"Nena, your concert was boring."

They gave us our burial robes, ropes to put around our necks (for honor students only, of course), and sent us off to go shake hands with very old people as a "welcome-to-our-world" gesture.

I think that the reason they held us for so long back in the utility sector of Assembly Hall was to make us really want to get out of there. I mean, seriously: you get the graduates into a hot room and make them stand for 2 hours, oh yes. They'll do anything you want us to do just to make sure the ceremony gets over with.

So gradumacation. Kind of a blur. It's something that you're expected to remember for the rest of your life and you're trying to absorb as many memories as you can and yet it still ends up a blur. For example: during every single honor night you notice how different people get different amounts of applause, and I always wonder what I get. And yet every single time I always forget to listen for applause because I'm walking across the stage thinking, "Who are all these people I'm shaking hands with?" And the way they named the wrong person valedictorian, that was pretty epic as well.

I didn't have a party, but we had a small family gathering and the highlight, of course, was our epic game of charades.

At the end of it all, though, my 5 year old brother comes up to me and says, "Nena, your concert was boring." I guess it was boring. Can boring things be memorable?

--E.A.

My own words are backed up a bit.

I guess there's a lot to say, with this being the last day of school EVER and all, but I just don't feel like saying anything. I would be recounting my highly fascinating day, but I already told Logan all about it and he's really all the audience I need (to get technical I'd add "other than God as He is my audience of one"...not gonna go there. Please nothing philosophical tonight.)
Since I'm having such a hard time writing, how about a song? This one's been in my head today. The video doesn't exactly make sense. The girl shouldn't've left. But it's still a good song.

My eyes are open wide

And by the way, I made it

Through the day

I watched the world outside

By the way, I'm leaving out today

I just saw Hayley's comet

She waved

Said why you always running in place?

Even the man in the moon disappeared

Somewhere in the stratosphere[

[Chorus]

Tell my mother,

Tell my father

I've done the best I can

To make them realize

This is my life

I hope they understand

I'm not angry, I'm just saying,

Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

(feel free to look up the rest of the lyrics)

--E.A.

5 months spent with you.

Your Mom told me that when you were little she used to say that you were just an angel floating too close to the ground.

I still think that's true.

You're my angel, my dearest and sweetest person, and I don't know where I'd be right now without you. I'm so blessed that God brought us together at a time like this, and I thank Him every day for the fact that we can be together.

And today is our little 5-month celebration (it might seem insignificant but it's a milestone). I can't wait to see you so we can go through our Bible study notes, and, my dearest angel, I'd like to dedicate this song to you today (it's been stuck in my head all day, too).

Beyonce—Halo

You're an angel because I see Christ's reflection in you.

--E.A.

What's left is no longer what's right.

This morning I got to school earlier than usual. The sun had already been up for quite a while, and the sky was covered with scattered feather clouds. I sat in my parked car and watched the janitors carry away stacks of folding chairs which were no doubt being transported to Assembly Hall for graduation. "They're already sending us off," I thought, and it was true. The school has been preparing for our graduation since we first walked through its doors; its primary purpose had always been to teach us, let us get grades, put those grades on paper and into someone else's hands, and firmly yet gently push us up on the stage and out the door.

It was an odd morning, which I spent in a partial daze. I only went to school today because I didn't want to miss out on the last few opportunities to experience all there is to high school: 1) doing the morning announcements, 2) spending time with friends before school, and 3) sitting there, tapping my fingers on the desk for an hour while pretending to read and watch Saved By The Bell in study hall.

And that's why I found myself going to the library at 9 o'clock, heading out the door into the warm morning, at 68 degrees, sunny, with 55% humidity, a 51-degree dew point, and 10-mile visibility. It smelled oddly like summer and winter at the same time: the air was still and clear enough, like in winter, to have a detectable hint of small-city smog, yet warm and humid enough to make you imagine the smell of sunscreen.

The town was in vacation mode already: the students checked out last Saturday, the downtown restaurants seemed to be busy with what might have seemed like spring cleaning, and even the local palm-reader had a $10 special because she knew everyone was gone for the summer. I drove very slowly, frustrating the drivers behind me, partially in a daze and partilaly simply observing my surroundings. As a habit I parked far from the library (even though for the past year I normally parked in the "Fine For Parking" area), but I soon realized that the lot was absolutely empty--everyone was gone. It's time for us to go as well.

This must be what it feels like to be of old age. When you know it's time to let someone else take your place. When you want to go just because you're afraid that the things you love will become stale and boring. When you've mastered the art and can only sit back and watch others attempt climbing the same hills. And when the first minute of Metallica's "The Unforgiven III" keeps playing over and over in my head.

Listen to the song and tell me if that doesn't sound exactly like what's going through your head right now.

--E.A.

Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day!

Every morning after I do the morning announcements I drop the papers in the tray, pick up my books, and give the people in the office a cheery parting greeting usually along the lines of “everyone have a good day!” or “everybody take care!”. Everyone usually replies with either “you too, honey” or “thank you, have a good day”.

Today, just because it’s a Tuesday and I have been at school since 6:50 in the morning, I decided to switch it up and over-emphasize the wonderful cheerfulness of the day (I do that a lot).

“Everyone have the most amazingly super-awesome day!” I called today.
“You too, honey, have a good day!” everyone called (that, or a variation of that).

And then I had an interesting revelation: I wished everyone a good day once, and everyone wished me a good day right back. We are called to bless others, and when we do our blessings are brought back to us and multiplied. Therefore, whatever we wish to others will be brought back to us. Whatever we give will be multiplied and given back to us.

I don’t know what the exact verse reference is for this one, but it’s somewhere in Matthew I’m sure. Here’s the main point, though (however you apply this metaphorically): if you want to have the most amazingly super-awesome day, let go of it for yourself and wish it to someone else first. Then it’ll come back to you in more ways than you can imagine.

Comic not quite fitting but funny regardless.

--E.A.

To each his own.

There's nothing like that last high school honor night when all the seniors take turns walking across the stage and hearing their accomplishments read to the audience. The experience is different for all of us I'm sure: some only receive a Physical Fitness Award or a Core 40 diploma while others announce their departure to Harvard or receiving over $100,000 in scholarships. At such honor nights there is always a lot of cheering, bored glancing at the walls, and checking out how others in the class dressed up for the occasion. There are also a lot of green-eyed monsters running around.

I'd like to take this time to remind everyone that the old saying stands true: to each his own. Just like when we pledged our allegiance to Christ and were given spiritual gifts based on how we would best be able to serve others, same way now, upon our exit from high school, we are given various merits which would best help us during college years. If person 1 is given $80,000 in tuition and person 2 only $10,000, person 1 will be going to a private out of state college and person 2 to a local school, the proportion of tuition money is still the same.

So I, with $1000 in my hands and $20,000 on credit, walked across the stage thinking "don't trip don't trip don't trip". That's how we go through life, most of the time. Thinking: 1) don't trip, 2) where do I fit into the bigger picture, and 3) why did someone get this and I only got that?

I'm pretty happy with the turnout of the night. My parents weren't able to attend the program, which is fine because it was super-boring. If they just wanted to see me walk across a stage and have my name read then they'll definitely have more chances for that in the future (ie.potential book promos, etc.) Currently, though, I am hiding the night's program from mom because she has a habit of going on about how someone else got this-and-this and I didn't. I might show it to her some years down the road if she's still interested.

In any case, watch this video below. It'll put things in perspective.



--side hugs, E.A.

PLATYPUS!

So I took a break from my Bible study today and decided to go read some of my favorite Christian blogs. I read through my usual portion of Stuff Christians Like and Hey look, a chicken!, followed by God's Blog. That last one always makes me laugh the hardest, because sometimes you just have to be reminded that yes, God has a sense of humor. And he cares about every little detail of our lives. He laughs when we laugh over the latest Fail Blog additions, and he wants us to spend time with him, to get to know him.

Well, today I found this on the Crummy Church Signs blog, and I had to repost it:

I just thought this was really funny, not so much the sign itself as the caption under it. Then I walked around asking everyone all kinds of questions about platypuses...or platypi? That is yet another question unanswered.

--E.A.

Beginning my outreach.

Recently, about a few weeks ago, God has gently nudged me in a new direction: picking up a writing project. I have been asking for one for quite some time but have never had any good ideas.
Then, one day, an idea was given to me in Physics class. No class has given me a clearer picture of the magnificence of our God like Physics has, so it is no wonder that that's exactly where the idea was born.
The thing is--over the years I have accumulated books about effective writing or those by influential authors which I have always wanted to read but haven't had time to. Now, though, God has not only provided the time but also the sudden need to read them, and I take that as a sign of the beginning of a new chapter in my writing career.

I recently realized that even though I sometimes take my writing for granted (and compare it to other people's, such as that of famous authors who are my role models) it is a gift. I saw that when I had to help a friend write a paragraph about herself for a job listing and she just couldn't string her words together.

In 8th grade God urged me to start writing on a regular basis. Over the years he has provided me with valuable role models and promises for my future life as an author. Recently he has urged me to start blogging (I'm still not fully caught on to that idea), but now I see the benefit of that--networking.
And that's where I am right now. I am beginning to do my outreach work, starting to build connections. I am constantly in contact with people on Stuff Christians Like, which directs new people to my cause. I am constantly in contact with people from The Rebelution. I am building a wide base of connections in order to pave a way for my future work and for Christ through my work.

I'm really excited about this new book idea. I know it'll go somewhere because God revealed to me that it'll turn out significant, and he never says anything he doesn't mean. Isn't that just great?

--E.A.

In ze library.

I usually spend my mornings in the school library doing whatever I didn't get done the day before. Sometimes, though, between planning out senior pranks or writing about nebulas for physics class, I get caught up with thinking up ideas for my new book.

Here are three questions I'd like you to answer:
1. If you knew you could not fail, what would you attempt?
2. If you had an hour to live, what would you do?
3. If you could do anything consequence-free (get away with it), what would you do?

I have really great hopes for this book. It'll be a psychological thriller that will certainly make you think. I've thought about this far too many times, and I think these questions interest everyone. I won't give away the overall theme, but it'll be good.

Because really...we already have a magical world with a boy wizard, a girl-next-door princess, a heartthrob vampire, and a few other books which have been written by other people but any and all of which I myself could've written had someone else not gotten to them first. So right now I'm praying for God to give me an idea that will gain common acceptance and popularity so I can jump-start my writing career. I'll come up with a list of my favorite authors and post it sometime soon.

--E.A.

God likes bikes. Yes, yes He does.

So...just as an update I'd like to say that the Lord blessed me with a selling AND a buying opportunity on the same day.I got an offer for my old bike (the 2003 Trek), and the same day God sent me an answer to my prayers about which bike to buy: someone answered my "wanted" ad from a month ago.

Once I saw the bike they were offering me I knew that it was "the one"--God lovingly provided for me exactly what I needed right when I needed it.The more awesome thing? The bike God provided is a 2006 Trek 1000--a newer (and bigger) version of the bike I was selling, which is exactly what I needed!

Did you ever get the full story? Don't ask how it happened, but I accidentally bought the wrong size bike (craigslist, of course). A 50cm (I'm 5'11...yeah). Right away I began the painstaking search for a new bike, but nothing came along.

At the same time, my chiropractic treatments resumed. I was not supposed to ride until about a month into treatments. Now, as I look back, I realize that I probably would have been riding (and thus messing up my back even more) had I not made the size mistake. So I thank God for this little oops.

Also, God had a way to turn this into a blessing: I was able to sell the "wrong" bike for more than I bought it for. In fact, the amount I got for it ended up being the exact amount the "right" bike cost me! So it's like a swap sandwich with blessings in the middle. All-around good deal that came out of a rather desperate situation. God is great.

Another cool thing? The "wrong" bike sold EXACTLY a month after it was wrongfully bought, and on that same day my new offer arrived. The moment I saw the message in my mailbox I knew it was a sign from God to buy this bike. I didn't hesitate when I saw it, I knew it was the one for me.

THIS BE THE "WRONG" BIKE: 2003 Trek 1000:

HERE BE THE "NEW" BIKE: 2006 Trek 1000: (kindly provided for me by God himself)

I can testify that everything I needed has been caringly provided to me at just the right time. God loves us so much he cares about our bikes. And we all know Jesus'd have been a cyclist if they had bikes back in his day. :)

--E.A.