The first week of classes

My first week of classes has been good! I have one class a day, except for Wednesdays where I have two. I go to chapel everyday at 11am and then my class for the day is either at 11:30 or 12:30. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I have Comm 1. Bible is on Tuesday and Thursday, and Intro to Nursing is on Wednesday. It's working out well so far. I've had homework everyday, and it's been a little difficult getting back into the swing of things. I'm slowly getting the hang of it. I know it's no one where near the amount of work that others have, but for me it's a lot. There's a lot of different things to balance!

Last night we had a fire drill at 11:30pm. That was fun! Usually they don't tell you about fire drills and they are in the middle of the night, but they told us last night before it happened so it wouldn't freak us out with all the fires around here lately. There are still fires all over the state. You can see the smoke from miles and miles away. I'm not sure if they know what keeps starting the fires.

Some of the hardest things for me this week are from not being in school in 3 years. And actually I missed a lot of my freshman year too. We are expected to take notes, know where to find the homework assignments even when the teacher doesn't say anything about it in class, and just be more independent. Most people learned all of that in high school. I pretty much went from 8th grade to college, and it's been very difficult! I'm sure it will get easier, but it will take a while. I've never had to take notes, so I'm learning how to do that.

One of the best things about being at a Christian school is all the help you get. The teachers aren't just there for you in the classroom, but they are there for you in life and they want you to grow spiritually. They encourage you in ways that they might not be able to in a public school. It's nice to actually have teachers who want to know you and encourage you. So yes, I'm so lost in a lot of things in the classroom, but my teachers are great. They have been very understanding and want to help make this transition easier for me. I'm so thankful for that!

The best things about this week have been being able to be "normal". I get to see my friends everyday. I also get to go to school which I have missed so much! We watch a movie or tv shows together and hang out in each others rooms. My roommate and I have been going to bed at 10:30 most nights because we get so tired from everything! Lots of people are going to bed early right now! Curfew is at 12am. My roommate and I have known each other our whole lives! Our moms have been best friends their whole lives, and our grandparents have been too. It's working out very well and we are having a lot of fun! We have room check on Tuesdays where we have to clean and do specific things to our rooms. I love college and dorm life!

I also have so many great people working with me and informing my teachers of my situation. It's comforting to know that there are so many people here who have said that if I need anything at all, I can go to them!

I did have to miss chapel and Bible today because of a doctors appointment that couldn't be moved. The doctor gave me 3 options of what we can do next, so I'm thinking about it and discussing it with my parents. I will update whenever I have any new information about what we decide to do about the persistent abdominal pain.

Thank you for the prayers for all the people being affected by the fires! Please pray for direction for us as we decide what the next step will be as far as taking care of the abdominal pain. I'm not feeling very well, and have mostly been laying in my room except for going to class. I lost five pounds in two weeks which is not good, even though I've been eating normally. I think it's from all the pain and feeling sick. We are trying to decide what to do fast!


"Show me your ways, O LORD, 
   teach me your paths; 
 guide me in your truth and teach me, 
   for you are God my Savior, 
   and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4-5