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"I think it is an Enterococcus ." I stated proudly at the dinner table. It is not every day that the dinner conversation revolves around dangerous disease-causing bacteria, but tonight the topic of discussion was my microbiology lab. As the semester comes to a finish, every microbiology student is given a little test tube with an unknown bacteria in it. As far as the student knows, it could be any bacteria in the entire world, so they run tests and come to conclusions about their bacteria based on the process of elimination. As of right now, I am convinced my little bacteria is an Enterococcus . "How do you know?" My friend gently asked. "Well, it is a catalase-negative gram-positive cocci that grows in 12% Sodium Chloride. Plus it is gamma-hemolytic and is able to hydrolize esculin in the presence of bile." I was so proud. My friend just stared blankly and then smiled. For the first time, I was excited about my unknown bacteria. At first, the whol...

Easter has to be one of my favorite holidays, but it is not just because of all the chocolate and peeps that come with it. I don't love Easter because I get to wear a new dress or white shoes. And as much as I love the gorgeous spring weather with blooming flowers and lush green grass, that's not what makes Easter so wonderful to me either. I love Easter for one simple reason. It is a day of remembrance and celebration of the greatest day in the history of the entire world, the day that our Savior arose from the dead! I wanted to think of something really profound to write about for this Easter post. I kind of wanted to write about something really deep, some new revelation that would rock your view of Easter forever. But you know, Easter is special for one simple reason that doesn't need a lot of explanation. I decided that I don't want to complicate the beautiful simplicity of Easter, so I will share with you what it means to me. Easter Sunday is a day to cel...

Call time was 4:30 for the dress rehearsal, and by the time I arrived, the room was buzzing with talkative girls and sizzling curling irons. I stood in line to get my hair poofed on the top of my head and then curled underneath. I lathered up my face in blush, eye shadow, eye liner, and sparkles. I applied a dazzling headband to accent the hair poof and some fake eyelashes to make my eyes pop. I slipped on panty hose, costume, mary jane shoes, and white gloves as the finishing touch. Then I went to work curling another girls' hair, pinning safety pins on another girls' dress, and tieing a pearl necklace (made out of marshmellows...we had a low budget) around another girls' neck. It was a team effort to get 150 girls lookin' this good. When we were all finally ready, we suddenly realized that Spring Sing 2011 was upon us. We have worked hours upon hours for this performance. Since January, we have been practiced choreography and mu...

With the sun shining and the breeze blowing, I knew this would be the perfect day for a bike ride. I had seen a bike trail in town, but I had never actually ridden on it. When I remembered that my suitemate actually has a bike on campus, that sealed the deal. I was ready to scout out the bike trail and enjoy the gorgeous spring weather. The first problem arose when I realized that this bicycle had been sitting in one of those bike racks on campus, locked up and unridden...since the first day of school in August. Nine months of rain, snow, hail, and ice had done a duty on that poor chain. But I didn't let that stop me! The peddles still turned, so I hopped on and started my perfect-spring-weather-afternoon-biking-adventure. The second problem arose when it occured to me that there must be a tiny hole in the seat cushion somewhere. I only knew this because a hole in the seat plus a rainstorm from the night before turns a cushioned bike seat into...

I imagined myself walking through the produce section in a fresh fruit and vegetable market. I strolled up and down the aisles, admiring the bright yellow bananas, glossy green peppers, and red grapes that looked like they were about to pop. As I continued down one of the rows, I began to see apples that were just a little overripe. Some of the pears were getting soft brown spots on them. By the end of the aisle, the cartons of strawberries were filled with white, fuzzy mold. I could smell the rotten carrots. At the end of the produce section, I met a man who told me that I could pick any piece of fruit that I wanted. I quickly turned around, ran back to the front of the produce section, and selected the most obvious choice: a perfectly ripe, vibrant, fragrant orange. "I choose this one!" Suddenly my day dream was interrupted by busyness, stress, fatigue, sleepiness, and all the woes of college life. Still I found myself whsipering to ...

"I need more emotion !" Our director yelled from center stage. "The people sitting on the back row need to see your smile! The people in the balcony need to see your eyebrows raised!" Spring Sing, a musical and choreographical show put on by various campus groups, is a big deal. It is a big production that brings in a big crowd. Lights, music, and colorful costumes combined with a ridiculously high energy level create a big show. It only makes sense that our dances and expressions need to be big ! But the thing is, it is hard enough for me to dance the right moves while singing the right lyrics. Now I need to add emotional expression to the mix also? It takes a lot of practice to coordinate your arms, legs, lips, and facial expressions all at the same time. But all of those elements are necessary for our production to be a smashing success. You may be able to sing the lyrics, but if you can't put the choreography with it, there is no show. And even ...

At the final session of the Passion Conference this past weekend, the speaker, Louis Giglio, challenged us to carry the name of Jesus Christ to our hometowns and campuses. He gave a very motivating and inspiring talk about how we are chosen to carry the name, but the audience was silenting wondering, how do we practically do that ? In response to our question, Louis Giglio answered, "I don't have to tell you how to carry a name. You are a generation that knows how to carry a name." He then rattled off a 5-minute string of names: Eminem, Gaga, Oprah, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Nike, Toms, Coach, Abercrombie and Fitch, Tommy Hilfiger, Hollister, Mary Kay, Lexus, Mac. All of these names are dependent upon our generation to survive. Without us, they would go bankrupt. If we didn't carry their names, they would be out of business. We are a generation that knows how to carry a name. We are called to do that with the name of Jesus Christ. This week,  I have...

With bags loaded, snacks packed, and the "passion" playlist booming from the stereo, our roadtrip to Ft. Worth for the Passion Conference had officially begun. In order to document our extreme amount of excitement, we snapped this photo. We registered for the conference because we knew that awesome Christian speakers like Louis Giglio, Francis Chan, and John Piper were going to be there as well as great artists like David Crowder band, Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, and Charlie Hall. It is true that all of these people made the conference a great experience, but it was so much more than a loud concert with a good sermon. We got what we were expecting...plus so much more. You think we look excited in this picture? You should have been in the car on the way back home! On the way to the conference, we only thought we were pumped. On the way back, we were explosive with joyful energy and passionate love for the Lord. You see, the Passion ...

"I think I am finally done. That was the last stitch!" I proudly exclaimed as I held the dress up in front of me. The little bow on the front was the perfect final touch. "Now it is time to try it on," my friend said. After some slight difficulty in getting the zipper to zip all the way, I slipped on the homemade, tailor-fitted dress and twirled in front of the mirror. It didn't fit quite like I remembered it, but I mentally convinced myself that it was good enough. I shouldn't expect perfection out of my first dress, right? So I stepped out of the bathroom and modeled for my friend who had helped me sew the dress. She "oohed" and "aahed" over my first successful sewing project, and we took a few pictures together to document the moment. Before I went back to change into my other clothes, she stopped me in the hallway for another look at the dress. She picked around at a few places with a puzzled look on her face and said, "We...