Life's Little Miracles

.Bad Days.
We all have them. Well, today was definitely the worst one I've had in a while.
Let's just say that after a less-than impressive linguistics test, I had what one would call a "mental breakdown" in front of my linguistics professor. Not only was I humiliated, but I was just flat out mad at myself. I simply wanted to talk to him about my test when, all of a sudden, I couldn't stop crying! so so so humiliated. Poor Dr. Brent didn't know what to do, he just kind of sat there and looked at me then kindly told me to come by his office Friday to talk about it. Wow, way to go, Emma. sheesh.
THEN to add insult to injury, I got hit by a sudden wave of homesickness. It seems like just all of a sudden I wanted to pack up my car and just go home. (Which, I am this weekend. Hmm...maybe I'm just antsy.) I just called my poor mother and cried. But wait, there's a light at the end of this tunnel!
The one thing that absolutely amazes me is how once I stop, take a breath, and look around me, I realize that my life is completely full of little tiny miracles. I like to call these miracles my friends. Completely discouraged, I walk into Belk lobby only to find some of the sweetest girls in the world sitting and talking and immediately find myself feeling better. A little vent session and a few tears later, I was completely back to myself. Yeah, still a little homesick and partially upset, but I'm back. And it's all thanks to my little miracles that God blesses me with on a daily basis. I definitely had an epiphany of how wonderful everything around me is. I've found God in so many places and people lately that it's so miraculous; a phonecall from my boyfriend, the ladies of Belk and Clinton, my sorority sisters, the smiling face of the lunch ladies in GDH, and a pack of peanut butter m&ms shared with friends. It all sounds silly, but I can't help but to stop and just thank God for all of these little blessings that are constantly surrounding me.

Psalm 3: 3-4
"But You, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts my head high. I cried out to the Lord and he answered me from his holy mountain."

Remember that things aren't always as bad as they seem. Whenever the times get tough, take a look around and simply take in all of life's little miracles. It might help more than you think.
Much Love,
Emma

On a scale from 1 to 13...

Rate your qualities that you look for in a spouse.
Your Characteristics to pick from?:

Intelligence
Good Housekeeping
Good earning capacity
Religious Orientation
Exciting Personality
College Graduate
Kindness and Understanding
Desire for Children
Physical Attractiveness
Creativity
Good Heredity
Good Health
Adaptability

Simple task, right? Not for second guessers like myself.
So we had to do this for psychology yesterday, and it really opened my eyes to a few things. I know you're wondering what my list was, right? Well, although I won't list my rankings, I will tell you one thing. I'm ashamed. I did the whole ranking thing without seriously analyzing everything and what I valued and my result was shameful. As I looked at my completed checklist today in class, i realized that I had not only ranked Religious Orientation 7th, but I ranked it below physical attractivenes and exciting personality. Seriously? Religious Orientation...CHRISTIAN...believer. I ranked it SEVENTH?! What am I thinking? After some serious reflection I have come to the conclusion that, unfortunately, we are a shallow bunch of people. Wanna know why? My professor revealed the average results for both Men and Women and guess what ranked LAST. yepp. Religious Orientation. For some reason, I was completely astonished. For men, physical attractiveness was ranked 3rd and for women, it was ranked 6th. How are we so concerned with what our spouse looks like, if they can cook, if they graduated college...all above God? Who do we think we are? So mistake me if i'm generalizing but quite frankly I'm embarrassed. Yeah, I know not everyone in America is a believer, but 13th? that's just silly.
So enough of my ranting, i guess. On to the good news! I survived last week! Now just to wait out the grades..sheesh. Just a few updates on the here and now in good ole "Clinnon":
We got snow this weekend! (no, it didn't stick. it turned into ice. lame)
Semi-formal was absolutely amazing!
McDonalds is slowly making it's come back...I'm praying itll be up by finals.
Yours truly is now a sterling. Yepp. Those cool kids giving tours around campus? That's me.
ADPi had an eat-a-thon for Ronald McDonald House last Thursday and it was so fun and we had an awesome turn out. Thanks all!
I worked out for the first time today since last Monday. I really need to do better. sheesh.

Okay, I'm running late for Bible Study. Hope everyone has an awesome week and a safe weekend!
PS: look for some attached pics of semi formal!
Much Love,
Emma

In the beginning...

God created the Heavens and the Earth. that simple, right? Well, up until this weekend it almost seemed so.
Winter Conference was so incredible! Although the weather was less than ideal, being in the mountains and knowing that I was in the midst of something so much bigger than myself is completely indescribable. The whole theme of the weekend was "In the Beginning", based off the creation story. Up until listening and reflecting upon what the speaker said, I had never truly thought about the creation story. I thought it just kinda happened. Without thought...kind of just like, in a week he created it all. I didn't ever stop to think about how much care he took into it all. Thinking about and absolutely knowing what we need and how much of it we needed and where it should go and how it should look...the list just keeps going. I felt a little naive as I went back and re-read the creation story, now from a different perspective. Genesis 1 is so elaborate and detailed, it's a bit shameful to look back and realize that i've nearly "overlooked" it all these years.
Even though it rained pretty much the entire weekend, the mountains were absolutely gorgeous, and you couldn't help but to stop and feel surrounded by God. It was so amazing. I've made the point to keep a "prayer journal" for the past few weeks, and man did it get some serious usage this weekend...which, I guess is a good thing. It's so cool how awesome you feel after having your own time with God. It's like my moment to stop and take a breath, and realize how blessed I am...even in times like this week. 2 tests and a paper. Boy, oh boy. Not any minor tests, no. Biology and Linguistics. Fun, right?
BUT this weekend is semi-formal! I'm so pumped. Just have to survive the next 5 days. I can do this!
Well, back to the books, I suppose. Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Much Love,
Emma

A thought to ponder

So as I was reading the random assortment of blogs I follow today, I came across this nifty quote, and I honestly feel like God placed it in my sight as a sign regarding the future and how I need to live. Here's the quote:
"If you would not like to be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing....."
Wow. Like, I don't know if y'all realize how this quote literally took my breath away. I have finally realized that I want to WRITE! It's my passion and I think God's telling me to go for it! I feel so empowered right now! Why? Well on top of the whole, figuring my life out (for the moment, at least) thing, I have had quite the productive day! I've gotten a lot of homework done and even applied for jobs this summer! I emailed She, The News and Press, and The Florence Morning News about jobs. No emails back yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Ever since I've begun this whole "getting my life straight" thing, my days have been absolutely amazing. I've chosen to surround myself with Godly people, and let me tell you: there are quite a few around me these days! Thank You, Lord!
This weekend is Winter Conference in Montreat, and it couldn't have come at a better time! I feel like this is such perfect timing and cannot wait to praise God and grow closer to him in an environment where I'm surrounded by people just like me! wow. lots of excitement going on right now, huh?
Well, back to the books, I guess. Linguistics and Biology tests next week. Yikes.
Hope You all are having a great week!
Much Love,
Emma

The Cooler Connection

Hello Blogfans!
Hope everyone had a marvelous MLK weekend. I know I sure did! So last week I spent the majority of my nights painting..(yes mom, after homework). What was I painting you ask? A cooler! But, to go ahead and clear up the obvious question...NO i did not go to a mountain weekend. It was for Chad's Christmas/Birthday present because well...his Christmas present was just a disaster thanks to faulty processing and not enough merchandise. I'll save that one for another entry. I must say that I am quite impressed with myself. I've always grown up with ZERO art skill. I never colored in the lines, painted by number, or anything of the sort. I'm the girl that is jealous of you people out there with amazing handwriting because well, you see, I write like a guy. Lovely. Okay, so as I ventured out to design said cooler, I was astonished with this group on Facebook called "The Cooler Connection". It's this group that college kids in SC post pictures of the different coolers they've done I guess to spark some inspiration in those of us not so gifted..ehm. So after approximately 20...yes you heard right...I spent nearly 20 hours on this dumb cooler, I came out with a pretty decent looking cooler. At least that's what my hall-mates said. And the best part was the Chad loved it! You know...even though he wasn't surprised. Apparantly I'm not as sneaky as I thought. Anyways, to my disappointment, how long does it take my wonderful boyfriend to chip the entire handle off of one side? ohh...about 24 hours. After I wanted to cry a little, I patched it up and will just have to see the damage next time I go to Clemson.
So thinking about the cooler really got my inspirational juices flowing, and, being the English major that I am you know I had to find some sort of symbolism in this whole process. I really can relate it to my life sometimes. It seems like I spend so much time working on these little projects: homework, speeces for class, journal entries...even to the bigger stuff like final projects, studying and well...coolers. In the end, nothing is going to be perfect. The paint is going to chip, the sides are going to get scraped up, and well...sometimes the top just might fall off. But in the end, I'm still gonna be here. I may have some wear and tear on me, but I still have a purpose; just like Chad's chipped cooler.
Hope you all have a fantastic short week!
Much Love,
Emma
OH! I've attached the pics of the cooler below. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Getting readjusted

isn't easy. You know, since being back at school I've really begun to realize that coping and changing with different things never stops. We're always put into new situations and repeatedly asked to cope and/or adjust to it. Why don't things simply stay the same?
We go from school to school every 3-4 years, we change friends, we change classes, sometimes we move, sometimes we have to adjust to new people in our lives...Is life just one big adjustment? Since I've been back at PC after Christmas break, i've had a lot of time to just sit and reflect on the adjusting i've done and it's astonishing. Even more, it's scary at just how much more change is to come down the road. I'm deathly afraid of change...you know, in case you couldn't tell. This whole new class schedule has just thrown me off my rocker completely. New Classes, New Professors, New Classmates...geez. Can't a girl catch a break? But at the same time I know I have to step back and realize that God will never let me get off my path to where I'm supposed to be. Change is inevitable. While I'm changing, I might as well call on him to lead me in the right direction...right?
So this last week has been really eventful! I found out I made the Dean's List, found out that I get to go to Knoxville in February with ADPi for District Conference, and got accepted to be a Sterling! (those people that give tours around campus) It's a little stressful to think about how busy my schedule is quickly getting but at the same time it's amazingly exciting to think about all the amazing opportunities I'm going to have in the next few years. I've never been a big fan of New Years Resolutions but I will just call this a "goal". I'm going to try to focus on the NOW and not the future. Focus on my classes THIS semester, my grades THIS semester, and my opportunities THIS semester. Then we can worry about next, right? Wish me luck, everyone! Happy Changing!
Hope everyone is having a good week and good luck with new classes!
Much Love,
Emma

What is Grammar? uhh...

I have news for you all! Being an English Major is wonderful....ly hard. Today began the start of my second semester of college, and must I say that it is going to be quite different than the first. Let's just talk about this little class they like to call linguistics. My description of the class? Let's just say that, apparantly, there are many more definitions for the word "grammar" than I ever imagined. Yeah. Try 15 pages worth of an explanation purely for that one word. On one hand it's absolutely horrifiying that I'm taking a class meant for Junior and Senior english majors, but on the other, it's provided me with some sort of motivation. So what if I'm a freshman? I just might surprise myself and pull out a (somewhat) decent grade in the class. I'm taking the challenge! (One of the biggest I've ever taken on, I believe) Just to give you an idea about the level of difficulty of this class I present to you Exhibit A: My conversation with Holtie upon taking my seat:
Me: "Holtie! I'm so nervous about this class."
Holtie: "I know. Me too! My advisor advised me that there's always summer school."

...SUMMER SCHOOL?! I never intended to have to take a class in summer school! Okay, so with my heart beat racing a little faster than normal, the professor enters and has this lovely convo with the class...

Prof: "So...what have y'all heard about this class? That it's hard? Impossible? That you're probably going to fail? ....Well...yeah."
FAIL?! Two concepts I've never ever begun to imagine. SUMMER SCHOOL and FAILING! WHAT IS THIS?!
So, unfortunately, blogfans, I have to say that I probably will not be on this blog as much this semester. Bio, Psych, and Linguistics? Hello Library...Goodbye Social Life.

On a plus note, I have finalized the rooming situation for next year and I must say I'm pretty pumped. Me, Callie, Sarah, and Blythe are planning on being suitemates, and my dear Callie and I will be roomies. Can't wait!

Goodluck with your classes, everyone!
Much Love,
Emma