Loss

A lot of pain has found its way into my high school this past week alone. Not even a year after losing one of my classmates, another friend of mine lost his life. Then, soon after, we received word that an administrator went to be with the Lord as well. Finally, just yesterday, yet another classmate of mine lost his long battle with cancer. Three in about a week.
My old high school is no stranger to loss. We have lost students and alums alike to accidents and illness, but I don't think we have suffered it this much in this concentration. Now, as the school year is fixing to start up again, I don't know how they are going to cope or even try to be happy in this time of grief. 
Mt little brother will be a senior this year, and he was close with the student that passed away more than I was. They ate lunch together everyday, and people said they looked like twins, or at least brothers. That's how I was introduced to him. "Mary Grace this is ____, doesn't he look just like your brother??" And we had a good laugh about it. It's just hard to see him like this.
But that really puts things into perspective and it forces us to realize that life is precious and it is a gift, not a privilege. The events that my school has faced is tragic to say the very least, and the memories of those lost will remain in our minds and in our hearts forever. But now students, teachers, administrators, and parents alike will have a new deep appreciation for what they have and find that time to reconnect with things that are most important- such as their family, friends, and most importantly, God.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"

- 2 Timothy 4:7

6 Things to Keep in Mind

This has been one of the most hectic times in my life. Moving away from home for the first time and finding my bearings, needless to say I've lost a lot of sleep but it's all been worth it. As this school year comes to a close, I have great friends and  a good job, and I just wanted to share some of the stuff I learned that may help incoming freshmen, or anyone really, that I wish I knew when I started school:

Only schedule 8 am classes if you are a super morning person 

Just because you had to wake up at 7 for high school doesn't mean it's going to be easy to wake up for an 8 am class in college. A lot of people gave me this advice and I didn't listen. LISTEN TO IT NOW.

It's okay to skip a class (just do it sparingly)

In my first semester I was pledging a social club, and they kept us on Wednesdays nights till 11 at night. I had an 8 am the next day (see tip #1), so I was struggling to say the least. One Wednesday night I finished all my homework and got back from the pledging meeting and immediately passed out on my bed. I woke up the next day at 9, and I thought the world was about to end. But, as it turns out, it kept right on turning. The moral of the story is this: some classes give you a certain amount of absences for events like that. If you're sick, don't go to class. If you feel you can miss a class that you're doing relatively well in to study for one you aren't? Do it. You're health and success in school is more important than your attendance record.

People won't hate you if you leave early

If you decide to pledge a fraternity, sorority, or any other social organization, school still happens. Life isn't like those college movies. But the great thing is your organization will understand that. Because nine times out of ten the active members have stuff going on too and they plan on leaving a function early. Sometimes, if you have a small group like I do, it's possible to fit a function around every one's schedule. They want you to be there, if they didn't they wouldn't  have asked you to join on Bid Day (or Squeal Day or whatever your school calls it). So, they will do what they can to include you.

Taco Bell will be a good friend of yours

Even if you don't eat it now, you will have many opportunities to eat it at college. If you're one of those people that refuse to eat fast food because you're healthy and care about your body, you will most likely be sitting in a booth writing a paper with people that do.

Always ask about teachers 

When signing up for classes, ask around about the professors. Let me tell you, the worst thing is getting to a class and have it be ruined by a teacher you don't mesh with. I learned that my first semester in my Comp I and my History I class. Everytime I did their work I just had this feeling of disgust because I hated the way they taught or the way they talked to me. When I registered for my second semester, however, I had a chance to talk to some people and I found the teachers to take that way and now I'm almost sad to leave my History II class because I adore my teacher.

ALWAYS CARRY AN UMBRELLA

I don't care if you have never seen rain in your life. I don't care if you go to school in a desert. I don't care if you were cursed as a child and now every city you go to falls into a drought. You WILL be in class and you WILL hear a clap of thunder and you WILL have to walk back to your dorm in tercentennial down pour without an umbrella. Trust me.

College Life

My freshmen experience so far has been bitter sweet. Since this is my first time living away from home, that is expected. When I first arrived on campus I was excited but at the same time fighting back tears. I had left my home I had come to tolerate and my friends whom I’ve come to love. I cried at the Chili’s before I got to campus because my mom asked if I was okay. Obviously I wasn’t.

I pulled up to the curb of Kincannon and we were immediately helped. A group unpacked my things and carried them up the stairs while I got my room key. Then my parents went to go park the car and I carried my box of yarn up the stairs to my new room. I climbed up to the second floor, then the third, then the fourth. I was seeing stars when I finally reached the fifth floor. Hopefully this won’t become a regular thing, I thought to myself. But I’ll get to that later.

I unpacked everything, met my roommate for the first time, and went to Walmart to get a few extra things. When we got back, my dad kept egging my mom to leave. You see, my older brother had returned from an eight week study abroad the Friday before move in day, and then left for school the upcoming Monday, so my dad wanted to spend time with him before he left. So that’s what my parents did. They said goodbye and were gone, leaving me in my new room. I was terrified.

Then, I met my suitemate, Carol Ann. And we became fast friends. We began going to nearly all the campus events together and met more people, like my dorm neighbors on the other side of me, JennyAnn and Rachel. Then Carol Ann’s roommate, Kyley came along and we befriended her. Suddenly I didn’t feel as scared as I did. It felt so good to know people on campus, because no one from my graduating class came to the school. In the first week I did the ice bucket challenge, the wobble, and had a late night talk at the gazebo.

But of course not all things were good. Kincannon’s elevators broke. We were stuck taking the stairs for a few days. Now I know that sounds bad, but when you live on the top floor and you just got done at the gym and it’s a million degrees outside, it’s not a very pleasant place to be. None the less, they were fixed by the weekend and haven’t shut down since. Hopefully it will stay that way.

I guess I should touch on the classes I went to as well, seeing as that’s the reason I’m in college. They were fine, nothing too terrifying just yet. I’m looking forward for the semester to progress and see what this place has in store for me. The events I’m looking forward to are Recruitment week, Bid Day, and Fried chicken Tuesdays. Not because of the fried chicken, but for the macaroni and cheese. That stuff is the bomb.

Food for Thought

The one thing I will not miss when I leave for school will be all these people who have judged me and condemned me to hell all these years. I live in the bible belt, and I'm Catholic. No one knows anything about my religion, and they've been taught at a very early age that their way is the ONLY way and they need to try to convert everyone to their way. No one took time to teach them about other world views. Luckily I met people who were open minded and listened to my side of the story, but with others I wasn't so lucky. People assumed I worshiped the Virgin Mary and the Saints. They thought I saw the Pope as God. One of my friends even said all Catholics were going to Hell because they were Pagan worshipers who didn't believe i God.

That was ninth grade, people. She never apologized, however we were able to put aside out differences and accept that we had different outlooks on life.

I thought I would have been able to handle the assumptions by the time my senior year came around. My teacher was just like any other bible teacher I've had before. He did his job and I took notes, whether or not I agreed with somethings he thought.

However that all changed when we started to discuss Abraham's Bosom.

He began talking about prophet who had passed did not go to Heaven, but instead traveled to Abraham's Bosom, and in time they were retrieved to go to Heaven. I raised my hand and asked if that was the place where I knew better as Purgatory, the Place between Heaven and Hell where some people went to become purified before entering the Kingdom of Heaven.

My teacher laughed.

HE LAUGHED.

He said that Purgatory was simply a scam the Catholic priests invented in the Middle Ages to get money. 

Now, I am not going to deny the corruption of the Catholic Church back then, but none the less. I could believe that a glittery unicorn named Xavier descended from IceCreamland and created the world with his powers of friendship and woodworking skills, YOU DON'Y LAUGH AT A BELIEF OF ANOTHER PERSON.

I went to my next class crying in both embarrassment and fury. I wanted to hit him as hard as I could, but I froze and didn't do anything. I told my mom about it and gave me literature and essays to support Purgatory's existence to bring to my teacher the next day. She also arranged a meeting with the principal for me and her to talk about the event.

I walked the next day to present my information to him when he pulled me out of the room. He apologized for embarrassing me the previous day, but he was still adamant about how he was right. I kept trying to show him my findings, but he kept interrupting me and quoting scripture. In the end I didn't care about Purgatory anymore, I just wanted to tell him how much o a jackass he was for putting my faith down to a 'get rich quick' scheme. The bell rang and it was time for my meeting.

That didn't go well either. He did the same thing, and said he would reprimand my teacher for embarrassing me, but he said nothing about the issue I was really concerned about. In the end it was passed over and I was never given an outlet to express how I felt until now.

People need to know about how ignorant people can be but also how sympathetic someone can can be. My teacher called me out in front of the whole bible class. Thus, everyone rallied with me and realized he was wrong to do so. A lot of kids in my class didn't believe there was a Purgatory, but told me they supported me in my decision to bring the issue to the attention of the administration. And, since it's high school and gossip spreads like wildfire, other people in my grade heard and so did younger grades. It was a good feeling.

So my closing statements are these:

~ Don't shit on someone's beliefs

~ Please try to be open minded and hear people out about their worldview

~ Don't be a dick head

Thank you :)

There's no money in teaching, why would you major in education?"

Because I want to encourage kids to learn. I want to inspire them to have a passion for finding out new things. I want them to know they can do greater things than play a sport or make a sex tape to become famous. I want to reward a student for doing well on a writing assignment and brag to other teachers about how smart they are. Showing children all the cool stories about kings and presidents of history and tell them more than what the textbook does, because lord knows they don’t print everything that happened. If I’m excited about the lesson, so will they. I’m always finding out new things and I want to be an example that you never stop learning. Money doesn't mean anything to me if I hate the way I earn it. If I only make one student say “That’s so cool!” then it’s worth it.

Blast From the Past

So I went up to my old high school to go get something from my mom (who works there) and I decided to pop in on my art teacher. We talked for a while when she said "oh hey I have that slab you did last year!" And she brought out this wonderful thing! The story was our assignment was to do a ceramic slab, but once we finished the oven didn't work so we couldn't finish. Once we graduated it worked again so some of the younger art students (also some of my good friends) glazed all the colors for us :) it turned out better the Han I would have done it I'll say that!!

I made this a little while ago but here is Jon Snow, who knows nothing other than being absolutely adorable as an amigurumi mini. It only took me a few hours to do, and now he needs a friend. So if you're reading this please give me ideas on who I should do next (Please don't say Darryl Dixon from TWD I don't watch that show) Thank you so much!