Chicago!

This weekend Zack's mom and I went to Chicago to see his sister and the musical JERSEY BOYS. We had a really great time! Here are some fun photos from our trip!



Sarah and me, all ready for the theater!
The little MegaBus Man!



I was so excited to be at Starbucks in Chicago!!
Eating delicious breakfast at West Egg in Downtown Chicago!
The MEGABUS!!
More breakfast pics...

The show was fantastic! I really love Chicago ...just the atmosphere and the whole urban deal. We went to a couple of really cool stores- Urban outfitters and a neat shoe store that sold really expensive designer shoes. We didn't get to really sightsee or anything because we were only there from Sat afternoon to Sunday morning, but next time we go back (and Zack's mom said there would be a next time, so yay!) we are going to go the whole weekend! I love fun weekends!

Scared

Worrying is no good, I know this. But I hate the unknown, and I don't know what is wrong with you and that scares me a LOT. You are my best friend from home and even though we don't talk as much as we should, I know that you are SUCH an important part of my life. So I'm praying and I know things will turn out fine, but until I know you are ok and healthy, I won't stop worrying completely. I'm just...scared... :(

Ohhhh RELST 151

I would just like to make it public that I do NOT like memorization tests, I do not like studying things with large gaps in them, and I seriously dislike Religious studies! What I thought was going to be an awesome class has morphed into an awful waste of time. Ugh. :P

A college degree

I was talking to a guy in one of my classes today, and it struck me just how much a college degree is losing its weight. It used to be that if you went to college, you would get a job, you would make a lot of money, and you would be set. It used to be that your major decided what you would do with your life. But now we have these majors (like mine, for sure) that if you get a bachelor's degree in, you could maybe get a starting position at Wal-Mart. The mystique of the college degree is going by the wayside and has been replaced with a graduate degree. I've noticed that as my friends are getting ready to graduate, unless they are going into teaching, the first question I ask is "What grad school are you looking into?" If they aren't looking into grad school, then I find myself wondering what they are going to do with their lives! It's almost like the undergraduate baccalaureate degree is the new high school education. It's weird that a senior at Ball State can say that he expects to have "the life of a bum" (kidding of course, but still) with a double minor in addition to his major. At the rate we are going, by the time my generation has kids and they are in college, I suspect the PhD will have taken the place of a master's degree. But where do you go from there? How much more educated can we really get?

The Big Debate

We are discussing Judaism in religious studies. I think it is interresting how much every one feels that they know about it and how much we might not really know. It makes me think of my experiences with the church right now. We all think we know so many things about how to live and how to practice this faith. We make a lot of rules, a lot of false, nitpicky things that I have never found in the Bible, but possibly some preacher somewhere came up with, I don't know. But I have just found a lot of frustrations with my church life right now. I don't understand the narrowmindedness that I have encountered. I don't understand being legalistic. I don't understand judging someone and categorizing them based on their sins. I'm struggling a lot with just one concept of something. I think that is natural and happens to everyone, but I just don't know what to do because this is something that no one really talks about. I know that I 100% believe in Jesus and the bible and that God has done some AMAZING things in my life and in my friends' lives. I just don't see why we have these factions and divisions among Chrsitians, especially in the church. I can't tell you how many times I have been looked down on because I am "liberal." What is liberal? That I don't hate people who are different that me? That I will vote Democratic in the next election? That I could sympathize with a woman who might have an abortion because she is scared and no one has told her that she has any other options? I'm pretty sure that if Jesus was here, he would love on those women and show them a better way, not tell them that they are going to hell or make fun of them (that's what really gets me- when people make fun of people who are different...why?) I know not everyone is like this, but I am confused as to why I am being overly confronted with it day after day it seems. People are people and you have to level with them. Being narrow-minded and pushy isn't going to convert them. Love just might though...crazy concept!

My first trash-picking experience

This weekend, I was home for fall break. After church, Zack and I drove onto his street and I saw these amazing light pine bookshelves sitting out front of his neighbor's house! Now, in Zack's neighborhood, trashpicking is something that everyone does but I have never personally taken part. However, when I saw these shelves, I just knew that they had to go in my room next year! So now I have some perfect condition, solid pine bookshelves! They are 5ft tall and 6ft wide and I'm planning on putting them in a corner next to my desk! :) I can't wait for this apartment!

Also, last year my assistant hall director Katie would take magazines and clip the things that she liked from them so she wouldn't have to save all the magazines. Last night I started my very first recipe scrap book! My nana gets these little women's magazines and they have SO many recipes in them! I can't wait to make them! I'm proud of my craftiness :)

So lately I have made some important decisions that I am really excited about! First of all, yesterday I signed a lease for next year! I will be living in a four bedroom-four bathroom apartment at College Park with Whitney, Allison, and Sam! I'm sooo excited, especially because my financial aid is going to basically cover rent so this will make me more relaxed AND not put a financial burden on my grandparents! I can't wait to decorate and cook every day!

Also, I just made the decision to drop out of ESA. It wasn't an easy choice to make, but it was one that I couldn't put off any longer. As much as I respect what they are doing, I know that I cannot commit myself to any more activities. It is really hard for me to not be involved in everything, but I need to get it together and cut back! Hopefully I can make more positive changes like this in the near future.