look in your heart and you’ll find

Today all of the junior Early Childhood and Elementary education majors went to Harrisburg and held a math fair with students from kindergarten to third grade. I was put in a first grade room with four other girls and had a blast. It was weird being in a school again since I haven’t been in one since last fall. I have had plenty of opportunities to observe and work with the kids in the Early Learning Center on campus, but being in an actual elementary school is so different. The day for the kids was a semi-hectic one since they were only having a half day and a large group of Messiah students had taken over their school, but they were definitely enjoying themselves.

It was so much fun for all of the Messiah students as well. Each of us was in charge of putting together a math activity for the students. We then spent the morning have the children rotate through our activities. My activity involved simple addition in thier heads and then using counters to check thier answer. With the incentive of “making lemonade” and a few hershey kisses, they were all very excited to be doing math. The children would then leave from my activity and travel on to another table where they would find another game and more goodies waiting for them. It was definitely a great morning for all of us.

Messiah has come fallen into society’s latest trend…sickness. While this is probably one of the worst trends to follow, I feel as if it was inevitable. With all of the different flus and colds going around campus, everyone seems to be down with something or just getting over something. I find it surprising actually that this seems to be the first year that Messiah has really caught on to this trend. With just over 2,800 students on campus living together in a tight community, it would make sense that sickness would go around quickly and frequently. Looking back to exactly a year ago, I was actually too sick to get out of bed. At the same time though, the entire campus didn’t seem to be joining me in my sickness like people experiencing sickness this year seem to be.

In both my major and in gospel choir, people seem to be jumping on the band wagon left and right. With our first service for UVP on Sunday morning, a number of people were unable to show up because of being ill. A number of people in choir have gotten sick since then. Rehearsal on Monday seemed especially empty. The education major is definitely feeling the strain of sickness as well. With the workload of the semester really starting to pick up I can’t even imagine all of the work that is piling up behind them, which always seems to be the worst part about being sick: once you get over the actual sickness you feel worse coming back because of everything you have to do to catch up.

I am especially greatful for my ability to get out of bed and go to classes this year though. While I too have gotten sick, I luckily have just gotten a running nose and slight sore throat which is already gone. I pray that I continue to stay healthy and those around me do the same or get healthy!

In strict contrast to my last post, it is a beautiful fall day at Messiah today. After having a very rainy and cold homecoming weekend, the past few days have been sunny and warm. It is nice to have one last little bit of warmth before the cold of winter (no matter how much I LOVE winter). The whole atmosphere is just sunny and cheerful today, and I’m sure that it has everything to do with the fact that today is the last day of classes before fall break. Once classes are over today students will all be leaving campus to go home or visit friends. After almost two months of classes, everyone is ready for a break including the professors.

This year I have decided to go on a service trip over my break. Tomorrow around noon, I will be leaving campus with five other students and heading down to Headwaters, Virginia to a youth camp. Even though we do not know exactly what we will be doing there, the thought is that we will be helping with a lot of the overall camp maintance and joining campers in activities over their weekend retreat. Last night, our group had a small get together in order to get comfortable with each other before traveling four hours in a van together and then spending four straight days together. Even in the small amount of time that we spent together, it looked like it is a great group and that we are going to have a great trip. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for our trip. I will am sure I will have a lot to blog about it when I get back to Messiah.

As I sit here writing this post, I can not sit still and I cannot understand why. Today has been just one of those days where I have gone back and forth from being hyper and energetic to completely drained and then back to completely hyper. Sitting in my Bible class today, I could not sit still and was in the mood of laughing at almost everything (even those things that were not actually funny), which I’m sure was much to the chagrin of those around me. This action is currently continuing as I sit here in the office and I’m sure will continue as I go on to pick up things at the library and go back to my room to work on finishing my massive Children’s Literature paper that is due tomorrow.

Funnily, when I look back to a year ago today, I was in the exact same mood. On October 8th, 2008, I traveled up to Scranton in order to see Jason Mraz, and if any of you know me and my love of Jason you can assume I was pretty excited and needless to say…a little hyper. It is funny that a year later I am in the same exact mood, despite not going to see Jason tonight.
But despite my unexplainable craziness today, I do have things to be excited about…

1. The week is finally coming to an end. As I wrote in one of my past blogs, it has been a very busy past two weeks filled with papers, class presentations, tests, etc. etc. Even though the busyness of life will not end once I hand in my children’s literature paper tomorrow morning, it will be a definite relief to know that the past two weeks are over and all of the work that I had to do is completed.

2. Going along with school work…it is extremely exciting for me to say that I took the dreaded EDUC 301 Phonics test last night and feel pretty confident in how I did. Since I have done a number of my education classes a little out of order, I have always been in a class with junior elementary education majors in the fall and have heard their fears in taking this test, which is a two hour long, 120 question mid-term taken at night filled with a ton of information on phonics generalizations and early reading theories and practices. Knowing that I have never been able to understand phonics led me to have some worries about this test even two years before I would be having to take it myself. However, after all of the preparation that we did in class and then studying on my on for the test, I felt well prepared. So if you are an Education major awaiting this test…do not fear. You will be ready. But it is exciting to finally say, “I have survived the Phonics test!”
3. I am going home tomorrow for IUP homecoming. I have yet to be home since arriving on campus at the end of August and am not planning on going home again until Thanksgiving, so it will be nice to take a break and visit with family and friends. I love IUP homecoming too. Despite some of the cheesy things that we do, it is always fun to go watch the parade and  go to the football game. It is also just an exciting time in Indiana compared to the typical weekend in Indiana. Needless to say, I cannot wait.

So as I go off with the rest of my day…I am excited. There are lots of good things ahead of me and lots of worries behind me. Watch out world! Alyssa and her hyperness is about to leave the office!

It is now fall and October. In some ways, it is crazy to think that the first month of school is already done. In others, its hard to believe that we still have two months until finals. This month is going to be a busy one. As we fall into the month of changing leaves, pumpkins, Halloween, etc. etc., I see so many things that are coming up on my calendar. Not only do I have a ton of school work to do this month, but there are a ton of events going on as well. Next weekend I am going home for IUP homecoming. The following weekend is Messiah’s homecoming. The week after that brings fall break. We then finally come to Halloween and November. With everything that I have in front of me, I hope the busyness helps the month to go by quickly. Again, a paradox occurs though. While wanting everything to go quickly because of excitement and anticipation, I won’t want individual events to go by quickly. For example, I can’t wait to go home and see everyone again, but when I do I also know that I will not want to come back to Messiah only two days after leaving. I’m sure the same will be true for fall break. Even though I have decided to do a service trip this year instead of going home or visiting friends, I’m sure it will be such a great exerience that I wont want it to end either. Looking outside at the falling leaves, getting to watch football on tv, and hear stories from home about my 12-year-old brother’s successes in his first year of football excites me to no end, but I also just can’t wait to see snow and make it to the end of the month where everything will be crossed off of my calendar.

This semester I am taking my Bible gen ed class. Considering this is a class most Messiah students take as a freshman, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into class on the first day and see a number of upperclassmen including two girls from my FYS. After being in the class for four weeks, our first test is on next Tuesday. Having your first test or paper in any class is always hard. You never really know what to expect. How harshly is the teacher going to grade it, what does he/she see as most important in assessment, what type of questions are they going to ask and in what amount of detail etc. etc.

This class especially has been an interesting one. As many classes at Messiah do, this class has caused me to think mch more criticallyabout what I believe than before. I have felt the same way in CCC, theology, philosophy, etc. etc. It is interesting that even though Messiah is a Christian college and most everyone has the same fundamental beliefs in God, the more discussion that goes on in and out of class, the more you realize how many different beliefs there are. Throughout this first unit of Bible, we have gone in depth talking about the creation of the Bible: how it was written, God’s part in its origin, how we view the Bible, etc. etc. Through all of our discussions and listening to all different points of view it has really gotten me to think about what I truly believe about the Bible. Many of the things I would have thought to be my belief, I have realized didn’t make as much sense to me or didn’t encompass my full set of beliefs as well as another belief might. Now that I am more aware of my own beliefs as well as those of others, I can now take what I know and more completely try to form my own ideas. Hopefully studying for my upcoming test and writing my reflection paper on the unit this weekend will help me to do just that.

Today is the first day of classes at Messiah College and I have successfully made it through two classes including square dance and Bible. It is so hard to believe that summer is already over and that all of campus is back and ready for fall semester. I’ve been here for only two days but it all just seems so normal and as if I have been here forever already. It is great to come back and meet up with friends again, go to chapel as one big community again, and just get reacquainted with the atmosphere of Messiah. So while I dreaded coming back and having to start class and be away from the comforts of home, now that I am here there are no problems. I am glad to be back and get back to my life at Messiah (despite still missing summer).

This summer was absolutely amazing! Looking back at everything that happened this summer I really just want to live it all again (don’t we all wish that at times haha). This summer was largely defined by work and friends. At home I work at a daycare and I absolutely love it! I also spent a lot of time helping out with children’s ministries at my church this summer. I taught the 2 and 3 year old Sunday School class and spent a majority of Sundays helping out with children’s worship during the two services as well. I miss my all of my little kids so much now that I am gone. Being with them is definitely affirming what I am being called to do, work with children. Everyone always says how you should love your job and I truly do. It is funny to me at times, that I am actually working and getting paid for what I am doing since I do love it soooooo much.

Since my friends and I are getting older it is getting harder and harder to get our entire friend group (there are 12 of us) together. There were so many of my friends traveling the world or taking summer classes at their campuses this summer that there were really only a few of us left. Those of us who did stay behind in Indiana had a great time together though. We saw so many movies, had a number of bonfires, went out to eat or get coffee numerous times, and we also went to a Jason Mraz concert (August 11th, Jump the Line passes leading to front center standing spots, the best day ever!) Altogether it was just a great summer! I miss everyone terribly now that summer is over. It was so hard to say bye to everyone especially being the last to leave, but being back at Messiah is always good too.

It is the last Monday of the year. Granted we have finals next Monday still, but it is our last Monday of actual classes. The beginning of February, when we started Spring Semester, seems like yesterday and it also feels like years ago when looking back at it. It is sort of crazy to think about it all. Today is one of the gloomiest Monday’s ever too. Walking outside into the pouring rain first thing in the morning is never a good feeling. That feeling is even worse when it is Monday morning though. After a weekend of partying for my roommate, Danielle’s, birthday and doing a little bit of work, it was hard to get out of bed and actual go to class today. The rain outside made that feeling even worse. It is extremely nice to know though that after turning in two major papers today, I will only have one day of classes, 3 tests, and a presentation left until the semester officially comes to a close.

This weekend, as stated above, was as pretty good mix of work and fun. Since Danielle’s birthday was yesterday, we sort of had a weekend of celebration and had a good time going out and having fun. Friday we went to Panera for dinner and then went to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past with Matthew McConaughey. Saturday, we basically just hung out and watched movies as well as got a little bit of work done. Sunday, after doing work in the afternoon we went out to Red Robin for dinner and then came back for cake. It was an overall really good weekend. It was especially nice to get everyone together for one of the last weekends of Sophomore year.

This has been a very eventful week. Not only has there been the business of classes and the end of the semester occuring, but there were a number of special events which have gone on as well.

Last Saturday was United Voices of Praise’s Concert of Praise. Some of my family as well as my best friend from high school and her friend from school all came for the concert. It was great to visit with them. It was especially nice to go out to eat and then have everyone from home meet everyone from school. Saturday was also such a gorgeous day in general. It became so hot in the church that we decided to just wear our t-shirts for the entirety of the concert instead of robes the first half and t-shirts the second. It was different, but it was definitely nice to not have to die of heat in our robes.

I also went to see Gavin Degraw with three friends this week. The concert was amazing! It is surprising the Gavin Degraw would come to Harrisburg and do a performance at the Whitaker Center, but I am definitely glad that he did. Up until this year I had only ever been to one concert, and in the past seven months I have been to three. It makes me laugh to think that all of the sudden I have taken up concert going basically out of no where. Even though Jason Mraz’s concert was by far my favorite, all three of them have been amazing. The four of us even had fun just hanging out before and after this past concert as well.

Yesterday was one of the busiest days as well as relaxing though in the past week. Yesterday was Service Day at Messiah (the day where there are no classes and all offices are closed in order for students, faculty, and employees to go out and do some sort of service project during the day). I participated in Special Olympics. I did the same thing last year and both years have proven themselves to be amazing experiences. Special Olympics is the biggest service project that Messiah participates in because it is one campus and a number of people are needed either to be a buddy to a participant or to run an event. The past two years, I have worked at the high jump and have moved the bar to up and down as well as reset it after it fell down. Now at first this job might not seem very important or completely as a great act of service and rightly so.  Granted it needs to be done and without it the process would just take even longer than it already does, but there is also so much to it. Just standing there and watching the participants as they jump over the bar is life changing. They are always so incredibly proud of themselves and you can tell how much fun they are having. It is amazing to see how much life and enthusiasm these kids have. Even the littlest thing that you can do in order to help someone and make their day a little brighter, can truly make your life a little brighter as well.

It is amazing how close we are to the end of the semester. With only a month left of classes and then only one additional week for finals, we do not have that much time left. Looking at my calendar of things that have to get done in the next month though was when this actually hit me. All of those papers and projects that we were told about the first day of class and then quickly forgotten about now have due dates which are slowly creeping up on me. This past weekend, even though I did have time to relax, I had a bunch of work to do as well. Today consisted of taking a test and handing in a paper. Tomorrow consists of a paper and a debate. Even though the rest of the week after tomorrow is pretty clear and begins Easter break, there is still much to do over break and as so as I get back.

Despite the stresses of classes wrapping up and work being piled on, it is nice to know that there is only one month left until I am half way through my college career. It all seems to have gone by so fast the past two years, but I also still have those two years left of my college years to cherish. Oh my.

P.S. Happy Birthday Jessica!