The most epic week ever (Part 1)

Technically, if I start from the beginning, it's about a week and a half, but that's not as cool of a title. Here it goes...

Last Wednesday, I was playing basketball during lunch. I jammed my right hand into Ryan Brunson's arm as he was making a pass, heard a crack, and felt an excruciating pain. I went to the bathroom to run my hand under cold water, but the pain continued. Fortunately, my mom was working in the cafeteria, so I went and got an ice pack from her. I spent 7th period unable to write and trying to ignore the pain. By 8th period, my hand was kinda numb from the cold. After the bell, I went to Mr. Pollard and told him that I couldn't record my audition for the TPSMEA All-State Band that day. The most ironic part of the whole thing was that I normally would have spent lunch practicing Jazz Combo music in the band room. I had skipped the practice so that I wouldn't tire out my lips before the audition. :(


I figured my hand would heal on it's own, so I didn't go to a doctor. Instead, I went on Retreat X! I left school on Friday at noon with Trever Brightwell. After packing John Hill's truck with far more than it was intended to hold, we left for Camp Travis, which was beautiful and had an amazing view of Lake Travis. We rushed to get everything set up before the retreatants(yes, that's what we call people going on retreats) got there. In order to not divulge secrets that only those who have been on Retreat X may know, I can't go into too much detail. What I can say is this:

1) I was extremely nervous about my talk, though it went pretty well.

2) I was double-crossed when I attempted to double-cross Suva. This is a bad idea for those who were wondering. Beware of the Suva!

3) I grew really close to the other staff. I love you guys so much!

4) Life is more fun if you let yourself have fun. There are times to be serious, but there are times to just be silly and have fun with your friends.

5) I have a lot of respect for Tori and Betsy, who were running around constantly, checking on everything, attempting to make sure everything went smoothly. Unfortunately, this just isn't possible on a youth group retreat. Something is always doomed to go wrong. :P

6) Time flies when you don't stop to smell the roses. All of the staff were so busy organizing things that the weekend was gone by the time we realized it had started. This is fine when staffing retreats, because the retreats aren't about us, they're about the retreatants. However, I realized that I need to make sure I don't let my life happen like that. I can't spend so much time preparing for the future that I don't enjoy the present. At some point, things will just work well or they won't. I need to learn when to stop worrying and just pray and adopt the "let it be" mindset.

I had a great time, and miss everyone so much.


About 2 hours after I got home from Retreat X, I left for a campus visit to ACU. As soon as I got there and met my host, we went to the Sunday 9:00 chapel. There were probably nearly 1000 people there singing praise and worship. It was so amazing; I could barely hear my own voice. After some really great skits and more singing, we went back to his dorm in Mabee Hall and hung out with the other guys there. We just walked into his friends rooms unannounced and talked with other guys. After playing soccer in the hallway, we went to sleep. That is definitely an advantage to all-guy dorms. I'm not saying that I don't have extremely close friendships with girls, but there is just something different about friendships between guys. I'm pretty sure most guys feel the same way. I feel more honest and open around other guys; it's easier to just be myself.

Monday morning, I went and started the official "Wildcat Preview Day" by winning an ACU blanket for knowing when ACU wad founded. I guess I learned something at the other events when I was getting free food. :P I visited a really good Bible class, a decent band rehearsal, and a great cafeteria: The "World Famous Bean." Then I met Mrs. Dauherity and her husband, a physics professor at ACU, who showed me around. He introduced me to the Jazz Director and a few people at the Physics Department, including Dr. Rusty Towell. Dr. Towell talked about how much research Physics get to do in summer internships and things like that because ACU doesn't have a graduate program in Physics. I talked with a couple other people about admissions and the Honors College, went on an official Residence Hall tour, and went home.

To be continued... (BUM BUM BUUUUUUUM!)