A Very Lucky Girl

Based on the past few days, I've learned that an unfamiliar situation in which no individual has an upperhand in the ways of the culture is a surefire way to make friends. I cannot even count on one hand how many people I've met and names I've learned in the past two days BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY! I went to a welcome reception last evening where they served wine (hey, OU, take a hint) and I bonded with people I'd never met in my life.  Nat, Laura, Keira, Erin, etc. are women I'm going to know FOREVER. My friend circle has grown enormously in the past day, from Canada to Australia and everywhere in between.  I sat in a circle with Erin, Nat, Kylie, and Laura last night while we traded stories of mysterious flatmates and horrific jet lag. Our group grew when Keira from Canada and several girls from the Netherlands took the initiative and pulled their chairs up to ours.  I'm so glad they did! We came up with the idea for a facebook group for all of us studyin...

My time at Sandy Beaches is almost up and it has certainly been an adventure!  Take yesterday for instance.  A customer, I'll call her K, came into the store in tears. I had met her only once before, but I immediately leapt up from my seat, and came around the counter to hug her.  I'm no stranger to tears. And hugs usually don't hurt.  She confided in me that she had found out sad news about many of her friends recently. Her husband is also seriously ill and she feels like everyone around her is dying. She is also seriously worried about her son.  I listened as best I could as other customers came in and out of the store to tan. I had nothing profound to say. I cannot understand her struggle, but I can imagine.  I finally set her up in her tanning bed and on her way out she stopped again to talk to me.  She told me I was a blessing to her. She told me she sees caring and love in my eyes, to the point where my eyelids are white (what?). She told ...

I love so very many things about traveling. I love every kind. The kind where you walk somewhere. The kind where you drive to a new state. And especially the kind where you get your wings and fly across state lines.  Airports seem to disintegrate social divides, even with notions of first class and coach. Everyone is on an equal playing field, dependent on the airlines for a schedule. Real life is suspended in an airport terminal. When I flew to Baton Rouge to visit Mimi and Didi, I met the nicest characters on my return flights. One rather large man had the unfortunate privilege of sitting next to me in a middle seat. He wedged himself into the space and I graciously offered him the armrest, but stubbornly held on to my window seat winnings. He made small talk, offering that he was traveling back from a Bachelor party in New Orleans with a large group and had once upon a time wanted to major in English Literature. After take off, I inserted headphones and lost myself in round af...

I wouldn't call myself a skeptic exactly when it comes to the power of God. I don't doubt that it exists, but I do doubt that His power works in MY life, personally. I'm so insignificant in this universe of billions of people.  But it's hard to not be in awe of some mind-blowing coincidences that occurred two weekends ago.  That Thursday night was hard and I found solace in James 1:2-4, a verse that proclaims that "perseverance finish its work so that you may be MATURE and COMPLETE, not lacking ANYTHING."  Tyler and I met to talk on the Friday night (I definitely ended up using 3 sturdy napkins to mop up my tears) and he shared with me that he had watched a Life Church sermon that morning. A sermon that focused specifically on James 1:2 and the concept that "sometimes it takes what no one wanted to bring what everyone needed."  I sat there, stunned that out of the 10, 563 verses in the Bible, we both found separate comfort in the same one.  But ...

I was sitting in the Starbucks on Campus Corner during dead week, snatching a few extra minutes of studying before heading out into the brisk night, when a stranger haphazardly approached me. Our conversation transpired as follows: Would you switch seats with me? Uhhh why? Cuz I want to sit by the window. [nervous laughter] Well so do I. can I sit with you then? [indicates the entirely separate table merely shoved up against mine by a prior customer] Uh yeah you can sit there, it's fine. [buries head in notes, hoping to deflect any further advances] What's your name? Is that what I think it is? [touches rape whistle on my keychain laying on the table] Yep, it's a rape whistle. [not so subtle emphasis on the rape] Oh. so what's your name again? Taylor. What do you do? I go to school Oh I dropped out in 10th grade and got my GED. i might go to OCCC in january though. My boyfriend went there. [quick insert of boyfriend line. GOT EM.] Oh cool. What's h...