So Good

Well. This weekend was the Gauley.

Every year, Noah's takes a staff trip to the Gauley, in West Virginia. I knew about it since the beginning of the summer, but on Friday, when it was time to go, I wasn't thrilled. I had a ton of homework that I needed to do this weekend and it's a 9 hour drive from Birmingham, and I just didn't really want to go. I was being a party pooper.

But after I woke up on Saturday morning and saw so many good friends, and then we rafted in such big, fun, warm water, and then Amy and I summersaulted/rolled/flipped down a giant hill in our sleeping bags, and then we danced to a bluegrass band after dinner, I was so glad I went. I didn't realize how much of a break I needed. Just to be refreshed. To get away. To calm down some.

This weekend, I realized that I really do love rafting. I still have a healthy fear of the water, but I'm not as terrified as I used to be. And I got in the boat by myself like 10 times this weekend. No big deal.

I also realized that a lot of this summer, and even some of this weekend, I wasn't really being myself. Amy and I were talking Saturday night, and I realized that I lived in this mindset of feeling like I had to prove myself to different people, especially the older guides, including my brother. I felt like I had to prove that I'm tough enough; funny enough; social enough; good enough; cool enough. But that is dumb. So I'll just be tough, funny, social, good, and cool on my own, and who cares what those boys say. Haha. But for real - I think it's the same thing that has made sophomore year better - I already know what's going on at Samford and I don't care what people think, so I just do whatever I want, which has made this year so fun. So hopefully next summer will be like that, where I already know the drill and I don't have anything to prove to those boys, and it'll be even more fun and freeing than this past summer was.

Here's a picture that I found on google images, of the Gauley. This is what it was like. Huge.




After doing not so much homework this week, I've been living in the library. I have a lab report due Thursday, and Organic 2 test and a BP test Friday. So I've spent a lot of time studying this week. And I will spend most of this weekend studying. But that's ok. Soon it'll be over. Just about 2 and 1/2 more months. Haha.