#ThingsHeardAtJrCamp

This past week, I had the opportunity to be a sponsor for the Beckham-Mills Association Junior Camp for 3rd-6th Graders. This was my 3rd time to go as a sponsor, but it was also the most interesting. I decided to keep a list of funny/clever/weird things that the kiddos or adults said at camp. Some of them need explanation, but some are just better by themselves.

1. "We're in the Appalachian Mountains."
 No. We weren't. We were in Southwest Oklahoma. And they were just really tall hills.

2. "I love my candy. Isn't that right, tum-tum?"
Because it's always appropriate to talk to your stomach.

3. "Are we in Michigan?"
Nope. Again, we were in Southwest Oklahoma.

4. "He looks like Abe Lincoln."
I will admit. He did look like Abe Lincoln.

5. "Let her distribute the drugs."
Because she's a nurse, and you're not.

6. "Oh my gosh, girl. You stepped on my Oreos. Walk-away."
Don't mess with her Oreos.

7. "He looks like my cousin Karen."
I won't tell Karen.

8. "I'm glad this isn't the Grand Canyon."
Me too, kid. Me too.

9. "I just had a couple candies off the floor."
I really, really hope it was just candy.

10. "That's not mine. I don't brush my teeth."
Thanks for letting me know.

11. "I should get up. And then go lay down."
Sponsoring is tiring.

12. "Hey. Did that monkey take a selfie. I'm awesome at selfies. Probably better than monkeys."
What.

13. "I'd rather get drunk on Pixie Stix than sit in circles."
I'm still going to make you sit in a circle.

14. "Kitchen Cleaning is awful."
Yes.

15. "There will be no pants dropping on the mountain." 
Yes ma'am.

16. "Whatever floats his boat. Or his balloon."
Too many balloons at Jr. Camp.

17. "I drank seven Mountain Dews."
Said camper. On the way home from camp.

The 11 Things I Learned at College

Today, I enrolled for my sophomore year of college. 237 days ago, I moved across the state into an unfamiliar atmosphere. To say I was scared would be an understatement. I had plenty of friends and family that advised me on what my first year of college would be like, but there are somethings that you can only learn by experience and by yourself.


1. Go through the orientation process.
This is the best way to learn about the campus and to meet upperclassmen and professors. You get to have a first week of college without having to actually do school work. There will also be crazy and sentimental traditions that you could participate in. This is also the way to meet new friends.
However, you may never talk to your new "Welcome Week" friends again. But that's okay. By the end of the week, you will feel more comfortable with the place you are in.

2. Go to class and do your homework.
So. You were the Valedictorian of your graduating high-school class. That does not automatically mean that you will succeed in college. It means almost nothing. A high school teacher once told me that the worst part about straight-A students is that they don't want to do the work, but they still expect the A. 
In college, if you don't do the work, you may not even get a B.

3. Dorms are not terrible.
They provide a bed to sleep in. 
The people living on your hall are the people you will have to live with for a long period of time. So get to know them. Be respectful of them. 
I was warned to not be friends with just my hallmates. But these people obviously didn't meet my hallmates. 




4. Having a major can be the best or worst thing. 
This is the thing that could possibly define you and how people interact with you. 
"Oh. You're a music major. You must be so talented."
"Oh. You're a psychology major. What does my dream mean?"
"Oh. You're undeclared. That's okay. You have plenty of time to decide."
"Oh. You're a nursing major. I heard that not many people make it through, and you're always busy, and you don't have any fun. Good Luck! But first, do you have any medicine I could take?"
You will consider changing your major, and if you are like me, you will consider changing your major at least 5 times a week. But that's okay.

5. There is no point in complaining about the cafeteria food.
It's not the best food. But it's food. And if you have a meal plan, it's already paid for. 

6. Invest in a good pair of headphones.
Some nights, you don't want to listen to people talking loudly, and if you have to watch a film for a class, you won't have to bother your roommate. 

7. Don't spend all your money.
If you spend it all, you won't have any left. It's pretty self-explanatory.

8. Find friends in your classes.
This will make it easier to go to class. This will make it easier to study for tests. This will just in general, make it easer.

9. Do Not Procrastinate.
Your professors will give you a syllabus at the beginning of the semester with most, if not all, of your due dates and test dates. Yet, you will probably still wait until the night before the big project due to actually do it. And you will regret it. 
So in order to relieve stress, don't procrastinate. 

10. Go home every once in a while.
This will make your family happy. It will probably make you happy, too. On the other hand, don't go home every weekend, unless it absolutely necessary.

11. Make time for yourself.
This was advice my advisor gave me after she saw what my schedule was this semester. I'm still learning to do this. 

The FFA Jacket.

The weirdest part about packing for college was not packing my FFA Jacket. In almost all of my major trips, that jacket was always the first thing I packed. But for the past 8 months, my jacket has been hanging in my closet at home. 
If I could write a letter to my FFA jacket:

Dear FFA Jacket,

I zipped you up for the first time in September 2008. I had seen other people wearing something like you, but I just thought you were a key part to a uniform that I would only wear while dealing with animals. 

Then it began.

You were with me for every livestock show, every speech contest, every CDE Contest.

You helped me serve the community, and you were there when others served me.

You were there for every award I won and every award I didn't win.


You went with me to Indianapolis for 5 times. Two of those times, you were there when I played with the National FFA Band.

For three years, you proudly wore a "State FFA Chorus" pin.

You influenced the hundreds of articles I wrote and the thousands of pictures I took.


You helped me develop leadership skills.

You were there for many laughs, many stories, and many tears.

You were used for warmth on cold days. 

You were with me when I received my State FFA Degree.

You've sat with me for long hours in the Ag Truck.

You've made new friends with me.

You've helped me support my fellow peers with all of their endeavors. 

You represented me, my town, and my state.

You've witnessed much more than I can imagine, and you can tell a story unlike any other.

I unzipped you for the last time in May 2013, and now you hang in my closet at home. I will leave you there in hopes that one day, my brother or my children will go snooping in my closet and find you. I will tell them all my favorite stories of you. 

Thank you for being the one thing I could always depend on being there.


Sincerely, 
Me.

What I Learned: A month without being internet social

A little over a month ago, I made the decision to log off my social media accounts for December. I knew it would be hard, but I didn't know it would be easy. After a few days, I quit trying to open the invisible apps on my phone and found new realizations. Here are the things I learned about not being on social media:

I don't care.
No offense, but half the stuff on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, I don't care about. With the social media, it was convenient to get to know someone without really asking, but without social media it was almost convenient to not have to care. I didn't have to worry about 'liking' something to let the person know that I still cared about him or her, even though I didn't exactly care about the thing he or she posted.

I do care.
There was the other half of the stuff that I did care about. Updates on family members, exciting things happening to friends, pictures that were taken at Christmas. The first half of the month, I was at college, so I didn't get updated on what was going on at home. The second half of the month, I was at home, so I didn't get updated on what was going on with my friends at college. I missed the long-distance updates without having to ask.



I wasted time.
I would procrastinate studying or chores because I was on social media. Without it, I didn't have anything "better" to do but be somewhat productive.

I cared too much what people thought.
I would craft each post knowing who would 'like' it before I even posted it. But if I was just being myself and I didn't get "enough" 'likes', I felt that people didn't like who I was.



I don't have to try to be creative.
I'm not really a hands-on creative person. Occasionally, I enjoy being crafty, but only about once every 3 or 4 months. I would rather spend my time being "productive" with things I use. But seeing the "Look what I made!" posts on social media made me feel like I needed to make things, too. Thankfully, I don't.

I used social media as a substitute.
When I first began my social media hiatus, I would find things that I could do differently with my new free time. This included reading the Bible. Eventually, I realized that I used Facebook as my substitute when I didn't want to read the Bible.


I don't have to act surprised when people tell me things.
When people would tell me things that was going on in their lives, I didn't want to be rude and tell them that I already knew because they posted it on Facebook. Now, when people tell me things, I can genuinely be surprised.

There are more productive ways to be unproductive.
I can read a book. I can write in a journal. I can research random facts. Elephants only sleep two hours a day.

There is much, much, much more to life than finding the perfect Facebook/Instagram/Twitter update.
This includes sleeping more hours a day than an elephant. 



Not long after I gave up social media, I got an email basically saying that almost everyone tries to fill a void in their life by trying to be perfect in some sort of way. Unknowingly, in a way, mine was social media. The email later said that the only way that void can be filled is through Christ.

He does not care how many 'likes', 'followers', 'favorites,' or 'retweets' we get. No matter how perfect we seem on social media, we'll never be perfect. Instead of posting our sorrows on social media, it's much easier to talk to God about them. He is the only one who can truly make our heart happy.

With that, I don't have much of a desire to be on social media anymore. I definitely won't be downloading the apps on my phone, and I will probably only log on if I am extremely bored.

Why I am giving up social media...

Lately, I've been pretty gloomy. At first, I thought it was only because I'm three hours away from my family, experiencing stress from college, and lacking sleep. While this probably has a little to do with my mood, this month, I've been evaluating myself. I found the times that I feel most down is when I am on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I began realizing why I feel down when I am on social media.

Facebook was intended to share ideas, thoughts, and amazing things that have been going on in someone's life. Everything that person shared went to people he or she selected to be his or her Facebook friend. People then morphed Facebook to a place that they use as their way of sharing almost every thought or question that is running through their head. I completely understand that each person can use his or her Facebook in his or own way. I am okay with that. But lately, all I see are posts like:

• "I am sick."
• "I am busy."
• "I am sick and busy."

I truly empathize with these people. But when I see someone sharing amazing things going on in their lives, I can't help but feel like they are faking it. I feel like there has to be something wrong with their life. This provokes sadness, anger, hypocrisy, jealousy, and judgement inside of me. 

Instagram was intended to share pictures. Pictures that inspire. Pictures that capture amazing moments in someone's life. I loved Instagram when I first downloaded it. But then words and phrases like "selfie" and "woman crush Wednesday" came along. I'll admit. These were fun to see at first, but I can't stand them now. 

Two girls can have the exact same followers. Exact. They can each post a "selfie" doing the exact same pose. They can attach the exact same song lyric or Bible verse to the "selfie". But one girl will get more "likes" on her photo than the other.

One girl, who may be extremely beautiful, but has the ugliest personality, can be ten different boys' "#womancrushWednesday". But another girl, who may be the kindest, most loving person, but may not be as physically attractive may never have "WCW" hashtagged next to her name. 

While I rarely post "selfies", seeing other people's and how many "likes" they received have unintentionally made me question my self worth. 

Twitter is probably the less of the three evils. But it creates the illusion that just because I follow someone, I must be their friend. However I may never actually talk to that person in "real life".

Twitter is also a popularity contest. The more followers you have on Twitter, the cooler you are. 

So because of all this, I have decided to give up social media for the month of December. This doesn't mean I don't want to hear/see about my friends life. So please, please, please, if you want me to know about is going on in your life, e-mail me, text me, call me. If you don't have my email or phone number, let me know and I will give it to you. 

The 10 things I miss most about my small hometown.

Although I love being in Shawnee, I miss the familiar surroundings I had living in a small community. Here are some of the things I miss most:












1. My church family
It has been difficult finding a church that I connect with. 

2. Quiet scenery
At home, I didn't hear traffic, chainsaws, lawnmowers, sirens, and loud talking on a minutely basis. I could control most of the noise I heard, and the skies and open fields made everything more peaceful. 

3. Less traffic
I hate driving. 

4. Being busy
In junior high and high school, I looked forward to the weeks I didn't have anything to do. But now, I get so bored, and I am not easily entertained as some. 

5. Being genuinely concerned when I heard a siren
The campus is right next to a hospital, so I hear sirens on a daily basis. I have gotten to the point that I almost ignore it. At home, I didn't hear sirens often, but when I did, a wave of concern would come over me. 

6. High School basketball
Really, I just miss how the community all came together for basketball games. 

7. Consistent sleep schedule
While my morning routine is pretty consistent, each night I go to bed at a different time for different reasons. Some nights, I may have finished my homework early, so I go to bed early. Other nights, there will be people outside my window or door talking loudly for hours. I miss having a set time that I know I will fall asleep. 

8. The local newspaper

I miss reading news about people I knew and cared about. I also miss writing news   about people I knew and cared about. 

9. My friends
All of them...

10. My family
This is a given.

Dear High School Senior... (Part 2)

I've been at college for 86 days, and today I finally realized it. It wasn't because of the course work, dorm life, cafeteria food, campus, or the fact that I am 3 hours away from my home. It was because of an Honor Band audition. 
For six years of my musical life, my Octobers and Novembers consisted of WOCDA Honor Choir and auditions, All-State Choir auditions, the occasional Honor Band, National FFA Convention and Nat'l FFA Band (2 years), Pep Band at the home basketball games, and Veterans' Day programs.
This was my favorite time of the year. Going on trips with my favorite people and doing some of my favorite things. 
This year, my October and November have consisted of Pep Band at home football games, Symphonic Winds concerts, and Bisonettes concerts.
While I have loved being a part of this, it's almost like my life has drastically slowed down. 

Dear High School Senior,

You are less than six weeks away from being halfway done with high school.

You've probably been busy with all of your activities, and your probably a little stressed. But you don't really mind, because it takes the focus away from realizing it's your last time to do that. 

In six weeks, you'll really start to develop senioritis. The symptoms of these differ from each person.
You'll either:

• Quit caring about school
• Overload yourself with activities

In six weeks, it'll start to settle in that you are a senior. You'll only have five months before you graduate.

In this time, you'll finalize your decision on what you want to do with the rest of your life. You'll figure out what college you want to go to or what job you might want.

People will ask you on a daily basis what you are going to do after high school. You should probably start memorizing the answer to this question.

However, in these next six weeks, you should be calm. Enjoy your last few weeks before the calendar changes to the year you graduate.

Spend time with family. Spend time with friends. Be a high school student. In a year from now, EVERYTHING will be completely different. 

So, unless it's extremely important and time sensitive, don't worry about college or life after high school.

Enjoy the things you like to do, but don't overdo it. 

Sincerely and Love,

Me

P.S.: It's still nice to tell people to have a great day.