thanksgiving 2008.
how often do we really reflect and think on what we're truly thankful for? thanksgiving is so full of last-minute flight delays, tons of food, ridiculous black friday shopping, then the long hours of sleep afterwards...

hm so i did my reflection before i left for my thanksgiving holiday to boston.  just looking back on the year, i cannot believe it's already the end of 2008. i remember last year for thanksgiving in atlanta when we spent hours at the aquarium by the beluga whales, playing around with makeup on each other's faces.. hmm..

so here goes my thanksgiving thoughts. just so i can write them down and look on it later on...
i'm thankful for the hour long conversations i have with my mommy at 4 in the morning.. until she realizes its 4 in the morning in the america and goes in lecture mode telling me i won't be able to grow taller if i sleep this late.. i'm thankful for my friends scattered across the world that i can count on with anything, even though i dont see them for over a year.. i'm thankful for the random phone calls i get once in a while from SAS buddies just wondering what i'm up to.. i'm thankful for meaningful conversations with people. the kind where you don't plan on it but somehow you get into this deep conversation and suddenly you feel so happy knowing that you connect with someone like that. i'm thankful for roommates that comment on how good your food smells, roommates that type up page-long essay prompts for me because i forgot my paper in my room and i'm stuck in the lower levels of the library. i'm thankful for friends on gchat/AIM that are willing to listen to my random ventings and my ridiculous ideas (lets go laser tag!).. i'm thankful for the youngins that encourage me and call me to hang out because they want to just chill.. i'm thankful for relatives that send me emails with pictures of them all over the world just to share their adventures.. i'm thankful for siblings that are willing to share every detail of their lives with me, because they want me to know.. i'm thankful for brothers and sisters that i can share my life with, share my joy with..i'm thankful for Him, the one that gave me laughter, happiness, warmth, comfort, grace and unending, unconditional love. 

i took a half-year hiatus from xanga.  why? because i spent 2 months of my summer in China, where xanga was banned. yup, you would type in "xanga.com" and it would say "connection error" each time.  and after that, it was simply too hard to come back to it once school started!

but I was just looking through other people's blogs post-retreat and it really inspired me to write something down, despite the fact that i have 2 papers due in less than 2 days. (nope, i haven't started either)

so a few things about junior year:
- new apartment: it's been actually a lot of fun living in an apartment with a full kitchen, a living room and a dining room.  it's been awesome having my own furniture, a full size bed, and a bathroom that isn't shared by 4 people.  it's also been really cool living in the same building as most of my friends.  none of the charles commons vs. mccoy junk!
- small group: it's really different being a leader this year.  being on the giving end of things - it's a lot more time consuming and energy consuming in general.  but God has really blessed me with the awesomest small group members!  they've been so encouraging to me :)
- high school friends: granted that most of them didn't really come to visit JUST me, but it was pretty cool to see jon eg, sangho, pat & chelsea at hopkins!  it's really weird being more of a tourist in baltimore, showing people landmarks and such, but it was fun nonetheless!
- retreat: wow. i'm amazed. i'm amazed by the power of God. just who our God is.  all i have to do is just sit and listen to him - just sit at his feet.  i think this year's retreat didn't have anything SO NEW to me - mostly things i've heard before, i've read about before.. but i've never really thought about.  i never meditated and prayed about these things.  and gosh, once you just sit and pray and expereince the presence of God around you, there's nothing like it.  there's nothing like worshipping in a room full of your fellow brothers and sisters proclaiming the greatness of our God, there's nothing like praying with the people you've been praying for and just being so overwhelmed by how God is working around you. 

that was all a messy jumble of words.

so i'm really really seriously seriously considering graduating this year.  that means i'm gone in just one more semester.  it makes me sad, it makes me really sad to think that all the things i'm doing are not my "firsts" but "lasts."  its amazing how God keeps placing new people into my life all the time.  I feel like i'm just getting to know people - freshmen that have just come in and even people in my own grade i didn't get a chance to get to know earlier.  hmm but then again who says graduating early means leaving baltimore early? (gosh, did i just say that?)

WOW. it's all over -  finals, moving out, sophomore year...

it's been truly amazing, but more to come on that later.. b/c all i have in my mind right now is PERU.

tomorrow `til the 26th.

i'm tired of always initiating things. i really don't think "being busy" could be used as an excuse all year round. its not like i always have free time floating around. aren't friendships supposed to be mutual? meh, poop.

on a more happier note,

i'm thankful God brought you into my life.  yes, YOU!


Holga <3

way back when...


...we had uniforms


...we took pictures in the bathroom mirror