On The Air Waves

As many of you know, I am a journalism major and have wanted to be one for as long as I can remember. In high school, I got to work with broadcast media and print journalism and really loved both of those, but I'm now learning a new medium: radio broadcasting! Look out world, I'm on the air.

Along with two of my friends here at school, Becky Kay and Katie Brown, I wanted to try out a radio show that would count towards my print journalism class here at APU. So, we pitched the idea to our advisor and lo and behold, she let us on the air. Three freshmen, with no experience, then pulled together.

We had our first radio show Tuesday, March 12 and we just finished our second about at hour and a half ago. We are loving it so far!

You can listen in on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific Time (except for next week when we'll be on spring break) at www.kapuradio.com/listenlive.

APU Color Run 2013

I got to photograph my friends doing the Color Run on our campus. If you haven't had the chance yet, I recommend that you try to find a Color Run near you. It was such a fun way to get exercise and super easy to stay with your friends through the whole thing, and let's be serious, the pictures turn out awesome. 

Weekend Update

From March 8-9:

I had the privilege of going to a military ball with my sweet friend Calvin. It was incredibly interesting to see the military routine and how structured the whole night was. And of course, I loved dressing up.

Trust and Patience

Let me know if I'm wrong here, but I think I'm sensing a pattern. 

On April 1st, 2010 I got a letter back from the Island School that they didn't have a spot for me, but that I had been wait-listed. "Sit tight," they said. "A spot might open up for you." I honestly can't remember my reaction, but  I can only assume that it was bad. Rejection hadn't shown itself in my life until this point, and for the first one, this one was rough. On Memorial Day Weekend of that year, I got a call from the Island School that a position had just opened, and that I had to let them know of my decision in 24 hours. Clearly, I made the decision and ended up hauling myself and 100 pounds of gear down to the Island of Eleuthera. 

On April 1st, 2012 while on my spring break in Mexico, I found out via Facetiming my grandma that I had not been accepted to the University of Southern California. They don't offer a wait list, this one was a clear rejection: we simply don't have room to accept you. When I got home and actually got to look at my rejection letter with my own eyes, there was a second piece of paper behind the official decision entitled, "How to appeal your admission decision." The process wasn't long, just to write a one-page letter explaining why I thought I deserved to be at USC. The chances of actually changing their mind was slim, but I tried anyway. I found out on May 5, 2012 that they did, in fact, change their mind. I got accepted for the spring semester of the next year, just not the fall so I could take the place of potential transfers, graduating students, etc.

I'm incredibly good at being on a wait list or getting something that wasn't supposed to happen originally. 

Yesterday, at 10:30 a.m. I opened an email that said there was not a position for me to be an RA next year, but that they would be keeping my file open as an alternate. 

In no way, shape or form am I holding onto certainty, belief or pretense that I will granted a position. My point I'm trying to make is not bragging about my accomplishments. It's not saying that I will always get what I want. My message is that there is incredible power that comes from the humility of rejection and honoring and praising God even in (or especially because of) that rejection. 

The night before I found out about my RA decision, I was reading from Jesus Calling, a daily quick devotional and this is what Sarah Young wrote:

"If you mouth the words 'I trust you' while anxiously trying to make things go your way, your words ring hollow." 

I am not waiting for Residence Life to call me and tell me they have an open position. I am simply listening and waiting, reflecting and praying on the next opportunity God will present to me. I am not waiting expectantly for what I want to happen, but for His will to be done through me. 

The Waiting Game

Patience is a virtue.

Sometimes patience means obedience. Sometimes it means humility, or prayer, or peace, or keeping busy, or grace, or just waiting. Right now, patience is represented in all of these forms in one way or another. But especially now, patience is hard. 

During the first semester of my freshman year, I decided I wanted to pursue an RA position at APU. I finished the application part in January and made it past the first cut and got invited to a dessert event/group interview for all the people applying for RA.

At the event, we were put into small groups and were interviewed by current RAs and Resident Directors (RDs) about why we wanted to be an RA and what we'd bring to that position and what fears we have, etc. I felt I answered strongly and honestly and was happy with how it had gone.

Then, I had my solo interview on Friday, February 8th with just me and two RDs from the Residence Life staff on campus. In the interview I did a presentation (mandatory for all applicants) where I presented a time capsule that I had put together with things representing what an RA would need. In it I put a Bible, a clock, a coffee mug, a tissue, a movie, a pillow (representing a big, comfy couch), a door stop (representing an open door), a piñata head (duh), my tie dye overalls, my hall sweatshirt and a suggestion/prayer jar. And then I answered their questions. 

I really felt that nothing could have gone better. I am incredibly happy with how the interview played out. 

But now...I have to wait. I find out a yes or a no, a here or a there, on March 13. 

So patience is hard. The waiting game is hard. Praying for a patience while praying for a decision is hard. But, I can only hope that my patience is worth it. I'm praying for humility if a good decision comes and grace if a bad one does. But most of all, I pray for patience. 

What do you have to be patient about? 

Hey look, Mom! I'm a writer!

I started working for the Clause, APU's student newspaper this semester! Here are three articles I wrote so far!

Campus Safety Updates Risk Management
Huff Post recently came out with a statistic that 1 and 4 colleges are not ready for an active shooter. Here's how APU is preparing.

Acro and Tumbling Holds Their Own Against Oregon
Overview of the Acro and Tumbling meet this last week!

Don't Deactivate Facebook - Change Your Relationship With It
This article is an editorial response to one of my professor's public lectures.

Back Into The Swing

Just got my DisneyLand pass fresh off the press.

First, I need to apologize - but not that sincerely - for not posting for a long, long time. I thoroughly enjoyed my Christmas break and didn't want to take precious time away from my family and spent very little time on a computer. And since getting into a new semester is mostly a juggle, I have been hard-pressed to find a good time to sit down and write. But now, here I am in the library and finding myself in a little bit of a reflective mood.

Classes

I am already loving the classes I am taking this semester, even though most of the are gen eds. I took a little bit of a bigger load (which anything would be a bigger load) than first semester and am in love with how busy I am. I am blissfully stressed in the best way. So, here are the classes I'm taking:

Public Communication - Otherwise known as Public Humiliation. It's just like it sounds and I just gave my first speech today. The speech topic was "Meaningful Words," and we had to share a favorite quote/verse/lyric that speaks to us and why. I spoke about how much I'm loving APU even though it wasn't my first choice and used the quote spoken by Douglas Adams: "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."

Practically crying while watching the
fireworks at the end of the day!

PLuke/Acts - My second bible class. This one as the title suggests is a study of Luke and Acts, specifically of the life and culture during the time of Jesus. I'm already loving this class as I've seemed to fall in love with my Bible and Ministry classes here. For an assignment last week we had to read all of Luke in one sitting. It took me an hour and a half. The real powerful part, however, was the how different and how impactful the story of Jesus is when it's all condensed into one sitting. I found myself bawling at the crucifixion scene in the middle of the library. So embarrassing, but so humbling on so many levels. I'm looking forward to what else this class will teach me.

Journalism Workshop - The class we've all been waiting for! I get to write for the school's newspaper called The Clause. I will be posting a link to everything I write on here as well. So far, nothing has been done yet, so more to come.

Christian Life, Faith and Ministry (CLFM) - I chose to take this class with the hardest CLFM professor at APU. So far my faith has been shattered, picked back up and reassembled already within the first 3 weeks of school. Bruner, my professor, is making us ask the tough questions about what it means to be a Christian and how our faith is lived out. We are reading Wishful Thinking by Buechner and Amazing Grace by Norris. I think I prefer Buechner so far, but both a recommended read by anyone looking to strengthen their faith through challenging it.

Health - Blah.

On the tea cups! 

Psychology - I don't know if I like the subject yet, but I'm learning a bunch of new things. I actually have a quiz tomorrow. I'm sure more will come on this one later as well.

Church

I am currently attending Foothill Church in Azusa, CA and I'm really lucky in the timing that I came back to attend. For the first three weekends of January, the sermon focused on the core values of the church and what they are striving for. We learned about gospel-centered friendships, truth and spirituality. Essentially, these sermons just made me like this church more because I think what they are about is what I'm about.

D-Group

My D-Group, or Discipleship Group, as I've mentioned before is reading a book called The Christian Atheist. More or less, it's a kick in the butt and is all about people who claim to be Christians, but don't live as though they are. Yikes. Loving that. One of the girls in my D-Group actually came to Christ, she realized, for the first time just a few weeks ago and we are rejoicing in that and I just love every single one of them.

Etc. 

Eating ice cream at Crystal's birthday party.

Well, here are a few things that have happened since I came back. I will be blogging more so soon and will keep updated. I also have some new and exciting ideas for some (hopefully) weekly posts starting soon. 

1. I celebrated my sweet friend Crystal's birthday. I love her to pieces and you definitely count on her being an active ingredient in my life in the years to come. 

2. I WENT TO DISNEYLAND FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. It was magical. I saw all the princesses and now I'm determined to live there. That is all. 

Inspiration: Pass It On

Inspiration: the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

This semester, through a series of events I've really been learning about the importance of inspiration and what drives people to do what they do, or where they get their ideas and where their creativity spouts from.

For me, a lot of my inspiration comes from people around me that I live with - girls on the hall, my RA, girls on my team, my LAC, my mentors, etc - and how they maybe are living their lives differently from me, how I'd like to be more like them, and how I'd NOT like to be more like them.

Just a few examples:

I love watching the enjoyment that people get before and after running here, and I've picked up running again. (I ran a half marathon once, but that's another story).

Watching other girls get serious about their devotional time, even in college when their time is their own has encouraged me to do the same.

Hearing about how different people find solace and fulfillment in finding a home church at college has inspired me to find one myself. I have by the the way, and I love attending every Sunday.

Watching girls constantly panic and worry about what they're eating has shown me what an unhealthy relationship with food looks like, and how to avoid it. (Another post about my stance on this coming later).

I also (shallow, but there's a lot of creativity out there) get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest! Looking at what other people are doing in the world of DIY and fashion inspires me to get out there in that field as well.

The point is, I draw a lot of inspiration from a lot of different places. But, I've also found a giant blessing in being an inspiration to other girls in my life. I started blogging to be able to communicate to family and friends back home and because I like to write and I saw what other people were doing that I loved, so I thought I'd try it out. But, I've found that I've provided the same forum of inspiration for other girls here at APU! Check out "A Thousand Gifts", a blog done by one of my great friends at APU who started her blog after looking at mine!

My note here is not to brag about myself, but rather to encourage you readers and to serve as a reminder. One, I encourage you to be an inspiration to others around you. Two, in order to do that, do something you love, do something spectacular. Three, remember that people are watching what you do. Not in a creepy way, but be thinking about what kind of example you are being to those around you. Are you a light? An inspiration of how to live, what to do, what and how to create? Or are you one of those who is inspiring negatively? Inspiration: Pass it on.

Easy Dorm Decorations

We all have them - magazines from the plane rides home and back for Thanksgiving. Cut out a heart shape from a large notecard. Let's be serious, as a college student you should have those. Then grab a Sharpie and find cute patterns to cut out! Little tip: I traced the heart on the backside of the page I wanted to use so the sharpie wouldn't be on the image. Then tape then anywhere! I did 9 for a 3x3 pattern, but have creative reign!

Mutual Weirdness

“We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

A note on weirdness: I love it. I am the weirdest person that I know.

I love cats. 

Star Wars is my favorite saga. 

When the newest Star Trek movie came out, I watched it almost every day for 2 weeks.

The new Avengers movie...I can't even.

I am a total nerd - I love school.

I love anything that is awkward.

Other than a turtle or a cat, my favorite animal is a mudskipper. Shout out to AP Bio 2012. 

I don't like Nutella - which I'm finding out is a staple in nutrition and is probably a large cause for concern for freshmen. 

I think you get it, I'm super weird. But, I like who I am and I boast in that. Without my little quirks and little pieces of weirdness, I wouldn't be who God intended me to be. 

And now, I'm so blessed to have a hall that (mostly) emulates these values like I do - maybe not to the same extent. My hall is all so different, but our differences are what allow us to get along and to have a fun, silly time together and to live well together. Because of this melding of weirdness, we have adopted this quote as our own for the hall. 

So this post is a shout out to one of my favorite people I've been blessed to get to know and one of the first people I met at Azusa - Meika Folkerts, my RA. She has facilitated this attitude and this mutual weirdness on my hall and is just so dandy and I am so thankful to have her.  

Love you Meiks! 

Weekend Update: Homecoming and Parents' Weekend!

Watch out Azusa, James and Suze are coming in! 

I had the wonderful gift of having my parents here this last weekend for Homecoming/Parents' Weekend. It was so great to have a little piece of home here (plus, ok maybe possibly I might have kind of missed them a little bit). 

They arrived on Thursday where I went to go pick them up from LAX, a complete adventure in itself as their flight got in an hour late resulting in me circling the LAX arrival terminals for a full hour while listening to Taylor Swift. 

From there, we drove straight to their hotel in Pasadena (one of my new favorite cities), had a late lunch at Jonny Rockets (classy), went shopping in Old Colorado and headed back to Azusa for the Battle of the Bands event that was going on there, after a late-night snack of Applebee's (I know, also so classy), the parents went back to Pasadena while I stayed in my dorm to finish up on homework for my classes Friday.

On Friday, we met for chapel where the speaker was coincidentally from West Michigan, now living in California and a good friend of my home pastor. What a small world. In a pretty crazy day, we hit up Target, Chipotle, my trainer's house to bake cookies for the football players (the life of a cheerleader), and practice. After practice we went back out to Pasadena and had dinner at Trattoria Neopolis - delicious food, weird waiter. 

On Saturday, we woke up late and drove back into Azusa for lunch at a BBQ lunch and I spent the afternoon getting ready for the game and rallying through the Homecoming activities promoting the game. And then my parents finally got to see me be a college cheerleader! 

Sunshine Goldenrod, Turtles, and Querencia

Hello all! I'm going to tell a little bit about myself through a social "experiment" that was performed on me last week by Meika (my R.A.). If you are from 5th South - STOP READING! She wants to do this with you all individually as well! So don't ruin the pleasant surprise for yourselves!

Midday Tuesday of last week, Meika and I sat down on Cougar Walk for our regular (every other week) lunch date as LAC (Living Area Council) and RA (Resident Advisor). Typically, in this role we are supposed to talk about hall events and what she wants my role to look like on the hall, but we often get lost in getting to know each other because we are so similar in personality and experiences.

One way she decided to get to know me was by playing a question and answer game with me, a "social experiment," if you will. The game consists of three questions that you have to answer with descriptive words and describing how the thing you answered makes you feel. Then, there is meaning behind the questions and your answers, but you don't find out until after you answer! It will be more clear if you read on...

Do the game with me and find some things out about yourself! 

I would recommend at least three describing words for each question. Here are the questions:

1. What is your favorite color and why? 

My favorite color is yellow - specifically what I like to call Sunshine Goldenrod - because it is bright, sunny and reminds me of being happy. It really reminds me of the sun, most of all, and reminds me of warm weather.

2. What is your favorite animal and why?

My favorite animal is a sea turtle because they are so cute! They remind me of being carefree, just swimming around in the ocean, but they also seem wise because they can grow so old.

3. Where is your favorite (specific or general) place in nature? (i.e. the ocean, mountains, etc.)

There is this one spot on Eleuthera in the Bahamas that I absolutely love. We had to find this spot for Island School and it's called a "querencia," which means where you feel the most connected to Earth, where you can be alone. My spot was in the middle of the Bahamian "jungle," if you will. There were these sink holes made from debris from a decayed golf course that palm trees had grown out of. It was the perfect spot to set up a hammock and just swing and be alone. I like the solitude of it because I like reflection in quiet places. I also love being in nature because it is calming and refreshing. 

What does this all mean?

Ready for some perspective? The adjectives I used to describe my favorite color are words that describe myself - bright, sunny, warm. The adjectives for my favorite animal are what I'm looking for in an ideal partner or future mate - a combination of carefree and wise. The adjectives used to describe your favorite place in nature are used to also describe your relationship with God - one on one, reflection, He's a calming/refreshing presence. 

Comment and tell me what things you said! 

LAC Goes to LA

On our Study Day at Azusa Pacific, the LAC (Living Area Council) decided to adventure to and explore LA! With our RD as our guide, we took the metro into Union Station and then the subway into downtown. We visited the town hall - LA's first "skyscraper" back in the day - and went to the top to take photos. Then journeyed to a water fountain to eat lunch, and then after another quick jump on the subway, went to the park where the "500 Days of Summer" bench was!

A Day In The Life

Mondays are insane for me, but I am currently in one of my very few moments of down time that I have on Mondays and thought I'd share with you what my day looks like today.

7:40 - My first alarm goes off.

8:30 - I finally roll out of bed after my roommates play me pump up music to get me ready for the day.

9:30 - Chapel on East Campus. We have to go to 3 chapels a week and I have been bad about going to Monday's - hello, it's Monday - but actually managed to pull myself together before it started today. Loved the worship today, it was kind of gospel/soul music that you just wanted to sway to. So uplifting and calming.

10:40 - Today I had a journalism exam worth 15% of my grade. What. Welcome to college, folks. I love this class, and is in the running for my favorite. The professor is this really snarky, sarcastic woman (my absolute favorite kind of humor) and mostly shows us videos from the Daily Show to let us know what journalists are doing wrong.

Some of my favorite people on campus who are also
cheerleaders with me. Melanie, Shelbie and Madi.

LUNCH - This is my weird space part of the day where I get out of class at 11:35 and my next class starts at 1:05. So I eat lunch with my friend Madi, book it over to West campus and then sit and talk with my friend Melanie. Did I mention they're my two best friends here at Azusa??


1:05 - Christianity and the Creative Process class is probably my hardest mentally and spiritually. It's seriously a kick in the butt about how I need to start loving God with my mind and my vocation and with the things I create. It's incredible cool and perfect for an artsy fartsy. Today we talked about "Lord of the Rings." Just Lord of the Rings and how it applies to film.

4:00 - Practice with my favorite people in the world. My team is awesome. Sometimes we do cool things like a giant push-up...You will, I'm sure be hearing more about them.

Group push-up!

Dinner - Kind of a weird space of time for me, but I get food! YUM.

7:30 - Graphics class with the homies. I love this class because it's something I've only dabbled in and so far I'm really loving what I'm learning about and what I'm doing in design. I'm sure I'll be posting things about this as well.

This is my first project that I did for my graphics class. I had to design a graphic around the word "melodic."

LAC - Living Area Council

Hey! Great news! I made the LAC (Living Area Council) for Trinity Hall at Azusa. There's one member for each wing of Trinity, so 6 girls and 4 guys and we are essentially mini RA's that help plan events for Trinity Hall. Just wanted to share that bit of information with all of you, and you'll be seeing a lot of photos and things of events that we host! Feel free to throw out ideas of things (if you're in college) you've seen living areas do or you have done, or if you go to Azusa what you'd like to do!

Scavenger Hunt!

The LAC had a scavenger hunt for our first event with the ten of us, and it turned into chaos of running, someone jumping in a pool, and sweat everywhere. But, it ended with ice cream sandwiches and funny photos. 

We couldn't find the person we needed to find, so we figured if we at least looked confused, maybe it would count.

One of the things we had to do was order a drink for Lord Voldemort. So, there it is. That's Trent, Calvin, Hannah and I. 

We also had to make a pyramid. How happy they were to have a cheerleader on the team.........

My Dorm!

I've officially been moved into my dorm for 4 weeks today! That seems absolutely crazy to me. I keep calling it "home" in conversation with friends. "Hey! I'll be home around 4 today!" Wait, I forgot. This isn't actually my home, but it certainly feels that way.

When I studied abroad (The Island School), one of the things we focused on as a community was sense of place - meaning knowing, appreciating, and being aware of where you are in the world at that time. The idea surrounding this concept that stuck with me the most was that home is where your toothbrush is. You often hear, home is where the heart is or home is where your mom is or the like. But, for me the toothbrush one rings the most true. I love my home in Michigan, but I've created my own little niche here and this is where I'm living, spending and investing my time, energy, knowledge, and spirit. So, where my toothbrush is, is home.

So as a tribute to my home, I thought I'd show you my dorm! Here are some photos. With my last dorm purchase made today (a butterfly chair from Target) it's officially unofficially done. Enjoy!

Covering Insecurities

Here's my APU update for all of you! I've officially been on campus for over two weeks (feels like forever) and I'm loving it so far! My roommates, Jamie and Meaghan, are really great girls that I get along well with! We had so much fun putting our dorm together and are enjoying getting to know each others' weird quirks and personalities.

So, one really cool thing we did tonight was what APU calls "Hermony" where all the girls from the three different residence halls that house the ladies of APU came together on Trinity lawn for some serious bonding. It started with worship all together and there is something really incredible about a bunch of soft, female voices lifting up praises (How He Loves by the David Crowder Band to be specific).

Following worship, one of the RA's launched into a speech that she claimed would "give it to us straight." She had all of close our eyes, and then asked who had ever looked at a girl and found some quality about her whether it be her looks or possessions or attitude that made us feel inadequate or superior. Yes, it felt a little like Mean Girls...who has ever felt personally victimized by Regina George? But, when all of us opened our eyes, we saw that every single girl around us had her hand raised.

It is interesting to see in our culture how many girls have insecurites - and most of us have the same ones. Much of the RA's discussion was about finding our identitiy in Christ instead of finding our identitiy in comparison to others. Guess what women! We are not defined but what we are not! We are defined by what we are to HIM - beautiful, perfectly made women that were sewn together intentionally by His plan and definition.

After a powerful slam poetry bit along similar lines by another one of the RA's, we gathered in random groups and discussed what burdened our hearts as far as these insecurites lie. In my group, I confessed that when I see a girl that I think is prettier than me, I'm terrified to approach her and be her friend. Another girl, stated that she immediately judged girls that she thought were better looking or better dressed as self-centered or even slightly pompous.

After that, we partnered with a girl from our discussion group and told her an insecurity that we have about the upcoming year and vice versa. For me, it's loneliness. I'm worried about making friends. For my partner, connecting with the people around her. We both had very similar concerns. Then after writing our worries down on a big sheet with about 40-50 other girls, we dipped our hands in paint and covered the other girl's worry or insecurity with our handprint - a symbolic way of saying, "I will be behind you on this. I will help you out and I see your need."

This piece of community effort was one of the most refreshing things I had ever been apart of, and I'm loving this atmosphere at APU so far. More to come later as more amazing things happen in my college life.

Tails of a College Cheerleader

Got all my cheer gear! We're completely
Nike'd out with backpacks, shoes and clothes.

Well, who knew Hunter would actually grow up and go to college?

Ok, probably everyone due to the fact that college has been my conversation topic of choice since I was two.

Dad and I moved the majority of my stuff into my dorm on Tuesday, August 21 so I could be (mostly) moved in by the time cheer camp started the next day - Wednesday. I dropped him off at the airport on Wednesday morning, got breakfast with some of my new freshmen teammates and ended the day with a meeting and team dinner for the first day of cheer camp.

Speaking of cheer camp....

Camp was probably one of the roughest things ever to hit me mentally and, more so, physically. We started actually working on Thursday morning where we started it off light - yeah, right. Our personal trainer, who I have a love-hate relationship with because the workouts are tough but she's one of the coolest people I've met so far, kicked all of our butts with a 6-mile morning run to start off the season followed by a little more conditioning. We continued the remainder of the day stunting with an amazing stunt coach - John Blake - who didn't just kick our butts, he kicked a little bit of everything with the most intense stunting sessions I've ever been apart of in my life.

The freshmen on the team! 

Before lunch, due to a little lack of food and my weird blood sugar issues, I slyly threw up in a nearby trash can on the way to lunch without anyone seeing (score!). After dinner, we ended the day with team bonding games and what we liked to call Story Time, where Coach Rosie put 10 minutes on a timer and one at a time girls shared about what makes them...well, them - their life story, their faith, their cheerleading history, etc.

Friday ran very much the same minus the puking, plus a black eye.

Just a few bumps and bruises from cheer camp.

Saturday, we stunted early in the morning instead of working out. And then, my favorite part of cheer camp, we all loaded up into cars and drove out to Hermosa Beach to do beach workouts with our trainer Bri. On the beach, we literally had a crowd watching from the pier as 20 cheerleaders in sports bras and Nike Pros worked out on the beach with their trainer blowing a whistle. After the workout, we had the day to enjoy the beach (my first time in the Pacific Ocean!).

Cheer camp lasted until Sunday, August 26 and ended with the whole team attending church together.

What's Going On Now:

At this point my mama flew in to LAX and I'm currently in the midst of running errands (more dorm supplies) and shopping with her! I'm so happy that she could be here and she'll be staying through orientation. So, that's what we've been doing so far! Orientation starts on Friday and that's when all the fun and activity will start. And when my really quiet hall of just me and my RA will fill with a ton of girls moving in.

I'll keep you posted on more! Keep praying for me!

2,160 Miles: Day 2

...And We're Off Again!

On our second day across the country, we departed from North Platte, Nebraska with the intention of just driving as far as we possibly could. This mindset left us deciding to make it all the way to Las Vegas - our original Day 3 destination. I'd say it's pretty impressive that we made it from Grand Rapids, MI to Las Vegas in 48 hours. But, that's just me.

Colorado

The Drive:

• 15 hours
• 1,014 miles
• 5 states: Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada
• Approx. $90.00 for gas

Other Info:

• HOLY COW! Driving through Colorado was absolutely amazing. There was nothing more humbling than driving through God's massive creation. I mean, sure I've seen the ocean and so many other parts of His world, but there was something spectacular about feeling so so so small in comparison of it and simply surround by it. 
• For a long while, Iowa was pretty boring. Absolutely no color anywhere - mostly just a lot of dust. But after a few hours in, we were surrounded by the greatest color of red. There were giant rock structures,  lots of curvy roads. It was just great. 
• Driving through Arizona at night through the mountains was purely terrifying. All you saw around you were the dark, giant masses of the mountains, and the roads were especially precarious and (as it had just down poured in that area) slippery. 
• WE LOVE VEGAS! We got in late, so got ice cream and fell asleep watching the Avengers. Perfect end to a really big driving day. 

Utah

2,160 miles: Day One

...AND WE'RE OFF!

After much anticipation and counting down, my dad and I finally hit the road this morning! Our destination: Azusa California on Tuesday, August 21st. We left Grand Rapids, MI this morning a little before 7:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) and arrived in North Platt, Nebraska at 8:00 p.m. (Central Time). We made it way farther than we thought we would. We planned on stopping in Omaha, Nebraska but actually drove five to six hours past it. Tomorrow, we haven't really decided an endpoint. Before we started the trip, we planned on stopping in Denver, CO, but because we drove so far today, we are only 4 hours away from Denver, instead of the originally planned eight. Right now, we're going to get as close to Las Vegas (our scheduled 3rd night stop) as possible. 

Here is what our complete journey looks like:

Our Drive Today:

Logistics: 

• 15 hours
• 914 miles
• 5 States: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska
• Approx. $85.00 for gas

Other:

• Crossed the Mississippi River!
• While driving 80 mph on the highway (shh, don't tell my mom...in my defense it was a 75 mph speed limit.......), I almost got passed by a semi-truck. That is one seriously fast truck. No big deal, just a million pounds of death machine passing me. Needless to say, it was terrifiying.
• I decided that Iowa is absolutely gorgeous. The hills, the farms, the grass, the windmills, and the beautiful blue sky, it was just beautiful. 

Keep praying for us! We were so fortunate to have made it this far without any issues, and we know that God's hand is on our car. Please pray that it stays that way!