Weekend #2. Snowbird really makes me appreciate weekends, and it gives a whole new value to the words 'sleeping in'. Week 1 of SWOX kicks off in a little over 36 hours and I can't wait. I'm so excited and blessed to have the chance to be a part of what's going to happen here over the next 9 weeks.
Yesterday Brody called this ministry 'the hardest job you'll ever love' and I think that's so so so true. I love being here but it's not easy. I always idealized working at a camp to be an easy and fun job and that's so not the case... At least not the easy part! But undoubtedly worth it.
Staff training finished up well. Yesterday we went on the river, and it's so true that the Nantahala is as fun as you make it. It was chilly, thunderstorming, and just a nasty day for a trip in water that's already freez... I mean refreshing. It's times like that when having a good attitude, especially when campers are concerned, is SO HUGE, and optimism and excitement can go a long way even when you're cold, tired and could easily be content in being miserable. I really had a lot of fun to be honest.
Every year, we end the last night of staff training by doing something called 12 hour prayer. Each small group is assigned an hour-long slot which is divided between praying together for half the time and then rotating between walking and praying over campus and reading through the Bible out loud from the back porch of the Coop (our main meeting building, not our beloved clemson library). My small group was assigned 10pm, which was amazing since it didn't involve having to wake up at 3am and go back to sleep after. Other than talking and praying in small groups and reading scripture aloud, everything and everyone else is silent.
Today has been an ideal Saturday here at SWO. Slept in a little bit - and on that note, I am still amazed that at this point, I consider 7am to be sleeping in - camp clean up, Kathleen's roommate and some friends came to visit her and I spent some time with them. Thrift store, hammock nap, laptop time, Monte for dinner, walmart with Matt, Bridgette and Philip, a little ultimate (YES that means I played frisbee... I know, I know) and right now, about 10 of us are sitting in the library reading Mere Christianity out loud and just talking. It's a really cool aspect of this community here that people would willingly spend a Saturday night like this.
It's way past my camp weekend bedtime :) next weekend - CLEMSON!
5.29.2010
5.26.2010
so far, part II
hey internet. matthew stephens is graciously allowing me to use his laptop while he reads his novel-letter from emily clardy. i had zero motivation to go get my own laptop out of my car.
Our first campers come in less than a week. Last year, i was wondering how in the world they could have two weeks of stuff to teach us in preparation for campers, and this summer it feels like such a time crunch to get everything done! Monday we went on the river to act as dummies for the new guides and we've done a lot of various work and cleaning projects around camp, and had a few solid hours of teaching and training at night.
tonight is SKATE NIGHT. reminds me of those couple nights freshman year when we went skating in Anderson. I miss the Clemson crew a lot. I wouldn't necessarily say i'm homesick, but i think this year i have more of a home to be sick for, if that makes sense. I think having something to look forward to will make it easier to leave once the summer ends, but at the same time, i don't even want to think about that yet - staff training isn't even over!
so far, the tiredness hasn't really hit me like it has a lot of people... but I also think I did better with it last summer than a large chunk of people. Yesterday was probably the worst day so far, but last night i went to bed a little after midnight, woke up on my own at 5 this morning (over an hour before my alarm!) and have had so much energy today. God is an amazing sustainer through the summer in light of our ridiculous schedule and lack of sleep.
those of you who have sent me letters, pictures and cards - you're amazing and i love you guys a lot. Hearing that people are praying for me and my friends here is a huge encouragement.
Our first campers come in less than a week. Last year, i was wondering how in the world they could have two weeks of stuff to teach us in preparation for campers, and this summer it feels like such a time crunch to get everything done! Monday we went on the river to act as dummies for the new guides and we've done a lot of various work and cleaning projects around camp, and had a few solid hours of teaching and training at night.
tonight is SKATE NIGHT. reminds me of those couple nights freshman year when we went skating in Anderson. I miss the Clemson crew a lot. I wouldn't necessarily say i'm homesick, but i think this year i have more of a home to be sick for, if that makes sense. I think having something to look forward to will make it easier to leave once the summer ends, but at the same time, i don't even want to think about that yet - staff training isn't even over!
so far, the tiredness hasn't really hit me like it has a lot of people... but I also think I did better with it last summer than a large chunk of people. Yesterday was probably the worst day so far, but last night i went to bed a little after midnight, woke up on my own at 5 this morning (over an hour before my alarm!) and have had so much energy today. God is an amazing sustainer through the summer in light of our ridiculous schedule and lack of sleep.
those of you who have sent me letters, pictures and cards - you're amazing and i love you guys a lot. Hearing that people are praying for me and my friends here is a huge encouragement.
5.20.2010
so far
It's the morning of the fourth day of staff training. Day Four already? this summer is going to fly by. I know that this is almost certainly going to be the last summer I can spend here, so I'm trying to make a conscious effort to savor every moment of it.. even moments that come BEFORE 7am like this one.
My friend Logan is letting me use her laptop for a few minutes to make sure I'm safe from "Clemson Nursing Crisis 2010" (don't worry - Kathleen and I are both good and still have the schedule we signed up for... PTL)
This summer has been a lot different for me so far for a number of reasons. It's strange at first being with a whole new group of staff. It's making me miss friends from last summer who aren't here now. I'm site leader for-skeet shooting (which we've spent the last three days learning) and I'm also working missions, which we start training on this afternoon. I'm not quite sure what all missions is going to entail, but I'm excited to find out. It seems like I'm working with really great groups. I like my small group a lot too - awesome.
It's been a little awkward to relearn the schedule, relearn the routine, and find a system of doing things that works best for me as far as waking up, getinng ready and the most convenient method of storage (AKA living out of my car again - it's pretty sweet)
If you were here last summer and are reading this at home now - miss you guys. Clemson, I still miss you too. Start off the summer strong wherever you are so you can finish strong, even though that seems like forever away. It'll fly by.
My friend Logan is letting me use her laptop for a few minutes to make sure I'm safe from "Clemson Nursing Crisis 2010" (don't worry - Kathleen and I are both good and still have the schedule we signed up for... PTL)
This summer has been a lot different for me so far for a number of reasons. It's strange at first being with a whole new group of staff. It's making me miss friends from last summer who aren't here now. I'm site leader for-skeet shooting (which we've spent the last three days learning) and I'm also working missions, which we start training on this afternoon. I'm not quite sure what all missions is going to entail, but I'm excited to find out. It seems like I'm working with really great groups. I like my small group a lot too - awesome.
It's been a little awkward to relearn the schedule, relearn the routine, and find a system of doing things that works best for me as far as waking up, getinng ready and the most convenient method of storage (AKA living out of my car again - it's pretty sweet)
If you were here last summer and are reading this at home now - miss you guys. Clemson, I still miss you too. Start off the summer strong wherever you are so you can finish strong, even though that seems like forever away. It'll fly by.
5.10.2010
the final countdown
Staff training starts a week from today! If that's not exciting, I don't know what is. I really am excited about camp, but I feel like over the last week, some of that excitement has gotten overshadowed by how much I miss Clemson.
I like that I miss Clemson, oddly enough. Last year, I couldn't wait to leave. Even after a year of living there, I didn't really have an attachment to the school, the town, or the people there. It couldn't be more different this year, and for that, I'm thankful. My blood really does run orange now.
I spent Friday night and Saturday with Laura when we took our CPR class together, and it was great to spend time with her and be able to talk about Clemson things. Today, Tabitha and I went to Charlotte with our main motivation being to meet Megan, Lauren and Elizabeth at Ikea for some apartment shopping. Ikea is my new favorite store ever, by the way. It was also great to spend time with the four of them, and to be reconnected with the Clemson segment of my life for a little bit.
But, on the other hand, it's been nice to be home. I've gotten some extra sleep, and some home-cooked meals. I've gotten to hang out with my family a lot, even though they eat weird food. I got to eat lunch with Lauren Perry, got to go to the dollar movies with Tabitha, hung out downtown with Brianna Elliott, and went to dinner and Coldstone with Chelsea, Haley and Casey. I have more people on that list to see before I leave. It's been nice to spend time and catch up with the people who are important to me even though I don't see them enough as I would like - they're great.
I probably wouldn't appreciate Lexington as much if I was here for more than a couple weeks.
I like that I miss Clemson, oddly enough. Last year, I couldn't wait to leave. Even after a year of living there, I didn't really have an attachment to the school, the town, or the people there. It couldn't be more different this year, and for that, I'm thankful. My blood really does run orange now.
I spent Friday night and Saturday with Laura when we took our CPR class together, and it was great to spend time with her and be able to talk about Clemson things. Today, Tabitha and I went to Charlotte with our main motivation being to meet Megan, Lauren and Elizabeth at Ikea for some apartment shopping. Ikea is my new favorite store ever, by the way. It was also great to spend time with the four of them, and to be reconnected with the Clemson segment of my life for a little bit.
But, on the other hand, it's been nice to be home. I've gotten some extra sleep, and some home-cooked meals. I've gotten to hang out with my family a lot, even though they eat weird food. I got to eat lunch with Lauren Perry, got to go to the dollar movies with Tabitha, hung out downtown with Brianna Elliott, and went to dinner and Coldstone with Chelsea, Haley and Casey. I have more people on that list to see before I leave. It's been nice to spend time and catch up with the people who are important to me even though I don't see them enough as I would like - they're great.
I probably wouldn't appreciate Lexington as much if I was here for more than a couple weeks.
5.04.2010
my favorite A
Finals are done, I am home, and I miss Clemson a lot already. I'm officially no longer a resident of Calhoun Courts S7G or an occupant of Postal Box #4015. It's quite sad, although I'm excited for camp, and thankful to have some relaxation time at home before the SWOX madness begins, but the result is some weird lag time where I don't really know what to do with myself.
This semester was probably my most challenging one yet. Finals week was a classic case of the end justifying the means. It was long, it was rough, and it involved a very small amount of sleep. I don't think I've ever put so much effort into anything in my life, but i can rightfully say it paid off. I made my first 4.0, with 18 hours, and most importantly - I made an A in Anatomy!
I said pigs would have to fly and hell would have to freeze for me to be able to make that 105 I needed on my final. I wasn't going to bother trying on the final, but thanks to a certain professor, I studied for an entire week. The morning of the test (at 8am, nonetheless - whoever thought that was a good idea was an idiot), I saw a boy wearing a shirt with a flying pig on it, even though i felt terrible after turning in that test, I found that reassuring.
I don't think I've ever been so happy to make an A in anything in my life. I came from a 62 on the first test of last semester to a 102.5 on my final and an A this semester. I kind of saw this class like a game - you have a good run, then a bad run, you earn a few points, you lose a few points, you're winning for awhile, then you get behind, but all that matters in the end is the final score. Mostly I focused on this mentality to keep myself motivated - I love a challenge. I just wanted to win the game and prove to myself that I could make an A and I worked hard for it.
I don't normally differentiate my A's by how much I like them - because that's lame, and really just kind of weird - but I think this is my favorite A ever. At least, it's in very close running with my 92.5 in Mr. Martin's 8th grade Algebra 1 class. I worked harder for this A than any other grade I've ever made. I guess it's more about the sense of achievement because my effort paid off than the actual letter grade.
So, with that said, I am officially halfway done with college. Done with the "easy part" of nursing school, so I've heard. I can't imagine what next year will be like, but I'm really excited for another challenge.
Coming up next - SNOWBIRD!
This semester was probably my most challenging one yet. Finals week was a classic case of the end justifying the means. It was long, it was rough, and it involved a very small amount of sleep. I don't think I've ever put so much effort into anything in my life, but i can rightfully say it paid off. I made my first 4.0, with 18 hours, and most importantly - I made an A in Anatomy!
I said pigs would have to fly and hell would have to freeze for me to be able to make that 105 I needed on my final. I wasn't going to bother trying on the final, but thanks to a certain professor, I studied for an entire week. The morning of the test (at 8am, nonetheless - whoever thought that was a good idea was an idiot), I saw a boy wearing a shirt with a flying pig on it, even though i felt terrible after turning in that test, I found that reassuring.
I don't think I've ever been so happy to make an A in anything in my life. I came from a 62 on the first test of last semester to a 102.5 on my final and an A this semester. I kind of saw this class like a game - you have a good run, then a bad run, you earn a few points, you lose a few points, you're winning for awhile, then you get behind, but all that matters in the end is the final score. Mostly I focused on this mentality to keep myself motivated - I love a challenge. I just wanted to win the game and prove to myself that I could make an A and I worked hard for it.
I don't normally differentiate my A's by how much I like them - because that's lame, and really just kind of weird - but I think this is my favorite A ever. At least, it's in very close running with my 92.5 in Mr. Martin's 8th grade Algebra 1 class. I worked harder for this A than any other grade I've ever made. I guess it's more about the sense of achievement because my effort paid off than the actual letter grade.
So, with that said, I am officially halfway done with college. Done with the "easy part" of nursing school, so I've heard. I can't imagine what next year will be like, but I'm really excited for another challenge.
Coming up next - SNOWBIRD!
5.03.2010
The Last Laugh
This semester, I had some pretty strange professors. Some of them were a good kind of strange, others I wondered how... well, i just wondered. So, I compiled this list for everyone to enjoy the ridiculousness of my semester.
“my biggest beef is with people who insist that Las Vegas, with its 120+ degree heat, isn’t so bad because it’s “dry heat”… well my oven is dry heat and it cooks a chicken” - Cummings
“a sauna is a stove for people” - Cummings
“when I’m cold I can throw on another layer… when it’s hot, I can only get so naked” - Cummings
"Pretty please. Pretty please with sugar on it. Pretty please with high fructose corn syrup and MSG on it. " - Wentworth
"Germs don't cause diseases" - Wentworth
"I mean, of course there's water in your bladder... you don't pee powder, now do you?" - Cummings
"This is what happenes when you have blood flowing for your veins - but of course, this doesn't apply to me because i'm a VAMPIRE and i don't have blood" - Wentworth
"A phagocyte turns into a phagosome, which binds with a lysosome. And when the phagosome binds with a lysosome, it becomes a phagolysosome. That’s about as close to Dr. Seuss as this class is going to get" - Cummings
"My name is William... but i prefer to go by billy beau bob bubba boy of the best and biggest bayous of Biloxi" - Wentworth
"coughcoughcoughcoughcoughcoughcoughcough...WHOOP" - Mickelsen
"Type 3 secretions are just like a big secret meeting of microbes sitting around to figure out how they can cause infections" - Mickelsen
"There are over SIXTY THOUSAND miles of blood vessels in the human body. So next time you get bored driving to Charleston, just remember the poor little erythrocytes" - Cummings
"it's like eharmony.com... you just have to find the right antigen to bind to and some just need a little extra help" - Mickelsen
"I think Hell is just going to be a lot like Clemson - you just have to drive around forever and ever looking for a dang parking spot!" - Eddie Smith
"One time I had a student who took a whole semester off of school go to live in the same town Charles Manson was from and research his life... I gave him an A just in case" - Eddie Smith
"When you don't have friends and you feel all alone... just remember that your resident microflora will always be there" - Mickelsen
“I grew up (although some people will argue that never happened) in Ohio” - Cummings
"Doing this hurts like heck, but i'm a masochist and i have to prove a point" - Wentworth
"Ahh... the best love stories involve fiery crashes and health insurance" - Wentworth
"Any Questions? Comments? Concerns? Hateful Comments? Wishful Thinkings? Faces you used to make behind your teacher's back in fifth grade? Mean insults you learned in fourth grade? Finger gestures you secretly learned in middle school? Dark Secrets? Dirty Jokes? Speak now or forever hold your peace" - Wentworth
"Evidence based medicine, who needs it? You certainly do not need it if you WANT to kill a few brains, I guess." - Wentworth
"We're talking raw milk here... and I have 2 and a half gallons of the illegal stuff in my fridge right now! - Wentworth
"If you lived back in the 1940's, you wanted to make sure you stayed near the top of your class... otherwise you might have ended up one of those people who has to taste urine for presence of glucose" - Cummings
“my biggest beef is with people who insist that Las Vegas, with its 120+ degree heat, isn’t so bad because it’s “dry heat”… well my oven is dry heat and it cooks a chicken” - Cummings
“a sauna is a stove for people” - Cummings
“when I’m cold I can throw on another layer… when it’s hot, I can only get so naked” - Cummings
"Pretty please. Pretty please with sugar on it. Pretty please with high fructose corn syrup and MSG on it. " - Wentworth
"Germs don't cause diseases" - Wentworth
"I mean, of course there's water in your bladder... you don't pee powder, now do you?" - Cummings
"This is what happenes when you have blood flowing for your veins - but of course, this doesn't apply to me because i'm a VAMPIRE and i don't have blood" - Wentworth
"A phagocyte turns into a phagosome, which binds with a lysosome. And when the phagosome binds with a lysosome, it becomes a phagolysosome. That’s about as close to Dr. Seuss as this class is going to get" - Cummings
"My name is William... but i prefer to go by billy beau bob bubba boy of the best and biggest bayous of Biloxi" - Wentworth
"coughcoughcoughcoughcoughcoughcoughcough...WHOOP" - Mickelsen
"Type 3 secretions are just like a big secret meeting of microbes sitting around to figure out how they can cause infections" - Mickelsen
"There are over SIXTY THOUSAND miles of blood vessels in the human body. So next time you get bored driving to Charleston, just remember the poor little erythrocytes" - Cummings
"it's like eharmony.com... you just have to find the right antigen to bind to and some just need a little extra help" - Mickelsen
"I think Hell is just going to be a lot like Clemson - you just have to drive around forever and ever looking for a dang parking spot!" - Eddie Smith
"One time I had a student who took a whole semester off of school go to live in the same town Charles Manson was from and research his life... I gave him an A just in case" - Eddie Smith
"When you don't have friends and you feel all alone... just remember that your resident microflora will always be there" - Mickelsen
“I grew up (although some people will argue that never happened) in Ohio” - Cummings
"Doing this hurts like heck, but i'm a masochist and i have to prove a point" - Wentworth
"Ahh... the best love stories involve fiery crashes and health insurance" - Wentworth
"Any Questions? Comments? Concerns? Hateful Comments? Wishful Thinkings? Faces you used to make behind your teacher's back in fifth grade? Mean insults you learned in fourth grade? Finger gestures you secretly learned in middle school? Dark Secrets? Dirty Jokes? Speak now or forever hold your peace" - Wentworth
"Evidence based medicine, who needs it? You certainly do not need it if you WANT to kill a few brains, I guess." - Wentworth
"We're talking raw milk here... and I have 2 and a half gallons of the illegal stuff in my fridge right now! - Wentworth
"If you lived back in the 1940's, you wanted to make sure you stayed near the top of your class... otherwise you might have ended up one of those people who has to taste urine for presence of glucose" - Cummings
5.01.2010
Goodbye, 4015
I'm officially a college junior. i just set up my permanant mail forwarding. My address is no longer 4015 University Station. I think this has made me sadder than anything else about this year ending... so weird.
The end of the school year, like i said before, is such a bittersweet time. being DONE with anatomy forever, a class that i've poured so much and has completely consumed my life for the last year, is a weird feeling. i NEVER have to sit through another of Dr. Howe's tirades about how I need to be caring and compassionate. NEVER again
The end of the school year, like i said before, is such a bittersweet time. being DONE with anatomy forever, a class that i've poured so much and has completely consumed my life for the last year, is a weird feeling. i NEVER have to sit through another of Dr. Howe's tirades about how I need to be caring and compassionate. NEVER again
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