Summer 2012

JEMS Mt. Hermon Inter High Staff

This summer has been crazy, to say the least.  I don't think there has really been a moment where I've been able to just sit and breathe and not have to worry about anything.  However, this summer has been one of the most exciting and rewarding summers I can remember.  Through working, helping out with the Junior High Youth Group at church, Vacation Bible School (VBS), cabin leading for JEMS Mt. Hermon at Inter High, and catching up with friends, I must say that I am looking forward to returning back to Azusa.  Luckily the week before returning to the crazy world of being down at school, I'll have a nice week to relax with family in Lake Tahoe!

I thought I would take some time, as I'm sitting in the nice air conditioned library to reflect on everything that has gone on this summer. And let me tell you, it's been a crazy few months.  Looking back at my last post which was at the end of May, I had just reflected on the past school year and I hadn't even really started my summer break, aside from talking about the choir tour I went on.  So, here we go... if you dare continue to read on. This is my warning: THIS POST COULD END UP VERY LONG!

Weddings, Weddings, Weddings!

My parents and I at a wedding in May

Well, here is something... not so new.  This summer, again, is full of weddings. If anything, I believe I went to the same amount of weddings last summer that I did this year.  This summer's total: 3.  My cousin got married on Memorial Day Weekend and that was a beautiful wedding. I loved every part of it. Next week, is another wedding for a good family friend. I'm looking forward to that one, as well as my other cousin getting married towards the end of September. You could still call September summer, right? After all, officially Fall doesn't start until October I think? I love going to weddings. They're so happy and it's great to see two people unite together. The hardest part is always finding a dress to wear to the wedding though... I guess that's one thing that us girls will always have to deal with. 

Youth Group, Church, VBS
Well, what more is to say about youth group, than the fact that it's youth group? From crazy games, to hyper junior highers, to attempting to stay up at the all-nighter (Which didn't happen... I left at 5 AM.)  it's been a great time. They make me feel like I'm getting old because I can't believe that some of them are going to be starting middle school.  But, what can I say? I love working with them and getting to know them.  It's great seeing them first start off in youth group because I know by the time they graduate high school (Oh gosh... then I'm really going to feel old!) they will have made some great friends through it all.  

"Sing and Play" at VBS!

VBS this summer was great. I wasn't expecting to be as involved as I was, but it was still great. Seeing children worship God, have fun, and just being crazy is so exciting for me.  What is wonderful is that all of the kids who attend, for the most part, do not even go to a church!  Overall though, it was a great week, despite the fact that I went home every day feeling exhausted and then had to run straight to work!  But it was a great week, and somehow, those VBS songs randomly will get stuck in my head...

JEMS Mt. Hermon Inter High 

"For the Lord will be your confidence

    and will keep your foot from being caught."

Proverbs 3:26

The Lovely Ladies of Cabin Seven

10 days being with an awesome staff. 7 days being with some awesome and crazy incoming 8th and 9th graders. And one AMAZING cabin full of 8 incoming 9th graders.  Gosh, this year is just indescribable.  So many great things happened.  I got to experience my girls in my cabin becoming close with one another, being real, praying for one another, and even had one girl accept Jesus into her life! Seeing these girls really grow throughout the week was just so exciting for me.  All the late nights and early mornings and not sleeping during chill out time was totally worth it, and I can't wait for next year. 

Friends

In Santa Cruz with Shawn

Being home has given me the opportunity to catch up with friends that I don't get to see or talk to on a regular basis.  I got to have brunch with Mika before she left on her missions trip to Mexico, I got to go bowling and have some great meals and laughs with friends from church, and I got to catch up with Annie, who has practically been my sister my entire life.  But the one special visit of the summer was when Shawn came up for 4 days to visit! Being able to see him after not seeing him for about a month and a half was wonderful.  We got to go to Santa Cruz, Monterey, and he got to know my parents even better.  It's hard to believe that the day school starts, will mark 4 months of us being together, yet we will have seen each other maybe a week and a half total.  

This summer, I've also gotten to Skype with friends from school and just keep in touch with them. I think that's the greatest part about friendships.  Today with all the technology, even if you don't see your friends on a regular basis, you can still keep in touch with them and know what is going on in their lives.  

Upcoming
Well, in exactly 4 weeks from today, I will be moving into my apartment back down in Azusa and it's hard to believe that the year will be starting. The utilities are all set up and Bel Canto things are being taken care of.  Choir Camp preparation is in full swing and it's so exciting to think that I'll be meeting a whole new group of young women and I'll be able to sing with them and minister and serve with them this year.  I'm excited to meet all of them so soon!  It's hard to believe that just 2 years ago, I was just starting college.  I can remember very clearly everything that happened that first week and a half of Freshman year. And let me tell you, that is quite a story!  But I won't go into that.  

I'm excited to see how everything works out this school year. Granted, it will be a lot of work and this semester, I will need to focus a lot more and work a lot harder. But I'm excited for the challenge and to see how God is going to work in this next year! There is still a lot more things that need to get done before I can get back down to Southern California, so it will be busy. But I know that these last few weeks will go by so quickly and I won't know what happened to the time. 

Camy and I at the youth group all nighter
eating our Spam Musubi Which was falling apart

Well, this has become much longer than I thought it would, so I better get going.  For those of you who read until the end, WOW! I mainly was writing just so I could have these memories written down.  But hopefully this school year, I'll be able to do a better job at doing updates.  

Anyway, I hope you all have a great day, and you all get your daily dose of Vitamin D!

Update Time

At Knott's Berry Farm

I know that this post is very long overdue, but the past couple of months has just been a crazy whirlwind of all these different events happening.  Since Spring Break ended (and that is when I last updated this blog), I have gone on many different adventures with my friends. We ended up spending the day at Knott's Berry Farm, going to an Anaheim Angel's game against the Oakland A's (yes, I was happy that the Angel's won!), had a future roommate photo shoot, and also ended up going on a little adventure to Venice Beach.  Talk about some interesting people there.  I was also able to go on tour with some of the most amazing young women I know.  We went to 7 different states within 16 days. If we calculated, that is approximately 3,005 miles that we drove. So now that you have a little idea of what has been going on in my life recently, let me break it down for you all and go into a little bit more detail. 

Future Roommate Photo Shoot

Knott's Berry Farm, Angel's Game, a Photo Shoot, and Venice Beach

Shawn and I at Venice Beach
(Plus our official "Third Wheel")

My friends and I have really enjoyed getting to know each other better day by day.  We enjoy just hanging out and playing games to sitting around eating a meal together. Eventually we make it off campus to go on a little adventure. We had a great time at Knott's Berry Farm riding all the different rides and also just having a great time. That even included watching a show about some cowboys! Yes, you can bet that Megan just loved it. 

As I look back, I realize what a crazy busy weekend that way. The next day we went to an Anaheim Angel's game to celebrate our friends birthday. Yes, the Angels won, and I was very glad because they were playing the Oakland A's. Coming from a San Francisco Giant's family, I wasn't going to root for the A's. It was fun being with friends and enjoying the game while snacking on some very yummy hot dogs and peanuts!

The following weekend, was again, another very busy weekend. My future roommates and I went on a photo shoot just so we could have photos we could have printed and the put in our apartment. Plus, we needed a reason to hang out and get dressed up. Let me say, although it was awkward at times because we didn't know what to do, the photos are hilarious! 

Link for the edited photos from the Photo Shoot: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150843649217792.469144.678167791&type=3&l=4e0cf0258f

Link for the unedited photos from the Photo Shoot: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150843658817792.469147.678167791&type=3&l=29d971eb93

The ladies who kept me sane over Tour

That same day, we decided that we wanted to go to the beach, so we all adventured over to Venice Beach. Now here's a funny side story. It was so hot in Azusa that we thought it would be the perfect day to go to the beach. Well, so did everyone else in the Los Angeles area. It took us almost 2 or 3 hours just to get to Venice. And by the time we got there, it was cloudy and starting to get a little cold. It was okay though because we still had a very good time tossing the frisbee around on the beach. 

Bel Canto Women's Choir Tour 2012 #bcTUBE12

53 Women, 16 days, 7 states, and 3,005 miles later, we had finally completed our tour. Now don't get me wrong, we had a great time and it was so much fun being able to get to know all of these young women so much better, but 16 days with all girls is a little long! By the time we finally were able to get off the bus when we arrived back in Azusa, I was so happy just to see other faces! 

It was wonderful being able to meet so many different host families in all of the different states we traveled to and it was also great being able to minster to many different groups of people. We even were able to go to the Mormon Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. While in Utah, I even got to float in The Great Salt Lake! It really does work. You don't have to try at all to float. I even managed to somehow float on my stomach. That was also quite the experience.  But overall, it was such a great two weeks and if you want to see photos and get an idea of what tour was like go to Facebook and like our page: APU Bel Canto Women's Choir!

Shawn and I after my final concert
(Sorry it's a blurry photo)

We had our final concert in Azusa, and it was great seeing a good amount of my friends show up. We had a potluck dinner and we got to share about what tour was like and share all of our favorite songs from choir with our friends and family.  At the end of the concert, all of the members were acknowledged and were given either a flower, journal and flower, or mug depending on how many years they were in choir.  The graduated seniors also got a special necklace. It was definitely a night full of tears, but also happy tears!

Oh, and how could I forget!? 

With my roommates after they got Baptized!

Both of my roommates got baptized! And let me tell you, I was one happy roommate that night! God has been so good to me this year by blessing me with wonderful friends and roommates. I don't know how I would have survived this past school year without every single person that I interacted with this past school year. 

A Look into this Summer!

Well, this summer is going to be quite a busy one for me, and hopefully I'll be able to update this blog more often.  I am currently working, and I will also be cabin leading at Mt. Hermon, as well as going on vacation to Lake Tahoe with my mom's side of the family.  With all this going on, there are also a few family weddings getting thrown into the schedule as well as me trying to schedule time in to see all of my friends from home, as well as hopefully getting some visits from friends from school! 

So keep checking my blog for more updates from me!

As Spring Break Comes to an End...

Easter Morning with my cousin.
I will admit that I am wearing heels.

Happy Easter everyone! I realize that it has been such a long time since I've updated my blog, but I figured that since this was my last night home for Spring Break, I would do a little update.  Scattered throughout this post are a couple pictures from today!

Aside from the fact that I had a wonderful weekend hanging out with my cousin, and having a wonderful Easter dinner with my family, this past Spring Break/Easter Break has just been crazy!  Well, more specifically the past month. I could barely believe that February flew by, let alone March. How is it that it is April already?! I am going to be done with my second year of college in less than a month. That is just unreal to me.  

Easter Dinner!

Anyway, here is a short little update of what I've been up to the past few weeks.  I have seen The Hunger Games Movie, not once, not twice, but THREE times. Yes, I know. Many people think I'm obsessed, but I promise I'm not.  I just so happened to see it with different groups of people. This Spring Break I was also able to have the chance to finish up The Hunger Games Trilogy and although many may say that they didn't enjoy the rest of the books, I thought they were all very good.  Some parts were more confusing than others, but it is a book that keeps one reading, which I really liked.

This past week I also went to go see the movie October Baby. Later on I will do an official post about this movie, but since it may not be out in theaters for much longer, I just want to say that if you haven't heard of the movie or haven't seen it, look it up and go see it. It has a great message and I personally related because it was a movie about adoption.  Below is the movie trailer, so check it out!

"Call Me Maybe"

Some of my friends and I watched Justin Bieber's music video with his friends of this song called "Call Me Maybe". We thought the song was so catchy that we decided to make our own. It took us a whole week to make, but it was totally worth it! Hope you enjoy it. Share it with your friends too!

Book Review: The Hunger Games

Well, I did it! I finally started and finished reading The Hunger Games, and I really thought it was an amazing book. I definitely can not wait for the movie to come out, in fact, I'm going to have to pre-order my tickets for it tonight. I'm really glad that all my friends convinced me to read it.

About the Book: The Hunger Games is a novel written by Suzanne Collins about a sixteen-year-old girl, Katniss Everdeen who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where the countries of North America once existed. The Capitol, a highly advanced metropolis, holds absolute power over the rest of the nation. The Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of the 12 districts surrounding the Capitol are selected by lottery to compete in a televised battle in which only one person can survive.

What I thought: I thought this book was wonderfully written.  Throughout the entire book, whenever I thought something was going to happen, the book always took a twist and something else happened.  It was a nice easy read, and it's a good book just to read for enjoyment. I think that it is a great book for anyone who is in 8th grade or older.  It doesn't matter if you were preferencial towards a certain genre of books, because this book has a mix of action and romance.  This book was very well written because as I was reading, I could visualize everything that was going on.  

The Hunger Games Official Trailer

Cinnamon Challenge Accepted

What is the "Cinnamon Challenge"?  Well as many of you might know, the cinnamon challenge is when you take a spoonful of cinnamon and you put it in your mouth and you try to swallow it all.  Well tonight, my friends and I were sitting around watching YouTube videos, and we came across a video of this lady called GloZell doing the cinnamon challenge.  Well, after seeing that, my friends Chris and Kyle decided that they wanted to take on the cinnamon challenge.  So check out their video!

Movie Review: The Vow

I have now seen The Vow twice.  The first time seemed as if I was at a giant slumber party because I went to go see the midnight premier across the street from my school.  It seemed as if every girl from school was in the movie theater, along with some guys... the boyfriends who got dragged along to the movie.  

About the Movie: The Vow was about two people named Paige (Rachel McAdams) and Leo (Channing Tatum).  Paige and Leo were married and got in a very bad car accident which left Paige in a coma.  When Paige woke from her coma, she had no recollection of what had happened in the last 5 years of her life.  She didn't even remember that she was married to Leo.  In her mind, she was still engaged to her ex-fiance Jeremy and was a law student.  Throughout the movie, Leo works to help her remember what their relationship was like and what had happened in the past 5 years.  Whether she remembers... you'll have to go see the movie for yourself!

What I Thought: After seeing the movie two times, I thought that it was a pretty good movie.  Although many may say that they did not like it, I thought the message that the movie told was a very important message.  The quote "I chose to stay with him and to remember all of the good and right things he did, rather than leaving him for the one bad thing he did.".  I think that is one of the most important things to remember; to always remember the positive things about someone, rather than holding onto all of the bad things that one person may say or do.

Other Thoughts: My dad emailed me this article called "The Real Story Behind The Vow".  I really encourage everyone to take a look at this article because it is quite interesting to read about who the characters were written after. Take a look at the exert from this article.

"The Carpenters had been married only 10 weeks when their accident occurred. Krickitt was in a coma for four months, and when she awoke she had lost all memory of the past two years, including her entire relationship with Kim. 

“When I came round from the coma, I had no memory of this whirlwind romance,” said Krickitt in a recent article.   “My parents told me that I was married to this man, and they wouldn’t lie to me, so I knew that I must have loved him deeply. But I had no feelings for him at all, and as hard as I tried, I could not conjure up those feelings.”

Kim’s efforts to help Krickitt recover were hampered by her hostility and sudden mood swings—common aftereffects of brain damage. In their book, Kim wrote:

Unpredictable described our whole relationship. What was her real personality now and how much of it was getting to the surface? How well was she communicating what she thought and felt inside? Were we seeing the new real Krickitt?

Maybe she knew how to behave, knew how to act with me, how to control her anger, how to be affectionate and forgiving, but couldn’t put her knowledge into practice somehow because of her injury. Or maybe she had no idea about any of that. I didn’t know what Krickitt was like spiritually and emotionally anymore, and didn’t know whether her true self—whatever that was—was represented in her actions, or whether there was a disconnect between what she thought and what she did."