The Earth Says "Hello!"

Alrighty. Hello!

Haha. It's late, I'm getting tired, and everything is starting to be incredibly hilarious. So let's get to this.

I just wanted to update everyone one my life and adventures. I've got school things, dog things, work things, and possssibly China things. Oh, and introspective things.

School things are exciting! Classes are going pretty well this semester. I'm really enjoying everything I'm doing, and I don't feel behind in any of my classes. I need to stop slacking on my reading for CJC and my homework for chem, but aside from that everything is going really smoothly. I'm still 100% on track to finish classes and graduate in 2 years! Yaaaay :) May 16, 2016. Save the date.

I'm actually registering for fall classes this Saturday. I'm hoping to get all the classes I need (which I don't think I'll have problems with... we'll see for sure soon enough). KLDjaoihe. It's exciting. Yes. I'm going for survey of physical chemistry (and lab), intro to criminalistics (and lab), history and survey of psychology or something (for my senior experience that I need) and ASL 2... again. What what? Yeah. I might not have actually got a passing grade in that class because I was slacking too much. Oops. But that's why it's such a great thing that I can replace the grade! And I'll do much better this time. Yeeaaahh. It's gonna be a good semester. I'm excited.

Dog things!! I have a dog, his name is Axle. One of Melissa's friends had to give him up, so we took him in under the pretense that he's my dog and when I move out, I'm taking him with. That said, I'm not moving out until I graduate (May 16, 2016-- save the date), but he's still mine. The possibility exists that I'll take Bandit, too, but I'm not quite sure I believe Michael that he wants me to take him. Haha.

Axle's cute, though. He's sweet, reminds me a lot of Maggie, actually. He's probably part German shepherd, possibly part beagle? We'll never know. Adorable none the less.

Work is going quite well! I'm excited. I'm teaching a ton, helping train our new employees, and working a lot covering some shifts that my bosses need help with by closing down one of the buildings we run. It's kinda fun. The best part, though, is that I have nothing to do there besides wander around the building from time to time and then lock up and turn off all the lights at night, but I'm there for like 4-6 hours usually. So what do I do? Homework, facebook, warlight, reading, games on my phone or online, surf the web, etc etc. It seems weird, but it's what my bosses (the big bosses, even) tell me to do. So it's fantastic. I'm being paid to do my homework. Haha. Love it.

China things :) Mm. Yesss. I was looking at my schedule for the next few semesters and seeing what all I still need to take and when and blah blah blah. And I noticed a while ago that there are classes I need to take this coming fall, and classes I need to take the fall after that, and then the spring after that. But next spring? Like in a year? There aren't any classes I need that semester and that semester only. I was still planning on going that semester, and just having 12-13 credits each semester until I graduate, but I was talking to Michael about a month ago and he was asking if I would ever go back to China, and I really would in a heartbeat. One of the biggest reasons I wasn't sure I wanted to go back last time was because I was worried that Jack would forget who I was if I left. Well, lot of good that did me. He forgot me when I was right there! Haha. Anyway, he's in Boston now.

The other thing that would hold me back is my job. I love my job, so much. I don't want to leave it. But I've been talking to my boss, and he's going to help me figure out if there's anything I can do. We've already got a couple different plans in place for me being able to leave and still have a job when I get back. He said he would talk to the big bosses and ask for sure, though, but this seems like a very real possibility that I can go back to China next spring. I filled out my application again (like twenty minutes ago) and they'll contact me soon to talk about it.

I feel good about it this time. I'll miss the dog terribly, but he'll live without me and Michael sure isn't going to keep him, so he'll still be mine. And the big problem that Casey was worried about last time, which I suspect is the reason they just sorta never got back to me, I think I'll be able to convince him about. I think I can show him that I've grown a lot over the last two years since I applied last and that I'd be a great head teacher. Wish me luck :)



And then the last thing I wanted to talk about is something that I've just been thinking about for quite a long time, actually. Probably a good two years. You know, just an idea that's been floating in my head and I'm looking for some feedback on it.

I was on facebook once, and I was looking through a bunch of my old friends' profiles. Just people that I used to be really close to in middle school or elementary school. Some of them in high school. People who I haven't really talked to so much recently, but I'm facebook friends with them and curious about their lives and where they've gone and what they're doing.

There's this one girl in particular (though I do actually have several friends who are in the same kind of situation, just this girl is the one who comes to mind most) and she has a baby. She got pregnant right after high school? Right before graduation? Something like that. Anyway, it was with her boss at work, and they had only been dating a few months, but her son is the love and complete joy of her life. She loves him, she's a great mom, and she's so happy. She ended up staying with her boyfriend, they got married, and they just had another baby girl. They have the happiest little family and they're really fantastic parents, and I love looking at her profile and seeing how well things turned out for her.

She actually had a post at one point talking about all these plans she had for her life and how everything turned out 100% differently from how she imagined it would, but it was all really just a great journey leading her to where she is now, and she wouldn't change any of it for anything.

I thought that was so interesting. There's so much in my life even that hasn't turned out how I thought it would, and yet I'm very happy here where I am. There's an entire world of possibilities, and anything could happen to me, and all of the thing that could happen would just take me to different places, and then wherever I ended up, I'd be loving my life and saying, "It didn't turn out how I thought it would, but I can't imagine my life any different." No matter what, there would be growth and happiness in my life, as long as that was the attitude I chose to take it with.

Are you all still with me? That was a kinda complicated thought, but bare with me, because I'm getting to my point.

This mostly made me start thinking... In the church, we're taught that premarital sex is a sin. And this friend of mine clearly had premarital sex. She wound up pregnant when she didn't expect to be, and I'm sure for moment or two, it seemed like all her "bad decisions" were catching up to her. But then she had this little boy and she grew up and matured and is now living a great life. She was living a great life the entire time. It's just confusing me.

I was in an ATV accident almost 7 years ago, now. It changed my life and affected the decision I made and it was something I had to learn to deal with. I chose to ride that ATV, just as my friend chose to have sex. I didn't choose to crash, and my friend didn't choose to get pregnant. So I'm just getting a little lost in thought... What makes what happened to her a sin and what happened to me a challenge to overcome? How can I look at her and where she is and where she was and say she's a sinner? I don't think she is. I wouldn't tell her she is. She's just living her life, just like I am, right?

I don't know. Bounce ideas back at me. Gracias.