Lent...a time to reflect

Today marks the first day of Lent. I've grown up in the Church from the time I was born, and although I am not Catholic, I grew up in the Episcopalian Church and we would always participate in Lent and learn more about Christ coming down to Earth and gathering 12 men to be his followers as he spread the good news throughout the Earth. But this year, as elementary as it may seem, I've chosen to eliminate somethings out of my life for this period of Lent. In reality, lent is only 40 days...that's nothing. During this time, I hope to grow closer to God and his Word and understand how His word plays an important role in my life.

Oh the joys of being single

I'll tell you straight up. I am single and I've known nothing else; I've been single for the entire 20yrs of my life. Growing up, I definitely felt the pressure to act a certain way or emulate what other girls did to get guys. And recently, well this past semester, I truly liked this one guy (I'll leave it at that)and seriously contemplated him as a potential bf. However, after deep thought and some good ol' prayer, I asked myself these question: Did I truly deep down in my heart like this guy or did I simply like the idea of him--meaning did I only like the idea of being in a relationship and having a boyfriend? After letting this marinade in my head for about a week or so, I've come to the conclusion that I liked both--I did like him but not as much as I thought I did, but I liked the idea of him more than I liked him (you get me?)

you know the saying that goes "it's better to have loved than to not have loved at all?" well, I believe that it is true to some degree. Although I spent a lot of time thinking about this kid and trying to get his attention--and essentially asking him out on a date, it wasn't done in vain for I have learned more about myself in terms of my relationship with potential guys and its something that I'll focus on later
anyways that just my tangent for the day~

Be confident in the gifts God has given you

humm.... some profound words that I heard one of the girls on my floor say tonight...and it has just been marinating in my head for the past hour or so. Being confident in the gifts that God has given you is something that we should get inside our hears. Now I'm not talking about being arrogant or cocky, I'm talking about being confident in your God-given abilities so that you can use them to glorify Him. Often times our society sends us mixed signals about how we should behave---in movies often times being arrogant in your abilities is what gets you far in life and etc. I know that this post is probably a running tangent, but I do think that it is important to know what your gifts are and not to compare them to anyone else's gifts or be ashamed of your gifts; instead use them in the highest degree to glorify God.

What is beauty?

This is a question that I frequently find myself asking, "what is beauty?" In a society that spends billions of dollars on cosmetics and cosmetic procedure, we seem to be unhappy by the way we look. I often find myself struggling with the concept of beauty in regards to the way I look. The way Hollywood portrays beauty is almost humanly unattainable...unless you make bank and can hire an on-call makeup artist.
We, us women learn at an early age that the girls that we see on tv are beautiful and boys only find those type of girls pretty and attractive. As soon as we are able to semi-understand the concept of makeup, we are hooked for life. We rise early in the morning to paint our face...the one the God provide us with, only to find ourselves disappointed by the way we look. The desire to look beautiful may engulf our lives to the point that some of us may seek out the help of doctors to perform cosmetic surgery. It starts off as a cut here, a stitch there, a lift over here and after countless surgeries we look in the mirror and find ourself empty, unhappy, and feeling less beautiful than before.
When I was began highschool, I'll be honest, the image of beauty in my mind was distorted. I thought that to be beautiful meant to be thin and have small lips and arched eyebrows and long eyelashes and symmetrical lips. For me personally, sometimes I find myself holding on to some of the those beliefs about beauty regarding the way I look. But thankfully, the term beauty and beautiful has changed since being in highschool. I feel like one standard of beauty can not be used to describe all people. Instead, I look at people individual and base their beauty not by what society tells me, but within that person's context. Also, I've noticed that I find imperfections beautiful on some people. It's all relative, however, traveling to different places in the country and in the world has taught me that beauty is relative and if you take a step back and truly look at a person for who they are and without a tainted or distorted Hollywood conception of beauty, then you'll be able to see the beauty in everyone you meet.

The Beginning of a new year + being an R.A

Ello all!

So a little over two weeks ago, I came back from Carolina to begin RA training and get myself ready for school. It's a little weird not living with a room mate this year and a lot of times it can get a little lonely... esp when you're in a new location and are just trying to get to know people all over again and etc. But praise be to God for getting me this far; I appreciate it. In the bottom of my heart, I'm pretty excited to be doing this, however I know that the journey will be long, hard and challenging but this is the type of experience that I have been looking for time-- something that would get me out of my comfort zone. That's all folks.

Summer Break

Hello All

It has been a while since I have updated you all with what's going on in my life. Well for starters, my sophomore year of college has finally come to an end Thank God!! And shockingly enough, I have changed my career path! yes. Instead of pursuing Med school, I have veered off that path that I have known for so long to pursue a career in dentistry! I made the decision during the initial start of the summer. After seeing my orthodontist and recalling past experiences with my dentist, I realized that dentistry was the career for me. It was an EXTREMELY emotional decision for me and I thought about it for a couple of days and I am certain about it. Now I am trying to catch up on much-needed information about applying to dental school and what I need to do to get in.
On another note, I have a job for the SuMMER!! I'm pretty excited about it and although it's temporary, but I'm pretty psyched and thankful for having it. What I'll be doing is R.A.-ing at a program at my school and working with high-schoolers and helping them develop skills needed to succeed in college.

What are you doing this summer?

later and enjoy your time off from school

Feliz Pascua!

Feliz Pascua!! Happy Easter

Today was a wonderful day. I celebrated Easter with my roommate and we went to Grace (a Korean Church that my students from my school go to) it was interesting to see how Korean and English were incorporated into the service. Oh and did I tell you how good the food was?
Anywho, I got off from spring break about a week and a half ago, and now I have only 5-6 weeks of school left. ~YIKES!~ So in order to keep my self motivated, I've been trying to keep my mind, body and soul clean and healthy by running and meditating (reading the Lord's word) and get keeping a positive attitude on things.

Here are a couple of clips that I like to look at from time to time. Hey, lets just say I like to stay inspired.
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Have a Fantastic Week

P.S. I'm an R.A for next school year!

"With God, all things are possible."