simply marvelous.

a few things are simply marvelous.

for one, chowing on multigrain chips with coke is a marvelous combo.

al green's voice is marvelous.

there is a marvelous quality to an evening breeze after a hot summer's day.

being shipped off to TWU in 1 day is a marvelous fact.

god is marvelous.

FUNNY STORY.

So, my mom and I went to go check out the new Shoppers Drug Mart in town. You see, to have a new building here is a big deal. To have a white and shiny building? Well, you have to see it with your own eyes to believe it. Yes, it is indeed true - this little town I reside in actually has the capacity to boast a Shoppers! We are still lacking the Timmy's department, however. Anywho. On our way home we were coming up to the pool/ice rink parking lot when we happened to see my Dad and bro driving to the pool. Intrigued, we followed. Plus, we had gas money for them. Regardless, it turns out that Marshall agreed to meet a girl at the pool. A GIRL! Seriously. If that hasn't spun around your computer chair, I don't know what will. Biggest shocker: it's his best friends girlfriend who invited him. SCANDALOUS? I think so. In the end, the pool wasn't open, and Marsh had to talk to a girl in front of both his parents, and me. How embarrassing! Poor little dude. I'm sure the worst part was when he realized she dressed up to see him. Seriously, she looked 15. They are both 12. Uh-oh... a soap opera drama in the making.

it's not goodbye.

words from my best friend.

In four nights I will be leaving behind all familiarity and embarking on the greatest journey ever. Rad, but a tad frightening. Will I be smart enough? Funny enough? Part of the 'in' crowd? Is there even such a thing? Will I be myself? Will I feel pressured to be someone I'm not? Will 4 months fly by? Will I make it?

I can worry until I'm blue in the face, but I there is nothing else I can do but to just be me. Simple as that. I'm confident that if I dwell in who I know I am, with God as my foundation, things will be just peachy keen in no time at all.

Also, it's odd how I will worry worry worry, THEN remember that God has it under control - Isaiah 26:3 is permanently marked on my body, for goodness sakes! Then why do I keep filling my mind with worry first, and God second? Although I am far from a worry-wart, I often catch myself attempting at life as a lone solider, forgetting the Dude who has the trail already blazed.

I hung out with Jo for the last time today. I have spent all summer with her, and now I won't be seeing her until the winter. We did crazy things, laughed a lot, reminisced, cried, wondered, admired, enjoyed, and cherished tiny moments durning our day together. The highlight though, I must say, was just being with her, driving to a friends house, enjoying the dying sunset and John Mayer's melodious voice. It's odd how the tiniest moments seem to to be the greatest and most appreciated.

Take care, and thanks for reading.

Love, Danielle.

a saxophone and toe tappin' beats.

Home sweet home.

I can't even comprehend how this summer went by so quickly - seems like just yesterday I rolled into Nakamun, anxious to begin the first week. Now, I'm sitting at home in my 'room' - BTW: I have no room. I'm homeless within my own house - planning how to pack 345 scarves, 25 pairs of shoes, and 2 closets worth of clothes by Tuesday night. The funniest thing is that I'm hardly over exaggerating. I have an INSANE amount of scarves, shoes for every single occasion imaginable, and enough purses to open my own boutique. Sickest part - I thought I needed more! BAH. It's quite grand what two months away from your full closet will do. I appreciate my collection all the more now. But I do need to get more tops...

So after listening to the sound of acoustic guitars and free spirited voices for my duration of summer, my musical taste buds of been deprived of their daily dose of jazz rhythm, and bluezy edge. I love acoustic guitar, don't get me wrong, but there is nothing like good old jazz to bring you home, or at least bring the feeling of home to you. And Al Green - he's gooder. I'm looking into buying a CD or two of his... except I'm becoming so cheap. Bah. $9.99 on iTunes for a mix CD is grand, but that's a $9.99 I could be using for a rad t-shirt, a few coffee dates, or putting towards my 'Tattoo Fund." Just kidding - my mother has banned me from piercings/tattoos until she can no longer stop me. So basically, forever.

Thinking about it, I've come back from this summer different in quite a few ways. Not only do I look a tad crazier than when I left - nose ring, long crazy hair - I feel different. I've thought about things in a different light, and seen my relationship with Christ grow in a new way. I have discovered that I am becoming who I am now, and who I pretended to be through out high school is falling away. All in all, I love who I am, and I am so excited to see where life will lead me, and what adventure is in store.

REMEMBER: Romans 8:28 "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him. " Amen.

D.

i love crunchy cookies.

especially when they are burnt. i love burnt, crunchy cookies.

Last night was Girls Night Out - GNO. After devo's, all the senior girls leave for a fun night upstairs. Fondue + strawberries + pedi's = a great night. It was such a blast! My ten toenails are all glittering in their teal shaded glory. Wonderful. Just don't look at my heels...

No morning can be truly complete without drama. Especially when you are exhausted from the night before and coming down with a heck of a cold. My Favorite Camper refused to leave her bed this morning. I must admit though, I was jealous - I wish I could just stay in bed all morning and relax. But nope, duty is always calling. Anywho. FC decided she doesn't want to get up, so she fake slept through my warning, skyrocketing my temper. I told her, if she doesn't get up when I come to get her, she'd be dealing with the A Team, aka Gertrude. So she slept. Honestly, can I get a break for just one morning? Or afternoon? For the love of pete.

BTW - I take back my promise to have children. After this week, not a chance - sorry folks.

Now I am cranky. Someone just told me he didn't like my music. YOU KNOW WHAT?! Plug your ears. I can blast my soulful jazz as loud as I please, thank you very much. A saxophone every now and then won't kill you. I have 60 min to calm down, rejuvenate, and face the remainder of the day. Keep your comments to yourself, and put your ear phones in. I was here first. And even if I wasn't, I can probably beat you up. So there.

I'm out.

D.

FIGHT!

I have a camper with attitude. Her cup runeth over with it, that's for sure. But thankfully, after involving the leadership team with a mild issue, she was great last night during Devotions, and solid all day. Until my break. (Why is it that kids decided to go bananas when all supervision is gone? Honestly. Either I'm on my break, or taking a poo. Seriously. ) So I'm sitting here, as per usual, with laptop in hand and sour gummy worm in mouth, when a leadership team gal comes roaring up the stairs, fuming from her ears. I will call her Gertrude. PAUSE. If I could dislike someone here, it would be her. OK, I lied - DO dislike someone here, and she happens to be on A Team. She uses her fake leadership skills to make her self the center of everyone's circle. I swear it's a talent she has - it's unbelievable how loud and obnoxious one person can be in the midst of a crowded and buzzing dinning room. ANYWHO. Turns out my favorite little camper was beating the poop out of her cousin, who also is my cabin, on their way to a field game. Gertrude, while walking by, sees this, flips her hair, and begins to reprimand my favorite camper in her nasally voice of annoyance. Not a good combo, let me tell you. My favorite camper rolls her eyes and brushes Gertrude off. Gertrude can't believe someone isn't giving her attention, so freaks out, telling my favorite camper that she has one chance to smarten up, or their will be consequences. (AKA - Gertude talking about herself incessantly while Favorite Camper is forced to listen. LOL. oops...) So, one day of success flushed down the proverbial toilet. All I can do sometimes, is just laugh, and shake my head at the ironic combination of the most rude child and the abundantly self-righteous leadership team member. Tuesday has almost come to a close, and it's been full of non stop action, without a doubt. But despite my camper issues, beef's with the leadership team, and digestive problems related to the lack of veggies, I love it here. And boy, will I miss it.

Peace, Love, and Joy.

D.

ARG.

Yay, one week of camp left! I greeted the first day of camp with a bang, super stoked to give it a gazillion percent. BUT, my high drive and motivation slammed into a brick wall when I realized I had the camper who is the star of every counselor's nightmare. To be put nicely. Ironically enough, I had been bragging earlier that day to a friend how I've had a great summer with no devious campers or preoccupied juniors. Well, that sure bit me in the butt. Hard.

My nose ring is growing on me. I would say I'm sorry to you Mom, but I'm not really. It's pretty rad! Just prepare yourself when you see me. Give it a day or two, and you'll grow to like it. Seriously, you will.

T-minus 10 nights. Then, I shall be BC bound and university-cultured. Oh boy oh boy. I'm so pumped. But it is a massive change - I wonder what kind of awkward moments I'll get myself into, or how lost I will find up trying to get to my first class. Oh the joys of first day jitters. I am looking forward to getting my room set up too. I have the raddest room mate - a pal from school and I have decided to unite force and take TWU by storm. So no worries there. Between the two of us, we will have mountains of junk (well, it will actually be all mine. ) and endless decorations. Hopefully our room will become home-sweet-home in no time at all.

Again, I'm sitting on my butt in the staff room, wasting my hour of free time Facebook-ing like a technology-deprived teenager. Instead, I could be organizing my room, airing out the smell of sleep mixed with chlorine, or sorting through my costumes which are currently taking up the majority of the staff bathroom floor space. As I think about it more and more, I realize that I am just fine and dandy here. There's nothing better than just doing nothing, sometimes.

Cheers.

Danielle.

swell job, swell job.

I have a nose ring! Oh yes. A gold hoop has been shoved successfully through my right nostril.

Guess how many tries it took?

One? Nope.

Two? Nada.

Not three.

Twelve and 1/2. Ya, really.

Here's the low down. Jo, my life-long partner in crime, bought home (aka - to Nak) a wonderful gold hoop, a spray bottle of sanitizer, and an assortment of sewing needles. Plus a lighter, and a pack of Silly Putty. We proceeded to heat the needle to sterilize it, shove green silly putty up my nostril to block my septum, and drench the point of entry with wound spray. SO, on the first try, I gritted my teeth, said go, and Jo pushed. Alas, as most of my adventures end up, the needle only went 1/4 of the way in. PS - I had my nose pierced three times before, therefore an excessive amount of cartilage had built in the mean time, forming a mean layer of scar tissue. Yummy. Anyways, after trying about 5 more times, I was feeling faint. So we took a break while Jo went in search of a firmer surface to push the needle in with, and a glove to protect her poor fingers with. After trying again, and again, and again, we made it to the last layer of skin, which was the worst, ever. Here is Jo and I, pretty much sitting on top of each other, giggling hysterically, with a needle dangling out of my hose, with cotton swabs and silly putty crusties all over the bathroom floor. A Kodak moment. Good thing we had a camera flashing most the time - I'll have photo's on my FB by the end of the week, in the chance that we are linked online as Friends. But, at the end of the day (it took an hour and a half) I managed to get that ring through, and link it together. I had to use a straight earring at first, to make sure the hole was evenly pierced through - the slope of the needle created the exit point in my nose to be smaller than the entry point, which stood as a challenge for a few moments. After I let it sit for a few moments, and regained my stability, I switched it with the hoop. So now I have a nose ring! I haven't really decided what I think about it yet. I am little apprehensive as to what the parents will think tomorrow when they drop off their children in the presence of a girl with a hoop. Hopefully they will think funky, unique. Not rebellious, hardcore, or nuts. I'm keeping the hole for sure, but the ring? I really have to sleep on it. Time will tell!

Cheers for now.

D.

shunned.

Today was a lovely day. I had a grand picnic, raided the Bargain Shop, soaked up some rays on a beach, and enjoyed a scrumptious home-made dinner, with cheesecake to boot. HOWEVER, my day of jolly unicorns and butterflies ended rapidly as my dearest mother saw my hemp bracelet. Upon noting my handcrafted piece of jewelry, she proceeded to call it a 'barnacle', and laugh at my artistic talents. You see, I made a funky bracelet out of ultra-size hemp string. The only problem was that the ends are easily frayed, and the knot at the end was of a super-sized nature. So I hot glued the ends together. But, as most of my artistic attempts go, my idea in mind didn't turn out quite as I had planned. The 'joint' of my bracelet, if I may call it such a thing, is a rather large and bulbous glob of... glue. Or a barnacle, if you enjoy fraternizing with my mother. Either way, my heart was deeply cut by her remark, and therefore, I have thrown the idea of a becoming a custom jewelry designer out the window.

Eleven nights till I'm officially out. 11. I have waited so long to get here, and it has finally arrived! I can hardly recognize the person I am now - I love it, and how I can finally just be me, after all these years. I found joy in life, what I love doing, what I am not so hot at, and what makes me who I am. Things I can live with, and things I can't live without. The necessity of God, and the incomparable value of family and friends. I am so pumped for fall, I can barely wait. I won't look back, not for a second.

Peace,

D.

ps - would anyone like to donate to the 'Danielle Would Like Another Tattoo, But Is Too Poor' fund? If you too, get ahold of me. Stat.

god.pizza.love

I'm still looking for God. He's present, but I can't feel him here. Simply put. I'm searching

The Notebook is distracting me horrendously from blogging. But it is my favorite movie of ALL TIME. A total tear jerker. Funny moment though: when I walked upstairs to the staff room, two guys were glued to the screen. WHAT!? Ya, I know. However, I have heard that both guys and gals find it strangely captivating. Anyways. I'm the midst of eating a gross amount of cold pizza and catching on FB gossip. Life is simple and grand sometimes.

I've realized that I have THE greatest girl friends in the entire world. I have a GF who is loud, in your face, and brutally honest. But easy to talk to, loyal without a doubt, and has the biggest heart in the entire planet. My other bestie is hippie, who loves to dress eccentrically and march to her own drum beat. Her easy going personality and whimsical sense of mind make her a breath of fresh air in a monotonous world. And finally, the third bestie is seriously overflowing with genuine compassion, and kindness. Her cute laugh and bubbly personality is like being dunked in a pool of happy every morning. Seriously. Without them, I dunno where I'd be. Probably wondering lost, around the A Frames. (LOL, for camp folk - they are the boy's cabins. A definite insider. )

I'm looking forward to this weekend. My Ma and sis are coming down for a picnic tomorrow, then I'm taking them to the nearby hick town for a taste of camp life. AKA - a slush and candy run. MAJOR PLUS - there is a uber cheap clothing store that I shall raid for hours in search of wonderful articles of clothing. I am becoming such a cheap shopper. I love it. Anywho. Hopefully the weather is decent so we can waddle around in the lake while dodging leeches. No camp experience is quite complete without a good blood sucker now, isn't it.

Well, that's a read for a while. Enjoy, 'till boredom overcomes me again, or the show ends.

Love.

D.

today.

today.

i am wearing plaid.

i am wearing clean pants.

my hair is straight.

i am searching for god.

D.

a few of my favorite things.

While living the life of a camp bum, I've come to love a few things in life above all else.

- China Green Tips tea from Starby's.

- green apples

- the scones from the Nakamun kitchen (the white chocolate/blueberry ones, in paticular)

- slushies, from Barrhead.

- my laptop, & internet connection

- my Bible

- guitars

- campfires, & singing around them

- talent shows with random insanity and utter chaos.

- the staff room.

- the girls staff bathroom, and all that goes down will brushing one's teeth

- DRESS UP CLOTHES!

- Moonbelly, Digit, & Checkers.

- sour gummy worms.

- sandal tans (which I have failed yet again at achieving!)

- FB message's from the Pops. (actually, novels)

- the Juno and Once soundtracks

- Isaiah 26:3

- sleeeeeeeeeping.

RANDOM THOUGHTS.

- After the camp trip, I decided to be clean and do laundry. SO I DID! Brilliant, I know. Cept my white t-shirt got thrown in with my red towel. Now I have a red towel, and a blue shirt. Sort of. It's more like, inky blue...

- This week is a speciality camp, for artsy fartsy kids who act, draw, make music, & build. So guess what I'm doing? DRAMA. Guess what I am scared of? ACTING. Oh, the things I do out here.

Peace out.

D.

you did what?!

I pooped in a bush.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. Mainly for shock effect, for those of you who know my supposedly 'un-outdoorsy' nature. But now what? I'm turning into a mountain woman, I know. I haven't shaved my legs since last Tuesday, skipped on the teeth cleaning for a day or two, and lived on smokeys and fire-cooked pies for a weekend. Doesn't seem like much, but when your own mom can't believe what you've done, it's worth blogging 'er up. :)

So some background for my story. This past weekend was the Senior Camping Trip for those living out here at Nak. Basically, we shove as many people as possible into a van named Doug, cram as many tents as possible into all other automobiles, and then hope everyone makes it to the 'Land' before nightfall. It is a gong show, to say the least. My two friends and I shared a tent, and annoyed everyone else with our non stop laughing and farting. We couldn't help ourselves - the owners of the Land cooked us an amazing supper of potatoes, beans, and steamed vegetables. Beans made music for everyone, not just us.

Despite the gongshow-ness of the weekend, I found some pretty random things. A few rusty pots and pans in the bush near by, a rust-bucket of a vehicle torn into 25 pieces by something with an attitude problem, and this abandon trailer. Jo, a partner in crime of mine, and I busted into the haunted house on wheels (it was SO creepy - we had to jump a barbed wire fence, and all the windows were drawn, with the wheel was tied to something we couldn't see. Jo said it was a body. ) and found dead mice, and dead flies everywhere! BAH, so creepy. Anywho - after going through all the cupboards, hoping for something chilling to pop out, the most exciting thing we found was a fire extinguisher which we then proceeded to spray all over the field. BUT, as most rebellious things go, consequences follow suit. Turns out the owners of the Land had just bought the trailer, and plopped it down in a section of land previously sectioned off for cattle. They haven't had time to clean it up, so they just kept it out of the way. Basically, I owe this lovely fam an entire fire extinguisher. Oh dang. But such is life! Oh, so grand.

So as I sit here, next to a jolly friend of mine chowing down a tub of Rolo ice cream, I've realized that I have 1 1/2 weeks left out here. I can't believe the entire summer is almost done. It's unbelievable. I vividly remember sitting at the first campfire of the summer, during a week known as CIT, thinking that I've lost mind by wanting to work out here. I had few nights filled with despair and an overwhelming heaviness on my heart of having made the wrong decision, let me tell you. But suddenly, the end is in sight, and can boldly say that I have loved every moment. Although I can't pinpoint it, there has been a turning point sometime during my experience here that made me value everything this camp has, and continues to stand for. When I leave camp next Friday, I will for sure be leaving different than how I had arrived, and I do believe that is a good thing.

Cheers!

D.

twice? dang.

Two posts in one day - could it be?

I think I have discovered the most annoying thing EVER today.

After Beach Day, (today's theme) I decided to put some effort into my mop and actually clean it, then attack it with a straightener. So, after the difficult deed was done, people came up to me and were like,

"Wow, did you straighten your hair?"

NO - my crazy, voluminous hair flattened itself, brushed out the knots, and fell to my shoulders with admirable grace, by itself.

ARE YOU BRAINLESS?

Wait, don't answer that.

ANYWAYS, moving on from that tender topic.

Back to life: campfire is the best part of my day. Every single time I sit on the bench, I am in awe of the beauty surrounding me. It is a guaranteed mood lifter. It is just simply grand.

The children are beckoning once again as my break nears its end. Let the chaos reign!

TTYL, folks.

D.

the shoes of males.

SO, as of now, I am in love with guy's shoes.

Not the shoes on guy's feet, but the shoes in the guys section of a shoe store.

While in Winners, and feeling rather disgruntled that I had been unable to shove my feet into a size 10/11 (dainty, i know) woman's shoe, I found myself in the wrong isle. The 'Mans' isle. But upon my departure from such an unknown region, a pair of shoes caught my eye. Actually, I lied - three pairs of shoes stole my attention! Indeed, it is true. And the best part - THEY ALL FIT! PTL. (praise the lord, for all of you who don't live with my mother.) The first pair are loafers, as I like to call them. And sustainable - the sole is made from care tire! Funky eh? And the second, also from the same sustainable brand, are like slippers with a firmer sole, so I can wearing them shuffling around campus. Sadly, the third had a massive tear in them but I suppose that's what you get from shopping in Winners. Anywho. I'm pretty sure I should've made that day a celebratory holiday or something. Even though I missed out on making it a holiday, I now know for sure that I am forever searching through the guy's footwear section.

CURRENTLY. I'm sitting here in the staff room at Nak, anxiously awaiting the meeting at 745. Alas, it's 750. Such is the life a Naka Bum.

Cheers, folks.

D.

peace, love, & power to the people, yo.

Although being at home for my one and only week off this summer is relaxing, I have a camp-sized hole in my heart. How will I survive without pancakes and strawberry sauce every morning? How can I fill Wednesday without a Beach Day? What about Thursday nights - without a Talent Show to watch, I'll be doomed!!!! But seriously. I miss camp, and it's simplicity in the face of the real world. Teens can be themselves, and counselors can escape the pressures of the materialistic world. Eating 'well' includes a hearty breakfast and Tuck, beauty is a term given to those who can get up & go, and a cool cat is someone who finds time with God every day. It's nice to live in an environment where you are accepted, and valued for your 'you'-ness. It's rad. But unreal, sadly. However, I do hope I find people of the same mindset as me while at TW. Guys and gals marching to a different drum beat, or different instrument all together. People with their head outside of the box, totally thinking on a different frequency. Rad individuals who are happy with themselves. In a nut shell, I'm pretty stoked for this fall: the people I will meet, and the things I will learn will be priceless, I'm sure.

FYI: the title of this post is from a skit I want to do with my cabin one week. It's a line from a catchy jingle that's repeated and repeated, into insanity. It's a gem of a performance though! But irrelevant to this post.

FYI (#2): Mean Bean Monster Energy Drinks are simply the BEST THING EVER MADE for human consumption. Seriously, the are the bomb.

So the other day I was reading this magazine from a few months ago, and came upon the scariest, but coolest article. In the last like, 10 years or so, there has been a dramatic spike in diseases among women. I believe they were auto-immune, but please don't quote me on that. Anywho. There were sky rocketing rates of disease/conditions that could be basically summed up as disorders where the body attacks itself, or fails to produce something or other that it vital to function. Conditions like Type 1 Diabetes, Leukemia, and MS were listed as the top diagnosis, including Crohns, and numerous muscle degenerative conditions. The scariest thing though, is that specialists were attributing these things to the diet of these young women - a diet lacking in fibre, full of enriched flour, diet soda, and sugar-free crap. So basically, a (stereotypical) normal diet of a mid-20 year old woman. AH! It's frightening that my daily intakes of Diet Coke could be as helpful for system as chugging a bucket carcinogens straight up. Seriously though. How can I protect myself, from myself? The world out there says 'Be skinny - eat skinny!', yet the 'skinny' products are the killer themselves, not the fat I may be avoiding. So what shall I do?!

At camp, eating is healthy is tough. We are fed delicious pancakes, oozing with strawberry sauce. Lunch time boasts fries of a curly nature, with coleslaw and ice cream on the side. Then Tuck, which is a fat boy's dream, makes an appearance. Two selections from the 'junk food' menu does pretty much any one over. 'How many chocolate bars shall I have today?' 'What will go best with my Dr. Pepper?' 'How many Skittles can I eat in one sitting?' From here on in, the belt needs to be loosened. Or taken off, for that matter. A solid dollop of mashed potatoes accompanied by rivers of gravy fill whatever gut space you may have saved. But the desert? That finishes it off. Not to mention a bed time snack... wowzer. If you weren't feeling 'rolly-polly' by noon, you sure are now.

FYI (#3): If you've read up to this point, registering every world I've rambled about, congrats! I'm glad I'm entertaining someone for at least a moment or two of their day. :)

Just cause I live at camp doesn't mean I have to be a slob. Skipping out on ham slices is probably better for me than not, and avoiding that Diet Coke in the mid afternoon will have it's benefit. It's just a matter of my head. Am I taking these facts seriously? How much does my future matter to me? To what extent will I go to make sure I am healthy for as long as I can? I'm an adult now, but I do wish I was a kid. I wish my mom would make these choices for me, and I wouldn't give my diet a second thought. Alas, I am an old fart now, and with that comes choosing what I will shove into my system. I'm sitting on the fence right now, envying the world of midnight snacking with reckless abandon, and pondering the field of lean meats and veggies with a curious eye. Hopefully I'll commit myself to one side or the other. Not saying making a choice is easy, but the research does show that eating 'skinny' will kill you faster than being fat. Hopefully I can come up with my own balance though - allowing myself a few vices while kicking Frap's and their man-made comrade's out the door for good. Time will show, however, what side I choose to be loyal too. I just hope mine doesn't run out!

FYI (#4): I HATE TAN PANTS! ( but I love you Mom! And not just sometimes, but all the time.)

Cheers,

D.

ick.

While at a First Aid Training thingamajig today, I realized that I am absolutely repulsed by eyeballs.

"What to do when a foreign object is protruding from your eyeball."

"How to care for an eyeball out of it's socket."

"How to induce barfing very quickly!"

Seriously - I could watch any amount of blood and gore, but the thought of any eyeball injury makes me cringe. BAH!

ANYWHO. This course happened to be on the 'Skid Row' of Edmonton. Not scary considering what else is out there, but edgy for little 'ol me. But being in that environment got me thinking. Are the youth/young adults I see moping down the street as deviant as we make them to be? Or, are they simply troubled kids, looking for a place to call home? A few weeks ago I had a 13 year old girl in my cabin, living out of a group home, sporting an oh-so-lovely tongue ring. During the week, her kindness and un-scariness came through, but who made her abrasive shell? She is a product of her environment? Or, have her personal, conscious decisions made her this way? A big question. I asked my Pops and it sure filled our 45 minute ride home with good discussion. The definite answer is transparent, and it seems never ending. But who knows? As a Facebook status once read: 'What if the hokey pokey is what it is all about?'

Cheers,

D.

ADULThood, & it's joys...?

So I have officially celebrated my turning point into adult hood. My tattoo is finished. BAM! (photos will be up soon, ps.) Isaiah 26:3 will forever exist on my inner left bicep. It's a beauty though, and simple. Parental approved, and God inspired - what could be better? The pain factor, all things considered - especially it's location, was minimal. On a scale of 10, I'd say... 6? I was prepared for much worse. It also helped that Brooklyn was there, snapping photos of the whole ordeal. The process took less than 20 min, which was a sweet deal for my first inking. But I must admit - while I was laying there, I was beginning to think of future prints, and if I could add to this one here...

Not going to lie - being an 'adult' isn't like waking up and being independent, responsible, and mature all of a sudden, sort of how I expected. My mood swings are still as violent as a fat boy without cookies, I have way too many petty annoyances, and I still wish my mom made my lunches. BUT, I have realized some things. I do like who I am. And who I am becoming, which is a major accomplishment. I have found some things I love, ie: wounds, injuries, and all things of considered a medical disaster. I enjoy organizing, being efficient, and being bossy. (as in, a leadership/teaching sort of way.) And most importantly, the need for God in my life, as much as sometimes I grumble about it. I can't quite wrap my head around being a 'broken vessel' for him, but I am, without a doubt, in His hands, and His plan for me will only be for good, where ever it may take me. Which bring me full circle to my tattoo! ( I love how organized my random thoughts are. ) No matter where I go in life, whether I enlist in the army, backpack across Europe, or nurse in Africa, I will be in perfect peace and will remain steadfast, because I trust in my God, who so very present.

That's all for now folks, peace!

D.

ps - Backpacking across Europe, volunteering in Africa, and joining in the army are all options I have seriously considered. What will be next?!

once upon a time.

hey fam jam. or friends.

so if you are reading this, i'm most likely off saving the world in leotards. or making leaps for mankind in science. something exciting like that.

or, i could be at Nakamun, or TWU. either way, i'll fill you in on life here.

NOW. so Nakamun is half way through, and holy smokes - it has gone by crazy fast, & i have changed so much. for example,

1. i dislike being away from my friends for more than one night. (notice: FRIENDS! and wanting to be WITH them, not away! how odd...)

2. my time to get ready in the morning is half of what it used to. and i've thrown hair straighteners out the window.

3. i told a boy i liked him. weird? oh yes - i am supposed to be afraid of them!

4. weekly i jump into a lake/pool. bah! since when do i enjoy aqua? blech!

5. i snuggled with friends. goodbye personal bubble.

6. often i crave copious amounts of slushies - a childhood habit i thought i grew out of.

7. value village/army&navy are now my best friends in the clothing department.

8. in the mirror, i actually like what i see.

9. i feel good being away from home - independence has done wonders.

10. i thrive well off of 3 hours of sleep. yes, i do function quite well indeed!

All this to say - summer has been awesome. I've made killer friends, grew closer to others, and expanded my comfort zones. I've come across hard questions, hard times, and hard choices, but am loving where I am going with all of it. I see God chiseling away, making me into who I really am. In 6 months from now, will I recognize myself at all?

OFF TOPIC, but still amazingly cool: Tattoo day! I'm getting Isaiah 26:3 inked on my inner right bicep. "He who trusts in the Lord will have perfect peace - his mind will remain steadfast." My dad gave me this verse on the day of my graduation, and it has inspired me to be strong in the face of the future, and always hold the hand of God through my journey of life.

ALSO ODD, but neat to know: i've been a vagabond for over a month! Seem's longer than that, but then again, time is warped out at Nakamun. My possessions have been packed into two drawers, one lululemon bag, a well used purse, and a single miniature triple drawer unit. I wouldn't say I'm living off the clothes on my back, but I'm close...

Bah, another day has yet come to an end. Why does it seem like a day can fly by? It's time you can never get back, or undo. A somber, chilling thought, as I've seen my teenage years take off without a return ticket. Not that I want to see them again, I would have liked to learn how to appreciate them that much more. BUT, my life is gearing up for even more adventure. I can't wait.

Cheers!

D.