Mi aventura viene

Hello friends and family,
     I've always wanted to start a blog, but never felt that my life is exciting enough to read about.  Thankfully my life is about to become an adventure, so I am starting a blog to document it.  Tomorrow my friend, Emily Elkins, and I leave for Chile to study the language that we love, learn about the culture that intrigues us, and grow in our faith.

     Since I haven't gone to Chile yet, I will tell you a little about my life now.  I just finished my sophomore year at the University of Oklahoma as a Spanish Education major.  College has really helped me to grow as a person and follower in Christ.  My freshman year, I was basically in a selfish, survival mode.  I just wanted to get straight As and get through those tough two semesters.  It wasn't until this year that I allowed myself to take the blinders off and experience college life.  This year I have  had the privilege of becoming a "big" sister in my sorority.  To become a big, you have to go on temp little dates and get to meet many girls and then choose your little.  Through this process, I had the joy of meeting girls that challenge and encourage me. I also got my sweet little, Lauren.  Being able to meet other girls and help them through the same struggles that I've been through was such a rewarding experience.

     I chose my major last year, but this year has reaffirmed it.  Spanish Education combines the two things that I love and value.  First, I wanted to do something that involved helping others, building relationships, and mentoring.  Then the only subject I enjoyed more than others in high school and college was Spanish.  I combined both of these things to get Spanish Education. This semester I prayed for some opportunity to use my Spanish skills and I ran into a couple of closed doors, but then I was presented with the opportunity to tutor a precious, 2nd-grader who flipped my world upside down.  I had always pictured myself teaching high school, but the joy and intrinsic motivation to learn was breathtaking.  Teaching someone who devours everything I teach and retains more than I expected is what I want to do with my life.  The question is what age group to teach?  I love teaching little ones because of their enthusiasm, but I don't know if I can keep up with such a high energy level.  On the other hand, I could also see myself teaching as a professor, but that would require more schooling and there's still the chance of getting apathetic students.

     What I do know is that I think high school is no longer an option for me.  For one of my education classes, I had to observe a high school and I loathed every one of the 20 hours I spent there.  In this particular school I was shocked by the lack of effort and just the lazy attitudes of both the teacher and the students.  This observation taught me that I don't want to be placed in a school where all my time and effort is wasted on students that only take Spanish out of obligation.  I have also realized that all three of my high school Spanish teachers are no longer teaching.

     I don't know what the future holds for me, but I hope that God reveals what I should do when I in the future while I'm in Chile.  My perfectionist personality wants to be able to say what my exact plans are, but thankfully Jesus was very specific about his feelings toward us planning out every aspect of our future when he said, "Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year.  We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?  Your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone.  What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that'"--James 4:13-15.  For this this reason, I have no idea what God has for me in the future but I know that it is good and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.