See, I'm smiling; That means I'm happy that you're here.

I didn't intend to post today. I was planning to wait till after all of the antics of MLK weekend are said and done and then post an awesome recap post. But then I got on to check out the new name (yay!) and Katie's post (your dream was even funnier when read in blog form) and saw that she was beating me in number of blog posts. I suddenly became very insecure of this and decided to remedy.

Last night was the AXO karaoke party, and while hearing girls scream into a microphone mind-numbing renditions of songs I really didn't like to begin with (cough, "Achy Breaky Heart," cough) is not that appealing to me, I came to a realization. Because the party was at Brown's Corner, I was reminded of the very first party of my college career, AXO Bid Night party. While at the time I would have said that I had fun at this party, looking back I probably didn't. I barely knew any of my pledge sisters, or anyone else for that matter. I remember feeling out of place and uncomfortable around all these people who seemed to already have their friends and lives figured out. But last night I was encouraged to walk into Brown's and see people I knew. Not just acquaintances, but people I have formed genuine friendships with over the past six months that I know will only grow and continue. It was amazing to see how much can change from August to Jaunary. I'm so grateful for the people in my life right now and can't wait to meet more... that sounded really sappy, but it's true.

I love driving home from Tuscaloosa in the late afternoon. If I time it just right, I can watch the sunset in my rearview mirror the whole way home. Today, I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen in a while. I found myself glancing in my mirrors more often than necessary just so I could see the explosion of purple, orange, and pink blending so perfectly behind me. Some say this is because of pollution, but I don't care. As I listened to the saga of Jamie and Cathy in "The Last Five Years" (thank you, Barrett), I was in my happy place: driving, listening to beautiful, moving music, and thinking on God's faithfulness.

So, that's my post. I gotta keep up with my roomie.