Resolutions I Can Stick To!

Year after year people decide upon their New Year resolution. But how many people actually stick to their resolutions? There are those that decide that they will lose 50 pounds, but by the second week of January, how many people throw that out the window, when the chocolate cake because just too appealing? I have known many people with the resolution to quit smoking...but once they become stressed, well one cigarette doesn't count. 

I usually neglect to make New Year resolutions because I know myself and I know I will forget to stick to them. This year, however, I have decided that I will make some. My resolutions will be realistic ones and ones that I believe I can actually keep. 

• Become more organized- I've purchased a planner and written down all of the events for the year that I already know about. I've enlisted the help of a friend who is a fantastic organizer. A huge factor of my current disorganization is my Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) so I'm headed off to a counselor to talk about that and figure out new coping mechanisms. 
• Become more financially responsible- I've altered my schedule to increase the number of hours I am working and I am being more conscious about my purchases and the way in which I spend my money. The biggest part has to do with organization and being aware of how much I have in my bank account (which means I will need to write down all of my transactions).
• Develop my prayer life- When I sat down with my CPM (Committee on Preparation for Ministry) this was something I decided that I need to work towards, but since then I haven't really made any progress. I'm searching for a devotional that captures my attention and one that I will stick with. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
• Become healthier- Like so many other people there is the underlying desire to lose weight. I would love to have the pounds just melt away, but more than anything else it is simply a desire to feel healthier. So that will include eating healthier (tonight it was spinach salad instead of the mashed potatoes and deep fried chicken patty), increased physical exercise (not necessarily hitting the gym hard but other things as well, today it was a walk around the graduate college's campus and the Institute for Advanced Study), and simply making smarter health decisions. 
• Sleep- I get a lot of it. I don't get sleep at the appropriate times. I need to move away from the going to bed at 3 AM and catching up on sleep on the weekends and move towards the getting 8 hours of sleep, even if that involves social sacrifices. Appropriate sleep schedules need to be a priority. 

5 resolutions. All of them are things that I will have to be conscious about. Some will be easier than others. Some will require a lot of help from other people. Some I simply need to make a priority in my life. Many of them will require sacrifice. I think I can do it. I think they will help to make me a better person physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally, in all the ways that matter. 

Words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated as I try to stick to these. 

Coffee, Sleep, and Graduation!

The next eleven days of my life are going to be chaos. Tomorrow I have a computer class. I have to leave class early to go down to the high school that is affiliated with my college and talk about mission work during their chapel. After that, I will be working in the Admissions office because the head of the Admissions department at the school that is buying out my college will be on campus. I will also be working on assignments while working in the office. Shh don’t tell. Tomorrow evening I am running evening worship for the women’s dorm. I still have to figure out what my topic will be, perhaps something about how we are all unique.


I have until Friday to turn in all of my work for my course in Revelation. That is fifteen assignments. Luckily, they are only one page each, but nonetheless that is still a lot of work. I also have my Revelation final on Friday. That is going to be fun to fail. I am going to pull a college humor and draw a little picture at the end of the test begging for mercy. Highly doubt it will work but it is worth a try. My professor wants me to pass. He does not want to have to deal with me any longer than he already has. I think a lot of people will be happy when the crazy liberal Presbyterian is gone. They can go back to their happy conservative ways.

I have a few papers to write for my class on American Cinema, due on Tuesday. Luckily, once I take my Revelation final on Friday, I no longer need to attend class so I will spend that time Monday finishing assignments. I have presentation to give (on Tuesday), a Tennis final to take (on Tuesday) and a computer final to take (possibly also on Tuesday). Tuesday morning there is also a graduation rehearsal. This will be the first practice we have had for graduation and the first time we are truly being told anything about our graduation. I do not think I have anything on Wednesday, which would mean that my undergraduate education would be completed Tuesday evening.

The senior events start Thursday evening. Thursday evening is the Senior Banquet at an Italian restaurant in Millis. There is so much drama surrounding that event. Considering it is my last banquet and my last social event of college, I am hoping it turns out to be a relatively drama and stress free evening. I have friends that want to go out after the banquet Thursday. The banquet does not end until 12 AM and by the time we make it back to Lancaster it will be closer to 1 AM. As much as I want to celebrate, I think I will have to pass. Friday will be dedicated to baking a cake (I am making a graduation cake for my friend Alexander) and packing. Friday night is consecration. I am not entirely sure what this service is intended for. I am under the impression that it is pretty much the same thing as Baccalaureate. Saturday is going to be jam-packed. Saturday morning I am speaking during the regular church service (Adventists worship on Saturdays) about my mission trip to Cameroon. At 11:00 AM, we have our Baccalaureate service. Finally, at 4:00 PM there is the nurses’ pinning. While I am not required to attend this, I will go to support my friends. Saturday night I will be dying my hair purple.

Sunday, May 15, I will wake up in the morning and it will finally be the day I graduate from college. Graduation is meant to start at 11:00 AM on the campus Mall. I hope that it will start on time. By 1 PM, I will be a college graduate. After graduation, I thank whoever is coming to see me graduate and then I head over to the Kirchberg house so Alexander and I can celebrate our accomplishments in style!

The next 11 days are going to be filled with large amounts of coffee and diet coke and lacking greatly in sleep but come May 15 it will all be worth it!

Graduation Dilemma

I have a plan. I graduate from College on May 15th. I start Princeton's Summer Language Program July 11. It's a two step plan. It should be pretty easy to follow. Or at least, that's what I thought. Turns out that the path to graduation is much more complicated than that. I should have known better, nothing is easy when it comes to me.

I received a letter from the registrar's office informing me that I will not be graduating in May...because I am twelve credits short. My department (Religion/Theology) is notorious for messing up students schedules. They neglect to inform students that you MUST take 16 credits every semester in order to graduate on time. Oh, and if you are a transfer student, good luck. Not all of your credits will transfer in as they are supposed to, even if you are transferring from a higher caliber school. So here I am 45 days until graduation
FREAKING OUT!


I'm working on my regular course load and now I've added twelve online credits. I am taking the online classes through another school because my college does not offer online classes. I actually only have 36 days to get all of the online work done. All transfer credits are due May 6th. So I have 36 days to get 12 credits worth of work done. I woke up at 3:30 AM to get work done today. Good bye social life. Good bye procrastination. Good bye weekend plans. Good bye any thoughts of fun stuff. Hello homework. Hello papers. Hello readings. Hello assignments. Hello caffeine. Hello sugar. Good bye sleep. Hello exhaustion.

I have decided that I can collapse due to exhaustion on May 16th. I can sleep for 48 hours straight starting the evening of May 15th if that is what it takes but I need to graduate May 15th. So any suggestions for energy and the ability to cram lots of work into a small amount of time would be greatly appreciated. Princeton's Summer Language Program starts July 11th and AUC summer graduation isn't until July 15th, so that doesn't work. Which all comes back to I MUST graduate May 15th.

Prayers are more than welcomed. Kind words are requested. Caffeine will be graciously accepted.