Finals are (thank God) almost over. I nearly missed a psych final this morning because I thought it was at 9:00 when it was actually at 8:00. Thankfully I made it there in time, after miraculously not being pulled over for doing 80 all the way to campus. 

The last week has been pretty crazy, with finals, my birthday, and getting ready for Christmas. I was scared for a while that being out of work over the break would mean no money for rent or my car payment, much less Christmas gifts. But 12Stone's Intentional Acts of Christmas pretty much saved me. The church handed out $300,000 in cash to its members a couple weeks ago, to be used to help someone over the holidays. With the $100 each Mike and I got, we helped my parents buy Christmas presents for my sisters. Without that, they probably wouldn't have had anything. My mom's been out of work for almost a year, and my dad doesn't make much as a bookstore manager. Knowing that Christmas was the last thing they were worried about, it felt good to be able to help them (not to mention, I LOVE Christmas shopping). 

The Intentional Acts of Christmas ended up helping me too, though. A couple weeks ago I posted on the website about my needs, and someone contacted me and gave me a little bit of help. More than I expected, actually. It's because of things like this that I am learning day by day how to rely on God for my every need.

So now, I'm off to find my wonderful fiance a birthday present (he's 25 on Wednesday!), then study for my last final, Personality Theories. I will be nothing short of ecstatic when exams are finally over!

I think I'll try defying gravity

After being in Athens for six months, I think I have just now started to appreciate how awesome and beautiful this place can be. I lived here once before, about 14 years ago. But actually being a student at UGA is (expectedly) so much different. It has definitely taken some getting used to after going to Perimeter for almost three years. I went from a tiny college with five buildings to a huge university where I had to rearrange my schedule because 15 minutes wasn't enough time to get from class to class. It's impossible to get on a bus during class changes, just as impossible to find somewhere to study during finals week, and sharing a campus with 30,000 other students can get pretty overwhelming. But I can honestly say I have loved every minute of it. To me, there's something really cool about finding the perfect place to study (which I found yesterday - the second floor I didn't know existed in the Starbucks downtown), or sitting in the SLC with a coffee from Jittery Joe's and watching all the people walk by. They're such little things, but they make the whole experience even better.

Since I've been here, I've done a lot of thinking about what I want to do after graduation. I'm only a few classes away from having a BA in psychology, but there's not much in that field without a graduate degree. None of the grad school programs here looked that interesting to me, so I've decided to go back to my freshman-year plan of trying to go to medical school. This means I have to stay at UGA at least another semester beyond when I planned to graduate. I have to take six extra classes in chemistry and physics, and take the MCAT sometime in the next year or so. If you're wondering, yes, I'm crazy. I've wondered if I can even do it, because my grades have honestly not been wonderful lately. But I think if I really try and put my mind to it, 

I can get there somehow. 

I guess with this, and everything else, I'll just have to wait and see. 

I will walk by faith, even when I cannot see

Having had my old Livejournal since I was a junior in high school, I figured now was a good time to change. Everything else has been changing faster than I could have imagined lately, so why not this too? 

Right now I am sitting in the SLC, drinking a white chocolate mocha from Jittery Joe's, putting off studying for a test and being kind of amazed that I am actually here. I've been at UGA for almost  5 months now, and it's taken me this long to realize that I finally made it to the point in my life I've been wanting to be at for the last three (almost four) years. No more living with my parents and having every move I make criticized by my dad. No more family drama in my face every day. No more wishing every moment that I could just pack up and leave. 

Finally being out on my own has been a mixed blessing, though. It's a lot to get used to being responsible for everything from paying rent to making sure my car gets an oil change on time (which I haven't been very good at). There have been times when I have not been sure I would be able to buy food or pay my bills that week. But God has been there for me, and I have faith that He will continue to be there. As I've learned to honor Him with my finances by starting to tithe at 12Stone, He has been faithful in providing for me. The past two weeks, I gave 10% of what I had to the church, and the very next day I got a check in the mail. I used to think the whole "give and you shall be blessed" thing was just a scam for rich churches to get even richer, but I am beginning to understand the test of faith that it really is. Not to say I or anyone else should start sending checks to big-haired, charismatic televangelists, just that I have been blessed to see firsthand the faithfulness of God when you follow His will.

In the same respect, Mike and I have recently been challenged with following God. Almost two weeks ago, he put in his notice at work to take a job at which he will be making almost $2.00 less per hour. Next week he'll be moving to Athens, getting an apartment in the same complex I live in, and teaching preschool right across the street. Living almost an hour apart was really difficult for us, and after much prayer, Mike made the decision to change jobs to be closer to me. It's exciting, but I know it's going to be a challenge for both of us. He'll be challenged with living out on his own for the first time, and I'll be challenged with making sure that him being here doesn't affect my studies. It's going to be difficult, but in the end it will be worth it.

Writing this has effectively wasted about 30 minutes of what should have been study time, so I think I should get to that now.