Thank God for dark chocolate covered macadamia nuts! And Mog.
My sister went to Hawaii for two weeks before this school year started. As she was gone over my birthday, she got me presents from her holiday. For starters, there was an amazing apron is various shades of green (my favourite colour) and black (my favourite shade). Then there were the chocolates. For those times over the last couple of days when I have felt sanity fleeing or exhaustion settling in, popping one of those babies into my mouth seemed to make everything better.
And then there's Mog. Mog is my bright and colourful sea turtle pillow that she gave me to brighten up my room. See, it can get pretty gloomy here on the west coast, especially heading into the winter months. So this pillow is perfectly bright.
Mog is also the perfect cuddle buddy. I crawl onto my hard mattress at night, wrap my arms around him, and he just fits perfectly. We have had lots of cuddle time over the last few days :)
(That would be Mog all nestled there on my bed).
Well, I have arrived at school and today was my first day of class/orientation. So far over the last few days I have managed to almost not make my check-in time (construction made me late and so I arrived fifteen minutes before everything shut down... that would not have been fun), move into my room (the space on my bookcase tells me I could have packed far more books for the year), get someone ticketed (I had just received my parking spot, went to park, and someone was in it so I had to call security and then had the choice of having them ticketed or towed... this didn't make me feel like the greatest person in the world), spend a wonderful afternoon with a very good friend (she came to visit me and promised to take me to Shakespeare in the Park), discover that my room was missing its Ethernet cord so I couldn't access the internet (I'm a little concerned over how dependent I am on the internet), and I also got lost on my way to orientation today (at one point I had to pull over and call a friend so they could google map directions for me).
So it has been eventful :)
Today I went to the dollar store and bought a cheap Ethernet cord, though, so now I feel like I am connected to people again. Which means I don't feel quite so lonely.
Yeah, I have been battling a bit of homesickness/loneliness the last couple of days. I suppose I'm not used to not having the people I care about close to me. Take away my internet and I felt about as secluded as a person could get!
But I am doing better now. And I am truly enjoying being up here. I managed to score a room with a balcony (each townhouse has four housemates but only one of the rooms has a balcony... and I got it!). My camping chair doesn't really fit out there, but I make it work, and today I sat out a read a couple of chapters in a Grisham novel I'm working on. I even managed to get out and go for a short run before work this morning, which definitely helped to relieve a bit of stress.
One of my closest friends told me yesterday how adventurous she thinks I am. I told her I don't really see it. I see my stress, my worry, my loneliness... and I feel like a wimp, not an adventurer. Then she pointed out the fact that I am attending a university that isn't all that close to the majority of my family and that is across the country from my boyfriend. She said that sounded quite adventurous... and even brave.
I definitely don't feel brave. I feel weak. But then I remember that in those times when I am weak, God is able to fully prove His strength. He has already been providing for me in amazing ways, ways I never would have anticipated. He is still molding me and still making me into the woman He dreams of me being. And all of these experiences, from the fun moments with friends to the moments where I have to call security to get someone out of my parking spot to the times where I am lost in a city I don't know, are experiences that build character.
Helen Keller said that "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." While there are definitely times where I long for ease and quiet, I know it is these crazy times that develop my character. And so I shall work to embrace those moments (never thought I would say that).
Because God is using them to mold me.
But for now I am going to curl up with Mog and get a good night's sleep. All this character-building means I need my cuddle buddy :)
This is my story.
My sister went to Hawaii for two weeks before this school year started. As she was gone over my birthday, she got me presents from her holiday. For starters, there was an amazing apron is various shades of green (my favourite colour) and black (my favourite shade). Then there were the chocolates. For those times over the last couple of days when I have felt sanity fleeing or exhaustion settling in, popping one of those babies into my mouth seemed to make everything better.
And then there's Mog. Mog is my bright and colourful sea turtle pillow that she gave me to brighten up my room. See, it can get pretty gloomy here on the west coast, especially heading into the winter months. So this pillow is perfectly bright.
Mog is also the perfect cuddle buddy. I crawl onto my hard mattress at night, wrap my arms around him, and he just fits perfectly. We have had lots of cuddle time over the last few days :)
(That would be Mog all nestled there on my bed).
Well, I have arrived at school and today was my first day of class/orientation. So far over the last few days I have managed to almost not make my check-in time (construction made me late and so I arrived fifteen minutes before everything shut down... that would not have been fun), move into my room (the space on my bookcase tells me I could have packed far more books for the year), get someone ticketed (I had just received my parking spot, went to park, and someone was in it so I had to call security and then had the choice of having them ticketed or towed... this didn't make me feel like the greatest person in the world), spend a wonderful afternoon with a very good friend (she came to visit me and promised to take me to Shakespeare in the Park), discover that my room was missing its Ethernet cord so I couldn't access the internet (I'm a little concerned over how dependent I am on the internet), and I also got lost on my way to orientation today (at one point I had to pull over and call a friend so they could google map directions for me).
So it has been eventful :)
Today I went to the dollar store and bought a cheap Ethernet cord, though, so now I feel like I am connected to people again. Which means I don't feel quite so lonely.
Yeah, I have been battling a bit of homesickness/loneliness the last couple of days. I suppose I'm not used to not having the people I care about close to me. Take away my internet and I felt about as secluded as a person could get!
But I am doing better now. And I am truly enjoying being up here. I managed to score a room with a balcony (each townhouse has four housemates but only one of the rooms has a balcony... and I got it!). My camping chair doesn't really fit out there, but I make it work, and today I sat out a read a couple of chapters in a Grisham novel I'm working on. I even managed to get out and go for a short run before work this morning, which definitely helped to relieve a bit of stress.
One of my closest friends told me yesterday how adventurous she thinks I am. I told her I don't really see it. I see my stress, my worry, my loneliness... and I feel like a wimp, not an adventurer. Then she pointed out the fact that I am attending a university that isn't all that close to the majority of my family and that is across the country from my boyfriend. She said that sounded quite adventurous... and even brave.
I definitely don't feel brave. I feel weak. But then I remember that in those times when I am weak, God is able to fully prove His strength. He has already been providing for me in amazing ways, ways I never would have anticipated. He is still molding me and still making me into the woman He dreams of me being. And all of these experiences, from the fun moments with friends to the moments where I have to call security to get someone out of my parking spot to the times where I am lost in a city I don't know, are experiences that build character.
Helen Keller said that "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." While there are definitely times where I long for ease and quiet, I know it is these crazy times that develop my character. And so I shall work to embrace those moments (never thought I would say that).
Because God is using them to mold me.
But for now I am going to curl up with Mog and get a good night's sleep. All this character-building means I need my cuddle buddy :)
This is my story.
No comments:
Post a Comment