Hello again

[Elisabeth]

Howdy!

With summer here, I might be around a bit more...if y'all post threads that spark my interest. The school year has been busy and long, but it has been great. I will be continuing to study over the summer, but will also hopefully have more free time than I did during the school year.

Hope you all have had a great past few months!

God bless,
Elisabeth

[Haruo]

Hi Elisabeth, good to see your smiley face ! I'm away at the Esperanto-USA convention in St. Louis, with very limited Internet access, so I'll be scarce for a few days here, but by all means post away! Tell us about your school year, if nothing else.

[Elisabeth]

Hmm...not a conference I'm familiar with, but I hope it's enjoyable!

I posted a long blog post about my school year and the lessons I learned, if you're curious to see it... If you just scan the bolded titles (there's 20), you can get an idea of the post, without reading it all.

In story-form...my year was long, exciting, a time of growth, and not anything I could've anticipated. At the start of the year I got my first taste of trying to fit in...most kids get that from Kindergarten till they leave school for good, but being homeschooled, I got to delay the start of that until college. Thankfully, I was at a pretty tame school, so, trying to fit in didn't mean that I got into any sort of terrible trouble. By the middle of the first semester, I had gotten to know most of the seniors in the computer science major, and started hanging out with them. Because they're all geeks, I didn't have to try to "fit in", 'cause we were all mis-fits. Seriously, though, our little Computer Science major has some of the greatest people on campus. They're not overly geeky, and very friendly and welcoming.

Also mid-way through the semester, I started my on-campus job as an administrative assistant. I've heard of more exciting work, but my boss is amazing and such a blessing to me - I love working for her. I got the job rather "randomly" - aka, definitely something that God was orchestrating. My boss and I have gotten to know each other more as friends than boss-and-employee, and I think that He placed us in each other's lives to fill needs that we both had.

Hanging out with the computer people, I got convinced to change my major to something computers-related. My major now is Management Information Systems - basically, someone that understands business and English who can translate for the computer geeks, who tend to only speak Geek. With this degree, I would be suited for a job managing the technology department and interacting with the rest of the business.

A funny note about my major - you know how people joke about girls going to college (especially Christian colleges) to get their Mrs. degree? Well...I'm here getting my MIS degree...which is hilariously close to "Miss".

I think it likely that I will finish college a "miss", though, because I am not in the social sphere much. I have an academic scholarship that depends on good grades, and if I lose it, I might not be able to return to school...so, between that and my job (which I have to have to be able to continue at school), I stay pretty busy. My socializing mostly consists of helping to manage the Computer Science Guild...but I am getting ahead of myself.

At Christmas break I went home with a budding relationship and books to study for an independent study course that I was taking over our interim semester. The course went well; the relationship...well...it ended peacefully. The independent study, though, was my first course in Computer Programming, and I loved it.

This second semester was a lot tougher than the first one. I did not know how I would manage to get the grades I needed, because I had one very difficult class, one where the professor didn't like me, and the others were difficult enough themselves...and, I had a roommate who had frequent trips to the E. R., which meant that I spent many a night sitting in the E. R. with her...and many other things going on that would take awhile to list. The only reason I "complain" about this is to say that God is amazing and wonderful and so gracious, because somehow, He made my grades by where I needed them and higher. Really, I see it as a miracle that I got the grades I did.

So, now I am to the summer. I have decided to do all in my power to get school done in 3 years instead of 4, so, I am studying over the summer, as well as working 3/4 time. I am eagerly looking forward to the next two years to see what God does, and then to see where He takes me in my life beyond college!

That might've been longer than you were looking for...but that's what happens when I'm sitting at a computer and bored. lol.

[Cathy]

Thanks for the update Elisabeth. It's good to hear from you!

[Dave Roberts]

It sounds like you did a lot of growing this year in learning how to live on your own and make decisions that would help you to find where you felt your life needed to head. Life is a continual process of decisions, so we need to be aware of those as well. I congratulate you on keeping your head above water. Have a great summer!

[Lamar Wadsworth]

Good to have you back with us and hope to hear from you often. There's nothing more refreshing than a young person with a pure love for God and a desire to be pleasing to Him in all things. You are a refreshing presence on this site!

[Elisabeth]

Thanks everyone. The last week and a half or so has been crazy, but I'm hoping things have calmed down a bit so that I can visit around here more often.

[joel]

Hello, Elizabeth.