Stay away from Taylor polynomials.....

After a two week hiatus, Suz and I are excited to say we're back to blogging! College makes you.... Busy. Crazy, right?

This last weekend, we got the chance to get off campus (second weekend in a row, baby!) and spend time with our amazing community of women through Campus Crusade for Christ (which we usually refer to as "Cru," fyi). The weekend's theme was "beholding His glory," where we spent time studying how God glorifies Himself and how He allows us to take part in His master plan for our lives. I could go on and on about how God showed up over retreat, but one thing I wanted to stress was how God spoke to me through the community I found in these girls. It was such a blessing to hear the wisdom of upperclassmen and bond with our freshmen class (haha ohh the inside jokes). I had no idea that the Lord would grow me so much, at UCLA of all places! Go figure.

Have you ever developed a speech habit to the point where you spew out a phrase, no matter how awkward or irrelevant it is to the conversation? No? Oh, me neither..... Haha but really. For instance, whenever I'm at the movies and the theater worker says "Enjoy the show," I consistently reply "You too!" Clearly that makes no sense, and yet, it tricks me every time.

Something similar happened to me at work today. I was trying to answer some girl's random question (I swear, people think the front desk workers ought to possess a superior knowledge on everything) and when I told her I couldn't help her out, she just glared at me. I, anticipating a polite and thankful response, quickly responded with a "You're welcome!" She never even said thank you. Instead she just left and walked out the front lobby doors. Go me.

So I guess the moral of the story is... Always tell customer service workers "thank you," so that they don't feel like morons when they say "you're welcome" out of habit. Or, just learn how to control word vomit. (There's a shout-out to all you Mean Girls fans out there.)

-Pam

This past week has been filled with lots of lessons for Suzanne. I’ve learned that college and poopy math teachers can turn a person’s love for calculus into great disdain, signing up for classes doesn’t bring out the best in me, and ultimately God is in control…not little ol’ me! My dislike of calculus has made me appreciate poetry a lot more, so here is a little poem for your entertainment:

Calculus
By Suzanne Marie Johnson

You used to be my love, my friend, my strength,
But not anymore my friend,
This relationship has come to an end.
People once said I would be “the most likely to find the end of pi,”
My aspirations reached towards the sky,
But then I came to UCLA,
My love for you has gone astray,
Classes are harder, and you’ve become mean,
Our life together has just ripped at the seams,
Midterms have started to tear us apart,
Goodbye my love; you have broken my heart.

I was in a very dramatic mood so bear with me. Anyways, in the midst of studying for my math midterm last night, I had the joy of signing up for classes. I had multiple backup plans, the “perfect schedule,” I would get out early so I could play at the beach later in the day…Suzanne was totally “in control.” But of course all the classes I wanted filled up, so my schedule is very awkwardly spread out, and definitely not ideal. A little stressful, yes….but after a good night’s sleep, God gave me a little wake up call. (no pun intended). God is in control, not me. Signing up for classes may be a lame example, but I was totally convicted. I love this verse in Jeremiah that has really spoken to me:

“I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.” –Jeremiah 10:23

If things aren’t going your way, just remember that we are not in control. Our Father is! He has everything taken care of ☺

-Suzanne

A picture from our visit to UCSD to see Pam's friend from back home, Spencer!


P.S. Did anyone know that calculus also refers to a horrifying dental disease that develops from hardened plaque? Coincidence? I think not. (Pam)