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Love, Jill

Blissfully Good Mood

Hello friends :)

aren't you surprised to see i have blogged again so soon! i am in a very good mood today so i figured i'd take advantage of it and write to you all. I have a feeling all my blog posts are semi-gloomy with a glimpse of hope at the end. this one is filled with smiles and rainbows all the way through. (on my honor, i will try...)

So today started out boring because i have University 101 on Mondays, and i hate it. Lol they are teaching us to be good little freshman and telling us all the pressing information that we need to know to thrive at WVU. I don't think i have used one bit of that information yet... But anyway, today was our last class! No more getting up earlier than usual on Mondays just to run downstairs and be bored to death for an hour and be late to my biology lecture after. Woot.

My next happy thing was i managed to have time to watch a little Veronica Mars (it's a tv show and my new favorite obsession) and study for my history exam. My exam was at 5:00 and i'm pretty sure i aced it. i knew most of the stuff on there and i definitely got the bonus question right too haha. I walked over to the mountianlair after class to get dinner and i decided to wait out the line and jump on facebook to kill time. Then i got a call from my little sister.. who never calls so i was like what is this about? My dad found a new jeep for me and she called to tell me about it. I was totally surprised, since i'm pretty sure it's the first jeep my dad looked at. My mom told me that they might even drop it off to me next weekend.



I have named it Lucky :)

After dinner i stopped at the little store in the mountainlair. It's called JAC's. i got this lovely thing called monster. and the best part is it's zero calorie. Thank you Jesus for this wonderful invention.





More things that are adding to my fabulous mood: My best friend Melanie is coming to visit me this weekend. I cannot tell you how excited i am. I haven't been able to hang out with her very much (the whole 5 hour drive makes it hard to plan dates and all..). We used to live in the same neighborhood when i was a kid, we became friends around 1997. She's been with me through EVERYTHING. From my first boyfriend to my first semester in college. she's the best :) but we ended up moving to fabulous downtown newark, which i love by the way, but i do miss being down the street from my best friend. Since we moved me and Melanie haven't hung out as much, but our relationship is still as strong as it ever was. It's much harder now though. Knowing that i can't just drive over to her house when i want to makes me miss her so much more. But she's still my cookie lips. Can't wait to stay up all night talking about boys and school and life. gossip :) and to scratch each others backs until we get so tired we have to go to bed. We used to spell stuff out on each others back and at the end we'd try and guess what the other wrote. good times. Melanie & Jill reunion this weekend. i can't wait.







And the last thing is my playlist on youtube. it includes:

Mayday Parade- In my head (Cover)
Lee Dewyze- Sweet Serendipity
Taylor Swift- Dear John
Jason Aldean- Tattoos on This Town
Sparks the Rescue- Need You Now (Cover)
Artist Vs. Poet- Bad Romance (Cover)
Jason Aldean- Heartache That Won't Stop Hurting
Katy Perry- Firework
The Spill Canvas- Self Conclusion

Check them out, you'll like them if you have good taste :)


But the one that has put me in such a good mood would probably be Sweet Serendipity by Lee Dewyze. Take a listen.




Thanks for reading. Hope you're in a good mood too!

To Write Love on Her Arms

To Write Love on Her Arms day is November 12, 2010. I've known about the organization for awhile now and i've always thought it was a good idea.. but today i researched it a little more and found that i really like their vision.

VISION:

The vision is that we actually believe these things…

You were created to love and be loved. You were meant to live life in relationship with other people, to know and be known. You need to know that your story is important and that you're part of a bigger story. You need to know that your life matters.

We live in a difficult world, a broken world. My friend Byron is very smart - he says that life is hard for most people most of the time. We believe that everyone can relate to pain, that all of us live with questions, and all of us get stuck in moments. You need to know that you're not alone in the places you feel stuck.

We all wake to the human condition. We wake to mystery and beauty but also to tragedy and loss. Millions of people live with problems of pain. Millions of homes are filled with questions – moments and seasons and cycles that come as thieves and aim to stay. We know that pain is very real. It is our privilege to suggest that hope is real, and that help is real.

You need to know that rescue is possible, that freedom is possible, that God is still in the business of redemption. We're seeing it happen. We're seeing lives change as people get the help they need. People sitting across from a counselor for the first time. People stepping into treatment. In desperate moments, people calling a suicide hotline. We know that the first step to recovery is the hardest to take. We want to say here that it's worth it, that your life is worth fighting for, that it's possible to change.

Beyond treatment, we believe that community is essential, that people need other people, that we were never meant to do life alone.

The vision is that community and hope and help would replace secrets and silence.

The vision is people putting down guns and blades and bottles.

The vision is that we can reduce the suicide rate in America and around the world.

The vision is that we would learn what it means to love our friends, and that we would love ourselves enough to get the help we need.

The vision is better endings. The vision is the restoration of broken families and broken relationships. The vision is people finding life, finding freedom, finding love. The vision is graduation, a Super Bowl, a wedding, a child, a sunrise. The vision is people becoming incredible parents, people breaking cycles, making change.

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

The vision is the possibility that we're more loved than we'll ever know.

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.

Please visit the TWLOHA website and see for yourself how awesome it is. You can learn more about what they are doing and how it all started. I hope you will spread the word and help find a way to make love the movement.

um...

Hello to my three followers :)

i feel like i should blog but i don't have very much to say.. so i will tell just tell you about what's been going on recently.

I'm thinking about transferring to either Towson or University of Delaware. Anyone want to choose for me?

I got Taylor Swift's new cd. It's wonderful and you should all go get it.
my favorite song so far is Dear John. Unfortunately i can relate haha.




I have two weeks and two days until thanksgiving break, so i'm trying to be optimistic and just take it a day at a time and not get too stressed out.

I haven't found a church i like as much as Ogletown, but God has reminded me that even if i'm not exactly where i want to be, he can speak to me. I realized this when the pastor at Calvary started talking about gay marriage and how it's darkest before the dawn because me and my mom had been talking about that earlier and when he mentioned it we just gave each other this look like "seriously?"


lately i've been listening to the sermons of this awesome speaker, Andy Stanley. He's great. He's funny and practical and i can always relate to his messages. Here's a website for his current series: Taking Responsibility For Your Life. and he also has his own youtube channel that has all his series, which are pretty amazing too. i just finished the last series, your move.


i'm eating goldfish at the moment. they are delicious :)




did you know they have goldfish smores? (p.s- mom i want some haha)




good talking to you. i'm off to watch criminal minds!!

my edumacation

Hello all three of you! You might not know that today is national coming out day. yaaay rainbows!



Now since the only people following this blog go to my church, i'm certain you are confused/offended/wondering where i'm going to go with this, so i'll get to it.

It really angers me when people are judgmental. People say Christians are judgmental because we are monotheistic, we disagree with any other god people can come up with. We believe that we are created by God and therefore we obey His laws and reject sin. I think its judgmental to say that Christians hate gay people and that we don't accept them and we're homophobic. well i'm obviously not. i'd say i fear homophobics ;) But what i'm getting at here is that people assume we don't like gay people, and i for one would like to change that. I was thinking about this earlier as people holding up rainbow signs yelled in their megaphones that you should come out to the world and be proud. I don't agree with homosexuality and i certainly don't understand it. I don't think any straight person, especially a christian, can. I don't understand the attraction and i don't understand when people say they were created that way, they didn't choose to be gay. In some ways, i see their point. no one wants to be made fun of for being different, and it must be hard to be homosexual in our time, even if it more widely accepted then it ever was. But i can't say that its true that people are created gay. If people were created gay, then homosexuality wouldn't be called an abomination in the Bible. Its very hard being a christian at a very unchristian school. I strive to show God's love to people through my own love for them, and its very hard drawling a line between the sin and a sinner. Don't get me wrong, i do believe that homosexuality is a sin, and therefore it is hard for me to see a gay person and know how to act. How do i show them i love them and still not condone their behavior? How do i make them believe that i am not judging them, that i love them and still say what their doing is wrong. its very hard. stupid sin makes everything hard. Earlier i decided that i support people's rights to be gay and that my opinion of people will not be determined by their sexual orientation, but that the Bible says it is wrong and that will never change. I think that people have the right to be gay and that the government can't tell them that they can't get married and have children. I think that is not something the government should control. who are they to keep people from marrying? from adopting children? The Bible is not an excuse to make a law, we cannot say that a gay couple can't get married because God designed marriage for a woman and man. I believe its a sin. I believe it's wrong, but how can i keep someone from sinning? I realize this logic is flawed if you take it too literally; murder is a sin and it's illegal. There is more at stake with murder, obviously. A gay couple getting married does no harm to anyone, besides themselves if you look at it from a heart prospective. But at the same time, how do you respect and love a person that is continuing to sin? If a pastor was caught in adultery and did not change his ways, how are we supposed to react? Its so annoying that homosexuality has to be treated differently. If they were that pastor, i would not be able to respect them and my opinion of them would certainly change. But i guess that would be because i knew them before their sin. I think it's wrong to write someone off because they are gay. i guess the same goes for an adulterer. But at the same time, you still have to distance yourself, at least a little bit. "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." Psalms 1:1 It's very hard to find that line of standing in the way of sinners, and completely cutting out the World because of their sin. Being in the World but not of it. I still struggle with this issue.. and i don't want you to be offended by what i've said. WVU has not changed my faith. The Bible is the truth and the truth is absolute. That isn't going to change and i will continue to acknowledge it. These are just my thoughts on something i've been struggling with. Its real hard to love people. Especially when they continue on the wrong path. So feel free to tell me what you think, maybe it will help me.

On to issue number two. Today in History class we started in on Christianity. The professor made a disclaimer that this isn't theology class, we're just focusing on the historical side, and "not to get our panties in a bunch". I am a fan of my history prof. Anyway, she talked about Jesus and the history of Christianity, which i thought was really interesting. She made a few remarks about how things can't be proved, or that it's a "faith thing". And one remark about the differences between Christianity and Judaism.. "With Christianity you can eat all the pork you want and you don't have to follow all those laws and make sacrifices, you just have to have faith!" and "With Judaism, you don't have to believe in some nonsense, all you have to do is stay away from pork and circumcise your babies and your in!" I have learned not to take these remarks personally, though i am sometimes offended. She also called Christianity a "mystery cult". But I knew i would encounter this kind of stuff when i applied. It doesn't really bother me too much, it's more of a challenge for me. I'm challenged to show people that God is real and evident in my life. I want to show them His love and supremacy. I have learned that i can disagree with a professor but still learn from them at the same time. They always say that faith doesn't have a place in the classroom. Which is annoying, because Christ is supreme in every aspect of my life, but it also makes sense. It really isn't the time to debate about who Christ really is during my history and biology classes. I'll continue to show people Christ through my actions and maybe soon i'll have a chance to talk to people about it. That's all i have for you, i'm off to go grab some dinner :)

all while waiting for my clothes to dry

Things i now know about college:

1. dorms are small. no room for messes.
2. scarlet kills fish. rip salvador y jorje.
3. i now know how to get from morgantown to newark. without a map or gps. well.. i didnt have one the first time i went home either, but now i don't freak out looking for the exits :)
3. there is a short cut in brooks hall to avoid the stairs at the life sciences building. i love that short cut!
4. the steps up to my dorm aren't that bad. i pick a song and challenge myself to get up to my room by the time it's over haha
5. alarm clocks are dangerous
6. the food at stalnaker isn't that good. but the salad bar is pretty awesome.
7. the steps up to my car are KILLER. i will not be going on any joyrides.
8. walmart is a great thing.
9. classes are boring but i really should go to them.
10. hulu plus is the greatest thing ever
11. i like too many tv shows
12. i really like worshiping with cru
13. never have i ever isnt as terrifying as i thought it would be. lol, thats how shy i am.
14. it doesnt take that long to get to class.
15. i haven't straightened my hair once since i got here. i dont have time for that lol
16. i love cranberry/pomegranate juice. i blame jeff geshay.
17. i now know how to get to walmart, the interstate, and beechurst street. lol three more places then when i first got here.
18. i suck at falling asleep.
19. headphones are very handy.
20. i'm not a fan of putting away clothes. i don't mind doing laundry or folding them, but i always avoid putting them away.
21. there are always parties.
22. city and colour is a great band :)
23. i really need a job. just finished applying for another one before i started this.
24. it takes forever to do laundry. i've been sitting in here for at least an hour and i predict i will be here for awhile still.
25. its hard being four and half hours away from home.
26. mountaineer pride is crazy. i love it!
27. everyone wears blue & gold on fridays :)
28. quiznos tuna melt is delicious.
29. i miss sweet tea.
30. there is a guy folding clothes and talking really loud on his phone behind me. its awkward..

what i learned today.

My mom says i have been neglecting my blog. i guess i have been, but only because i haven't had too much to say.

I just wrote 13 letters to everyone telling them about college and that i miss them and i'll be back soon to visit. So i have no idea what to tell you now, since the people who read this will probably be getting a letter so i don't want to spoil the contents for you, so now i need to think of something else to say...

Here goes.. yesterday Scarlet spent the night in her friends dorm, and i had a semi breakdown because i miss all my friends and family, and i was feeling pretty lonely. i thought about how easy it must be for everyone who is staying at UD or somewhere in state, where they can see their family all the time and make plans with their friends for tomorrow, not for one weekend every two months. I thought about how cool it would be to be familiar with the whole campus and not get lost trying to get home. But then i got up this morning to listen to the church service through this handy dandy website where it streams live, and Pastor Curtis starts talking about Jonah. I know the story of Jonah, he was a prophet and God called him to reach the people of Ninevah, but Jonah didn't want to go and he was swallowed by a whale. Jonah decided to go to Tarshish because he was stubborn and the people of Ninevah were immoral and it would be hard to reach them. Going to Tarshish would just be easier. It hit me then that last night i was acting the same way. I was acting like west virginia was my Ninevah, and Delaware is Tarshish. I was thinking about how much i missed my friends and family, and how other people have it so easy. They didn't have to leave the people they love. Being almost five hours away is so hard. But i do love wvu. i love being at a school where i feel like it's mine. i knew no one coming here, and i liked that. I needed a change from Red Lion. i didnt want everyone to know my name. So God reminded me today that this is where he wants me to be, and that the right way is usually the hard way. i remember Curtis saying something about how we go so far out of the way to displease God. Running away might be easier for now, but i'd be displeasing God and that never ends well. I learned to be content with where i am. I want God to use me here at WVU. I want to lean on him when i'm having a hard time. So that's what i learned today. you're welcome.

Adventures

So I have survived the first week of college! go me! Friday night my roommate had her two friends sleepover in our dorm. i was a little nervous about this, since i am not a very outgoing person and i barely know these people, but it turned out to be a pretty good weekend. We took a walmart run and bought a bunch of board games which we proceeded to play all night long. We also brought home our fish, Salvador :) on the way back from Walmart Sarah had to try to parallel park. that was a fail. haha, we spent forever trying to do it and we were so nervous she would hit the car behind us. she drives a stick and it would always come so close to bumping the other car! We eventually found another spot though. We played our board games, i killed at boxers vs. briefs, which is pretty much another version of apples to apples except the subject is the person who's turn it is. We ordered wings from papa johns and stayed up too late telling stories. The next morning Sara was supposed to head back to her school (wheeling jesuit university anyone?) but Scarlet convinced her to stay another day and go to Pittsburg for shopping and dinner. It's probably about an hour from Wvu so we left around 4ish after scarlet and her mom came back from her birthday lunch. We shopped around for a couple hours, and i ended up getting a new pair of sunglasses, some earrings, and a purse. We grabbed some dinner and were on our way. We got a little lost, so we ended up not getting back until almost midnight. On the way back Scarlet, Cierra, and Sarah told me stories about high school and all the people they hated and the boys the dated. it was fun :). Once we got back me and scarlet crashed, ignoring the mess of blankets and games on the floor. I slept in and then got up and cleaned up a bunch. Then i decided to write to you all. I don't have any plans for today, besides a psychology quiz and maybe some laundry. it's nice not to have anything to do for a change. But tomorrow is back to classes and homework, blech. One more day closer to coming home next weekend though!

first day of classes!

So yesterday was the start of classes, and i think it went pretty well. I had Spanish, Biology, Sociology, and Psychology. Today is just math so i get to sleep in :) Tomorrow will be pretty hectic but hopefully fun. I don't have too much homework, some review work for Spanish and some reading for the rest of my classes. I'm pretty excited about Sociology. seems like it's gonna be a big ball of controversy. haha, the teacher is very upfront and he's hilarious. It should be interesting. I ended up being late to his class though, i had to hoof it up these ridiculous stairs,(even more ridiculous then the stairs up to my dorm) and i had to pee... both of which could not be done in the ten minutes i had to get to sociology. My bladder won that battle. Last night was also Fallfest, and the university has big names come in and preform for the students after the first day of classes. This year they had Kris Allen, VV Brown, Maroon 5, and Ludacris. My dorm is on this huge hill, hence the killer stairs, and me and scarlet just opened our windows and we could see and hear the concert. We caught the end of Kris Allen and all of Maroon 5. I'm not a big Ludacris fan but i did listen to the beginning of his set until i fell asleep. fun day:)

goodbye delaware, hello west virginia.

hello all! (well, probably just my mom..) It’s my first post from college! here goes.


Move in was pretty stressful, loads of traffic and i couldnt find the parking garage. but i eventually found it cuz i’m a beast like that, and then i walked over to my dorm and my parents had already moved my stuff in, which was super nice. even though i had to walk kinda far, it was awesome not having to lug much stuff upstairs. Once we rearranged everything in the room (which took waaay too long) me and my family made a target run and “unexpectedly” stopped at chilies. good stuff! we picked up a couple things we hadn’t thought of, tho i’m sure i’ll think of more soon. haha, i probably shouldn’t think about it actually, it’ll start stressing me out. i have to remember i have two more days before class and i have time to figure everything out. tomorrow Scarlet and I are going to take a stroll around campus so we can see where all our classes are. that will be helpful. its nice having an instant friend. I met our suitemates, or at least one of them. Her name is Az or something like that, i’m not sure how to spell it. She’s an upperclassmen, much like the rest of Stalnaker. Our floor meeting went well, we did the whole tell two lies and one truth and we’ll all guess which one is the truth. i said i played boys lacrosse, i was an exchange student in spain, and i tore my acl. There was a picnic for dinner tonight, i got to meet some of Scarlet (my roommate)’s friends, Cierra and her boyfriend. I’m having fun so far, no homesickness yet. i think it’ll hit tomorrow when i have a whole day to myself. though i think there is a hall meeting at 2:10 and then we are meeting some other people who organize stuff for our hall. i can’t for the life of me remember what they are called… oh well. I FINALLY got a key for my room, yipee, it’s official. I’ll upload pictures soon, the wifi on my phone isn’t working well so i can’t get the pictures off quite yet. Well i should wrap this up, Scarlet and all her people should be over here any minute. Once i start classes i’ll write again. hopefully it all goes well!


p.s. Sorry for all the posts today. i'm copying them from my other blog, http://jillbrittany.tumblr.com/ My other blog is quite complicated so for those of you who wanted to comment, (my mom) here you go.

welcome to the next four years of my life..

Here are a few pictures of campus. The first one is a crime scene house, with a random girl who walked by as i was snapping the picture. The second is my dorm, Stalnaker Hall. The next picture is Oglebay Hall where most of the science classes are, and the next two are me and Scarlet's dorm room. enjoy!

college anxieties

So, as of tomorrow, there are forty-eight days until i leave for college. AH. that seems so close, yet completely far away. it doesn’t seem real that in less two months i will be in the 304. haha. in so many ways i am ready. i’m ready to be independent, i want to be able to make my own decisions without any pressure one way or another, or any guilt when the decision i want to make isn’t the choice others want me to make. I want to be able to not have to explain my decisions to others. because sometimes there is no explanation.  But i’m also the most indecisive person ever. i’m nervous that i won’t have my parents or my friends right by me to tell me what they think, or give me advice on the best thing to do. i know that i can always call, but that would just feel like cheating. my life is my life, i need to be the one to make the decisions. i’m so excited to have my own place, even if it really isn’t just mine. I can decorate it how i want, put whatever or whoever i want in it, clean it or leave things everywhere because its mine. I’m nervous that my independence will make it hard to keep the relationships i already have strong, and that i won’t be able to find new friends at wvu. i’m sad that i wont be able to just drive over to emily’s whenever im freaking out… or that i won’t really know where anything is…or that i won’t have nice family dinners where i can talk about my day or random movie nights with my dad. i’m really gonna miss my church. sitting next to kyle and emily and shane, and singing along to adam or chris… it’s gonna be hard to get used to something else. it’s gonna suck not having my cats curled up at my feet and keeping me warm. or my dog following me around during thunderstorms. i know that i’m not losing all of these things, that i will still be able to come home to all of it… but thats just it. i won’t be home. but i’m psyched to get started in all this forensic stuff. it’ll be awesome to finally move forward. to accomplish something to move closer to the end goal. it’ll be awesome meeting new people, maybe even my future husband :) it’s gonna be great, i know that. it’s just gonna be tough leaving everything behind. i know i won’t be disappointed with what i get in return, but i am not ready to lose all that i have gained so far. and hopefully, i wont have to. i just need to find a way to make west virginia home. ugh. dilemmas. for now i will focus on getting all the fun stuff, like bed spreads and pillows and rugs. I’ll focus on making this summer the best that i can. i’m gonna spend it with the people i love and i’m gonna make some awesome memories. somehow i will figure out the rest. 

orientation & such..

So orientation has already happened, but i guess i should fill you in since this is about college happenings...
My mom wasn't feeling well, but she seemed ok enough to come, so both my parents got to come along with me. We drove the four hours to WVU, and crashed at our weirdo hotel. i'm not exactly sure why we stay there, since its really old and completely out of the way.. but oh well. We met up with my roommate, Scarlet, whose name sounds like a spy. So my family, and scarlet the spy met for dinner @ bwws. A little awkward since i'm not that outgoing, but it was ok because Scarlet's mom did all the talking. apparently she is an artisan, and she likes making jewelry. The actual orientation went well, besides my math test. i really hate math. I got to register for classes (spanish, art, public speaking, bio, and sociology) and meet some of my advisors. I got my student id, though that was stolen along with my wallet last week. I am now the proud owner of a wvu lanyard and debit card though haha. I really like it at wvu :)i'm excited and completely nervous. there is still so much i need to do between now and august 20th, but i try not to stress out about it. I'm nervous about leaving all the people i love, and my cozy hometown. i'm a little scared that i won't get along with all my roomates friends, and that i won't find a good church. and that i'll get lost too :) But i am excited to be on my own and learning something that will actually help with my career. It'll be fun meeting new people and being free to do whatever i choose. I just hope forensic science isn't too much for me. I've still got time to prepare.... just about 9 weeks left of my summer. hopefully it'll be a summer like no other :)