IN MOBILE!!!!!!!!

So I have made it to the "unknown" that the title is referring to and I have been in the middle of it for the last three weeks. Well, its really been 4 if you wanna get technical. I'm really liking it so far. However, it is taking me longer this year to get into the swing of things as far as school and studying go - so I am not sure that that that is a very good thing. So, yeah - third full week of PT school was completed today about 10:45 and the first major test was completed by 8:30 am (which surprisingly enough wasn't all that major). Now next week - that'll be a different story because I'll have my first Gross Anatomy test which by all accounts will be the worst thing you have ever experienced (that's according to the second year students). Anyway - to get right down to the bottom of it, things are falling into place. School is good, thanks to all the labs we have - I am now comfortable in just shorts and a sports bra in front of complete strangers, my apartment is super cozy and cute, I'm still looking for a church to feel at home at, and I have lost 17 pounds since the end of May.

So I decided that I wanted to try and keep this thing up a little better again, cause I kinda like doing it and who cares who reads it - its gonna just be more like a place to talk about my experiences. (You know living alone it makes me sound crazy when I say that I frequently ask myself how my day went - so instead ever once and awhile I'll just tell you :) )

This week I had quite a notable experience in the life of any heath care related student. I spent my first afternoon in a gross anatomy lab. We were observing the dissections of the first year medical school students - we won't actually do a cadaver lab until next semester. Now I know that everyone has varying opinions about a cadaver lab, but I was very excited and humbled to be a part of the experience. The smell wasn't as bad as you'd expect (bad to me is like what my Daddy's hog barns used to smell like, so...to me this wasn't even on the spectrum) and although knowing that these were real people lying on all the tables I didn't get upset at all. You can't - they knew that they wanted to donate their body's to science, they are the brave souls that see the need to continue to educate health care professionals so that as a nation our quality of life can only increase. And on top of that - the only thing that was lying on those tables was their shells, their souls and all the life they had were gone, hopefully to rest eternally in the arms of their Savior. So I wasn't sad - we were very reverent and careful with them but we carried out the purpose they made as one of their last wishes. We studied their bodies so that we could better understand how to treat the patients we will come in contact with when we graduate. We only studied 5 of them, and all 5 of them had completely different looking structures, even sometimes the left and right structure were different on the same person. For example, the brachial plexus (group of nerves that innervate your upper extremities) was woven a different way on all of them. Some were very similar to how the pictures in our book look but many were unique to that one person - similar enough so that it functioned the same way but different enough so that you knew without a doubt that Someone had to design every aspect of our bodies to make us the INDIVIDUALS that we are. I left with a bit of excitement - don't label me as weird or as morbid - but what an awesome event to experience. Studying one of the Master Creator's most prized works of art - his children - and knowing that each one I will have the privilege of coming in contact with over the next 40 years will be entirely unique, an intricately woven expression of how much He loves and cares for us. I praise God for the experience and for the little reminder of how special EACH ONE of us are to Him.

¹³ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

- Psalm 139: 13-14

i think i'm a little behind

So I think I am a little behind.  It's been months since I last updated, and had actually forgotten my password when I went to try and get on.  ha How can such a young mind forget things like that so easily?? OH! Wait I know...its been completely overloaded with useless information....yes, that is it.

I am not sure why I decided to start writing again, but I think its just because within the past couple of weeks there has been several things happen that just made me stop and think....ya know, my life is drastically changing.  I am moving somewhere where I have no friends, I don't know much about it, I am starting school that finally has something to do with what I want to do with the rest of my life and I am in a way leaving behind all the things that I am comfortable with.  The last couple of months have been hard...I am not a very emotional person, but the last month or so has been extremely emotional.  I think I am just on overload and I just get to the point where I need to "relieve" some of the stress and the littlest, probably stupidest things just hit me and I bust.  There have been several days that it was all I could do to just make it through until I could get in my room and sit in quiet and just sit....well a couple of times it was to cry.  Oh, don't feel sorry for me!  It's all good!  God is teaching me some serious lessons through this time in my life and it is so neat to see him molding me to trust him more than I trust the people here on this Earth with me.

So, I'm not sure that I wrote since I made my final decision, maybe I did...but I decided for sure to go to Physical Therapy school at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.  This in itself is a God story.  I was accepted to both University Medical Center in Jackson and to South Alabma.  I had always wanted to go to UMC and actually had nearly talked myself out of even sending the application to USA, but on the day it was due I decided to do it.  Low and behold, I was given a spot in both places.  Even though I knew 100 times more about the program at UMC, the city of Jackson, people who would be there - I had no peace about going there.  Everytime I thought about it it was just like I knew know matter what obstacles seemed like may be in my way to get to Mobile, that was where I was supposed to go.   So here I am...making all the preparations to move to Mobile and become a physical therapist.  I couldn't be happier!!

So tomorrow....is my last Friday in Starkville, today was my last THursday and also the day I took my last final of my undergraduate career.  What a short time I have been here and what a lot I have accomplished.  What great friends I have met and what great memories I have made.  Its be real and its been fun...and yeah its been real fun!  Saturday at 2 pm is the big moment...well you know how graduations go, it may be more like 4 pm...but anyway there about, I'll become a Mississippi State University Alumni.  And even better yet I'll be a biological engineer....yes ma'am, a biological engineer.  Doesn't that sound crazy?!  I am so blessed to be able to receive this degree...the fact that I am even at this stage in life is a testament of God's true healing and grace.

I guess that's about it for now.  I'll be going home to dial-up, but I am starting back to work at Mr. Brent's so hopefully I can update more regularly.

One last thing.  By August 14th (the Friday before I start at USA) my goal is to have lost 45 pounds.  Its a big goal, but I REALLY, REALLY wanna do it.  I'll keep updated on that.  Hopefully, I'll be slim and trim by this time next year!

Later...I am out of here.  Iron Chef America is on and I am currently obsessed with that show.  Its so intense!  Check it out!

Employed!!!

So it's been a little while since I last wrote.  There really isn't much to write about, I mean this semester I believe I could easily be in the running for "The Most Boring" life award.  It's just that my classes don't take much effort and then they don't constantly require me to do homework so I just have "loads" of free time as compared to anyother semester in my college career.  But I still have more to do than some people.  Anyway as the title of this post suggests, since I have some free time I decided to become productive and get a job.  I probably am crazy for doing this but we'll see what happens haha I will be working for one of the professors in my department as a "grader."  I spend most of my free time between classes in our building so I figured why not be productive and make a little change at the same time.  So I went by and talked to him this afternoon and was hired!  I may even get my own little office...well it can be mine until they hire another professor or staff member.  So anyway basically what I will be doing is grading all his assignments for his two classes.  The classes have approximately 50 students in them and one of the classes has a homework assignment due most everyday it meets (3 times a week).  The homework is basically a programming class so it might get a little overwhelming at times!  But hey, challenges make us stronger people, right?? Ok, please for my sanity just agree with me.  Thank you.  So the scariest thing is that he hasn't had time to grade a significant amount of these assignments...as in he has about 200 that need to be graded!!!  I am just hoping that I will be able to catch up and stay caught up!!!  

Anyway, I'll have extra money and thats always a plus.  So lets see what else has happened?? ummm Oh, I got another interview at the other school I applied to.  I'll have an interview at South Alabama on the last Friday in February at like 8 something in the morning!!  I am pretty excited!  This school takes fewer people than UMC and then part of that number is early applicants which means there is even fewer slots for people like me.  To even get an interview here is pretty darn good....I think.  Anyway, still haven't heard from UMC...guess thats what I get for applying to that "other school."  Umm...I think thats it.  Life is good.  Ally Pace needs to be awarded a grammy.  I need a haircut.  I have decided that I am really going to miss Starkville when I leave.  I have discovered that my head is 23 inches around (important piece of knowledge since I got to order my cap and gown!!)  I think thats about it....hope you have a beautiful day!!!

Girls are like Apples

So, one of my friends on facebook posted this little poem and I think it is very appropriate. It describes very well the situation between guys and girls. I just like it and I wanted to share it with everyone....

Girls are like
apples on trees. The best
ones are at the top of the tree.
The boys don't want to reach for
the good ones because they are afraid
of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they
just get the rotten apples from the ground
that aren't as good, but easy. So the apples
at the top think something is wrong with
them, when in reality, they're amazing.
They just have to wait for the right
boy to come along, the one
who's brave enough
to climb
all the way
to the top
of the tree.


And it makes half a tree...how cool is that!!!!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

new year!

i know that it has been forever...im busy..ok?? anyway i think for the first time ever I am excited about starting a new semester. I know i must be sick or something, but there is just something about 14 hours - one class on wednesday and none on friday - that just kinda makes me a bit excited. of course the fact that this is my last semester of my bachelors degree means nothing to me...NOT!! I am so excited that it is not even funny!! anyway, point is i'm kinda glad its january and i am kinda glad i am in starkville in school! haha

so lets see, christmas break was pretty darn good. aside from just being a break I got to spend some time with the people I love most. I think the entire week of christmas we had an event every night. it was totally fine with me cause i got to make some awesome memories with family! on monday after christmas i spent all day at our camp cooking for all my friends. it was the annual "christmas at the camp" mini reunion. one of our closest friends who moved to alabama a couple of weeks after we graduated finally found her way back to hang out with us! we all had so much fun - i think everyone finally left at about 3 am haha i was worn out after it because I spent about 48 hours preparing/cooking/cleaning up for it, but it was worth it and it'll happen again next year unless something happens!

I also spent what other time i had over break reading. i haven't read a complete book since last christmas break so I decided that that is what I was going to do on my time off and i believe i did pretty well - 5 books in all. haha i was a geek and i know it!

ummm...i guess on to the good stuff. so i arrived back in starkville yesterday and it was flooding so i opted to only unload my laptop and to grab the mail. so i get this HUGE stack of mail out of the itty bitty tiny mailbox and run inside. on the top is a nice white envelope addressed to me from University Medical Center in jackson. I kinda had to just stare at it for a minute because i've been waiting for about a month to hear something from them. i was pretty anxious but i just tore into anyway ha it was a really long letter so immediately i thought - ok so if they were rejecting me the letter would have been really short so i must have made it to the next round! sure enough i finally read the first line which said that i got an interview!! EXCITED!!!!!!! i am not in yet but i am surely one step closer! the interview is just 2 weeks away so i am a little nervous but i guess i'll just go in and be myself! lol

well thats all thats been going on i think. i'll try to write more often this semester, after all i think i'll have more time!