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.

As Mary Bryan would say....

...

....this friend speaks my mind.

Mary went to a Quaker school, and informed all of us on TBB that when someone says something, and you agree, have nothing to add, or couldn't say it better, you say, "This friend speaks my mind."

I love that phrase. So thanks, Mary. (Btdubs, you should check out Mary's blog. It's awesome. I love the way she writes.)

Anyway. My good friend, Jaron, sent this video to me. So thanks, Jaron. All of that to say (again), this friend (Sir Ken Robinson) very much speaks my mind.

Life

"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." --Ecclesiastes 12:13


Thank God for friends who can understand me, affirm me, and encourage me to love Christ through everything. I am blessed.

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.

Myths About Introverts

I found this on my dear friend Kristin's blog, but it's actually from my other dear friend Emma's blog. Anyway, they both have really fun blogs, and I love seeing what they post. This, however, I could really relate to as an introvert.
I found that it's all 100% true for me......eerily so.
Sooo yeah enjoy! :)

Friendship is the Perfect Blendship

I'm home. In Raleigh (Rah-lie-juh, according to Rayn).
But first, let me back up a little. My mom, dad, and Josh all came up to Boston for graduation from TBB which was awesome. I am so grateful for each of them, and I'm glad they were able to come. But let me just tell you how blessed I am with amazing friends--Sarah Beth Moore, Kristin Martin, and Annetta Kinton all flew up to Boston to be with me during graduation weekend....WHAT! Kristin still had exams!! They are so incredible, and I'm really in awe of how fortunate I am to have them as friends. And the cool thing is, I know had other friends at home who would have come to Boston if they could--so THANK YOU for loving me enough to even consider that!

Here's the whole group--except Josh I guess. But even Todd Moore came out! He's awesome. We always enjoy time with Todd. :)

Sisterhood of the Tracelong Pants (long story haha) :)

Me and the J-Man (who is now OBSESSED with my dear friend Jon Rosenthal haha)

Anyway. So Boston was a fun weekend. It went by so fast, and I was so conflicted when it ended! Even now, I am torn: I was so relieved, from the moment I drove away with my family to the airport, but at the same time I miss my friends....SO much! And of course I am glad to be home--incredibly glad. Still, I find myself wishing I could go to the farmer's market with Rachel, Mary, and Honi. I wish I could make balloon animals with Eirann, and sing with Kasha and Mckinley. I want to snuggle with Rayn, listen to Rosie's impressions, and watch LOST with Connor. (I really have missed that!) I want to laugh with Luisa and talk with Maddie. I want to go to Monticello with Faith (aka TJ). I'd like to listen to Alex plan her entire life out. I want to reflect and deflect with Lorena, write with Jessie, and be sarcastic with Scott.

This is most of the group--(L to R) Alex, me, Rosie (Jon), Mckinley, Kasha, Rachel, Luisa, Connor, Rayn, Maddie. Silly friends. :)

With the boys!

Girl Band--Rach, me, Kasha (our awesome manager/agent/photographer), Mary, and Mckinley. We're SUPER talented. And gorgeous, of course.

Such awesome girls. I love them to pieces.

And these boys. Oh they are wonderful and I love them dearly. :)

I miss these things. And don't get me wrong--I am so grateful to be back with my friends here at home. The fellowship I am enjoying with the believers in my community is amazing, and I will not take it for granted. I am so blessed.
But after spending 8 months with these people, I obviously miss them. It is interesting to see how each person on my trip taught me something or several things. I love that the Lord uses all sorts of people, believers and non-believers alike, to teach us. It reminds me that we are all made in His image, all precious to Him, all loved by our Creator. We all feel and love and laugh and cry and yell. What a beautiful thing that we are all connected in that way--through the image of a perfect and loving God! He is so good.
So. Those are my feelings right now. I am in a place where processing what I learned isn't coming naturally to me. I'm going to have sit down and force myself to think about things. Typically, I'd write about those things, but today when I sat down to write about being home, this is what came out. I wrote about my friends. They are great people, and I know that they will change the world. I can't wait to hear all their names and use all the blackmail I have on them. :) I love and miss ya'll!
PS--Helloooo mah deauh. Veryyy tireddd todayyy. Sorrrryy mah deauh, I wish I could see you todayyy. Maybe we could listen to Whitney Houston, nay??? :)
I couldn't resist.
PSS--Thanks Cole Porter (and my mother) for the title idea.
PSSS--Jaron Moore, what was the last PS/PSS/PSSS you wrote??

Cambodia Pictures and TBF

My friends Kasha, Rachel, Mary and Luisa made a website for their media project called Thinking Beyond Food. I think it's pretty awesome, so I encourage you to check it out and read the blogs they have written. They intend to keep up with it throughout the rest of the trip, as well as during the summer.

On another note, I have a computer tonight, so I wanted to put some Cambodia pictures up! So...yeah. Enjoy!

One of the temples in Angkor Thom

Rayn and Rach being silly.

"Tomb Raider Temple"--super cool.

Girl Band photo. Rachel, Mary, Mckinley, and Hannah.
Yeah we're pretty awesome, we know. :)

The Gospel

“The saints’ delight is in Christ: He is their joy, their crown, their rejoicing, their life, food, health, strength, desire, righteousness, salvation, blessedness: without Him they have nothing; in Him they shall find all things. ‘God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Gal. 6:14). He has, from the foundation of the world, been the hope, expectation, desire, and delight of all believers.”

–John Owen, Communion with the Triune God, Eds. Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1657/2007), 236.

quote courtesy of Tolle Lege, and John Owen of course.

"Avoid a sugared gospel as you would shun sugar of lead. Seek the gospel which rips up and tears and cuts and wounds and hacks and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again. And when you have found it, give good heed to it. Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rain soaks into the ground, so pray the Lord to let his gospel soak into your soul." - Spurgeon

So this is it. I'm leaving tomorrow (today technically!). I am beyond excited. And it still won't sink in until I'm walking away from my family at RDU.
I have been completely packed. Repacked some tonight. I'm trying to stuff some last minute things into my carry-on (I swear, it's heavier than my big pack). Finished up readings as best I could. I'm getting nervous. Incredibly excited, but really started to realize the weight of what I'm doing.
But I am so grateful that I know John Owen's words are true: Christ is my delight, my salvation, my righteousness, my life. Without Him I have nothing, and in Him I find everything I could ever need or want. He fulfills every desire and provides immeasurable hope.
And you know...I still worry. I worry that I will trade the power and beauty of the gospel for other things. That before I know it, I won't recognize the gospel I believe in. And that it will be farther from the truth than I can imagine.
I'm not just worried about this because of my trip. I'd have these same concerns if I were heading off to college.
But the Lord has given me, and all my friends in college, and honestly every believer, the incredible opportunity to make choices and to be refined. So I am praying that I would make choices that glorify God and reflect the love of Christ. I'm praying that I would love every person I meet with a love that can only come from Christ. I am praying that this year, I would allow the gospel to soak into my soul like rain. That I would let it fill the places where it has torn away sin. That it would cause me to completely renounce myself and to only proclaim Christ. I'm praying that because of the gospel, I would desire to read and memorize Scripture so that I can sharpen my mind and heart. I'm praying that by God's grace, I would be bold with the gospel and live in light of eternity in each experience I have. And I'm praying that I would be continually grateful for the life God has blessed me with. I am amazed at the love I've been shown the past week saying goodbyes. My family, friends, and the Trinity community have gone out of their way to show me how much they care--I love all of you and I am glad to know each of you!
Anyway, I know that many of you will be praying these things with me--please know that I am grateful! I am blessed to have supportive friends and family who are also believers in Christ. The body of Christ is something that we should not take for granted, and I hope and pray that after this year I will treasure the church even more.
So here I go. I am leaving everything up to a God who already knows everything that will happen to me this year. He knows when I am going to rejoice, when I'm going to grieve, when I'm going to be lonely...But He is sovereign, and He is faithful.
I'll update here as soon as I can! Please pray for safety and health for the rest of my team: Rachel, Rayn, Eirann, Jon, Connor, Mckinley, Kasha, Mary, Lauren H., Luisa, Alexandra, Faith, Madeline, Lauren K., Jessie (leader), Scott (leader), Loren (leader).
I love you guys!! Thanks for everything--see you in eight months!! :)

"But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
--Isaiah 43:1-3a

Good Stuff

I love being able to talk to people about issues and things with substance. One of my professors on my trip to England two years ago called it "ruminating conversation." I am going to miss many different people while I'm gone, but there are two people that I find particularly understand my interests and tastes in...well everything. And we always have ruminating conversations. I'm sure I'll find other people on my trip to have deep and intellectually stimulating conversations with on a regular basis (when we're not having seminars of course), and these conversations will certainly sharpen me. But I always find it a joy to discuss things with people who have the same worldview and similar ways of thinking.
So I will miss those conversations and people a lot!
Anyway. Here are some things from the past few weeks (mainly books and music and such) which have raised discussions between me and some of my friends. I hope you find them somewhat interesting!
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. This book is excellent. It's thought-provoking, interesting, well-written, and eye-opening. It has really made me think about what I believe and how I view the world that God has given us. I personally think it's worth everyone's time.
Ben Folds. He's making a new album apparently and Jaron Moore (click on the link to check out his blog--it's pretty great!) posted this video on my Facebook today. I really like this song, as well as the spoken bit. And the video is cool too!
Artist a Day. This website comes up on my google homepage, and I love it. Some of the art isn't my favorite, I guess, but every once in a while, a piece comes up that I just sit and stare at. I love that about art. When we're in NYC for TBB, I'd love to go to the Met for a day. I didn't take the chance to do that when I was last in New York, but I should have. If I had time to just do what I want (wouldn't that be wonderful?), I would spend time going to museums and learning about art. Right now it's more interesting to me than music. (If you know me, that's a big deal-ish.)
columbinus. One of my best friends, Victoria Oliver, was in this play this summer. She's a senior in high school at UNC School of the Arts this year. She's marvelous. Anyway, a friend of hers who is also going to UNCSA as a senior this year directed this show. It's about the shootings at Columbine. The cast was young (17-21 years), but they did a fantastic job. I was really impressed, and I saw it twice. columbinus is a powerful show. And everyone should see it. Literally everyone. It's raw and emotional, and exposes the stereotypes and labels we subconsciously (or even consciously) give each other. It's humbling, terrifying, and heartbreaking, all at the same time. But it was completely worth it for me.
Last, but certainly not least, I will leave you with a poem I found a couple weeks ago. It's by Emily Dickinson. I found it randomly--I believe a friend of mine brought up Emily's poetry (yes, Emily and I use each other's first names), and I just googled her. A website came up with her poems, and I saw this one.
"There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away,
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears a Human soul."
I love the language she uses and the way she capitalizes certain words. This is basically why I want to teach English Literature. Books and writing can say so much. :)

Thanks for reading my random thoughts!
One week!

Ah Summer...

I love summer. I love being able to sit at home and reread books (that I've already read ten times...). I have rented six movies from RedBox (I love that thing)& watched all of them (I didn't rent all 6 at once though). I love being able to randomly go to Starbucks with my friends throughout the day.
So I still have TONS of Italy pictures that I'm still going through. I think I have....3 albums on Facebook, and I'm not even done with Day 4 of my trip!
Anyway, here are some more of my favorites. I was really happy with the pictures I got from this trip. (I feel like I'm starting to sound like a blogger...) (I know I am after that comment!)

These are 3 of my best friends from school, Annetta, Kristin, and Sarah Beth. We're on top of the Duomo in this picture. I'm not really sure what I'd do without them. They have kept me sane (mostly) through the years at Trinity.

This is me and my good friend Kelsey at the Trevi Fountain. Kels was my first friend at Trinity. We both started in 1st grade. I will miss her so much next year. Kelsey has so much joy and always finds a way to make me smile. She also is REALLY funny when she's tired: she cries every time she laughs and gets really punchy. Love it.

This is me and my friend Daniel in the gardens at the Pitti Palace in Florence. Daniel is hilarious (isn't his laugh just precious?!), and there's an inside joke in my class that he and I are married. So I call him Hubby and he calls me Wifey. He's mad that I'm not going to UNC with him next year.... :/

This is my good friend Tyler. We decided our Senior Superlatives as a class (because there were only 14 of us...it's not that difficult), and Tyler's was "The Butt of Every Joke." Which is doubly amusing because one of our favorite jokes was that Tyler (affectionately called Ty) has no butt....No but seriously, Tyler is one of the funniest people I know, and he's super sweet. I will miss him a lot next year!
OH about this picture....Annetta, Sarah Beth, and Daniel shaved Ty's head while we were in Italy and had the BRILLIANT idea of doing the Martin Luther look before it was all gone...They brought Tyler in wearing a sheet and carrying a Bible. Daniel had everyone sing the Doxology and then Annetta "unveiled" Tyler. It was SO funny. Definitely one of the best moments on the trip. :)

So I have sent out my support letters! And I am getting my TBB information soon (they call it a departure prep packet). Today I had the sudden desire to just GO, which was really exciting for me because...well between a wedding and graduation and Italy, I haven't had much time for it to really sink in that I am actually doing this. And it's finally starting to and I'm so excited! Which is a relief! I was pretty homesick at one point in Italy and I kept thinking, "What if I hate it? What if I shouldn't go? What am I thinking?"
No worries though. I'm looking forward to it so much, even though I know it will be an intense challenge.
More pictures later. :)

Graduation!

So this is my first post! And it's really weird. I hope everyone reading this (all five of you) know that I am doing this for you. Definitely not for me!
Anyway. I graduated yesterday! This is my class (of 14 people. Yes that's 14, not 140, not 1400 haha). We sang "So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersen, Goodbye" from the Sound of Music at the reception. :)
After 12 years at the same school, I am finally done! It has been a bittersweet weekend. But it hasn't really sunk in yet. I've sort of been distracted by the fact that my senior class (10 out of the 14 of us) is leaving for Italy tomorrow! I'm also sort of freaking out that I actually get to go on the Thinking Beyond Borders (TBB) trip! It's sort of unbelievable, especially since a few weeks ago, I was SO clueless about what I would be doing next year.

That's really why I am starting this blog (I feel so conceited right now writing this....)--it seems like the easiest way for everyone to stay in touch/keep up with me while I am gone for EIGHT MONTHS. That is crazy to think about...I am so excited though! I can't wait to see the way the Lord provides during this whole fundraising process. It will be such a neat experience.
Well, I have to go pack for Italy! We leave tomorrow at 12:30 & get home on the 9th! Ciao! :)