October, Exams, and turning 25

I warned you I'm terrible at these things.




October has been a big month so far.  I spent something like 15 hours studying flashcards, and at least that much reading my graduate textbooks in preparation for this BCBA exam.  I don't quite know how my brain hasn't exploded from the sheer amount of information yet.  I finally scheduled my exam, which is on the 29th of November.  Yes, I am freaking out, but I also recognize that I am likely over preparing and will probably do fine/great/fantastic.

I went to an Anberlin concert with Ariel.  It was so epic, I can't even put it into words.  I wish I had seen them sooner rather than on one of their last stops of their last ever tour.  I really appreciated how sincere the lead singer (and really the whole band) was and how much he was in awe of how much the crowd loved the music.  Ugh.  I wish I could go back and relive it.  Hands down, this was the best concert I've ever been to.  I wish you could have been there too, because it was truly just that epic.  I'm probably repeating myself a lot here, but YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND...THEY WERE THAT AMAZING!!!!

This month I rejoined AWANA as a leader.  I didn't realize how much I missed working with/hanging out with typical children until I was inside a swarm of them.  I love my special needs kids, but typical kids are great too.  I remember being in AWANA, youth group, sunday school, etc. and being in awe of the "adults" (college age kids, really) who were just SO COOL.  Not to toot my own coolness horn, but I feel like I've finally achieved that status among children.  I finally look old enough (seriously, until recently, some people were convinced I was 18 or whatever) and am weird enough that I'm kind of cool.  

I also turned 25 this month.  It was kind of really sad.  Like, much sadder than I expected.  Of course I realized what I was doing when I moved 3000 miles away from 90% of the people I know and love, but I didn't really think about how that would affect days/events that I take for granted.  If you know me, you know that I'm not really a birthday or celebration person.  I LOVE celebrating other people.  I LOVE finding gifts that are just so perfect for someone I know.  BUT I HATE being the center of attention on my birthday or Christmas or any other gift-giving holiday.  It just makes me feel so awkward.  Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate what people do for me, I'd just rather do it for them rather than them for me.  That being said, I was kind of surprised by how much I missed being near my family for my birthday.  I got to skype with them a couple days before, and that was great, but I do miss them (more than I would probably admit outloud, but I know some of them read this blog so they'll find out that way I guess) and it was weird being away.  I went out for a birthday drink with a couple co-workers after work (turns out 3 of us share the same birthday!) and went home, ready to just wallow in misery.  Flash forward to the evening.  I'd just like to send a shout out to my homeboy Stephen who managed to accomplish a feat no one has ever accomplished in my 25 years.  He and his family somehow managed to throw me a surprise party on my actual birthday and I had NO clue that was going to happen.  It wasn't a huge ordeal, it was his family and Bryce's family, but it meant so much to me.  It was a genuine surprise and really made my day.  

A year ago today I adopted my first cat, Bootsie.  I love him so much it's almost embarrassing.  I thought I had lost him forever when he escaped the other day, but thank God he returned to me.  I'm not altogether sure (or as sure as I was a year ago) that I'm going to become a crazy, lonely, cat lady, but I do know that my family is not quite complete.  I plan on getting Bootsie a pal sometime this month or the next, and it's going to be fantastic.  Stay tuned, the next time I update I will probably have this cat and it will be so cute.

Happy Halloween!