Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

Big Sigh of Relief

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. That is the feeling I am feeling right now. I am back home from school on break for a couple of weeks. A real break this time. Not like Thanksgiving break where I had to study for exams. A pure, fun-filled, relaxing break. I get to take these two weeks for Christmas and New Year's off then it's back to school to do research. Classes don't start up again until February. I'm really looking forward to the free time to get some things together. I want to read a good book - unrelated to anything academic. I'm looking forward to seeing more of my friends. Chill time with the fam. Movies, movies, movies. There's so much "life" to catch up on. Phone conversations. This next month will be very well utilized. I just feel this huge burden lifted off me. I can't wait to get things organized and feel in control again. Kinda my New Year's resolution that I'm starting a bit early. Ahhhh. Well things to do. Ciao. ~

Ups and Downs

Every week I experience my share of ups and downs. Lately, because of grad school, the slopes are always steep. It's like a rollercoaster that you don't choose to get on. It's been very tough because there are always roadblocks and obstacles telling you you can't do it. But you can! I can!! I can do this. It's not bigger than me!! If it can be done, then I can do it! You'll get to forks in the road where you don't know which way to go. And then you make your decision and there are all these negative things telling you you made the wrong decision. There will be people who are better than you at what you do, making you feel insecure about your ability.There will be questions so tough that you can't figure out, that make you believe you don't know anything at all.

But this journey is called Life. And it wouldn't be what it is if everything was handed to us; if we didn't have to make some important life decisions. And there are no guarantees that the road we choose IS the right one, but "Don't let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game" (from A Cinderella Story).

I needed to hear this. Maybe someone else needed to hear this. But if you hear me, don't just sit on it. Do what you gotta do! Because I believe you can do it!! :)

The Way I Was Made

Song I'm loving (in bold are my favorite lines):

The Way I was made
by Chris Tomlin

Caught in the half-life, I’m caught alone
Waking up to the sunrise and the radio
Feels like I’m tired of, what’s holding me?
Just praying today will be the day I go free

I want to live like there’s no tomorrow
I want to dance like no one’s around
I want to sing like nobody’s listening
Before I lay my body down
I want to give like I have plenty
I want to love like I’m not afraid
I want to be the man I was meant to be
I want to be the way I was made

Made in Your likeness, made with Your hands
Made to discover who You are and who I am
And All I’ve forgotten help me to find
All that You’ve promised let it be in my life

I want to live like there’s no tomorrow
I want to dance like no one’s around
I want to sing like nobody’s listening
Before I lay my body down

I want to give like I have plenty
I want to love like I’m not afraid
I want to be the man I was meant to be
I want to be the way I was made

ohhhhh
The way I was made
OhhhhI want to live like there’s no tomorrow
I want to dance like no one’s around
I want to sing like nobody’s listening
Before I lay my body down
I want to give like I have plenty
I want to love like I’m not afraid
I want to be the man I was meant to be
I want to be the way I was made
I want to be the way I was made
I want to be the way I was made

If you like this song check out Chris Tomlin in the Christian Worship section of you local music archives.

The Story of the Carpenter

I found this on someone elses page:

"THE CARPENTER
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

"When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well. "

So are you building the life that you want to live? It's a really deep question, to be honest. If you had to keep doing the things that you currently are doing - would you be happy. Is there a bad habit that you always want to quit but you never really try to quit. I know there's some faulty nails in the house I'm building and it really made me think. If I had to live in it would I be pleased? Humpf... something to think about guys.

Updates

Hey Everyone. Well it's been a very long time since I have written in here. So let me update you on what has happened.

Well I started grad school, for one. It's hard, I'm not going to lie. Most days I spend at least 75% of the day in school or doing school related activities. So, life as I know it, is again me and my TEXTBOOKS, haha. I am learning a lot though. And I am getting the hang of programming in MatLab.

I moved to a new city . Or shoudl I say town? It's definitely different than where I'm from but I haven't had too much time to go site seeing, which I want to do one of these days.

My birthday just passed so a shout out to all those who celebrated with me.

Hmm, I had a lot more in my head when I first started to type. I think I'm just tired. It's about 7pm now and my last meal was breakfast at 12pm so maybe I'm just a little light headed. Yeah, yeah I'm cooking so I will be up to speed in about 30 minutes. And I worked my butt off today so I think I will watch Beauty Shop tonight.

Oh I do have a topic. I am not very versed on current events but I'm working on it. Anyway the former Education Secretary, William Bennett, is quoted as saying "But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," on his morning talk show. He did finish by calling it "an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down. So these far-out, these far-reaching, extensive extrapolations are, I think, tricky."

Wow, can you believe that someone so educated and high in power could make a statement like that? That is really disturbing. And it is also disturbing that the Black race was singled out for his hypothetical situation. If you had less people crime would go down but I think it's a horrible thing to say that we could go killing to reduce crime.

The thing that people do not realize is yes, we are all human. But when you are in a position where you are a political or any type of role model, you have to watch what you say. And the face that you said it, means that you believe it, regardless if it is hypothetical or not. For all we know the Holocaust started out as a hypothetical statement. But look at how far we have come from those barbaric thoughts, let alone activities. Bennett says that he owes no one an apology and people are misquoting him and not getting the full picture. Well what picture would he have us draw? You can't possibly say something so dramatic and think it is ok.

Which makes it more important for us to vote. And not randomly. Try to stay on top of things and find out about the person's character. It is scary when the top officials do not have any faith in some of their voters/population.

Do Something

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, I'm going to encourage everyone to DO SOMETHING. You'd be surprised at how far a little will go. Even a dollar at the dollar store can buy you a toothbrush, soap, socks, a bottle of water, etc . . . To someone who has lost everything, it could mean a lot. As we grow up we hear of disasters all around the world and we think, what can we do. Well now it is actually in our own homeland. Are you a part of the problem or the solution?

Everyone wants to play the political game of pointing fingers. But that does not help in the here in now. What actualy helps is money donations, time donations, prayers, and words of encouragement.

Sometimes something earth shattering happens to make us realize what we did not see before. There were poverty-stricken people living in Louisiana before the hurricane, and just now is the government helping them. Perhaps the future brings brighter days for the people of LA. My deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones and friends. But I have hope that things will get better and I ask for everyone to look for the rainbow at the end of the storm. Perhaps this can bring us as people together and we can see that amidst trials and tribulations we aren't all that different after all.

Also, we can not forget the victims of 9-11 today. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed about all of the distraught in the world. And I feel like there is nothing that I can do. But I try. I try to give and I try to help and I try to help others to do the same. And I pray. So whatever you do, Do Something. Because the fate of the world is in trouble when good men do nothing (paraphrasing a famous quote).

I love being a girl

Top Ten Reasons to be A Girl

10. You can ask for help loading your car at the store and no one gives you a hard time.
9. You can wear a skirt when it's really hot outside and pants would stick to your legs
8. Guys are expected to hold the door open for you AND
7. You usually get to places first because "Ladies before Gentlemen"
6. You don't have to enter into the draft if you don't want to
5. You can cry at a movie without getting ragged on by the masses
4. You can watch Chick Flicks by yourself
3. Our clothes are just better. More colorful.
2. You can pretend to be ditzy when you don't want to talk to a guy.
1. The fate of the population lies with you - let's just call it POWER. hehe.

Wohoo.

Getting Out of Debt

ok guys . . this may be a long one. I just came back from Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, PA and I just had to share this message with you. The pastor preached on debt. And I know a lot of us still have college loans or credit cards, what have you, so this may be right up your alley.

I'm going to try to recreate the message, not doing it full justice, but I will attempt to engage you the way I was engaged. DISCLAIMER: These are not my words, so I'm not taking credit for it. I don't know the pastors name, but these are from him.

First we started off by reading 2 Kings 4:1-7. From NIV:
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he served the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.
Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
But he replied,"There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.
She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

Now you may be thinking, Why is the Church talking to its congregation about money? The answer is simple. Debt blocks dreams, shapes emotions, defines attitudes. It makes you paranoid. It makes you nervous every time the phone rings. It makes you anxious when you get to the checkout and your credit card is swiped. It makes you leave you mail in the mailbox, for fear of getting a bill. It makes you lie - telling the person on the telephone that you aren't here. It even makes you turn down opportunities to hang out with friends (for fear that it may be your turn to pay). All jokes aside, Debt restricts us and limits what we can do.

Now how does this tie into the Church? Well It's hard to reach up high (for Christ) when there is an anchor pulling you down. You want to give money but your debt is telling you that you just can't give offering. You would like to gain spiritual insight at a Church retreat, but your debt is telling you that you better not pay that fee. Your debt is telling you that although you have a well paying job, you have to work on Sunday and you can't go to Church. God can't like that. And so God doesn't like debt.

The pastor is saying that when money becomes the dictator of your spiritual life THERE IS A PROBLEM. And regardless of your beliefs, when debt dictates where you work, how far you work, how many hours you work, the balance between home and work, your academic path, etc.. .there is a problem.

So then the missing link between debt and not having debt is changing your habits. Everyone has fun while they are getting into debt - getting credit cards, buying purchases you can't afford, eating out all the time, driving when you could walk (with these gas prices). And then people get mad that it is soooooooooooo hard to get out of debt. It takes hard work, perserverence, and labor. The same hard work, perserverence, and labor that got you into the debt. You have to change your habits if you want to get out of debt. You can't be that person that says you know you have to change and not actually do anything about it.

The woman in the Bible passage had to go from door to door collecting jars. Now, she didn't know what was going to happen with the jars. But she collected as much as she could. Just imagine her knocking on people's doors and getting jars; each time explaining why she needed the jars. Then walking back to her house when her hands got full and going back out again - all on the blind faith that the prophet gave her. When she finally came in and closed the door he told her to pour the little oil into her jars. Now I'm thinking that she has about 4 oz of oil and she collected all these 64 oz jars and she's looking at this prophet like he's crazy. How would that little oil fill these bottles? But she obeys, and as she starts to pour the oil out, it keeps flowing. WOW. So you don't need more oil, God will stretch the little oil you have. Aren't we all waiting to start something new when we have enough money? Why not just use what you have and STRETCH IT OUT?

God provided for this woman because she trusted him. She obeyed and He made it so that she could pay her debt and live off the rest. How can we use this in our daily lives? Well if at the end of the paycheck all you have is a dollar, shut the door. And put it in a jar. Each time you put in a jar, you will be amazed at how you can stretch what you have.

It takes a big change of habits. "You can't have Lexus taste on skateboard finances.(pastor)" There has to be some give and take - for the ladies, do you own hair, or go every OTHER week. And you know how you sleep that first day and your head is not touching the pillow? Sleep like that for 3 days - the style will last longer. And for the guys - Do you really need a new suit? Buy a new tie, no one will notice.If they ask if that's a new suit, don't lie; just don't answer. You have to eat in sometimes. Broke is a condition, not a lifestyle. Conditions can be broken.

I think I've summarized what the message was. It was on point, it had hilarious moments of those truths we do that we know we need to work on and it just takes someone pointing them out for you to be honest with yourself. I hope you guys enjoyed this. And please, rememeber to shut the door, and fill the jar.

Have you ever

Have you ever thought you knew what someone was thinking, only to look at them and know that you were wrong? Here's a poem I wrote about just that.

In that split second
I looked at you and knew
That what I previously thought
Could not, in deed, be true
I thought you felt for me
What I had felt for you
But your eyes do not agree
And so I start anew.

April Update

Feels like a long time since I last wrote in here. Things that have happened since then. I decided which grad school I'm going to (If you want to know ask me). I am loving my fun classes - ballroom dancing and piano. Senior design is a lot of work. And it's beginning to feel like senior year of high school, where you know the end is near. I can't believe that we only have about 6 weeks left. I'm going to miss everyone and just being on this campus. Ok, short entry, but more later.

Lines of Miscommunication

The events in life are all happening through a kaleidescope. I think it's so funny how two people can view the same situation. The key to everyone understanding the situation is to keep the lines of communication open. Last year when I was in the dorms, a mutual friend of mine and my roommates called the room asking for her. I got no hello, or any acknowledgement that he knew me when I answered the phone. I thought the guy was very rude, because he usually will say hi to me. It turns out, as my roommate later informed me, that he was simultaneoulsy hit by a football in the face after he had dialed the number and when I picked up he was not feeling too friendly. So, after finding out this information, I felt a whole lot better to know he wasn't just being rude.

Well there was a similar situation that happened recently. I have been known to not be able to read between the lines so I've been trying to improve and I guess I get overzealous and make lines to read between. So I let someones actions be a line I was reading between and got mad at what I read. Sounds funny, ay? It went out for nearly two weeks and I'm the type of person to just get madder and madder. Fortunately, the situation was reconciled after communicating my thoughts to the other person. Turns out I had in fact misread an invisible line. Haha.

Figured I would kill some time before my final. I don't like to study right up until the last minute. I'm taking this last hour off, just going to review. I'm eating right now, yummm and just clearing my head. Tomorrow I fly to Michigan to visit MSU - I'm very excited.

Happy Birthday to Patricia!

Happy Belated Birthdays to: Nadia, Veronica, Laura V.

Can you guys believe we are getting ready to graduate? Please send me pics so that I can remember you all buy. I'm on ofoto.com - I'll send you some if you send me some.

Also, what are you guys up to? You people need bloggers so that I can read about your interesting stories without your knowledge. Yup, kinda like what you are doing right now. Easy way to solve that would be to leave a comment. . .C'mon it's not like I don't know you are reading it. Just click Leave Comment and then go to Anonymous Comment. Otherwise it's almost like written eavesdropping. Lol. Have a great spring break everyone. And Happy Easter!

Happy March

You know what? We always wait for the begining of a year to make some remarkable change. But ode to new beginnings. It's a new month, spring is approaching, this is great. I will be terribly busy in the next two weeks as we approach finals. I'm trying to be on top of things now, in week 9, so that I'll be better off finals week.

Hmm . . .since I last wrote. I saw Hitch - great movie. It was really on the ball. And we all know that we were laughing because the stuff said in the movie is true. The writers did a really good job and there were some classic lines. The acting was really good too. Will Smith looked FINE and CLASSY, which is missing in today's society. And that guy from King of Queens played the pathetic-can't-get-a-girl guy and did very well. That will be a movie to add to the collection. Along with Brown Sugar for anyone who's looking to buy me a dvd.

What else? Oh, I watched From Kelly to Justin on In Demand. And guys I have to tell you, it was really cute. Now the acting wasn't superb (give them a break, they are not actors) but it was different than todays movies. Instead of playing music in the background the characters would break out into ballads. I thought it was a cute clean cheesy romantic film.

Hmm what else do I have to write about? I'm reading Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, which is surprisingly an easy read. Once you hear the word Hemingway you think classic, and they are usually written in a different type of language. But it's not that hard to follow; although I have been missing the subtleties.

Ok that's it for now. I won't promise any more entries for a while because of finals, but we'll see. Adieu.

Risks

I was just reading Jasmin's Xanga and she talked about risks: calculate, educated risks. It's an interesting topic. A lot of times we go through life taking the safe road, afraid of the unknown. But how do you feel about taking risks? Frankly, I am scared to death of jumping into the lake without knowing what depth it is. But that would be a stupid risk. Examples of educated, calculated risks: Telling someone how you feel when they may not say the same, turning down a job offer in hopes of a better job, turning down money for a job that doesn't make you happy, standing up to your boss when he or she is in the wrong, arguing a grade with a teacher who you need to write a recommendation for you, speaking up for yourself when you are the only one who feels that way, and so on. But the thing is - as scared as we may be, as scared as I get, in taking these risks - it feels good when all is said and done. When I was at camp we had to climb a 40ft tree and walk across a wire to the other tree and climb back down. I am afraid of heights. It was one of the scariest things I had ever done, but I did it and I was so proud of myself. It was like an episode of fear factor. You were in control on deciding if you would let your fear stop you from even trying. At a different camp, before I learned to swim, they made us jump into water that was 12 ft deep. I had a life jacket on but I was sweating bullets. I prayed and jumped in. I did not like it - but you know what I'm kinda glad I did it. Then there are the funny risks (Ra knows about this one). I didn't want to go on a rollercoaster - it did loops, went backwards, and was basically scary. But said person dragged me along because they really wanted to ride it and they didn't want to ride alone. I started crying before the thing even took off and then, as I wiped my tears, a smile appeared on my face and I said "Wow, that was fun." The main thing is just having the guts to try.

See the thing with a risk is - you don't have to do it. There is always that space where you can hesitate, pause some more, and if you are really frightened, back out. But once you back out you are left wondering what would have happened. That is what makes it a risk. And you will never know the outcome of the unchosen choice. That is the scary part.

So I say - live a little, take some chances. But please be safe and don't do anything stupid.

My quote of the day: "Sometimes we think we are on the path alone. But remember that there are many parallel roads that lead to the same place. So just look over your shoulder - you're not alone after all."

Crystal Ball 2005

Saturday January 29, 2005 I attended the Crystal Ball. I really didn' t know what to expect since I had never went before but you know what? I wanted to experience typical events at my University my senior year. I'm really going to miss hanging out with everyone. Anyway, I went and I saw a ton of people that I knew there. I think there were a good three tablesworth of our crew :) Thanks to Maria and Tanya for making it out also. The DJ wasn't the greatest in the world but we made due. I'll never forget Miguel and his polka dance. Or doing thriller atop of the stairs. Or our seventies staying alive line. Haha. So I'm happy. I think the Homecoming Queen was Chrissy and King John. I will be happy for the rest of the week. It was so much fun. I love getting dressed up and I like seeing our guys dressed up. You guys really did look nice!! and all the ladies too.

It was cool too seeing people outside of class. We hardly get to talk anymore so I did get to catch up and meet some new faces ;). They stole my martini souvenoir but Martin managed to get me one (brownie points). I did get a deck of cards though. So as you can tell I really got the most out of this. By the end of the dance my feet were killing me (Shoes - $## Pain of wearing shoes to make you look cute - priceless).

Sigh . . so a great finish to the week. And on to new beginnings.

Also, the pep rally on Friday was great. It's great to finally see people with school spirit. I like my school. I mean if you are going to be here for 4-5 years like it or make the best out of it. And the late skate was fun. One of our crew did fall FLAT ON HIS FACE and for this I will constantly laugh at you (You know who you are).

Ahh . . .and back to work. Just had to clear my mind so that I can continue to study. :)

Silver Lining

What kind of writer would I be if things weren't interesting for you to read? So I may overdramatize the story to add to my poetic license. But c'mon, you know you like it.

So today's event:
I had some errands to run that required me to drive around different parts of the city. I had an appointment at 11am that started the ball rolling. So I drive out of my house and look at the gas tank, which I neglected to fill up the last time I drove it. So it's literally on E and I'm thinking ehh I can get by. But seeing that it was starting to snow (there was a good 2 inches already on the ground) and I knew I'd be using more gas by going slower and braking a lot, I decided to fill my tank. It's about 10:50am. So I pump the gas, my hands are freezing - I need new gloves by the way - and I pay an outrageous >$2/gallon and get my gas. I am merrily on my way and I don't get to my appointment until about 11:20. I told the guy I got slowed down by the snow, which is true; but it also doesn't help that I left the gas station at approx 10:55am. So errand #1 is taken care of. Skipping along to errand #3 I leave the store and go back to my car. When I get home and am warmly inside the house, I realize I must have left my phone in my car. I go out into the cold to check my car and I don't see it - I do find my Musiq cd which I had been searching for. I called it and called it and listened and listened but I couldn't find it anywhere. Finally I go back to the store from errand #3 and they haven't seen it. I tried retracing my steps but of course there is like an extra blanket of snow. And so denial turns into "wow, i really lost my phone." It just sucks because I had some really cool pictures in there and some textmessages that I wanted to look at again before deleting, and random other stuff. So now I have to get a new phone (argg). We'll see how much that costs. BUT, yes there is a but; and yes the title does have something to do with the story. But there is a silver lining because I can focus more now that I can't chat away (I don't have the phone numbers of anyone in my phone book with me, so I really couldn't call everyone even if I wanted to) and people who really want to see me will have the face to face interaction that is lacking so much in today's society because of the technological advances of communicational equipment. Isn't that a mouthful. So, as you can see, I lost my phone, but not my sense of humor. Hopefully thephone issue will be fixed.

Addicted to AIM

This is going to sound funny but I really am beginning to think that I'm addicted to AIM. I am constantly on it and we all know we check eachother's away messages. It's an excuse to not do work. I had a lot of work to do yesterday but I really didn' t feel like doing it so I kept seeing who was online and who I could talk to. I have to admit, I have some very captivating conversations on AIM but it really has to stop. The first stage is overcoming denial, right. So I think I'm at stage two. So, regretfully I will be on AIM less. And seeing how my cell phone bill is going up and up I will be accepting calls after 9pm unless you have At&T or Cingular. This should give me some more time to focus on my studies and do some heart felt thinking ;)

Ok I'm out for now :)

Sunday Sermon

When I am at school I attend Grace Covenant Church - for college students on either Penn or Drexel's campus (www.gracecovenant.net). Pastor Kim gives really good sermons that are geared toward people our age. I thought I would share the message from Sunday:

The message was about challenging yourself and your Church. Dare to be a Church that. . .
1)Lives it out
2) Maximizes it's potential
3) Dreams God's dream

These also follow for individuals. So how can you live it out? James 1:22-24, 26-27 talks about putting words into action "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like" (James 1:22-24). It is easy to talk to the talk but the challenge is to walk to the talk. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Try to be a person who follows through on what they say or what they mean to do. "It's not about proving yourself, but love must show in action" (Kim).

To maximize one's potential you really have to participate. The Church can not run on the work of a few people. It's nice to show up to events but planning is the hardest part. Help out so that those things can happen again. And Pray. Pray is sometimes downplayed but it does make a difference. You don't need to know how to do everything yourself. If you are stuck pray. Ask God for help.

And finally in order to dream God's dream there a couple of things that you must do. For one, don't take yourself so seriously. It's so hard to go through life not knowing what is going to happen next, but when you plan your life out to a tee and something does not go according to plans that does not mean that you are a failure. The worlds does not revolve around you. Like a flower, God will blossom you when the time is right. When frustrated just remember to breathe. And "if you have breath, you have breath to live for God" (Kim). Secondly, surrender to God. Let Him handle things. Many times we want to dictate everything that we do in life, and then we wonder why we fall short. Try to listen and do what He wants you to do. Thirdly, wait and pray. Patience is the hardest thing in the world. Right now we are all impatient wondering what we will do after we graduate, wondering if we'll ever find that right person to spend the rest of our life with, wondering if we can make it out in the real world. So the fourth thing is to just live each day. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34). Hug someone.

I think that it was a really good message and it certainly speaks to me. I hope that some of you read this and it makes you think. Please comment and let me know. And if you enjoyed reading this I'll try to keep it up. I am on this soul-searching journey just like the rest of you. I believe that we don't necessarily have to learn from our own mistakes, but we can learn from other mistakes. We are on this journey together. Let's help eachother out.

God is Awesome!

I really have to give praise to God. There was just so much that happened in the past week. So many things that could have gone wrong, but didn't. And it's no coincidence. I don't believe that things just happen. I think that we are given free will to do whatever we want and we are sometimes guided by signs to know what we are supposed to do. Like, have you ever had the sense that someone was following you so you decided to go a different way or slow down and let them pass? Or did you bite your tongue and not say something that you really wanted to say because something just told you to hold it in, and it was really good that you did? Or have you even been involved in a car accident and had you been going 10mph faster you would have been hurt, or if you had not been wearing your seat belt, things would be disastrous? I'm just making up situations but I really feel that God has and always had my back in this journey called life. And it makes me feel good to know that I may be physically alone but I am never alone and I need not be afraid.

Some of you know specifically what I am referring to. I don't want to get into detail so I am being vague. But just remember, for that time when it was a close call and there is no way that anyone could have been involved in you safety, thank God.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year guys!! I am glad to know that some of you are reading my blogger. But let me know. Leave me a comment. So . . . on to new beginnings, eh? I'm excited about the year 2005. I have always been an indecisive person and now comes the oppurtunity where there will be so many forks in the road and we have to choose. We have to make the decisions that will affect the rest of our lives. And some of these roads are one way so once you turn down them there's no turning back. But I'm glad to be moving on. And today was the first day of class. I was kinda excited because I'm actually taking some fun classes and I'm in classes with mostly strangers so I'll get to hear some other people's point of views. Ok well that's all for now. :)