Well Overdue

<:: Understatement of the year ::>

Ive been so busy and my life has been one jumbled mess for the past couple of months, I need to tell you how its been going. I made it on NHS (Nation Honors Society) which is a group that only students with a GPA of 3.5 and above along with service, leadership and the will to take responsibility can join and help raise money and support their school. Its kind a big thing because it helps when colleges look at you because they know you have the passion and stamina both physically and mentally for their programs and if they think you deserve a scholarship. That was a pretty big moment for me, realizing that the next big thing in my life is gonna be college, and trying to get a job, and no more kidding around. I gotta get my priorities straight.
Another big thing was doing this volleyball scouting day camp by CEVA that helped me know my strengths and areas I need to work on, but also play under pressure as actual coaches and recruiters watched me play. It was gonna have to be all or nothing.
STATS:
Shuttle- 6 seconds
Standing arm up- 94 inches
Arm span- 72 inches ( That's 6 ft, that's as TALL AS ME!)
Blocking- 8ft 4 inches
Approach- 112 inches


Seeing how far I could push myself and finding out that I'm not the only tall girl out there was good for me :) After the camp was over the coach from GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY came up to me and said that everyone thought I was doing good today and then handed me his card. This again wakened me to the new life Im gonna start here soon and that people are gonna want me to go to their college and start their programs and they will offer me anything just to get people to go to their college. It kinda scares me. My inbox for my email is not from my friends so much or updates on facebook, but colleges asking me how Im doing, what I can do to get a free booklet on their campus and when I should send in my forms and stuff like that. This is gonna be a hard next 2 years I fear, but I know that God is gonna guide me through the path that he wants me to choose.

Another thing is that Im gonna get my liesence on July 7th, thats THIS THURSDAY! Im nervous just because everyone gets a little nervous with driving in front of someone. But I feel like I have the confidence to drive safely, calm and collected, and ace the test so I can drive around and take Julia-Gulia wherever she needs to go. This is gonna be weird cause my parents said that they have a surprise for me, but I gotta start driving in order to get it... so ive been thinking of what it could be.
Anyway, hopefully that cleared up the past couple of months.

If you have a question for me, I'll be glad to answer stuff for you :) And if you got any advise on how I should start my junoir year with a BANG!! then tell me too :)

Thanks

Good news :)

Well good news :) I got my braces off, made it through finals this year, and for volleyball, we got 7th in STATE.

i DEFINETLY was pumped to hear that my braces (that Ive had for 2 years) were going to come off. But I was more excited to hear that they were going to come off December 14th, an "Early Christmas present", my parents called it :)

I love smiling and now i just smile for no reason, 'Cause I dont got any metal in my mouth to stop me!!

Also, we had finals this year. It was pretty weird, but I made it through alive. I just gotta start putting more effort into it, and if I have a question or something, I need to ask the teacher.

This year, we got 7th in STATE in Yakima. It was really nice having my friends and family come up and join us as we battled for our spot in the final 4. There were some good teams, to be honest, but we knew we could beat them. The last game we played was a little tough so we kinda broke down and lost it. But it was a good game and we tried our hardest as our schoolmates were yelling and a chant of "KINGS WAY GOES ONLY HIS WAY" was said :)

I love my school. :)

School has started,.... yay

Okay, so school has started and we have been winning every volleyball game since we started! Except against Seton, but we will take them down tuesday :)

I am in a photography class, and I wanted to post a few pictures:

Long time no see

Well, it certainly has been a long time since I've made a post, but I've got some excuse.

So, since august started, i have been doing hardcore conditioning from 8 to 10 every monday, wednesday, and friday. Its supposed to be preparing us for this intense volleyball camp that allows the coaches to see who should and should not be on the team. I am so exhausted from that.

Then, we've had heart and music this year!! :) We are supporting the Ronald McDonald house foundation by collecting and putting together baskets and packages for each and every family in need at the houses.

I was looking forward to heart and music this year, but I have a case of bronkitus right now. I have a lot of fluid in my lungs and wheeze and cough constantly! i feel like my grandpa :\ Either way, I wasnt able to make it to heart and music this year, which is very disapointing. I also found out that i am severely allergic to antibiotics.

I get hives and my legs turn purple and i cough a lot. This really has freaked me out. Im praying that it will all go away and that my sophomore year will kick off with a good start. :)

Erin

My family :)

Well, the past 2 weeks have been soo much fun! My family from California and Tennesee came up to Washington to help celebrate my Grandma's 80th birthday!! :) She nearly had a heart-attack when she saw them- it was a surprise :)

We had lots of BBQ's and swimming time in our pool. But even after 2 weeks of spending time with them, you always wish that you could go back with them to their own houses or spend more time with them.

Well, i got to babysit 5 kids tomorow from 8 to 3, im pretty tired already.

*wish me good luck*
Sweet dreams :)

Red Asphalt,.....a new classic?

Well, today at Drivers Ed we watched the graphic and very real movie called "Red Asphalt". We learned about how drivers cars and getting in an accident was a huge thing, and that it would happen to us sooner or later.

In the movie, there were clips of police men driving up and seeing the once recognisable cars as pieces and bits of rubble and metal. Inside were the bodies of people, people like us, but they certainly didn't look like us. Some of them were missing limbs, covered in blood, or simply just dead. But either way, it was very life-changing to see people in a car, dead, because they simply did not follow the law and got in a crash.

Some of the people we saw were kids, children, and even a baby. This made me sad to see the lives lost because of a simple mistake by the driver or other cars on the road.

I was relieved to hear that most crashes like those are caused by drunk drivers at the wheel or racing, usually at night. I know that I'm not the type of person to do some heavy-drinking, so I feel a little bit safer on the road :)

Rwanda: opening yourself and taking a look

Well, this morning, and frankly, this day, has been a life-changing and perspective-twisting day.

My church, Liberty Bible Church of the Nazarene, took a trip to Rwanda this summer for 18 days with a small group of doctors, kids, pastors, and friends which made up a group of 30 or so.

The history of Rwanda is very graphic and heartbreaking. There was a genocide in Rwanda in which 1 million people where killed in a period of 90 days. It was because there were two different types of people, the Hutu and Tutsi people. They Tutsi people slowly started filing into the land that the Hutu where living, and that's when it all began. People where brutally murdered just because of the way they looked. If your nose was to big and like a Hutu's nose, you were taken aside and killed by 3 methods: either a club (it was free, beaten to death), a hammer (it was free, pounded to death), or a gun (you had to pay a lot of money for a gun, which only few people had, and you would be shot to death). I could not believe this.

The team from my church helped build a school for kids of all ages, they built a clinic and helped start a team of doctors down there and supplied them with plenty of medicine to last. They also brought food. They have a feeding program called " G.R.O.W.", which feeds families, and also orphaned kids. Seeing pictures of the kids as they received woven baskets full of salt, and corn, and potatoes, and seeds to start a garden, it made me realize how much I take for granted.

Watching these little kids smile, made my heart jump for joy, yet become torn in two. They were so happy and so joyful for little bits of food, or new shoes, or even just a wave hello,......this really struck me. I was happy because they were getting help, which they needed really badly because of the conditions they live in. It was also sad, to see what a state they were in, but also, only staying there for 18 days, when you wanted to stay there all your life.

I'm hoping to go there next summer, and join the amazing adventure and journey that this mission trip brings. I'm waiting, and I'm ready for my eyes to be opened. :)