Blondies Good Bad and Ugly

Hello, friends! It has been quite some time since I’ve uploaded. But let me tell ya, the last few weeks have been a much needed, restful break. I sincerely hope y’all’s holidays were the same. Because it has been a minute, let me give you the rundown on why I’ve been away for so long.  

After Thanksgiving, I went on a cruise to Mexico. Because I feel the need to justify myself, at that point in the semester I was basically done with classes anyway. Honestly, who am I to say no to a trip? This was actually my first time cruising, so of course I had to do the real thing and get a passport. (Now I’m thinking it’s time to add some more stamps to it…) After a week in the sun, it was time to get back to reality. My fall semester ended significantly better than it started. A few high notes being; I’ve had a few of my articles published on an Arlington news site and I celebrated two of my besties graduating. 

Following all that excitement, my roommates and I planned a road trip to New Orleans. Now, if you know me, I make sure the plans actually leave the group chat. Jacie, Mia or I had never been so it was exciting to see a new place with sweet friends. We took our time exploring the city, trying different restaurants and even visiting the New Orleans Museum of Art. There was so much to see, so we split off about thirty minutes in and didn’t run into each other for about two hours. Jacie is an art major so she knew a lot about many different pieces, even random little facts about many of the artists. Did you know that the NOMA has the original Portrait of Marie Antoinette? Now you do.

On our drive back, we decided to stop at an alligator park in Beaumont. (Apparently, New Orleans doesn’t have alligators roaming the streets.) Gator Country is a gator rescue park with hundreds of alligators and other reptiles. I had been once when I was a kid but since then the park has expanded. When I say hundreds of alligators, I literally mean hundreds of alligators. Our stop lasted a lot longer than we had anticipated. We got to hold baby alligators, lizards and the girls even held a snake. (Personally, I am not the one:)) Once our little vacay was over we headed back to Arlington, but only for a night to repack and head to our families for Christmas.

Being able to see all of my family for Christmas was very sweet. Family is such a blessing and although mine isn’t perfect, I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Holiday breaks give me time to see extended family that I don’t get to see when I get a chance to go home for a weekend. Normally, I feel like I am counting down the days until I can go back to Arlington and be in my own space again. However, this past year really taught me to see all I have and to be grateful for it. I really wanted to be intentional and enjoy my time with my siblings and cousins. 

After New Years, I drove back up to Arlington and attempted to get my ducks in a row before the semester and work started back up. I work for an after school program so I was fortunate to be off work most of my break. The weekend before school started, I attended a retreat that the student ministry I am a part of hosts. It’s four days that consist of worship, community, sermons and friends. One of my favorite things is being able to worship within community: the music, the band, the sound of hundreds of voices singing along together in praise. It’s so calming to me and almost always relaxes my mind. 

Dr. Lee, the speaker for the retreat, made some really great points throughout the weekend. He truly has a gift of keeping the audience engaged. One point he stressed really stuck out to me: “You can not do anything more or anything less to change God’s love for you”. He loves you today, He loved you yesterday, and He will love you tomorrow. We all fall short and there have been so many times that I have thought to myself I don’t deserve His grace. But God doesn’t think so, His grace and mercy is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10) 

The retreat ended on Monday and classes started on Tuesday. Unfortunately, I chose to be a morning person this semester so I have an 8 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. I’m the type of person who needs a day to get my things together for the next week. Similar to how some choose to use their Sundays to do laundry, cleaning, ect. I don’t like to jump right away from one thing to the next. All that’s to say, getting home late Monday afternoon from a four day retreat and jumping into a new semester would not have been my preferred method. Luckily, it snowed Monday and typically down here in Texas, because we’re used to triple digit temps rather than negative, classes were postponed until 11. Although it wasn’t a full day, I still appreciated it. 

Anyway, classes are now in full swing and the assignments and due dates are steadily rolling in. If you’ve read this far, I don’t want you to think my past few weeks have been a breeze. Restful yes, but I often catch myself taking deep breaths and reassuring myself. I am constantly reminding myself to stir my cereal, that no one is ahead of me and everyone has their own timeline. There is so much to look forward to and even more to be thankful for; we just have to change our perspective sometimes. 

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