We're Going on an Adventure, Charlie!

Well, it is December 9th and I am 22 years old and one month. I think this calls for a time of reflection as well as a time for some thought to go into the future. In the next nine(ish) months, I will be embarking on many adventures that will be crazy. Hopefully they will all be crazy awesome... so far they seem to be heading that way.

Adventure #1:
In the next week, I will be completing my finals and my second to last semester here at Trinity Christian College. This might not sound very adventurous, but it has been an amazing four years and quite the ride itself. Getting through this week will be an accomplishment and I look forward to spending time with my dear friends when we have not one thought of papers, projects, studying, homework, or anything school-related on our minds.

Adventure #2:
In seven days from today, my friend KC and I will be flying out to Utah for a week of snowboarding bliss. We will be riding the beautiful slopes of Powder Mountain while staying with some friends of KC's. I am incredibly excited to get to spend some time with that awesome girl and to ride some real mountains. (No offense Wisconsin and Michigan... you're still cool)

Adventure #3:
In six weeks, I will be taking off again and going a little farther from home than Utah. I will be flying with six other Trinity students to Kenya. Yes, as in Kenya, Africa. I will be staying there for eight weeks and teaching at a school not far from the college where I will be staying. This is part of my student teaching. I will be getting prepared not only for adjusting to a completely different culture, but also getting ready to teach high schoolers. (I have spent the last three years aiding in classrooms with children no older than nine years old... This will definitely take some getting used to...)

Adventure #4:
When I return from Kenya, I will be student teaching somewhere in the state of Illinois (location: tbd). I have spent my college career preparing to be a teacher, and most of the time I am extremely excited about educating the little ones of America. There are still times when my dreams of doing different or crazier things cross my mind, but I am truly looking forward to giving teaching a try and seeing how it goes.

Adventure #5:
This is perhaps my most exciting and newest development in my life. Starting on June 1st, I will be getting out the ol' Cannondale and pedaling it across the whole entire US of A. Yes, this means that I will be riding my bike about 70 miles each day for 60 days. The organization I am doing this with is called Bike the US for MS. It is an incredible organization founded by people who are excited about being active and raising money for people living with MS.

Here is a link to their website and my personal little page: http://www.biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=286 

This is a lot to think about, and honestly I am not sure how any of these adventures will turn out. One thing I do know is that I have people who will support me through all of these things, which is one of the biggest blessings in my life. With people like that behind me and a God who knows what's going on, it is guaranteed to be an incredible and ridiculously awesome adventure :)