It's WGI week!!

It's my absolute favorite week of the year. I am pumped!!

Not only do I get to miss a few days of class (I need a break desperately!!) but I also get to travel to Dayton, Ohio, with 20 high school students, a director, and 27 parents. The children are competing in WGI World Championships. Below is an excellent video explaining what WGI is.

It's time to bring it. 

Please pray for safe travels for myself and the rest of the staff and ensemble!

Stereotypical Judging

I wouldn't say I'm particularly a stereotypical girl, so in my mind I've always thought I was immune to such stereotypical judging, myself.

This weekend, my theory was blown to bits.

I was visiting my younger brother at his college down south. His fraternity had been awaiting my arrival for hours. He told me, "One's a Pakistani, but he's cool. Another is a retired Marine." Most others, I heard, were just the typical frat guys.

It wasn't until I met them that I realized I'd been stereotyping. We met Zain Hussain, and the name told me all I thought I needed to know. Terrorist.
Zain speaks better English than I do. He's perfectly polite, a personal trainer at the university gym, and SGA President. I mentally slapped myself in the face. He was the picture of an upstanding citizen.

The Marine followed closely behind. He was short, chubby, and a nerd. In my mind, I'd imagined Mr. "Tall Dark and Handsome" with cut muscles and a deep voice. Sigh... I was sadly mistaken with this one.

Soon, we went to the fraternity house to meet his other brothers. I'd expected roman columns outside, red brick, with huge greek letters sculpted above the entrance... what I got was a ranch style home from the 60s, with run-down interiors and hardly a trace of furniture. I met rednecks, geeks, that rich kid who only owns POLO, and those five guys who insist on drinking until they pass out. Overall, nothing like I'd expected.

I've been judging people based on who they're affiliated with, what they wear, look like, sound like, portray as a first impression. This is wrong. There's that overused phrase "Never judge a book by its cover" that keeps coming into my mind, and it seems fitting in this instance.

I was pleasantly surprised (and not-so-pleasantly surprised at other times) by these brothers. It reminded me that I need to step back and meet a person for who they are, without bringing in all my preconceived notions.

It was a subconscious thing I did, but now I'm consciously avoiding it. How about all of you? Are there any stereotypes that need to be broken down?

It's Spring Break time!!

Well it's official; spring is here!

And by spring, I of course mean 'summer' because it's already hot.

I'm thankful we have sunny days, though, even the ones that get uncomfortably warm. Some people never get to experience that kind of warmth.

Last week was spring break, and I hope all of you had a nice vacation from school. I know I did!

My older brother and I drove to Pensacola Beach and stayed for a few days. We visited with friends and even went to one of my younger brothers' colleges.

He's in a fraternity-- Kappa Sigma. All the guys seemed nice enough, but it makes me glad I never joined any greek organizations. All they seem to care about is money and booze.

Beyond those few days of relaxation, I did a large chunk of homework and visited with my Japanese friend who came back into town for a week. She is awesome.

Anyway, for those of you interested, there are 39 days until graduation (not including today). Only 21 of those are school days!! Get excited. The semester is almost at its end.

We can do this. I am 'the little engine that could' and so are you!

Good luck, and God bless!