"you ok?"

I had four people asked me if I was ok. This shocked me. I think I am feeling ok but obviously to the world, I don't look ok. I find this a little funny because I have been feeling a little convicted of not sleeping enough hours. This has been convicting because this is one habit that is hindering my body. Taking care of my body is an act of worship. When I don't sleep, I am hurting myself. Sleep is an act of worship because my body is created for sleep which God had planned all along.

The main point I'm trying to say is that I need to sleep more. I never really admitted that out loud.

Just be

I'll just be honest here, I do struggle with homesickness. I do wish I was in Texas with the people that I love. Yet I know that I am suppose to be because I am able to live out what I am passionate about. I am making great friendships and I'm learning so much that my brain might just explode with knowledge. Despite all my love that I left behind in Texas (and other places in the world) I know that my time here at Taylor needs to be here. I have students depending on my guidance. I have classmates depending on my brains to get a group project done. I have friendships here that are expecting a joke from here. My point is no matter how homesick or cultured shock I am, I am at Taylor for the glory of the Lord.

This is my opinion but I think that a lot of Christians in the American culture struggle of the concept of being in the place that they are placed. For example, we have all these amazing gadets and social networking tools (i.e. texting, Facebooking, Twitter) that we use and abused for our own amuse. Who cares if you are going to the grocery market to buy toliet paper because your roommate is sitting on the toliet? My point is we are constantly stalking people on Twitter and Facebook that we forget of the face to face contact with have with the people in the flesh. Trust me I struggle with this concept. Somedays I hate that I have Facebook. I see pictures of long lost friends, and I get all sad and moopy. Honestly, if you think about it, it's not healthy to constantly be on facebook and Twitter. I feel like all the normal social skills that we are trained to have end up being wasting away on notifications and status updates.

We need to be where we are. We need to be intentional with the people we spend time with. We need to stop and breathe in for a minute. We need to not be afraid to express what's really going on our hearts. We need to be honest with each other. We need to be aware of those around us. We need to be loving and compassionate. We need to make the effort of intentional community.

We need to just be.

Life song

Here is my next song on my life soundtrack. It's just a good song. I guess you can put Christianity into the song if you really want to. I enjoy it because it has the acoustic in the beginning and then comes the hard rock later on. The lyrics are great as well. Everyone needs a guardian angel.

Red Jumpsuit Apparatus-Your Guardian Angel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GuX-F08fwI

No Reason

I just submitted my first research graduate paper...I think I stressed out more this past week than I did when I was an undergrad. I feel accomplished.

Why is education so important? Why are we willing to pay thousands of dollars to further our education? To get a better degree? Or for character development? A better worldview? Does our family influence our decision?...just some questions.

Right now I just would like to take the time to voice how thankful I am for the privledge to get an education. I love what I'm learning. I'm applying it everyday. I see the theories being lived out by my students. I understand how hisotry and foundations provide a basis for a deeper understanding.

I'll admit I do complain when the paper I am writing takes over my life. I do wish I get more sleep. I do not like receiving a good grade. The bottom line: I complain about school. I'm a graduate student that is studying higher education and I complain about school. Ironic. This Monday I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed. I posted on my Facebook status: "Melissa Lima will survive this week by the grace and strength of God." Several people commented with encouragement and positive comments. Then a very good friend of mine who is not afraid to bust out the truth wrote this: "Rejoice on every new morning that God has decided give you!" Then he proceed to express how much I rock. But that simple phrase was enough to change my attitude. I should be praising my God that I am in grad school.So what I got 3 hours of sleep last night. So what if I did not get the grade I wanted. So what that I have to spend my friend night researching about the statistics of first generation students. So what that my daily diet consists of cereal and sandwhichs that I eat in 5 minutes. Every day is the day that the Lord has made. Throughout the United States and the World millions of people do not have the opportunities that I have at Taylor Univerisity.

I have no reason to complain about a paper. I do have a reason to praise the Lord, my Savior.

life soundtrack

I have decided that I will metality start collecting songs that will be on my life soundtrack. I should state that when I do post a "life song" that it's in no particular order. Sometimes they would just pop into my head or I would hear one randomly on Pandora.com. (Oh, how I love Pandora.com...you are my contast companion through the late nights of grad school)

So this is a song. It's called Comtine d'un Autre ete (It's french). It's composed by Yann Tiersen (a french dude). I heard this song randomly on one of my friends photo slideshow she was showing to me and I loved it. Then I completely forgot about it till I saw the amazing movie Amelie (a french movie about a french girl. It's a great movie because it shows her character development. Also, it's so french, which is different from the American culture...which I like. The only problem I have is that I don't believe in love a first sight but other than that it's great. Definetly one of my top ten.) This song is off the song track and I flipped out when I heard it. It's all instrumental but it's so calming but intense at the same time.

So here it is.....Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8ACZ6IyyqM&feature=related

Swept

...the Red Sox got swept by the Angels.

My heart weeps.

Weakness

O Spirit of God,

Help my infirmities;

When I am pressed doesn with a load of sorrow,

Perplexed and knowing not what to do,

Slandered and persecuted,

Made to feel the weight of the cross,

Help me, I pray thee.

If thou seest in me

Any wrong thing encouraged;

Any evil desire cherished,

Any delight that is not thy delight,

Any habit that grieves thee,

Any nest of sin in my heart,

Then grant me the kiss of they forgiveness,

And teach my feet to walk the way of they commandments.

Deliver me from carking care,

And make me a happy, holy person;

Help me to walk the separated life with firm and brave step,

And to wrestle successfully aganist weakness;

Teach me to laud, adore, and magnify thee,

With the music of heaven,

And make me a perfume of praiseful gratitude to thee.

I do not crouch a they feet as a slave before a tyrant,

But exult before thee as a son with a father.

Give me power to live as they child in all my actions,

And to exercise sonship by conquering self.

Perserve me from the intoxication that comes of prosperitiy;

Sober me when I am glad with a joy that comes not from thee.

Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdon,

Not asking whether the road be rough or smooth.

I request only to see the face of him I love,

To be content with bread to eat,

With raiment to put on,

If I can be brought to they house in peace.

~Taken from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. (Editor-Arthur Bennett)

The case of the Mondays

Mondays. I never had such a hard time with Mondays. I was always ready to face on the week when Monday comes around. But today was different. Today was Monday. This specific Monday I learned many things about myself that scared me in the end.

It all starts with attitude. I woke up in a bad mood. Why? I don't know. Apparently when I woke up in the morning I decided to be in bad mood. Well, that was a stupid idea. I walked into work with a bad mood. I went to a meeting in a bad mood. I walked into chapel with a bad mood. That is when I realized I was in a bad mood.

It's amazing how powerful worship is even when you feel like you want to tear the world apart with your hands.

My bad mood was a result of my response to all the little things that were mounting up in my life. I was becoming overwhelmed. I had no control of what was going on. I felt inadequate. I didn't want to be pushed anymore. I was tired of being challenged. I wanted to give up and run away to a far away place where unicorns and rainbows exist.

I listened to the words of worship. The Holy Spirit was moving. God is so good. He will speak to you when you need it even though you don't want to hear it. I found myself singing my heart out to my Savior. I prayed and worshipped. I felt like that was the only thing that I could have done. I felt that I had no control of anything else that was happening around me. I did what I knew what to do...I worshipped. He answered. It was beautiful.

God continued to be faithful for the rest of the Monday. God showed me how selfish and prideful I was. He reminded me that there were bigger things than me. He reminded me that there are people out there who are hurt and needs His love. Gosh, I thought to myself. How selfish and stupid am I? Why this bad attitude? Ya, that did suck and that other thing sucked. Ya, shucks that didn't work out. Ya, you're not perfect. but ya....God is good. God is faithful. In the midst of all the bad attitude and crap in our lives....he is good.

So I had a bad case of the Monday's today. It wasn't fun. I had a bad attitude. I also have a God who is good. Whenever you get a bad case of the Mondays, remind yourself of who you are....and then remind yourself how great God is.

Battle of the sexes

Tonight I can confindently say that I do not understand the male sex at times. I do not understand why they act the way they do. I do not understand why they say the things they say. I do not understand why they are they way they are. What I do understand is that my Creator wired male and female completely different? The hard part is trying to remember when questioning why the male species is acting like a complete fool at that moment. I know the female population is a headache to understand but then again...it's the male species that is having a hard time understanding us. It's just interesting to me of how male and female can miscommunicate with each other.

It's crazy how emotions and feelings can get tied into the whole ordeal. I do appreciate the male sex at times. I have numerous guy friends (hello, I went to LeTourneau) that I thank God for. They are great and I do miss them while I'm here in Indiana. But the guys outside my group of friends are the ones that I have no idea who they are. It's funny how guys say the same thing about girls too. They say that girls are crazy and are full emotions. Well hello but...duh. We are the emotional/relational beings. (If you are a girl and think I'm stereotyping your sex. Wake up darling. You are emotional...embrace it. It's part of womanhood.) I'm tired of hearing both sex complaining about each other and the miscommunication that happens. I'm losing hope that one day there may be peace on earth between the battle of the sexes. Call me an idealist but I think if both parties actually try a little bit there actually can be peace on earth.

Take Time to Give Time

Yes, I know it has been way to long for an update or a random rambling. I do apologize for that and I really do not have any excuse. I guess the only thing I can say for my behavior is that my life has been taken to the next level and I'm still in transition mode. Just to fill some of yall in, I am now in grad school. I am in my fourth week of classes and I already feel the pressure. Let me just clarify that I love my classes and what I am learning here. What am I getting my masters in? Well, my friend, let me tell you..*drum roll*...Masters of Arts in Higher Education and Student Development at Taylor University. Tada! Ok, some of you have no idea what that is or what I can do with that. You know the people who do the student activities or the RD's in your college/univeristy? Ya, that's me. Well, not technically but it's a good description that I can think of. I'm actually working with Taylor World Outreach. I pretty much work with the student leader who lead different ministries that Taylor students can participate in. My classes are amazing because they challenge me to another level of how to interact with students and take into account the history and foundations of higher education as well.



So now I'm located in the middle nowhere, Indiana....in the middle of cornfields. Ya, I never thought I would end up here too. But trust me, God is good on showing me why He brought me here. I never really considered myself being a "city girl" but let me tell you, where I am now...I appreciate tall buildings and civilization a whole lot more. I guess it's a good thing though because I can focuse more on my studies and work. I'm just surrounded by cornfields...and I think I have eaten corn once since I have been here.



So what's the latest though that has been running through my mind lately?...hmmmm....well, I have a bunch of stuff in there from classes and assistantship. But let me give you something that I had to accept today. Priorities. Today I realized that I needed to go back through my list of priorities and see what needs to be changed or added. I knew that transition from undergrad to grad wouldn't be easy but I didn't know how much I needed to change. My priorities are significantly different. I had to come to a point to say it's ok that they have changed. I think I have fought the system too hard to a point of exhaustion. One priority that I knew that I needed to change was the I actually need time to myself. Away from people and their issues. Since my career focus is on student development, I'm constantly around students and people. I'm always checking in on how they are doing and what I can do to help them. I hang out with my class mates outside of school and work. I really come home just to sleep. Solitude. Something I need it and I lack it. I just need time to sit and soak in the presence of who I am....and who God is. I'll admit I do not do that enough. It has caught up with me. How am I willing to serve students with what God has given me if I don't continue to seek out His face? I am just using my own strength and ability that in the end...I'll crash and burn. That is the reason why I feel inadequate at times. I know I am placed in this position for a reason. I need my time alone. I need my time with God. I need my time to give my time.



Are you taking your time? Are you soaking in His presence? Are you taking a moment to yourself and breathe? Turn off all noise. Quiet your mind and soal. You will be surprise to find what is there.

Divine Romance

This weekend I had the privilege of being part of a beautiful celebration of love. As mushy as that sounds, it’s the best description I can give of my roommate’s wedding. Christa has been my roommate for all four years of college. I remember first meeting her and thinking how we were never going to get along. She was this quiet, little, white girl and I was this loud, crazy, Hispanic person. Four years later I found myself wearing a bridesmaid dress at her wedding. God did truly bless me with her friendship and had it planned the whole time. I could write all night about how unique our relationship is, but tonight I want to mention Aaron. I like to call him by his last name, Sherman. It just sounds cooler.
Sherman is one of those guys that I truly have respect for and look up to. Over the past years of being with Christa, he has provided an example of what a gentleman should be like. He is the model of how a man should pursue a girl. He treated Christa like she was more precious than diamonds. He continues to amaze me with his creatively and uniqueness of how he displays his love for Christa.


I cannot count the times I would see Christa’s face light up every time she sees Sherman.

He is an answer to many prayers. God had it planned all along.

He reminds me of what I need to pray for in my future spouse. He reminds me of what commitment is. He reminds me of what pure and true love looks like. He reminds me of what it means to be pursued. He reminds me to always put Christ first.

I’m so thankful and glad that Christa’s new roommate is Sherman…even if he is a boy.

ice berg lettuce salad

Today I came back from a short trip to the beautiful country of Costa Rica. I went there as part of my assistantship at grad school. My supervisor and I were part of a vision teams in hopes to send a mission team out there for the year 2011. Anyways, the rest of the vision are from all over the states and flew to Houston, where I joined in, before making the final arrival to Costa Rica. I was quite hungry when I boarded the plane and I silently prayed that there would be peanuts or crackers served to us. I really wanted the honey roasted ones because when I actually do expect a meal, that’s all I really get in the end. Such harsh reality. Well, as I settled into my seat with ipod and book little did I know that I was about to experience one of the best airplane meals in my life. It was so simple, yet here I am still impressed of the effect it had on me. I was given the option to either have the chicken wrap or some beef sandwich thing. I decided to be bold and choose chicken, plus I love chicken. Along with the chicken wrap the flight attendant handed me a black plastic carton that contained a clear container filled with a salad made with ice berg lettuce, red onions, and shredded carrots. The next item in the black plastic carton was a little “fun size” bag of baby carrots. Now those who know me really well and hang out with me often find me eating a huge bag of baby carrots in one sitting. In other words…I love baby carrots. I prefer them over chips…hands down. I really liked how on the package it said: “No Preservatives. Ready to Eat”…it was reminding you that you can actually eat the carrots…in case you forgot.
The third item in my plastic magical black carton was a “fun size” bag of Brussels cookies that Pepperidge Farm manufactured. These cookies always amazed me because of the packaging is white and I like the color white. The next two items that were in my black neverending carton were a plastic form and Cholula Hot Sauce, which supposedly was imported from Mexico. Since I felt like fighting the stereotype I decided to not use the hotsauce. Ha, eat that stereotypers…just because I look Mexican does not mean I enjoy hot sauce on my ice berg lettuce salad or Brussels cookies.
Since I had all my plastic wrapped food in front of me ready to eat, I decided to eat my ice berg lettuce salad first. I figured I could act a little civilized in a seat thousands of feet in the air. I opened my clear plastic contained and poured on the creamy Italian dressing on the ice berg lettuce and friends. To be honest, I was a little nervous about the meal I was about to experience. Ice berg lettuce does not impress me. It’s the good dark green Romaine lettuce that is my companion in a salad. Along with as many other vegetable such as: tomatoes, cucumbers, red and green bell peppers, carrots, and when I’m adventurous, I throw in some fruit….but I digressed.
After I swallowed down my ice berg lettuce salad, I opened my southwestern chicken wrap. It was warm. I bit into the wrap and became impressed. Who knew that an airplane chicken wrap would be a fiesta in my mouth? My taste buds rejoiced and my tummy did the Hallelujah chorus. “Yum” I thought in my head. I devoured that chicken wrap with help of sips of nice cool airplane water. Next it was the Brussels cookies turn. I opened the awesome white packaging and took one cookie out. “Here we go” I thought. Yes, thank you Pepperidge Farm for manufacturing some divine cookies. Even thought it was “fun size” my sweet tooth was happy. At this point, I was full. I took more gulps of my airplane water and saved my baby carrots. I figured when I needed a little pick me up in Costa Rica, I’ll just whip out these babies out and enjoy. That meal satisfied me and was the highlight of my flight to Costa Rica. Thank you Continental Airlines for giving a 21 year old female hope for airplane food.
…then that hope was shattered on my flight home…I’m still recovering from the meal.

one headphone

Today while I was at Wal-Mart picking up some essentials for my Costa Rica trip tomorrow, I noticed a girl with one ipod headphone in her ear. Just one. Not both of the headphones, just one. “huh…” I thought to myself and continued on my way. I was looking at greeting cards and another girl, completely different race and size, came up next to me with one headphone on. “huh…weird.” I thought to myself again. Then I decided to buy some packaging tape and while I was walking up the aisle there was another girl…with one headphone in her ear. “what the crap?” I thought. I don’t understand the point of having just one headphone on. There are songs that uses both headphones to enhance the joy of the song. Why do you want to have one headphone on and get half the experience where you can have both headphones on and enjoy the beautiful sounds flowing from a square electronic device? Plus, why in Wal-Mart? Is Wal-Mart that lame and boring that you need some entertainment to pick out what kind of shampoo to use or what birthday card is the funniest? I just don’t understand. Also why three girls? Even though they were three completely different girls, there were very similar. They all wore: shorts too short, a tank top way too tight, flip-flops, way too much makeup, and a look on their faces like they ruled the world with their attitude and looks. I just thought it was quite comical that I saw three girls with one headphone on, walking around Wal-mart with a bored look on their faces.

amigos

I’m a relational person. I love people. I love being around people. I love talking to people. I love laughing with people. I love crying with people. I love living with people. This means that I take my relationships with people seriously and sacredly, which also means that my friends are like family to me. I think it has to do with me being an only child and I had to learn to make friends so I won’t be a loner and a snob. Growing up I always ran around with the neighborhood boys and racing on our bikes to see who got to Dunkin Donuts first. Of course growing up with a rough homelife led me to playing outside to escape the hardness of life inside. I found refuge in my neighborhood buddies. As I got older, I learned how beautiful friendships are inside the church. As my faith grew, my relationships grew with people who believed and worshipped the same God I did. They sharpened and encouraged me. They embraced me goodbye when I left them for college. When I got to college, another level of friendships met me there. First the sisterhood of the dorm floor that I lived on for three years. It took me a while to get use to dealing with 30 other girls and their “issues” but I’m grateful for that. They were there for me when that boy didn’t call me or when my butt started to get big or when my face broke out like a large pizza. We would stay up till 3am eating cookie dough and watching Gilmore Girls. We would sit in each others rooms and talk about how frustrating it was to date in college...when we actually had one. Of course we were each different in our own personality and style. We also had friends outside the dorm floor but like we always say: “Once a G3er, always a G3er.” To this day, those girls are precious to me and are my sisters. I would do anything for them. If they needed me to go buy tampons for them I would in a heartbeat. I do miss that sisterhood. That sisterhood I experienced helped me to mature into a woman. I love my G3ers.
In college, I also had the privilege of having another group of friends. I consider them my “family”. One way or another, we all came together. Come to think of it the main thing that brought us together was our Spanish speaking church. I will never forget the first Sunday we all met. The pastor took us all out to Cici’s pizza. We were the loudest and biggest table. Little did we know that from that Sunday on we would be together through those tough years of college. Throughout the years, more people came into our group and some people left. Yes, we went through some awkward and tough times but we were there. It would take us forever to decide what to do on a Friday and Saturday night but in the end…it made memories. I knew that I could always count on the group for anything. They were there as study buddies during the all nighters in the library at finals week. They were there at super bowl cheering and pigging out on junk food. They were there at Saga when the food looked like it was thrown together in a blender. They were there worshipping with each other Sunday night at prayer and praise. They were there when it seems like the end. They were there when someone had a birthday and cake was involved. They were there with the all night long movie marathons. They were there when someone needed prayer. They were there when accountability needed to be set. They had the brotherhood. We had the sisterhood. Yes, there were times when I wanted to pull my hair out because how stupid it got. I even thought about leaving the group and never coming back because how hurt I got sometimes. But I stayed and I loved them even more. They showed me how it was to love even if the person is driving you crazy with their drama. They taught loyalty and respect. They taught me to relax and actually have a good time. They taught me to love.
Now I’m about to go to grad school in the fall. This summer I’m learning how to let go of these dear friends and moving on. Yes, it hurts and it sucks. With my G3ers and my group of friends, we have been through so much. Life goes on. Sometimes I wish it didn’t. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to grow up. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so adventurous and eager to leave. Sometimes I wish I didn’t love so deeply but I do. Now when I go to grad school, my heart will have to grow more to let more people in. Already here in Houston, I’m making more friends that I know I have to say goodbye to. I hate goodbyes.
The main point I’m making is that relationships are so important in our lives. Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without my friends. (Yes, family is important…but that’s another blog.) We should not take for granted our relationships. It’s the real friends that are there to listen all night when a boy/girl breaks up with you or you with them. It’s the real friends that will hug you when your day completely sucked. It’s the real friends that would make instant coffee for you when you’re camping in the middle of nowhere and your head is pounding with the worst caffeine headache in the world. It’s the real friends that love you no matter how weird you are.

i made a necklace

Tonight I made a necklace. I was looking through my nightstand and stumbled upon some beads, pretty string and hemp. “hmmmm…”, I thought to myself. Next thing I knew I was making a creation that I call a necklace and four hours later I come out satisfied. Now as you just read those last couple of sentences, you may think to yourself…this girl is nuts. She stayed up to 2am making a necklace that she considers a masterpiece. Well, let me tell you my friend…I wasn’t just making a necklace…I was thinking. Yes, I think. As we have already established before, I have the tendency to think. I was actually going through the past week that I experienced. I was thinking of how much God’s hand was over these past couple of days. As I was tying the string and sorting through the beads, I laughed to myself the silly mistakes I made in front of numerous people. And as I looked at my final product, I remember how God changed my plans to protect me and bring new people into my life.

This Wednesday I was supposed to drive three hours from Houston to Corpus Cristi to spend a couple of days on the beach with a really good friend of mine. Some of you may know that my car has been acting up like crazy this summer, and my family has spent way too much money on the darn thing to be fixed. Anyways, the day before I was supposed to leave I just felt something holding me back. I really couldn’t put my finger on it until my dad mentioned his concern for my poor little car. I agreed with him and cancelled my plans. I was bummed but I knew I just had to stay home, which compared to the beach was something I did not look forwarded to. Fast forward to Wednesday night…I got invited to hang out at some dude’s house after church. I figured that I should hang out with people my age that loves Jesus. On the way there I noticed my A/C was not as cool as before. “Hmmmm…” I thought to myself. (I tend to do that a lot.) Of course, I shrugged it off as no big deal. Then I noticed something a little different about my car whenever I stopped at a stop sign or stop light; it felt shaky and weak. Sounds like way to describe a human feeling…but it’s the best I could come up with. Well, we finally arrived at the dude’s house and right when I stepped out of my car I noticed smoke coming from my hood. “Oh crap…” I said out loud. My car overheated. Great. Yes, I was freaking out because I do not know a thing about cars. The people who I was with were such a blessing. The guys that were there reassured me that it will be ok. So I called my dad who came out and confirmed that my car overheated. Turned out that some water house was super old and cracked which created a hole. Bummer.

Now my car is ok. There is a point of that whole story. Even though it was just a minor thing…it was major to me. I’m so glad that happened at someone’s house that was 10 minutes from mine and not on the road to Corpus Cristi. I knew that it was the Holy Spirit that told me to stay. I knew that little voice in my head was my common sense to listen to the Holy Spirit. In that little incident, I was reminded of so many life lessons that I easily forget in my crazy life. God is my protector. God is in complete control of my life. God loves me and will always take care of me. From car trouble to Grad school to money issue; I have a Savior who is my King.

I praised Jesus that night and the next day and the next day and the next day…

So I made a necklace tonight. While stringing on the beads I thought about my summer plans of traveling, visiting with friends, spending time with family, and getting ready for grad school. Then I smiled knowing that it could all change in one split second for the glory of the Lord.

reasons for late nights

I don’t know what it is about late nights, but I find it’s the only time of day where I can freely write about anything and everything. Maybe my brain is shutting down slowly and my defenses are down, therefore, leaving me to freely express whatever I have been pondering over the past 24 hours. I have been told numerous times that I think too much, which could explain my insomniac nights. I may think too much that at the end of day my brain just can not hold it in anymore and needs to let some of it out before I drive myself insane. It may be that I have always been a night person but then again I like the sun, so that can not be it. It may be that it’s those late nights when everyone else is asleep and I actually have time to myself that I can write. Usually I am listening to some good music and drinking some beverage, which usually it’s water..even though it makes me pee every ten freaking minutes. Whatever the case may be, it’s late at night that I find myself scribbling in my journal about the events of the day with my own commentary on the side. It’s in these late nights that I also find myself facing some hard questions in life and writing out all of these questions with a question mark at the end. These late nights that I write I have a chance to really explore who I truly am. I am able to learn the hard lessons that I need to accept. I am able to praise my savior for all the mighty things he has done in my life. I am able to express my concern and care for humanity. I am able to humor myself with some wise cracks I think throughout the day. In these late nights I explore the person that I am and embrace the changes in my life. I sometimes find myself opening my Bible to a Scripture or two. I write out a prayer for my hard issue or a loved one that needs hope or encouragement. In these late night writings, I vent out all the frustrations of my undergraduate life and now my new graduate life. They are real and personal. I seek my God out. I find meaning and purpose. I discover love and hope. I experience compassion and mercy. I express concern and gratitude. I embrace failure and success.

So tonight…I write. I write about everything and anything…because I can.