I haven't been home for 6 weeks, essentially.
First, I went to Girls State. I wasn't so crazy about it. I mean, picture me, a politician. It just doesn't work. But, my roommate was exactly like me. It was amazing.
Then I was home for two days. Then the most amazing three weeks of my life.
Three weeks of this time was the most amazing time of my life. I spent those three weeks at theology camp in Atlanta, Georgia. It was incredible. There were kids my age interested in theology, asking the hard questions about faith, like what's the role of women in the church? How should you deal with homosexuals? What is sin? Nothing was comfortable; there was no comfort zone. It was the most incredible feeling.
While I was there, I was with people just like me--total geeks. We admitted our love for boy bands and old Avril and danced like we didn't care who saw. We talked about everything; we talked about God without it feeling forced. During that time, Dylan and I broke up and I think it was an extremely wise decision. We're both happier now.
We did an interfaith day. It was incredible. I met this Muslim girl who was so devout and convicted in her faith. I've never really talked to a Muslim before, so working with her was amazing. We saw the power of those games you play when you were young. It binds us all together.
My faith was challenged so much there. Now I'm looking at everything so much more critically and analyzing all that I see and hear in church and in the Bible. My parents said that I've become more liberal, but I'm not sure yet. I'm still developing my faith.
I made the best friends there. There were two. Jessica Owens, this amazing girl who said to me at one point "I'm glad I found people who don't mind being touched--I mean to say, I couldn't go three weeks without holding someone's hand or hugging." Apparently, people at her school question her sexuality because she holds hands with her friends. (She's a drama kid too.)
And the boy. Ian M. Nurse. Amazing. I fell for him in those three weeks, and I fell hard. He's a poet, he's confused, he's motivated, he thinks it would be cool to be a professional student. We've been talking on the phone almost every night. Last night we talked for 2 and a half hours and it barely felt like it. He wants to be a Latin teacher and he wants to go to both grad school and seminary. The last week, we kissed every day. It was amazing. He has this sweet, tender kiss and he knows how to make a girl melt. He did the forehead kiss and when I was crying, he kissed my eyelids and told me everything was going to be okay. He held me close and kept me awake the last night with tons of kisses. We got in trouble together. We kissed in the rain together. We went on walks in the rain together. We danced together. We laid out in a quad together. We loitered and made out on the stairs of a building in front of a beautiful quad at night. He put his arms around me automatically. He held my hand like it was everything.
Saying goodbye to these two was the hardest thing I've done in my life. I still miss them. I don't think I'll ever stop missing them. Jess was the best friend ever and Ian was an amazing summer love. He's already planning a road trip up here so we can play mini golf and swing and go for walks in the rain and have many more sunsets.
Then I went straight from the airport to Camp of the Woods. It was an alright week. I avoided making friends because I feel like I exhausted all of my social energies while I was at YTI. I mean, three weeks and fifty-something other people? Anyone's social skills would be demolished after that. I mostly spent time with my family. It was nice. We celebrated my mom's birthday and spent lots of time just being together and catching up.
This summer's been amazing.
If you want to catch up more, just comment me and we'll have a me and you day. If you want to talk about anything in here, just email me: sfhorton317@yahoo.com
Then I was home for two days. Then the most amazing three weeks of my life.
Three weeks of this time was the most amazing time of my life. I spent those three weeks at theology camp in Atlanta, Georgia. It was incredible. There were kids my age interested in theology, asking the hard questions about faith, like what's the role of women in the church? How should you deal with homosexuals? What is sin? Nothing was comfortable; there was no comfort zone. It was the most incredible feeling.
While I was there, I was with people just like me--total geeks. We admitted our love for boy bands and old Avril and danced like we didn't care who saw. We talked about everything; we talked about God without it feeling forced. During that time, Dylan and I broke up and I think it was an extremely wise decision. We're both happier now.
We did an interfaith day. It was incredible. I met this Muslim girl who was so devout and convicted in her faith. I've never really talked to a Muslim before, so working with her was amazing. We saw the power of those games you play when you were young. It binds us all together.
My faith was challenged so much there. Now I'm looking at everything so much more critically and analyzing all that I see and hear in church and in the Bible. My parents said that I've become more liberal, but I'm not sure yet. I'm still developing my faith.
I made the best friends there. There were two. Jessica Owens, this amazing girl who said to me at one point "I'm glad I found people who don't mind being touched--I mean to say, I couldn't go three weeks without holding someone's hand or hugging." Apparently, people at her school question her sexuality because she holds hands with her friends. (She's a drama kid too.)
And the boy. Ian M. Nurse. Amazing. I fell for him in those three weeks, and I fell hard. He's a poet, he's confused, he's motivated, he thinks it would be cool to be a professional student. We've been talking on the phone almost every night. Last night we talked for 2 and a half hours and it barely felt like it. He wants to be a Latin teacher and he wants to go to both grad school and seminary. The last week, we kissed every day. It was amazing. He has this sweet, tender kiss and he knows how to make a girl melt. He did the forehead kiss and when I was crying, he kissed my eyelids and told me everything was going to be okay. He held me close and kept me awake the last night with tons of kisses. We got in trouble together. We kissed in the rain together. We went on walks in the rain together. We danced together. We laid out in a quad together. We loitered and made out on the stairs of a building in front of a beautiful quad at night. He put his arms around me automatically. He held my hand like it was everything.
Saying goodbye to these two was the hardest thing I've done in my life. I still miss them. I don't think I'll ever stop missing them. Jess was the best friend ever and Ian was an amazing summer love. He's already planning a road trip up here so we can play mini golf and swing and go for walks in the rain and have many more sunsets.
Then I went straight from the airport to Camp of the Woods. It was an alright week. I avoided making friends because I feel like I exhausted all of my social energies while I was at YTI. I mean, three weeks and fifty-something other people? Anyone's social skills would be demolished after that. I mostly spent time with my family. It was nice. We celebrated my mom's birthday and spent lots of time just being together and catching up.
This summer's been amazing.
If you want to catch up more, just comment me and we'll have a me and you day. If you want to talk about anything in here, just email me: sfhorton317@yahoo.com