Homework :(

So I was feeling pretty good this week about how things were going so far in college. I wasn't too overwhelmed with what I had to do, until today. I have so much homework, and it's kinda stressful thinking about it. I have given it to the Lord, and He's been giving me peace, but it's still a lot. I have to write a reflection paper for Psychology, which I don't even really know how to do...find and summarize an article for a research project...read a book I don't have yet and write an essay on it by Friday...review anatomy notes...read for history...reading for communications... I know it will all work out eventually. I just need to trust in the Lord for inspiration and help in time management! Other than all the homework, I really love it here. I'm starting to become pretty good friends with my roommate, Dana. We made cinnamon rolls last night, and played the guitar the night before. Tonight there's a "movie on the lawn" for the whole campus. We're watching "The Little Rascals". I'm excited! Also, I get to hang out with Lauren this weekend which will be really nice. Overall, I'm really glad I decided to come here, and am looking forward to a great semester...challenging, but great!

First Day of School!

So yesterday wasn't quite my ideal first day of school. It wasn't bad or anything, it just didn't quite go the way I was expecting. Here's why...My class schedule online said that all of my classes were an hour later than they actually were, so I missed two of them. Luckily there was an anatomy class when I showed up, and I caught the problem before my last class. I missed history and Understanding Jazz, so I wouldn't say it was horrible to miss those. I'm just really puzzled as to why my schedule has all my classes an hour late. I did have to cut my run for cross country short because of this, which was disappointing. Other than that it was a great first day! Today I had communications, and I still have Anatomy lab and Psychology. It should be good. I'm just happy I caught that issue before it was too late...and hoping it's not too late for history! It's nice to have a schedule and to start a routine. Being in classes really makes me feel more like a college student, and takes my mind off of missing everyone so much.

Practice

Since I've been here, I think I have already grown a lot as a runner. Yesterday we had a hard practice, but afterward, I felt really good about how I did. We had a certain pace from the time trial that we had to stay at. We ran a 200, 400, 600, 800, then back down. The hardest part was the mile we did after that. We had to run it all together and make it in 6:50. For the faster people that wasn't so bad, but for us slower people, it was a bit more difficult. I wasn't right up there the whole time, but I finished with the pack. We didn't all finish together, so we had to do 50 push ups and 100 crunches. It was hard but good. Today we learned how to aqua jog! It feels kinda funny, cuz we had to wear these weird looking suits and then just run in the water. It was kinda fun though! I can't wait for my dad to come tomorrow! This week seems to have taken forever! Here's one more picture. It's of all the girls on the team. From left: Emily, Olivia, Melissa, Mary, Kelsey, me, Hannah, Bethany. I thought it was interesting that there is a Bethany and Melissa on my team! Those are my sister's names!

Moving in and Cross Country

Since I've been here, I have met some really nice people, basically just my cross country team. It is hard not really knowing anyone though. I have spent a lot of time by myself, missing home. On Thursday, we had a 3K time trial for cross country. I beat one girl by like one second, but I still felt pretty slow. Friday we left for cross country camp in Bend/Sisters. We went on some dusty, but beautiful runs. Each day we ran at least 60 minutes. I can keep up when we do the long slow runs pretty well. It's been hard to be somewhere that I feel like a complete stranger, and not really very outgoing. I know it will all get better once there are more people to meet! Here are some pictures of my room and camp.
Smith rocks in Bend, OR. It was beautiful! Some of the team hiked, but after a hard run me and four other girls stayed back and talked.
From left: Hannah, Bethany, Mary, me. Bethany and Mary are sisters, and Hannah is a freshman. Bethany is the team captain.
My mom and I got creative with the bulletin board! We got a pad of cool paper, ribbon, and some cool thumb tacks, so now I have pictures of everyone I am missing so much up there!

I got my sheets at IKEA. It was a huge store! Lots of fun stuff.

In Newberg

My mom and I just made it to Newberg, OR where I will be going to George Fox University! It hasn't quite hit me yet that I don't live in Missoula anymore. Yesterday, we drove about 6 hours to Kennewick, WA and stayed in a Red Lion. We slept in this morning then had breakfast at the hotel, then drove four hours here to Newberg, with a little detour around Portland. We're going to go get some stuff for my dorm room, and I will move in tomorrow. It's about 90 degrees here and pretty humid...a little warmer than Missoula has been lately! I am really excited about this new adventure, and kinda nervous at the same time, mostly about cross country. But I know that this is God's will, and while I am excited and nervous, I am also at total peace. I know that as long as I trust in God and commit myself to Him every day, everything that happens to me is in His hand. Thanks everyone for praying for me! I'll try to keep this updated as best as I can!