The Graduate

Yes. That is me! Obviously there are strings attached to this statement, but for the most part, I am a COLLEGE GRADUATE. Huzzah!! Hooray! Praise GOD! And all those other things we could shout in a moment like this. While yes... it was already 4 days since I walked, I still feel great about it. There is a weight lifted off my shoulders that is inconceivable. Don't get me wrong. School was great. I've loved having the opportunity (or forcing my way in really) of going and getting this extra knowledge put into my little head. Some stuff felt pointless, but there are things you can't take back. Professor Alsdurf really taught me about journalism and being an ethical writer. She was with me throughout the entire struggle and I love her for that. Professor Horstman taught me to use my creativity and really to question the things I read. He was funny and made my time at Bethel easy-going (especially when I was in his classes). Bill... oh Bill. He may not have been a professional be he started when I did and that's comforting. We may have butted heads because I was never very professional and was hard to keep focused, but I think we clicked on a personal level.

There are few others that I really hold high in my Bethel career, but those are the tops for me. I also wanted to talk a little bit about the speaker at my graduation because he said something that made me WANT to remember something. His name is Dan Taylor and he had been a professor at Bethel for 33 years! That's longer than I've been alive! Can you imagine?!First he said this:

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan- like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion."

Well okay, he didn't FIRST say that... but he said it. And it was deep and moving and set at the perfect time to say it. He was really funny for the first 10 minutes of his speech. He joked about how nobody ever remember what the speakers say at graduations and that he should say something profound. So then he continued to say "blahblahblah cafeteria food blahblahblah good education blahblahblah peace" and so forth! SO FUNNY! He had the whole audience laughing. And then he talked about how he was a kid from the '60's and that they only gave him 15 minutes to talk, well he'll talk for 18th. He did get serious though. He talked about be shalom in the world. What does that mean exactly? It means to go out there and live for God and do it in everything you do. And he said that we are never unemployed. Meaning we may be in between job, recently fired, laid off, looking for a job, etc. But we are ALWAYS employed for God. We should be working for Him at all times no matter where we are. It was awesome. I think that's all I remember from his speech. Good thing I'm writing it down huh? ;)

The two best things about the day: 1) I had mom, DAD, Holly, Seward, Justin, and Alyssa at my graduation. I loved it. My mom told me that dad might not be able to come cuz he was panicking, but he CAME! I was so excited. There was something moving about him being there. He's missed so many things in my life that I think I just figured he'd skip yet another thing in my life. But it made a difference that he was there and I let him know that. And of course, I had half friends and half family at the graduation. Very typical. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way though. These are the people that mean a lot to me and I want them apart of this momentous occasion. We got to go out to lunch at Don Pablos too and that was some goooood food.

2) I got to watch Justin, Alyssa, Jesse, and Mary Velasco graduate. I'm more than thrilled to watch other people walk because I get to be with them when they have just accomplished something HUGE. With Justin... it was big. I mean I've known him for so long and I watched him walk at his first graduation, watched him give that heartbreaking speech about Travis, and watched him be acknowledged as the Valedictorian. And now I watched him graduate with three majors, two minors, and summa cum laude. He's smart and he's worked hard for everything he has done. And obviously Alyssa I'd wanna watch because she's been the Bethel friend that has been a very good friend! AND my next year living buddy.

So yah, that was my wonderful weekend. The Knapps also took me out to dinner too and that was fun. I love spending time with them. They are my second family. :)

In other news....I took Nate and Camry's engagement photos! Mind you I know that I have no experience whatsoever and that I did it for free so that I could learn, but they were very gracious about it and even bought me dinner since I spent like three hours taking photos. And I had Alyssa be my little assistant which made my job easier. They were great to take photos of.

Okay, there's a "teddy bear terror" here and it's not letting me be! Later folks! Thanks for being here with me through it all!

Amy

Rescue me

I need to be rescued. It's time to be done with finals and I feel like I haven't even made a dent in the work that is to be completed. Which is funny because I have finished two papers already and only have 1 one more plus a group presentation. There's probably also a lot of stress because I need to return books, pick up my cap and gown, babysit, do a final dinner with my roomies and the boys, and still find time to sleep and work and be social. It's just a lot and I'm getting jittery. Help!

The one wonderful bonus from all of this is that I'm getting SUPER TAN! I've been writing my papers outside on the trampoline and getting a good color while doing it. Huzzah!

I also think I have somewhere to LIVE for the most of summer! Housing has been a nightmare, but our wonderful landlord Joe is willing to let Kassi and I live here until the end of July for $300 a month. Perfect. Oh so very perfect. It gives us all time to figure out our lives. I'm really pumped. Blessing from God, that's for sure.

In other news.... no. I have nothing. I better go. It's work time. Ciao kiddos! The next time I write I'll most likely be a COLLEGE GRADUATE (minus the internship and the random stupid class I have to take at some point. Oh well, close enough)

Amy

Write Me a Song And I'll Say Yes

So I forgot to write one of the coolest posts! Well okay, maybe not the COOLEST... but pretty darn awesome. On May 16th, my friend Nate of like 7 years proposed to his wonderful girlfriend Camry. AHHHHH!!!! I just love this stuff. It's exhilarating to find people in love and willing to spend the rest of their life with one another. In a world that is so bitter towards marriage, I find it refreshing to know that sometimes there are people who will make it. At least hopefully. But there are major keys to making a marriage work. This I know, I've taken a full semester of a marriage class. So I'm now an expert! haha. I wish.

But really... we need to be with them and help them along the way. Isn't that what friends are for? Really, isn't that what the wedding party is for? I feel like I've said this before. The reason I've always wanted a big wedding party is not only because there are a lot of people in my life that are special to me, but also because those people I feel are going to support me and my husband. Ya know, keep us accountable in our marriage. They are standing up there to show the rest of the world that they agree on the marriage at hand and are ready to be apart of it to the best of their abilities. There's something amazing about a wedding party that some people aren't really aware of. That's a shame too. Maybe they don't see the party the same way I do, but it's something that is to be treasured.

Everyone is probably wondering how our wonderful Nate proposed right? WELL let me tell you... He went to Minnehaha Falls (I believe they had their first date there) and he wrote her a song, and at the end of the song he pulled out a ring and asked her to marry him. He even got her to record it (I'm still not sure how he pulled that one off) and his face looks like a puppy. Heck, I would have said yes to that face! Awwww! Just in case you were worried.... she said yes. :)

It's Complicated

So yesterday was the first day of my internship! Ahh!! Talk about stressful. The day started out just rough. I was supposed to get rid of my shift at work and I couldn't. Then there wasn't a guarantee that I would be out of work before I needed to be at the Lynx game. Oh yah, in case I didn't mention this, I am an intern for Group Events for the Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx. Well as luck would have it, Buffalo Wild Wings was super slow so I was able to leave at almost 1pm. Phew. That made it so much easier. I went and bought some new pants and I was ready to go!

Basically I intern with Eric (Alissa, friend from work, that's her boyfriend) and Joanna (she also works in group events) and three boy interns. Woo! That's just what happens when you work in the sport world. So I'm okay with it. They are all pretty nice, but I really don't know for sure. The first day is always SO awkward. You stand in silence, trying to make small talk with complete strangers. You listen to your boss and hope you are doing everything right. You try to remember what closet is on what floor in case they ask you to go to it and grab something. You listen for the directions that may or may not come as to how to line people up for a high-five tunnel. Besides all that awkwardness, first day wasn't bad!

The perks of the job? Well after we do some pre-game stuff (depending on if we have an event lined up) we basically walk around, watch the game until 5 minutes to half time, then we line some people up for the high-five tunnel, and once that is over, we are free until the end of the game. We're allowed to sit down, watch the game, eat some food (for free) and just relax. My job is more the before and after of the game than anything else. It's not bad. And we don't even get out super later. WNBA games are short. 2 hours as opposed to 2.5 with the NBA. It's kind of nice.

Some awesome people I met: Joanna. She was really nice and easy to talk to. I was with her when I was helping little kids make posters that they could raise during the game. It was adorable. But yah, she's pretty young (upper 20's I'm guessing) and she was just cool. I also met this mom who I THINK was part of the girls scouts, but I'm not sure. We did a Lynx Party with Girl Scout troops but I think some people might have been through some churches or something. At any rate, she was really friendly and really interested in what I was doing (i.e. interning with the Lynx for Bethel University) She had gone to Northwestern and her friend had gone to Crown, so we are all in the same boat school wise. That's the nice thing about my internship: Meeting lots of sweet people.

Now unfortunately it is FINALS week so I'm supposed to be extremely busy, but I'm currently writing a blog. go figure. SO I will go, be a good student for one more week, and then call it a day! Can't wait to see what this summer will hold. I'm pretty excited. Some of the aspects of my summer will be very complicated, which I'm hoping to work out soon, but otherwise it'll be great.

Amy

Between The Hours Of Midnight to Nine

The question mark hangs over you.
There are other things to ask, but tonight I'll let them hang in the tainted air of secrecy.
That one graze of your thumb on my hand; it kills me.
How is it that your lips on my slightly wrinkled forehead and the exhale on my hair, breaks my heart in only the best way?
That question mark still hangs over you.

When your sleepful mind counteracts with your sleepless body, my sleepless heart flutters in rhythmic dances in unison with you.
I can't control my breathing unifying with yours; it's maddening.
You consume me, I consume you, we turn away.
There is always a part of us that is intertwined.
But I can't shake that question mark that hangs over you.

We are awake, laughing at the mumbled fumbled words pouring out of my untamed mouth.
The morning shines light on our secrets, on something we keep from the world so they won't ruin it.
You squeeze my hand and I recall you saying my name the night before; the way it clicked across your tongue and teeth.
I can't make that question mark that hangs over you leave us

It gnaws even when you smile that freckled smile at me.
It claws even when you laugh at my sarcasm; "I'm ashamed of you too".
It pulls as you check that wrist watch that you keep in your pocket.
It wrestles as you hug me goodbye and I take a deep breath in.
The question mark hangs over you.

For a reason you are my end point.
That is why I stay and I watch you trot to your car.
The next time will be the same; awkward, distant, suddenly calming and contagious.
This has to be it for us, and I know that those questions will never take away that
Mystifying question mark that hangs over you.

Sophia Elizabeth Olson

On this day my dear dear dear friend Jennifer Lunneborg, soon to be Olson, had her little baby girl!!! :) Hopefully I can upload a picture soon!! 8lbs! Not bad for a overdue baby.


God Bless this child. Hold her close to Your heart and claim her as Yours. Thank you for such a miracle.

Cell phone pictures

I've been saving this for a rainy day and I just knew this was the moment. As posted earlier I went to an Owl City concert with Kara and Alyssa. I pretty much knew going into this that there would be a lot of screaming teeny-bopper fans. You know, the stick shaped, braces-wearing, high pitched, obsessed, boy-crazed teenagers. They're hard to miss. And we've all been there so I'm not necessarily judging them... I'm just saying they are a group of the population that exists. It's funny for the most part.

So of course the time finally came when Owl City stepped on stage. The girls went nuts, the lights decided to shine directly in our section and blind us, and the girls high pitched squeals became even more intense. But this is not the part that kills me. It's this next part that I'll share with you. Ready? These girls in front of me, had to be in at least 7th grade, pull out these cell phones (we're not talking iPhones or Blackberries.... at least they are technology crazed yet) and pull up the 1 mega-pixel camera that comes on these phones, and.... tries to take a picture. I lean over to see the magnificence these girls captured on their phone,and all you see is a blurry picture of light and black objects that might possibly be people. They tried a couple more times, and then finally put an end to their fan obsessed madness.

Why is this funny? To me, this was the first thought I had : I should write a blog about this and this is what it'll be about : people taking shitty pictures on shitty phones only to have a blurry photo of bright lights and a dark figure. And it's true! These girls probably brought their phone to school with them the next day (honestly, who doesn't have their phone tied to their hip?) and showed their friends. Or better yet, they show no one but keep it for themselves. YOU WON'T KNOW WHAT THIS PICTURE IS OF IN A YEAR!!! It'll be one of the many blurry pictures they have on their phone and they won't know if they were at an Owl City concert, a bonfire, or being abducted by an alien. Good luck with that one. And don't worry, I took a photo too to post on this lovely blog... but I can't post it right now. Patience is a virtue.


Amy

1st date

It feels like it should be the end of May. So much has happened in such a small time! This is why people write daily. Then it doesn't turn into a blog that's about a million pages long and busy dealing with all the nitty gritty details instead of delving in to one deep topic. So that's my fault. It's been busy. But hopefully I won't drone on too much. Do I do that in this blog? Is it a torture to get through? I do miss writing blogs with funny little things in the end. I'll make sure to add that at the end of this. :)

First things first, I have a great idea that I gave to Ashley (my lovely and adoring room mate). She asked Aaron, her fiance, on a 1st date today and he got really excited. Doesn't make sense? Right. Let me clarify. Sometimes people need first dates. Not because you don't know each other, but BECAUSE you known each other. Do you remember how you met the person you are with currently? Do you remember how it all laid out and the questions you asked? What did you already know about that person before you really got to know them? All these things shape our opinions of people and give us a base to go off of. But what if we started over? What would that change? Would we learn something about that significant other that we didn't know before? Would we see them in a different light? I think we owe it to ourselves for something like that. I plan on using it sooner than later. On who? You don't get to know that. And it doesn't matter. The idea is out there. If anyone wants to use this, let me know, cuz I want to know what happens after that! It'd be kind of cool. I'm betting it's refreshing.

Tonight is Megan's (yet another roomie of mine) senior art show. I'm so excited for her! Not only because she's talented, but because she needs to be done with it. The whole senior show has been really stressful for her and I hate seeing her upset about these things. Teachers are awful sometimes. They are unfair and don't get it. It's probably not fair to say about them but because I'm biased towards Megan, they get my flack. Screw you professors of art!!

The BIGGEST news I have of the week is that I got an INTERNSHIP!!!!!!!! Where? Well let me tell you! It's Group Events for the Minnesota Timberwolves/Lynx! I'm not sure if I'll love the job or hate it. I think I'll be good at it because it's right up my alley. Somehow it's counting for my internship in writing too. That's nuts. But whatever, I got a job! It's unpaid and it's going to be a lot of hours, but who cars! I'm cool! So yay for me, I feel really good about this.

This week was Lissa's birthday! And what a week we have given her! It started with an Owl City concert on Saturday night. That was pretty fun. I forgot about the band LIGHTS and how much I love them. :) It was just nice spending some time with good people in Minneapolis. Then on Tuesday we went to the Shout House where they have dueling pianos and that was a riot. It always is! These two guys play pianos at the same time and the crowd gives them suggestions of songs to play... It's just cool. I say experience some time. Anyway, on Wednesday I surprised her by taking a day adventure to Menomonie to see Seward and Lissa's sister Aryn. She was pretty excited! I took her there also because you get a free coffee from The Raw Deal, a free hoagie from Acoustic cafe, and a free truffle from Legacy Chocolates. Perfect huh?

This got long winded. I guess I better end with something funny. Uh.... what have I said recently? OH! WAIT! I have a one liner from Kara. We were driving back from Owl City concert and she said something to the affect of hitting a baby bunny once cuz it decided to RUN BACK into the street instead of staying safetly on the shoulder and Kara was like "whhhyyy baby bunny, whyyy???" OH MY GOSH it was funny. :)

<3 Amy

Lunneborg's baby is due in T-minus 2 days. Hopefully it's sooner than later!