Negligence. Yes, I am well aware of this. But this semester has been keeping me so incredibly busy that I literally haven’t had much time to blog, so once again I find myself apologizing. At least I’m here now.
I never expected this semester to go by so quickly. I know I keep saying this but seriously, it didn’t just hit the ground running, it hit the ground at a dead sprint and I’ve been trying to keep up ever since. My weekends have continued to be filled with exciting events that give me something else to look forward to every few days, and between step team practice and 19 class hours, I’ve barely had enough time to sleep. But for those of you that know me, I wouldn’t want it any other way. All my life I’ve been told “if you’re not doing anything, you’re burning day light.” Therefore I enjoy filling my schedule to the rim with “things” to accomplish. (Not that they’re always productive, but they’re still things that I get to cross off my to-do list at the end of the day- giving me a feeling of satisfaction.) After all, when you have relaxation time too often, you can’t enjoy it as much as those who get it less frequently. My relaxation is coming in two days when I leave Murray to head back to God’s country (Starkville), and then Sunday we’re Florida bound for a week full of nothing to do but soak up the sun and play beach bum! I simply cannot wait. The ocean has been calling me for far too long…I can literally smell the salty water, feel the sand between my toes, and taste the fruity drink (with an cute little umbrella stuck down in it)! Not to mention that my birthday is the Saturday at the end of the trip, meaning that the big celebration will be back in God’s country, making me the happiest birthday girl in the world! Ahhh, focusing on schoolwork is going to be nearly impossible this week when all I want to do is pack my bag and hit the road. Not to mention the bliss that comes with this amazing weather that we’ve been having in place of the flood/blizzard/tornado conditions which we experienced for several weeks. Fortunately I’m down to Tuesday and Thursday classes (besides my Monday night class which is already passed me), and one of my professors already cancelled class for both days! I will also miss my last class tomorrow thanks to dress rehearsal for the step show that I’m in tomorrow night! Which brings me to another factor that is causing a mental block in my educational stamina this week: step show. I am on the team for my sorority and we have been practicing like crazy all semester. Our sorority placed first in the competition last year so we have a lot to live up to this year, but once again, for those of you that know me, you know that I am looking so forward to performing. I’m not nervous (yet), just excited and counting down the few hours we have left until the doors open and the curtain rolls back! (Sorry for all the exclamation points throughout this blog…what can I say, I’m one excited person!)
The last two weekends have also been equally exciting so here are their condensed stories: two weeks ago we were all surprised by the 4 month early arrival of Henley Morgan Newman! Mamie, Kaitlyn and I all ventured back across the river to check in on Katie and the family and to see how precious Henley was doing. Fortunately the originally 14 ounce, 10 inch bundle of joy has been growing and progressing every day but please continue to keep her in your prayers. She still hasn’t opened her eyes but it’s coming soon! She’s got her daddy’s chin, sleeps in the exact same position that Katie sleeps in, and is obviously as hard headed as the two of them combined. I can’t wait to hold her! Later that weekend was the gin show in Memphis, which I attended with mom and dad. After seeing all the new equipment, making fun of dad’s trailer obsession and mom’s “float making”, laughing at all the funny looks when people saw my “ginner” tag, running into several friends, and making a few “necessary” purchases, we decided to hit the town. We walked to Beale street and it didn’t take long for me to fall in love. People dancing and literally flipping down the road, blues music around every corner, warm weather, and the unique shops with the most random souvenirs kept me wanting more until we finally settled in at Silky O’Sullivans where we listened to even more good music in the courtyard while watching the “diving goats”, drinking hurricanes and frozen monkey drinks, and eating oysters. After mom “ooh’d and ahh’d” at the carriage rides for a while, dad and I got her on the trolley instead and it was back to Murray for me. It was definitely a good day. I like getting to catch up with my parents, and often forget how thankful I am for them.
This past weekend was a bit of a different tune as Kelly and I met Chase and his friends in Champaigne for Unofficial St. Patties Day. It was a good time to say the least, especially since I hadn’t seen my dearest Chase in almost 7 months! We even made a bucket list for the weekend…and accomplished everything on it! Green beer, bag pipes, card games, and lots of beads made up the majority of the weekend, as well as being introduced to the “Booze News,” a hilarious rendition of a typical college town newspaper. Kelly and I held our own pretty well for being the only girls the majority of the time and we even got snowed on! (A sure sign that I was wayyyy too far North.) But all in all it was definitely a weekend to remember.
I just realized that as I sit here typing, the sounds from outside my thin walls in this old house make me feel like I’m in Gotham city…random, but just thought I would share.
Now that I’ve given you the run down of the last two weeks and what has been keeping me occupied this week, I’ll give you a quick run down of my schedule for the rest of the semester so that everyone is on the same page, and so you can see why this semester is going by so quickly: next week is spring break and the next weekend is my birthday which will be spent in Stark on the way back from the beach (as previously noted), the following weekend is Mother Daughter Tea for sorority so I will have visitors! The next week is the annual Ag banquet and our sorority spring retreat, while the next weekend is the infamous Super Bulldog Weekend, once again pulling me down to Stark, and sadly I’ll be missing my last sorority crush dance for the trip, but I’m sure it will be worth it! All Campus Sing and our philanthropy “Teeter for Tots” are the next week, followed by a trip home for Easter the next weekend. Then the next weekend is Relay for Life and the Memphis in May Music Festival, and two weeks later I graduate! Now maybe you can understand the whirlwind that I’ve been living in! I can’t believe that I’m this close to being done with my undergrad and after it’s over, I’ll be living exactly where I want to be: THE SOUTH! I got my acceptance letter to Southern but I’m still waiting to hear from Bama- keep your fingers crossed for me! But in the mean time, my summer will be spent working in Starkville with several close friends, including Clay (the cousin) who will hopefully be living and working in the MS Delta! I am so in love with everything that is happening in my life and couldn’t ask for more. This road I’m on just keeps getting better.
Shout out time: Congrats to Will and Amber, and Josh and Mckenzie on their engagements! I’m so happy for all of you and wish you all the best! Also, please keep baby Henley and Julie Heppe in your prayers. Miracles happen every day.
Heard this and wanted to share it: “Perception is reality.” How you perceive others is reality to you, just as the way others perceive you is their own reality. Which means that “reality” is different for everyone based on his or her own perception. Weird thought. But on that note, you only get one shot to make a good first impression in someone’s personal perception: keep smiling and make it a good one!
Another note on perception (idea stemming from George Strait’s song Troubadour): Mirrors don’t always tell the whole truth. Mirrors are a reflection of an image, but they don’t know and can’t tell the true reality or the stories behind the reflection that they are displaying. Lesson: take it with a grain of salt and remember there’s always more to a person than what simply meets the eye.
I think that in the last year I have learned to let go of the past and look forward to the future. Not that I have ever had a “rough past” so to speak, but I am learning to get over my vices that I once created to shelter myself from feeling “unsafe”. I think I put up walls to stay away from the “unknown” but I have recently been pushing all the walls down because I understand now that the only thing a wall is good for is keeping people out. I want to be open to anyone and everything that life has to offer. I need to let go of my fear of the unknown and really feel “unsure” about things again. I want to make important decisions based on what feels right and not what seems the most safe- let go and let God…why wait!?
People who think that facebook is a breach of their own security are insane. You shouldn’t create a social network page with your personal information if you don’t expect people to see it. Everyone knows that the Internet is an entire universe of information right at our fingertips and anything that is posted will be seen. Being absent from the Internet is almost impossible these days: welcome to the technology generation. Instead of fighting it, learn to embrace it. And please remember: even if you think you set your privacy settings to withstand any form of infiltration, there is always a way around it. The creators of those privacy settings obviously know how to get around them, and so do many other people in the world. Someone is always one step ahead of you. Don’t assume that you can have confidential information on the Internet; case in point: Wikileaks. And always censor what you put on the web because I promise, someone that you never expect to will see it. Happy surfing!
I’m pretty sure that’s all I have for now. I need to get to sleep so that I can get up early to go to the career fair for Dr. Paynes class, before heading to dress rehearsal and finally getting my step on at the show tomorrow night! I doubt I will have time to post again before spring break so I hope everyone has a good next few weeks and safe travels! Don’t forget to say your prayers!
Love always,
Addie
“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” -C.S. Lewis
Breaking out of the Bootheel 