Always Learning

This summer I've learned...

*What it's like to travel to Ethiopia*
*That the past is definitely better left in the past
***That I can survive without talking to my best friend everyday (ok... this is one I had to relearn...)***
*That babysitting is the best summer job I could ever have*
**To resist the temptation to buy a caramel frappuccino everyday**
***What it feels like to live in joy for weeks unend***
**A few of the basic principles involved in defending the Christian faith**
*That roommates can always be roommates, even when you move out*
**That random adventures are definitely my thing**
***How to use Adobe Photoshop***
**That it's okay to tell someone that you don't have any words to help them**
*That a fruit smoothie can do wonders for you on a summer day*
***To take time for myself... even when others are begging for it***
*That I can still live off of turkey wraps for lunch nearly everyday*
*That I can make it through an entire season without buying a new pair of jeans*
***That my big "get-in-shape" scheme will have to wait until next summer***
*That nothing seals a summer day like a game of Solitaire Showdown*
*How to use Skype... and a webcam*
**How absolutely amazing it is to go on a mission trip**
**What the inside of an arboretum looks like... and that orange and hot pink lilies are one of my favorite flowers**
***That my mom hides the chocolate chips so I won't sneak them down to my room with the jar of peanut butter***
*That you can still love people, even when you feel like they don't know you anymore*
***That life-around-the-house is much more eventful when my brother ISN'T in Montana***
*How to pack suitcases for a 2 1/2 month stay away from home*
*What it's like to read through the book of Isaiah for the first time*
**What New York looks like**
***How to geocache***
*What it's like to see Matisyahu live*
***That it always pays to take a day to tube down the river with cousins***
*A little bit about my cooperating teacher in Brooklyn Park for student teaching*
**That Shaklee products (and malaria pills) are expensive, even if they keep you healthy on overseas trips**
***That it's not worth it to try and please everyone***
**What Injera and shero are ... and how good they taste**
*That I prefer to run my errands alone*
**How it feels to get to know random people at an airport and on the plane**
***What it's like to ride a horse***
*That you don't "borrow" someone something, you "lend" it*
*Some basic information about Tanzania via my Lonely Planet's guide*
**How sneaky-good it feels to eat Starbursts in church at the age of 19**
*A bit about the parables of Jesus from none other than Pastor Dave*
***How to shower with spiders without gagging***
*That Avon sells great lip gloss called Juice Gems*
**That my mom is one of the best helpers I know... and sometimes I just need her voice to help me think things through**
***That I can live without a cell phone for several weeks without perishing (Ok, I already knew that... but it sounded dramatic and I loved it)***
*That it's not worth it for me to get my eyebrows waxed*
***That it's still not worth it to make your bed***
**To embrace questions I have about God**
***That I really love night flights***
*That you can always catch up on sleep later*

It really has been an amazing summer. I have learned so much... even if half of it does seem like non-sense information. ; )
I will be sad for it to end... and yet... so excited for life's next adventure!