Every New Beginning Comes from Some Other Beginning's End

Well. Guess I stopped blogging. Guess a lot of things happened in my life.

How about a bullet-point recap?

• Finished student teaching at the elementary school
• Went to some OU football games
• Worked like crazy on my Teacher Work Sample
• Started and finished student teaching at the high school
• Was in my 5th (and last) wedding of the year
• Had Friendsgiving at my house, hosted by my beautiful best friend
• Applied for a job as a middle school choir director in Broken Arrow on November 8th
• Interviewed in Broken Arrow on the 22nd
• Got the job on the 30th
• Quit my job at the restaurant 
• Graduated from college
• Found an apartment in BA 
• Will move there on Sunday

Whew. What a crazy 3 months.

Now how about a picture recap?

It has been a whirlwind of a last semester. I am beyond thankful for everything that is happening in my life, even if it is happening a little fast. This will probably be the most bittersweet New Year's Eve I've had so far as I celebrate with some of my best friends I will miss so much. But I trust God knows exactly what He's doing. More to come on that, I'm sure.

This Past Month

Yesterday marked exactly one month since my recital. 

And what a month it has been.

It's been a month of dealing with hard things. A month of watching friends cry and being held by good friends while I cry. It's been a month of learning lessons I didn't want to learn and a month of getting way less sleep than my body demands.

But it's also been a month of trusting in God when it didn't seem possible. A month of love shown by really great friends. It's been a month of amazing growth through hard lessons and a month of knowing that I need more than 

physical strength to get me through a day.

So here are a few pictures from a month I'm sure I will never forget:

Amazing August

Now that August is almost over and I have officially done 

everything on my list, I guess it's time to update. 

1. Moved into my new rent house.

To say there have been problems would be an understatement.

 For the first 20 days of living here we did not have a shower, washer, outlets in our rooms, or keys to unlock the front door.

Everything is slowly but not so surely getting taken care of.

 We definitely have learned some 

lessons on what not to do when renting.

 I had my first friends over! 

(Shawn, me, Aaron, Cameron)

While these boys are simply wonderful, 

they cannot take normal pictures on the first try.

 Neither my room or car look like this anymore, 

but it has still taken awhile to get settled.

 That's probably because of 2 and 3 on my list.

2. Start my last college class.

Check.

Finish my last college class?

Will do on Sunday.

Pass my last college class?

Please, Chip, please!!! 

3. Recital Hearing

PASSED!

My recital is September 8th. 

4. See another best friend get married in Colorado

There are no adequate words to describe 

how beautiful this wedding was.

Or how much I cried.

 Ashley's been one of my best friends since freshmen year.

Allow me to be nostalgic for a moment:

I remember the first time I brought her over to my house to do homework. I told my mom all about my new friend and how I thought she was so cool and we could really get along. 

Four years later, I still think both of those things.

 Ashley, I love you and miss you, but know you're 

going to have such a fantastic life in Phoenix! 

5. See Sara Bareilles in concert.

Oh. My. Word.

Everything about this night was perfect. 

Sara was amazing. Beyond amazing. 

I would go again in a heartbeat. 

6. Start student teaching

And, oh man, did I start student teaching. 

I really do love it, but it's exhausting. 

I honestly never thought sleeping until 9 

on a Saturday would feel like sleeping til 2. 

So there's August for you. 

SUCH a wonderful month. 

Now let's get that pesky recital out of the way 

so I can enjoy the rest of my fall.

Rabbit rabbit

20 minutes from now it will be August 2011. A pretty big month for me. Let me bullet point it for you.

• Move into my new rent house on August 1st.
• Start my last college class on August 1st.
• Recital hearing on August 8th.
• See another best friend get married in Colorado on August 13th.
• SEE SARA BAREILLES IN CONCERT ON AUGUST 16TH.
• Start student teaching stuff on August 18th.

Soooo pretty packed month. Lots of blog material.
Everyone get excited. 

Find You

Words cannot possibly express how proud I am 

of one of my beautiful best friends. 

Watch this video! 

In Case You Were Wondering...

I've been getting a lot of FAQ lately and thought I would just save some people the trouble and answer them all here:

(The pictures have literally nothing to do with the questions or answers.)

• No. I did not graduate. I will graduate in December. 

• Yes. It did take me longer than 4 years to complete my degree. 

• Yes. I am living at home. With my parents. And no. I don't know when I will move out. 

• No. I have no idea what I'm going to do when I graduate. 

• No. I am not dating anyone, engaged, or married.

I understand that these are perfectly normal questions to ask... 

I'm just weary of answering them. 

Actually. 

I'm weary of the sympathetic looks that 

come with most of my answers. 

I may not have graduated or know specifically what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, but I have time to figure that out. In the meantime, I'm going to answer these questions at least 50 more times and try my best to live in this beautiful moment God has given me.

This is so my mom will quit pestering me to update

Eventually I'll write a real post.

Maybe tomorrow.

Most likely next week. 

But, in the meantime, here are some 

highlights from my summer so far:

Chorale Tour and Adrienne's wedding. 

Better, Mom? 

Savor Change

This past weekend at LTC, my hotel key had

 the words "Savor Change" on it.

How fortunate.

Because times they are a-changing. 

These two are graduating, getting married (one's already married), and getting real jobs and houses. 

These two are getting married and possibly moving far, far away.

This one is definitely moving far, far away. To Phoenix. After she graduates and gets married. 

Far away tends to be a theme. This one's going to Atlanta.

And these two are hitting the road. 

This picture will be worth big bucks one day. 

Change is everywhere. I guess that's what usually comes at the end of your 4th year of college. But I'm not sure if the words "savor change" are right for me today. While they're all growing up and moving on, I'm staying here. Living it up at my parents' house.

 (Unexpected change of plans.) 

I'm beyond excited for all of my great friends 

and all the amazing things they're about to experience.

But I would be lying if I said I was savoring the change. 

More like... 

"wishing the change would stop and we could just freeze this moment for a little while longer or at least all live in Edmond til I leave." 

That definitely sounds like what I'm experiencing. 

Birthday, Basketball, and Banquet

 "There will come a time,  

 you'll see, 

 with no more tears  

 and love will not break your heart, 

 but dismiss your fears. 

 Get over your hill and 

 see what you find there

 with grace in your heart 

 and flowers in your hair."

"After the Storm" - Mumford and Sons