Hanging on by a thread

I've always considered myself someone who can balance a lot. Balance it all and stay sane. However, right now, I feel like I'm about to lose my balance and the thought of that scares me enough that it might be what pushes me over the edge.

I'm going one day at a time. I'm not sure if that's very good for my grades, I didn't walk out of my Ecology test this morning feeling very confident, but so far it's working.

Here are some photos I've taken recently. They remind me that when I feel like I'm barely going to get through the day, there are so many good things, things I am thankful for, things that keep me hangin' on.

My good friend Katie finally turned 21! Yay!

While Katie turned 21, Gonzaga turned 125. They had a big celebration to celebrate the 'historic first day of classes'
This is me and my housemates. L to R: Erinleigh, Kristine, Kate, Mengya

My parents are wonderful people. After a long conversation with my dad (me being very stressed out, him trying to help me cope) I received this in the mail.
It says:
Behold this marvelous gift of nature!
Yet, your talent surpasses that which produced it;
Your beauty exceeds it;
And your endurance will enable you to hang on through more challenges than it could endure.

The score of my first lab report! Yay! Although, this I know is mostly due to the help of my roommate Erinleigh who edited it for me. 

Erinleigh and I went to a concert last week. The Head and the Heart performed in Spokane. If you haven't heard them before, check em out, they're great.

Patrick, my fellow CLP intern, and Josh, director of CLP, were also at the concert.

I am currently fighting a cold. Lots of OJ and DayQuil.

Hope you all are doing well and I hope you have a great week!

Life is a Whirlwind

It's been almost four months since I last posted. Now, this blog is no longer necessary as a tool to keep in touch with friends and family halfway around the world or share my experience as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl in the Middle East. Now, I want this to be an outlet where, hopefully, I will be able to think and reflect on what's happening in my life.

Quick recap: my summer was spent in Spokane working and seeing people I had not seen since December. It was great. Here are a few pictures from the summer.

Family canoe trip in May.

Laura, Micah, Ashlee and I. Reunited on my return from Jordan.

My friend Amanda's 21st birthday.

Mom and Dad came for about a week to visit me in Spokane. 

We went to Priest Lake in Northern Idaho. It was beautiful. 

In August I went home for Laura's wedding. Crazy to think my friends are getting married but so much fun. 

August came quickly though and for me, that means the beginning of volleyball season. We usually start practice the second week of August and have three weeks of practice before classes start. This is my fourth year as the manager and although I have loved it in years past, I can tell, this is going to be my favorite season. The coaches have given me a lot of responsibility which is something I appreciate but also take seriously. I've been able to travel with them too. So far I've been to Seattle and Las Vegas but this Thursday we leave for Tempe and then next week we begin conference on the road in California.

A couple pictures from Las Vegas. It was HOT!

The Comprehensive Leadership Program has also been a passion of mine at GU. This year I have the honor and responsibility of serving as one of two senior Murdock interns for the program. We're just getting started but I am so excited to work with Josh and Katie, two huge mentors in my life and Patrick, a peer I have so much respect for.

Of course, academics is also a part of college so I have about an eighteen credit course load. One of these classes is a lab science class. Cue uh-oh. Science is definitely not my strong suit but hopefully I'll be able to struggle through this class and get a decent grade. I'm also taking my senior project class. Essentially I have to write at 25-50 page paper on the topic of my choice. Cue uh-ohs again. I've never written a paper this long in my life. Half the battle is picking a topic that I'm interested in and will still be interested in after three months of research.

All of this is to say that I AM BUSY. At the end of each day I crawl into bed and am asleep within minutes. A couple of nights I've chosen to stay up a bit later to do me-things, things I've wanted to be doing but just couldn't find the time. Things like read a book (for fun), read the newspaper, exercise, watch Michelle Obama's speech at the DNC, wash the dishes and clean my room. It was almost an extra two hours but the next morning I felt so refreshed. It was a huge reminder to me that if I want to continue to do well in the other areas of my life, I also need to take care of myself.

I don't plan on slowing down, but if I want to stay sane, I know a few minutes each day devoted to something for me, will be a huge investment of my time.