Fall Walk

  i. water

 ii. berries

iii. leaves

And a sibling selfie to top it off. :) A late happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Happy Weekend!

 Thanksgiving break is here. Family and home are the best. Life is good.

I used my camera today for the first time in weeks and it felt great to be taking photos again! Here are a few from my walk today. Hopefully there will be a few more blog posts in the next week as I have loads more free time. Have a great weekend! :)

See the World

July 2014

"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it."

Author Unknown

There are no photos in my September 2014 folder in Lightroom. Actually, there is no folder called that at all. 

Guess what? I need to pick up my camera again!

Musings

I’m sitting here at my computer, enjoying a pleasant breeze coming in my window and relishing the fact that almost all my homework is behind me for this weekend. Three tests completed this week? Check. Big drawing turned in? Check. Composition paper submitted and a thirty page essay on suburbanization read and responded to? Check. Studied for another test next week? Check. And more readings finished? Check. I’m feeling accomplished AND relaxed, which is a pretty big order right now.

I continue to be impressed by (and enjoy - ha!) some of my classes – especially my USA History professor. He has been teaching on the American Revolution, and I love his approach to teaching. Not fact after fact, but the larger picture. We aren’t memorizing every battle, but we are learning the ideas and reasons behind the war. It’s pretty amazing.

-

It is getting cooler, which I hadn’t prepared myself for. I thought it would stay nice and summery for at least another month or so. Nope. We have had a couple cool, rainy days, and it actually dropped below 60 degrees Fahrenheit one morning. My blood is thin from not having had winter for 2 years, and it will take some adjusting to! Break out the sweaters and scarves! Thankfully, it is pleasant 78 degrees right now with a breeze, and it is warm (or cool?) enough for me to open my window. But no, honestly, I’m excited for fall… cooler days, wind nipping at my face, hot drinks, being bundled up… I know it will be refreshing. :)

-

It is hard to believe that six weeks of college are over already. Time is flying! And it’s not just college that's flying by… it has been four months to the day since my family left the Philippines. Exactly four months ago we were cramming ourselves and our earthly possessions into two taxis to begin the long journey “home.”

So much has happened - so much has changed since then! I miss my home, but I love my new home both with my family and also my newer home at college. But you know what? All these new homes make me more excited than ever for my real Home, where there aren't any goodbyes! :) 

+ a few photos from the Desert Museum because I couldn't blog without photos, especially since I haven't blogged for almost a month. So much for good resolutions! Oh well. Huge thanks to my faithful & very patient readers :)

Good Things

Dear faithful blog readers,

It's been two weeks since I blogged. More, actually. 16 days, to be exact. I'm sorry it's been so long!

I've been in college for two weeks now. It's been really good. It's been hard at times. I miss being with my family. But it's just a different stage of life, and it has gone very well so far! There are lots of decisions to make on my own, new expectations from new teachers, classes that really challenge me, and I've met so many people that I recognize way more faces than names!

The cafeteria food is really good. The salad bar, smoothies, and sweet potato waffle fries are the best. And soft-serve ice cream with Oreos? Yum.

Classes have been interesting. My favorite two are Composition 1 and U.S.A Comprehensive Survey (US History). College operates very differently though, especially regarding assignments. The professor hands you the syllabus on day one, and says:
"Here is everything you need to know to succeed in this class. Get all the assignments done on time and keep up with homework! It's all on page four." And then they let you loose. Its overwhelming to say the least. Thank goodness for planners!

Amy and I are loving rooming together. It is really nice to have a place where you can just relax... not have to adjust to living with a new person. (not to say that rooming with someone you don't know is bad at all... can be great!) I think it's made the dorm feel like home more quickly. We've also gotten involved in RUF, and are starting to build some good friendships there. People are so welcoming, and have been amazing about getting us involved, giving us rides, etc. :)

Whenever I go through big changes, I'm so thankful that I have God as my refuge & strength! I don't know how I'd do it without Him. I look at others around me who don't know Him and are trying to do this whole college thing by themselves. It really is in Him that I have confidence.

Anyway...all that to say that it's been an overwhelming & busy, but great two weeks. Hopefully I'll be getting back to blogging every week as I settle into more of a routine :)

And, because I can't post a blog without some photos.... here are some from our family trip to Jekyll Island a few weeks ago. At the very end are some photos of my dorm room too :)

And.....my dorm :)

Have a wonderful LONG weekend! I'm loving being home with my family for a few days :)

A New Adventure

Tomorrow I leave for college.

Wow.

A year ago, I was busy applying to colleges, writing essays, and thinking about majors - essentially, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the next four years. Big decision for a 17 year old, right? I guess most of us have to do it.

To be completely honest, it was scary at the time. I worried (the worrying was pointless, the concern was not - I didn't miss deadlines! :)) about choosing the right state, the right college, the right major, the right scholarships...

...close to home? Far from home? (But where is home?) Public? Private? Christian? Secular? Small? Large? A major sure to get me a "good job?" Or something I love?

Living outside of the US added another level of difficulty - getting documents to colleges and scheduling interview times is a bit more complicated when you are 12 hours ahead and thousands of miles apart. (Yay for email and Skype!) But with lots of advice from family and friends, lots of researching, and lots of prayer, things all fell in place. I applied to three colleges, chose one, chose a major, chose a dorm, and chose a roommate. (My best friend! Everyone thinks it's hilarious that the twins are rooming together...why not?! We like each other!)

God has provided for me - beyond all I could ask or think. He has provided financially, emotionally, and spiritually. I feel prepared. It's so much easier to see God's hand in the whole process when I look back at it. A year ago, I felt so unprepared and overwhelmed by all the options and things to do. But now I look at all the great opportunities He has given me - everything from the creativity to write essays and the time to apply for scholarships, to the blessing of spending my high school years in another country and of having my family near me the first year - and I'm so thankful!

Here's to change, to learning, and to a wonderful God!

A design I printed for my dorm room/photos are abstracts from driftwood beach on Jekyll Island... more photos from our trip to Jekyll Island to come soon. :)

The Marsh

It's grassy. Muddy. Watery. Green. Sometimes yellow. Lots of crabs. No sharks. (I thought there were when I was 7.)

Come see it! :)

Setting Sun

Setting sun
+
Tall pines
+
Spanish moss
+
Lush marshes
+
Golden light
=
Happy photos
 
I love photography so much. And I love my family. And the One who created all of it.

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!

Psalm 113:3