CN Eagles ♥

Life Outside the Box

Hello there! Well, it has been awhile since I have posted on my blog..mainly because of all the chaos of the transformation of college. Anyway, here are some updates on me. If you all don't know, I am now residing in Jefferson City, Tennessee and attending Carson Newman College. I'm a freshman and on the volleyball team here. I'm a utility player and I'm number 13 :) I'm living in the freshman dorms on campus and I'm loving it, minus the bed bug scandal. I live on the top floor all the way at the end (seems like forever when going back to the dorm after practice). My roommate is Carly, she's a junior and she plays on the team with me. I'm making a lot of new amazing friends, especially on my hall (the best hall ever.. 3rd N!)I've been attending "Arrowhead Church" about 10 minutes from CNC on Sundays and I love it. It is so much like FBCLP back home. FCA and Basic are two Christian groups I have been activly attending. I'm still keeping up with my daily devotional created to where you read the entire bible in a year...the devotion Matthew and I decided to do together. I have about 16 credit hours I am working on at the moment. Classes are going great.. just learning a lot..and how different college is than high school, especially tests! I'm majoring in Athletic Training and I'm already falling in love with it! I'm taking a bunch of random classes, but hey that's okay.. They are Theatre, Intro into Athletic Training, Wellness and Health, Christian Ethics, and Social Problems in America. :) Theatre class is the most interesting one though, especially when I can be shy in the acting area of my life. I love being on the court and everyone watching, but when it comes to a stage..no! :) Definitely NOT my comfort zone. Also, I have to mention the food. The cafe' isn't bad at all. It just depends on the day. I'm just glad I do not have to cook, although I am missing mommas home cooked meals! Volleyball is going great as well. I'm playing more and learning many new things on the court. It has been tough, but that's the only way I can get better as an athlete. :) The first month I was here, away from family, I was horribly homesick. I've never missed home so much in my life. The reason why I was so homesick was because, I didn't have the people I always depended on for everything... and that's where I realized some things. From this whole transformation between being at home to living over 700 miles away in a completely different state and environment, God was who I needed to rely on. As soon as I decided to completely rely on Him and depend fully on Him, life away from home just wasn't so bad after all. Don't take me wrong..I miss home VERY much, and I cannot wait to visit..but it's so comforting that God will take care of me and provide for me as long as I keep seeking Him and glorifying Him with all my actions. Like dad said, "This will be a huge learning experience for you." He was right, Just in over a month, I've learned SO much and grown.. as a person and in Christ. <3

The Old Is Gone & The New Has Come..

I recently graduated from Lake Placid High School with Summa Cum Laude Honors with a 4.62 GPA. I graduated 15th in my class on May 29th, 2010. High School is now a thing of the past, now on to college at Carson Newman College. I'm no longer the Class of 2010, instead now the Class of 2014 :)

God Loves Us :]

Wow. God definitely loves us, and I think we need to remind ourselves of that.

Sun & Sleep

Well, my Saturday consisted of sun and sleep. Nothing could beat that today. It was nice getting the vitamins I need from God's amazing gift of light, and being revived by the extra rest I've needed from a stressful past couple weeks. My day started out with me getting the chance to sleep in for the first time in a longggg time. I woke up at about 9:30 to the bright morning sunlight pouring through my window in my room. After that, I dragged around until it was the right time to go outside and get some sun. My brother and I decided to start up our Jet Ski and take a ride. It wasn't as easy as expected. We got it started finally after about 5 or 6 tries..and then took a ride. I haven't rode in FOREVER! So, I'm basically tan now, thank goodness! Getting ready for prom..oh yes! I slept for about 5 hours today, yay. I needed that extra sleep, and now I'm feeling wayyy better. I've loved this great day that the Lord has blessed me with. It's been a great Saturday! :]

Blessings Given Can Be Lessons Learned

I played club volleyball for the first time in my life for AaWamb. I believe this is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I played on the 17's team with unbelievable girls from Haines City, Fl. I couldn't have had asked God for a better team than we had. I just feel so in love with the passion, love, and determination these girls had for the game of volleyball. They were all new, and faces I've never seen before (except Tabby and Liz) and just our heart for volleyball is what brought us together like we were a family. I've never played with a team before that has loved the game and has cared for their teammates as much as we did. Together we knew we could dominate. We all believed in ourselves, and had the motivation to always come out on top. God definitely answered my prayers and blessed me with a team like that. We have such a bond that we feel cannot be broken. Those girls became my family, and I even got to the point where I felt like I knew them more than I knew the people in my home town. Before I joined AaWamb, I thought my team in high school was "all that in a bag of chips". As soon as I met those girls from travel ball, my view changed. They welcomed me with open arms and made me fall in love with the game even more. They helped show me what the "REAL" definition of volleyball is. It's not just going out on the court bumping and dinking a few balls around. It's really about slammin' it in faces and totally annihilating your opponent. It's about being a TEAMMATE, not just a player. It's about having heart and making sacrifices for your team; not backing down and giving up for anything. It's about winning, taking the gold, and never being satisfied with anything less than that. It's about being smart, doing what it takes, and always doing your best in every aspect of the game. You never bring anything on the court except your game, and then thats where you leave it. Its about being focused on what's within the court, having determination to do more than whats expected, being passionate about the game, being addicted to the feelings you get when you win and hating those of when you lose, having the will to make those sacrifices for your team, and being excited about having the opportunity to be out there. These girls have definitely shown me all of this. They have motivated me to be the best I can be on and off the court, and have shown me what it takes to make it to the next level. From this, I've seen God's blessings, and I truly believe He blessed me, but at the same time has taught me a lesson, and I'm thankful for that. :]

♥ Philippians 4:13

WE WON DISTRICTS!!!!

Semi-Finals are done and over..time to move on!

Semi-Finals were dominated by Lake Placid and Mulberry on Tuesday night. They are finally over, and now it's time to move on. Lake Placid beat McKeel, and Mulberry beat Frostproof. These wins guarantees both teams a spot in the District playoffs, and the first round of Regionals. Lake Placid will be playing Mulberry Thursday night at Mulberry. Mulberry isn't a gym that us volleyball players are looking forward to playing in, but it must happen. The thing is that Lake Placid has never won a district championship at Mulberry. This year we are ready to prove them wrong, and win the first district title ever won at this gym. We are ready to play and dominate this team. We are psyched, and energized at the moment to play them. It's almost game day, about 24 hours from now. WHEN, not iF, we win, this will be our 4th consecutive district championship at Lake Placid High School. The Lady Dragons are ready to pound the panthers in the ground and take hold of once again..another championship under our belt.

Districts..here we come!

The first round of districts start tomorrow. They are to be held in Mulberry. Since Lake Placid is the #1 seed in the district, they will be playing the last place team, #4 seed, McKeel Academy. Lake Placid and McKeel will play at 6:00 pm. The #2 seeded team will be playing the #3 seeded team. These two teams are Frostproof and Mulberry. This game will be held shortly after the first game of the night. Lake Placid is going out there confident, and determined to recieve their well earned 4th in a row district championship. We, as a team, are going to dominate McKeel. We have to realize that the season is in our past, and it doesnt matter anymore. This is where it really matters, this is when it counts. We've never gotten past districts, and this year, our goal isn't just to get past districts and win regionals, but to conquer the court, and go to state. Lake Placid High School has never gone far, but we are willing to change that. So, as we play tomorrow, please pray for our teams safety, teamwork, attitudes, and to play our best. Also, please pray that our team shines the light of Jesus Christ tomorrow night, for His glory and honor. :)

Gooo Gatorsss :)

Okie dokie..
how bout them gators?
The Gators were faced with Kentucky this week in college football. It was not just a game, it was the homecoming game. This game was expected to be won. The Gators came out with much confidence, and enthusiam. The fans cheered and the stands roared. The Gators started off strong and hard, earning themselves many of their touchdowns in the first half. Everyone of the players on Florida's team had a great game, especially the defense. UF's offense went out on the field ready to dominate, and they did. The defense held up strong to give the offense many tries for more points. It was a great game, and what I would call a "blowout". The score ended up to be 63-5, with the Gators taking this game. All I know is that..

"It's Great (huh?) To Be (what?) A FLORIDA GATOR!"

Giving God the Glory..Volleyball

The regular volleyball season is over, and all we have left is districts. Wow, how this year went by so fast. I always thought to myself how high school would take so long to get through, but now I think about it and its been so short. High school has gone so fast, and soon many of my peers will be gone off to college, and starting their lives. I'm only a junior, and well..I only have one more regular season left of volleyball in my high school career. I was thinking..the end of my highschool volleyball career is coming up sooner than expected, but also I realized that this the beginning of my college life and volleyball career. I realized that I need to start now to play where I want to play, and that this is where everything gets serious. It's no fun and games now for me. Since my senior year is not far away, I'm determined to do all I can do to be the best of the best, and to play the best of my ability. I'm going to not only call myself an athlete, I'm gonna act like and athlete, and do what athletes do. I'm starting to eat right, and eat healthy. Exercise is a huge part of being an athlete too. I cant take breaks, I've got to push it to the limit, and work harder than everyone else. My favorite quote encourages me everyday that, "When your not training, someone somewhere is, and when you meet they will win." This gets me everytime. "To be the best you have to play the best, and to be hardest, you have to work the hardest." Any athlete can play be good at a sport, but "GOOD" doesn't satisfy me. I want to not only be good, I want to be GREAT, and what I mean by great is to be the BEST. But, the only way that I can do any of this, or have the desire in my heart, to keep this conditioning and training up is by mentally training yourself..and by GOD. GOD is who blessed me with my talents, and I wanna glorify HIM with what he gave me. Without HIM I am nothing. "I can do everything through HIM who gives me strength." Phillippians 4:13.