Today I am grateful....

...that my bestie has a car. And that we can get out of Davidson when we need to.

It's the little things, right?

College Adventures and Pictures.

So here are some silly/fun pictures of college. (There's a lot. I couldn't choose just a few.) Enjoy!

 Making Flickerball Tshirts! We are the crazy crayons. Slash Rosie's ducklings. :)

 Every good southern girl needs a monogrammed Flickerball shirt.

 Field trip to the Mint Museum for Writing 101. We were looking the Romaire Bearden exhibit....but stumbled upon this amazing piece!

 "PLEASE, Ian, PLEASE buy me this $150 leather cow!?"

"Girl, you crazy."

 Some fun times were had at the museum and in the gift shop. :)

 3rd Cannon's resident models.

 Spencer and Alex.

Classy guys.

Just a late night Cookout run--which of course involved Maggie clambering onto the Wildcat.

 Cat thangs on Rosie's door.

We needed her.

And this seemed like the most logical way of getting her...

 India pants romper???

 So I basically have the best friends in the world. These three drove all the way to Davidson for my birthday weekend. I am so blessed to have them.

 I'd say this is fairly typical.

 Maggie just takin pictures of me being ridiculous.

 This was on my birthday. We had a bestie date and she bought me dinner.

 We lead such foolish lives.

 Hello. We were made for each other.

Also this picture was at Davidson's club rugby game. Good times.

Taken on an absurd, but fabulous trip to Winston-Salem. Thanks to Daniel Padgett for this photooo.

Loving life.

Bosom Friends & College Adventures

So.

College.
Here we go.
It is so strange to think that I have been at college for over two months now. I am now two decades old, a freshman....I'm pretty much out of the house. It's just bizarre. (Don't worry, Mom. I know I'm not really out of the house yet.)
The Lord has been faithful in so many ways, but the main demonstration of his grace has been in my dear friend, Maggie. I creepily (but not so creepily) messaged Maggie this summer because I discovered that not only was she on my hall, she was a believer! We chatted about finding a church and a campus ministry to get involved in and found that we had a lot of similar interests. We got to school and started spending time together. And in Maggie the Lord has graciously blessed me with a friend for life. We are kind of the same person--similar interests, quirks, thoughts, hopes, struggles, and joys. It's a little creepy how alike we are sometimes....

I have been so fortunate to have Maggie as an encouragement in my faith as she seeks to love the Lord more. A phrase we've both found so important in these couple months here is "by grace"--we have realized how every good thing is from God's grace: our friendship, life, the ability to appreciate small things, our salvation, the love we have for people and each other...
We are so dependent on God's grace.
Backtracking a little: Maggie is incredibly talented in so many ways (Check out her photography site: http://maggiecaltonphotography.com/. She is amazing!). She is creative and original and she sees things in ways that just amaze me. She has always wanted a tattoo--something I've thought of for years, but never really thought would happen, cuz I just wasn't brave enough.
Anyway from the start of the school year we have talked about tattoos. Over fall break, I was inspired with a bunch of ideas while I was home--one that was really prominent was the phrase "by grace." I told Maggie and she said she had been thinking of the same thing. So. Last week we went to NODA (our favorite area in Charlotte) to Fu's Custom Tattoos and got our tattoos!
Now. Before you all freak out--know that I did NOT get a tattoo because of Maggie. These tattoos each mean something to us individually of course. But it made it that much sweeter to get this tattoo with a friend whose friendship has so amply demonstrated God's grace to me. So here's a picture of the tattoo:

Photo cred: Maggie Calton

So I've enjoyed taking random adventures with Maggie around Charlotte and the area surrounding Davidson. She likes driving as much as I do and just exploring random things. So we have a grand old time together. We are trying to discover all the cool things about each exit. NODA is probably our favorite place so far--there are tons of fun restaurants and cool little stores. So far we've been to Amelie's (an amazing 24 hour French bakery--eclectic, delicious, fun hipster-watching place), the Crepe Cellar, Cabo Fish Taco, and....I think that's it for food. We went to a fun concert at The Evening Muse, and the church we've been going to, Christ Central Church is right down the street from all these places.

So. If you're ever wanting to explore Charlotte, NODA is a fun place to start. Good food, cool people, fun place.

Maggie and I love to just do foolish things around campus as well. I'm interested to know what people wonder about us as we wander loudly around campus cracking ourselves up. We go to Toast and Summit Coffee and the cute little Main Street shop with the funky hats.

Basically we're ridiculous, and I love it. I am getting to know the area, myself, and lots of different people on campus, and it's been great.

I am blessed to be here.

God is good.

Pictures of college adventures/shenanigans to come soon.

Moving

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Thank you, Mr. Moore.
Goodbye, Raleigh.
Hello, Davidson, world, and the rest of my life.
(Don't judge me for being overly dramatic!)

This Fall

Stuff I'll Learn:
-Literary Analysis
 Designed for majors. Emphasizes theoretical approaches and critical strategies for the written analysis of poetry, fiction, and drama. Writing intensive. Required for the major.
-Intensive French (101 and 102)
  Beginning French. Learn conversational French quickly. Meets every day for 6 class-hours per week plus meetings with an assistant teacher (AT). Completes two semesters of French in one semester. Equivalent to French 101 and 102. Counts as two courses and prepares for French 201.
-Seeing Images, Writing Texts: Writing Studio
  A Writing 101 course designed to teach writing that draws upon both your intellect and your imagination. This course seeks to open up new ways of seeing and channels of creativity that will enable you to read, analyze, and communicate more effectively. Our inquiry will focus on texts that crow genres and disciplines, draw upon the arts and sciences, and combine words and images in innovative ways. Writing assignments will invite you to draw upon your own creative and critical faculties, using both words and images to create clear and compelling arguments.

Summer Reading:
In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, by Neil White.
Excellent read, totally worth it. A memoir about a prison sentence and the US's own personal leper colony in Carville, LA.

Where I'll Live:
Cannon Dormitory, 4th floor

Roomie:
Ellie from LA! She is interested in Biology and Art, and I am so looking forward to getting to know her.

What I'll Be Doing:
Right now the only definitive plan is changing the world with my new friend Aric. We have a legitimate plan, and I'll be keeping ya'll updated on that. It's gonna be awesome.
I'll hopefully be getting into a campus ministry and some sort of singing group, whether it's choir or acapella or something else.
And having a blast with my new friends.


Excited?
Absolutely!!

Home

Thank you, Davidson Odyssey for introducing me to this song. 

And I've posted a lot of music lately, so here's a few pictures for your pleasure. These are all from Odyssey which was a service trip I took as a sort of preorientation thing at Davidson. 

 All dressed up for a "night on the town." (aka a Harris Teeter run--sooooo epic.)

 Aric. So fierce.

 "There are no more hummus samples!?!"

 I'm naming my second child after him. And he'll be godfather.
Basically we're gonna change the world together.

 We love Erwin Lodge! (Where we stayed the whole week)

 Hampton is an epic elbow licker.
He's like a ninja.

 The girls! Me, Cidney (who is on my hall!), Ana (one of my leaders), Jessica, and Christina!

 This is Ian. He's from Jersey and he makes me laugh so much, I can't even handle it.

 Crew Siete! Me, Blake (my other leader and hubby), Christina, Ian, Cidney, Jess, Hampton, Aric, and Ana.

And this is Hampton. Not Ben Folds. However, he is at least as cool as Ben Folds.

But the main thing about this post is that video. Watch it. Or rather just listen to it. It's SO GOOD.

These Will Be My Friends Next Year....

Guess I should spend my J.Crew giftcard soon. Gotta get ready to dress like the best. Davidson College, here I come! :)