The last blog post EVER.

This is it. I have decided to not keep my blog after this class, due to many reasons. It’s been a really cool, fun journey, but everything has to end at some point.

Since it is our last assigned blog post, I have been commissioned to write a final lesson to you. This lesson comes to you from one of my favorite Bible passages: James 1:2-18. Since its sixteen verses, I’ll give you a paraphrase. James cautions believers to “consider trials pure joy.” This will develop perseverance, according to James. He also talks about how God is unchanging, and how he will remain faithful. This passage is chock full of lifelong lessons, and I encourage you to read it if you have the chance.

The main part of this passage that I want to talk about and leave you with is James 1:12. This verse says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” This is one of my favorite verse in the whole Bible. I see too many people, however, who jump on the “God bandwagon.” They get in it for the blessings and happy times, because they believe that their life will instantly change for the better. And, while your whole life DOES change, because you believe in Christ, it does not guarantee your life will be easy. So, these people, who are in it for the free stuff, fall away when life gets real. God promises us that if we remain faithful to him, even in the tough times, we will be with Him in heaven. Those who just come along for the ride won’t stay around. My hope for all of you guys is that you will persevere through the tough times, because there is a reward at the end. Even though people come and go, and people on that God bandwagon jump on and fall off, remember that God is unchanging.

It has been a really fun class time with you all. Thanks for the laughs (sometimes lasting for an hour), and the times where we decided to watch the government instead of class.

 

TENACITY!

Tenacity: (noun) persistence, determination, perseverance,doggedness, strength of purpose, tirelessness, indefatigability, resolution.

I don’t see any way around it. If I’m given the word tenacity to write about, I may as well write about it. Before playing soccer, I had no idea what tenacity even meant. For soccer, we had a binder full of character traits and reflections and one of them was tenacity. My first story that I remember about tenacity is being so frustrated with my team on the day that the tenacity reflection was due. I was so frustrated with saying the same stuff over and over and it not being listened to that I started yelling “Tenacity!” Apparently my teammates heard that. That game, I was injured and ended up not being able to play for a couple weeks, so my team really rallied around me by encouraging me with that word. I became the “Team Mascot” for tenacity. As a goalkeeper, I made tenacity my motto. Many of the requirements for being a keeper are some of the synonyms listed above, so when I was cleared to come back to soccer, I tried to approach soccer with this word. Soccer was rather an emotional roller coaster for me. Sometimes, I felt like I was the one solely responsible for our team’s loss, sometime’s I’d come home a muddy mess and wondering why I was playing soccer, sometimes I even came home from practice and played more soccer for hours, trying to make sure I was the best I could be. Still I stuck to this word. At our last game though, I walked off the field really grateful for my experience. I made some great friends from soccer, and I got to mentor some really awesome freshman girls as a senior. At my soccer banquet, both of my coaches gave me a shirt that they made and it says “Tenacity!” on it. I still have that shirt today, and even though I don’t wear it anymore  (the letters are falling off) it still reminds me of that point in my life that I made tenacity my motto. The quote that is in my “About Me” page was my senior quote in the yearbook.

I don’t think it was coincidence that tenacity was put into the list of words we had to write about, however, I’m pretty grateful for the experience I got behind this word. Soccer was a really great memory for me and I’m really thankful for my team and my coaches who all helped me become a better person.

This is why I am who I am.

I believe I am who I am based off of experience. At multiple points in my life, I can think of experiences that have definitely formed me as a person. I’ll be honest with you all, and actually tell you, despite the fact that some are depressing. (That was a disclaimer by the way.) I’ll highlight three in quick, short-story-like blurbs.

The first story that made me who I am today is 8th grade. In 8th grade, I went to a public  school, and the teachers there did not care for you like APU profs do. In 8th grade, there was a teacher that I was a TA for, and I did a lot of his busy work for him and kept him organized. At the end of the year, instead of taking the time to thank me for I had done for him, he wrote me a note saying that he hoped I amounted to something better in my life and that I would take his advice because in his words, I “was not on the pathway to being a significant person in this world, and that I would not be a success in high school.” (Direct quote, I swear.) I wish he could see me now. I have taken his words to heart in the sense that I wanted to be the opposite of that. That is why I strive to do well in all academics.

The 2nd story is the most depressing and sad, but lots of good has come out of it. On November 21st, 2011 (two years ago tomorrow) my closest friend at the time went through her parents’ medicine cabinet and took a cocktail of pills. She then called me. I had no idea what she had just done, and I thought everything was ok because we were having a normal conversation. Suddenly, she stopped talking. It wasn’t until later that her parents called me and told me that she had in fact committed suicide. Lots of questions were asked of me because I was the last one to talk to her, but no one knows to this day why she committed suicide. I still struggle with this. But this incident has also made me stronger, and more empathetic. I now am able to talk with other people in the same situation, and I know what they have been through. Also, this is one of the reasons why I wanted to be a nurse. Someday, I hope that I can use this experience to somehow save someone’s life, or if need be, console a family.

The third is a mixture of good and bad. One of the main reasons I went to the high school I did was to play sports. I played volleyball all four years and soccer for one. In those five seasons, I had 4 new coaches. Half of the coaches did not like me whatsoever and half of them did. It was a struggle going from being liked, to being benched, to being made fun of for my abilities in the sport I thought I loved. My senior year of volleyball was a serious struggle for me. I struggled everyday with putting on the uniform, knowing it was a waste of my time because I knew I’d never play. That’s why it was difficult for me to agree to play soccer. I didn’t want to be another waste of time. But, on the other side of soccer now, I’m really glad I did, because I made some great friends and had a ball (see what I did there?) playing soccer. Sports in high school definitely showed me that God has a plan and that He does see your struggles.

There is so much more, but I definitely see those as my top three. I hope to have many more life-changing experiences!

 

Screwtape’s Life Lessons

You know, I’ve read this book many times, both for school and for free reading, but every time I read it, I see something new that I hadn’t seen before, or an idea crosses my mind that I haven’t thought about before. I love when books do that. 

My job right now is to unpack what tempting style I think is applicable to our current society. I imagined, when I read the prompt, that I would just remember a certain letter or phrase, and poof! magically I’d have a 200 word blog post. I was pretty darn wrong, and I’ve actually been thinking about this all day and poring over the letters. 

So, I ended up at Letter 15. This letter deals with the concept of Past, Present, and Future. Screwtape, obviously being a demon, tells Wormwood to make humans live in the Future, for it is only the future that can be changed. I found a quote from Letter 15 that I really enjoyed, and I think that it really applies to the world today. Screwtape says, “Gratitude looks to the past and love to the present; fear, avarice, lust and ambition look ahead” (Lewis 76). In our world today, I believe that is the case. People so often look back to the “good old days” and were thankful for times when their families were together and nothing was wrong, so they were thankful for those times they had in their lives. In the present, love is the most important thing you can do in the present, and love (love like Jesus’ love) is very dangerous to demons. Especially now, with war in the Middle East, government problems, and the blatant disregard for human lives, people are afraid of the future and what it holds. They are afraid that one day, their baby will be diagnosed with cancer. Maybe one day, their daughter will be kidnapped, raped, and killed. And perhaps, their husbands will go off to serve in the army, and his squad will hit a land mine. The demons can manipulate humans into thinking that all of these situations can happen to them, and therefore make them scared. I’m not saying these situations don’t happen, because they absolutely do, and I have experienced some absolutely horrifying situations before. Screwtape closes the letter by stating that God does not wish humans to place their hearts in the future, but that demons do (Lewis 77). I believe that if humans could stop worrying about their future and more about what their relationship with God is in the present, things would be different.

God is a God of peace and He will be faithful in the Past, Present and Future. As Christians and as ultimate disciples of Jesus, we must remember that. God has been there throughout your past, God is here right now in the present, and God will be there in the future, whatever that may hold. 

Politics

Well, we’ve hit that blog post of the year. We all knew it was coming. This is the infamous “talk about your political beliefs and how you came about them” post. I, to be honest, don’t like talking about politics because all it does is create arguments. But, for the sake of my grade, and your grades, I will find it in myself to write about this subject.

I didn’t really examine my political beliefs until my senior year of high school. There, I took an AP Government class that really challenged my beliefs. My AP Gov. teacher was really amazing, and she taught us all about the government while helping us discover what we believed. Nonetheless, sometimes we had heated discussions in that class. In that class, I discovered that I fall more on the Republican side of things. I’m not a die-hard Republican, but I don’t believe everything that Democrats believe. I allow my Christian beliefs to dictate what I believe, or rather, most of what I believe. Most of Christianity and the Bible has different things we should follow regarding politics. I’m not saying that I’m a radical right wing, and Christ is the only person I look to. While that is true, (about Christ being the only person we should ultimately look to) I also believe that Christ tells us to respect whoever is in authority too, because He put them there for a reason. There are a lot of things that are messed up in this world, and I think it is really important to focus your beliefs on politics on what you believe about faith. Also, some of my beliefs focus on what my church believes about politics. My church has certain beliefs that I agree with, so I believe that some of those beliefs are true about my own life. When I consider all that is going on in politics though, I honestly really don’t care at the moment. Yes, I do care that our country is making some really poor choices right now, but I also think they are making really good choices too. Lives are being destroyed and being saved all at the same time. Such is life. Such is government. I firmly believe that the best government we’ll see is the government that Jesus establishes when He comes back, and that’s what I eagerly wait for.

Turkeys and Christmas Trees and Pumpkins Galore

I for one enjoy Holidays. Holidays are times in the year where we can look forward to the days, and seasons. For example, most people enjoy the Christmas season because it’s a time where people are generally more hospitable, and many people put up decorations. Holidays are also a time where people can take a break from work and school. There is the famed summer vacation, and also Christmas break.

I love Christmas. Here’s an example:

Granted we did take this picture on a school iPad, but it was Christmas spirit week. I love the Christmas season. It’s a time where Peppermint Mochas don’t cost extra, Christmas lights are everywhere, and I get to put out my Christmas village. I have a small obsession with collecting and maintaining a Christmas village. I always get to put it up the day after Thanksgiving, and it’s my favorite day after my birthday (which is this Friday, the 1st!) and Christmas. Christmas is a happy time of year, and people in my town and neighborhood are generally a lot nicer. I’m very glad that Christmas break is a month, so I can thoroughly enjoy this season! On a side note, I love Thanksgiving. I love food. A holiday that revolves around food is always a favorite of mine.

I think that one holiday that a lot people don’t celebrate is Halloween. Many Christians have a problem with the holiday since it originates from a pagan holiday. The reason why I don’t celebrate Halloween is that for the past four years, I’ve been at Volleyball practice.  Practice has always been during the typical trick-or-treat time, so I’ve never had a time where I could dress up and be awesome. Oh well. I only like Halloween because it’s the day before my birthday.

“Social Life? What on God’s beautiful Earth is that?”

I guess the title says it all. This is pretty much what my first two months of college have been like. If you didn’t know, I’m a Nursing major. I’m in ridiculous classes that most of you won’t ever take, and if you did, you wouldn’t take them until the spring of your sophomore year. Yay for Nursing….

When I first started here at APU, I had no idea how hard the major I had chosen would be. I had seen my schedule, but I underestimated the sheer difficulty of my classes. Also, most of my classes started with review from high school, which was really easy for me. At that point in the year, I was doing a lot of things with my hall, and trying to forge a friendship with my roommate. I thought this was what college life was supposed to be like. I was making new friends and having a lot of fun.

However, once we got down to the nitty-gritty of classes, I realized the fact that this was not high school and I couldn’t just memorize the information. I had to teach myself how to study, and I’m still not sure if I know how to study. But, I guess I’m getting pretty good grades for what its worth. I have about 7 hours of lab a week, which is pretty difficult. Being a Nursing major is not for the faint of heart. To top it all off, my roommate has pretty much the easiest major you could ever have at APU, brags about it to me since I have the hardest major at APU, and we were not matched well. Its been pretty difficult to get along, since we have different beliefs about a lot of things. She also has a different view on sleep than I do, so I have to learn to adjust to sleeping with lights on. Currently, I have no social life. I’m in my room when I’m not in class, and I’m studying all the time. College has also been the first time I have ever cried because of school. No shame, I just threw that out there. In the SON (school of nursing) you have to pass your first semester with a B in every science. They make that rule so they can weed out the “true nurses” from the “fake nurses.” So, I’m studying so I can be seen as a “true nurse” because honestly, I’m so excited to take the nursing courses next semester. I just have to make sure I get there.

I have had some social life though, but a very limited amount. I allow myself the luxury of two events a week (i.e: hall dinners, and APU events) so I’m not completely overwhelmed. I have been absolutely blessed to live in what has been dubbed “the most social hall in all of APU.” Its a lot of fun with all of these different girls, and honestly, they are what has kept me from going insane.

Well, I have an Organic Chemistry mid-term tomorrow, so I guess I should go back to studying. Ahhhh, the life of a Nursing Major.

 

“The Safest Road to Hell is the Gradual One..”

This quote from ScrewTape letters, I believe, describes the world today. There are so many things that are going on in the world today that begin slowly, but suddenly they become really big things that can influence the entire world.

One of the things that really shows how the road to hell is slow and gradual is the apathy about war on Christianity throughout the world. Do not get me wrong. The war on Christianity is ugly, wrong, and hard for anyone to fathom. However, the Western world is apathetic to the atrocities and horrors of what really goes on over in the Middle East. The problem is that no one really knows about this, and those that do are keeping quiet about it. As Rand Paul says, “Across the globe, Christians are under attack almost as if we lived in the Middle Ages or we lived under early pagan Roman rule. This administration does nothing to stop it and it can be argued that it is giving aid and comfort to those who tolerate these crimes.” I fully and completely agree with what Rand says. I am not going to write fully about the complete atrocities of the war on Christianity because it is absolutely awful and some of the things our fellow brothers and sisters are suffering are downright atrocious. But the fact that our government and world leaders know about this, and are doing nothing to stop it and possibly even aiding this just shows that the world is apathetic. I believe apathy is the most gradual way to Hell a person could possibly take. Apathy basically is not caring. If gay people were being murdered for their belief that they are gay, the entire United States would erupt in outrage and it would be immediately stopped. However, people aren’t interested enough in this issue, and I personally believe they are being numbed to the monstrosities of this war. Anytime a group of people are  killed viciously, someone will speak out, but not when it concerns Christianity. As you may be able to tell, I’m very passionate about this. To the rest of the world, Christianity is being shown as a religion of fantasy which is easily disputed by science. I believe the world is slowly being told that Christianity is not something to be concerned about. Soon, I think America will be totally against Christianity, which I believe that is exactly what the devil wants. And the problem is, America will never know what’s happening until it’s too late.

I usually write my blog posts right after class, usually because I’ve been working on it and I have an idea of what I want to say, but this topic has stumped me a little. Usually, everyone loves the day when they can write freely, but this topic actually frightens me a little. There are SO many writing topics. How do you just pick one?

I was planning on explaining my book sometime, but I’m just not ready for that yet. I practically just told the online world that I’m writing one. So, I decided to write about what people ask me most, but then I’d be writing on why I’m Hispanic even though I look white. I get asked about what I was involved in at high school, but that was high school, not college, and I’m glad to be out of high school. Then, people usually ask what my biggest accomplishment in life was and usually I’ll say “Going to APU,” but that’s a whole story in itself that would not be fully appreciated in a blog post. So I’m sitting in the coffee shop, waiting for inspiration.

So, after about an hour of watching vines and listening to music, I think I’ve finally hit on what I want to write this post on. My future in life. I mean, at APU, basically the entire typical Alpha group conversation is about what happens after APU. I, unlike many of my friends, have a pretty set major, and I obviously need to go into a career based off of Nursing. But, I want to get involved at APU as well. APU, however, doesn’t think Nursing majors have what it takes to hold down introductory freshman leadership positions. I’m pretty sure my major has disqualified me from jobs, not myself. While most of my other friends are off being ambassadors and alpha leaders, I will *hopefully* be living my dream. I have always wanted to work at a Christian Camp, and finally, I will have the opportunity to this coming summer. (I seriously can’t wait to turn 18). Applications go live this Friday, and I can’t wait to finally apply for the job of my dreams. However, that’s obviously not a high paying job, and I’m going into a healthcare degree, so I eventually want to work in an ER when I graduate. ER nursing has always fascinated me and I really enjoy the fast pace of it, and the ability to perform a lot of procedures while moving quickly. I also like the fact that I will be involved in saving people’s lives. I also have a passion to do missionary nursing, and I hope to study abroad in Norway, because everyone goes to South Africa and China, but no one goes to Norway! I hope that will be a good experience for me, and that i will have opportunities to share the gospel with people there. That’s my goal in life. Heal people, and share the love of Jesus while doing it.

What some awesome people said about writing.

There are some awesome people who have lived on this earth before us. They have also had some pretty cool things to say about writing. Writing is a form of art that loads and loads of people use to express their thoughts and speak their mind.

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”

-Robert Frost

I love this quote. Plain and simple. Robert Frost reiterates the fact that if the writer doesn’t put emotion in their works, the reader won’t feel emotionally connected to the novel. People read books and things of that nature because they want to be submersed in the story. Basically, Frost is saying that an author must fully live out their story and every emotion, because that is how their readers will read their story. I know that I have read this way before, and I think emotion in the book has something to do with the way you read and buy into the book. Haven’t you ever noticed that when an author  gives you a connection to a character, you suddenly want to read the book that much more? Similarly, when an author just writes without emotion, the text feels dry, and it is uninteresting for the reader.

“Remember: Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.”
—Ray Bradbury

Again, obviously, I wouldn’t be posting this unless I absolutely loved this quote, but its true. This isn’t the way that I’ve been taught to view plot, but as I’m sitting here thinking about this quote, I realize that this is so true. The characters of authors are always about a mile ahead of the author, who has to catch up to them in some way. Ok, so in the spirit of writing a blog and being honest about who I am, I’m going to tell you all something only two other people in the entire world know. I could put this quote into so much more perspective if I gave you some background. Here goes…I wrote in my “About Page” that I was a writer by nature. I’m writing a book. It’s about 180 pages (and still counting). The characters in my book are always two steps in front of me. Maybe I’ll elaborate on it later. As a fellow writer, this quote fully embodies what I encounter every time I write. Anyways, I feel like this is how great books are written: by authors who run after their characters instead of dragging their characters along.