A Beautiful Destination: So this is college...

I cannot believe that I am going into my third week of college. So weird! So mom, you are probably wanting to know every single detail. Well here is what is going on that is important.

My Hall/Dorm Experience:
First of all, I love my dorm. My room is actually quite large and I think my roommate and I have it decorated nicely. My roommate is amazing. Seriously, she is so great. We get along so well! We have already been able to open up to each other about life and discuss how we are dealing with stress, college, etc. It has been so great to have someone who you are able to connect with already. My hallmates crack me up. I seriously love them all. Some of them are a little crazy on the weekends, but I love them no matter what. Everyone gets along great. Everyone looks out for each other. It is really like a weird 30 person family where everyone coincidentally is the same age. This past weekend I went to the first home football game of JMU vs. CCSU with all of them. What a blast! It was crazy hilarious to see how animated all of the guys on the hall were over the game-loved that!

My Young Life Experience So Far:
I started off by going to the Young Life ice-cream social before classes even started. As we were walking there, a group of upper classmen were ahead of us so we were following them :) I asked a girl in front of me just to make sure if she was heading to the social. She said yes, and as soon as she found out that we were freshmen she began to ask questions. She asked me where I was from, and I said well, you've probably never heard of it-Poquoson. She told me that her roommate from last year was a girl from Poquoson-woah that is unusual. Kelsey Powell was her name. And she was so great about introducing me to all of her friends. It was so great to feel apart of an awesome community. I also met Ali Jacobs(my current YL small group leader). She was also one of the girls who was so engaging and pursuing. I felt so loved by all of the people at JMU YL. Since the social, I have met countless people. A few of my close friends who are also freshmen include, Lindy, Caroline, Erin, Shannon, Lea, Sarah, Rachel and all of the girls in my YL small group who I am just getting to know. I can't even begin to explain my excitement with YL beyond either. Beyond is YL for freshmen that meets every Tuesday nights at 7:33(yea thats YL for you). We play games, hear an awesome message from our area director, Pete Hardesty, and watch a couple of skits about a male nurse. It really is a great time to fellowship with other freshmen and learn about what this year has in store for me here at JMU.

My IV Experience So Far:
IV is another Christian organization on campus. They meet on friday nights at 7. IV is more of a Youth Group kind of feel. We have worship time, we hear a message, and maybe a few fun games. It is huge at JMU. The first IV of the year had over 650 college students. That was so encouraging to see. I am also in an IV small group. Tonight was my first meeting with them. My leaders are extremely nice and they are really engaging and fun. All of the girls in my group are so nice too. I can't wait to go spend a weekend with them at NSR(New Student Retreat). It is a retreat for freshmen to give us the opportunity to get closer with our small groups and fellowship with each other as new students in college. I can't wait to go! Erin Abell is in my small group, so the it is bound to have so fun times :)

My Dance Party Experiences:
So instead of going out and partying on weekends, JMU had awesome christian organizations that constantly have something going on to remind us that you do not have to "go out" to have a great time.
DANCE PARTIES! That is where it is at. I break it down on the dance floor. I shake it like Beyonce. Seriously, this is the only type of partying where you burn calories as suppose to chug them. By the end of the night, we are so sweaty that our clothes are literally soaking wet. Its gross, but totally worth it. We jam all night and then the next night-we repeat! I have been to 4 so far. The more I dance, the more I love JMU.

My Class Experience:
Oh yea, thats what I am suppose to be here for. Well, currently my classes this semester are super easy. I am still an Education major, and honestly, I was more challenged in kindergarten. 2 of my classes do not require me to take a test or quiz...ever. One of my classes is based on speaking. Another, on reading. And my Psyc class only meets once a week. My math class consists of doing problems like adding and subtracting. It is stupid. I feel like a baby. But, I love all of my free time. I consume my free time with the gym, Young Life, and taking 30 minutes to walk to each class. Its been enjoyable. I love it here. I chase ducks when I walk by the lake. I take pictures of the ground hog that lives behind the A/C vent by my dorm. I pick unknown berries off of a tree and eat them. I sit and talk to the homeless men who are always on campus with signs about Jesus. I play with sidewalk chalk. I clean(I know shocker right?), and I am beginning to learn sign language. These are all of the special things that I get to do as a college student, and I love it. Life is good. Oh, and if you were wondering what I am changing my major to-I think I decided to change it to Social Work with a concentration of orphaned and underprivileged children. I feel called to pursue that. But, who knows for sure? Next week it could be engineering-but most likely not.

For the most part, that is my life in a nutshell(its a kind of big nutshell). I love college but there are a few things/people I miss.

My family-I miss them all so much. I've always loved my family and have been super close with them, so it's been hard to not have their support of being right next to me.

My YL leaders/cabin time. My YL leaders mean the world to me. I cried to my YL leader, Leslie on skype last night because seeing her makes me want to give her a big old hug and you can't do that via internet. Sarah, my other amazing leader, was great to be able to cuddle with and complain to. Haha, she cracks me up. Its just hard not to have them around like I did this summer. I also miss cabin time. That's when me and all of the rest of the Young Life girls would get together with our leaders and talk about life and have a mini bible study and just eat brownies and cookies and goof around. They are the best. I miss them more than they know.

My Anna-Anna is my best friend. Her and I get along so well, she knows everything about me and I can talk to her about anything. Miss you Kiddy.

So far, college has been great. I cannot wait to share my fondest moments and memories on this page and to see myself change through the course of four years.

After a dance party, Lindy Levis and I are in the car on the way back to our dorm. Eww we are soo sweaty! But, we had a great time!