This Was A Long Time Coming...

So as you can see I only made one post and then didn't blog again for months. I really hope to change that.
Freshman year is over and I can hardly believe it! It went well in case your wondering, I continued to have lots of fun and made even more wonderful friends. I came to love Evensong and it was the start of every week (Sunday night worship). The year tested my beliefs and I came out stronger than before. I know what I believe. I know that Christ is who makes me who I am. I switched from intercultural studies to Art of Ministry and Bible but I still see myself as going into missions, just a slightly different path. So here is a totally late and undetailed replay of freshman year-

Lanie and I at some sporting event in the fall

Dorm Life- Was great, hard, absolutely the funnest thing. My roommate was Lanie and we continued to have fun together and she is my best friend at CU. The biggest struggle of living in the dorm for me was keeping my side of the room tidy. Mounds of clothes and books and shoes were my companions it would seem during the year. My suitemates Annelyse and Vanessa were also fantastic and some of my other best friends at CU. We had many fun "suite-y dates" to spend quality time together and check in and have fun. Dorm life included a girls powder puff football game with my dorm against Pickett, a dancing competition, section outings, a bunch of open dorms (certain hours for guys and girls to go into each others dorms), and random meetings.
Classes- Classes were lot's of fun and I enjoyed the work. My favorite classes were Bib Herm, New Testament, and Intercultural Mandate. For Intercultural Mandate we took a field trip to Canada and it was my first time out of the country. So much fun! We got to volunteer at a missions convention, learn about homelessness, Toronto ministries, and I got to know some of my classmates even better. I loved that trip more than those people could possibly know. The profs are awesome and so helpful. In college you do a ton of writing for every class. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. I also learned shoot for the A but if your swamped pick a class you won't mind getting a B in and do the work for that. It's the only way to maintain some sense of sanity.
Friends- I made lots. I learned to be a little less shy this year. It was rough sometimes being far away from home and feeling like I didn't really fit in. It was all so great though in the end. I had fun times going bowling, shopping, out to meijer, IHOP really late, to the beach, and one of the people in my terra firma group invited a few people over to his parents house a couple times and that was fun.
When it comes down to relationships...ya I am going there. It's something people think about. And who couldn't with all the rush people had at the beginning of the year to find someone to date. Nope, I wasn't one of them. However some of my best friends did end up dating this year and it's been so much fun to watch them and see the happiness and fun they have together. You go into freshman year telling yourself your not there to do anything but learn and grow in faith. I went in with this mindset but inevitably you notice people who seem to swim into your view. I met some great guys and while I didn't date anyone I know CU has some really big sweethearts. It can be hard not to kinda like a guy when there are so many sweet, kind, smart, godly men who wouldn't notice. The best thing I learned though is that being friends can still be soooo rewarding.
Looking Back- Well as positive and wonderful as the year clearly was it was also filled with trials and even some temptations. There were times when I wanted nothing more than to sit down and have a good cry I felt so lonely, but someone would always end up coming along and brightening my day.
Looking Ahead - In September I will be going back and starting my Sophomore year. I hope I continue to learn, make friends, make discoveries, and to grow more passionate each day about knowing God. Who knows what next year will hold? But I am thinking whatever it is, God will work it all out for the good. I will try and be more frequent with my posts. For this summer I am hoping to take the Amtrak to MI, have my friend from MI come visit me here, volunteer with my churches youth group, and spend time with friends.