Easter Break: A Time to Work...and a Time to Rest

Whaddup?!

So, today officially marked the beginning of Easter break. And this is the first time I wasn't excited as much for a break. Why? 2 tests, a project, and catching up on work hours is why...

What kind of break is this? I'm gonna be hauling trash out of the back of Founders, running up and down halls to make sure there's toilet paper and paper towels, and when I'm not doing that, I'll be sitting somewhere (probably my room) creating a honeycomb and studying for a math test and an Old Testament test.

Save me now. Summer 2013, come QUICKLY.

For weeks, I'd been dreading break, knowing how much work I'd have to put into everything. I mean, I'd have to work on stuff for HOURS, and I was already discouraging myself in the work I would produce before I even started.  Not a good start at all.

I worked for 4 hours today and managed to slip in one of Balcony's bathrooms while wet-systeming, causing me to land on my wrist (ouch) and to get my butt wet by landing on it as well. Thankfully, no one was around to watch. I myself started to laugh afterwards, which only made things worse...

"Where's that laughter coming from?"

*looks in the bathroom to find me holding a squeegee and chuckling slightly to myself. Widens eyes and leaves the bathroom door awkwardly*

"Okay then..."

Yeah, that's pretty much how I imagine it being played out...

But anyways, after work, I ate dinner with Caylin and Corinne and then we headed to Starbucks to start some homework or watch some shows or to check on the status of classes. I attempted to read some literature, Corinne began her youth min. homework, and Caylin watched Glee.

I was sort of enjoying myself. I mean, I had a java chip frapp, KPOP blaring in my ears, and reading a weird play about a man and his romantic relationship with his washing machine (what?!). But then I looked at the statuses of the classes I was planning on taking next semester...

...and got a little more stressed out as I checked class after class. I will say that thankfully, not all of my classes were full. But a good many of them were, like the ones I was really excited to take or the ones I really wanted to get out of the way.

The Bad News: 3 or more classes were either completely full or would be guaranteed full by the time I would register (April 2)

The Good News: this means I get to take my grandpa's class next semester. But shhh...don't tell! I wanna see if I can surprise him! :)

Another piece of good news is that this gave me an opportunity to look at other classes that I either needed or wanted to take and see if they were open. I might just have to end up taking CHOW with Davis instead of Barham...which is disappointing, but I really just need to get that class out of the way.

So, I got a lot of stuff for classes accomplished and then we headed back up the mountain, got all comfy in our pj's, and watched Footloose (the latest version). It was okay. I'm not a big fan of it. The dancing (well, the dancing that wasn't provocative) was really good, but most of the movie really didn't grab me, probably because a lot of the time the girls weren't acting appropriate and the situations were just not...no.

But, it was good to just sit with Caylin and Corinne and sort of escape from all of the things that were creeping up at the back of my mind. And I finally feel a peace inside me, even though I know there's work to be done during this break. I feel like I could conquer the world haha!

And I thank God for giving that peace to me. Yes, I am weak, and my abilities to do my best in my schoolwork are weak as well. But because Christ is with me and is giving me strength, I know I will get through this. I am ready! (^^)

Also, while I am ready to conquer this butt-load of homework and projects and taking out the trash, I know that there is a time to work...but there is also a time to rest. And I plan on doing an even amount of both during break so I don't stress myself out. My best is all I can give. And I intend to do that.

If I don't rest, I won't remember the most important part of this break: 

Remembering that Jesus died for my sins on the Cross at Calvary and rose again 3 days later. He did that for me and for you.

So, I my brain constantly reminds myself of all the things I need to do, my heart constantly reminds myself to take a break from all those things to give thanks to my Lord and Savior for what He did for me. And I pray that, if you have lots of stuff going on in your life as well, that you would take a breather to remember Jesus' great love for you and His great sacrifice.

Happy Easter Break! And Happy Spring Break to some of y'all out there! Love you all bunches! Tomorrow is FRIDAY, so even if you're not on break, you're so close to the WEEKEND! YOU CAN DO IT THROUGH CHRIST!!!

LOVE Y'ALL!
*~.Mishy.~* (^^) <3

The Weak, Unimportant, and Unexpected

Y'all. I cannot tell you how grateful I am right now. I've been praying that God would just allow me to see Him everywhere, that I will be willing to listen and to obey what He has to say to me.

And He has, yet again, shown His faithfulness!

I've talked to y'all about strength and weakness before. Because my God is strong, I can and am proud to boast about my weaknesses. You and I both know that. But today, God completely revealed to me a different side of weakness and strength.

Yesterday, a friend of mine and I were talking about the frustrations we have about ourselves, the people around us, and just our generation. Don't get me wrong, we weren't angry or upset towards specific people. But my friend was upset because she knew that she didn't look like a very exciting person people would want to get to know (I'm only repeating what she said. I think she's a beautiful person inside and out and that she's so totally fun to be around!).

But my friend was telling me that people who kind of have to know her (people she works with, her classmates, people who live in the same building, etc.) know how great she is, but at the beginning, they didn't think she was someone they'd want to get to know. They thought she was, and I quote, "boring, quiet, shy, and cold."

It broke my heart to hear my friend repeat those things that people had thought about her. Of course, it hurt even more because we both realize that we do that to other people too, whether they be on campus or not. We look at someone and in 10 seconds, we've placed in our minds whether or not the person is worth getting to know or if they're someone that would want to get to know us. It's a messed up system, and my friend and I were very brokenhearted about it.

She also told me that she knew that people looked at her and didn't expect anything from her. And I could relate more to this as well. People don't look at her or me and think, "Wow, they could really do something big on this campus or in the world." You know who they say that about? The people who are "popular," who constantly are doing things and are active on campus, whether they are leading praise and worship in chapel, are part of 10 different clubs and sports teams, are a part of the Student Senate, whatever. It seems to us that the same people get the same things and that there isn't much branching out when it comes to making leaders.

I may sound bitter towards these people, but trust me, I'm not. I really admire these people and, I'll admit, I'm sometimes jealous of them. Because I want to be a leader too. I want someone to look at me and say, "She looks like she has the potential to be a leader." But I'm not seen as that. And neither is my friend. And this just made us even more frustrated. 

What did it take to be like that? How can people look at someone and automatically tell that they are leader material? How are people, so suddenly, more well-known than others and seem to be more respected or are even more focused on being trained to become a better leader?

My friend and I wanted those things, but not the normal way that the people we knew were getting it. We definitely weren't going to change in order to become those type of people, because we shouldn't have to change. I personally think that everyone should be able to look at anyone in the world and say, "That person has potential. I don't know what in or what for, but God has given that person potential for something." I believe that inside each of us there is potential to be something amazing in this world. Amazingness isn't limited to anyone.

But anyways, I was just so encouraged today. I was reading my Bible this morning and finished Romans. I wasn't really satisfied though since I'd read Romans 16, Paul's greetings to certain Christians. I'm not saying that this part of the Bible isn't important, but I was just thirsty for God's Word so I continued onto 1 Corinthians.

I'm not going to lie to y'all: at first, I was reading it really fast, my mind wandering to the many different realms of my life and then I would go back to trying to focus on the passage again. Although I really wanted to hear what God had to say to me, I also really wanted to get back in my bed and take a nap before my 10am Old Testament class. Oh, the flesh side of me is so horrible... :(

I read past some verses and stopped myself. I knew, somehow, that I had passed over some very important stuff and I went back and reread the verses. And that's when I knew. The Holy Spirit completely interceded and woke my mind up to realize that God was trying to speak to me through His Word. And I needed every part of me to pay attention. 

And man. I am SO GLAD that I listened.

1 Corinthians 1 totally just spoke to my heart. Particularly verses 18-31. And, of course, I'm going to put them up, but I encourage you to look up this passage in the Bible yourself! :)

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (NCV)

18 The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 It is written in the Scriptures: "I will cause the wise to lose their wisdom; I will make the wise unable to understand." Isaiah 29:14

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the skilled talker of this world? God has made the wisdom of the world foolish. 21 In the wisdom of God the world did not know God through its own wisdom. So God chose to use the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe. 

22 The Jews ask for miracles, and the Greeks want wisdom. 23 But we preach a crucified Christ. This causes the Jews to stumble and is foolishness to non-Jews. 24 But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God to those people God has called--Jews and Greeks. 25 Even the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, an He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 

28 He chose what the world thinks is unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. 29 God did this so that no one can brag in His presence. 

30 Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin. 31 So, as the Scripture says, "If people want to brag, they should brag only about the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:24)

Those verses just lifted my heart so much. It says that God chose what the world thinks is unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. That right there was so encouraging! 

Obviously, Paul is talking about Jesus here. Despite how the world today makes Jesus appear and all the pictures of Jesus we saw in Sunday School when we were kids, Jesus was not physically appealing to the world. Why do you think most of the Jews couldn't see Him as the Messiah?

I went to my Old Testament class, pondering these thoughts and thanking God for revealing Himself to me. I was really excited to encourage my friend with what I had read!

But God even spoke to me in Old Testament class. I'm telling y'all, HE IS EVERYWHERE!!! WE ONLY NEED TO LISTEN AND LOOK! (^^) Professor Jones spoke about Saul and David and how Saul was not "the one king" God wanted to be a part of the family tree for Jesus. 

Despite Saul's charisma and good-looks, his true character shined through when he disobeyed Samuel. As a result, God rejected Saul as king and He told Samuel to find a son of Jesse to be the new king.

We all know the story. David, the shepherd boy, is chosen to be the next king and is anointed by Samuel. But do you remember...Jesse, David's father, didn't even think that David could be the next king. When Samuel asked Jesse to bring out all of his sons, he never called David. Because David was the youngest, and he tended the sheep. How could he become king? 

And yet, God used David, the boy whose brothers and father thought was weak and less important, who was the last person anyone would've thought could be king. 

And that brought me so much joy! If God could use a shepherd boy and a carpenter's son, he could surely use me and my friend, even if we aren't "popular" or are seen as interesting or exciting. We can still be used!!! We have potential! 

Again, I'm not saying that those who are obvious leaders are completely arrogant and wrong and they need to step down. But it really just encourages me to know that God can use those who are barely noticed.

He uses the weak,

those who are deemed "unimportant" in our eyes, our community, our generation,

those we would never expect to be used.

So, take heart my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ! God has made you special for a reason! Don't be discouraged if you feel like you aren't noticed enough, popular enough, strong enough, good enough, pretty enough, exciting enough, interesting enough, talented enough or just ENOUGH...

JESUS IS ENOUGH. AND HE THINKS YOU ARE ENOUGH.

He thought you were enough reason to take on every single sin and die a cruel and painful death. Don't downsize yourself! And encourage your brothers and sisters, your friends! Tell them that they are special and that they can truly make a difference!

I hope everyone's doing well! I've got Easter break coming up this week! Four days that I get to work on a paper, study for 2 tests, and finish up a math project. YIPPEE! (not. :P I'll try to have joy while doing all of that work!)

I'll be continually praying for y'all! Please, if you have any prayer concerns or just want to talk about anything, don't hesitate to email me at mishruss94@gmail.com

You all are special, fearfully and wonderfully made! God's love is so big! He wants to know you and walk with you! Let Him!!! 

Have a great rest of your week! Hoping your spring weather is much nicer than ours is up on this mountain! It's been snowing all day and the wind is giving us NO MERCY! Brrrr!!!!

LOVE Y'ALL!

*~.Mishy.~* (^^) <3

*RANDOM POST: KPOP

Two posts in one day?! That's how you know that:

1. It's Friday
2. My Spanish class was cancelled, so I have nothing that I'd rather do than blog! :D

Okay, so in case you haven't notice...

I. LOVE. KPOP!!! (^^) <3

Yep. I love it. I love everything about it...okay, not everything, because, just like in America, there can be inappropriate things in the music industry in Korea too...

But there's something about listening to music in a different language and watching music videos (MVs) with adorable Asian boys dancing and singing and acting all "aegyo" ("cute" in Korean). I have gotten a little into 2NE1, a girl KPOP group, but not as much as the boy ones. I just love it.


*FACT: I am "blasian."

*FICTION: The Asian side of me is Korean.

*FACT: The Asian side of me is Filipino, but I love Korea and also Japan just as much as I love the Philippines. I love ALL Asian countries.

*FICTION: Doing this "Fact/Fiction" thing wasn't weird at all...

Bria and I are learning the dance moves to "Standing Still" by UKISS. We're going to learn other dances by other KPOP groups such as MBLAQ, SHINee, and 2PM, maybe. And we're going to see if we can be a part of Culture Fest next year. SO EXCITED!!! 

I'm also excited because AJ's back with UKISS! After 6 months of schooling in NYC, it's so nice to see his face with theirs!

I'm thinking about posting up more things about KPOP, like things about my fave groups, the MVs, and other things, just so I can share it with y'all. I understand that KPOP isn't Christian music, but you'd be surprised that some members of KPOP groups are Christians! Which is really what Korea needs! (^^) 

Don't worry, I won't post about KPOP consistently so I don't choke you up with it...wouldn't want to do that to y'all!! :)

Later, I'll post up something about KPOP and Christianity: Engaging in the Culture for the Glory of God. Because yes, Bria and I do joke around about how every time we have dance practice, we're "UKISSin' it up." And when we're working out, we joke about how we're working our arms out for KPOP so we can do dances and stuff.

But I realized that, really, we shouldn't be joking around about those things (mostly about doing stuff for KPOP). And I'll talk more about that in the next post I post about KPOP.

So, here are some basic things about KPOP that I seem to have to explain to most people when they experience it:

1. Yes, some of the hairstyles and the clothing styles are weird. I understand that some of the hairstyles will be weird to you. I mean, it's not everyday you see a full bleach blonde Korean or a Korean with this weird bun hairstyle that makes him look like he has devil horns in some shots. Trust me, it is painful sometimes to see what their stylists come up with. For instance, AJ from UKISS has some blue highlights in his hair now, but the way it's cut is definitely not appealing to me as much as his other hairstyles have been. But just because that's what they look like in their videos, doesn't mean they like having their hair like that. Just sayin'. Also, the clothing they wear can throw you off. There are other KPOP videos out there where the members are wearing weird things. I don't think they choose what they wear; their stylists do. So, don't blame them.
2. Yes, the dancing can also be weird. I have many favorite KPOP groups that I love. However, just because I love them and love listening to their music doesn't mean that I agree with everything they do. Some of the dancing to you may be very weird and maybe even inappropriate, in your opinion. There have been videos where I have to skip parts because I think it's inappropriate or because I feel awkward watching it. A friend of mine who's Korean explained to me that people don't understand KPOP because their style of dancing and doing things reflects 90s boy bands like the Backstreet Boys. It's like they're keeping the style up, hence the dance moves and clothing choices.
3. Beware of other strange things. In KPOP MVs, there can be other weird events or things that are just not normal for American MVs to have. For example, in B.A.P.'s MV for their single "Stop It," the leader, Bang Yonnguk has a tail that the woman in the video squeezes near the end of the video, which knocks Bang out and he then wakes up, and finds out he's been dreaming, I'm guessing. Is there some type of sexual connotation to this squeezing of the tail? I personally have no idea, but I surely did not think of it as so when I first watched it. I can try to do more research and find out (yes, you can look up the English translation to all KPOP songs. That's what Google is for.) And now onto UKISS's "Standing Still" MV. For some reason, UKISS is starting to put more girls in their MVs. I personally, don't like it. I mean, they did perfectly fine in their other MVs without the girls. It was nice to just see some adorable Korean boys dancing around and singing. In my opinion, I think their agency is doing it because it shows UKISS is "growing up" out of the cutesy boy stage and into the serious, manly, "sexy" stage. Whatever. I thought they were awesome by themselves. But in this MV, there's this random girl standing behind a fence and she's also coming up out of the water. She's pretty, but beware, she has these INTENSE green eyes that kind of creeped me out. But maybe it was just me...
4. The English might not be so good. Yes, in KPOP songs, the singer/s or group will use English randomly in the middle of singing Korean. I don't know why, but just because they use English, doesn't mean they use it correctly. Sometimes they don't enunciate quite right. Other times the sentences don't make sense. 
5. A plot to a KPOP MV (if there is a plot) can be confusing. There will sometimes be things that can't be explained in a KPOP MV, such as plot. Or, things can be explained, but the producers just decided not to explain them. All I can tell ya is this: Just roll with it. Sure, ask questions, but I can't guarantee that you'll find answers.

So, after reading all of this, you're probably wondering, "If there's such weird, questionable stuff in KPOP, why do you listen to it?" I listen to it because it's enjoyable to me. It's different than the norm. It's sometimes better than listening to "Top 40s" crap we have here in America: songs about sex, drugs, and other awful things.

I'm not saying there isn't bad KPOP out there. There is, and I avoid those songs and stick with the songs about simple love or following dreams or making others smile. I enjoy KPOP because there is some innocence in it as well. Yes, the girl KPOP groups try to dress sleazy sometimes, and the guy groups sometimes take pictures shirtless to attract fangirls. But a lot of the time, you'll have Korean boy bands on a poster holding kittens or dressing like nerds or eating cupcakes in a messy fashion. I don't see much of that in America, except for groups like One Direction and Justin Bieber, and even then you'll get bare ab pictures of them too.

Yes, there is Christian music, and I listen to it as well (as you may've noticed since I talk about Britt Nicole in almost every single one of my posts). But I don't think there's anything wrong with my listening to KPOP. Like I said, sometimes listening to KPOP is more innocent than listening to stuff on the radio in America. 

I hope you can give KPOP a try and maybe look past some of the weirdness to see the talent that they have!

I'm so excited to share with y'all a piece of me that is KPOP! (^^) And I'm also excited because I got a really great friend of mine who normally listens to hard rock music into KPOP! :) So, anyone can like it. Doesn't mean you have to like everything about it. But you can like some things.

Hope you didn't completely drown in my KPOP talk! :)

Love y'all!!! 

*~.Mishy.~* (^^) <3

Roomie - Rooms - Rooms

Wow. Has it really been like 2 weeks since spring break? Crazy.

I've missed blogging so much, but let's be honest...I didn't really have much to tell y'all these past 2 weeks except that Spring Formal was pretty good, seeing my mom and going shopping with her was so much fun, and I've been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY with schoolwork and such.

But lately, the talk of next year is already going around. RAs, DCs, O-Team leaders, and building and class presidents have been established. And next week we talk about room and board. Some huge stuff going on lately.

Caylin has decided that it is time to move on if she ever wants to get where she wants to go: becoming famous in the contemporary music world. Covenant just isn't the place to do that, so she has decided to transfer. We will all miss her OH-SO-MUCH! She's one of my closest friends here, and we've grown together through so much. I'll miss her hilarious remarks and dances and hearing her just tell it like it is. We all need people in our lives that do that because rarely does anyone speak the truth in love. 

Thankfully she isn't going far, so we can always visit her and she can always visit us. And we're all just a phone call or text away! :)

Well, Taylor and I had talked about rooming already and had already come to a conclusion: we'll just keep everything like it is. Same building. Same hall. Same room. Same roomie. And I was totally fine with that. Sure, everyone's always ready to jump on the wagon for change, but I was perfectly content with where we were.

Haha, well there's just been lots of talk among Taylor, Bria, Megan, and I. No, Taylor isn't going to ditch me as a roommate (although, I will say, I had a fear that she thought about it, but it was all a misunderstanding, lol). And at first, we thought we were going to move to Mac (building right next to Founders, the building we live in currently) and be in a 4- or 5-man together. But after going through our own pros and cons and then talking to our current RA Erin about it, we've realized that we would have a slim-to-none chance of getting a 4- or 5-man in Mac. 

BUT...we'd have an amazing opportunity to reach out to Balcony (our hall) and make a difference. Apparently, for the past 5 years, Balcony has had trouble keeping people. Freshman with strong personalities come in, realize the hall doesn't have a strong personality in itself, and leave the next year. So, Balcony has been going through this same cycle of getting strong girls and then losing them. I'm not saying that the girls who stay are weak, but we as freshman now feel that there just hasn't been a lot of reaching out and engagement and encouragement this year. 

Yes, the girls on our hall are sweet and I'm not saying that we hate them or that they're completely unreasonable. Live on a hall with 15 or so girls and everyone can become a little crazy and unreasonable at times. But we felt as freshman that the upperclassmen didn't do such a great job of communicating...we had to start conversations ourselves and get to know them slowly but surely.

But next year if we stay, we'll be able to change that cycle, that tradition. Instead of leaving, we can welcome the new freshman and engage them and encourage them. Not to mention, our RA for next year A.K. was sort of "ordained" by Erin according to the freshman personalities. And we wouldn't want to leave her with freshman that she didn't expect and no sophomores to help her with the transfer.

Otherwise, if we leave, the freshman next year will be another Bria. Another Taylor. Another Megan. Another Mishy. Waiting and wondering why our hall isn't so out there and well-known. Wondering when the upperclassmen will talk to us. Wondering where the out-going people are and realizing, WE are those people. And then they'll begin the cycle all over again.

But no. After so many signs like reading about Joshua and how he prepared the next generation to follow God faithfully, reading something about living in good community in Bria's psychology book, and reading some verses in Romans 15 about how the strong must help the weak, I believe we are making the right decision by staying on Balcony. 

Here are the verses I read this morning during my devotions that truly convinced me:

Romans 15:1-7 

1 We who are strong in faith should help the weak with their weaknesses, and not please only ourselves. 2 Let each of us please our neighbors for their good, to help them be stronger in faith. 3 Even Christ did not live to please himself. It was at the Scriptures said: "When people insult you, it hurts me." 4 Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope. 5 May the patience and encouragement that come from God allow you to live in harmony with each other the way Christ Jesus wants. 6 Then you will all be joined together, and you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God.

So, Megan, Taylor, Bria and I are pretty much convinced that we are staying on Balcony and doing a sleep/study using my and Taylor's room and Bria and Megan's room. But even though we're confident about our choice, I still think we need to pray more about it and continue encouraging each other that new freshman will be coming in and we need to be there for them. Whether they have questions about things, need advice, or just want someone to talk to. 

It's FRIDAY Y'ALL!!!! (^^) SO happy it's the weekend and that I can actually attempt to get even MORE stuff done for the next! Enjoy your day! Listen to your favorite music! If the weather is nice (which it isn't here. I THOUGHT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SPRING?!) roll the windows down as you drive to places. Hangout! Relax! God has given us another day!

Love y'all!

*~.Mishy.~* (^^) <3

Spring Break 2013: The Wrap Up

Hey, guys.

As I type this, I am sitting on Shanae's (Bria's roommate) bed in Bria's room back at Covenant. Yeah, we made it back safe and sound and we are EXHAUSTED. I don't want to get back in a car for like 2 days tops, and I surely don't want to spend anymore money ever, unless it's truly important (such as buying shower stuff because you left all of it at Aunty Madeline's. Yep. That was me...true story.)

Anyways, I'm just gonna give y'all a basic wrap up of what happened the last few days of Spring Break 2013. It went a little something like this...

Day 6: Chillin!

Finally. After getting in a car every day since last Thursday and going places nonstop, on Thursday Bria and I decided to stay at the house and just chill out. My body had been aching for the past couple of days, and honestly, I bet it was because of being constantly squished in a car daily.

Caylin and Corinne went thrift shopping with Aunty Madeline, which I knew that if I did, I would be tempted to buy stuff. And I surely could not pop any tags because I definitely did not have $20 in my pocket...(see what I did there?)

So, Bria and I hung out with AJ and Dominic, since they stayed home from school due to the snow storm. They made tuna for us, and we watched them as they made vinegar bombs and tried to blow them up outside in the snow. It was so hilarious. Boys will be boys! :D

Then the boys left to go to Walmart, so Bria and I stayed behind and watched Shutter Island, since I'd never seen it before. And dang...that movie was so freakin tragic. I don't know if I ever want to see it again. It was so devastating...

Not only that, but we watched The Village later on that night, an even more devastating movie that Aunty Madeline really wanted to watch. Ugh. I couldn't take much more after that... :P

Day 7: Dominic's Birthday and Saying Goodbye

Dominic turned 14! It was nice to see the decorations his parents put up for him. It was also nice because he and AJ didn't have to go to school again! So they got a 4-day weekend! :)

Corinne and I played in the snow with Dominic, AJ, and Copper. It was questionable whether we could leave or not because there was a foot of snow on the ground (it was so AMAZING!!!) and we weren't exactly sure when the storm was going to stop. But after researching, we found out the storm would end at 2pm, so we decided to pack everything and leave then.

It was sad to say goodbye. Frank had to leave for work at 12pm, so we didn't get a chance to say bye to him. I am very thankful and grateful that the Paladinos opened up their home to us. It was really fun getting to know them all. I hope to see them again in the future!

So, we hit the road around 2:15pm and continued driving until like 11pm. We stopped at a Comfort Inn in Harrisburg, PA to rest for some hours before getting up early the next morning and travelling the rest of the way back to Covenant.

Day 8: And here we are...

After driving and driving and driving, we are all finally back at Covenant, exhausted as ever and sort of happy to be back, yet longing to relive those days of relaxation and adventure. I'm glad we made it back today, though, so we still have a night and a full day to recover from our trip and to start focusing back on school once again. :P

Staying up North brought me to a realization...I wouldn't mind living up there. I always told myself that there'd be no way I would want to live there, except for NYC, but Mass and New Hampshire and all the tiny states around it have so much history. Caylin put it in a certain way, about how it was "stuck in time, but moving forward" or something like that. I loved how you could drive 15-20 minutes and you'd be in a different state! And, even though it's always been said that people up North are more rude than people in the South, I didn't see any of that while we were there. Of course, after what Caylin and Corinne told me, I didn't wave and smile to people as much since apparently that's weird to do in the North...but still!

So, there you have it...

That wraps up my SB 2013 blog series (if you can call it that...). Sorry for being so behind, but when you're on vacation, plans can change in the blink of an eye and surprises are waiting for you at every corner. I hope you enjoyed reading about my spring break! And I hope that those of you who were also on spring break had an amazing, relaxing, adventurous time as well!

And as I sit here, contemplating whether to move myself from Shanae's cozy bed, my fuzzy lime green blanket, and fluffy pillows and make myself some beef flavored Ramen, I know that I will have to prepare myself for the week ahead.

And, I forgot to mention this, but on the ride back here, many topics were brought up...about struggling, dreams coming true, finding your place in life. I pray that, as I try to hone my focus in on school, I also focus back in on my relationship with God. I will admit this...not once did I pick my Bible up during spring break. And that's just sad to say. :( 

I pray that I'll get better at reading my Bible and listening to what God has to say to me, whether I'm on vacation or not.

Love y'all so much! 

*~.Mishy.~* (^^) <3

SB 2013 DAY 5, Part 2: Sturbridge Village, Burgers, and More Candy

So yeah, it sucked that we weren't able to go to NYC...

But instead, we (including Frank) were able to go to Sturbridge Village museum that is an outside village, with live livestock and some people who actually "live" in the houses. All the buildings there came from different settlements in different states, but they were all legit buildings back in the 1800s, I think.

I have some pictures of that. Poor Corinne, her camera had no batter whatsoever. But hey, another plus side because it would've sucked if her camera wasn't working in NYC.

Upstairs seating in the meeting house

SHEEP! LOL, Taylor's been rubbing off on me
because now every time I see sheep, I freak out and
yell, "SHEEP!" XD

Chickens...

Chickens, escaping the barn! They followed us
to 2 more places haha

Yes, you read right...they used their own
urine to clean stuff... XP gross....

Cows! (Animals I know a friend of mine would love.
You know who you are! ;) )

Frank, attempting to milk a "cow" 

An old printing press! My personal favorite part
of the entire village, me being a writer and all!

Frank, Frank...

Sturbridge Village was pretty fun. It wasn't NYC, but it was still fun! :)

After that, we went to Wild Willy's, a place with some really great burgers and fries, and then we made another stop at the penny candy store. And this time, I bought 40 Peachy-O's. Yes. 40 of them. I love them that much because they are that good. 

We ended the day with watching My Strange Addiction and just chillin. I thought it was a pretty successful day, if I do say so myself. I'm just thankful that we were all together and we were all safe. 

AGH! I'm so behind on my spring break posts! And it kills me to think of how behind I am!

I love you all! Spring break is almost coming to a close, but I am so grateful for the time I've been able to have with some friends, going on adventures, experiencing new things, and getting some relaxation before heading back into all the schoolwork...

*Bites tongue* No. I will not speak of such things at this present moment. I won't even think about it!

SNEAK PEEK of My Next Post (since I'm kinda behind LOL :P):

• Staying home: the 1st day I didn't get in a car and go somewhere but just sat at the house and chilled
• Snowed in Maybe?: I took a good, long look out of the window before heading to our room and it looked like one of those designed, Christmas cards...the ones with inches of snow covering the ground and everything else...

LOVE Y'ALL!

*~.MiShY.~* (^^) <3

SB 2013 DAY 5, Part 1: Not What We Expected...

So, many of you are wondering, "Wait, weren't you supposed to be going to NYC sometime this week? I mean, Boston is awesome too, but NYC is where it's at!"

Haha, well, it's funny you should mention it...it's kind of a long story...

You Givin' Me a Hint?

My Pa (stepdad) called me the morning we were leaving for Boston and was asking questions about how we were getting to NYC. We had all been going back and forth on the transportation issue--first we were taking a bus, then we were driving, then we were taking a train, and then Frank was driving us into town and parking next to the theater. I told him that we would talk about it later after we got home from Boston, and he told me a little about the weather that would be here on Wednesday, the day we were going to NYC.

A part of me felt like this was going to lead to conflict: either my Pa was going to disagree with us driving in or something else. I mean, I wasn't mad at Pa, but I felt like this always happened, ya know? I really didn't want to think about anything but us going to NYC and having a great time.

Well, after our whole day in Boston, Pa called me again, but I was upstairs and I missed his call. Caylin told me that he called and I called him back. And this is what he said...

Should We Stay or Should We Go?

There was supposed to be some really bad snow storms coming through, starting in NYC and heading up to where we were. He really advised that I not go. A part of me was upset...because the whole reason we were up here was to go to NYC. 

I told my friends, and they really didn't want to stay home either. Pa was telling me that if we all stayed, he would reimburse all of us from buying those Broadway tickets. Knowing my Pa, he usually doesn't get bad feelings like this. If I were in high school, I would be so mad at him. I would think that he's trying to squish my fun.

But I know Pa better than that now. And if he's really concerned about my safety, I'm going to listen. So, I planned on not going and allowing my friends to go without me.

Frank suggested that we wait until morning to decide whether the weather was really going to be bad or not. Which was fine with me...I was going to stay even if they did say the weather was going to be clear. Unless they had some solid, super good evidence that the weather wasn't going to be bad in NYC that night, I was going to stay.

And I mean, by that time, I didn't mind staying. We'd been travelling to places nonstop ever since we left Covenant, and a day of just chilling at the house sounded super appealing to me. Not to mention, I'd get my money back, and UKISS's new album was coming out in like 24 hours, so I would just use that money to get it (2-5 business days, y'all, and it will be in my hands. I'm so freakin excited! (^^) #BlasianKPOPfangirlprobz)

The Next Morning...

I didn't toss and turn too badly that night. I was okay with not going to NYC with everyone else. I texted my parents and told them, "If I come out of this alive and well, I'll be totally fine." Sure, I would miss a great play on Broadway, but at least I knew for certain that I would be alive.

"Guys, the weather's good, and we're going to New York!" Caylin exclaimed the next morning. I slowly crawled out of my sheets and grabbed my phone. It was about 10am, and I knew that everyone would be leaving soon.

But I had to call Pa and make sure the weather report was still the same. Which it was. And I told him I was planning on staying because I trusted his judgment. It meant a lot to him that I trusted him and that I wasn't getting angry at the fact that I wasn't going to NYC at all. 

I'm telling y'all, this was one of those moments when I realized how much I've  grown since high school. Seriously, if I were a high schooler and Pa called me and told me not to go, I would have thrown a fit. But knowing that Pa was warning me because he cared about my safety, but still leaving the decision up to me...I mean, I still can't believe I handled that the way I did...

My mom called and told me that Bria's grandmother had called, and that my mom had told her grandma that I wasn't going, which made Bria's grandma want Bria to stay behind with me (mostly for weather purposes, not because I was going to be by myself). 

I really didn't want Bria to stay behind if she wanted to go to NYC. But Bria told me that she had already been thinking of staying because she knows my Pa doesn't freak out about many things and also, she knows he's lived in NYC for a year and knows the weather up here. So, we'd both decided on staying. And I was totally fine with that.

Caylin comes down the stairs and says, "Ugh, they're getting cold feet up there because y'all decided to stay!"

Bria and I pulled on sweatshirts and went upstairs, telling Corinne and Frank to not worry just because we were staying. But Aunty Madeline was even worried about how they were going to get back from NYC, and Frank had gotten calls from parents saying not to drive in the snow because it was going to be bad.

Long story short y'all, we all stayed in Mass.

I know it was disappointing for all of us because honestly, NYC was the main reason we came up here. But I am grateful that we got to go to Boston because I'd never been before. And we'd gone to so many places that I'd never been too.

NYC is still in the US, so we can always go...it's places like the Philippines, Japan, and Korea that we need to take chances on! (I want to go so badly)

But yeah. No New York City on this spring break. Maybe next time... 

SB 2013 DAY 4: BOSTON

Hello, hello!

Today we went to BOSTON!!! We took the train into town (it took like an hour and a half) and immediately started to look around for historical stuff. I've got TONS of pictures from Boston. I mean, it's insane.

Chinatown

Our first official stop was Chinatown. It was really close to the train station, so we walked around a bit, and stopped to get some lunch.

Corinne and her "bubble shake" YUM (^^)

That miso soup and ginger salad

The Lunch Teriyaki Special

Wandering Around...

Some pics of us wandering, trying to find our way...

TAXI!!!

LOL, it seems we've been in a habit of getting lost, y'all...

So, we tried to find our way to the Freedom Trail so we could see Paul Revere's house, his grave, the Old North Church (I was close yesterday, y'all! haha), and some other historical stuff. But man...we walked around for like an hour and a half trying to find the freakin Freedom Trail!

We were using the GPS on Bria's phone, but then her phone had 5% battery so we were kinda guessing. Finally, after walking around in circles for a while, we decided to hail a taxi. Here's a picture of Bria hailing it for us.

So Bria got us a taxi, and as soon as we got in it, I remembered why I was so against hailing one in the first place.

You see, I have nothing against taxi drivers. I mean, that's how they make a living. But dude...I would like for the driver to at least try to be entertaining or something while we're riding. Really, when it comes down to it, it's all about the money. And that's one reason why I didn't want to take one...because it's expensive.

Another reason is because I just don't feel comfortable in them. Sure, in the movies, you've got the friendly or hilarious taxi driver and the inside of the cab is nice and clean. Real life? Haha, yeah, not so much.

I'm just thankful we got there safely, despite the fact that our driver drove us around in circles like 3 times. 

We saw Paul Revere's grave (even his wife's grave) and passed by a million Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks and other stores, some that we'd seen or heard of before and other we hadn't. It was a really great experience.

Paul Revere's gravestone (so unreadeable :( )

Mrs. Revere's gravestone (also unreadable)

Old City Hall

We continued down the Freedom Trail, and I think we were trying to see the 1st public school. Or maybe we were trying to do that before we got into the taxi...I can't remember, y'all, it was a long day, plus I'll have to share some news with y'all a little later...

So somehow, we made it to Fahnuiel Hall and there were tons of gift shops and restaurants around. They had a North Market and a Quincy Market, and we went into both. It was so great, but because it was Boston, it was so expensive. :P

Walking around Fanuiel Hall got our appetites up, so we stopped at a place called Ames Plow Tavern. I really wanted to go to The Lansdowne, but by this time, we were all just really happy we were able to walk around places and sort of find our way around. All we wanted was food and a place to sit down for a while.

But Ames Plow was still good. There was NO ONE in there when we were there and it was really nice to sit in a quiet place where the waiter was just focused on us, so there was no wait.

Caylin playing Pacman. She won too! :)

Bria, eating her first burger in MONTHS!

And once we exited the tavern, the sky was this pretty shade of pink and blue and yellow...I don't know if you can see it really well in the picture though...

Then after that we took a taxi to the South Station, got some Pinkberry frozen yogurt, hopped on the train, and went back to West Boylston. It was an adventurous, long, fun, exhausting day. 

Geez, it took me 2 days to post about our Boston trip! Sorry about that, y'all...it's been a crazy couple days. My next post will explain why. I think I've rattled enough nonsense for y'all here...

Love y'all!

*~.Mishy.~* (^^) <3