Gotta love breaks!

I am so thankful for breaks. They give you a chance to stop everything and relax...and see all of your wonderful family. By the Lord's grace I didn't have any tests on Monday and Tuesday so I decided to skip classes and leave a few days early for break. I got home on a Friday and stayed for a week and 2 days. It was a great time of baking, shopping, sleeping, and eating :). Speaking of eating, I don't think I should eat very much at all from now on. I ate so much yummy homemade food last week that I might die... But Thanksgiving went very well. We got to see and catch up with relatives we haven't seen in a while. My sister and I went black friday shopping. We got some pretty cool deals...$5 socks woohoo!

The Blackwoods got to stay one night with us!

I got to visit Meg at IWU...thank you for the pizza stick!

My phone finally decided to break!!!!!!!!! :)

Today is my first day back into the swing of things. I just got my SCS test back and thought I got an A but I read it wrong and instead I got an 86. I have a Calc test on Thursday that I am freaking out about. Oh I just love school :P.  Even though classes aren't going the best it is great to be back and see my friends again.

I can't believe that my first semester of college is going to be over in 3 weeks. I have made so many memories!!

Only 20 days until Christmas break :)

Geneva Women's Rugby :)

Dictionary.com's definition of rugby: Rugby football. a form offootball, played between two teams of 15 members each,that differs from soccer in freedom to carry the ball, blockwith the hands and arms, and tackle, and is characterized chiefly by continuous action and prohibition against the use of substitute players. One of the first things I wanted to do since coming to Geneva is to check out the rugby team. I have heard about this sport and knew that Geneva had a team. And so a couple of weeks into the semester I decided to look into it. I was put on their email list and then I was on the team. The first couple weeks I was utterly confused as to where and what I was supposed to be doing on the field. But after a while I got used to it. I played my first game and realized that this is the best sport ever. I have never had so much fun. I am really looking forward to this weekend. Our team is playing in a Halloween Tournament and we get to dress up :). It should be fun!

The second game of the season; Clarion vs. Geneva

The Clarion and Geneva Scrum

That is me in black in the midst of all the yellow

More scrum

I love our spiffy jerseys

Praying after the game

My cheer team of peewee football players :)

The First Month of Freshman Year

October 1st marked the first month of my freshman year at college. I thought that this would be a good time to let you all know what I am doing, how school is going, how I am doing etc.

It definitely seems like I have been here a lot longer than a month! All the weeks seem to run together. I really miss my family and I can't wait until fall break when I get to see them. The weekends are hard because there is not much to do and a lot of student's families are there visiting. All in all though I am having a blast. The Lord is really teaching me a lot through my classes and the preaching I hear on Sundays and in many other ways. I am currently going to Eastvale church where Micah Ramsey is the pastor. I really love it there. The sermons and fellowship are great. 

School is going ok. I am only taking 15 credit hours so I don't feel like I have as much homework as my friends. Which definitely means I should be making A's. Unfortunately that isn't the case at the moment. Bible and L&T (Learning and Transitions) are pretty easy and I am doing well in those. However Statistics is difficult and the book is really hard to understand. The tests are hard because they are only 35 points. So if you miss 4 points you automatically get a B. So my past two tests haven't gone so well even though I felt I studied well for them. My friend (who is in the class) and I have said we are going to get 100s on the next test :). I am definitely going to have to study harder for that class than my other classes. SCS which is a mix of chemistry and physics is a pretty easy class. I have done most of the stuff we are going over before. But when I took the first test I think I was too confident that I knew everything and so  I didn't study as hard as I should have. I didn't do too well on that test but it was a good wake up call to remind me to study harder! And my last class is Calculus. This is actually my favorite class which is good because I am a math major :). Even though it is my favorite it is still quite difficult. My grade is based on only 3 tests that we take throughout the semester. On my first test I got a B which I was pretty happy with. So I just need to study hard and remember everything that I am doing in order to get a good grade. And now you know in complete detail how my school is going. 

Besides school I am keeping busy with extra-curricular activities. Within the first weeks of being here I was invited to play soccer every Tuesday and Thursday in the gym. It is a lot of fun playing pick-up soccer with random people. I have met a lot of people through this. I also like that I get an hour and a half of exercise while having fun. Besides soccer I decided to join the Rugby team. Practices are on Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 4-6. I am really having fun. Our first game was on Saturday. All the girls played really well and WE WON! It was a blast. I don't think I have ever had that much fun in a sport before. On Fridays my friends and I go to swing dancing. This is also a great place to meet people. I really enjoy dancing too. 

To sum up this month I would have to say that I feel like Geneva is perfect for me.  I love it here.

Skyping Meggo :)

Geneva College Band 

My Roomie!

Geneva Spirit!

Syl and I watching the football game :)

My roommate and I rearranged our room!

<3

Let's get our ears pierced!

Ever since the first week of college my friends and I have talked about getting our cartilage pierced. So last night we finally went out to get it done. Poor Kyle had to drive three girls to the Beaver County Mall to get their ears pierced. We decided to get them done at Piercing Pagoda. Molly and I picked out blue stud earrings and Sylvia got diamond studs. Molly made me go first because she was nervous :) We all held the little bear/dog/ bunny (we weren't quite sure what it was) while the lady pierced our ears. Molly and I got the cartilage on our left ear pierced and Sylvia got a second piercing on both sides. It wasn't too painful but it definitely hurt worse than my other ear piercings. We love them though :)

 

Mine :)

Molly's :)

Both of us!

"Brown paper packages tied up with string..."

"...these are a few of my favorite things." Last night I checked my mailbox which usually is empty or full of junk mail. Every time I check my mail I always look for a little slip that says I have a package. I don't know why but I love getting stuff in the mail...especially packages!! Anyway last night that little slip was in my mail box. I was so excited but unfortunately the mailroom had closed and I had to wait until my classes got out today before I could go and retrieve my mysterious package. So right after lab today I went straight to the mailroom (extremely excited and curious). I got my package (which was from home, YAY!!) and walked to my room to open it. I met Emily on the way and decided to share this momentous time with her. We sat on a bench and I tore open the package. And this is what was inside:

Well this is what the outside looked like :)

There was a very sweet letter from Moriah and Mom

But best of all the package had cookies. Homemade cookies. Mmmm! Spice and Snickerdoodle.

I devoured a couple right away :)

I love my family!! Thank you so much for the cookies!! Oh and I like the poster too ;)

Dorm Rooms

Dorm rooms are what every little kid dreams of. A chance to be on your own, decorate your own way, stay up as late as you want, watch movies, etc. My dorm room is just that. It has a little bit of me and my roomies character in it, we stay up late (when we don't have homework), we watched a great movie last night. I guess you could say I love my room. Don't get me wrong it isn't perfect. It is extremely hot, not nearly enough room for all of our stuff, and can get depressing when it is really messy. But still it is my place to chill. I just finished cleaning it so I could upload pics to show you all what it looks like.

I love my room :)

Orientation is over!

After 4 days of intense activities, projects, etc. Geneva orientation is done. The closing ceremonies were last night. We all got to dress up for the semi-formal banquet that Geneva held for us although I don't think the guys were as excited as the girls.

I am so happy to be starting school tomorrow but I am also quite nervous. Will I get to all my classes? Do I have the right schedule? But there is really no reason to worry because God is in control. I can handle it.

Tonight I am going to evening service with my group. I am really excited to hear Titus Martin preach. I am so blessed to have so many great churches close to campus.

I was going to try and upload pics of all of us dressed up but they aren't uploading. So check facebook if you really want to see them.

Goodbye Kokomo and hello Beaver Falls

WOW. This has been quite a week. On Tuesday I had to say goodbye to my bestest of friends. They drove all the way to my house to wish me well. I am really going to miss them. I packed up the car Tuesday night and and said my last goodbyes to my sisters and brother. Then on Wednesday morning at 4:00 am I headed out to Beaver Falls. After a 6 hour drive we finally arrived. We got signed in and everything was carried up into my dorm room by some helpful soccer guys. And then orientation started and it still isn't over.... I am so tired. We have to be up by 7:30 and we hang out til after 12. I am looking forward to when classes start. Right now we have a break before dinner with our RAs. So Geneva has been pretty good so far. I wish we had more time to hang but I am still meeting a lot of cool people. I will post some pics of campus and my lovely dorm room asap. I miss you all back in K-town!

Goodbye Abby!

Yesterday was the last day I would see my dear Abby Marcisz before I leave. She is leaving tomorrow to visit her sister in Texas. I am really going to miss this girl! We were bawling our eyes out yesterday. Telling Abby goodbye marked the first of many goodbyes I am going to have to endure throughout this next week. I am not sure I am going to handle it very well....I am really going to miss you all.

Last day of work

Today is my last day at Cracker Barrel. I am so excited not to have to worry about work any more. I have two weeks of freedom before I leave for college! I am kind of sad though because I am really going to miss the great friends I have made there. I love you all!! Here is a picture of my besties at work:

2 Weeks!

I have been waiting for this for close to 19 years. College is everyones huge dream. You work for it most of your life. High school prepares you for the classes you are going to take. And it is finally here!! I really don't think it has sunk in yet. Maybe it will when my parents leave with tears in their eyes (and in mine). Even though I am really excited I also have a feeling of sadness. My family and best friends are remaining in Indiana. I will probably never live close to them again. I love my girlfriends. They are the best. Most of them are pursuing careers in nursing, some are even taking classes together. I wish that we could all own a house to live in through college. All go to the same college. But obviously that isn't meant to be. I just want all of them to know that they mean the world to me and I wouldn't trade their friendship for anything. So only two weeks away I am excited, thrilled, sad, and frantically packing. I thank the Lord for this opportunity and pray that Geneva would help me grow more in him.