Uni. Uni, uni, uni. Some may see it as that big scary place where only the "clever" ones go after they finish high school. Well have I got news for you! There is such a wide variation of people at uni that it's hard to think of a category that Isn't filled!
Two things that may seem incredibly unrelated is university and common courtesy. It can be really taxing making your way through the masses of people, especially if you're a couple of minutes late!
But even just a wee smile can make someones day! Truthfully. If someone is having a lame day, or just in a bad mood in general, saying "hi" can be a defining moment for that person. I'm not talking about the people trying to sell something, or greenpeace for that matter, but just a genuine act of friendship to a stranger.
Jesus would agree with this too! You may have realised that I always seem to bring up God or Jesus in my blogs. Well hey, this is my blog! Haha kidding. I love God and Jesus so much that I think they deserve a mention or five.
Another important aspect of university is to try make it to all your lectures and tutorials. It really does help with your final grade!
Finally, be social. University is like a meca for making new friends. There are different clubs and organisations that are specifically tailored to every type of interest you could possibly imagine. I joined a Christian group as uni called Christian Union. I don't go every week but find it complements Primal and C3 well and it also helped me make more friends with similar interests.
A final note, be patient with the busses! Yes, the orbiter can sometimes take an hour. On the shorter route. But it flies by ( maybe ) if you have the tunes cranking!!
Also, don't forget your student loan...it sure can add up! Mine is getting up there because I did a couple of courses before uni...But hey, just think, when you have a job you can pay it off in no time!
That's about all you need to know about how to survive uni.
Today I missed most of my lectures because I felt ill. I am happy to say I now feel better.
Last Thursday we had the last of the SheMAN competition...Mr Whippy! Apt name I say. If the name didn't explain it, we had to answer sport related questions and if we were wrong, we got whipped by a teatowel!! Not as horrific as I thought it might be...phew.
I've been playing on the worship team at Primal every week for about a month now and I love it! The songs are now familiar to me, I can play them without needing music in front of me! Good times.
In about two weeks my great friend Rachel is getting married! Can't wait, so proud of her and Dan. April 1st also has something else exciting, holidays! 3 weeks of pure bliss. I'm going down south with my parents to check out the houses they brought down there. Also I'll get to see my awesome friend Julie who moved down there a while back.
Life has sure been busy. I've been helping out a wee bit in the Kidz Church department at C3, we recently started doing worship with them instead of the serious adult songs. The songs are cool as! So upbeat! Sophia is a miracle worker in the Kidz Church team, uneatable!
That's all for now folks!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
What an outrageous day!
Okay so for about three weeks I have known that I today I was going to visit Gloriavale, the Christian Community out in Westport.
What I didn't know is that nothing could prepare me for the surreal, intense, amazing day I would have.
Got to uni about 9:30am, we left in a convoy of vans a bit after that. Today was chilly! Winter is here people! Winter as we now know it!
So after freezing myself, we made the ardouos journey to Springfield and then further on to Westport, to let the fun begin...
I was mystified with how beautiful the scenery was on the way up through Arthur's Pass, stunning forests and greenery. Arthur must be proud.
Got to Gloriavale about 2pm to find that our group was standing in a shed watching over a dozen cows being automatically milked. One of the "Shepards" was leading the proceedings...he mainly explained what their community (which is composed of approximately 420 members) is all about.
Next we were lead up to a smallish lounge room adjacent to a kitchen where we were given glasses of fizzy apple juice, and home made biscuits that resembled chocolate wheatens, very nice!
Next Howard preceeded to speak at length about the community's beliefs and how they feel about those. To put it bluntly, the community believe that if you do not completely surrender your will to God, that you are destined for the firey furnaces of Hell. This may be hard to read for some people, but please remember that this is their belief and not everybody agrees with this.
There were quite a few sticky questions asked, and these were mainly answered with: "It is God's will" Hmmm!
After a tour of the expansive community grounds, we had quite a nice meal and settled down for the night for a sample of the concert that is held during winter. Quite moving really, beautiful music!
This was all good and fine, but I did not enjoy after the meal, when every outsider was surrounded by a friendly face, to "talk" to us about their beliefs. This made me very uncomfortable as I already have what I would describe as a loving relationship with God and Jesus. I was asked about my beleifs by a beautiful fifteen year old, she was incredibly persistent in letting me know that she thought it was their way or the high way...
I did what I do when I'm on autopilot (it had been a very long day!) smile and nod with a glazed look in my eyes.
I was involved in this conversation for around an hour and a half, other young girls came in went, telling me about their wonderful life, and how the outside world is not safe.
I am glad to say I made it home all well and good! I feel extremely blessed to have freedom in God, and even though faith can be tested sometimes it usually just makes it stronger!!
Bye for now :)
What I didn't know is that nothing could prepare me for the surreal, intense, amazing day I would have.
Got to uni about 9:30am, we left in a convoy of vans a bit after that. Today was chilly! Winter is here people! Winter as we now know it!
So after freezing myself, we made the ardouos journey to Springfield and then further on to Westport, to let the fun begin...
I was mystified with how beautiful the scenery was on the way up through Arthur's Pass, stunning forests and greenery. Arthur must be proud.
Got to Gloriavale about 2pm to find that our group was standing in a shed watching over a dozen cows being automatically milked. One of the "Shepards" was leading the proceedings...he mainly explained what their community (which is composed of approximately 420 members) is all about.
Next we were lead up to a smallish lounge room adjacent to a kitchen where we were given glasses of fizzy apple juice, and home made biscuits that resembled chocolate wheatens, very nice!
Next Howard preceeded to speak at length about the community's beliefs and how they feel about those. To put it bluntly, the community believe that if you do not completely surrender your will to God, that you are destined for the firey furnaces of Hell. This may be hard to read for some people, but please remember that this is their belief and not everybody agrees with this.
There were quite a few sticky questions asked, and these were mainly answered with: "It is God's will" Hmmm!
After a tour of the expansive community grounds, we had quite a nice meal and settled down for the night for a sample of the concert that is held during winter. Quite moving really, beautiful music!
This was all good and fine, but I did not enjoy after the meal, when every outsider was surrounded by a friendly face, to "talk" to us about their beliefs. This made me very uncomfortable as I already have what I would describe as a loving relationship with God and Jesus. I was asked about my beleifs by a beautiful fifteen year old, she was incredibly persistent in letting me know that she thought it was their way or the high way...
I did what I do when I'm on autopilot (it had been a very long day!) smile and nod with a glazed look in my eyes.
I was involved in this conversation for around an hour and a half, other young girls came in went, telling me about their wonderful life, and how the outside world is not safe.
I am glad to say I made it home all well and good! I feel extremely blessed to have freedom in God, and even though faith can be tested sometimes it usually just makes it stronger!!
Bye for now :)
Friday, March 12, 2010
An introduction....
Hi! You all probably know me as that girl from Primal, or University. The one who will most likely always wave to you! Well I thought it's about time I put out some of my thoughts on the world wide web, for sure!
So much better than twitter....
Anyway, not sure what this blog will turn into, but as I can hear American Idol in the background, and the lights quite low, I am thinking this will be somewhat of a summary of my life to date and what I think about that.
The blogs I've read so far are awesome, and I reckon that's because it's like you can step inside that persons mind for just a while and see what's happening! It's not that often that you can do that really.
Sooo....this year already, which has only just started to tell the truth, has been massive! Why you ask? Well, you see, there have been a lot of challenges in my life, and that is mainly because of God. God has done way more for me than I can express on here, and for this I am forever grateful. Gone are the days where I blame others for my mistakes, where I feel down and cannot get out of it. I now have a reason to smile, and especially to smile at the person who serves me at the shop - though it took ages to learn to do that!
Tomorrow I am going with a group from uni and we'll be travelling to Westport! You might want to know why that is! We are going to visit the Gloriavale Christian Community. I'm really looking forward to this!
It's a part of the uni paper I'm doing for sociology. Too good an opportunity to pass up! :)
So at the moment I live with two teenagers, and it never ceases to amaze me how passionate they are. Yes it may be about a computer game or Justin Beiber, but that's awesome!!
Their vibrancy, is just great.
Praise God, that's all for now folks!
So much better than twitter....
Anyway, not sure what this blog will turn into, but as I can hear American Idol in the background, and the lights quite low, I am thinking this will be somewhat of a summary of my life to date and what I think about that.
The blogs I've read so far are awesome, and I reckon that's because it's like you can step inside that persons mind for just a while and see what's happening! It's not that often that you can do that really.
Sooo....this year already, which has only just started to tell the truth, has been massive! Why you ask? Well, you see, there have been a lot of challenges in my life, and that is mainly because of God. God has done way more for me than I can express on here, and for this I am forever grateful. Gone are the days where I blame others for my mistakes, where I feel down and cannot get out of it. I now have a reason to smile, and especially to smile at the person who serves me at the shop - though it took ages to learn to do that!
Tomorrow I am going with a group from uni and we'll be travelling to Westport! You might want to know why that is! We are going to visit the Gloriavale Christian Community. I'm really looking forward to this!
It's a part of the uni paper I'm doing for sociology. Too good an opportunity to pass up! :)
So at the moment I live with two teenagers, and it never ceases to amaze me how passionate they are. Yes it may be about a computer game or Justin Beiber, but that's awesome!!
Their vibrancy, is just great.
Praise God, that's all for now folks!
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