Tuesday, February 24, 2009

It's for the Kids.

This past weekend I stood up for 24 hours. It was Dance Marathon weekend, number 11. Dance Marathon is a year-long fundraiser for the For the Kids Foundation, associated with the NC Children's Hospital right here in Chapel Hill. The money we raise goes to help the families of children in the hospital, from anything to phone cards, to parking, to meals, to things as big as monthly rents. From Friday at 7pm to Saturday at 7pm 2,000 people stood (and danced!) in a symbolic stand for those families. It was so hard but it was so worth it. It definitely was one of the most awesome weekends of my life, despite the fact that I am still sore and not caught up on sleep. Not only did we stand, but we danced and played games and had awesome times with each other. We seriously danced for over 12 hours throughout the time. Talk about not needing exercise! I'm not exercising for the rest of the month (which does only happen to be a week, but whatever).

The hardest part was during the middle of the night, when WE HAD NO CAFFEINE!!!!!!! What were they thinking? I have no idea. This is my friend Nicki, who made a sign saying "Will dance for caffeine." The first thing with ANY caffeine we got was around 4am and it was just Coke. Finally, coffee after we went to Kenan Stadium for the sunrise.









We did get coffee then, but it was only black with no sugar or creamer and it wasn't good quality coffee. That's okay, because my friend Lindsay brought us some Starbucks (around 11:30am!!!!).
She is awesome. In any case, we had an awesome time, I'm still walking around dancing, and we ended up raising almost $400,000!!!

One more thing - I have to do a debate for my New Testament class, and I've been assigned to the topic of homosexuality in the New Testament. I'm on the side that is arguing that the New Testament condemns modern practices of homosexuality. So if anyone has any suggestions or passages I can look at, or any good books to scan through, or any advice or opinions whatsoever on the topic that would be sooooo helpful! Thanks dudes. :)

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

25 is...a quarter of a century, 5 squared, the # of years my mom's been at our church...

My list of 25:

1. I get lost in books and movies. Tell me a story and I will live vicariously through it. I’ll never leave that world.

2. I like to romanticize things but I’m not a hopeless romantic – I’m a definite realist, until I fall in love. I prefer the romantic stories of true love in stories but know that it’s not how it works in real life.

3. Music is special to me. I always have music on and would be perfectly ecstatic if my life was a musical, with people singing and dancing at random times.

4. My iPod consists of every kind of music there is. From classical to movie scores to movie and Broadway soundtracks to country to rap to rock to punk to pop to Christian to choral music. And I’m content listening to any of those. I especially love songs that get big and loud at the end at the bridge, with a choir coming in – that is happiness.

5. Disney World, Chapel Hill, New York City, Salisbury, and Ireland have my heart. I want to live in Ireland at some point in my life, and would never turn down an opportunity to live in Disney World.

6. I regress to my childhood when I go to Disney World. I really feel like I’m 5 again, and I like it.

7. I turn 20 this year and I don’t want to. My college career will be half over, I won’t be a teenager (not that being a teenager is particularly awesome…), and I feel like I’ll have to grow up – I’m Peter Pan. One of my favorite movie quotes is from Benjamin Button: “I want to remember us, just as we are now.”

8. I’m quite open with my friends about bathroom issues. I like to see which people that makes uncomfortable.

9. I’m currently applying to the Radiologic Science program at UNC, and my interviewwas today. If I get in, I’ll learn all about medical imaging, and eventually do training for Radiation Therapy.

10. My practical dream job is the one I am going to do – radiation therapy. My ultimate dream job is a Professional Traveler. I wan to travel all over the world before I die. I definitely have the book and the calendar "1000 Places to See Before You Die."

11. Cancer research/treatment/prevent
ion is a passion of mine. I know far too many people who have been directly or indirectly affected by cancer and it takes lives too early and too much. I plan to devote a large portion of my life and money to this cause.

12. I have dreams of living in a big city while I’m young and living in Ireland. But I also want to live in Salisbury to be close to my parents and to my best friend. I want to be extremely involved in her and her childrens’ lives, and that would not be possible if I were to live far away.

13. I love to dance. I love the way it makes me feel. I forget everything else when I’m dancing. Afterwards, if there ever was a time to feel great and miserable at the same time, that’s it.

14. I feel like I’m always in the middle, never on one end or the other, always the middle road. And I don’t like it.

15. I’ve been single for a while now and am okay with that. I feel like if that were to change, all my big plans might not be realized. It’s my life and I don’t know if I’m ready to share it. Though of course, if an opportunity came along I would NOT turn it down.

16. I’ve been blessed with a great group of friends at home and a great group of friends at school. I love both Salisbury and Chapel Hill and am perfectly happy at either, but I don’t like having to go back and forth.

17. I still watch the Disney Channel and old Disney movies when I get the chance.

18. I would rather wear jeans than shorts. I wear jeans in the summer.

19. I wish I could pull off looking cute in a t-shirt and sweatpants, because that is my normal outfit. But I feel like I have to dress up more than that.

20. I love sunflowers and want them to be the flowers in my far-off future wedding, if it happens. There is a sunflower field in Salisbury and it makes my heart happy.

21. My fears are spiders, throwing up, snakes, and being lost alone.

22. Julius Peppers is my lover. I’m sad he’s leaving the Panthers but trust he is making the best choice for himself, and I will follow him (meaning my support) wherever he ends up.

23. On top of living in a big city and Ireland treating cancer, I want to have a Dachsund.

24. I’ve considered many careers in my life, but the one that competed most with radiation therapy was architecture. I LOVE floor plans, interior design, etc. But I wouldn’t be able to get into a school of design.

25. I would rather be active than doing nothing all day everyday. That bores me. I want to go places, learn new things, experience new cultures, see new sights, take lots of pictures. The best way to know about something is to EXPERIENCE it.

<3