Thankfulness

Looking around and thinking about my life, I realize I have a lot to be thankful for. I tend to complain about my life to anyone who will listen, but most of those complaints are trivial and are proven meaningless the next day. I'm going to take a minute and list some of the things I'm thankful for.

- For having the opportunity to go to college, basically for free. No matter how much I complain and how much stress it brings me, I'm thankful that I, unlike many others, am able to afford a higher education.

- For my job. I found steady employment in a time of economic turmoil. Not only that, but I found a family in my coworkers and bosses. I'm thankful for every single person I work with because each one has been there for me when I have needed them.

- For my family. I'm lucky enough to have a mom and dad who still love each other and love me, in spite of my (many) mistakes. I'm even thankful for my brothers. We've grown a lot closer as we've gotten older and I wouldn't give that up for the world.

- For my new friends. For my newest roommate, Faith, is an amazing girl who has quickly become one of my best friends and my biggest confidant. For my new guy friends, who have opened their apartment to me multiple times when I need to escape my stress for a few hours. They are always there with open arms and open ears and will do anything to make me happy.

- For my chosen family. For the women who helped raise me and helped shape me into the woman I have become. For their children who have become my cousins; I would do anything for them. For the girls who have become my sisters and the boys who have become my brothers. They love to annoy me like my real brothers do, but it just makes me love them more.


There are so many other things I am thankful for this year. That's only the tip of the iceberg. But instead of spending the time to write about it, I'm going to go show my thankfulness to my family.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Gator Nation

Such a long day... Landon and I went to the Gator football game this afternoon. It's the first time we've gone without our dad and it was a ton of fun, but very exhausting. The boys played absolutely horribly, but miraculously came back and won in the last 10 seconds. God really is a Gator fan!

This game was full of Gator Nation love. A wedding reception was taking place in the section to the right of us. The bride and groom got married in the morning and decided to celebrate at the game, wedding dress and all. It was pretty funny site to see. As the game ended, a man in the section to the left of us proposed to his girlfriend (she said yes!). Landon and I also ran into our cousin, Neal, during the game. He goes to FSU now (what a shame), so we barely get to see him. It was pretty awesome getting to catch up.

The Swamp will always hold a special place in my heart. It's full of memories of amazing times with my family and friends. I can't remember my first game there, but I do remember all of the smiles, cheers, "We Are the Boys", and Alma Maters. It's one of those places that I will always love and never forget. Even as I've grown up and the people at the games have changed, I still smile, remember the happiness, and have a great time.

GO GATORS!!!

Love

I don't normally discuss politics with anyone because people tend to get too heated over the subject. That being said, I do think it's important to highlight one very important decision 4 states made in the election last night. Gay marriage is finally legal in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, and Washington state. This brings the total count of anti-DOMA states/territories up to 11. Over 20% of our country has finally opened their eyes and realized love is love. I can only hope this percentage will increase as the years go by. It's my dream to see my best friend get married. I want to be at his wedding and watch his face light up as he marries the love of his life. I think it's ridiculous when people try to say same-sex marriage would ruin traditional marriage. My best friend's future marriage would in no way negatively affect my own. As a Christian and a human being, I do not see a problem with letting love be shown. I completely understand that some churches are against performing these marriages. That's fine, they should not and would not be forced to do so. What they would be forced to do is open their narrow minds and see how much love same-sex couples have to offer. People are people. Love is love. Civil unions are not marriages.

Blessings Galore

Thursday, I was offered a promotion at work. It was somewhat expected (and much needed) because my G.M. has been giving me more responsibility lately. I've been awaiting this offer for a while because I don't get many hours inputing Data and I need to save up money for my internship. I'll be a Front Line Manager as soon as I finish my training this week! I love my job and I can't wait to learn about the unseen side of the business. This job has always been a blessing. Each and every one of my coworkers is awesome. My G.M. is a very godly man who is always there to listen and give advice. Now that I'm an FLM, I'll get to spend more time at work, making money and getting to know everyone a little better. I'll also get to work on my leadership skills, which will come in handy in my future classroom.

Today, I was an extra in my neighbor's short film for his editing class. We staged a massive water fight (I got to "kill" a couple people") in the back of our complex. I'm not exactly the best actress, but it was still a lot of fun. 

This Saturday, I'm taking Landon to the Gator game. I'm a little nervous because it's the first game we're going to without Dad and I don't really know my way around campus, but I'm sure Landon will know what's going on. It'll be nice to spend time with him.

Life is great right now and I can't wait to see what else is in store for me.

Here's a random picture of us playing dead at the end of the film.

"His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me."

I love little symbols that remind you to smile. I still have my little sparrow figure (thanks Rachael) on my dresser to remind me everything will be okay.

This morning, there was a little sparrow outside my door. I think God knew I needed a pick me up. It worked.

7 Days in September

This is one of those movies that changes the way you look at the world. For the entire length of this documentary, I sat in bed with my hand over my mouth, unable to look away. Being a child during 9/11, I was shielded from the news, the sheer terror, and ...I'm having a hard time thinking of words right now... I guess just the truth of what had really happened. I understand why my parents, teachers, and friends felt the need to do this. At the age of 10, I don't think I could have handled knowing the truth or seeing the footage. But now, at 21, I felt it was time to face what really happened. I feel like my generation has been done a disservice by not seeing what really happened. I don't feel like my classmates and friends really understand what happened or what it meant to New Yorkers or the American people as a whole. Seeing this documentary really opened my eyes to the truth. It was a raw first-hand account of the events surrounding the Tri-State area. Through the lenses of the filmmakers, I witnessed things I never hope to see again. I had to keep reminding myself that it was real, not a horror movie. This really happened. People really died like this. The accounts of the children were probably the most stirring. Kids, younger than I was at the time, understood exactly what happened. They were fearful but not defeated. They knew what they had to do to keep moving forward and help. While I was being told the Towers didn't actually get hit (yes, that's what my GIFTED teacher at the time thought was best to tell us), these kids were rallying together and giving back. It's emotional and it's scary. I'm probably going to have to sit here alone for the next few minutes to gather my composure and my thoughts before I can move on.

I know it's not something people like to do, watch movies that make them think, cry, or relive painful memories, but sometimes it's necessary. If you have a Netflix account, I highly recommend searching for this documentary and watching every minute of it. It gets hard at times, but don't look away. Take the time to think about what it all meant and what it all still means. It will make you a better person in the end.

Near Death Experience

Okay, so maybe that's an exaggeration. It wasn't near-death, but definitely near-severe-injury.
Yesterday started out like any other day. I went to class, hung out at Landon's for a little bit, went to the library with Dana to do our science project, and then grabbed dinner with the boys and a few of their friends.

Our scary experience occurred on the way back from dinner. We were turning right into the neighborhood when an SUV decided to make a left out of the complex.
(Here's a little explanation in case you don't know anything about my location. My complex has one lane to enter and two to exit (one turning left and one turning right). Our entrance/exit lies on a 6 lane divided highway, so to make a left, you have to cross 3 lanes and then sit in the median until you can cross over the next lane. I'm scared to death to make a left so I always turn right and wait for a light to make a u-turn.)

Anyway, this SUV decided to cross over traffic because he saw our blinker. Little did he know, there was another car in the lane next to us who was driving southbound. The SUV saw the car a little too late and was not able to speed up or slow down enough to prevent the crash. He T-boned the car and they both went flying. The car ended up a lane over facing the wrong way and the SUV spun until he was in the entrance lane. Michael and I witnessed the entire thing happen. We pulled in, parked in the first spot we found, and ran to the scene to make sure everyone was okay. We ended up waiting 3 hours for FHP to come (apparently OCPD doesn't deal with traffic incidents) in order to give our statement. We might even have to go to court to be witnesses since Florida is a no-fault state. How exciting! (And by that I mean I really hope I don't have to miss school or work for this.) The entire time we were waiting for FHP, we couldn't shake how close this crash was to us. If we had entered a second or two later, the spin-off would have collided into us and probably sent us into traffic or into the brick wall. I sent God a little thank-you when we were running to the scene. I also thanked Him again for the amazing friends I've acquired. The wait was made a lot more enjoyable when Joe and Dana came down to keep us company despite the fact that Joe was supposed to leave for home and Dana has massive amounts of homework to finish. I don't know what I would do without them.

This whole experience has reminded me how precious life is and how important it is to take your time when you're driving. Nothing is worth more than your life.