Day 2- Your Crush... awkward?

So today I babysat all day... and it was actually really enjoyable! I watched lots of Blues Clues, so when I came home to my roommates and it was time for me to check my mailbox, I sang the mail song! I think I'm enjoying these educational cartoons more than Josiah haha. Tonight I have tons of homework I need to finish, a dirty room I need to clean, and I realllly should do my laundry, but that just doesn't sound like very much fun right now. Tomorrow I have an informal interview with an after school daycare program in Petaluma. If I get the job that would mean 18 hours of work per week (2 jobs), 18 units (6 classes), plus the Leadership Development Program at church (I'm a small group leader on Sundays)... Once again I have to wonder, what am I getting myself into?! But I have to say that I'm excited to be busy (:

Okay so getting on with my whole letter a day thing... I look at my little preset list and it says to write one to my crush. I have a tiny problem with this. I absolutely hate using the word "crush" as a noun like referring to a person! I have no problem saying, "oh I have a little crush on him" because that seems to sound cute, but saying that someone is my "crush" makes me sound like I'm in 2nd grade. But I'm still going to do it; I don't want to back down from the challenge after just one day... I'm just going to write this to a future "crush" (like someone I hope to meet in the future), since a real "crush" doesn't really exist right now.

Dear "Crush",

Whoever you are... I'm waiting for God to bring us together. Currently, I'm pretty sure you haven't yet entered into my life. It's a nice thought though, that one day (maybe sometime soon) you might just show up. I hope you know that I'm being very selective in choosing "crushes" these days, so I hope you don't let me down. Tall, dark, and handsome would be nice (haha just kidding!). But seriously, I pray that you're a good man of God who will challenge me to be a better person. I don't think I can write much more than this since, after all, you are still kind of a mystery guy. (:

XOXO- Erika

When you come face-to-face with the storms of your life, the disheartening trials and tribulations, success or failure is not dependent on the circumstance. In fact, the outcome is not dependent on what happens on the outside, but rather what happens on the inside. The deciding factor between success and failure is what you submit to: fear or God.

30 day letter challenge, DAY 1!

As I was looking at my news feed on facebook, I came across something my friends were posting from their blogs called the 30 day letter challenge. Every day for 30 days you write a letter to a different person; there's a preset list of people. So I decided to start this! I may not write every day for 30 days straight, but I'll try! And along with writing a letter, I'll throw in a tiny update about my day... Here goes nothing!

Today was long, tiring, boring, and filled with school. I now have 18 units and 3 psych classes... Not completely sure what I've gotten myself into. But anyways, I'm determined to get amazing grades this semester. And I cannot wait to babysit tomorrow and get away from campus for the day... School is already making me feel like my head is going to explode!

DAY 1- Your Best Friend

Dear Best Friend,

I'm pretty positive you know who you are. We had a tiny rough patch last year, but can I just say that I am so happy that we have remained so close despite the distance college has put between us. I feel like I can talk to you about pretty much anything, and I wouldn't trade our weird conversations for anything. It's nice to know that I have someone in my life who won't judge me and will be honest with me about stuff.

We've known each other for so long, and I really hope that we stay close over the years to come... I can't imagine life without you! I love that we always both feel like shopping and that tanning in my backyard became one of our favorite things to do this summer. You're such an amazing friend, and I really wished we lived closer to each other because seeing each other only once a month seems like nothing! Pretty much to sum it all up, I'm glad you're my best friend... Love you girl!

XOXO- Erika

College, Round 2!

So here I am, back at school. Exciting? YES! Stressful? Most definitely! It's been fun being back up here; I especially love being reunited with my friends. I am just already feeling the pressure of taking 6 classes and 17 units... Welcome back to college! Despite the work load, I am still finding lots of time to have fun. Living with 5 girls that I love means that I always have someone to hang out with! We have already had so many funny moments and quite a few "family" dinners. (:

This year I'm living with Chloe, Kaitlin, Liz, Jenna, and Anne.
Chloe is one of my suitemates from last year. She is sooo energetic, but she has such a big heart. She loves to cook for other people and she's going to start volunteering at New Vintage in the nursery, which makes me really excited! I'll finally have someone to sit with on Sundays at church!
Kaitlin is Chloe's roommate this year, and was one of my best friends here last year. She is one of the most genuine friends anyone could ask for. She's hilarious but also very serious about her studies. She also loves everything that I bake, which makes me love her all that much more!
Liz was one of my first friends at SSU. She has such a strong love for God, and we share a lot of the same beliefs which makes it easy for me to talk to her about stuff. She is also one of the weirdest funniest people I've ever met.
Jenna is Liz's roommate and she keeps us laughing! She's an amazing dancer and has seriously the best fashion sense... Needless to say, I will be raiding her closet often this year.
Anne was one of Kaitlin's suitemates last year, and she has the other single room this year... She more than deserves it! The girl is smart... and what my mom calls "shiny". She has a great personality and is always so happy!

I love love love all my roommates; I think I'm in for a great year! Unfortunately my classes are extremely boring. Also, between my 8 million hours of class, studying, babysitting, and being in the leadership program at church, I don't have a lot of time for much else. I love being busy and using my time for productive stuff, it's just that I got SO used to taking naps everyday of summer... obviously naptime is over. :(

I just cannot wait until I am done with general ed! I hate having to take classes about things that I don't care about! I'm ready to have a full schedule of psych classes. (: But for now, I'm enjoying the fact that I'm still 3 years (or at least I hope) from graduating and having to worry about the rest of my life. I'm ready to grow up and be done with school, but I'm not ready to grow up and pay for everything, have kids, and all that stuff. I think I can wait for a few more years... Even though my parents have informed me already that they're saving my old beanie babies for "the grandkids"... scary thought.


Our life is full of brokenness - broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God's faithful presence in our lives.
(Not sure where that's from... But I love it!)


PS... Mom and Dad, I finally updated this thing, and I would just like to let you know that I put off studying for this. (:

Summertime(:

So I'm about halfway through summer, and I've found myself being extremely lazy! I wanted to use this summer to get into shape and go the gym more often, but exercising just never sounds all that fun to me. I have really been enjoying the time I've spent with my friends and my parents while I've been home... I think that's been the best part of being back in Clovis. Of course, the heat sucks; like it is just terrible having to drive anywhere after my car has sat outside all day. I have been babysitting a lot lately though. My mom's boss (and now technically my boss), Breanne, has kept me occupied; I drive her oldest daughter, Micaela, to dance every week, and I babysit her youngest daughter, Allison (or La Petite as I like to call her), a couple times a month. I also babysit their cousins, Chloe and Arden. All of them are just amazing little girls to watch, they definitely keep me on my toes and there's never a dull moment! This next week I'm finally getting to go visit Kaitlin in San Diego, I can't wait! It's been so weird to go from seeing all my college friends literally everyday to not at all. Don't get me wrong, I like not having to live with 5 girls right now, but I do miss most of them!

I go back and forth on being extremely excited about going back to school and not wanting to leave the comfort of home. I can already feel that things are going to be changing in my life and I'm not sure I'm ready for it... Which makes me want to savor my time at home and the normal kind of "routine" I've found myself in. But at the same time I can't wait for some new adventures and to get away from everything I tried to avoid in Clovis by going away to college... The dramatic girls, the same old guys, and of course the crappy weather. A few of my friends here have proven to be constant and really loyal... I'm actually doing a Bible study once a week with some of the girls which has been really nice. However there are also those friends that I look at now and think, "how were we even friends in the first place?". So I hold the memories we made close to my heart and move on. I can accept the fact that people change and grow apart, but that still doesn't make it any easier when it's some of your closest friends. It's just amazing to think about how much has changed since last summer. It's all good and bad at the same time.

Home Stretch!

I'm sorry I have been so terrible with keeping up with this thing this semester, but things have really been crazy! Or at least they have been the last couple weeks. I've had midterms, quizzes, final papers, and major studying for finals! The last 5 days I have spent at least 40 hours in the library studying, and I'm not even exaggerating. Today alone, I had 3 finals... I took my geology final at 8am, my psych final at 2pm, and I'm off to take my bio final at 5! Talk about stress... I still have to take my environmental studies final on Thursday. Tomorrow will be my last day of babysitting :( I'm so sad that I won't get to hang out with Josiah every week for the next 3 months... The little guy is growing so fast it seems! But I will be headed back to Clovis for the summer. After some consideration, I decided that staying home for the summer would be my best option this year instead of going to Hume lake. So now I am going to attempt to get into a summer school class (not holding my breath on that one!) and I'm in search of a job. I have applied for soooo many nannying jobs... So if anyone knows of any jobs out there then feel free to let me know (:

Other than that, I am so excited to be going home where it's warm and not rainy... And to be with all my friends. It's so bittersweet... This year has gone by so quickly and it has definitely been an experience to remember! I have made some amazing friends and learned some hard lessons... Like sometimes it's just better to suck it up and do all the dishes in the sink instead of waiting for your roommates to do their own dishes. Or that most college professors could care less about your individual concerns and situation, they just want you to show up to class and get the work done. Also, that you have to choose your battles and decide not to sweat the small stuff, like registration haha. I am so excited to come back to Sonoma State next year and live with some of my best friends up here! I have no regrets in choosing to go away for college... I have grown so much this year and made some priceless memories; I know that next year will be equally exciting, exhausting, and fun filled! But for now bring on Summer 2010 (: and I'm off to kick this bio final's butt... or maybe I'll get my butt kicked, I'm not entirely sure yet!

Randomness! (:

Not too much going on up here lately! I've just been trying to stay on top of my classes and everything while taking advantage of the time I have left before summer. This may sound so weird but I actually don't want summer to come too quickly. Summer means not seeing my friends from school or home... I am so excited to start working at Hume, but I'm not quite ready to let go of seeing my friends all the time, having access to the internet, and being able to use my phone. So this means that I am trying to spend a lot of time at home before school ends; I'm headed home this weekend then again in May! Other than all that, there's pretty much nothing going on in my life, which is why I am going to keep all of you entertained by providing you with 20 random facts about me (:

1. I love designer jeans... It's kind of a problem haha but I just can't get enough of them!

2. My closet is color coordinated and I can always tell when someone has borrowed something or gone through my clothes... I think this can be categorized as acute OCD or something.

3. Reading is my escape from the world, most people say music is their escape, but I could read for hours without a care in the world.

4. Church is the one place I always feel at home... Whether it's my home church or a new church, worship music and sermons bring me more comfort and hope than I can possibly put into words.

5. I LOVE to bake. This is a new found love, and I'm still learning, but it's so fun to watch other people enjoy my baked goods.

6. I absolutely loathe the gym; love seeing the results, but I hate doing the work!

7. Despite how inappropriate it may be, the movie the Hangover is my #1 favorite movie to quote!

8. I cannot wait to get married and have kids... Well okay let me rephrase that, I definitely CAN wait. I do not want to have kids now haha, but I'm really excited to have kids and get married when I'm older.

9. My top fear in life is probably getting kidnapped, followed closely by throwing up.

10. Speaking of throwing up, I haven't gotten sick like that since I was 10... We were in Pismo for Christmas and I ate a Mickey D's cheeseburger (too much info?).

11. I'm terrible at math and the rice I make always comes out wrong... I'm a bad Asian.

12. I'm a girl, but I will always stick by the idea that guys are SO much less dramatic than girls.

13. I go through phases with my hair... I grow it out really long then I cut it all off; I think this pattern will probably continue for the rest of my life.

14. I love wearing dresses, especially with heels because they make my legs look longer.

15. I wear contacts everyday. I'm seriously blind without them... I want to get lasik eye surgery one day.

16. As much as I said I hated Clovis when I lived there full time, I actually love it. Going away to college and getting lost driving around on a weekly basis has made me appreciate my hometown so much more.

17. College has ruined my sleeping habits. I get an average of 5 hours of sleep every night, but naps have become my new best friend.

18. I'm not sure how I have survived this year without getting pedicures every month. I guess that's why I started actually wearing shoes instead of flip flops.

19. I text a lot, it's not just a "typical teenage girl" thing, it's how I keep in touch with everyone.

20. Country music= love (:

Goodbye 18 (:

So I was on spring break for the last 12 days and, I must say, it was definitely a break to remember! I'll provide you with some of the highlights! I drove home, went to the rock and worship road show with Victoria, went to Easter services at both Clovis First and The Well, hung out with some friends that I missed so much, went shopping, went to Oakland to see Michale Buble with my mom, got a job at Hume Lake for the summer (beyond excited!!), Spencer came to Clovis (and loved it haha), we drove to Disneyland for the day (longest day ever!), my birthday was on Saturday, and today I went to both churches and hung out Chels and Jen for a little bit! Break was very good to me this year (:

As I said before, Saturday was my birthday... So I kinda started reflecting on all the crazy and amazing things that happened during my 18th year of life haha... and now I'm going to share them with you all through pictures!

Went to my last high school prom with my best friend! Was stung by a bee for the first time while taking pictures and my strap broke when I got to the dance, but at least my shoes were cute!

I graduated high school with honors!

Went to Hawaii for the first time (: this is my favorite picture! haha

I was baptized in July! Sweetly broken, wholly surrendered!

Moved away to college!

Made some amazing new friends!


But kept in touch with the girls (:

Gained an insane new family member haha

Went to Urbana 09 and had an unforgettable experience!

And I am still in the process of finishing up my freshman year while making some crazy memories!