Who am I?

"Laugh as much as you breathe and love as long as you live." -Author unknown. 

    Laughing.  Smiling.  Loving.  Three very important things to remember when you live your life. 

I was born in Norfolk, Nebraska.  About twenty minutes away from my home town of Newman Grove.  Population 400 tops.  We lived in Newman Grove until I was about three years old.  Where we then moved to my current town of Aurora, Nebraska.  When we lived in Newman Grove, my dad was the head boys basketball coach and volleyball coach.  I was born into sports.  For instance, I was a volleyball player for Halloween.  But not just any volleyball player.  A Newman Grove Blue jay volleyball player!  And I believe I had a crush on every single one of the varsity basketball players my dad coached. 

   Even when I was a little girl, I loved playing outside.  Making 'homemade' soup out of mud, water, ugly flowers, and grass.  I had an obsession with caterpillars, dogs, trampolines, and Barbie’s. I owned about every Barbie imaginable.  From Princess Ariel to Olympic swimmer Barbie, to Brittney Spears and the Olsen Twins.  I loved bringing them to life.  Each doll had their own personality and it seemed to stick with them for as long as I played with them.  I had quite the imagination.  I believe it's important to individualize the importance of childhood.  I had a great childhood and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

  I was always the secret trouble maker.  For instance, in kindergarten we were playing with scissors and, like most five year olds, I was curious as to how sharp they really were.  I ended up cutting my bangs and hiding them under a woodchip in hopes that Mrs. Anderson wouldn't find my hair clippings.  It turns out that red hair isn't exactly easy to hide.  It's not easy to lie to Mrs. Anderson and tell her that's not your hair when you're the only red head in the class.

   Also, on the first day of kindergarten we had scary ol' Mrs. Schmidt give us this long, over-drawn, lecture about how we go down the slide on our bottoms and that we do not ever climb the slide.  I believe I got fifteen minutes at the wall for climbing the slide.  That's how I met my kindergarten love.  I was rebellious to say the least.

    I've always been known as a go-getter.  Outgoing.  And stating my opinion.  Looking back now I can picture my middle school years. One word comes to mind.  Awkward.  From the braces and pulled teeth, to the frequent acne breakouts I would get.  I wore the same pair of jeans at least three times a week and got very comfortable with the term "pitting out."  Just looking back now makes me shutter.  During my freshman and sophomore years I had this mentality that I was better than everyone else. That I didn't really have to try hard to get the things I wanted.  That all quickly changed when I had to work for my spot as the libero for my volleyball team and when I didn't get the starting position my junior year on the basketball team, too.  I realized that I needed to work harder to achieve the things I wanted.  Halfway through my basketball season I worked hard enough and earned my starting role. 

   Towards the end of my sophomore year my best friend told me she was moving away.  At first it didn't hit me.  She was my best friend.  We were inseparable.  Practically sisters.  She couldn't leave.  It just didn't seem plausible.  But it was true and she moved at the end of June. I was hurt and broken.  It was then that I started talking to a new student moving to Aurora.  From what I could tell he was cute and very likeable.  We had been talking for about two months before we even hung out.  I knew I had a crush on him.  But what's a crush really?  I figured he would find somebody better to hang out and talk to when school started.  That's what usually happened to me anyway.  He filled the empty spaces where Ashlyn once was.  But he was different I learned.  He didn't leave me.  He didn't find another girl to be with.  He chose me. And now we're beyond best friends.  It's crazy this plan God had for me.  I learned to accept new things and to love my life no matter what happens. 

   My future is more unpredictable than this Nebraska weather.  I wish I knew what I wanted to do.  I am so indecisive.  Some days I want to design clothes, houses, rooms, magazines.  And other days I want to be a teacher, help little kids, maybe even a social worker.  I find myself thinking "but could I really do that job the rest of my life?"  I like to have nice clothes, shoes, purses, etc.  So I guess I do need a high paying job.  I wish I could take a handy machine like Phil of the Future and zip into my future to see what is going to be of me.  Who I'll marry, what kind of job I'll have, you know, all the basic stuff.

As Reliant K once said, "The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair."
I know God has a plan for me.  I just need to be patient and enjoy the ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N0yB24M7VM