Sorry for the long gap in posting, I've been busy with various
adventures summer, so I'm going to take all of my activities and lump
them into one giant post. Feel free to skim.=P
The
summer began with a trip to Colorado Springs, for NITOC. The road trip
was great, and the tournament was a great time for reconnecting with
friends. I did fairly well in debate. However, despite feeling I did
well with my speeches, I didn't move on. It served as a great reminder
that our successes have very little to do with how well we think we
perform, but rather they depend on the grace of God. If you think about
it, this truth applies to all areas of life, not just speech and
debate. God puts us where he wants us to be, not where we think we deserve to be. God also reminded me that His plans are always better than our
plans. Since I didn't break, I had a lot of time to go watch other
speeches. This gave me a great opportunity to support my friends, and
meet and chat with some cool people that I probably wouldn't have had
time for if I was trying to rush to a round. Overall, the tournament
was a great life lesson and a great time with friends.
The next big event was the NCFCA National Championship in
Minnesota. The tournament I'd been working towards all year long. I
wanted to make the most of it, as I knew many of my friends were
graduating, and it would be a long time before I would see most of my
Region 2 friends again. The tournament was amazing. From a great drive
over, to John Branyan's comedy, to placing 6th in extemp and 4th in LD
speaks, to playing frisbee in the sprinklers at 11 at night it was one
of the best weeks of my life.
After arriving home, there would be no rest from speech and
debate as it was time to prepare for the Boise speech and debate camp!
God used the camp to put me in a position to mentor young speakers who
were just beginning to be introduced into NCFCA. What an amazing
opportunity! I could see tremendous potential in them, and it was so
cool to be able to see them grow in their confidence and abilities even
just during the course of a week.
The week after camp, moving became more and more of a reality as the
truck came. We had very nice movers who worked very hard during the
week. After the house was empty, my dad flew up from New Mexico to sign
the papers. It was hard to drive away from the place we had lived for
the past eight years. As I look back on all of the songs I had written
in that house I realized the story that they tell. I am not the same
person I was eight years ago. I'm much closer to the person I want to
be, but I still have a ways to go. I know the move and my experiences
the next few years will also work to change me for the better, and add
to my life story. I miss the people in the Northwest every day, but at
the same time I know this is where I am supposed to be. Sometimes God
puts us in a place that we don't necessarily want to be, but He does it
to help us to become more like Him. The Israelites didn't like
wandering through the desert for forty years, but God used it to prepare
them for the promised land. I know God has the perfect plan for my
life as well, and He will use these experiences to shape me into who He
wants me to be. What an awesome adventure He has for all of us!
After spending about a week in Santa Fe, I had the awesome
opportunity to fly up to northern Idaho for the TP camp in Post Falls. I
got to stay with my very good friends, the Pauls, and I was able to see
many of my Region 2 friends one more time. It's very cool when it
feels like your friends are more like your brothers and sisters than
just friends. I also was able to practice debating with my new debate
partner Josh, which I think will really help us as we compete this
year. Simply an amazing week with amazing people. I feel very lucky to
know them.
After debate camp ended, I flew out to Oregon. The morning I
flew in, I got to hang out with another one of my good friends from
debate, and then I went to the coast for five days with my old band
mates from Boise. We had an awesome time playing badminton, poker, and
jamming on guitars. We also got to see a lot of the sights along the
coast. Such a cool place.
As a write this, I'm back in New Mexico and the summer's
adventures have come to a close. Another year of school is in front of
me. Life the next year is starting to look extremely boring compared to
last summer. I am determined to change that, though. I'll use my
spare time to record my first CD with the songs I wrote in Boise, and
I'll prepare for my last year in debate. A lot of doors close after
this year. I'm going to make the most of them while they're still open.
The promise I remind myself of:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.-Jeremiah 29:11.
God bless, everyone.
