It's very stressful at times and I've thankfully been blessed with a gift of calmness. Or else, it'd have been terrible at times. haha I'm learning all the lingo and how to do all the little odd jobs :) My boss seems rather impressed with me and my manager has made a few comments as well which I am so thankful for. I don't know if you guys saw my FB status the other day, but the one manager thought I was pregnant because I'd been butterfingers. Needless to say, that was a hilarious discussion and funny thing to tell Zach. haha

It's rather different living off campus. I feel like a different kind of student. And driving to school everyday is kind of strange. And it's funny too because Zach and I feel different having to ask, "We take your car, my car, or drive separate?" haha Silly perhaps, but it's a rather odd thing for us. I also don't have a meal plan, so it's difficult for me to take the time to pack a lunch. I need to do better at that. haha If you guys have ideas for fast lunches, let me know :) haha

As for something more future oriented, I think I know what I want to do in life. I'd like to do research, perhaps looking into neuroscience and body chemistry related topics (the research is a bit more open-ended, but I definitely want something with science relations of course :)) My long-term goal that requires lots of little ones along the way is I'd like to open my own Biblical counseling practice. Yup, it's a whopper, but I believe it's gonna happen. I've been finding myself more and more being equipped and shaped in the area of marriage and family counseling. Along with that, I'd like to work with teens and young adults on sexual integrity. So basically, the tracks I am hoping to work with would be marriage and family, human sexuality, men and women's issues, and perhaps some neuroscience, additions kind of atmosphere. That is kind of where I am right now in my future plans.

I'd like to hear how a) classes are going b) if there's been any fun stories/jokes in your lives c) any big changes in future plans/lives/etc. d) how you personally are doing (as in happy, sad, nostaglic, whatever the case may be! I don't want it to be all about your life and not you yourself) I love you all and hope to hear how you're doing. With lots of love,

Kera

Bridge Over Troubled Water

It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things. -Lemony Snicket

Things are so crazy right now, I have no idea what to do with myself. After all the things that have happened this week, and all the memories being stirred up, I'm totally lost. This time of year sucks anyway, but I got totally blindsided with this death. I never really expect to be so moved by this type of thing. It sounds cold, but it's true. I mean, losing someone is hard, and I would never be disrespectful of someone's grief, but I'm always blindsided by how much I feel for other people. Maybe it's because I'm usually preoccupied with ignoring my own emotions and only paying attention to what goes on in terms of logic in my head, that others' grief catches me off guard and I end up falling in head first. Whatever the reason, here it is: I am so unbelievably sad for this family.
I can almost feel myself getting stuck here, unable to pull myself out of this hole I've dug myself into. Sadness is so debilitating. But then I remember: I have all of you to get me through this. Whether by stopping by with some surprise slushies and good conversation, or making me laugh, you guys are always there. So I roll my eyes at my own stupidity--thinking I'm alone in all this--and smile.
I love you guys so much.
Love,
Honest Abe

I Wish Things Were Simple Again

Oh, gosh, you guys. Adulthood had definitely arrived! I think I may hate it. Things aren't amazingly better. Some days are good, and some are bad. It sometimes depends on how often I am on Facebook, because that tends to make me really depressed. I'm not finishing up the semester with you guys, and things are changing so much in my life right now it feel like. Huhhhhhhhhhh. There are some things I want to say on here, but I'd rather not do it just yet. I want to get some stuff talked about one-on-one first before blurting it out on here. For now I'll just say that it's been a really emotional and hurtful ride for me, and one that I think is going to change my life forever.
I love you all so very much. I know I can talk to any of you at any time, and I thank you Cassi for letting me know. It's just not the easiest thing for me, you know? I'll explain in person when I see you all next.
Love,
Gabby

Adulthood Has Arrived

I have started the packing up of my dorm room. It's rather sad. The walls are bleak white and there's an atrocity on my floor. At least my laundry detergent is wafting through the room making it slightly more cheery. Awaiting summer is rather a two-sided dilemma - I'm excited to come home and see you guys, spend time with family, and work (potentially as a barista :D), but yet I'm saddened to not be expanding my knowledge (hey I know, nerd), always being busy, and of course, missing Zach (he'll be spending all summer at a camp where I'll only be able to talk to him for a small bit on Sundays if that). Can you believe that we've spent two years in college already? It's unbelievable! I saw some prom pictures for PHSC and I felt OLD. Me, old? Us, old? Gosh guys what is happening? haha

What are the plans for your summers? Jobs? Trips? Camps? Sleepovers? Nothing? haha

I realized I haven't updated what has been new with me in quite a bit. I am going to be living off campus next year, so 25-30 minutes away. I'll be living in a big 'ole house with one another girl and two big dogs (Great Dane and Chocolate Lab). I'll have a fire pit and a queen sized bed (simple pleasures in life right?). I'm only taking 12 credits hours to save money and be spending only three days a week on campus (meaning I'll need a job to fill the other hours of the week). I'm mostly excited for next year, but a part of me is a bit saddened. I'll really feel the weight of adulthood and responsbility. I'll be paying monthly bills, shopping for my own food, and spending very little times with friends, family, and the man. haha. But, on the bright side, I look forward to bonfires, sleeopvers (finally!! since we're not allowed to in dorms), and making myself expand my cooking portfolio :)

I am going to end here and wish you all you who have them well on your finals! I await seeing all of y'alls faces soon <3 Finish strong! Love you!

Love Spring Update - By Cassi

HI GUYS! 

Well. School has been over for me for exactly a week now! I took my last final last Thursday and it went well. Now is the nailbiting period where I get to wait for my grades to come back in my English classes. I have to kick butt in them so I can get accepted into the English Teaching major so I'm hoping for the best! 

This summer should be interesting. That's all I'm going to say. I know a few of you know what I'm referring to....... There are a few things that I'm really excited about and a few things that I'm pretty worried about as far as this summer goes. It will be interesting, to say the least. 

I think I read all of your messages carefully when we had that huge message chain on updating our lives, but please answer my questions since I may have missed some details. 

Amber, I loved reading your update thing. I'm so excited for you and all the things you're planning for your life. You're a shining star! I'm glad you've found a calling in something you truly loved.

Gabby, I want you to know that you can talk to me whenever you need to, even though we don't talk a lot. I will always being willing to listen. I'm sure any of us would be willing to listen. That's just how we work. You don't have to keep anything inside if you don't want to. 

Jenny! That not having your period thing is really weird. It's been awhile since you posted about that. Has the doctor told you anything significant? I hope things have worked out. That would be super stressful. 

Kera. Dang girl, it sounds like things are working out well for you now, or at least you've been able to be happy about your life at the moment. I'm so happy for you. I love hearing about how things are for you now since you are nothing less than a light and a little ball of sunshine. Thanks for sharing your happiness and insights. 

Moima. Dude. How the heck are you. I have no idea how things are with you besides what others have told me. So I hope you're doing well!

Caitlin. Hi. I love you. I talk to you often enough. :D Um.... Oh! Carpet dots skinny walking often see. Heh heh. Good times. 

Let me tell you all about my latest quest! I am making a PEOPLE BOOK. I am making a book of all the people I love. I'm going to write my favorite things about the people I'm closest to or the people who I have to live with (random roommates ha ha). I am doing this because there were moments over the year when I was seriously annoyed with some people who I really loved. I feel like it would be beneficial for me to be able to go to my people book and read the best things about the people who are getting on my nerves, helping me remember the best in those who may be annoying me a little bit. Basically, it comes down to this huge life realization that I had: people are made of their good parts, not their bad parts. People are not defined by their weaknesses, but their strengths. What people are deep down is their best, not their worst. I find joy and happiness in finding this best in others. That's why I'm really excited about my people book. I also hope it will help me be more patient with that roommate that makes the apartment smell like food from ten days past. :)

That's all for now guys. I love you all. I look forward to the day when we will meet again. Because I have faith that we will! 

<3 Cassi

Hey there...

So, I know I said that I would post more when I was in New York, but I got a little bit distracted. So here I am now! I've been back about a week and a half- but it feels like longer. I hate to say it, but I hate it here now. I've never hated my house as much as I do now.
I'm not going to go into the intricacies of my mental illness with you guys. Truthfully, it upsets me too much. Things are changing, and I am not very good at dealing with them. For one, my friendships are nothing like they used to be. I feel so isolated from the rest of you guys. Knowing that all of you guys are close to entering your junior year of college, but I barely have enough credits to be a sophomore. The place I thought was my dream school is not the place that I am going to graduate from. I have no idea where my life is going.
Anyway. I'll stop with the self-deprication. Because I have some exciting news! Most of you guys probably already know this, but I am going to post it on here anyway. I have a job for the summer-away from Pickerington!!!! I am going to be a camp counselor, living with 8 and 9 year olds, at Camp Pinecliffe, and all-girls summer camp in Harrison, Maine. And I am so excited! I am going to be gone from June 14 to August 13, so I won't be here to see you guys very much. But truth be told, as much as I love you all, I am totally okay with that. I could not be more thrilled!
So, that's it for me. I'll try to keep you all updated on how I am doing.
Love,
Gabby

Babble Babble Babble

ok, so HIII!!!!! i feel like we all got all caught up in our lives and forgot about this wonderful thing that Cassi created, and Gabby's post made me want to update you on my life. However, it is not quite so interesting as NYC ;)

anyway, this is appropriately titled because it is exactly what i plan to do; babble. lol. so first of all, I am pledging a Christian club, Kappa Phi, which runs like a sorority. We had to go to pledge meetings, do tons of interviews (as in around 60), quizzes, a fundraiser, a service project, and some other things. well I AM DONE WITH MY INTERVIEWS!!!! which is so extremely exciting, bc its the most stressful part of pledging. lol. so yeah, we have done the fundraiser, we are doing the service on friday, and we have a national test on tuesday. therefore: I AM ALMOST A SISTER!!!! and i'm totally excited about it :D

in other news . . . i am still with Sam and very happy about it :) not much has changed there . . . i am very much in love and very much enjoying it. lol.

umm . . . i am uber involved. like 11 organizations . . .  its crazy. but good. i have decided that i'm going to drop some things, or at least scale back as i can so i have more time to relax.

on not-so-happy note . . . i have been driving myself crazy. not nearly as serious as what Gabbyrific has been dealing with, but yeah, doubting myself in multiple ways and not feeling like i'm allowed to feel the way i feel and not knowing why people, like Sam, love me, and yeah. i know that i can be confident and happy and its driving me crazy that i can't seem to get back to that. but i am going to my counseling center, and its definitely helping. Along these lines, i haven't had a period in nearly 8 months (since august 18). i know you probably don't want to know that, but i'm sharing anyway (have i ever not been open about these things?) so yeah, its kinda freaking me out, bc its definitely not natural, and i feel like its affecting the whole doubting myself thing bc there's no way that my hormones are normal right now. so yeah, i'm going to see my doctor the day after easter and see what she says. i keep y'all updated. . . cuz its definitely worrying me . . . but yeah.

so . . . what else??? i can't end on that note, its too ugly. lol. umm . . . that's really most of my life right now. lol. oh! i dont have french until next thursday, which means more sleep for me! yay! lol. but anyway, i would LOVE to see an update from everyone, bc from what little bits i see on fb, i have NO IDEA what is going on in everyone's life and this is a sad fact. it must be changed. lol.

ummm . . . so yeah, i'm really excited about Kappa Phi, bc we made our big lists last night. i really want this one girl, Jen Tabar, to be my big. i love her so much. but yeah, i wont find out until i get initiated . . . so yeah.
i think that's it. i apologize for the really long, unnecessary babble time, but yeah, i felt like it ;P

hope all is well or at least getting better!
love always,
Jenny

Yes, I am still alive.

Hello all! I know it's been a very, very long time since I've posted on here- no need to comment on that. Let's just say I've been busy, with my life and myself. I know I've probably never really explained any of what has gone on with me in the past and what is currently going on with me. Well, things haven't been very well in the past. Actually, they've been Hell. Mental illness is something that I would never wish for any of you guys- it is a problem so deeply devastating that I know it has probably affected all of the people I know, including you all. So, I'm sorry. I haven't been the friend I know that I can be to you, because of my depression and other mental and emotional problems. It's sometimes hard for me to talk about and describe my depression, because it upsets me and makes me cry, so I won't do that right now. But if you have anything you want to ask- ANYTHING (I don't have a problem being open with you guys)- please don't hesitate to ask. I could even post something else on here if you want me to, answering any or all of your questions.
Anyway, on to what I am doing now. I'm definitely doing so much better than I was a few months ago. For the past few months, I've pretty much just been sitting at home, doing nothing. But then I started seeing both a psychiatrist and therapist, and was prescribed a different kind of antidepressant (like I said, very open). I'm taking Zoloft now, and it's really helping a lot more that what I was taking. I'm at least doing something now, even if it's just silly craft things. I completely reorganized our kitchen 2 weeks ago, and then cooked a bunch of food for our cousin Nikki's graduation party. I made chicken for burritos, cilantro-lime rice, corn salsa, O'Henry bars, lemon bars, gingersnaps, and carrot cake all from scratch. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun and very rewarding for me. I know Nikki really appreciated it because, at 27, she'd never graduated from anything before, and now she's a nurse! You see, she dropped out of high school and got her GED at 15 after she had her daughter Kelsie, because there were some teachers at her school who were not very nice to her. So, anyway, I wanted it to be special for her, and I think it was.
But NOW, I am in New York City! Brooklyn, to be exact, on Flatbush Avenue. I love it here- the subway, the people, everything. I'm having a lot of fun staying with my aunts Mandy and Theresa, and their dog Laveau and their cat Lumpy. (sidenote- her name was Walnut when Mandy first found her in a walnut tree? But now we all call her Lumpy.... weird).So far we've only been to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, which was really cool. I would have taken pictures for you guys, but no photography was allowed. Basically it's an old apartment building that immigrants lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On the tours, you got to see 4 different apartments- two that they have recreated to look like what it did when the families lived in them, and 2 that they call "The Ruins". In the first one, they've just added in furniture and stuff like that- all of the paint and wallpaper and stuff like that. The Ruins are the coolest though. They look exactly as they did in 1935 when the building was condemned and the owners evicted everyone. It was awesome! 
Yesterday, Mandy took me into Manhattan for her dentist appointment, because there is a 3-floor Barnes and Noble less than a block away from her dentist's office. Needless to say, this was pretty much my own personal heaven. I spent at least an hour in the fiction section, and then sat down and read The Great Gatsby and ate an apple for half an hour. It was awesome. Oh! But the best part of the day was in the morning, when we were waiting on the subway platform. There was a guy, probably around our age, playing violin for tips on the platform. Mandy and I were both still sleepy-this was at 9 am- but we both decided that was the best way to start the day. Mandy even tipped him.
Anyway, we haven't really done much today. We slept in, the walked about a block over to this delicious crepe shop. I had one with Nutella and strawberries-yum! Oh- the food is also awesome. There's always a HUGE selection of places to go.
I'll definitely keep you guys posted on what else we do while I'm here over the next couple of weeks. 
Love you all!
Gabby

Hit Me Up Some Feedback

Today I got to eat with the president of my university in the Presidential Dining room (all wood, fancy napkins, plates with the seal on them). So that was exciting and just neat that no one is above you meaning, even the president of the university wants to sit and talk with you. I enjoy that about college :)

Then secondly, I was asked to be a hair model for a woman from Bible study. She's interviewing for a prestigious hair salon and she has to do a live hair style...so she wants to chop off my hair and dye it. I told her I wasn't sure and not to put me on the top of the list. She wants a long haired model and thought of me first. a) I have virgin hair haha b) She wants to go above the shoulders which makes me nervous. What do you guys think? It's a completely free hairstyle. :/ I don't know. INPUT PLEASE!

Thirdly, I love my criminal law class. Who'd think that studying law would be so fascinating? We dicuss all sorts of issues! It's kinda firing me back up to the idea of being a prosecuting attorney. Why do all the things I want to do involve more schooling (and as we know, more school = poverty ;) haha. You're rich in smarts but poor in all else). haha. Today we talked about homicide yay! There are actual legal forms of homicide - a) abortion b) death penalty and c) war time killing. I never thought of that fact before. And I know all these defenses for crime and how self-defense applies. It's rather fascinating and I am glad I am taking it. At least I understand the laws for which I am meant to uphold.

What are you guys learning in your classes right now? Anything exciting? Intriguing?

I learned something else interesting today (not in class). Apparantly one of my friends was watching a discovery show and they said that men are able to get HPV in their tonsils and mouth....weird huh? Oh and does anyone know how many rights that a man has when his wife / girlfriend is pregnant and he wants the child? Oooh!! Ethics question! What do you guys think about how far a woman's rights goes when it comes to carrying a child? Should she have complete right over her body? I really would love to hear feedback!

Okay I'll bid adieu for now because I fear I might just explode all sorts of mental thought processes when I really should be reading Job and Ecclesiastes for Old Testament.

I love you all and I hope you're having a beautiful time :) I cannot wait til we are reunited again!

LOVE LOVE LOVE DAY

I just wanted to say Happy Valentine's Day to all of you wonderful and amazing girls in my life. You really are the first loves of my life :)

I hope you were showered in love by whomever around you! I hope the rest of the week you continued to be loveddddd :D

Mushy Gushy Girlyness

Okay, it seems just yesterday and also at the same time years ago that I posted Robbie and I broke up. And now here I am to tell you that I am dating my best friend Zachary Graves. haha. I know for all of you this may seem extremely sudden (though I guess SOME of you called it long before I even saw it coming aha! COUGH! AMBER!) I would love to tell you all the story sometime, though this blog won't suffice, so we'll save it for one of our big parties I am guessin'. I will say that I am the happiest I have been in a long time and he has such deep trust and respect for me. He actually wrote me the most loving and awesome letter - one that says who he wants to be in Christ and in our relationship. Needless to say, tears came to my eyes. It has been completely and totally God led and you know me, the planner, well I actually didn't plan a BIT of it and that's why I know it's solely God. I can't wait to introduce him to you all. He's a sweetie :) Something is really different in all of this guys. Okay I'll stop being a mushy gushy girl - it's kinda embarassing. haha.


I just wanted to tell you all. I love you and I miss you and I hope you guys have been blessed and favored this week. LOVE!

Hello. It is Cassidy Gee Williams.

Hey guys... Remember me? I sure haven't forgotten any of you. It's kind of embarrassing how long it has taken me to post something! I don't know who's worse at posting: me or Caitlin. :D Hi Caitlin. 

Since I have been busy and away from the blog for so long, I decided that the best I could do would be to read the last post from everyone. It is exciting to know about all of the things going on in everyone's lives. It seems as though everyone has some pretty exciting goals and I will be keeping up with the blog better to know how everything goes. Kera linked my email with the blog, which means I'll be notified any time someone posts something. I think I'll be able to keep up with it better that way. If you guys want to do that as well, you should tell Kera because she's a blog boss. BAM. 

Music. I'm sure you are all sick of the same songs. Comment on this post and tell me some new songs to add to the mix. I would be more than happy to update the playlist. I know a couple of you have suggested some songs to me, but I forgot what they were because I'm a ninny. Also, if you tell me a primary email of yours, I can allow anyone to add songs to my playlist on playlist.com, and it awesomely connects with the playlist on our blog automatically and updates everything. It's great!!! :) So tell me your email and then you can add any song you ever want for the rest of your life. :D

It's been so long since I've posted, so I'll just note a few big things:

- My love life is nonexistent... :D I used to like this other half-Chinese guy named Neil, but now I think I just want to be friends with him. After all, Wasians have to stick together. 

- School is... going better I guess. I am working on getting my GPA up now so that my application to the English Teaching major will be a little bit more competitive. Right now I'm taking boring Lit theory classes for my major. EW. I honestly don't care what Terry Eagleton considers to be literature. Ha ha. 

- Friends: things are good! I just made a new friend named Shereen; she's half Iranian. It's pretty awesome. I love where I live because it's south of campus where all the poor people live. The poorer the college student, the cooler. :) It's a cheap party up in hur.

***BIG NEWS: I have officially decided that I want to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I will be leaving hopefully next fall, and I will be gone for 18 months. I will be able to send letters and email my family, but that's all! It's crazy. I am going to be working this summer to earn enough money to go. Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll be able to make it back to Ohio at all. :( I'll keep you guys updated on that though. 

I have some comments for you guys though: 

Gabby: How are you doing? Just in general? 

Jenny: Your dance class sounds so kick butt. Of course I'm jealous. You should make a video of yourself dancing. I would love it. :)

Amber: What is The Ground Beneath Her Feet about? The synopsis? 

Kera: Your goals make me so happy. I have noticed that you've been trying hard to even talk to me more, which I know isn't what you meant by improving your communication, but it is still nice! I like the title you gave yourself as well. 

Caitlin: What the snot. You're in another country and who knows when you'll get this. Tell me your favorite color shirt to wear. Yeah that's all I want to know. 

You guys don't even realize how amazing you are. I'm so lucky to have found friends like you in Ohio. I don't know who else in our whole high school I would have been friends with if you hadn't included me in your little group! I love reading about how you all are doing. 

<3  Cassi

Caffeine-Addicted Super Talkative Complimenter

I wanted to share a couple goals I've set for this semester :)


a) Compliment people
This means all the time, anytime and not just superficially because I feel I have to, but to truly mean it. So this has come to the point where I've told guys I barely know all that well, "Hey you smell really nice." I have found that once I started surpassing the first few awkward ones, they all roll off the tongue. You wouldn't believe the smiles I've seen :) (hey I just sung that in my head without even realizing it...."you wouldn't believe the [smiles] I've seen" It's originally troubles right?) Zach and I have decided to send little compliments in people's mailboxes just about little things that make us smile about them. (but we won't say who from!) It's almost like a fortune cookie in the mailbox, but it's about YOU! (hahaha I picted Uncle Sam holding a fortune cookie right there HAHAHA!)


b) Being bold / more assertive
Today, I asked this kid that I really don't know all that well that I kind of have a soft spot for, out for coffee. It was rather humorous. I really feel God leading me to get to know this kid better right? Well, after class today I said, "Hey you like coffee right?" "Yeah, I love coffee!" "You want to go get some sometime? *pause for effect* I don't ask that romantically." He chuckles and goes, "Sure, yeah, definitely." And so we chatted about where to. I am talking about stuff like that. :) And assertive in standing my ground and not being a doormat :) haha. Also and asking people to sit with me if they are eating by themselves.


c) Okay well I thought I had a third one......mer? Maybe it was YES YES. It's communication. Just getting in contact with people. Doing more one-on-one dates and more coffee dates. That one is a bit self-explainatory.


Basically what ends up happening is I am a caffeine-addicted super talkative complimenter by the end of this semester :)  bahaha!


I wanted to share so you guys can sort of keep me accountable and maybe to inspire you a tad. LOVE!

New Year's Tidbit

A NEW YEAR of 2011.

Returning to school has been nothing but encouraging :)

Some of my friends didn't know I had broken up with Robbie and they've been so sweetly concerned. Two of them are guy friends that we always tease each other (one as if we hate each other). I mentioned it casually in conversation and they both got really concerned and asked if I was okay. That has really shown me a) that this is exactly where I am supposed to be b) everything that has happened has happened just as it should.

I am officially a psychology major with a criminal justice minor. That was a big step to get it on paper and I was a bit nervous, but it's done and I am super excited. My parents aren't necessarily enthused for a few reasons, but I had to do it. I know that is where God wants me and I want to do it :)

I feel super excited and carefree this days. The snow is wonderful, everything tastes wonderful...haha. I'm in love with life :) I mean I always have been, but I am really embracing every small moment lately and I love it.

I do miss you guys more than I have before leaving to go back to school because I really feel that it clicked with me so much more how special you guys are to me. So, I am missing you guys! I talk about you all so much more haha. I think I said each of you names twice in stories the other day haha.

My Old Testament class looks like it will be really neat. The professor wants us to call him TC haha. He's this adorable Asian man with a lot of spunk. haha. He told us some adorable stories about him being a complete romantic (he loves poetry and took tons of Shakespearan classes in college). He says at the end of class, "This is a preface and a warning. I am an army brat." He goes on telling us how his father was a great high up there something in the military and fought in Vietnam. "He was my hero, confidant, my best friend." Tons of soldiers would come and stay at his house and how they had foul language. "So if I cuss, and I know I will because when I am tired, my filter isn't as good, don't be offended. It is my history and how I grew up. I mean, one time this guy from ALabama came and ate with us. My mom cooked him this amazing and wonderful meal and he just scarfed it up and ate and ate and ate. At the end he goes, 'That was so f* good." My adorable mother with her Asian Southern accent says, 'Ohhhh! I am glad you like it.' That is just how my family is." Haha It just really made me laugh how he portrayed it. And the fact that he's a romantic is so amusing. Mondays are going to be my longest day with 5 classes. I'll be taking general psychology and I guess the prof is a bit nuts. tehe. It'll be neat.

LOVE <3

Life Update

HEWO EVEWYBODY!

so i realized that no one at all has posted for a while, and i personally have not posted for like over a month. . . or something like that. so i decided that it is update on my life time :)

lets see . . . winter quarter is in full swing now and while my classes are not terribly difficult, a few of them are a pain in the rear-end. lol. first, we have French. which, don't get me wrong, is a beautiful language, but the class itself still sucks. lol. next is history of math. how exciting does that sound? well its about as exciting as it sounds. lol. i'm convinced the prof is like pre-alzheimer's bc he forgets where he is on the printed page of notes in the middle of a sentence, he's asked me the same questions about my major and year like 3 or 4 times . . . its just a waste of an hour for me. its a silly class. anyway, next is probably my favorite class, which is social dance :) we have learned fox trot and waltz, and we are currently working on swing dance :) in the rest of the quarter i think we are covering tango, salsa, and samba, and maybe mambo (?) i'm excited and i love the class. of course, i'm taking it with sam, dawn, and alex, and none of them are big dancers like me, so they dont have as much fun . . . oh well. lol. anyway, then i have linear algebra, which is easy and that's nice. and last but not least is exceptional learner. which is about special education and is probably the class i most dislike. i would like it if the prof actually taught, and taught us how to teach these kids. but no, we read a book that really just gives us a bunch of definitions and stats . . . *sigh*

anyway, so that's my academic life, whats next? oh! i got asked by a math prof to grade for him this quarter, so i get to log two more hours of work a week and i get to practice grading quizzes and tests and i love it :)

other stuff . . . ASL Club has taken off this year and i'm really really happy about it :) we got pretty blue tshirts made and i did a workshop with the Delta Zeta's because their philanthropy is speech and hearing and they loved it. i actually got a new member out of it :) and we have plans to work with them to have a Deaf Awareness Day on campus during Deaf History Month (March 13-April 15) and i'm excited about that too :)

umm . . . on a downish side, my roommate has been clashing with a few others in our group lately and its causing some tension, but i think some clear communication would fix it. . . i mean, i get frustrated with pretty much everyone in the group every once in a while, but i still love them all, and so yeah, nothing terrible is going on :)

another down note, recycling club had a purpose of collecting the recycling around campus. however, res life decided to make that a work study position, so we have basically lost the purpose of our club. . . so we need to rearrange to make ourselves about awareness and education. therefore, i may be coming to Caitlin/Amber/Gabby with some questions in the future . . . so yeah, on top of this, we are probably getting a new advisor, so yeah, recycling club is going through an upheaval, but i'm holding out hope that things will turn out for the best :)

on a happier note, its almost my one year with sam and i'm really happy :) lol. things with us are still wonderful :)

so yeah, that's pretty much all of it . . . i could ramble some more, but i dont wanna put you to sleep ;)

hope all is well for everyone else!!!

love always,

jen <3