Oh...Hi, O! (day 1b) Well, it's actually morning of day 2 right now, but I figured I'd give a little update on last night.

We all hopped in cars and drove an hour to Mason, OH where there is a really nice estate called Manor House or something. It's classy and sophisticated, the grounds were lovely, and there were some gorgeous gardens behind the Manor. After lots of classic oOos/aAahs that always go along with prom-like things, we took lots of pictures and then went inside for the event to begin.

The meal was great, containing a Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad (+ fantastic bread), an amazing Alfredo Pasta w/ Chicken + Broccoli, and water/iced tea and stuff. Fantastic. There were a few speech like things that went on during the meal that were nice. After the meal, we transferred ballrooms to be serenaded by a jazz band from Dayton as we visited over desert. There were many a times that members of our table, including myself, wanted to get up and dance, but I guess Cedarville has rules about that, sooo.... that sucked, but oh well. haha.

Anyways, the company was great. Rachelle has some amazing, amazing friends, and I enjoyed myself a lot, even if some of the jokes WERE directed at my age and... well, yea, that was pretty much it. Oh well, though. I don't care. Rachelle said that if they make fun of you, it means they like you, so I guess I'm fine. haha.

After the formal, we all went back to Cedarville. I was alseep pretty much the whole time in the car, as you can imagine someone who had THAT full of a day on only 2 hours of sleep might. Rachelle had lots of people over for a movie, but I quietly bowed out beforehand, choosing sleep over fun. Decisions like that stink, but I'm thinking more long-term like... I don't want to get sick this week (before FLM's children's musical).

And now I'm awake in the neighbors guest room, ever so comfy. I had an awesome talk with my brother Dave, did some devos, uploaded some pictures to facebook, and am now just... soaking it all up. Last night's festivities were very provocative of contemplation for me. I was in a room filled with hundreds of young adults just finishing the thing that I'm just getting ready to start. "I'm so ready to be done." "I can't believe it's over." and a ton of other statements similar. I'm sitting there like... wow, I'm just getting ready to start this incredible journey/time of college. I know I'm young. This sounds so incredibly horrible, and I don't mean it this way, but sometimes I forget how young I am. I don't want that to come across as me thinking I'm SOO mature or whatever, but I guess it's just that circumstances in my life have forced me to grow in so many ways. A ton of my friends are already in college. Two of my friends are graduating this year. Everyone's starting their lives, and here I am not even a full year into college yet. HOWEVER, that is not to say that I wish I could be done, because I don't. I am soooo looking forward to these next few years. I'm excited to learn. I'm excited to meet. I'm excited to experience. I'm excited for it all. After telling my mom how much I am loving having so much independence right with my life (living completely alone, doing all the chores/cleaning/lawncare/etc..., working full time, meeting new people, traveling, etc.), she pointed out to me that college (at first) is probably going to be a step backwards almost in the way of independence. Most likely, I'm a tad bit ahead of the game. It'll be weird seeing those freshmen that are crying, not wanting to be away from home. For me, I'm like... BRING IT ON!

This has been just one more thought of NEW. FRESH. BEGINNINGS. PERSPECTIVE. I love it. Things are finally starting to happen. I'm growing. I'm learning. I'm moving forward. I'm so excited. So... here's to the future.  ¶ 10:23:00 AM