the beginning

And so it begins.

Sophomore year is officially underway. We've had three days of classes, and I can already tell you, its going to be a wild ride. I'm taking 19 hours, which will probably kill me, though I'm going to talk to my advisor tomorrow, to see if she thinks I should drop physics (which I'm taking in addition to cell biology, organic chemistry, and 3 other classes), or if I should just tough it out and get it out of the way. this semester is going to be legitimately insane.

Tomorrow is also (que fanfare) Season Tickets Day! I've been waiting for this day, because it finally means the beginning of football season, the best time of the year. I love going through the gate, this year with cowbell proudly in hand, and up the ramp, and seeing Davis Wade Stadium open up around me. There is no feeling more wonderful than celebrating a victory with 55,000 other members of the Bulldog family. There is no sound more beautiful than the glorious harmony of a stadium full of cowbells. I love being in a place that breathes football and bleeds maroon and white.

I'm also working on my application to work with Mission Serve next summer. Being able to work for Mission Serve is one of the few things that I want as much as life itself (the other being winning a spot in the Capture Memphis photography contest, but I'll get to that in a minute). I've been doing World Changers/Mission Serve for the past 7 years, but I want more. I don't just want to go for a week and work. I want to spend a whole summer working with the kids that are willing to give up parts of their lives to work for strangers. I want to work for those willing to work for God.

Anyways, for those of you that don't know (I'm surprised if you don't, because I sent about 100 people Facebook messages), Capture Memphis is a photography contest, whose mission is to, obviously, Capture Memphis. The winning photos get published in a book at the end of the year, but the end of the actual contest is next week, so I 'm putting in plugs for my photos whenever I can. If you haven't already voted, PLEASE go to capturememphis.com, crate an account, search for my name, and vote for my photos. This, I actually want more than life itself. One of the things on my bucket list is to be published in some form, and though I had uncredited photos in the senior yearbook, and a photo in the MSU newspaper, The Reflector, this book means so much more to me. How many people can say they have a photograph published in a book? A book. Not just a yearbook, where only a few students will see it, or a newspaper, where it will be glanced at and then thrown in the trash, but a book. A book that will be seen by maybe thousands of people. A book that will be on coffee tables around the city. This seriously means the world to me.

I still can't believe I'm a Sophomore in college. Um, 'scuse me? Can I get a refund on last year? Or like a recap dvd? I think I blinked and missed it.

lets do this.

Well, here I am. I honestly never saw myself having a blog. I can barely keep up a written journal that I keep readily available next to my bed, so how can I expect myself to consistently post something that requires more effort? We'll see how well this goes...

I've got less than 48 hours until I return to God's Country (that's Mississippi State for the uninformed) and I can hardly contain my excitement, along with a few other emotions. I'm not going to lie, I'm scared. Again. You'd think that since I've got one year of college under my belt, that I would have no problem returning.I mean, I'm not terrified like I was this time last year, but I'm a little unnerved. I have no idea what to expect in the next semester and I still have so much to do to prepare for it. I still have sooooo much left to pack, and frankly, I haven't even made my list of WHAT to pack, so for now, I'm going in blind, because, if you know me at all, you know its almost impossible for me to pack for anything without making a very detailed list. I have to get all of my books for my classes, make sure I know where those classes are, make sure I see all of my friends before I leave, see all of my family, reacclimate myself to Starkville and college life, and finally stop slacking on my Historian duties and get the Phi Lamb scrapbook done, which I have been putting off all summer and have yet to start.

I'm finally beginning to feel that Starkville is home. Not that Memphis isn't, my heart will always be here, but Starkville isn't just where I go to school. It's where I live, it's where my friends are, it's where I plan on spending the next several years of my life. I'm just so excited about Wednesday. I've got to leave home to go home. I think I'm ready. I better be :)