Friday, December 31, 2010

Top 10 Events of 2010


10. AFLV

9. UIFI
Long live "The Ocho!"
These two conferences completely changed my view of greek life. They teach students to focus on WHY our organizations exist and to [re] focus on our values. I was able to meet so many amazing people who are doing great things in their organizations. I love it.

8. Spring Formal

I could sit around and complain about how awful this day was, and I could have quit being social chair then and there. But I didn’t, and I don’t complain about it. That day taught me so much. I learned that I am really, really good at crisis management. That when everything seems to have gone wrong has, something worse can still happen. Yet these terrible happenings aren’t as bad as they seem. I learned to just keep going when times get tough, how to stay calm and kind when someone is very angry with you, and that Nikki and I can make the most disastrous event look flawless to those who don’t know what’s going on.

7. Changing my major…again.

I am just a psychology major. It took me awhile, and five other majors, to get here, but I finally okay with having one major.

6. Not getting warrior coordinator.

Not only did Arielle do a stellar job in this position, it allowed me to do something new at camp, something I thought I did not want to do. I got to be a big kid – a pathfinder. It was so fun working with older kids at camp. I loved “rocking the boat” and making amazing happen every week. The best part was I got to be partners with one of my best friends AND I got to have some of my campers from 2009 in my cabin.

We are the Ojibnation.
 5. Dad getting cancer

Not that this was particularly fun, but it has shaped the last third of our year. Not to be cliché, but I truly believe this has allowed my family to focus on what is important. I think that my dad being home has allowed my family to grow closer together and strengthen our relationships. I know it has shown me that God works in mysterious ways and how to focus on important things.

4. Trucking

One beautiful fall day, Carley and I got big gulps and sat in the back of her truck, hanging out in the SAE parking lot. And then, “trucking” was born. Trucking consists of sitting in the back of Carley’s truck and having really deep, meaningful conversations. This silly tradition was the cause of many values based conversations and the deepening of relationships

3. My trip to El Salvador

The mountains of El Salvador are laced with the poverty and pain of a beautiful people. They have such a rich, painful history. Being in their country really humbled me. These people have so little, yet they have so much. And that really made me see that while I have so much, I have so little. Experiencing their culture made me realize how lucky and blessed I am. These people really have their priorities straight! They live through the simplest joys in life and they have such a humble happiness. Being immersed in their culture allowed me to see what was truly important in life, and instilled a deep love of service in me.


2. Living in DG

I’ve wanted to live in since I joined DG as a freshman, but I never imagined it could be this great. I love interacting with 34 different women on a daily basis and getting to know them over Becky’s delicious meals or whatever TLC show is on in upper liv. Living in big dorm has been a ridiculous amount of fun – there’s always something crazy going on and it has helped bring our pledge class together.


1. Being apart of Panhellenic

These seven other women started out as mere strangers. We came together to better the greek community through our leadership. What I did not know was that these women would shape my year so profoundly, that I would look forward to our two hour long exec meetings, and that I would find some wonderful friends and role models on this council. I will defiantly miss all of them more than I can express next year.


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Resolution(s)

2011 New Years Resolution(s)

  1. To actually stick to these resolutions
  2. Continue this blog (and maybe start telling people about it)
  3. Start tackling my life list, because why wait to start living?
  4. To quote my favorite Bible verse - "pray without ceasing" 1 Thessalonians 5:17
  5. Re-evaluate life at the beginning of each month & set new, tangible goals
  6. Be clean(er)
  7. Craft more
I can't believe there are only two more days in 2010! Let's go out with a bang.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Road Trip

Last night, I drove to Lawrence to visit Kelsey.

From our graduation party photo shoot in 2008
I haven't seen her since May. It was really good to see her apartment, catch up, and learn about her life as a junior. We saw Black Swan (so good), ate McDonalds, danced to Michael Jackson, stayed up 'til 3 am talking, and we laughed. I love Kelsey because she is one of the most genuine people I know, and she always makes everyone laugh. I love that we can go half a year without seeing or talking to each other and nothing is awkward between us. She will always have a special place in my heart because she was one of my very first friends in Kansas.

Monday, December 27, 2010

I really like countdowns.

There are 5 days until 2011.
6 days until I'm in Indiana.
6 days until I'm with some of these wonderful people:
7 days until I'm at the happiest place in the world.
7 days until The Jon Williamson Future Quest.
11 days until the FOCUS Conference.
20 days until the Panhel & IFC retreat.
22 days until classes begin.
80 days until my birthday.
160 days until camp staff training 2011.

I like countdowns because they symbolize exciting things to come. But countdowns are no good if you only live for them and forget about today. That's why today I'm excited to go to the craft store with my mom, scrapbook, eat ice cream cake, and see some old friends from high school.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Oh, How He Loves Us.

Sometimes, I think I am way too underwhelmed by what Jesus did for us. By how much He loves us. I get caught up in the "us" part of that, I think. It's probably because the times I grow the most in my faith are the times I am focusing on my campers and making sure that they know that they're special and that God loves them more than they can fathom.

But God loves me. Imperfect, list-writing me. He took the form of a human baby and came to Earth so that I could better understand Him. And He died for me. He would have done it if I was the only person on Earth.

Wow. This is something I know and have been taught since before I can remember, but I usually think about Jesus doing this for us. Be He had every singe one of us on His mind - me included - when He was on the cross. When He was born. When He was doing good works. He did it all for me. And He did it all for you.

That knowledge is enough to blow me away every single day.

But He didn't stop there! No, He blessed me abundantly and continues to do so every day.

I don't want to be underwhelmed by His love for us - His love for me; His love for you. I want to be overwhelmed every single day and have my socked knocked off by this fact. I want to take that knowledge and run with it; I want to praise Him, to be third, and live my life in a constant search of joy, always thanking Him.

So on this beautiful Christmas day, I just want to say thank You to God. Thank You for making me who I am. Thank You for blessing me abundantly. Thank You for:

  • A loving family
  • Allowing my Dad to have a job that allows him to provide
  • The best friends in the entire world
  • Camp
  • DG
  • The ability to learn
  • Books
  • White chocolate covered pretzels
  • All the incredible opportunities I've been given
  • Everything. There's really too much to list


Thank You for loving me in spite of my flaws, and seeing me as the person who You made me to be. Help me to strive to be her every day.

Jesus loves me. And He loves you. More than we will ever know. Don't ever forget how amazing that is.

Christmas Eve


Today was a very happy day. It started off with Christmas cookie decorating with my sister,


and ended with some wonderful holiday traditions. We went to Mass, had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner (ham, potato casserole, & crescent rolls), opened presents from family members,

I've been demoted to the front of the pack.
played multiple (hilarious) games of Catch Phrase, and watched Elf while eating a delicious ice cream cake.

We went to bed early, knowing Santa is coming so we will be waking up way earlier than normal! Steph is sleeping in my room with me tonight [we’ve been doing this since I was in the 8th grade].


This day was full of love and traditions. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Winter Break Is Good.


Today, I was able to do a lot of fun winter break things.

1. I slept until 1:00. This is the earliest I’ve woken up since being home. I should probably start readjusting to normal people hours.

2. I finished my Camp Tecumseh 2009 scrapbook!
I love camp and I love crafting. Today I was able to do both, while sitting at my kitchen table listening to Christmas music! So many good things were happening at once.

Here are a few of my favorite pages:


Christmas in July
Week 5 Opening Campfire
Molly & I saw a sign for "UFO Quilt Camp" on our way back to camp & we went with it.

Some of my favorite closing campfire memories

It's true.


It was fun being able to go through my pictures from my first summer on staff. The memories were wonderful and it was great to see how we (campers and staff alike) have all changed.

3. I uploaded some pictures to snapfish (all 478 from summer 2010, along with all of my college pictures). The next step is sorting these out to see which ones I should print. I wish I could print them all!

4. Read some more of Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games series. It’s SO GOOD. I can barely put it down!

5. Started making Christmas treats! My mom and I made the sugar cookies (to be iced tomorrow with Steph), and we made a ridiculous amount (a bag and a half!) of white chocolate pretzels.





I can’t wait to eat them!

Hi, I'm Michelle.

Hi, I'm Michelle. And I like lists.

I read some where, more than once, that without goals or direction, life can lose its purpose. So awhile ago, I started making lists to plan and map out my day. It's sort of become a ridiculous habit now. And while I don't always tend to get everything done, it makes me feel productive. Then one day, I decided I need to make more long term goals, instead of just living my life without any apparent direction. So my very own bucket list was born. And in honor of said bucket list, this blog was born.

What you can expect from this blog:
1. Lists. Lots of them.
2. Things I know, things I've learned (or an still learning), and things I want to share
3. Pictures!
4. Updates on my life list

Other than that, who knows! This is going to be fun. Thanks for joining me on this experiment.