So Long, Farewell

As it is now the last few hours of 2013, I decided I would write about some of the highlights and favorite moments of this past year.

To begin, 2013 was a wild ride. A lot happened this year. I spent the first 4 1/2 months of 2013 still a minor, which proved challenging at times because many of my friends had turned 18 sooner than I had, however, once I finally turned 18, life got crazy because just 3 short weeks later was graduation, but I will talk about that later in this post. First, let's get to the highlights and favorite moments of this crazy, wonderful year.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
I was blessed enough to be a part of FWBHS's production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels as part of the ensemble. It was something I had not done before and allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and do a different type of performing than I had ever done. I met some amazing people and fell in love with the theatre through this production.

Graduation
I cannot believe graduation was over six months ago. It feels like just yesterday my family and I were frantically preparing for the entourage of guests that were coming down for my graduation. It was an exciting time and I had the honor of graduating Magna Cum Laude in front of 20+ family and friends that were able to attend the ceremony.

Cruise to the Caribbean
As part of a graduation gift, I got to go on a cruise with one of my best friends, her family, and 2 other friends of ours. We had two days at sea and went to Honduras, Belize, and Mexico; went ziplining, cave-tubing, and 4-wheeling (mudding in Mexico). It was a blast and I will treasure those memories forever.

Frog Camp
TCU does a really cool thing for Freshmen where we pick whichever camp we want to attend before school starts in order to meet fellow incoming students and get to know upper classmen that are able to help with the transition. I chose to go to Frog Camp Alpine in Colorado where we rock-climbed, white-water-rafted, did high ropes courses, and other team building activities. We had no cell service, had to use out houses, and got one shower. It was an amazing adventure and I met some really awesome people. It definitely helped ease my nervousness about going off to college.

Beginning of Freshman Year
The beginning of my freshman year as a Horned Frog was wonderful! I met some great people that are now some of my closest friends very early on and I am so thankful for that. My friends and I have had some fun adventures and I can't wait to make many more memories with them. Another highlight at the beginning of the semester was the Little BigTown free concert at TCU. It was a blast!

Horned Frog Marching Band
Yupp, I was on TV a couple of times this semester with the Horned Frog Marching Band. It was a wonderful experience! We played for football games, a high school competition's halftime show, a Cowboys Game; performed at the Texas Motor Speedway, and will play in a Stockshow Parade the first weekend back from Christmas Break. I would have to say my favorite game we performed at was the West Virginia game because it was our Breast Cancer Awareness game and we wore pink plumes, had a music video, and everything. It was a very special game and even though we narrowly lost, was my favorite one.

Completing My First Semester of College
After a semester of fun times, adult decision-making, hanging out with friends, becoming a part of an amazing Bible Study, partying, being iced in, and attending a Beyonce concert, I am proud to say that I successfully completed my first semester of college and cannot wait to be back on campus for Freshman Year: Act II.

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!

Yours Truly,

Steph

Merry Christmas Eve!

Hello All!
It's Christmas Eve! I love the Christmas Season for many different reasons, but the most important is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Whilst you are opening gifts with your families either tonight or tomorrow, remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season. He is the greatest gift of all. He was born to a virgin, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, then went on to walk with man, living a perfect life, and died an excruciatingly humiliating death as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind. As we all celebrate this time of love, laughter, and family, let's remember these lyrics from the chorus of "How Many Kings" by Downhere: "And how many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that is torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their sons for me? Only one did that for me." That truly is better than any present anyone could ever receive.

The Christmas Story- Luke 2:7-14

"and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Saviorhas been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “'Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'”

May You All Have A Blessed Christmas!

Yours Truly,

Steph

Rewind: Icepocalypse 2013

It's been a couple of weeks since the appropriately named "Icepocalypse" that hit Fort Worth, TX, and other parts of the country, but I thought I would share some funny stories, experiences, and adventures from this interesting time.

Texas weather never ceases to amaze me
The day before the ice/sleet/snow storm, it was 80 degrees and I wore shorts.

OMG It's Snowing!
That was the exclamation from many rookies who did not have much experience with snow and ice. Sure, the top layer was snow...but underneath was just sheets of ice. My friend from Colorado was less than amused every time someone talked about how cool it was that Texas got snow. Snow is nice and fluffy...ice is not. We could not have snowball fights unless we were okay with getting chunks of ice thrown at us. It was pretty though, especially the first day.

It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Hurt

To further prove that the white particles covering the ground was most definitely ice was the number of people slipping, falling, and hurting their sides, arms, tailbones, you name it. That ice got dangerous. One of my good friends fell down the stairs in the dark and her coffee went flying...it was funny because she wasn't too injured, but she could have been hurt. Her coffee still discolored the ice the next morning.

What to do when you're iced in

After a day or so of being stuck, you go a little stir crazy. We couldn't go anywhere because the roads were too icy, and campus was shut down as well, so we had to make our own fun. One night, that meant movie night, where we crammed eight people into one room, and the next, it meant we braved the weather and drove just under a mile to get to a Christmas party. It was totally worth it because we had a blast.

The Hunger Games

Food became rather interesting as delivery trucks could not get to us and many of our workers at Market Square could not make it all the way to campus, therefore, we ended up having pasta and "chicken cooked in many different ways." This was okay for a while, but on Day 3 when the BLUU would only be open for 2 1/2 hours for dinner and the Hunger Games were being predicted on Twitter, my friends and I looked at each other and decided to use our pasta and cook in the dorm. My Colorado friend and I ended up braving the ice and making it to Target and back for spaghetti sauce and stuff for breakfast the next morning. We were not about the fight club life.

Finals Still Happened

Dang it! Too bad the weather didn't start a few days later to cause the cancellation of finals. The weather cleared and the ice melted just enough for a two hour delay Monday...and that's it. Finals still happened as planned (for the most part) even though the weather put a damper on our Dead Days the previous weekend.

We can't forget about Beyonce!

A few of my friends and I had tickets to see Beyonce in Dallas and we got super nervous about being able to go to the concert. Luckily, the roads had cleared and the trains were running, so we got to go see the queen. It was a blast!

Icepocalypse in retrospect

Sure, the ice situation in Fort Worth right before Finals Weeks was a nuisance, but it wasn't a disaster. No one starved...we just didn't get our full course, home-style meals or our wonderful pizza for a few days. Things like this remind me to count my blessings. We were warm, safe, and could have full bellies if we so chose, and we didn't have to deal with cancelled flights coming home for Christmas break. I'd say those are blessings for sure.

Yours Truly,

Steph

Lessons Learned

Hey everyone! So, it's really difficult to summarize an entire semester of college in one post, therefore I'm going to share my top 15 lesson's I've learned.

1.  Relationships are extremely important
Growing up as a military kid, I've learned to make friends easily, so this wasn't too much of a challenge. What came more of a shock to me is just how important the friendships I would create in just a few short months would be to my college success. Your college friends literally become your second family. You laugh with them, cry with them, have serious conversations with them. My friends keep me sane. When I'm going crazy, I appreciate that they are there to bring me back down to earth. If I hadn't built such tight relationships with such wonderful people, my first semester would have been much more difficult. My lows would have been much lower. I am so thankful for the relationships I have and the people God has put in my life.

2. Grades aren't everything
Sure, first and foremost, I go to college to get a degree so that I can be successful in a career and a providing member of society upon graduation, which means grades are important. I'm not discrediting the importance of a strong GPA...I'm just saying that grades aren't everything. There is much more to college success than a solid GPA. Forming relationships is equally important because not only do your friends help keep you afloat, it's important for future employment purposes. It's important to go out and interact with your fellow peers. Go to a party or two, join a club, do something other than just study. I know I learned a lot about time management while trying to balance marching in the band (GO FROGS), my social life, and academics.

3. Just because you don't do well in a class doesn't mean you're stupid
I learned this lesson rather quickly when I started doing poorly in one of my classes. I felt like I was studying my life away and would still perform terribly. I had to take a step back, and through the support of my friends and family, realized that this one "failure" didn't make me stupid and didn't mean I would "fail at life." It just showed me that I'm not going to be good at everything. College isn't high school. I learned that I can no longer expect to be even decent at all subjects.

4. It's okay to change your major
I went in to college determined that I would start a nursing major and finish with a nursing degree. My mom told me all along if I decided that isn't what I want to do that it is okay to change. I swore I would never do that. Was I more wrong! Six weeks into the semester I wasn't doing well in my Anatomy class and I did some soul searching. I don't do blood or anything gross, and I decided nursing just wasn't for me. I had wanted to be a teacher all my life anyway, so now I'm an Elementary Education major and am excited for next semester's classes. Basically, the moral of this is to follow your heart, as long as you have your brain with you.

5. Living with someone in a tiny space is really hard
No matter how good your roommate may be, sometimes living with another person in a 12x12 ft space 24/7 is really hard. I have a good roommate and I still find myself annoyed or frustrated at times because we're two very different people living in a very tight space. Compromise and communication are definitely key.

6. I'm stronger than I thought, and you are too
"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." -Christopher Robin
My first semester of college has shown me the accuracy in this statement, and you should believe it, too.

7. It's important to accept help
Being stubborn and independent, I rarely ask for help, but I've had to swallow my pride and learn to ask for it, and accept it when offered. That's what friends are for...to help one another.

8. The value of a hug
I know there have been articles talking about the importance of hugs, but I'm going to emphasize it again. When you give a hug, you get a hug, and vice versa. Sometimes, the power of hug is much more than anything wise or philosophical you could say in support or someone can say to you. A hug can really be worth 1,000 words.

9. It's the little things that matter
Whether it's a card in the mail, a picture of your dogs, or someone giving you a compliment or kind word, it's the little things that make a difference. Oftentimes, it's the little things that can make or break a day.

10. Do NOT take small comforts for granted
Wearing flip flops in the shower and showering next to my dorm mates (with stalls dividing of course) having to listen to whatever music they're playing if I didn't get there first really caused me to not take small comforts for granted. Home-cooked meals are another one. Our dining hall is great, but it gets old.

11. College Football is a blast
TCU is in the Big 12 now, and even though their season wasn't stellar, the games were a blast and our school spirit is pretty rockin. I also thoroughly enjoyed playing in the stands and performing on the field with the band. I made memories this football season that will last a lifetime. If you have never been to your college's games to support the team, SHAME ON YOU! Go to at least one game...you won't regret it.

12. Finals Week is insane
A lot of upper-classmen may be like "no, duh...coulda told you that." Well...finals week is just something one must experience for themselves to believe it. Finals week has almost NOTHING to do with how smart you are and EVERYTHING to do with endurance and stamina. I was all out of steam and my exam scores were proof. I laid on the floor too much. The Icepocalypse didn't help either, but that's another story.

13. Sleep is NOT for the weak
Sleep is for the wise. If you don't sleep...it will come back to bite you. Anytime I didn't get enough sleep, my body basically yelled at me and made me want to sleep for the entire week. So...go to sleep at night.

14. Taylor Swift was right when she said "we're happy, free, confused, and lonely in the best way."
That basically sums up my life, and I'm guessing many college students' lives. I'm typically happy-go-lucky, free to "do me," spend much of my time confused about something, and I can get lonely. So yupp...that's pretty accurate.

15. T. Swift was also right when she said "It's miserable and magical, oh yeahhh"
This time of our lives can be pretty miserable...we don't always know what we want or how we feel, and a bad day can seem to be "the worst day of my life," but we're also young and this time is pretty exciting...we're the next generation...the movers and shakers, and that's pretty magical.

Yours Truly,
Steph

Let's Get this Party Started

Hey! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Stephanie. I just finished my first semester of college at Texas Christmas University and had a blast! I'm currently at home with my family for Christmas Break and am enjoying it greatly. I decided to start a blog because I always have so many thoughts and experiences to share and Facebook just isn't cutting it.

Anyway, I can't believe my first semester is already over. It seems like just yesterday I was graduating high school. Time truly flies. This semester was definitely an adventure...from highs and lows to everything in between. I learned how to live in a 12x12 ft room with someone I didn't know, which has helped me grow as a person. I also made some wonderful friends and had a blast playing in the band cheering on TCU's wonderful football team. My life is extremely blessed and it's about time I start sharing.

Below are some photos from my first semester.

Yours Truly,
Steph