WAY overdue

So, here I go with my first post since forever!

Life is headed full force and I'm moseying along behind. In other words, I need to get on top of things and quit "stopping to smell the roses!" Everything is just so bittersweet, and I can't help but wanting to hold on...

I guess I'll get to what is ACTUALLY happening. I finished my last day at Lebanon Road Elementary School in Mint Hill, NC on April 29th. What an experience. There, I had groups of PRECIOUS kindergarteners, as well as several GROUPS of children with Autism--ranging in severity. I have had more challenges there than I have during my entire graduate school experience. However, what a gift from God those children were! With every new placement, my love and passion for children with disabilities is reaffirmed. I couldn't be more blessed with this career and I can't say it enough! I wish I could explain more about the children, but for confidentiality reasons, I'll have to keep that as a sacred memory.

So, since April 29th, I've just been chilling until graduation, right? HAHA, that's what I thought too! I have been running between Boydton, Farmville, Danville, and Charlotte to straighten things out with my professors, family, etc. There is SO much paperwork, and so little time. I think that I might just have it straightened out though! That means that I can start work as soon as I graduate (next Saturday) and get my license whenever that comes back! Woohoo! The day that I could be PAID for my favorite thing in the world--- Wow, did I say I'm blessed?

I will be working for Rehab-Builders of the Carolinas, which is a home therapy private practice for infants through preschoolers... Early Intervention, which I LOVE. :) I will be able to work as a team with parents to help facilitate language and resolve speech delays in their own homes. I am so excited!

I may also have an opportunity at Pineville Rehabilitation Center in Pineville, NC where I will work with the elderly population on an "as needed" basis. I absolutely cannot wait for that as well.

Graduation is next Saturday, as I mentioned-- So I am sure I will post more on that!

Well, I am a busy girl so I need to run, but later - updates on family, relationships, roommates!

:)

Life is going full speed--

So much, so fast! Hopefully I'll get a chance to catch up soon. :) Life is great, and I have lots to report on. God is good.

there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

The past two weeks have been wonderful. The fall semester hasn't overwhelmed me with schoolwork, and I am getting more and more excited to start my placement at the hospital. My birthday was yesterday, and I have had a wonderful one. I've been able to take a lot of time to myself and relax, do my schoolwork, and enjoy life. I've been shopping a few times, and that's always a good thing. JMU played Virginia Tech last weekend, and WON... not that I expected any less from my alma mater! :) My dad is a new business owner as of last Saturday, which is very exciting. I am so proud of him for taking a risk for such an incredible opportunity. I drove to Matthews, NC to meet my new roommates for my last internship which will be in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County schools. I am SO happy with the girls, Jessica and Sarah. I think we will all quickly become best friends. The house is also amazing! It is so beautiful, and I love everything about it. I love Charlotte, and I cannot wait to have a fresh start there. I finally made some friends here in Boydton also! I certainly hope that we will all hang out more too. So much is changing, and all in a good direction. I hope things stay this way for a while. I am so blessed.

two more semesters!

I absolutely cannot believe I have made it this far. I have two more semesters, and I get my Master's degree! I am so excited to move on with my life. I feel like I have been in school forever, and I am ready for it to start paying off. I have no idea where I will end up, or how things will work out for me at this point- but I am excited to see what's next.

I feel like so much has happened since I wrote last.

DJ can finally talk to me on the phone, and I am so happy to have my friend back. He keeps me sane and helps me to remember not to worry, and that God is in control. I can't believe he is getting married in two months! Wow, I am going to be as happy for him as he is for himself. He deserves to be the happiest man alive.

My sweet aunt Lynda and I are still writing letters back and forth and I enjoy those so much. She is the most beautiful, Godly woman in my life. She has given me so much advice about life, love, friends, and family. I will always keep her letters and look back on them whenever I need to straighten up. :) I am so thankful to be able to have a tangible copy of her advice so I can always keep her words close to my heart.

I do think I said this in my last post, but I'm realizing more and more who in my life matters the most. I am thinking about doing some 'weeding out' per se of the influences in my life that aren't getting me anywhere.

I'm living in Boydton now. Classes start back in a week. I am not completely dreading it. I really miss my girlfriends and it'll be nice to see them again. I have classes in Farmville on Mondays, then I go to South Hill Hospital for my placement. I am very excited to be in another medical setting, aside from nursing homes.


The nursing homes this summer really depressed me. I was thankful that I was able to help the people there and I really enjoyed how rewarding it was to know that they depended on me and trusted me. I just know that if I were to permanently work there, I would need to find a way to work with children also.

Ellie is doing great, I love her to pieces. She eats EVERYTHING. I am worried that she is going to get overweight so I am going to try really hard to keep her exercising as much as I can.

Well, I went to visit my Farmville roommate, Catherine in Portsmouth a couple of weeks ago. It was so much fun. I really liked it there. That area doesn't have the best reputation in Danville, but I felt much safer there than I do at home. I met some really awesome people. Catherine has a huge family, who are all SO sweet, and so many friends. They were all really cool to talk to. I am hoping to go back to visit soon.

I am so ready to move out from my parents house. I feel like living at home really limits my opportunities and my happiness. I love my family so much but they really have a way of making me feel guilty about my decisions to do new or exciting things, or even anything that I feel might help me grow. I feel like they only look at the fact that they hate change and ignore that the change will be good for me and might make me a happier person. For way too long, I have done what I thought would please them and put my dreams aside. It's quite unhealthy, and I want to change. 

I am sure I am leaving things out, but that's all I can think of for now!

hard work pays off-- i hope. :)

So much has been on my mind lately.

I made an A in Research, so hooray for being done with that, and with classes for a little while. I also got a great evaluation from Danville Speech and Hearing, for my midterm. Thank goodness.

Other than that, I have been running around trying to keep up with all the requirements of internships and trying to plan for the future. I am trying to do what's best for me but sometimes it requires more risks than I think my stress levels can take. I know that the most amazing things have happened in my life when I took chances, it's just so scary to me sometimes. I am trying to continue to grow in my faith so that these risks won't be so hard.

I'm also fearful of losing my parents' support when I take chances. They are old fashioned and don't like change, and I struggle with doing whats best for me and trying to make them happy. 

I just want a fresh, new, and different start. Very soon. Oh, speaking of change, I chopped my hair off. I love it.

I officially have the cutest puppy ever, Miss Ellie. I love her to death! I hate that I have to leave her all day, but she makes me so happy when I come home and she gets so excited. She sticks close and is definitely my little partner.

So, as far as friends go-- I am learning a lot about who I can trust and rely on, and weighing out what and who means most to me. When I am going through so many other changes in life, it's hard not to think about friendships and which ones are going to last. Without a doubt, the girls I have met in graduate school will be lifelong friends. The friends I have in Danville, not so much. It is so funny that when you're going through high school, those friendships felt so detrimental and only a few years later, they mean little to us.

DJ came back from boot camp yesterday, speaking of amazing friends. Having him gone has made me really realize just how much our friendship means to me. I am so proud of him and I could never tell him enough. I don't know why God chose to place DJ into my life, but I am certainly a lucky girl to have him as my best and most dearest friend.

I guess that's all I've got for now. :)

the craziness of life continues.

So, my summer placements are fabulous. I am going to three nursing homes and a speech and hearing clinic. I'm getting a ton of experience, but I barely have time to breathe. Luckily, I just finished my 25 page research paper that was a huge pain. Hopefully now I can focus on my clinical work.

I only get one week off this summer, and I've spent most of it at the lake. I needed a break, and I have a feeling this one won't be nearly long enough.

Other than that, life is pretty much the same. I don't want to think about anything other than school and getting it over with.

I don't have too many updates because life has been so busy with school, and it's monotonous. Very soon, I am hoping for more exciting things to happen in life. :)

so much for that...

When I said I didn't want to jinx things with the amazing guy I met.... well, I did. Apparently, I am just not marriage material.

"but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead; I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." Philippians 3:13-14 ♥

love this song.

Ready to Love Again

Lady Antebellum

Seems I was walking in the wrong direction
I barely recognized my own reflection, no
Scared of love, but scared of life alone
Seems I've been playin' on the safe side baby
Building walls around my heart to save me, oh
But it's time for me to let it go.

Yeah, I'm ready to feel now
No longer am I afraid of the fall down
It must be time to move on now
Without the fear of how it might end
I guess I'm ready to love again.

Just when you think that love will never find you
You run away but still it's right behind you, oh
It's just something that we can't control

Yeah, I'm ready to feel now
No longer am I afraid of the fall down
It must be time to move on now
Without the fear of how it might end
I guess I'm ready to love again.

So come and find me
I'll be waiting up for you
I'll be holding out for you tonight

Yeah, I'm ready to feel now
No longer am I afraid of the fall down
It must be time to move on now
Without the fear of how it might end
I guess I'm ready, ready to love again.

my not so typical summer

Lots has happened since I've written last.

First, I have been unbelievably busy with school. Yes, I say that in every post, but it is exponentially worse this semester. We have a 25 page research paper due in a month, a 10 pager in a week, 2 pagers every day, and the list continues. Projects all over the place, tests, and preparing for my external placement are all in there some where. Overwhelmed? Yes, maybe a little.

EVERYONE is getting engaged. Good grief. Happy for them, I am. It's just crazy that it's all happening at once, and it's hard not to compare where I am in my life to theirs.

I think it's also very difficult for my parents to realize that I am an adult now. I guess that's how it is with all parents' first children. I pray that I can find the wisdom to explain that letting go and allowing me to make my own decisions would help our relationship. For now, I am just hoping for peace.

Since I got all of my negativity out, now for the good stuff.

Ellie is precious precious precious. She is my little sidekick and I love having her with me. It's nice to be able to have something to take care of and focus on other than school. I am so thankful to have her. Her first grooming appointment is coming up. They are in for a treat...

Last but not least, I met a wonderful guy. No need for details, I wouldn't want to jynx it.

More later, time for research. Cool, right?

more changes...

before the morning; josh wilson

Do you wonder why you have to,
feel the things that hurt you,
if there's a God who loves you,
where is He now?

Maybe, there are things you can't see
and all those things are happening
to bring a better ending
some day, some how, you'll see, you'll see
 

 Would dare you, would you dare, to believe,
that you still have a reason to sing,
'cause the pain you've been feeling,
can't compare to the joy that's coming

so hold on, you got to wait for the light
press on, just fight the good fight
because the pain you've been feeling,
it's just the dark before the morning

Life is just about as confusing as ever. All I know is that every day, I want to be a better person, and to make a difference. I want to fall in love again. I want to be successful in school and in my career. Simple as that. Why must there be so many complications? 

So, this weekend, I went to Sarah's graduation. I am so proud of her. I know that she has done so much in her four years at JMU, and has made the most of every second. I will forever regret not doing the same while I was there. JMU has got to be one of my most favorite places, and it will always have a huge part of my heart. 

 In a week, my best friend DJ Carter is leaving for boot camp. DJ and I have been great friends since high school, but have recently gotten much closer. He is probably one of the most respectable and genuine Christian men I have ever known. He knows me so well and always knows exactly what to say to help me through every obstacle I face. Even though the trouble I get myself into can be quite ridiculous, he always treats me with so much respect and shows me different ways of looking at each situation. He will only be gone for four months, but it just seems like forever. Many friends have let me down in the past, and DJ is one that I know never will. I am going to miss him so much.