I never thought I would mutter the words to myself “I wish I was back in Big Spring,” but it happened. Leaving Big Spring was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do over the past two years. Finals weren’t even that brutal. But I’m walking away with friendships that are unsurpassable and memories to accompany those friendships.
Basically, I’ve started a whole new life: I traded my life as a cowgirl for a life full of new excursions and opportunities. Never will I forget what I learned through the people and experiences in Big Spring, though. My first semester of college I had an English instructor who taught me more about life and learning than I ever imagined possible. In high school, I was not nearly as studious as I should have been, but this professor turned my world around. Suddenly, I was doing my homework and studying more for one class than I ever had in the history of my existence combined. She compelled me to reassess who I was as a student not just in the classroom, but also in life. I don’t think she realized how much of an impact she was making on me until I gave her a token of my appreciation (a mixed CD of all my favorite songs at the time) after my second English class with her. Even then, she was more of an imperative factor in my life than she would ever know. Imagining what my world would look like had she not lit a fire under my ass, for a lack of better words, is a frightening picture.
Because of her teachings I will:
-Continue to expand my knowledge of the world in front of me.
-Embrace each moment as if it were my last.
-Look at homework assignments as not something I have to do, rather something I get to do.
-Write something everyday because it benefits me greatly not just as a writer, but also as Katie.
-Use my martial arts background to help get me through sticky situations and everyday events.
I am grateful every single day for the opportunity I had to learn from such an inspiring person. What makes you want to better yourselves, friends?
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Celebration Sensation
Happy National Bike Month, everyone! Will you be participating in Bike to Work Week May 16th-20th? Or how about Bike to Work Day on May 20th?
How cool is this bamboo bicycle?
It's hard to beat bicycles and coffee for a cause, and Bikes to Rwanda does just that.
I've had my eye on this Origin-8 aluminum track frame. Check out the rad twin tube design!
Hope everyone's having a fabulous Saturday!
How cool is this bamboo bicycle?
It's hard to beat bicycles and coffee for a cause, and Bikes to Rwanda does just that.
I've had my eye on this Origin-8 aluminum track frame. Check out the rad twin tube design!
Hope everyone's having a fabulous Saturday!
Not Your Typical Culture.
I've been afraid of this drink for a very long time. But I recently overcame my fear of "floating cultures." Have a taste and see for yourself!
Click here for Kombucha awesomeness.
Click here for Kombucha awesomeness.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Latest Addiction.
After reading an article in the New York Times about artist Alice Neel, I've been incredibly intrigued. Take a look:
An incredibly gifted woman who used her God-given talents to succeed in this world. She's an interesting character to say the least, but her work is magnificent.
What are your thoughts?
An incredibly gifted woman who used her God-given talents to succeed in this world. She's an interesting character to say the least, but her work is magnificent.
What are your thoughts?
Sunday, April 24, 2011
It Withers Quicker Than the Rose
To An Athlete Dying Young by A.E. Housman
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before the echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
I read this poem as an assignment for my British Literature class, and it has been resonating in my thoughts ever since.
The speaker says how lucky an athlete is who dies young, he can go out with a bang and people will remember him/her for decades to come. This poem is not supposed to be taken literally; he does not want great athletes to die. But the message he is trying to portray states that an athlete who dies young does not have to worry about fading away and living a life that may be full of disappointment and hardship. Rather, they leave this world when they have achieved great success and are at the peak of their abilities.
With the rodeo season coming to an end, this poem really hit home. After the season is over, I’ve decided to give up my rodeo career for a while to focus more on school and other important aspects in my life. This semester, I’ve been successful at the college rodeos and hope to continue that streak with the remaining rodeo. It has been a tough decision to give up a sport that I've been passionate about for so long, but as strange as it sounds, this poem helped give me peace of mind about it. I could pursue rodeo and spend more and more money trying to better myself, and there’s a possibility that I wouldn’t improve. Not saying that I wouldn’t try, but I would much rather go out with a bang. The last rodeo of the season is next weekend in Stephenville, TX. I plan to make it my best rodeo yet and give the performance of my lifetime.
So for now, I’m giving it all I’ve got because that is all I have to give.
The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.
To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.
Smart lad, to slip betimes away
From fields where glory does not stay,
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.
Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:
Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.
So set, before the echoes fade,
The fleet foot on the sill of shade,
And hold to the low lintel up
The still-defended challenge-cup.
And round that early-laurelled head
Will flock to gaze the strengthless dead,
And find unwithered on its curls
The garland briefer than a girl's.
I read this poem as an assignment for my British Literature class, and it has been resonating in my thoughts ever since.
The speaker says how lucky an athlete is who dies young, he can go out with a bang and people will remember him/her for decades to come. This poem is not supposed to be taken literally; he does not want great athletes to die. But the message he is trying to portray states that an athlete who dies young does not have to worry about fading away and living a life that may be full of disappointment and hardship. Rather, they leave this world when they have achieved great success and are at the peak of their abilities.
With the rodeo season coming to an end, this poem really hit home. After the season is over, I’ve decided to give up my rodeo career for a while to focus more on school and other important aspects in my life. This semester, I’ve been successful at the college rodeos and hope to continue that streak with the remaining rodeo. It has been a tough decision to give up a sport that I've been passionate about for so long, but as strange as it sounds, this poem helped give me peace of mind about it. I could pursue rodeo and spend more and more money trying to better myself, and there’s a possibility that I wouldn’t improve. Not saying that I wouldn’t try, but I would much rather go out with a bang. The last rodeo of the season is next weekend in Stephenville, TX. I plan to make it my best rodeo yet and give the performance of my lifetime.
So for now, I’m giving it all I’ve got because that is all I have to give.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Reminiscing
I've been thinking about Russia a lot lately and how much I miss it. This video brings back some fun memories while abroad. Hope you all enjoy!
That's all!
Katie
That's all!
Katie
Sunday, April 17, 2011
All You Need Is Love.
After reflecting on some verses in 1 Corinthians this past week, I felt the need to post about love. All kinds of love.
1 Corinthians 13:2-3 states: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
We, as humans, can have the best of intentions, but if we do not have love in our hearts, then we have nothing. Many times, love is mistaken for lust or infatuation. Lust and infatuation give you a temporary high, but in the end leave you hurt and/or broken. I don’t know of anyone who likes either of those things. The kind of love that is represented in the verses above is agape love. Agape love comes from God and is non-partial, sacrificial, and unconditional. This kind of love is rare in the world today, which is a sad but true statement. Many people today, including myself, have loved or love one another conditionally. But this is not how God intended us to love one another. Conditional love expects something in return and is based on how we act towards each other. Unconditional love is the complete opposite; it sacrifices much and does not expect anything in return.
In all my relationships, whether that is with friends, family, mentors, enemies, etc, I strive to love them all unconditionally just as God loves us. True love is how God loves his children, not the butterfly feeling you get from a boyfriend/girlfriend. My hope is that we all can love each other just the way God loves us. It would save us from some serious disappointment.
1 Corinthians 13:2-3 states: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
We, as humans, can have the best of intentions, but if we do not have love in our hearts, then we have nothing. Many times, love is mistaken for lust or infatuation. Lust and infatuation give you a temporary high, but in the end leave you hurt and/or broken. I don’t know of anyone who likes either of those things. The kind of love that is represented in the verses above is agape love. Agape love comes from God and is non-partial, sacrificial, and unconditional. This kind of love is rare in the world today, which is a sad but true statement. Many people today, including myself, have loved or love one another conditionally. But this is not how God intended us to love one another. Conditional love expects something in return and is based on how we act towards each other. Unconditional love is the complete opposite; it sacrifices much and does not expect anything in return.
In all my relationships, whether that is with friends, family, mentors, enemies, etc, I strive to love them all unconditionally just as God loves us. True love is how God loves his children, not the butterfly feeling you get from a boyfriend/girlfriend. My hope is that we all can love each other just the way God loves us. It would save us from some serious disappointment.
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