a whirlwind of a month...

First off, I'm very sorry I haven't blogged in soooooo long.  So much has happened in this past month!  I'm going to try to cover everything as fast as possible haha!

1. Thyroid Update:

I got some new news during Exam Week, about an hour before I went to take my first exam (of course).  Well there's good news and bad news!  The good news is there were not hot spots or cold spots found on my Nuclear Thyroid Scan.  Praise the Lord!!!! There's no growth, but the scan still showed that my thyroid is indeed enlarged and more so on the right side than the left side still.  The bad news is that my doctors literally have NO idea what's wrong with me!  They are just stumped as to why all my tests show up pretty much normal with no explanation as to my large thyroid, so I've been referred to the endocrinologist and can't get an appointment until the first week of August.  I ask that you could pray just for peace in this time because I've got all summer to just wait...which means all summer to just think about my thyroid.  I know God is using this experience to help me in some way I just have no idea what that way is yet.  

2.  I'm a SENIOR!!!!

I have finished my junior year and on to the next one!  I cannot believe I'm about to be a senior.  Wait, what?!  I feel like I was just graduating from high school and choosing where to spend my 4 years in college.  Little did I know I would end up at Presbyterian College loving everything about it.  Good news: I made the Dean's List both semesters this year!!!!!!  Not to toot my own horn but I'm pretty proud of myself.  This year was by far my hardest and I stuck it out and did the best I've ever done in my 3 years.  I'm going for that 4.0 next year...it'll happen!  

3. Crazy couple of days...

Between exam week and graduation, life was purely crazy!  I had one week at home so I headed home with a packed car on Saturday, May 5 and stayed awake long enough to get some dinner and crashed while watching Sweet Home Alabama.  My week at home was spent taking care of my mommy dearest after her surgery (only 6 more weeks to go until she's 100%)!!  I took a trip up to PC on Wednesday night to get another load from my ginormous room.  Good thing my dad was there to help me out because I just have a lot of crap.  I spent Thursday unpacking and packing for Barbados and the plan was to head back to school Friday night and clean and pack before Graduation on Saturday.  However, to do that I would have to be fully packed for Barbados.  Friday was crazier than it was supposed to be!  All I wanted to do was take Aunt Laura to lunch and have an afternoon to pack before heading back to school for the night.  I had no idea I'd fall into a credit card scam.  Okay, I totally admit that this scam was my fault but keep in mind the craziness of my week!  So this scam started out totally normal, this little old lady (who I was picturing as being precious) called me and asked if I had time for a survey.  I said yes because...well I never really say no to surveys even though I should.  She said she was calling because I had entered some sweepstakes and I enter sweepstakes all the time so I didn't think much of it.  She said she was with Discover which  made sense because I recently got a new Discover credit card.  We did a little survey and she told me she wanted to give me 4 magazine subscriptions just for doing the survey (WINNING!!!).  Then she said it would just cost $5 for shipping...still winning.  Then she threw it that it would be $5/week for 60 months...whoa baby, NOT WINNING ANYMORE!  But by this point she was talking so fast I didn't even know what was going on and she forwarded me to her supervisor and asked that I put in a good word for her, so I did, I mean she was sweet.  Her boss talked even faster and my brain was just spinning.  (Why I didn't hang up, I have noooooooo idea!)  He asked which card I wanted to put the payment on so I said my Discover (the one I just got, the one I thought they were calling from).  He said they couldn't process Discover or American Express right now...again why didn't I hang up?!  So he said I could pay with a VISA or MasterCard.  So I said VISA!  He asked for the number and I gave it to him.  As soon as I heard him running it (it sounded like the old dial up) I freaked out.  I hung up and called my mom apologizing because I knew you're never supposed to give out your credit card number, especially to a company who supposedly has your info already.  I called my bank and cancelled my card and they told me I'd have to come downtown to get a new card and I HAD to have a new card since I was leaving the country 3 days later.  I had lunch with Laura and she helped me take my mind off of things and then it was back to the stressful life.  

Isn't she just the cutest?!  I love her soooooo much.

I rushed all over Columbia like a mad woman.  I got me a new debit card and explained everything to the people at the bank.  They didn't think I was stupid so I started to feel a little better about the whole thing.  Needless to say I didn't make it to PC on Friday night.  I spent the whole night packing and unpacking and stressing.  I woke up super early Saturday morning to get back to PC, pack before graduation, go to graduation, then grab lunch and pack some more before having to work senior check-out.  Gotta love those CA duties when I'm on a time schedule to leave the country!  But everything turned out perfectly!  I had to run back to my room to return some dishes to someone and ended up having extra time to really empty my room out all the way.  It was super depressing and I've never felt so sad to leave a room before.  I don't think I've ever grown to love a room so much...ever.  A lot happened in that room!  It was helpful to have Lucia and Sean (my favorite couple ever) with me as I was leaving my room.  

Look how empty :(

I finished up check out at 5, checked out of my own room and left Clinton by 5:30.  I got home around 6:30, ate dinner with my family and my dad and I were on the road to Charlotte.  Don't you know, we got 10 minutes away from home and I realized I'd left a load of clothes in the dryer!!!! AHHHHH! and my dad wasn't too happy about it...but he loves me so we turned around.  My mom made sure I counted to 10 before heading back out the door to try it again.  Needless to say we had a late start.  We got to Charlotte and I took a 3 hour nap before waking up to get ready to head to Barbados.  I had to be at the airport at 3:30 a.m. so my dad insisted that we leave the hotel (5 miles from the airport) by 2:45 a.m.  Gotta love my dad for making sure I didn't miss my flight!

4. Barbados:

I embarked on my 10 day journey to Barbados on May 23 super duper early in the morning. Both of our planes on the way to Barbados had awful turbulence.  I lost my stomach a couple of times :(  I swear I thought we were going to just fall out of the sky.  Barbados was beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I just love always getting to look out a see the ocean, which is one of the reasons why I love cruises so much so getting to be on land and see the ocean all the time was great!  And it wasn't just like being at the beach because these waters were clear and beautiful!!!  We did so much in our 10 days there its crazy to think it was only 10 days!  We literally drove around the island 3 times.  We got to see how the Bajans live and it was just sooo much fun! Here are some pictures from my trip!

first family picture of many

one of the precious babies we met :)

in Welchman Hall Gulley with Callers

my first experience with sun poisoning after Jammin' all day on the catamaran

in Bridgetown for the day...the day my sun poisoning got the best of me

made a pit stop at the University of the West Indies-Cave Hill book store and they had just the book for me :)

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diamond family

roomies :)

5. Craziness before the lake:

To think its been a crazy month, its even crazier to think about my last 48 hours at home for a while!  I was hoping my cousin Courtney to have her baby girl in one of those 48 hours so I would be able to see the baby before August.  Technically Courtney isn't my family, but my mom is best friends with her mom and she has always been like a big sister to me so getting to see baby Gracen was a big deal to me.  God helped me out and Courtney got induced for Thursday the 24th!  (the day I got home from Barbados)  We didn't visit the hospital Thursday because we thought it would be too much of an adventure to get me, my sister, and my mom in her wheelchair to the hospital.  So Thursday I did lots and lots of laundry, unpacked, and repacked!  (Story of my life this summer!)  Friday, we met Gracen.  She is absolutely beautiful and I'm sooooo excited Courtney is finally a mommy!!!!  I just can't get enough of Gracen and I can't wait to see her grow up!!!!!

After leaving the hospital, I went to lunch with Sarah and my mom and then got to see Jimmy for a little and finally give him his shirt from Crush Party...ohh only 2 months late.  After that, I packed some more at home and headed to Augusta to see Anna.  I finally got to see my bestie Anna who has been abroad for 4 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Talk about a great reunion!!!! We hugged for a good while which is saying a lot about me since I'm not one for long hugs.  It was so funny because she kept poking me in disbelief that I was actually there in front of her instead of behind a computer screen.  Awww I just missed Anna soooooo much!!! Its so good to know we're at least in the same country again.  We didn't waste any time and headed straight to the mall...what do we do best other than shop?!  So we went shopping a lot...maybe too much and then went to Takosushi, our favorite place!  We went back to Anna's house and stayed up talking until 2!  It wast just like old times and we're getting super excited for next year to finally be living together again.  We slept for a couple hours and woke up for breakfast at Chick-Fil-A!  I drove home for a cookout and more packing...surprise, surprise!  After the cookout, John came to my house and we were ready to hit the road for the lake!

6. Lake Junaluska: Take 2!

John and I had a road trip up to the mountains and finally arrived Saturday night!  I have been so ready to be here for the past year and can't believe summer is finally here and I'm finally back at this place I call home.  I can't even wait to see how God uses me this summer.  Last summer I focused a lot on trying to open my heart to God and waiting for Him to start working in me while this summer I believe I came with an open heart and  I know every day God will be teaching me and showing me new things!  I already love my new staff and can't wait to see how crazy we'll get together!  Keep checking my blog for updates throughout the summer and keep me in your prayers.  I'm hoping for big things and plenty of slaps in the face from the Big Man Upstairs! :)

Procrastination at its finest...

As if you couldn't tell by now how good I am at procrastinating, I'm pretty darn good at it.  I think I've always always always procrastinated.  I remember even in 4th grade procrastinating on a book report.  Even then my mom would say, "Rachel, don't procrastinate or it'll follow you your whole life!"  I think it must be in my blood because I've never stopped.  Of course procrastination now is much worse than those 4th grade days seeing as I have much more work to do now.  I decided what better way to put off my work that to blog about how I'm putting off my work?  Haha, it works for me!  We are on day 2 of exams here at the Presby and I still haven't had an exam yet.  I have one tomorrow and one on Friday.  I figure since I have to stay until Saturday anyways for CA duties, it doesn't really matter when my exams are.  I think I'm still in denial that its even exam week.  This year has seriously flown by sooooooooooooo fast!  I don't know where the time has gone.  I've been getting so sad that its the end of another year.  Like the next time I come to PC, I'll be a senior!  What the what?!  This isn't happening.  Even though I'm sad my time at PC is going by fast, I think I'm more sad that my year with the freshmen is over.  

See its a funny story...my freshman year I wanted to live in Belk, the all freshman girls dorm, but I got put on Clinton 4th.  It was just 20 of us all sharing the same bathroom and boys had lived there the year before so it wasn't the best of living conditions.  I couldn't have asked for a better hall my freshman year.  Aside from the fact that our RA ran away first semester, we had a pretty ballin' hall!  Some of us were even joking during the housing lottery that maybe we should move back up there for senior year!  So freshman year turned out great even though I wasn't in Belk.  

Sophomore year, I was applying to be an RA and I wanted to be with the freshies.  I asked for Belk but I got my 3rd choice, Laurens (an upperclassman very small dorm).  Most people don't even know Laurens exists.  It only houses 24 girls.  My roomie and I were 2 of the 5 sophomores in the whole building.  Everyone else was older than me. :(  I did end up getting RA of the Year, but I just wanted to be with freshmen since the upperclassmen didn't want to listen to someone younger than them.  Also, it was really hard to develop community in Laurens because we were just about the randomest group of girls you could have put together.  

So for my junior year, I wanted to live in Grotnes, where all my friends wanted to live.  I was being selfish but I just wanted to get to be with all the other girls my age unlike my first two years at PC.  What placement did I get? BELK!  Of course.  Third time's a charm, right?!  Haha, wrong!!! I was beyond mad that I didn't get Grotnes and that I was going to be in the freshman dorm.  But within an hour or so I realized that God wouldn't have placed me there if I wasn't supposed to be in Belk.  So don't you know I'm that junior that's living in Belk for the first time with all these freshmen I've come to love so much!  It was ironic that the day I got my placement was also the day I headed up to Lake Junaluska last February for my interview weekend.  Carolyn, Director of Ministries with Young People, aka my boss lady, asked me about the RA position and I explained to her my frustration and she reminded me that that must be where God wanted me for this school year.  

Carolyn has also been reminding me lately that God won't give you more than you can handle, and He won't leave you alone to handle it.  While I always try to remind myself that God won't give me more than I can handle, I'd never reminded myself that He's not going to leave me hanging either.  Of course I knew this, but I needed the reminder! :)

I knew all summer that God was preparing me to be in Belk.  I was leading small groups all summer and felt like God was preparing me to start a Belk Bible Study, so I did.  I started praying for my residents back in February before most of them probably even knew they'd be coming to PC, much less where they'd be living, or who their CA would be.  I prayed all summer for these girls and got super super super excited to be in Belk.  Most people don't realize this isn't what I wanted but I couldn't say thank you enough to the big man upstairs for putting me in this position!  I'm definitely not saying its been easy because its been hard, very very hard.  I've dealt with serious issues like sexual violence, the loss of a parent, the loss of a friend, girls questioning their sexuality, remembering loved ones who have already passed away, and girls questioning their faith to name a few of the subjects I've covered this year.  I've also had lots of haters, surprise surprise!  Most mornings I wake up to some type of profanity drawing or cussing on my dry erase board on my door.  I've had to be the bad guy more than I've wanted.  But I've built a lot of great relationships with my residents.  Such good relationships that my couch quickly became the "Couch of Tears" as I call it. Girls would just come in, even if I didn't know them well, and just burst in tears.  While I cry a lot, I've never really had to deal with so many other people's tears, especially girls I didn't know very well.  My couch was home to many tears, many more movie nights, and many of nights where I fell asleep and didn't quite make it to my bed.  The Couch of Tears left two weeks ago and it was soooooo sad.  I realize I shouldn't be that sad about a couch leaving but it really added character to my room from 1975 with bright orange carpet and all.  Over the past two weeks, girls have walked in and just stopped in their tracks because they're so used to seeing my couch sitting there.  I seriously wanted to cry putting my couch into storage.  I feel like this year my girls have become my little babies.  I feel like a mom and all my kids have finished their first year of college.  I've gotten to see them mature and learn all the tough lessons you don't want to see anyone have to learn.  I've seen heartache, happy times, and some really sad times.  All in all I've grown with them throughout the year and I got to use my past experiences to try to help them.  I am so thankful for my year in Belk.  I've learned so much about myself and about others.  Its been the hardest year of college but my favorite by far.  Thanks to all my freshies for an awesome year! I'm going to miss them so much!

On another note, keep my mom in your prayers.  She had surgery this morning for her Achilles tendinitis and a bone spur.  She's got a 10 week recovery starting with 3 weeks of not being able to put any pressure on her foot.  If you know my mom, you know she's never one to just sit!  She's always going going going and sitting and taking 10 weeks off from work and life will be hard.  Pray for a speedy recovery and that the surgery works just the way its supposed to and in 10 weeks she'll be pain free forever!!!!  Also if you've been praying for me, thank you thank you thank you!  I'm still waiting on results but I'll keep you updated with my blog.  

Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll leave you with a new favorite song of mine...