3 Days to Go

Track Meet at Benedictine with all the hurdlers!

I decided to take a break from the hectic activities before finals and blog. The last two weeks of school have been and will continue to be crazy, as always. From final track meets, to sports banquets, and studying these last days of freshman year will not slow down. But the last two weeks have been filled with lots of fun memories that will linger in the back of my mind as summer begins next Wednesday.

First off, I had a track meet at Benedictine University, last weekend, a hour north of school. Although I did not have a good race (a girl fell into my lane at the end of the race) it was a fun time spent with amazing athletes at my team who I have had the privilege to train with call my friends. 

Rachel, Madison, and I at Anthem Lights Concert 

Maddie & I at the Concert

                     







Last Saturday evening, I went to the Anthem Lights concert in Roselle, IL. I have never felt so old at a concert before. There was an abundance of tween girls ooohhhing and ahhhhing over the band. For those who have not heard of Anthem Lights, they are a boy band from Nashville, TN who started out singing covers and mash ups of songs on YouTube and now have two cds produced. The really cool thing about these guys are that they are a christian group and this really awesome mash-up can be heard on SHINE.FM or KTIS. My personal favorite mash up of theirs is, of course, this Taylor Swift mash-up. 

Laura and I ready for the awards

The busy weekend finished off with the ONU Toby Awards, which was the athletic banquet for the 600+ varsity athletes at Olivet. Track and field athletes took home a lot of the awards. I think the best part of the banquet was getting ready and dressed up with my friend Laura from track. 

Five hour library visits have become the norm for these last two weeks and will continue to be as I finish up on big final projects such as my Language Arts and Social Studies four day unit and bulletin board. 

Until Next Time (and after finals), 

Miss Sass A Frass

Defeat

Wilma Rudolph is one of my heroes. I think she has such an inspiring story. When she was 4 years old she contracted polio in 1944. She had to walk with a brace on her left leg. Through physical therapy, hard-work, and determination, she overcame her disability and began to run. She was noticed in high school as a runner and made the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia as the youngest member at age 16. She earned a bronze medal. She then went back and finished high school and attended Tennessee State University. She made the 1960 Olympics team in Rome, where she broke three world records and became the first American female to take home three Olympic gold medals from one Olympic games. Afterwards, she finished her degree and became a teacher and track coach and dedicated her life to inspiring other young people to pursue their dreams and passions on and off the track.

Photo Credit: Biography.com 

I first heard of Wilma Rudolph when I was about ten years old when I had to read a biography (I read this biography) for a book report in school. Something about Wilma always stuck with me. Maybe it was her difficult childhood and battle with polio, perhaps it was because she was an athlete, or possibly because she was determined. Whatever it was I have always remembered her name. Wilma Rudolph always gave 100%. She had so many obstacle growing up and she defied every single one of them. Her quote in the picture sums up her life and the key to success. Learning to lose is hard. It doesn't matter what we lose at, but what we do when we lose. To be a winner, you have to be willing to lose, pick yourself up, and try again. That is what Wilma did and she accomplished bigger things than she ever dreamed of doing. Without defeat, you cannot learn to be a true champion. Are you ready to lose and be defeated? Because the true champions come from dedication, motivation, and the humility of losing. Be prepared to be defeated, but also be prepared to become a champion from that defeat.

Until Next Time, 

Miss Sass A Frass

Flying Free

Flying is so free. Up in the sky, you are so high up above everything else. The earth shrinks underneath you. People become unintelligible, houses just specks, and skyscrapers small. When I look out my airplane window, I just see the plains of the land, roadways in the distance, and lakes no bigger than my finger nail. I love soaring above the clouds, it puts the world into perspective. Each one of us is just a tiny dot, the higher you fly, the less you see and the focus is no longer on us, it is on the bigger picture the world around. In addition, the higher you fly, the farther away your problems drift. Just as the airplane disappears into a cloud and can no longer see the land, it feels like your problems do the same. It gives you a perspective. Each of us is just a small spec, our problems are even smaller than that, when we take a step back from ourselves and look from the outside in, like looking down at the world from an airplane, you realize how little you are and how insignificant your problems may be compared to what is going on in the rest of the world around you.

This has given me perspective. I am so focused on my own little world and what is going on inside of it that I forget to look at the world around me and see others. When I decide to look outside myself, I realize that my problems or grudges are insignificant, that is why I choose to forgive. Anger and bitterness anchors me into my own little world and debilitates my ability to look outside my own world. When I forgive it sets me free. It is like flying. I am able to go places and see that my world isn’t quite what is cracked up to be and there is a lot bigger picture besides me. But that is why forgiveness is hard. It is cutting that anchor that ties you down to your own world that places you at the center of that space. Because when you forgive, you are thinking of others, not yourself, and you are letting go. That is sometimes the hardest part, letting go. Letting go of the chain that tethers you to your world and the people and problems that make up that chain. But the feeling when you fly –the freedom and lightness –makes it all worth it. Today I am chopping that chain and letting go so I can soar. When I soar, I stop and think, maybe it really isn’t all about me.

 Until Next Time, 

Miss Sass A Frass

He Does Not Grow Weary

Photo Credit: http://the-end-time.blogspot.com

Psalm 40: 28-31 

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? 

The Lord is the everlasting God, 

the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

He does not faint or grow weary; 

his understanding is unsearchable. 

He gives power to the faint, 

and to him who has no might he increases strength. 

Even youths shall faint and be weary, 

and young men shall fall exhausted; 

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; 

they shall mount up with wings like eagles; 

they shall run and not be weary; 

they shall walk and not faint. 

So often we grow weary and we keep trying and pushing to make it through the day, or til the end of the week, the end of the month, or end of the semester, but we don't have to keep pushing. We can stop and we can surrender. We can surrender everything over to God. At that point of surrender, God will pick us up and carry us. The greatest thing about our Heavenly Father is that He does not become weak, He does not grow weary, and He does not feel faint.  He will carry us. He will carry us through that moment, or through that day, or week, and he will continue to carry us through the month. He will carry us through the next and the next; God will never let us go, because He does not grow weary. The crazy part is...that He wants to carry us.

Knowing that, why do we resist surrenderance? Why do we resist letting someone else, who wants to carry our baggage, keep from helping us? Because it is hard. It is hard to let go and let someone else take control. But if we do, the Lord shall renew our strength and he will guide us. I don't think there is anything better you could ask for someone to do for you.

So today, are you willing to surrender? 

It is hard, but it will be worth it. Only a few days later, and I already have found that it is, so very worth it.

Until Next Time, 

Miss Sass A Frass

The Gang

Taking the Metra into Chicago

The first weekend back at school was crazy! It started on Friday night with a all-school event in the Rec center with lots of games and free Oberweis ice cream, for those who are from Minnesota Oberweis is...well you would have to ask someone from Illinois, because I have no idea! All I know is that it is super yummy! The next morning I got up at 5:15am to get on the bus to leave for my first indoor college track meet at Whitewater University in Wisconsin. Although I did not make it to finals or have a very good race, it was a great first college meet experience. Before the meet everyone got a new shirt, sweatshirt, and today we all got new duffle bags with our names on it. I am not gonna lie, I love all the free swag!
After the meet and a big snowfall, Jessie, Rachel, and Effie arrived Olivet to visit Sarah and I. Sunday we explored Chicago. Jessie and Effie had never really been so we...well I will just show you through our pictures...

The Bean 

             

                     The Hershey Store

We all love our chocolate!

Navy Pier

Until Next Time, 

Miss Sass A Frass

Back to the Bourb

Well, I am back in the Bourb. After an amazing month off of break, I am back at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, also known as the Bourb. I had a fantastic break between hanging out with this guy (see picture right) and celebrating two years of dating, hanging out with family and friends, and my oldest sister getting married, I was very busy!
First off, Zach took me on a surprise date! He wouldn't tell me what we were doing only to dress warm. He picked me out and we went out to Hibachi, which was so yummy, then he surprised me and we went to the Depot in downtown Minneapolis, and went ice skating! It was so fun and a perfect way to celebrate dating for two years.  We happen to have this crazy 6th sense and without planning it or trying, we often end up matching or having coordinating outfits. It is meant to be I guess!
On January 4, 2014, my oldest sister, Megan, married the man of her dreams, Andrew. She wore my grandma's wedding dress, which was 50 years old! She looked beautiful and it was such a fun wedding! I, of course, was a bridesmaid, along with my two other sisters, two of Andrew's sisters, and Megan's best friend. At the reception, Megan changed into her own dress to dance in. Andrew surprised Megan for their honeymoon. He did not tell her where they were going until the day they left. All she knew is that she needed her passport and it was tropical! M & A ended up going to the Virgin Islands/St. Johns area! After the wedding and a few days of recuperating, things started getting a bit more normal around the house. In fact, after two days my mom was able to have a normal conversation and not get distracted by thoughts of the wedding! Following the wedding, I was able to catch up with friends and relax a bit. Now I am back to school, loving seeing my friends, and enjoying all almost all of my classes (My biology professors are well...something else...).

I will try to blog more this spring, but between 17 credits and indoor track competitive season starting, I do not know how much blogging I will actually get done!

Until Next Time, 

Miss Sass A Frass