MY POLITICAL TWO CENTS WORTH

Today I had the chance to attend a debate between some notable Democrats and Republicans. Alan Colmes, Donna Brazile, Geraldine Ferraro, Rick Santorum, Steve Forbes, and Mike Huckabee were posed with the question: Which party is best suited to lead America? It was very enlightening and interesting to witness firsthand the lively discussion that took place among some of our country's powerful leaders and personalities. Key issues were discussed in detail, qualifications of the presidential/vice presidential candidates were assessed, and goals and aspirations for our country were brought forth. Listening to all that was said, gathering information from both sides, I found myself coming to a revelation of my own. While I may align myself with one particular party more often than the other, the truth is, I am not defined by my political party. I am, however, defined by my beliefs, ideals, and what I stand for and strive for. And in all honesty, sometimes those very things put me at odds with the political party that I generally associate with. Parts of me are Republican, parts of me are Democrat, but all of me is American. I love our country, what our foundation was built upon, what we have fought for and overcome, what we stand for, and what we hope yet to attain. I approach this upcoming election as an American, an American with a hope for our country. Yes, my personal convictions have caused me to take issue with one presidential candidate and to choose to vote for the other, but regardless of which candidate, which political party, comes into office, we are still one nation, and we're all in this together. Whether the person who I believe is the better fit for president takes office or not, I still intend to pray for them and respect their position as president, and it is my hope that I will not be alone in doing so. Differences of opinions, of ideals, of beliefs, will always exist, but hopefully the respect of such differences, and especially of the people who hold them, will be even greater than the differences themselves and we can rise above them and stand together. We may see ourselves as Democrats, or Republicans, or Independents, or something else entirely, but whatever political affiliation we affix to ourselves, at the heart of it, we're all Americans, in one nation, under God; and, in my humble opinion, that acknowledgement is what the future of this nation, and the people in it, depends on.

WAITING ON THE CHANGING OF SEASONS

Dear Fall,

I've been wanting to ask you this for quite some time, so here goes. . .are we not friends anymore? I've been waiting around for you and have even stooped to the level of asking repeatedly for you to hang out with me, but to no avail. I miss you. I miss how your brisk weather makes me feel, and how it gives me the chance to bundle up in layers and wrap myself in blankets. I miss the beauty that you bring with the vivid colors of changing leaves. I miss the way that you smell, with your fresh, crisp air that is tinged with the aroma of apple cider and pumpkin pie. I just plain miss you and would love nothing more than to have you in my life, here and now. I know you might feel overshadowed by Summer, most people seem to prefer Summer's friendship, but between you and me, I would rather have your company. Besides, Summer doesn't know me the way that you do. Today, Summer thought that I would enjoy having an 80+ degree day in October! That's just crazy. Summer doesn't know me at all . . . and that's not the kind of friend that I want to have. We have something good Fall, please tell me that it is still there and show your face around here. I'll be waiting with eager anticipation until you do. . .

Your friend,
Megan

WHAT A DAY

I know that I said I wouldn't be back for awhile, and let's face it, this is one of my quickest turn-arounds in writing here anyway, but I found myself with more time and less stress on my hands and I just had to share the blessing that today turned out to be. So, to preface, in the last couple of weeks I've been having difficulty falling asleep at night, I'm still not entirely sure why but I think it could have a lot to do with all of the stuff running around in my head. Last night was no exception. I laid awake and started thinking of all of the stuff on my plate and all of the things I needed to work on and get figured out. Needless to say, instead of lulling myself to sleep I started to feel overwhelmed and stressed. Instead of brushing it off I decided to get out of bed and jot down all of the things that I was concerned about; from my financial situation (a.k.a. dwindling funds) that highlighted the importance of attaining employment; to the load of schoolwork I was looking at this week in its intensity, and also how that would then impede the job search at the moment. . .thus leading to more time with less cash; from my difficulty in finding (okay, probably more so 'making') time to exercise, matched with my urge to snack while doing schoolwork; to a number of other things. Writing them all down helped me to identify all of the individual things that I'd been feeling the weight of as a whole, and for the moment, it helped to have them out of my head and on the paper, providing clarity that I needed, but I still was aware of the reality that they all needed to be dealt with in order to truly feel at peace. Anyway, so today I set about working on my final assignments, deciding in the afternoon to change my tactic and attempt to study for and take my final exam by the end of the day so as to have a few days to dedicate solely on my final paper. On a whim, before starting in on that game plan I decided to check my school e-mail, and lo and behold my professor had so graciously decided to extend the due date of our final paper to Friday of next week. A whole 'nother week people! Now, I would've been able to complete the paper by/before Saturday, I would've been stressed and I wouldn't have had (or felt like I had) time for anything else, but I would've gotten it done. But to have it pushed back entirely out of the blue, I literally started dancing around the room! After I had gotten that out of my system I decided to make good on having some open time in my schedule and set about working on a couple of cover letters that I had been putting off since I hadn't felt as though I had the time to focus on them. I got them done, sent them and my resume, and in effect applied for two jobs; making at least some type of headway that wasn't really happening before in my efforts to find employment and help my finances. But that's not all, a couple of weeks back when I had met up with one of the Young Life Area Directors around here he had told me to send him my resume and job preferences and he would be more than happy to get the word out and hopefully help me (yet another reason why I love Young Life so much, the people are so genuinely fabulous!). So fast forward to today, my information gets sent out this afternoon to the whole Young Life committee in the area and by the end of the night I have two different job options (one more viable than the other) and a recommendation of a line of work to look into. Instead of dancing, this time I broke out in song. What strikes me most is how last night was somewhat of a breaking point, it was the night I decided to confront all of the stuff in my head and heart and see them for what they were, and in less than a day a number of those things were dealt with in some regard, and not on my own accord. There's really no excuse to be made, I honestly haven't been too focused on my relationship with God currently, and have even allowed myself to think and act in ways that aren't that great, but in seeing God's work in my life even still, it makes it even more clear to me how unconditional His love is, and has me at His feet. I have felt blessed, giddy, and humbled today in recognizing God's love and provision in my life. This day caught me by surprise with the events that took place and I am so grateful for an answered unprayed prayer (it's a good thing He knows our hearts and minds). God is good, I know that full well, and I think that it's that thought that will lull me to sleep tonight. I suppose I should head in that direction now since I'm planning on going for a run in the morning now that my schedule's a bit more relaxed. I hope and pray that you all may experience God's love and faithfulness in your days!

BITS AND PIECES

I'm in the midst of studying for a final exam and writing a final paper this week (again, my program is a little different than most) so, #1: I'm currently lacking the brain capacity to put something extensive and/or insightful here; but, #2: I needed a break from the schoolwork (a.k.a. a reason to procrastinate for a bit. . .wait, do I ever need a reason for that?) and I thought that this was as good as any. Anyway, for now I'll just give a brief glimpse of some recent happenings, it's quite scintillating so I hope that you're prepared for all of this. . .

- Last week I ventured out to a local middle school to check out a Wyldlife (Young Life for middle-schoolers) club to see if it was something that I wanted to get back involved in out here. It was fun to be a part of that again, but the highlight of the evening was when one of the high-school-aged leaders asked me if I was an eighth-grader. Seriously. I suppose when I'm older it won't be bad to seem 10 years younger, but as for now, I think that graduate school and middle school are light years apart and I really hope that I don't resemble an adolescent girl.

- Kickball is going. . .well, it's going. My team is fun and I'm having a blast with it but we're still trying to get our first win. At least we've gotten to the point of being able to keep our opponents in the single digits. I think we're just going for the underdog story, so watch out, by the end of the season we'll take everyone by surprise. . .maybe. We do have our mid-season party this weekend so that should be quite the good time as well.

- One other thing keeping me going with these finals is the fact that they'll be done come Saturday, and I plan on celebrating by attending Oktoberfest down on the ocean front with some other ladies. The German in me has always wanted to experience Oktoberfest so I'm looking forward to some good Bavarian food, beer, and entertainment. Es wird spass machen! I'll try and document it in pictures to show you all the event in its glory.

- On a weirder note, over the last week my right index finger has taken to twitching involuntarily quite constantly. . .and it's gotten worse in the last couple of days. Not really sure what's going on with that. Any medical workers out there with insight?

Well, that's all folks. I promise to return to full capacity in the near future, thanks for putting up with the complete randomness (more so than usual) until then. As for now, it's back to the books for me.