Hello!
I would usually be getting out of school about now, but I actually left on a bus this morning to go to Wilmington for the cross-country meet. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have stuff to say about it when I get back, but my goals for this weekend:
1. Do well in the meet. Doesn't mean a PR, necessarily, but trying my hardest and feeling ridiculously exhausted at the end is basically how it should go.
2. Take loads of pictures. For prosperity.
3. Come home with fun memories. Senior year, first time at Wilmington, hanging out with the cross-country ladies. YAY SENIOR ROOM! :D
That's it. Simple goals, yes? Definitely accomplish-able.
TOMORROW, look forward to the LONG-AWAITED Tours/Bordeaux/Pays Basque post! I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I technically finished it a while ago. I was just saving it for tomorrow at this point, for a time when I know I won't be able to blog. Please comment, ask questions, or whatever-- I love to talk about my time in France, and it's still pretty fresh in my mind.
A demain (kinda).
-Aly
Showing posts with label XC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label XC. Show all posts
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Samaritan
HELLO!
I didn't intend to blog again today, but of course, sometimes you have to just go with it.
This afternoon after cross-country practice, Molly, Margaret, Katherine, and I dashed off to Margaret's house to meet up with their youth pastor and John (who is in our grade, though I'm not particularly close to him), and Will ended up going as well.
We got to Samaritan Ministries later than planned, but soon, we were working, serving food to the men that would come in. We would cheerfully say "hi!" as they came in, pausing momentarily in our tasks to flash smiles.
After all the work was done, we retreated to the common room, where some played cards while others talked or watched a football game on TV. Margaret was speaking in Spanish to a man that works as a construction worker; I couldn't understand every detail of their conversation, but I understood enough that I knew what was going on. It must be comforting for him to have the opportunity to speak to somebody in such an environment, and talk about his life and topics beyond this town.
Anyway, at 10, there was a devotion. Usually I shy away from discussing religion on this blog, but I am going to address it now, because that devotion was the best I have ever seen. It was inspiring in a way I had never seen, and being in that room, filled with these people, attention centered on this one man, who is the director of the Samaritan, was really interesting. I couldn't help but realize how BADLY some people need to have a God in their lives. They need the guidance and comfort of somebody watching over them, the idea of the good that is coming in their lives. Pulling through a dark time defines these people, and as they continue to struggle, the message of a god that is looking out for them is necessary.
Tonight, two men were saved at the Samaritan. One man had been drunk, and was contemplating suicide. Steve talked to him, and told him to stay here for the night. Later that night, another man was choking; the man from earlier in the day performed the Heimlich. The irony-- the one that had been saved, continuing on to save another man. They spoke of the purpose in each of their lives, guided by God. A reason to live. Having faith and religion gives them that reason, no matter what the difficulties in their lives.
I respect that, and it is interesting to see the ways that religion impacts people's lives. Though I am not religious, and have moved beyond the point where I can truly understand it, I find this reminder of the "truly faithful" to be a good reminder of the good that is the origin of some religious ideals.
Anyhow, I just wanted to share that. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see that, and though my personal beliefs will not likely change because of it, I did appreciate seeing the good in Christianity again. The reason religion exists is because people need God. Not everybody does, and the gods may come in different forms, but in order for some people to find purpose in their life, they need to have this idea of god.
That is all. Time to finish packing! WILMINGTON SOON! :D
Until Monday! (seriously this time)
-Aly
I didn't intend to blog again today, but of course, sometimes you have to just go with it.
This afternoon after cross-country practice, Molly, Margaret, Katherine, and I dashed off to Margaret's house to meet up with their youth pastor and John (who is in our grade, though I'm not particularly close to him), and Will ended up going as well.
We got to Samaritan Ministries later than planned, but soon, we were working, serving food to the men that would come in. We would cheerfully say "hi!" as they came in, pausing momentarily in our tasks to flash smiles.
After all the work was done, we retreated to the common room, where some played cards while others talked or watched a football game on TV. Margaret was speaking in Spanish to a man that works as a construction worker; I couldn't understand every detail of their conversation, but I understood enough that I knew what was going on. It must be comforting for him to have the opportunity to speak to somebody in such an environment, and talk about his life and topics beyond this town.
Anyway, at 10, there was a devotion. Usually I shy away from discussing religion on this blog, but I am going to address it now, because that devotion was the best I have ever seen. It was inspiring in a way I had never seen, and being in that room, filled with these people, attention centered on this one man, who is the director of the Samaritan, was really interesting. I couldn't help but realize how BADLY some people need to have a God in their lives. They need the guidance and comfort of somebody watching over them, the idea of the good that is coming in their lives. Pulling through a dark time defines these people, and as they continue to struggle, the message of a god that is looking out for them is necessary.
Tonight, two men were saved at the Samaritan. One man had been drunk, and was contemplating suicide. Steve talked to him, and told him to stay here for the night. Later that night, another man was choking; the man from earlier in the day performed the Heimlich. The irony-- the one that had been saved, continuing on to save another man. They spoke of the purpose in each of their lives, guided by God. A reason to live. Having faith and religion gives them that reason, no matter what the difficulties in their lives.
I respect that, and it is interesting to see the ways that religion impacts people's lives. Though I am not religious, and have moved beyond the point where I can truly understand it, I find this reminder of the "truly faithful" to be a good reminder of the good that is the origin of some religious ideals.
Anyhow, I just wanted to share that. I'm glad I had the opportunity to see that, and though my personal beliefs will not likely change because of it, I did appreciate seeing the good in Christianity again. The reason religion exists is because people need God. Not everybody does, and the gods may come in different forms, but in order for some people to find purpose in their life, they need to have this idea of god.
That is all. Time to finish packing! WILMINGTON SOON! :D
Until Monday! (seriously this time)
-Aly
Monday, August 23, 2010
Granola Bar
Coucou!
Okay, so, today I’ll be writing in English, though yesterday’s post is definitely not the last post I’ll be writing in French just because I can…
ANYWAY!
My first day of Forsyth Tech went surprisingly well. I was EARLY, but my teacher was late, so I stood anxiously in the quickly-emptying hallway and fidgeted, while obsessively checking my phone for the time. Eventually he showed up (about six minutes late), and the class began. There were only SEVEN of us there, which was REALLY WEIRD. Is that how it works at community colleges, or did everybody just…skip?
We were discussing Ethics and Law, which is really quite fascinating, though the chapter in the book is TWENTY-SIX pages long (so after working on it for a good chunk of my day and taking probably unnecessary notes, I’m on page 18). I really hope every chapter won’t be like that, because I fear that might be a bit too much reading, even for me. Unfortunately, I encountered so many problems with my Sociology class that I didn’t even get started on that today.
I logged on to Blackboard, only to discover that I WASN’T enrolled in any online classes. So I called the help desk, only to be put on hold for 10 minutes and hang up. I then called the Dual Enrollment organizer, only to find out that she will be gone until Friday (unless she’s forgotten to change her voicemail…), and then i called Tech Support AGAIN, only to be on hold for 15 minutes before actually talking to an actual person, who told me that I was enrolled in the class from their end, and that I’d have to contact my teacher to have them open up the course. Unfortunately, I can’t see my teacher’s contact information since it says I’m not enrolled in the class. GAHHHHHH. SO FREAKING FRUSTRATING.
All of that means that I have to deal with more stuff tomorrow, since I didn’t today. Emails, emails, emails, that I don’t have time to do.
Anyway, after all that mess, I went up to my high school to help out one of the “coaches”, Mr Fisher, who is really a math teacher. I got there early (since I’m bad at timing), and ended up staying for the next two hours, dealing mostly with the organization of textbooks, which included putting names into many of them. I gave one of my friends a New book because I could, and then spazzed out later when I found MY old Algebra 2 book. I’m so glad I don’t have to go through that again. I wanted to leave a note for the next owner of that book, but decided not to. I mean, I wouldn’t want to embarrass anybody by being that creepy! … :)
Finally, there was more cross-country, where I ran with a small group of girls, For once, we had a girl from every grade! We were just chilling, a nice, relaxed run. One of the other groups (the “faster” group), walked, which I DO NOT UNDERSTAND, and it annoys me quite a bit but so far as I’m concerned, they can make their own decisions about what they want from their season. I’ll just run with the “slow” group, enjoy myself, and at the end of the day, feel good about what I accomplished.
In other news, Real School starts Wednesday, and I’m still not done with Summer Reading, so I’ll be squeezing that in tomorrow!
A demain, comme d’habitude ;)
-Aly
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