yeah...i'm a slacker.

Well, it has been a while since I posted. I made it! My first year of college was a success and now I am home for the summer, well part of it. I promise to work in this a little more this summer! ((:

be careful what you wish for.

So we've all been in that position where we want something so bad we can't stand it... for example: less than a month ago I was so ready to get out of the house and move to college. Then last night I had a small break down and was so home sick I couldn't stand it... After all the crying and frustration I called my Aunt and had a pretty intense heart to heart. This is a whole new beginning and I need to embrace every single moment of it. Stepping out of my comfort zone I went to Orange Leaf Sunday with some upper classmen and today I am making a grafitti t-shirt with the Phi Mu girls for a welcome back party... God put me through a tough time to show me that my family means more to me than I ever realized they did, and I need to appreciate them all the time. Not just when I need something.

college life.

It is Saturday, move in was Thursday and right now is the first chance I have had to breathe. Between orientation and getting to know EVERYONE all I've done is sleep, eat and more orientation! So far I love campus and my roomie! It's a lot of new changes and new experiences but I truly feel this is the right place for me, especially with God in control! ((:

letting go.

As I write this I should be packing for college, ha. I leave in two days and have nothing ready... but as I'm getting ready to go it's getting harder and harder. I know I need my independence and was even begging for it last week but there are lots of things I'm going to miss, like: my Ma June's Sunday lunches, my momma, my little sister, my puppy, okay all my family, my bed, my friends who aren't going to Georgetown (that's all but one of you, way to go guys! ((:   ). I was so ready to leave and now I'm ready to stay, funny how God can put it all into perspective when you need to focus and pack. (: I am thankful for all the people who have been a help to me while I was in Glasgow, now I have new people to torture and amuse with my stories... Love you all.

they just want to be loved on.

If I could ask parents to do one thing for me it would be, love on your children. That's the only thing they want, is to be held and hugged on. I was sitting with my little boy today at school and being autistic he doesn't exactly like to be loved on all the time. When he put his leg in his chair, pulled my arm around him and looked up at me and said "bear hug" my heart melted. I pulled him as close as I could and didn't let go till he wiggled free. Seeing how he knew what was going to happen I knew his parents loved on him at home but there are kids in his class that I feel have no idea what it's like to have that at home. But you can always tell the kids who don't get the attention they'd like at home. And that breaks my heart... When your out shopping and a child's crying, so many parents yell or spank their child when in all reality all they want is some attention. God gave me a passion to work with children, not to teach. but to love. I don't mind being hugged on, sat on, pulled on or even licked by the occasional child. And I thank Him everyday for giving me the desire to be there for those children.

the empathy of children.

In my last blog I talked about volunteering in a local kindergarten class, and while today was my last day I have learned many valuable lessons from my kiddos.
Empathy: who can exemplify this more than kids who have no reason to judge or critique those around them. So many examples have been placed in front of me by God, all thanks to these children. Someone breaks a crayon and their neighbor says here you can use mine, picking up after each other and loving unconditionally. My aunt teaches second grade and she told me a story a few nights ago that went a little something like this...A young girl was injured in a dirt bike accident and was placed in a wheel chair, the other second grade girls made a schedule of who would push her and what time so they could share the responsibility, none of that being prompted by a teacher-they did it because they care. But my favorite story was this one: a boy in the class missed every single word on a spelling test that was given in class, he got really upset and a classmate came up to him and said, "your mom loves you, even if you can't spell." It brought tears to my eyes. Kids understand the concept of loving someone for who they are, when the adults who are supposed to be the example don't even do that.  I truly believe children are the closest to God anyone could ever be, they have their faults yet they love unconditionally being the perfect example.

Be careful not to become that which you despise.

Lately I've been volunteering at an elementary school and my daily routine consists of working with an autistic kindergardener. It got to a point where I was getting upset with all of the people who were judging him. "poor little guy", "I feel sorry for him, no one knows what he's thinking". Were just a few of the remarks I was hearing on a daily basis. And I was furious. He is one of the smartest kids I have ever worked with in my life and because of society and the perceptions he is labeled as special needs. Here's where I really get fired up. Special needs? Just because he thinks differently doesn't mean he's different from everyone else. I'm horrible at art, does that mean I'm a "special needs" art student. I didn't think so. And in all of this being upset God put in my life someone who could make me step back and evaluate my situation. My good friend Kyle told me, be careful not to become that which you despise. Wow. God moment right there, by judging the people who judged this autistic child I was acting exactly the same way they were. Life is hard, and it's hard not to judge. Yet all we can do is lead by example...