let me tell ya what ya need to know

let me tell ya what ya need to know

                I actually found this on my computer and thought it would be a great time to share. Whether you are an incoming freshmen student or a transfer student, ACU is a great place to be. I am not saying that to try to persuade you to think the same, but because I really do believe it. Here are a few tips and tricks of the trade from someone who was recently in your position as a new student.

      Go to June Passport and stay in the dorms. I met some of my best friends here on campus during passport and that was mostly due to staying in the dorms during Passport. Living with others in general builds memories, community, and creates lasting relationships.  Some of the people I met by staying in the dorms I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.

      Don’t over pack for college. You really don’t need as much as you think you do and if you need something, Walmart is two minutes away (Target’s like 15 minutes away, but worth the drive).

      Embrace Welcome Week. There is a lot of hype surrounding Welcome Week and depending on who you talk to, you will hear different experiences and opinions about it. Generally people either love it or hate it. My advice would be to embrace the experience. Get to know as many people as you can, sure it might be awkward, but everybody is in the same boat. Embrace the awkward, you don’t have to be best friends with everybody. I personally loved every minute of Welcome Week and to this day I am still friends with people from my Welcome Week/CORE class group.

      On that note, embrace CORE class. CORE is an ACU required class, it’s hard to explain exactly what it is, but that people in your class are the same people who are in your Welcome Week group. So, another reason to get to know the people in your group- you’ll be with them all semester. I have had great professors for the first two core classes I’ve taken and really enjoyed them. Similar to Welcome Week, who you talk to will make a difference on what you hear about the core curriculum in general. Honestly, in any situation there will be positive and negatives and core is not any different. Embrace the experience and look at it as a way to meet new people you would not have had the chance to meet otherwise.

      If you get sick, don’t be afraid to go to the doctor. I have had some experience with being sick and being away from home. A few weeks into my first semester of freshmen year I developed an upper repertory infection, which ended up turning into walking pneumonia. Second semester I ended up getting walking pneumonia again. Safe to say if I would have gone to the doctor earlier I could have avoided getting as sick as I did. So take medicine, go to the doctor – it won’t hurt.

      Get involved in anything you can and anything that interest you. This is pretty self-explanatory, but if you have an interest in an on campus group join it. Don’t be afraid to get involved in Freshmen Follies, Sing Song, Students Association, or Homecoming. Get involved. Don’t be afraid to participate in something you are interested in or have training or experience with.

      As important as grades are make time to build relationships. One of the biggest reasons why I chose ACU was to have to opportunity to build relationships with other Christians. This campus is filled with awesome people that make up the ACU difference (commonly #ACUdifference). I kid you not the ACU difference is real. While you come to school for a degree, you should also invest in the people here as well. Last year at opening chapel Rick Atchley even made this one of his main points. Now for the reassurance of my mother, don’t slack on school work do your best, but please fit time into schedule to hang out with friends, join a club and go to events on campus.

      Let go of high school. Living in the past and consuming your college life with high school drama and happenings will cause you to miss out on life happening in front of you. It’s great if you loved your high school experience, but you’re in college now. Embrace where you are now.   

      You are not required to be best friends with your roommate. This is a misconception mostly pertaining to girls. Personally, I think it is better to have a different circle of friends than your roommate. Make an effort to have a relationship with you roommate, but don’t feel like you have to hang out with them all the time. First semester freshmen year my roommate and I had a MWF 9am class together and it was great because we could get breakfast before class and could make sure we both got up for class. We didn’t plan to have the class together it just worked out that way, but if you can manage to work something like that out, it could be helpful. 

         Try to treat chapel as a true time of worship. Okay, I know everyone is guilty of this, including myself. Some days come along where for whatever reason you can’t stop giggling during chapel, another student shows up with a squirrel like hat on, one of the microphones makes an obnoxious sound, or there’s an Asian flash mob (all of these have actually happened), but none the less treat chapel with respect. You have to be there so why not make the most of the situation. Chapel is a unique experience and a unique opportunity, approach it with a positive attitude and it will become more meaningful to you.

For the most part, I think that I hit the main parts of an ACU freshman experience. Other thoughts I would throw in is use your meal plan. The Bean is no joke and you already pay for it so don’t let it go to waste. It is also a place of social gathering too. Also don’t be afraid of summer school. I took twelve hours in the summer after freshmen year which I would never do again, but in order to get all 36 hours in block tuition and avoid taken 18 hours in the fall and spring, you might have to take a couple summer classes. The short courses ACU offers are a great way to get these hours in. There are also classes you can take online from home that are great as well. Check your email all the time. It seems kind of old school, but it’s how communication happens on campus.

As you prepaid for the greatest years of your life, I hope these tips and thoughts can be some kind help. Like I said, ACU is a great place to be and I couldn’t imagine going to school anywhere else. May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Your Favorite Redhead

  

Modge Podge, rather Hodge Podge

Mog Podge, rather Hodge Podge 

See what I did there? Using Mog Podge can be a great way to update almost anything. It's simple to do and can be a great way to save a few bucks. After finishing more summer school than should be allowed, I have been able to work on some DIY projects. The plan is to put them in my dorm room when I move back to school.

The first project I did was the transformation of this tray. It was a Goodwill find, in good shape, and only cost $2 or $3. 

I took scrapbook paper and arranged it how I wanted it. 

It's best to glue the paper down to the tray before adding Mod Podge to the top. 

Take Mod Podge, the orange label kind, and cover the top of the paper. The more the better. 

After letting it dry, this was the final project. 

The next Mod Podge project I tackled was a mason jar. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I had to cover both sides of the paper in Mod Podge and then get it into the jar. To position the paper I used a pencil with an eraser. 

This is the final project. It took awhile to completely dry, but turned out pretty cool. A candle or small flashlight could be cute put inside of the jar. 

The third project I tackled was an old jewelry box. The mirror had fallen out of the lid of the box so I decided to give it a new look. 

The process was similar to the previous. The challenge was fitting the paper into the small spaces. 

It also took more time to complete because I had to wait for the Mod a Podge to dry in certain places before moving on.

It looks a lot better than it did before and was pretty easy to do. Mod Podgeing is an easy and cheap fix for items than need updating. 

Your Favorite Redhead

Mountains Green, Sparkling Streams

Mountains Green, Sparkling Streams

Recently I have found myself reflecting over past events, classes, and such. I had a realization a few days ago while sitting at closing campfire at Camp Blue Haven that I was growing up and this new reflection process was a sign of this. It was kind of a turning point moment in a sense because I hadn’t realized how much I have grown and learned this past year.

This year was my first time to be on the opposite side of Blue Haven: post camper. When we left for New Mexico Saturday to take my brother to camp it was the first time in the 19 years of going up to camp and the mountain cabin that I was slightly sad about the trip. Sunday was not any easier. Although I was not going to be up at camp for the week, I had butterflies in my stomach just being there. Leaving that day was the hardest part. I felt like I should have been heading to my cabin to start my week at camp and instead I was in the car driving home. Throughout the week I spent some time reflecting on my overall Blue Haven experience. It was hard in a sense because I knew how much fun my friends that were campers were having. It also didn’t help that everyday Timehop had Blue Haven pictures on it. While I could have spent time wallowing in the fact that I wasn’t at camp, I chose to reflect on my experience.

In 5th grade I was signed up for Camp Blue Haven for the first time. My grandparents were thrilled because they absolutely loved spending time at their cabin on Blue Haven property every summer. I never could have imagined how it would have impacted my life 10 years later. From meeting my freshmen roommate who was my bunk buddy in my very first cabin ever, to winning master camper twice, to challenging myself on the ropes course. Camp Blue Haven is where I have met some of my best friends that I will always treasure. I absolutely love this place and I am more than blessed that God led me to 5th session. I hope and pray that my time at Blue Haven is not over and that one day I might have the opportunity to give back to the place that has given me so much over the years. Blue Haven has also been an opportunity to keep my grandparent’s legacy alive. Granny and Papa loved their mountain cabin. All of their friends would spends the summers up there with each other. Papa especially absolutely loved being at the cabin and fixing it up. After they died CBH became even more special to me because of them.

When mom and I walked up to closing campfire Friday evening I felt like I was a camper again. I was so excited for mom to experience her first true Blue Haven event. As a watched my brother win master camper for the second time and listened to the singing, I realized just how much I loved this place. Camp Blue Haven is more than a camp placed in a beautiful setting. It is a place designed to be a refugee from the dark world. It is a place to “assemble on the mountain” and “[have a] mountain to climb on / a quiet place to go and know [He’s] there.” More than the people and the community built, it is a place to draw near to God and be reminded of his glory.

I could talk about my love of Camp Blue Haven on end. This past week I came to the conclusion that I could not have ask for a better Blue Haven experience. I would relive my entire 9 year camp experience if I could. Blue Haven is a beautiful place and while I am not a camper anymore, I am thrilled that there are kids just like me that will be able to have their experience. My prayer is that they are able to soak in the opportunity and take full advantage of everything CBH has to offer.

Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights that does not change like the shifting shadows James 1:17

 I am very thankful for this good and perfect gift. Bless Blue Haven Forever.

Your Favorite Redhead

Just Like a Sailboat

Just Like a Sailboat

It’s the age old question: “what do you want to be when you grow up?”

I have been asked this question over and over again throughout the years. Especially being a college student I feel like people ask me about what I want be when I grow up almost on a daily basis. Unlike most, I have never had an answer for the question. Even an unrealistic answer like accidental Italian pop princess, although I would thoroughly enjoy that. The truth is I don’t have an answer.

Ben Rector has a song called Sailboat, shout out to a fellow Oklahoman. At the beginning of the song it says: “I feel just like a sailboat / don’t know where I’m headed.” To be honest where I am right now, I feel just like a sailboat and I don’t know where I headed. Now let me explain that a little more. See I do have a major and I am a college student, so I do have a broad direction of where I am headed, but things get complicated when people ask questions. I have a lot of interest and a lot of ideas as to what I am interested in, but only time will tell where I end up.

In the movie Titanic, Jack Dawson can be quoted saying “Life’s a gift and I don’t intend on wasting it.” I believe there is a lot of truth in these words. Life itself is a good and perfect gift and should not be wasted. It kills me when people live there life in a way to “check off the boxes” or by a strict “five year plan.” Why spend extensive time planning out your life when God can do immeasurable more than you could imagine? Live life and love where you are placed because it is for a reason.

So towards the end of the song Sailboat it says: “the only change I see / lost or found, let’s see / the only difference is believing I’ll make it in.” Sailboats are directed by a combination of the wind and the person in control of the boat, there is faith that the boat will make it back. When I say “I feel just like a sailboat,” I mean that I don’t know what is in store for me and I don’t know where I’ll end up, but I have faith in God’s plan and what he can do.  

It is easy to become consumed with and obsess over the future and its possibilities, but that is pointless. Why bother when you can live life now and enjoy where you currently are. Although I do not have a solid answer for what I want to be when I grow up, I have given it some thought and at this point in time, I feel just like a sailboat.

Your Favorite Redhead

What I’ve learned From Living in Texas: I am not Texan

What I’ve learned From Living in Texas: I am not Texan

Today, my English teacher asked the class if those who are not from Texas get annoyed with those who are from Texas (if you’ve ever been to Texas or met someone from Texas, you know what I’m talking about). When I simply answered the question with a “yes” there were a few surprised giggles around the classroom. This got me thinking. One thing that I have learned from living in Texas this past year is that I am not Texan. Now don’t get annoyed, I am in no way going to bash Texas—I do live here and my dad is from Texas too. What I’ve realized is why I take pride in my roots and why I love Oklahoma. Although I was born and raised where “the wind comes sweeping down the plains,” I don’t take pride in my home state just because it’s all I knew up until August. I take pride in being from Oklahoma because when faced with adversity, we band together and unite for a common purpose. An obvious example is tornados, with the most recent and possibly destructive being the May 20^th storm. Before the full extent of the damage was known, donations were being collected and cleanup crews were already being formed. Even Kevin Durant and the majority of the Thunder basketball team took part in the cleanup effort. So you say Oklahoma is not the only state that has been hit with tornados, this is quite true. Let’s talk about the Oklahoma City bombing. While the OKC bombing was not an attack on Oklahomans specifically, more the government at large, it was the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. prior to September 11, 2001. The aftermath of the events of April 19, 1995 naturally included clean up and necessary medical relief, but Oklahomans also took it a step further. A beautiful memorial in downtown Oklahoma City was built in honor of those effected by the tragedy. As well as curriculum related to the bombing was mandated to be taught in the Oklahoma history class high school students are required to take. This tragic event is kept alive in order to come together as a community and show the world how Oklahomans rise together. This simple phrase brings me to my next point, and my favorite point—basketball. Not any basketball, but Oklahoma City Thunder basketball. The Thunder have used the phrase “rise together” on shirts and as a team theme if you will as a direct association to the adversity Oklahoma has faced in the past. This phrase is meant to show how we have risen from the ashes of adversity, being the OKC bombing or a tornado or any other tragic event and become stronger.

So you see, I’m not bashing or trash talking Texas, but I have great reason to love where I am from. It has nothing to do with the physical things such as roads, restaurants, or even my beloved house (The Plantation as I generally refer to it as), but more a sense of community and togetherness.

To be honest Oklahoma and Texas are quite similar, yes I went there.

For now Texas is where I live, but OklaHOME is my home.

Your Favorite Redhead