End of the College Chapter

Final attempts at procrastination!

Thanks CSU... it's been an amazing four years :)

Blessed.

God has blessed me with so much!

I cannot express how thankful I am for the life I have been given.

That is all. :)

Life update.

I started talking instead of writing.

Nothing exciting, just a little life update.

Roomaversary!!!

Happy "room-aversary" Anna Parker!

We have lived together for a whole year now! I am so glad that we were roommates at CSU, that you stayed with my family this summer, and that we are all moved into our new house now!

I love you and you are one of the best and dearest friends that I have ever had.

Thank you for:

Walking through dangerous construction sites with me,

watching countless Leonardo DiCaprio movies because I have an obsession,

giving the Notebook a chance,

motivating me to start being healthy,

learning cup games with me instead of studying at 2 am,

showing me the benefits of procrastinating,

helping me through vice-president craziness,

accepting all of my weird tendencies,

listening to me rant about random annoyances in my life,

staying calm while I go insane during class,

and being a "rebellious" college student with me ;).

I'm excited to see what this year brings!

P90X Day 30

I finished phase 1 of P90X!!!

I am feeling great :)

I am already in so much better shape and am starting to see changes in my body!

I'm excited to keep going!

Day 30 Weight:

137 (+2)

Day 30 Body Fat %: 

25.86% (-.64%)

Day 30 Measurements:

neck: 13'' (-.5")

chest: 36'' (+1")

left arm:11.75'' (+.75") 

right arm: 11.75" (-.25")

waist: 29" (-1")

hips: 36'' (-1")

butt: 38'' (-.5")

left thigh: 21.5'' (-1") 

right thigh: 21.75 (-.75")

Day 30 Pictures:

Day 1 pictures here.

P90X Day 1

After a month of changing my eating habits I am ready to take on a new challenge!

I am not sure how far I will make it, but I'm starting P90X.

My goal is to gain some strength and tone up. :)

Starting Weight:
135

Starting BMI:
23.9

Starting Body Fat %:
26.5%

Starting Measurements:

neck: 13.5''

chest: 35''

arms: 11'' (L) 12'' (R)

waist: 30"

hips: 37''

butt: 38.5''

thighs: 22.5''

Starting Pictures:

Light Broccoli Quiche

Because of my recent endeavor, the 17 day diet, I am becoming quite a health freak.

AND I've been learning to cook!

My most recent recipe was light broccoli quiche that I found here.

Only 100 calories/slice and it is so yummy!

Josh the photographer

Not only does my friend Josh Wise model for me, he takes pictures of me too :)

Here were some of my favorites from this week!

And here are two awesome edits he did! They are so fun :)

Pictures of Josh Wise

I don't practice photography much, but I LOVE taking pictures of my friend Josh Wise. He is such a great model ;). I was glad to have him home for a visit and took advantage of the time for a photo shoot.

These were my favorites of him...

And here are some favorites of mine from last summer...

Thankful for my mom!

I love my mom and I have NO idea what I would do without her!

She is the most amazing person that I know.

She was tested last week for breast cancer, and was asked to come back in this week for further testing.

While I knew that it was probably just a precaution, I could not help but to worry (and worry, and worry, and worry some more).

PRAISE GOD, her tests this morning came back clear!

I cannot express how relieved and thankful I feel right now.

Shine your light, but don't live in darkness

"Do not set foot on the path of the wicked 

or walk in the way of wicked men."

Proverbs 4:14

Becoming friendly with sin is a dangerous! How can you not expect it to affect your life??

It is so easy to confuse loving others with accepting their sinfulness.
And, whether we want to admit it or not, we are influenced by those by those that surround us.
Keep shining your light in the dark, but don't use it as an excuse to live there!

"He who walks with the wise grows wise,

but a companion of fools suffers harm."

Proverbs 13:20

"seize the day"

"A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. 'Never leave that till tomorrow,' he said, 'Which you can do today.' 

...I don’t know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I’d say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure. Fear of pain. Fear of rejection. Sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because... what if you’re wrong? What if you make a mistake you can’t undo?  

The early bird catches the worm; a stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we haven't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to ‘seize the day'. 

Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore, until we finally understand for ourselves like Benjamin Franklin meant. 

That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping. And that even the biggest failure, even the worst most intractable mistake beats the hell out of never trying."

-Meredith Grey 

Spring Break!

It's been a while...

I'm LOVING that it is spring break!!! :D

It's been great so far...

 I LOVED spending the weekend in the mountains :)

 I LOVED hiking to see these falls :)

I LOVED hanging out with awesome people :) 

I'm LOVING that my week isn't over yet :)

What are you LOVING today?

College Elective Courses

I am sitting in psychology 101.
I took this elective because I thought that it would be interesting.
It is not.
However, this is not the information's fault, it is the professor's.
Apparently a 100 level course at a university should be the equivalent of that at a middle school.

I have realized that I hate intro-courses, which is what my electives primarily consist of.
I would rather take a 300/400 level political science or history class any day.

Unfortunately, I am taking my last two of those classes this semester.
That means that my next to semesters will be filled with these pointless electives
Rather than allowing me to continue taking political science and history classes, I have to make myself a "well-rounded individual" by studying other subjects.
I thought that was the point of my core classes, which I have also already completed.

So, rather than furthering my studies in history and political science, which would make just a tiny bit of sense, I will be taking 30 hours of electives my senior year.
30 hours.


So, it would make sense to add another major or minor, right?
Apparently not, because Charleston Southern University's process in adding majors/minors is insanely ridiculous.

I am a tiny bit frustrated.

Airport adventure

At 5:15 this morning, as I was waiting to go through security at the airport, I realized that I didn't have my license.
I was a COMPLETE genius and didn't check before I left to make sure I had it. I had taken it out of my wallet yesterday at the CVS drive through, didn't put it back in, and left it in the seat of my car.
Apparently, I could have used my credit card for identification, but I did not learn this until after my mom was almost at the airport with the license.
My poor dad, who woke up at 4 a.m. to take me to the airport, was pacing the entire time.
I, SURPRISINGLY, stayed calm, even after I was still standing outside of security, without my license, after boarding for my flight began. That is unbelievable.
So, thank you to my mom who got to the airport just in time! I made the final boarding call and am sitting in Atlanta waiting for my flight to Chattanooga.

I thought that I would use this opportunity to blog, since I haven't in forever.
However, apparently this airport doesn't provide the courtesy of free Internet. So, I am writing this blog post on my phone, with my Verizon 3G Internet. I am not sure if this is normal, since I do not fly often, but I think it is ridiculous. Plane tickets cost a lot of money; the least they can do is provide Wi-Fi.
I'm actually not sure how people afford to fly over the holidays. A round-trip ticket from Charleston to Chattanooga, during the holiday season, costs $904.
I am extremely thankful for a family friend, who works for Delta, that helped me get a stand-by "buddy pass" ticket for almost just a tenth of that price. Otherwise, I would be driving to Tennessee today. And, I am also extreme thankful for my dad paying for the ticket as a reward for getting a 4.0 this semester.

So, that was my day so far.
Thank you so much, mama and daddy, for helping me out through the craziness early this morning. Love you :).

Oh, and I am going to Chattanooga to see my bff Katie Stephens :). I'm excited. :)

Thank you medicine!

I would just like to take a moment to say that I am thankful for medicine.

After my blog post complaining about being sick the other night, things got much worse.

My head stayed in the toilet nearly all night, which was super awesome.

I felt like dying.

I went to the doctor yesterday morning, and I am SO glad I did.

I got an antibiotic shot and was hooked up to an i.v. to get fluids and nausea medication.

I was sent home with two antibiotics and a steroid.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

My throat feels ten times better.

I am not coughing as much.

I can breathe out the right side of my nose.

My headache isn't as bad.

I actually slept all night!

I haven't thrown up in almost 24 hours!

THANK YOU MEDICINE!!!

Sick Complaints

I have been waiting on this day for weeks. I am DONE with the fall semester, and it's looking like all A's is good possibility...

But, I am NOT happy!

Why???

Because I am SICK.

Not sick, not feeling well sick. Sick that makes me want to die, sick.

I have bronchitis and strep throat. And, I'm 95% positive I also have a sinus infection.

I cannot breathe out of my nose at all and it hurts to breathe out of my mouth.

I cannot taste food and it hurts to swallow what I eat.

I feel extremely nauseated, I have only thrown up once though. Kind of wish I would again, just for momentary relief from my stomach being angry.

I feel like my brain is going to explode out of my ears/eyes/nose. (Yes, it hurts that bad).

I am more than exhausted but I cannot sleep because of my uncomfortable state.

My lungs are probably detaching (from whatever in the world is holding them in place) because of the amount of coughing I am doing.

I am burning up one second and freezing the next. 

I am shaky and very disoriented.

Thank you for listening to me whine.

And sorry if you found any of that disturbing.

On a brighter note:

My mom made me vegetable soup.

My roommate got me awesome bedtime slippers and Hershey's milk chocolate.

I am on an antibiotic.

Side note: My request to throw up was granted as soon as I finished the previous sentence.

I know, it's gross. Sorry.

Inside of my head.

Thoughts. 

60,000 thoughts per day.

2,500 thoughts per hour.

41 thoughts per minute.

A thought for nearly every second in a day.

I cannot express to you how much goes through my mind everyday.

Hopes. Fears. Dreams. Worries. Desires.

Past. Present. Future.

I overanalyze everything.

But, not as much as I used to.

To take a look inside might be overwhelming for the average person.

Sometimes my thoughts overwhelm me.

But, not as much as they used to.

I often bottle my thoughts up,

and watch as they explode uncontrollably all at once.

There are some thoughts that spill out all the time.

There are some thoughts that I have never spoken, and most likely never will.

Thoughts. Thoughts. Thoughts.

I actually started this post with the plan of spilling out a lot of thoughts,

and yet, I have simply just let the world know that they are in my head.

Maybe someday I will fearlessly write all of my thoughts down for the world to see.

But, not today.

Just a thought.

Thank God that God is in control.

I am freaking out! The end of this semester seems to have come out of nowhere, and I have to much to get done!

I just cannot let myself forget that God is in control.
I feel like saying that out loud helps me to remember. :)

God is looking out for me!
I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength!

These papers will NOT be the end of me.
Next week this time it will all be over!

God is in control. God is in control. God is in control.
And, thank God that He is in control, because I couldn't do it without Him!

Apology

My life is not my own...

I have been living it like it is lately.

And, for that, I am sincerely sorry.

This semester I developed a new attitude.

I began constantly thinking,

"what about what I want?"

...in every situation.

For some of you, this makes no sense at all.

Why should I apologize for putting myself first?

Because...

IT'S NOT ABOUT ME!

It just isn't. Life is so much bigger than me.

I have been called to live a life, serving God first, others second, and myself last.

I used to pride myself for doing so, 

and I am sorry that I haven't lately.

And, for those of you who think this is crazy...

From personal experience,

 I am much happier when I live my life for God and for others

than when I do for myself.

Now, to spare confusion...

This does not mean that I don't ever need to think about what I want.

It just means that I don't need to make myself center of the universe.

So, to my friends and family...

I am sorry for my selfishness.

I know that it is not something I can just turn off,

but I am working hard to fix my attitude.

Please pray for me to stay focused on God and the calling that He has for my life!

I love you all. <3

Michelle.

"We're the ones,

Gonna put it all in reverse,

Gonna die to ourselves,

Gonna live to serve,

Cause you get what you get when you walk by faith,

 Is it really so dumb to throw it all away?

They say it sounds insane,

We say that we've been changed,

By the power of...

CRAZY LOVE!

This world it looks at us, like we're ridiculous,

Baby, it's all because,

CRAZY LOVE!"