God is great. That's all I can say.

      Last night, I sat on a couch in a lamp-lit room, keeping an eye on the baby monitor on the coffee table while I read The Brothers Karamazov.  I haven't babysat in a really long time, and it was nice to get off campus and be in a home again, even if the baby slept the whole time I was there (yay for getting paid and getting homework done!). While I sat there though, I had this weird feeling. Sometimes - actually a lot of times - I get so wrapped up in my schoolwork that I forget what it's like to not have anything to do and to have a Saturday night of no-homework and no-school-related-stress. But for awhile last night, I didn't feel stress. I felt calm. I put down my book for a moment and just sat in the silence, not worrying about anything. As I'm not used to that feeling at this time of the semester, it was strange, but it felt great, too. The feeling reminded me that there is a life not revolving around schoolwork. My life has always revolved around school; that's all I've ever known. I wish I could babysit more often, if only to remind myself that there is a life outside of school and homework. Yet, at the same time, I think I intentionally forget that fact, because the future scares me and I don't want to think about my life after school. It looms over me like a shadow, waiting to engulf me in the finality of my student life. Yikes. Why is life change?

     In other news, Cambridge is a reality. As in, I'm actually going to Europe for the first time ever. As in, my plane tickets to London have been bought. As in, the trip is completely paid off now. As in, God is great, awesome, and wonderfully amazing! I'm going to Cambridge!!! :D For three weeks this summer, I will study there, tour London, see a Shakespeare play at the Globe, and maybe visit another European country on one of my free weekends. Needless to say, I am so stoked about this trip.

     In still other news, I like Russian literature. Or at least, what I've read of it. I also love reading novels for my classes; it makes homework so much more enjoyable. What novels have I read this semester, you ask? Well, let me tell you! Since January, I have read all of Jane Austen's novels (Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey), Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, A River Runs through It, Jayber Crow, Into the Wild, Anna Karenina. I'm currently reading The Brothers Karamazov and still need to read Gilead and The Road before the end of the semester. Have I mentioned that I love being an English major?

     What else has happened this semester? I don't take as many pictures as I used to - either I don't do as many fun things or I'm just not good at remembering my camera anymore - so it's harder for me to remember all the interesting things I've done. Oh, I was in a wedding. Marked that off my bucket list. But that was before the semester began. Still, weddings are always fun. I have to miss my cousin's wedding this summer because I'll be in Cambridge. But it's Cambridge, so I think I'll be okay. :)

     If you think about, I could use prayer for guidance in those scary future plans as I look at and apply for internships for the fall. Thanks.

     I just watched the trailer that came out today for Catching Fire. I'm so stoked for November 22! But not as stoked as I am about Cambridge. I don't think anything could beat that right now.

     Did I mention I'm going to Cambridge this summer? God is good. :)

"Where are we going? Oh, I don't know, but still I've got to go. What will become of us? Oh, I don't care. All I know is I'll go anywhere. Pioneer."
- Pioneer, The Band Perry