The Dorm Diaries #3: Pentatonix, Montana-Bound, and Moving Out

Hello lovelies!

I was scrolling back in my blog and I realized that it has been a long time since I did one of these style blog posts. I'm really sorry about that, because I feel like this place has turned into a little less of a familiar community because I haven't been as active here as I once was. College has eaten up a lot of my time, especially because I hold myself to a very high standard in terms of classwork and exams, so I will always out school above all else.

Either way, for those of you who don't follow me on my personal social media accounts, I figured I would do a little bit of an update on what has been happening since the fall. (Side note: you can find my social media links in the "Contact Me" tab on the top of this blog.)

* * *

November:

Starting where we left off, November was a pretty fun time.

As you know, I am NOT a dancer, but I joined a club on campus called Dance Guild, and I tried my hand at hip hop for a semester. It was a lot of work, and my body was in an unfair amount of pain, but overall I'm glad I put myself outside of my comfort zone and just went for something new.

As soon as my suitemates and roommate returned from Thanksgiving break, we set to work decorating for Christmas. My floor had a door decorating contest, so we went all out in turning our suite into a giant gingerbread house and a reindeer stable. (PSA: the blacked out bits on our door are just me hiding our names for privacy reasons, so don't worry and think that we got vandalized.)

December:




We got our first snow here in Michigan during mid-December, and I was ecstatic. I love the first snow of the year, but I didn't realize at the time how long this snow would stick around (it stayed until May. MAY!).

My friends and I also did a little photoshoot outside after it snowed, and a lot of them turned out really cute and Christmassy.

January:

January was probably one of my favorite months of the year. I did a LOT of ice skating with my friends and floormates, which was obviously so fun because it's a classic winter activity. This is a selfie July and I tried to take while skating, and as you can see, we only mildly succeeded at getting a cute picture.

I had the absolute joy of seeing Kevin Olusola, the beatboxer in Pentatonix, for free during this month, since he was part of the January Series that we have on campus. He is so talented in playing the cello and beatboxing AND singing, and he really is a wonderful person. Some celebrities can be less than sweet when they're off-screen, but Kevin was genuine and lovely overall.

I also chopped my hair off in January, which I wasn't planning on doing. It was a bit spontaneous, but I was just feeling really unhappy with where some things where at, and so I figured it was time for a fresh start, starting with my hair.

February:

February was pretty uneventful, but I did start my new classes for the spring semester. I took one more class than I did last semester, but all of my classes were harder overall. When I wasn't inside studying, I did hang out with friends and go to fun things like basketball games (which we tended to lose) and painting.

I also kept up on my door decorations with some Valentine's Day inspired artwork.

March:

March was fairly low-key, but it was finally nice enough to go on some hikes with my family.

I also watched the newest Star Wars movie, and as someone who has only seen the third one of the original series, it's safe to say I was a little confused. However, I was OBSESSED with these little weirdos.

April:

April was a bit of a crazy month, since near the end of it July and I flew out to Colorado's Estes Park for training for our summer jobs.

So this summer we have the incredible opportunity to work with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP), which works with college-age kids and sends them out into the parks to work and also put together worship services. This means we'll be giving sermons, leading songs, collecting offerings--everything that goes into a normal church service is something we have to do.

This is exciting and terrifying at the same time, especially since I was chosen as the team leader for our location. I wish I could say I have a ton of ministry experience and am not nervous at all to be in a leadership position, but I'm not quite sure I'm cut out for this. Either way, I'm super pumped to have a chance to live in Glacier National Park this summer and work with my amazing team members, and I know everything will work out just fine. (But this does mean my summer blogging hopes may be dashed.)

May:

The snow finally went away for good after a few weeks into May, and we got the rainy season instead. But I don't mind the rain, and the flowers blooming everywhere was a nice change from the brown yuck that we see in transitional seasons.

I packed up my dorm room and studied hard (and I mean HARD) for my finals before finally saying goodbye to the place that was my home for nine months. This first year of college tested me emotionally and mentally, and there were plenty of times where I honestly thought I couldn't do it. But I forced myself to push through, and I'm glad I did, because the people I've met here and the things I've learned have made it all worthwhile.

I will miss my floor family so dearly, and moving to a different hall next year means that I'll be making new relationships there and learning to love and grow with new friends in a new space. I'm excited to see what this new year brings, and I'm so thankful for all of you who have journeyed with me through it.

Like my college friends, this community has also become a bit of a second family, and your support, be it through comments, emails, or DMs (or even just reading!), is so so appreciated. Thank you for continuing to make this a safe space for everyone, and thank you for all the love you've shown me and others. I adore you all.

* * *

That is all.

Cheers,