Birthday Time!

When I was young I remember being fascinated by the thought that my sister Lydia had a birthday the day before me, but that there was supposedly a two year gap between the time of our births.  I never understood how that could be. 

 

It's hard to believe that now, Lydia is 24 today and I will be 22.  It seems like not long ago, I was 13 and wishing I could be older!  

 

So this post is dedicated to Lydia, my twin who was born 2 years before me.  :)

 

I wish I could be in Pennsylvania for our birthdays, but I'm excited that there are only 39 days left until I'm back in Pennsylvania!

Happy birthday Lydia!!!



Hard Times...

    Who enjoys a challenge that doesn't simply work out...but has to be WORKED out?  Nobody.  at least, not me.  In my piano lesson on Tuesday, my teacher could tell that I have been having a rough week.  He asked me what I was feeling overwhelmed about.  I told him that the figured bass assignment and scale sets (which I CHOSE for myself) were too hard.  I expressed how I think I am unable to accomplish all of it within the next couple of weeks.  I explained that I thought I went in over my head and chose a subject that was too much, too difficult for me to do.  He looked at me and said "Virginia, hand me your Bible.  I want to show you something".
    He took me to Genesis 1 where the Bible says that God created Light and the evening and the morning were the first day.  He said "We usually say "Morning and Evening" but the Bible says Evening and Morning."  My teacher then  went on to explain to me that he believes that a Bible-application could be drawn from the passage.  He explained that the application we can make is that evening (dark) comes BEFORE the morning (light).  Dark symbolizes the dark and down periods in our life, while the light symbolizes when everything is going just as we would have it to go. 
     My piano teacher pointed out that he believes in every area of our life and particularly in our learning development, we must go through that time when we feel lost or we feel as if we are treading water and not getting anywhere.  For me, this is a period of dark.  I feel as if I cannot accomplish everything I am supposed to accomplish and I am stressing over it.  He pointed out to me that he went through the exact same time in his life when he was young and in college.
It isn't just me.  Often, when I get bogged down or am going through a 'dark' period, I feel as if I am the only one going through it.  This is a sign of the pity-party syndrome.  I need to grow up at this point and realize that I am NOT the only one and in fact, there are many others going through the exact thing.
    I thank God that I am at an institution where my teachers can encourage me by using the Bible, not common sense...I'm glad that I can walk away from my piano lessons not only encouraged and ready to tackle the week, but also, meditating on God's Word.

Catching up

My deepest apologies for not posting anything recently!  Life has been...hectic to say the least.  I'm working nearly 25 hours a week now and it seems like projects and classes are getting tough to keep up with!  Midterms were the week before last week, then last week I had four big projects due.  This week I am working every day...things like that.  

The best part is that I was able to work my hours, and still finish everything that needed done. 

 

This is just an idea of how my schedule looks.   

 

 

 

Thank goodness Saturdays I don't have to work til the afternoon so I have all morning usually to do stuff in the room.  The other week my roommates and I re-arranged our room.  It was fun and refreshing. 

 

I had to take this picture of Sierra up in the overhead storage spaces.  She's goofy :)

 

One day 2 weeks ago, I had off work!  So my roommates and I went shopping for a few Christmas things!  We stocked up on Christmas lights, and now my roommates are dying to decorate!  The Grinch in me came out and I am insisting in waiting for a little longer, so that we don't get "tired" of the jolliness of Christmas.  I may end of giving in to their pressure and we might decorate next week.  Or perhaps right between my and Sierra's birthdays.  As a celebration. :)

 

So that's what has been going on in the past three-ish weeks.  I will try try TRY to keep up more with this blog and posting on it! 

SO until next month- I mean, next time I have a chance to post....;) 



The People in the Blue Shirts

For the past month, we have heard "So, what's with the blue shirts?" in our community.  I know I mentioned it briefly in my last post about LoveWorksav.  On Wednesday the college was able to take a day out of classes and go to different areas of our community and show that Love works! This Sunday is our LoveWorks Sunday, so we are expecting a lot of visitors!

 

My dorm went to an open lot and cleaned it, picking up trash and taking it all to the dump. 

 

Wednesday was the first rainy, cold day of the season too!  But it was really fun to be a part of!

 

 

My roommates and I took a picture before we left our room. 

 

I'm excited about tomorrow and to see how much of an impact something so small as picking up trash could have made on people in Lancaster.



Life in General

It has been far, far too long since the last time I posted on my blog.  Where do I begin?  My camera has malfunctions once again, so this post will be picture-less.  I think it's time for another cheap, eBay camera.  Or maybe this time I should just invest in a decent camera that will last me more than 5 months...
Anyway, I digress.  My schooling has been going great.  My History of Civilization class keeps me on my toes and always studying/reading.  My Cultural Anthropology and Comparative Religions classes seem to overlap in many ways, so I'm feeling fairly comfortable with them.  There is always the thought that I have to give an oral presentation though, so to me, the public speaking might be a drawback. 
This morning I got up really early in order to practice for my keyboard harmony class.  I have a test today over 15 short pieces...no big deal, right?  Well, they're figured bass pieces.  I'm just glad I've had two semesters to practice my figured bass. 
Here at the church, we are participating in a new program called LoveWorks.  Groups of church members have volunteered to go around in the community doing kind gestures, showing the community that Christ's love truly does work!  I think this is a great tool!  The focus of course, is inviting the community to our LoveWorks Sunday this weekend.  But in the process, we're showing the area that there is still love in this world and it's the Love of God. 
We've already heard so many great testimonies about it, and now it's the college students time to participate.  Tomorrow classes are cancelled and we will be going out dorm by dorm doing things for the community.  I'm excited about it, as it's my first time doing anything like it!  I'll be sure to take pictures (if my camera will work). 

Well, it is nearly time for classes to start, so I better go.  Have a great day!

Roommates 2013

I have some awesome roommates this year!  We took our room pictures on Sunday morning and attempted to match.  :) 

 

 

 

Some of them turned out really good :) 

 

Well, today is the third day of classes! So far, my classes have gone really well!  My first hour class is history of civilization...I'm pretty excited about it because I love history. 

Other than classes and work, I've been practicing piano a LOT lately.  Yesterday I put in 4 hours and honestly, I wasn't trying to, I simply lost track of time.  Usually when I practice for over 2 hours, my shoulders cramp up and I can hear the fatigue IN my playing...but yesterday and the day before, I didn't notice anything. 

So I'm excited to think that my muscles are adjusting to playing piano a lot again.  I had missed it over the summer (since I really didn't have much time to practice).

 

Well, that is all the "news" I have for now...until later!

Guess Who?

Guess who is a SENIOR??????

 

It's hard to believe just how much time has passed since I left for my freshman year of school! 

 

 

I tried to get a re-do of the pictures taken with my parents...to the left is the picture we took before I left for my freshman year in 2010, to the right, my senior year.

 

On the bottom, I have a picture taken with Mark and Lydia in 2010 when I left for my freshman year...on the right a picture of me and Mark and Lydia's SON, Hudson.  :) 

 

 

 

 

So I'm at school now, and I've started working already.  Classes start tomorrow.  This week has been a week of orientation and registration.  I'm super excited for classes to start though! 

Well, I will post later about my roommates with some pictures we've taken. :)