A lot of things these past couple weeks have reminded me of how fast life comes at you.

This past Friday was our annual AIV (first year of sending off "AIV seniors" instead of "CCF seniors"!) Senior Send Off and Pie in the Face. The juniors were in charge of organizing the events, and boy, it took a lot of work. From making gifts to rehearsing harmonizing to making sure the whole night went smoothly, it stressed us out a bit. But in the end, it was well worth-it. Seeing the faces of the seniors and seeing how touched they were made every late night and bit of frustration worth it. it's crazy, because this is the last class that I came in with as a freshman and now they're leaving...and we're going to be seniors. Wow, where has the time gone?

I got to pie Irene this year. I was pretty surprised, but I got her pretty good. :) Thanks for the honors, Irene! (and to Sky and Shannon for helping, too!)


(thanks to Kenny for the picture!)

And lastly, Dan and Phyllis got engaged!! :D So exciting! I always used to think of engagement and weddings happening to people that were a lot older... but we're now nearing the age where our friends are starting to get engaged. Crazy! :D But so fun.

Today is just one of those days.

Work was okay. But I feel like the bosses there are still living in the older Chinese generation - the way they talk to you, look at you, the tone of voice they use with you, gives you no respect. You work there, yes, but that doesn't mean they should be allowed to speak to their employees as if we're children. Messed up. I don't know, I have very ambivalent feelings about work now.

I miss home. I haven't seen my family since Christmas, and it's always around this time that I start to feel homesick.

I miss Jerry. Everytime I'm at work I see couples eating out, couples walking around at school, and part of me just wishes that he was here. But I know a period of separation is probably necessary. That doesn't make it any easier, though.

I feel inadequate. Two internships, both seemed to fit me well and vice versa, and both rejected. Haven't found any potential jobs, either. I know I shouldn't be questioning God, but I do. I feel like I'm gifted in the area of teaching, and I feel like I know my calling, but what if I don't? What if I'm just hearing my own voice instead of God's? When will I be able to land a job and be self-sufficient, even for a summer?

It's just one of those days.

So Markley and East Quad small groups are doing the 30 Hour Famine sponsored through World Vision this weekend. We started today at 8 AM and are ending tomorrow at 2 PM. This time, I unfortunately had a stomach problem all last night, so I wasn't able to eat anyway. I can definitely feel the hunger catching up with me now, almost 12 hours into the famine. I was sitting here reading a book for class when my stomach started to grumble... I so wanted to go to the kitchen and eat something, but instead I prayed.

I think doing the famine the second time around, I have more of a perspective on why we do it. It's not just to be hungry for a while and then go back to our everyday lives. God really used a video and some verses this morning to challenge my thinking - why do we do the famine? To feel good about ourselves, that we've tasted a bit of what hungry people in the world go through? Definitely not. We, as college students, are so privileged to give. A cup of coffee that we would not think twice about can feed a child for 3 days. How far can your money go? So far. In a country ravaged by war and famine, a child needs $1 a day to survive. We eat out, paying $8-10, sometimes more, and don't think twice. There's something wrong with that. Something in our hearts needs to change. We need to be challenged to think about what we are doing with the gifts we are given.

So if my post has challenged you to think... donate and support us as we continue on with our 30 Hour Famine. :) Your money will go to supporting hungry children around the world!

I passed my driver's written test today! I'm almost liscenced!

I drove Jerry's car home from the Secretary of State. He took me on the highway, and I was yelling a lot because I was so scared. People drive so fast in America! I need to get used to it...

This will be the first AIV event (retreat, I mean) that I will be missing... I think.

As I sit here and write my paper on Schoolgirls (fascinating book - gives you a lot of insight on middle school and development of gender identity and relationships!), I can't help but wish I could go.

But there's just too much going on this weekend. GenAPA has taken up a lot of nights these past couple weeks, and the performance is tomorrow (main reason why I'm not going - I'll be there from 2-9 PM, most likely, and then I work on Sundays too!)... so I need tonight and tomorrow morning to work. Boo. :(

Well, at least my roomies and Jerry can fill me in on what went on and what they talked about!

Today was been somewhat of a downer. I woke up this morning and found out I didn't get the internship I had waited to hear back from since December. Worse, they spelled my name as "Mellissa" and my address wrong too. I guess I can't complain - they chose 15 people out of over 200, so there was very little of a chance that I would be chosen, but part of me still dared to hope... and that hope was crushed. I didn't handle it as well as I hoped, but now I know that door has closed and I can look for other opportunities. I have an interview this coming Wednesday in Detroit with a summer enrichment program for inner city youth. Maybe that's where God is calling me? :) We'll see!

Now back to the paper...