to thine own self, be true.

dear reader,

this summer is going to an interesting... its going to truly test who i choose to be when im not constantly surrounded by my fellow Christians.

first of all, i am no longer at chick-fil-a... while this is an awesome thing, it also scares me. see, cfa is where i first heard about Christians and the Gospel. the friends i made there are a big part of keeping me strong when things dont work out. dont get me wrong when i say that, i am strong in my faith without my friends, i am. but ive never not been around my Christian friends for more than a day or so.

secondly, there are so many of my friends that are gone for the summer, either doing the Lords work, headed back to hometowns, or my best friend whose in the Army. i am SO proud of all these people for going out and doing things. and its not like i wont be busy with my job, so the summer will fly by... right?

im just getting to the point in my faith where im comfortable being myself as well as being a faithful Christian. ive spent SO much time analizing over every little part of my past and wondering if "oh, do you think this is okay...?" or "i used to love doing that, but im not sure...?".

well i was tired of not being sure, so for me- "to thine own self, be true." -is my new motto. i know who i am. i can even fathom that i used to wonder who i was! preposterous. i love me and i know exactly who i am!

...and so over this summer i am going to be sticking to who i know i am. im a little scared about doing so by myself, but then im not really by myself, am i? i've got my God. and through him all is possible.

this post was a little bit of a giant ramble, but i needed to get it out. ha, stay tuned, for this subject i suppose will be rambling on... :)

...until i daydream again.

love,
shelby

futurefuturefuture.

future: [fyoo-cher]: noun - time that is to be or come hereafter.

its such a simple concept. youre 5 years old and someone asks, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" the answer of course is whatever new action hero just came out or barbie, etc. then youre 14 years old, heading into high school.. full of hopes and dreams and wonders. success is the key to future, they say. and of course thats true, to a good future anyway. then youre 18 and youre walking across that stage and all your dreams from freshman year come flooding back and you wonder where you lost those dreams. or if they're just waiting, lying there dormant. maybe you havent lost them, maybe you did...
was it in the middle of a frustrating pre-calc class cram session, countless phone calls to a boyfriend when you should've been studying, or even at home.. where things were tough... ?

when did life just get so hard you stopped caring about the future, and tried only to make it through the day?

i've been thinking about my future SO much lately, i wonder what mine holds... will i ever get to college, and if/when i go will i have the strength and desire to do what it takes to do well? is there a two-story white house with a fence and a dog and my own family? will i be in a job i am happy at?

in all honesty, my future scares me. thats right, it scares the everlovin' crap outta me. truestory. but i've discovered i havent lost my dreams, i just lost sight. i have dreams, and i will make them happen!

so i am going to do something about it... i am making a list of things i want to accomplish to get me closer to my future. the future i want for myself!

• get a stable well paying job to save for college
• save for college
• GO TO COLLEGE! even if its just wake tech, im going!
• when i get there, work hard!! because i am capable of doing so!
• trust God, He knows what my future is and the desires of my heart. through Him all things are possible.

hopefully i will be crossing all these off soon!

until i daydream again..

love,
shelby

the daydreams of yours truly.

dear reader,

there are a number of things happening in my life right now. and alot of them are just too serious to think about all the time. unfortunately thats just tough luck for me. so i am making a blog! let me start by telling you a little bit about me...

• i'm 19 years old, almost 20 (37 days) oh, how i long for that day when the word "teen" no longer follows me around!
• i am a nanny, an experience that i have loved thus far.
• i am a Christian, and i'm proud to say so! i havent been a Christian very long, but i really think i pulled the long straw on this one. my small knowledge of what life is like for Christians outside of the U.S. lets me realize that i am so lucky. i am blessed to have found friends -or rather friends that found me- that cared enough and loved enough to want the same for me.
• the past few years of my life have been especially trying(?) -i dont like that word, but for lack of a better one...ill use it- but i know that my future is bright with God. (Romans 8:28-30)
• i can be pretty random, and i love to laugh.
• i'm in. love. with music. always have been.. its a joke in my family that the day i.. --1. choose to turn off the radio in the car, 2. quit humming or singing randomly, 3. stop running up to the piano and pounding the ivories randomly then walk away as if nothing happend, or 4. keep the volume below 24 -- i then need to be rushed to the hospital, STAT. haha
• ...and lastly, i've never had a blog before so forgive me, because i am apologizing in advance for future digressions, anything random, and frivilous thoughts. (i promise there will be these said posts.. ha!)

well, there it is, my first post in my new blog! -status: accomplished!- haha
until i daydream again...
love,
shelby