Monday, October 31, 2011

Valedictorian Speech. "Cause I'm as free as a bird now..."

May 20, 2011
Good evening to all of our wonderful families and friends. I can hardly believe that this day is here and that I am up here giving a speech. Graduation has always been a day that I, along with the rest of my class, thought would never, ever come. But now that it is here everything seems to be going much too fast, and I almost wish that it wasn’t. Almost. However the excitement and anticipation that I have about what is ahead of me is much too great to stay here. Tonight is the ending of the life we have known for 13 years. Being seniors, we had finally mastered the art of getting our teachers off subject and putting those worksheets off one more day and that if one person does the study guide, why should anyone else?  We have done little things like this for so long that to know I will never do that again at Douglas High School seems unreal. Tonight though is also the beginning of the rest of our lives. For weeks I have tried to think of the words to say as I stand in front of my class for the last time. I have google’d and youtube’d famous sayings and thoughts until I stumbled upon this one. This quote isn’t something that I ever thought I would use in this speech, but on a night several months ago when my heart was in pieces, a very good friend of mine reminded me of it. Since then I have looked at this quote when I’ve felt like I was so out of control of my life, and it has always made me feel a little better. From the beautiful Marilyn Monroe “I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” Throughout our lives we are going to experience things we don’t want to and meet people who are going to leave us, but all of that will just be preparing us for something so much better. We just have to keep a good attitude, push forward and try not to look back.  Our lives can be a very wonderful adventure, if we let them.
There are many people that I need to thank for sticking with me all these years. I would like to thank most importantly The Lord for blessing my life and helping me up until now. My mom and dad for everything they have ever done for me, for listening to me tell about my entire day when I came home from school for the past 13 years, and for letting me buy all the books I have ever wanted. My little brother Blake because I know he has and always will be there for me. My Mimi for always taking me shopping and letting me do whatever I want to 99% of the time. My Granddaddy for being the best there is and for always having food cooked. The rest of my family whom I love dearly and do not want to imagine life without. My beautiful, wonderful friends whom God sent to me. Matt and Andrea Long for letting me live at their house whenever I felt like it. My teachers who have put up with my eccentric ways and always seem to calm me down. Coach Otinger for teaching me how to drive. And Mrs. Erin Huffman for being the mom that I needed at school. There are so many others who I could thank, but you should know who you are.
Tonight will be the last time I will ever be together with my entire class, and I would like all of you to know that I love every one of you oh so terribly much and that this is not an ending but a beginning. To quote Lynyrd Skynyrd “For I must be traveling on now cause there’s too many places that I’ve got to see”. We are the class of 2011…and we are finished. Thank you. 

Sunday, October 30, 2011

And there's a great band of angels camped all around me

The weekend is over! Where did it go??
It's so sad, I wish I could just have a few more hours before Monday gets here, but it's almost 11 and I'm just now working on my online theatre appreciation assignment that's due tomorrow. I have stopped for the moment to blog though because this is more entertaining than theatre.
So Friday I didn't wake up until entirely too late and then got up and pretty much got ready for the Halloween Party. It was cold cold and wet! Two of my most unfavorite things, but it's okay because I still enjoy being with all of those people that I love dearly. After the party a group of us decided to head over to Gurley to the corn maze there. Lucky Andrew got stuck with me as a partner again. I was much more calm this time, but it might have been because it was so cold that that was all I was thinking about. At one point he even gave me his jacket to put over the one I already had on, haha he probably just wanted me to shut up. It was really fun though and we were lost in it for a long time, the next morning I realized how muddy it was because there was mud all the way up to the top of my boots. Good thing I had decided against wearing my new Uggs.
Saturday I was the first one awake at Kayla and Kendra's which was definitely not normal. I got up though and headed home so I could start packing for Villa Rica that night. I went with The Longs to the singing down there and wore khaki and a hair piece! What is getting into me, not dressing up for a singing?! Oh well. I got to see Dee Dee Voiles whom I love very much and have missed terribly! Kay, Ken, Bro. Matt, Sis. Andrea, and I all stayed in one hotel room... yea that means one bathroom also. It actually wasn't that bad. I did have to sleep in the middle of Kay and Ken as usual and had to fight for half of a pillow the entire night, it's okay though because we're best friends :) 
We stayed for church there again this morning and it was good and then we started the long drive home. We were so tired, but I'm so thankful I went to church tonight because The Lord sent the word of God and there was a neck hugging and The Lord sent me some help and I'm just very thankful right now. I couldn't ask for better friends, family, or church. 
I really wish I wasn't such a procrastinator. I wish I would have already finished this theatre assignment, but I just don't know exactly what it's asking me to do... ughh. I hope this week goes by fast, I'm just not in the mood for school at the moment. I am going to try and put on a smile and have a better attitude though, because that is what Bro. Totchie preached on this morning and it just sounded like such a good idea. I want to have patience and let The Lord work out my life and I'm going to try and do everything I need to so that that will happen. 
I hope everyone has a wonderful week! I love you all! 

Thursday, October 27, 2011

You tell me I'm a wreck, You say that I'm a mess, How could you expect anything less?

Have you missed me?
I've decided once again to come back to the blogging world, I've missed it.
I like having somewhere to keep the random details of my life.
I never finished my picture challenge, but oh well it's old news now.

Since I last blogged I graduated and gave an awesome Valedictorian speech that I will try and post on here soon because I am so proud of it. Summer 2011 came and went so fast, but it was interesting. I am happy to say that my parents have loosened the reigns some and are letting me start driving more and more and it's great! Our revival was wonderful, the Lord blessed so much. I went to the beach twice at the end of the summer so I had a great tan there for awhile. I have also been wearing my hair straight a good bit, which is something I haven't done in years!
Life has went from crazy to crazier! But it's good and I'm as happy as I have ever been.
I am in college which I absolutely love and am planning on going to pharmacy school to be a pharmacist, making it rain and all that ;) I am currently in the process of trying to find a job, surprised? Yea, so is everyone else ha. My time lately has been spent going to school and hanging out with the best friends. Last Friday night 8 of us loaded up and went to Birmingham in search of Sloss Furnace. It was so fun even though I might have bruised up Andrew's arm some, from trying to use him as a shield. Bro. Ricky Holman was at Rocky Branch this weekend for a mini revival and it was wonderfully amazing, I'm so thankful for the church I go to.
Today I had a demonstration speech and I did it on how to make a skirt out of a pair of jeans. I had all of this stuff I planned on saying that was all witty and whatnot, but everyone knows how fast I talk especially when I'm nervous, so I forgot half of it. I thought I did awesome on it tho and I sat down and was like yessss but then I talk to my teacher and she's like well you did this and this wrong...blah blah. I seriously think that woman is out to ruin my life sometimes, I'm like I was Valedictorian! I am smart! I did not come to college just so I could fail a SPEECH class, I mean come on this is ridiculous, but oh well I just smiled at her frowning face and left. It's all good because Thursdays are actually my Fridays 'cause I have no classes, whoo!!
Tomorrow night is the annual Fall Fellowship Festival (aka Halloween Party) at Shannon and LeAnne's, yay gonna be fun fun. Then Saturday The Longs are singing at Villa Rica, so of course I will also be going.

 I have been to so many weddings since the end of the summer! I love them though and would so enjoy being a wedding planner, I would be awesome at it! Kendra has already told me that I can plan hers :) You could probably care less about this, but it's my blog and I like lists!
1. My beautiful best friend Ashley Hovey to Patrick Cain
2. Lizzy Rice to Jeff Banzhoff
3. Friend from school Elizabeth Shaw to Matt Rucker
4. Jasmine Gaught to Jeremy West
5. Wonderful friend Melia Pittman to Jordan Cornelison
6. Another friend from school Holly Foster to Cameron Broadus

Okay here are a bunch of pictures in just (total) random order of my life from the past few months.


Headed to Chik Fil A with our hair in rollers before Ashley's wedding


Ashley's rehearsal

Girl's night! May '11

Driving with Kendra distracting me

Attempting a jumping picture

Kendra and I being weird on our way to the beach at like midnight

Mikato at the beach (me with straight hair!)

My good friend Zack and I at Senior Awards Night 
Before Ashley's Wedding

Shannon's 'girls' at the beach
Sloss Furnace Adventure (Smiling Kendra, Seth's shoulder, Back of Andrew's head, Chase turned, Mine and Natalie's smiling faces, Weirdo Caleb, and missing Kayla)