Top 5 Worst
5. Killing Bambi with my Car - In my 6 years of driving, I had never hit anything while driving...let alone an animal but when that deer decided to commit suicide in front of my car, I was so devastated. It was an open road so I would floor it, but little to my knowledge, Bambi was waiting at the next bend in the road to cut the cord!
4. Bambi leaving a dent... and then some - Just when I thought that killing Bambi was the worst thing, little did I know that she would completely damage my headlamp and leave a remembrance of her with it... see left :(
3. Debt overload- the mixture of bad spending habits, student loans, and lots of car repairs led to a depressing few months of debt overload. I really couldnt concentrate on school or anything but my debt..it was rough believe me
2. New York Giants and Eli Manning -- need I say more :(
1. Graduating College -- leaving UD undergrad was definitely a sad time(but happy at the same time, check below)...It would be the last time I would see a lot of my friends which definitely got me in a rut. Even though I would go back to UD for Grad School, it was definitely the end for an era for me.. Things would change.
BEST OF 2010
10. URBANA 2009-2010 - I rang in the new year worshipping with over 24,000 other Christians from all around the world at Urbana in St. Louis... I learned about global missions, how to hear God's calling, and to really understand God's love and our response to that towards ourselves, each other, and God. Definitely an epic road trip to St. Louis and I was able to get closer with God and find myself.
9. Daytona Missions Trip - definitely one of the best spring breaks I've ever had -- I was able to have what may be the closest thing to the regular "College Spring Break" because I was in warm Florida and on the beach but I was there for anything but "regular". I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and spoke to beach-goers about God and had some amazing and challenging conversations. I also got really close with my friends and learned that my car could handle 17 hours back and forth!
8. Graduated College -- I know this was in my worst of 2010, but this was definitely also an amazing feat for me. For years ago, I had totally different intentions for my major and degree. The last four years saw so many changes in major and minor and I didn't know I was going to graduate with the major I wanted to, let alone graduate on time! Walking in May 2010 was rewarding...I knew that four years was definitely over and it was my time to leave.
7. Getting into Grad School- hah so of course you know I got into UD for grad school, so its like I never left right? Wrong. Its definitely a lot different. New Friends. New Apartment. New Classes. New style of learning and studying....I didnt know I was going to even get in because of my undergraduate GPA and I applied really late so I didnt know if there were any spots left. But God had a different plan and decided that this was where I needed to be. I LOVE this program and I know its what I want to do.. among many things heh
6. Getting a Full Ride for Grad School(and then some) -- So I was able to secure a graduate assistantship that would pay for my full tuition at school and provide me with more than $15K a year on top of that for living and other expenses! It's definitely helped me out a lot as it's paying for a lot of my expenses and helping my debt situation. Definitely a huge blessing that I feel I take for granted so much!
5. USPSA Conference and meeting Quinn, Jake, and Courtney - so in high school I was really a big part of the US Public Service Academy and trying to get a bill passed in Congress to build it. I hadn't really been too involved with it in undergrad but they invited me to a conference in DC where we would lobby on Capitol Hill and try to get it passed. Little did I know was I would find some pretty amazing friends that I would gain for a lifetime...I met Courtney bc she was also a Coca Cola Scholar but with her were two rising HS seniors Jake and Quinn who I would become really close with in just three days. We all still communicate with each other SO much and I'm so happy i went on that random conference because I wouldn't have met them.
4. Spragg Lake -- So I went to Brianna Spragg's lake house for a day this summer in the Poconos and may have been the greatest time I've spent away from civilization and just time with God, friends, and nature. We had so much fun swimming in the freezing lake, playing crazy games, having dance parties and burning cookies. We had long talks about God and spent some time sitting by the dock...It was there that I got really close with Ryan Jones and Sean Spurdle.. two of my best friends...
3. Middetown HS Marching Band -- wow.. so I didn't think I was going to be teaching color guard or marching band this fall due to Grad school, but something or someONe kept telling me to stay at middletown this year after failing to find a replacement for me and Jess. This may have been the best decision ever. The band did amazingly well, no matter what the judges put on paper, but more importantly, I found a family I always wanted. The band kids became some of my greatest friends and they just love each other so much and took me in as if I was a part of the band. Sure the band show was amazing, and our football team made it all the way to finals, but I think it was the kids that kept me there and encouraged me cut class so I could be with them. It was all worth it b/c I did well this semester and I had some quality time with the band...I miss them dearly right now.
2. FCA Camp - So in May, Meghan Morrow asked me if I wanted to join her and Matt Brianik in going to be a coach/huddle leader at Fellowship of Christian Athlete's Summer Sports Power Camp at Kutztown University. I wasn't going to go because it would interfere with work, but I worked it out some how.... I was kind of afraid because they put me with baseball, a sport I knew little about...but the group, with my co-leader David Guarino, took me in with open arms. And I would have one of the most amazing weeks of my life. Being a leader of 11 high school guys who were so in love with baseball, each other, and God.... it was amazing. I saw hundreds of athletes accept Christ for the first time and I saw miracles happen.....I would soon become best friends with a couple of them... and would change my entire life forever..
1. Fantastic 4 - and Brian - From FCA camp, a bunch of us would meet up this summer at the jersey shore and would become some of my best friends... Ubowski, Scags and Robbie would become some of my best friends from FCA. They have been there through thick and thin and they have provided me with amazing friendship and fellowship and brotherhood. I had a rough last few months of 2010 and if it wasn't for them, I didn't know what I would do. I would go to Harleysville to hang with Ubowski and the Souderton guys which have been amazing and I've been able to go over to the Jersey shore a lot and get to know Robbie and Scagnelli. Robbie had a really good friend named Brian who goes to Coastal Carolina, and through the internet, I've become really good friends with. I honestly don't know what I would do without him. We talk on oovoo almost every day and he is such an amazing guy. He has no idea how amazing he is, thats what makes him so amazing. God definitely sent these guys to me during a time of loneliness and depression, when I didnt know who my true friends were and when I was transition from undergrad to grad school. I was a wreck, and God provided me with these four guys....to provide me with loyal friends and everlasting relationships....Thanks God and thanks guys :)
Hope y'all have an amazing 2011!
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