Summer School

Sorry it has been so long since I have been on here! Last fall was C-R-A-Z-Y! My life has slowed down as much as can be expected when I am still in school. :)

This summer I am taking Worldviews and American Literature from the Beginnings through the Civil War. Both classes are extremely interesting. Worldviews can be difficult to understand sometimes, but so far so good! I just finished my rough draft research paper on Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" for my Lit class. I had my ever-faithful editor extraordinaire (aka Ashleigh) read it over and she gave me a wonderfully helpful critique (with hilarious post-it comments). I tend to get a little stressed during school (and by little I mean a lot), but I am trying to work on that. We can only do the best we can do, right? :)

I am on Twitter now if you want to follow me! My page for that is http://www.twitter.com/MaryChr1stmas Check it out! :)

Talk to you again soon!

(BTW- The picture is from a recent vacation I took to Portland, Oregon to see my little nephew Jonathan.) :)

Half way done already...

The first eight weeks of class are half over now! It seems like we just started! Everything is going great though. My Old Testament Survey class is very interesting and I am learning SO much. Not just about history, either. I think I am truly learning who God is and what He has done.

7 weeks from today something major will be going on.... like voting for our next president! Hurry up and get registered to vote today! Of course this means that my job is incredibly busy now, but I don't mind at all. In fact right after the election, my mom and I are going on a vacation together! It is just to Branson, MO, a few hours from where I live, but it will be a nice break!

Another trip I am planning is at the first of January. I will be venturing to Portland, Oregon again to see, for the first time, my new baby nephew! My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first child in late December, so I am going out there for a few days to help out. This is my first time being an Aunt so I am very excited!

I will be praying for all you students out there!

Another year

I am officially starting my second year at Regent... I'm a sophomore! After a long summer off I feel recharged and ready to begin school again. This semester is going to be a busy one, for many different reasons. The first eight weeks I am taking History 101 and Old Testament Survey 103. The second eight weeks will be History 102 and Worldviews 107.

Since my job is with elections, work is also going to be very busy this fall with the looming Presidential election just months away. That reminds me: Make sure you are registered to vote and go to the polls on election day! In order for a democracy to work, all citizens need to get out and voice their opinion on election day. If you are out of town on election day don't forget to vote absentee in advance! Ok, that was my public service announcement for this post. :)

I discovered the most adorable movie in the past few weeks. Penelope is a classic fairy-tale film that displays the importance of loving yourself just the way you are. Girls will love this movie! I thought the costumes and scenery were fantastic, and the acting was definitely top-notch. If you are in the mood for a feel good movie, this one is definitely worth the while in my opinion.

I think I'll end this post with my theme scripture for this semester. I think God showed it to me as a reminder of keeping myself anchored in the Word this semester and to keep my goals in perspective.

For everything comes from him, everything exists
by his power and is intended for his glory.

Romans 11:36

Still here

Well.... I suppose I am not a very good blogger. It has been several months since I have last written. Sorry about that! I went on vacation at the end of May and it seems like my summer is just flying by! Before I realize it I will be starting school again! :)

I decided to take the summer off and give my brain a much needed rest. Last semester was great, but very challenging. This summer is giving me the chance to unwind a bit so I am better prepared for this fall when I will be studying 24/7 yet again. :) Studying at Regent is certainly not easy, but I know that the education I am receiving is priceless. I can't wait until August... I am really missing school! :)

The picture is from my vacation to Las Vegas in May. My best friend and I went there for a few days of shopping and we also visited my Aunt that is currently living there. I have never seen anything like that city before. :) Everyone should experience it... at least once!

Here we go again...

After a far too short break... it's back to studying again. :) I am very pleased to report that I survived Biology and it really wasn't as bad as I thought. For the next eight weeks I will be taking Music Appreciation and Intro to Public Speaking. I'm excited about both of these classes and especially about the concert I will be attending due to my music class. I have never went to the symphony before, but just saying that I am going makes me feel very cultured. :) I will definitely let you know how it turns out.

I rented a creepy movie while on break from studying. It was called Awake and it was about a man that goes into heart transplant surgery, but he experiences "anesthetical awareness" and is able to hear and feel what is going on. However he is paralyzed and unable to tell anyone that something is wrong. Definitely a chilling concept for a movie, especially since some people claim this has happened to them in real life. Hayden Christensen (also in the movie Jumper I talked about last time) was amazing in this, he definitely has a God-gifted talent for acting.

I pray you all have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you again soon!

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.
But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 16: 33

Jumper

So last Thursday was the infamous Valentine's Day. I like to refer to it as Single's Awareness Day, however. :) Even though I did not have a Valentine of my own, it was a really great night. My best friend and I decided to go out to the movies where we ended up seeing Jumper. For those of you who do not know, the movie is basically about a guy that can 'transport' himself anywhere he wants to go... instantly. I really enjoyed the movie (science fiction/action/adventure movies are my thing), but even more so the movie got me thinking. It led me to the following question; the question that I have been asking everyone I know for the past few days.

If you could go anywhere (on Earth)... where would you go? Money, health, time, all that is taken care of. You just have to decide where you want to go. Where would it be? I'm a girl who wants to travel and have done very little of it so far in my life. This is a tough hypothetical question for me, because I literally want to go everywhere! God has created such a beautiful world for us to live on, and I want to experience and see every part of it. After thinking about this question for almost a week I think I have decided on... England. :) More specifically the Lake District. I have seen pictures and it looks like an absolutely breathtaking place. I may be going there this summer (for the Oxford C.S. Lewis course) so I may have to think of another place that I would go to. :)

Please comment on this blog and let me know where you would go to. Dream big!

You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and
produce fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you
whatever you ask for, using my name.

- John 15:16 (NLT)

Poetry...

This week, at least in my life, has been all about poetry. I'm taking British Literature from the 19th Century through the 21st Century and so far I am loving every minute of it. Not only is my professor fantastic, but the poems we are reading in class are amazing! I have never been much of a poetry connoisseur, however now I find myself reading poetry that is not assigned reading... and really enjoying it! I think that's because there are so many ways to interpret poetry. Each time you read something it can have a different meaning, or you can view it in a different perspective.

I bought a poetry book at a garage sale a few years ago. It has been collecting dust in my bookcase, but last night I felt the urge to take it out and read a bit. I read In Love for Long by Edwin Muir and have been thinking about it ever since. I know some people don't enjoy reading poetry... either that or they think it is "fake" and "mushy nonsense with no meaning". I think many of these attitudes have to deal with the cynicism of the world view now. These poems I have been studying lately... some were written about 200 years ago. Many of them deal with social injustices, religion, and love. The same issues that we all deal with today. There is a reason people still read them. There is a meaning in them that cannot be overlooked. Here are a few lines from the poem I mentioned above. Strip away the rose colored glasses of the world for a moment... and truly consider what these words mean to you....

This love a moment known
For what I do not know
And in a moment gone
Is like the happy doe
That keeps its perfect laws
Between the tiger's paws
And vindicates its cause.

- In Love for Long
by Edwin Muir