Carefree living in the mad world around me

Well, it has been quite a few days since I last blogged, but boy has life been crazy. As soon as I returned from the beach, I felt like my schedule just got busier and time flew by. I believe I was and still maybe in somewhat of a "spring break" mode. I have never been as easy going as I have most recently all while everything stressful is going on right in front of me. With finals coming up not to mention preparation for the annual Greek Week, here on campus, along with State and Founders Day, which will be held at our sorority house here, I have faced it all in a more calm manner than I ever thought imaginable. In other sorority news, I am so proud to call my AXID sisters second time winners of the annual Pi Kappa Phi's War of the Roses, which is a week of competitions between all sororities on campus and all money raised is given to Pi Kapp's philanthropy Push America. My sorority sister, JHill and I riding around collecting money for Push America to raise money for wheelchair ramps.

Also, since spring break I have acquired a new friend, who I am happy to tell about. Tmoss, my roommate and I met this sweet girl at our weekly bible study. Her name is MB and she is such a doll, we are all planning to go apartment hunting this week to look for housing this coming fall. Tmoss, MB, and I all made a roadtrip to Atlanta the other night for the infamous grease of the Varsity. It was delicious and afterward we made a pit stop at Atlantic Station, which is an outdoor shopping venue for dessert. Everyone is trying to go out doors as much as possible, considering the fact that the westher has been BEAUTIFUL in Georgia!!!!!!!!! It has been great to pull out sundresses and flip flops.

All of us at Atlantic station: me, MB, Luke, and Tmoss. Then us girls.

Finally, I was so excited to see my parents this past weekend for easter. My mom and I took a shopping trip, which is always wonderful, and the easter bunny stopped by and left me some good stuff.

Me and my dog zoe, during our annual easter picture.
-Ashton

Little pieces of heaven on earth!

So, I am on spring break this week. We enjoyed our first beautiful day today, it was fabulous. The condo we are staying in is just gorgeous and the view is magnificent. There is nothing like the sound of the waves and the light breeze and sand between your toes to provide you such a great view of all that God has created. I feel that as the week continues I will be able to clearly understand what quite possibly God could have in store for my future as I sit in awe of the very creations that surround me. I am pressed more and more lately by the little things in life, as you can see by the pattern in my writing lately. Before this trip began I noticed a pattern of little events, in which I like to call "little pieces of heaven on earth", my way of seeing God in such a desolate world. My first event occured when registering at a local college for summer courses, upon asking directions to a particular building, a nice gentleman who could have easily been brisk, not only directed me towards the building, but walked me all the way there and preceded to have a nice conversation with me. He could have easily brushed me off, but his kindness made me want to pay foward the kindness he had shown. A few days ago, my mother and I were getting our car washed and my mother was trying to use multiple rain checks as she had been instructed, when we got to the counter the lady instructed us that you were only supposed to use one, but instead of reprimanding us, she simply gave us the complete wash for free. My final "piece" came in the form of the the DMV, many know that comes with a reputation of bad service, but after I misplaced my license and had to go get another one. Upon coming up to the counter I was greeted by the most delightful and friendly woman, I was in shock of the great customer service given to me. As this week continues, I hope to see even more little graces and pieces. Now, here is a little of what I have been and will be enjoying this week:

The book I will be reading....
My awesome Roommate, Tmoss!
We met several Alpha Xi Delta's from Henderson State while at the beach! How Cool!

My big and I taking a stroll

Its the little things in life that mean the most

Lately, I have had some of the most amazing experiences. I realize more and more the little experinces that remain with me forever. Most people don't know that my family is a blended one becuase each of us is so close it seems like we were biologically al ways siblings. I love each and every one of my siblings for everything that they have given to me, the baby! Whether it was threatening to have a shot gun ready for the first guy that stepped on our porch, or helping me get ready for a high school dance, or maybe just listening to me ramble about the guy problems or a bad fashion decision, each of them were there.
However, another interesting fact that many do not know is that one of my brothers happens to be hearing impaired, no he is not completely deaf, but he does have to wear a hearing aid, and his speech can be understood pretty well. As a child, I learned sign language when I found out my mother and stepfather were to be married. Wanting to accept him and be able to communicate with him, I learned ASL( american sign language) like it was going out of style. As he got older though, he became embarrassed of signing and only wanted to communicate through speech. My signing skills quickly diminished.
I never really thought about sign language again until more recently. Just last weekend my brother and a friend of his who also happened to be deaf joined my family and I for dinner. When I found out the friend happened to be completely deaf, I scrambled to remember all that I had learned before. All of the sudden I was astonished when I heard a clear sentence come out of the woman's mouth. I looked over as she explained that she was indeed completely deaf, but she read lips quite well and had learned to speak. This woman blew me away, I could not even finish my dinner, because of the intrigue she brought. Can you imagine not hearing a single word of what your saying and yet saying it as clearly as any normal hearing individual. SIMPLY AMAZING! As dinner continued, I learned of all she had been through to get where she was today, and was just in awe!!!
I truly believe I was in shock for a long time, and in reflecting upon the amazing experience. I realized what a small impact people can make on people's lives and they don't even realize. I only hope that I can make that big of an impact on someone's life. In meeting that sweet woman, I was inspired. She made me realize the little failures in life are nothing compared to how worse it could be. If she could push herself to such rates of success with basically no support at all, then so can I. Anything I experience now brings me back to that evening and I realize that maybe it just isn't all that bad.
Little experiences are life changing.

-Ashton

Days go by....

Wow!!! It has been a few days and oh how much has occured. Let's start with last week!
My stepfather's birthday was last weekend,so I packed up prepared to head home to celebrate with everyone. My big was coming with me, so we dropped off her car at her house. On our way, I had a sudden craving for Cheez-its as I often do, so upon deciding to stop and going in to pay, I LOCKED my keys in my car!!! So, then we went through the whole process of calling a locksmith because my extra key was back at my dorm room. The locksmith showed up in an unmarked van, CREEEPY, and his appearance was somewhat frightening, but fourtunately, we got the car unlocked and made it home safetly.
My parents took us both out to dinner later that evening, and to increase the excitement of my day, I got up to leave and ran right into my ex. It wasn't as awkward as I had once anticipated, but nonetheless it made the day just a little bit crazier.


Now for this week:
We just found out that 5 girls within my sorority have been chosen to represent us as rho gammas, meaning they will be on the other side of recruitment leading the young ladies who will be going through in the fall, so I am super excited about that. We had a social this week with the Chi Phi fraternity and our theme was Shipwrecked, it was a blast. One of my pledge sister's and I made shirts, stating" Don't touch the booty" of course in reference to treasure! Besides that, I have decided to make a name by running for senator on SGA, which I am hoping will be a blast. Now, if I can only stay on top of classes, the closer spring break gets the more lethargic I get.....
I hope to have my computer back this week, so hopefully I will have pictures up soon.


-ASHTON

VALENTINE SCHMALENTINE... and oh so much more!

It has been a few days since I last checked in and oh how much has occurred. Let's begin with Valentine's day.

Well, this year I was trechnically single, but I did not feel like it in any sense of the word. I spent the weekend with my family and my big, KLH, which was wonderful. We had to drive home in the crazy snow on Friday afternoon, but we had a beautiful sight when we woke up on Saturday...(pictures to follow. i promise!) Anyways, Sunday I was delighted with several wonderful gifts, a lovely fragrance from KLH, a beautiful picture frame, with a inspritaional song on it, and my father decided to go an easier root and just give money, but as many of you know a college student loves money. After spending the day with my family, we headed back to school, and stopped to enjoy dinner, with my big's sister, EE and her husband. EE gave me an adorable cupcake candy dish that is now adorning my desk. My day was completed when I suprised my roommate, TMoss , who was my "valentine" with a huge balloon. While buying it, I accidentially let it go in the middle of the store, huge ordeal. But she was suprised so it was worth every cent and anxiety. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and one I will surely remember for years.

In the last week, I have also discovered that computers hate me, everyone I touch goes insane. Mine crashed last week, then my father's business loaned me one and the charger stopped working, it is just a mess, so I have high hopes mine will make a full recovery soon. I am also in search of a laptop case for a huge 17" computer, if any of you know where I might find one, I need some suggestions.

Now a small rundown of everything else that has occurred, several of my friends and I booked a place for spring break, yay, a much welcomed vacation. I attended my first "butts and guts" workout class yesterday, killer!!! but I decided if I am going to the beach, I had better make my way back to the gym. While at the gym, I enjoyed good conversation with several of my AXID sisters, I guess it is a good common place to bond. When I returned however, I longed for a hot shower to ease my soreness, but my luck, no HOT water anywhere in my dormitory, so I am presently basking in pain from my dorm room.... off to more adventures. I will post pictures of my snow and valentine adventures soon!

like sand through the hour glass so are the days of our lives!

It has been one of those days where everything starts out rough, but by the end there is a hint of a silver lining. Over the last couple years my brother and I have had a rocky relationship, which is due in part to both of us. I have been in the need for some advice lately and the only person I could think to go to in my family who would be honest was him. As soon I texted him, I felt as though we were 15 and 18 again sharing dating stories and picking at one another. It was as though we had never been at ends with one another. He gave some good honest and insightful advice and we even discussed how much we missed each other and were hoping to visit each other soon. This morning when I woke up, I was in a rut with my life and through my epiphany, my day was quickly Brightened.

Now for a rundown of my day other than that little bit above:

1. I got a tour of my Big's hometown, which was fun, and ate a local restaurant there.
2. I ate dinner with my Big, her sister and her brother-in-law at Taco Mac.
3. We then helped my Big's sister color her hair and now her sister is singing at the top of her lungs to us on speaker phone
4. I am ending the night with a little disney classic called, Mary Poppins

It is just a stumbling block in the journey of life...

Do you ever come to a crossroads in your life and and you unsure where life is taking you? I feel like I have come to a point in my life more recently. Whereas, part of my life feels completed as I have fallen into the pattern of being on my own at school and joining organizations, my personal life has been hard especially when keeping attachments to those I have left behind in my hometown. It has become a struggle to have ties both at home and at school. To leave those behind who are the very basis of where I hail from is a uncertain and uncomfortable but ultimately inevidable.
This week I have been struggling more than usual and withiut the support of my wonderfull roommate Tmoss and my fabulous big KLH, I really wouldn't have made it. Each of them represent a part of my life, my roommate being from my hometown and my big being someone who represents the newer part of my life. Both provide so much support and push me toward the success I long to reach.
So if only a minor stummbling block, I push foward into my crossroads, and map the way into my future with my past behind and my future foward.
-ASHTON