Back to School With Prayers, Saints, and Faith.

*Picture: Textbooks for my Biological Psychology, Interpersonal Communication, and Philosophy of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam courses. St. Dymphna prayer card on top of Bio. Psych. book; St. Thomas Aquinas prayer card on top of Phil. book. Yes, I purposely put each saint on book that relates to their patronage.*

First off, I just want to say a big "Thank you!" for all the positive (and one not so positive) feedback on the last post I wrote on being single. I got a couple of messages on here, a couple on twitter, etc. It makes me happy to know that some of y'all enjoyed it and/or that helped you in some way, no matter how small it might've been. :D

Now, I'm sure the following topic is one that most students dread after a long summer vacation: Returning to school and classes. I'm actually both very excited and slightly nervous about going back to school. This post is already sounding a little like last year's, isn't it? lol. Well, I'm not as nervous as I was last year because I was able to make it through the last semester with NO ANXIETY (first ever since I was 15 and newly diagnosed with anxiety disorder) and the entire school year without dropping any classes. Yes! It definitely gave me confidence about the rest of my career as a student. I still give a lot of credit to St. Dymphna for always listening to my prayers, and St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph of Cupertino for their help/intercession during the school year. By the way, you can find the student prayers to both St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph of Cupertino here. I will bring them (saints and prayers) up again around midterm and finals so y'all can find them if you don't bookmark the page now.

Last year was the most successful year I've had in a long time. I intend to pray as much, if not more, than I did last year. Since I have time between my Philosophy course and the "staff" meetings for the school's literary magazine (side note: yes, I'm once again working on it except that this time I'm doing it as a way of saying 'thank you' to my former English Lit prof. and not for credit), I hope to be able to go to a nearby parish. I don't know why but there's just something I love about going to church during the week, even if there is no Mass being said at the time. *shrugs* I will definitely be there during midterms and finals week because it's when I'm most stressed. I've made it a goal to go back to school with a lot of prayers, saints (either in the form of reading books on and/or by them or by asking for their intercessions) and a lot of faith. I have a feeling my course load will require me to be on the "defense" when it comes to my faith... especially in my Philosophy course.

As a Religious Studies major, I take at least one Philosophy course per semester (two last Spring). This semester I'm doing one on the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I hope I won't have to do as much defending of Catholicism as I did last year but most likely I will. Last semester I won my battle in one of Philosophy courses (Philosophy of World Religions) and no one bashed Catholicism after a while. In the other course (Ethics), the professor just quit giving wrong information on Catholicism because he knew that my friend/classmate/fellow Catholic, Elizabeth, and I would immediately correct him or make comments on what he was saying. And we sat right in front of him, too, with our rosaries and miraculous medals in full display. lol. (side note: He was a Unitarian minister). I will not stay quiet and let someone drag our religious through the mud, especially if it's based on misinformation. I think I'm a little more prepared than I was last semester to face whatever Catholic bashing might come so... BRING. IT. ON! lol.

I'm going to have one packed course load this semester, but I'm SO EXCITED! My courses this semester are as follows:
- Philosophy of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- Biological Psychology
- Interpersonal Communication (Part Two)
- Mathematics.

I'm going to definitely pray I don't suffer through my math course because it's, without a doubt, my worst subject. lol. I haven't taken a math course in years (yes, seriously) but it's a requirement so I must. I actually have to take math the entire school year so... *groan* Luckily I love all my other courses (well, love what we're supposed to learn in each class) so I hope it all balances out. Did I also mention that I'm joining a couple of clubs (not counting the Literary Magazine)? Yup. I want to be able to really experience college now that I don't have as many restrictions as I had in the past.

I'm actually pretty introverted at school (stems from my being humiliated in front of my peers, by a teacher no less, in high school) so it will good for me to be a little more social. One of the clubs is also for students who are Christians and Catholics so it'll be good. No Newman Centers at either of the schools I'll be attending, since they're community colleges, but I'll try this club/group. Last year they held movie festivals (for movies such as Facing the Giants) during the Fall, which was pretty cool. I am also prepared to set anyone's preconceived notions of Catholicism straight. I won't getting into heated arguments over it (I tend to avoid that with non-professors, lol), but I will try to clarify things to them. Maybe if I do these things, less people will talk ill about the Church or its members. It might be a pipe dream but I'll hold onto it. :)

Alright, well, I should probably go get my class things in order so that I can just wake up on Monday morning and go to class, unstressed. *fingers crossed* I'll be sure to take my prayer cards with me, as well as a Rosary, in case I feel a bit anxious. :) I hope that everyone that's going back, or has gone back, has a successful school year... and that we Californians don't suffer too badly with all the budget cuts the Goverantor made. That's a whole 'nother rant y'all don't want to hear. lol. ;)

Okay, I'll be quiet now. :D Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Thanksgiving Thoughts; Remix Fun.

I hope all my fellow Americans (wow, sounds like the beginning of a speech) had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! I wanted to make a post but I was stuck in bed with a cold. I can't complain too much though. Yes, I did feel gross, I was all achy, and all I spent nearly 2 days in bed... but I got caught up on my prayers and I got a head start on my History of World Religions paper. That one is due tonight (eesh!).

I am skipping on today's big sales because I'm not fully recovered from my cold and it's (finally!) cold outside and I have to write that 10 page research paper on the sacred art of 3 different religions. I have 4 BIG art history books to go through. I'm just thankful that my Philosophy of Logic professor spared us work yesterday.

You know what else I'm thankful for (in the past year)? My amazing parents. My overprotective older brothers and sister -- and their families. Both of my younger adoptive sisters (one of whom gave me a blog award that I will post next time :D. Thanks D!). My friends who are like family (which consists of virtually all my friends; many of whom have asked my mom to adopt them, lol.) That my father was able to beat his cancer for the second time. That one of my best friend was able to beat her ovarian cancer. That everyone is happy and healthy. That I've been healthier than I have been in years. Most importantly, I am thankful for everything God has done for us. I am grateful that I've been able to get closer to God and have been able to do the same to my parents. You guys have NO idea how happy I am that my parents have started praying and going to Mass more often! I could continue the list but it would get much longer and I still have to work on my paper. lol.

Oh, and I'm also thankful for iTunes, and cell phones, and books, and digital cable, and TCM (Turner Classic Movies), and french fries, and Mexican food, and airplanes which take me to different countries, and laughing babies, and babies named Charlie who bite their brothers' fingers... HAHA. I'm not (entirely) serious here. :D

Alright, I should go work on my paper, but before I do, I will leave you with a video I thought was so awesome. During YouTube Live (yeah, I missed it) they had a lot of big youtube names performing. One of them was DJ Mike Relm and he remixed two videos that were HUGE on youtube. The second remixed video is probably my favorite.



Okay, back to work. :D Oh yeah, and if you haven't vote on the poll, please do so. It ends tomorrow night. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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I Have Wedding Fever.

I've caught the wedding fever lately. One of friends is getting married next month so that has gotten me awfully excited. Sadly, I won't be able to attend because it's across the country and I'm pretty much stuck here (in California) until probably the New Year. Anyway, even though that's the case, I'm still excited about the wedding. (And then getting a big house in Ireland with her, her future husband, and my sister. lol.)

I LOVE weddings and what they represent. Two years ago I entertained the idea of becoming a wedding planner. I've already been put on notice by a friend of mine to be ready to help when he is ready to start planning his wedding with his fiance. I put the idea back on the shelf when I decided to stay focused on finished my degree... and then had other family responsibilities (helping dad when he had cancer). Lately, I've started getting this nagging feeling that maybe I should look into it again. I've been watching "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?" and I've gotten to the show... again. lol. I don't know what I'm going to do. I mean, the job is PERFECT for me. I love love. I love what a marriage represents. I think I can do a good job creating a great wedding for someone, no matter what their tastes are. And, hey, my Religious Studies degree can come in handy because I'll know the traditions and customs of various religions (sometimes the couple are of two different religions). The more and more I think about it, the better the idea gets. :D We'll see though, I still have time to weigh my options. :D

Oh, and Rebecca at Modestia is also having Bridal Week in case any of you lovely young women want to check out wedding gowns and bridal tips. :D Even though it's very doubtful that I will get married any time soon, I still love looking at the pictures and seeing which are my favorites. :D

And for those of you getting married soon, remember not to get fully caught up in just the planning of it. I know a lot of people wig out over details like what color the bridesmaid's dresses will be, or who is sitting next to who at the reception... and they totally forget what they're actually doing. Remember that importance of it what it is to be married and how incredible it is to be united under God to do his will. The whole significance of marriage is absolutely beautiful and such a blessing. Please, don't take the whole thing for granted. :D

Okay, I have to go tackle my History of World Religions assignment. I also have to get started on the BIG research paper that is due next week (the outline) and the following week (the finished paper). I still have to pick whether I'm going to focus on the sacred art or sacred texts/literature of 3 different religions but I already have the religions picked (Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism).

Oh, and I have 4,299 words written so far (for NaNoWriMo). Man, I still have a way to go but it's really fun having a deadline for my novel. :D

Oh, and I recently took a Jane Austen heroine quiz (Yes, I DO love Austen) and I got:

Take the Quiz here!

Whoo! I do feel I am the most like her out of the other Austen heroines. :D Uh... I think I'm procrastinating now. lol. I'm going to go work on the assignments. lol.

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D