Summer Trips : )

Wow, I haven't written in a while.. Here I go:

Honors Symposium at Harding University
I went there to get three hours of college credit in English and to check out the campus because I know my parents want me to go there. I was a little nervous because two weeks would be the longest amount of time I've spent away from home. On top of that, I was going to be spending it with fifty complete strangers.

I spent the best two weeks of my life there!

It was so different from all the other experinces I've had from meeting people. They didn't know anything about me, they were so accepting of people, and they were nice and wanted to have fun. Needless to say, I made some really good friends.
I never ever thought I'd want to go to Harding U, but that trip has made me change my mind... I'm not saying I'm set on going there, but now it's one of my top choices. I'm still keeping my options open. My roommate asked me to be her roommate for freshman year at Harding. I just jumped in and said I would. I've got all senior year to think about it, after all.


Cross Country Camp
I always have a good time on this trip, but it was so different because of the relationships I formed during Symposium. Usually, I feel close to everyone, but I realized that my relationships from Symposium are stronger than most of the ones I have at home... Normally, this would be the highlight of my summer, but too many things have changed.


White Station Jr. High Camp
Honestly, I was counting down how many days I had till I could go home. I didn't really want to be there. I'm not too close to my youth group, but I tried to make the most of it. I was a counselor for the first time and that was an interesting experience, to say the least. I had 8th grade girls. Oh, the drama.... Two girls started crying because one girl thought another girl gave her a dirty look. Are you kidding?? It makes me wonder if my drama was ever that stupid. The days came and went and it was finallly time to go home.

A relief..

To leave church camp....

Something's wrong.

Now I leave tomorrow for a cruise. That should be fun! My best friends and cousin, Meredith, is going, so it'll be a PARTY!

I seem somewhat negative in this post, but really I feel like my summer has been awesome. I'm ready for school to start so I can see everyone again. And I'm really excited about SENIOR YEAR!

Take a turn for the better.

Oh, the ebb and flow of life.

It drives me crazy.

So, I lied when I said I was letting everything go.... But maybe this time...
Things have been messed up lately, but this afternoon was da bomb! I've finally let go of all my troubles with the help from a friend I wouldn't've expected.

For now, at least.

I'm just enjoying myself right now.
Its Friday. I've got the whole weekend ahead of me! The whole weekend to be free, make things right, then pretend nothing ever happened.

I love this plan : )

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Solid fo sho.

; )

April 9th-11th

I'm getting up early to write this because I wouldn't have time otherwise.

I was reminded of why I love music so much on Thursday night. : )

Friday=prom

That night/morning was one of the funnest I've experienced in a long time.

I got ready at Claire's house with a couple girls. Two or three hours would be long enough to get ready, right? Nope. It was so chaotic!

When we met up with everyone else to wait for the limo, I noticed there were a lot of people there that I didn't really know.

But I didn't care.

Everyone ate dinner pretty quickly because we were excited about prom. It was like being a little kid again and standing just outside an amusement park.

Everyone went to a gas station and bought an energy drink and chugged it in the limo before we went into prom. I thought it was a good idea to get 5 Hour Energy. Boy, was I wrong. 5 Hour Energy? Try NINE HOUR ENERGY. That thing worked from 9:30PM-6:30AM.

We finally arrived at 9:30. Everyone looked so pretty.

I've never had that much fun with a bunch of people I hardly knew.

After we danced for a while and around 12: 30, we all piled into the limo again and went to Liz's house for an all-nighter. I am proud to say that I'm no longer an all-nighter virgin. As soon as the sun came up around 6 or so, people began to feel the hours wearing on them. Our bodies were so tired, but our minds were alive. Freakin 5 Hour Energy. At 6:30 we ate breakfast and watched the Fairly Odd Parents. Then I went home and slept from 7 to 1.
: )

------------------------------------------

This week feels different. In a good way, though. I feel.....happier. I think I'm finally giving up on worrying about all the stuff that's been going on in my life. What certain people do, what they think or say about me, how they look at me.....Drama. I'm sick of having problems with friends who used to be close.

Well, I'm letting it go.

Friendships in Chicago.

Chicago is beautiful in its own crowded, dirty way.

On the way back I wished I didn't have to leave. Now that I'm here, I feel relieved to be home.
None of my really close friends went on this trip, so I was hesitant about going. I'm glad I went. It helped me branch out.

It's so interesting to see who bands together under the pressure of the comfortable when they find they're alone.

I got along with a girl I usually avoid for the sake of company. Wild.
I floated from group to group throughout the days.

It's so weird to be among groups of friends all the time, but not belong to one of them.

I've experienced this a few times before, but I've never been mostly okay with it until this trip. It definitely makes me realize how important friendships are. Not belonging to a friend group made me appreciate the little things people did. It made me value the people who didn't know me well, but talked to me anyways.

It made me see that some people will do a lot of things just to have some sort of company. To avoid loneliness. Even if they're sitting in silence.

All this reminds me of two friendships I'm trying to shake. Maybe I shouldn't push them away so easily.....

I'm super tired, so I'd better get to sleep.

Solid.

I found a Samantha flower! I feel special now.

: )

Description: A porcelian pink flower color and delicate pink and yellow markings are complimented by the rosette plant form. Compact habit.

The flower isn't very popular, though. That's the only information I could find about it.

With my spare time, I decided to do some research on my name.

-Samantha-

English: "listener"

It's from an Aramaic version of Samuel.

The suffix -antha comes from Greek which means "flower".

-antha is derived from Athena.

Samantha is also the name of and electropop song performed by Norwegian singer Margeret Berger

Samantha is the name of a romance blockbuster.

-Elizabeth-

English: "Oath of God"

It's from the Greek name Elisabet which is from the Hebrew name Elisheva meaning "God is my oath", "God is my abundance", or "God's promise".

Spring Break has been fun so far, even though one of my favorite people is skiing in Utah for the break.
I'm visiting colleges Wednesday, Thursday, and possibly Friday. The colleges I'm visiting are:

Auburn

Belhaven

Samford

U of M

I'm looking forward to it.
Hopefully it'll quench my thirst of getting out of town for a little.
Belhaven called me earlier today. I missed it, and when I called back I left a message that consisted of tripping over words, the word "uh", and my giving only my first name.

Brilliant, Samantha.

So....

Whoa!

http://im-a-bird.deviantart.com

Check it out.

Escapism

I wish I had a mystical island I could disappear to.

...I daydream too much.

Ahem. So Spring Break is coming up. My plans=...nothing. Uhm, good.

I want to travel.

See new things.

Experience new places.

Meet new people.

Well, I think what I really want is an a d v e n t u r e.

Because, for right now, I'm not sure I'm satisfied with Easy-Going.

Here's the deal:

I finally got cable back today! I need to catch up on LOST and The Office now.

So...while I disappeared for a short time I moved. It's kinda hard to get used to. I can't wait to get my room fixed up, but the sad things is that I'll only be in it for a year and a half. Oh well.
I've also managed to get sick. Blah.

Play practice is making me tired. Play practice plus sickness doesn't lead to anything pleasant. During school days I'm trying to learn something and to not fall asleep. And sadly, since I'm walking through school in a daze, one of my relationships has diminished slightly. I wish I could make the person understand that I can't constantly be animated and think everything's so exciting when I can hardly think..... Sigh. It's complicated and I don't feel in the mood for ranting right now.

I bought a book from my Spanish teacher, Mr. Shockley. It's a collection of poems by Robert Frost. I'm excited about it!

I've begun to realize my junior year is slipping between my fingers. Everyone told me this would happen. When this year started I thought that's what I wanted. I wanted this year to fly by. Now I'm not so sure.

Well, I took some NyQuil earlier and it's starting to work.

Solid.

An interesting idea.

One day I was reading and stumbled across this:

Miss McCleethy shakes her head thoughtfully.

"True progress can only happen when there is safety first."

"What if safety...is only an illusion?" I say, thinking aloud.

"What if there is no such thing?"

"Then we fall. Chaos," says Miss McCleethy, annoyed with my questions.

"What if that is only the beginning of something new? What if, once we let go, we are freed?"

"Would you take that chance, Miss Doyle?"

----An excerpt from The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

Thoughts?