Life, Love, and the pursuit of prom

 

Hey guys! I just felt like writing this post and have no idea where its going so bear with me. Well first i think I should discuss the fact that I am done with high school! woot! Actually i could have been done in december because I had the credits, but decided that 300 dollars for two college classes was pretty cheap. So now I am going into college with English composition out of the way! yeah baby!

Anyways life is pretty good right now, im still praying for stuff with Union to fall into place because im still a little bit short on cash (I am accepting donations). I know that God knows what he’s doing and I am waiting on his decision. I really want to be there but if God wants me at CBU then thats what Ill do. I will be on the fast track to med school once i get into college wherever that may be. For those of you who dont know, I am hoping to get a degree in Biology and go to med school in order to become a pediatrician. I love little kids and look forward to working with them.

I just realized, that there are probably a considerable amount of you who do not know why i got into the idea of being a doctor, no its not the money (although it is a considerable perk) but actually this idea came from pain believe it or not. I was 4 years old and my dad was pushing me in the swing, I told my dad to push me higher, but sadly i wasnt hanging on tight. So as my dad gave me a big push i flew backwards out of the swing and landed on my right arm, I found out after an x-ray that it was broken at the elbow thereby separating my arm into three pieces. They took me to Campbells Clinic and I met Dr Azar (who is now the grizzlies team doctor) and he fascinated me. I was dumbfounded by the fact that two pins stuck in my arm and time could fix my arm and make it like new. It was at that point that I decided to become a doctor. I have spent time flip flopping between orthopedics and other specialties but decided upon pediatrics because of the love i have for children.

Anyways, like i said before life is going good and stuff with rachel is going good too. She and I are going to prom today! woohoo! I am wearing a royal blue vest and tie. Yeah baby i think its pretty sexy. Rachel will look beautiful of course so that will make me look better lol. Well I really dont have much else to write so i guess till next time! Love all you guys who read and hope you enjoy this one. Put God first always and have fun!

Blah Blah… I hate thinking of what to put here…

So… its been a while since my last post and I decided to throw my draft i considered posting out. Life has been going well so far and I have nothing to complain about. Well…. not anything in regards to the way MY life is going. But I’ll get to that later.

Anyways as I have said my life has been going well so far. Stuff with Rachel is great and we are closer than ever. I really love the relationship she and I have cause I can act like myself around her completely. Like I am the same around guys as I am around her. Any joke I say around guys she hears too. She finds them funny too which is awesome. So yeah. Anyways I am 1000 dollars closer to being able to go to Union which makes me happy. My classes are going well I got an A on my second paper which was on violence in the media. I thoroughly enjoyed writing that paper because last semester I wrote one on the same topic and gleaned some from it. Yayness! Pre-cal is going well too. I love my teacher. He’s hilarious. But thats pretty much all I have to say right now about my life right now.

Ok now its time for me to state my opinion on something. Today's topic is…… Me hating on people pleasers! Ok so where do I start? Well first let me define what I believe a people pleaser is.

So, to me a people pleaser is someone who goes out of their way to fulfill the needs of others. Now at this point some of you (who probably are people pleasers) are puzzled as to why this would bother me. I do admit that sometimes helping people and going the “extra mile” for people is great but let me give you some scenarios where this is not good. The “lazy girlfriend/boyfriend syndrome,” this typically occurs when one of the halves in a relationship decides to get the other to do an obnoxious amount of things for the other because they can take advantage of the fact that the other person will do ANYTHING for them. The person who is asking isn't my problem… that can be fixed. My problem is the person who will go out of their way to do anything for the other person. See again some of you are confused as to why i feel this way. Some boyfriends are really whipped by their girlfriends to the point where they are nearly slaves. I love my girlfriend and I do not throw that term around lightly. But if she asked me to do everything for her we would have problems. People who will do everything someone says because they want to avoid fights or make everyone happy. People need to understand that you cant make anyone happy. Its stupid to think otherwise because people are stupid. People all have different opinions about everything and fights are inevitable. Also this can occur in simple friendships as well. There are honestly times when friendships do not need to be saved and there are some people who do anything to save it even if it goes against what they believe. If you look at a friendship where someone is starting to get into things that they shouldn't (drugs, alcohol, etc.) then the person who doesn't believe in doing whatever the other friend is doing should back away. But sadly tons of people just let their morals slide and end up getting in trouble. This REALLY irks me. People who do this make me absolutely sick. But yeah thats all I really have to say about that.

Well seeing as I procrastinated getting this blog post out I decided to add this little tidbit into this post instead of having an obnoxiously short one after it. So this past weekend was a pretty good one, I went and saw Celtic Women which was very good even though I got bored towards the end. Also I got the opportunity to meet Becky’s husband Jake. He seems very nice but he’s very quiet around me, I’ve been told thats how he is around everyone at first but seeing as I’m dating his sister in law and he’s a green beret that makes me nervous haha. But Becky said that she told him she liked me so I don't think he’ll kill me in my sleep. But anyways it was a good Easter and I don't want school to start back. Well thats all I had to say so I’ll leave you with this verse in spirit of Easter

Matt 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Now that is the real spirit of Easter. God bless you all!

What's an Appropriate Title… You Tell Me!

So today was a pretty good day. I woke up at about 12:00 (woohoo spring break!) and then played on my computer for the next two hours. after which I got up, took a shower, and then went to Starbucks for some quality time with Jake (check out his blog at jakehughes.com) after he and I talked for about an hour and a half we decided to go back to my house for awhile. We got here and decided to make some videos (ahh bohemian rhapsody) and then took my brother to boy scouts. on the way there we made a video regarding our drive. It probably wouldn't be humorous to anybody but us. It mostly pertained to our odd fixation upon getting a wifi network to connect to my laptop whilst driving haha. After dropping off my brother we decided to attempt to get my iPhone to be a wireless router for my computer. (it worked woohoo!) and then i bid Jake adieu. All in all it was a funtastic time! It was nice to see Jake again. I hadn't seen him in a a good while.

Then after I had been home for a little while I decided to call Rachel. This was a very interesting conversation. We talked about influence of friends an closeness in relationships. The first thing we spoke of was the purpose of friends outside of your relationship. Friends are a key factor and can also be a downfall. If you have very supportive friends to talk to about your relationship they can make you feel very happy and make your relationship feel even better. (even sometimes when things aren't going so hot). But I (from personal experience) have found that friends can also be a downright terrible thing for a relationship. When Rachel and I first dating she had this friend (who shall remain unnamed even though some of you know this story) and she was kind of close to Rachel but they didn't do things very often. They texted a good bit but didn't get to see each other very often in person. Well while this friend was perfectly fine with me and Rachel dating at first she then became very jealous of the time I spent with Rachel and started attempting to undermine the relationship at every turn. Saying i was jealous when I wasn't, saying that I was pushing Rachel too fast, etc. Thankfully Rachel was able to see through this friends front and realized what the underlying problem was. But imagine if she had been like a sister to her, would she have been so quick to see through it? That is a definite example of how a friend could be a bad influence. Also friends could, just by talking to them, make you doubt the point at which you are in your relationship (this one I do not have personal experience on so my thoughts are hypothetical). Say you've been dating for a couple of months and neither of you are very experienced dating and you haven't worked your way up to kissing yet. Your girlfriend’s friends (awkward phraseology i know) could be pressing her wondering why you haven't made your move yet and saying that your not at the same level of commitment that she is. The roles could be reversed as well. guys could get peer pressured by other guys hearing the same thing. Other times in that situation friends could say something about that and not even realize that they are making you second guess things. simple statements such as “really?” or “thats strange” when used in the wrong places can make you feel unhappy with where you are in your relationship even when you aren't. wow that was a real big mouthful there… but anyways hope somebody can glean something from this!

So the next thing we talked about was openness within a relationship. Hopefully this paragraph wont be as long haha. Anyways… We talked about how when two people are dating that while not everything at once, both people need to let their guard down and feel a little uncomfortable at times and reveal things about themselves that aren't necessarily the best side of them. I'm not talking necessarily something like “oh i slept with my last boyfriend/girlfriend” or “I was abused when i was a child” but just simple things like talk about what you like to do that may not be the coolest thing ever. Like I am a complete nerd and Rachel is a vocal performance major… Do you think I felt completely comfortable at first talking about nerdy computer stuff or getting excited about a video game with her? Nope, but after a while I started to open myself up little by little and started talking about stuff like that. She did the same with music stuff. Its just something that if you really cherish the relationship and hope that its going to go somewhere that you have to do. Otherwise when you think your getting to know someone you really aren't getting to know them. It probably could almost feel like you had been lied to if you thought you had known your boyfriend/girlfriend because you had been dating for 6 months only to find out that they hadn't been themselves, only what they wanted you to see. Plus if you act that way around somebody they may like the facade that you decide to put up and not the real you when you decide to show it to them. Thats just what I have seen in friends relationships and whatnot. Well anyways thats all I can think of about that. (haha Forrest Gump)

Anyways I don't want you guys to think I am trying to give out advice about what you should do in your relationship. Its different for everyone. All I’m putting up here is my thoughts and things that spark my interest. If one of you guys decides to use it for yourselves then feel free! Hope it works as well for you as it does for me. Above all remember that God needs to come first. If that doesnt happen first you wont be happy in the long run. Remember Jeremiah 29:11 always.

“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.”

Fast Times at Union University…. Well not really….

Hey you guys! So I'm attempting to hold true to my promise to blog a little more often so here you go! Well this weekend I decided to stay the weekend up in Jackson to visit Rachel. Fun! So i got here and we watched A Walk to Remember… I was suckered into it of course. Then we went to a variety show on the campus. It was pretty entertaining. There's nothing like seeing a group of frat boys sing Wicked. And a group of white kids with lots of rhythm! That was VERY surprising. Then we decided to go over to her old roommates apartment. So Maggie, (her old roommate) Rachel, and I all decided to go to the Post-Variety show party at Lambda Chi Alpha house. It was there that i was told I actually had rhythm (by a Latina too!) and felt like a dumb white boy dancing… hopefully all you Baptists reading this post wont kill me for dancing to that “new fangled rap music ” Then after getting hot and sweaty and laughing at guys who were attempting to dance or attempting to get a girl to dance with them (and failing epicly) we went to Perkins. It was then that we got to see Maggie take the salt off the table and put it in her mouth to attempt to cure an ulcer. Oh and we also talked about inappropriate things in Disney movies… You want details then your gonna have to ask me cause i don't know that i want to post it here haha. (lets just say that Walt Disney apparently wasn't just a Neo-Nazi)

Well that was all that happened yesterday. Today I woke up at bout 10 (didn't get to sleep until 2) and Rachel and I went to North Park and watched a group of what looked like ROTC guys doing exercises that would make me feel very awkward around other people. especially if i was in the shorts they were wearing. After that we went to see her Cousins/Aunt and Uncle Danny and Sally. They recently came back from China where they adopted a baby named Carmen. She was absolutely adorable! Then (thankfully) Danny told me that my tire was low and I got to put on the spare. (woohoo?) Then we went to Chick Fil A for lunch and went back to Rachel's dorm to watch The Office and House. After a couple of hours we went to Kroger and got some stuff to make pizzas! Then sadly i had to leave in order to get home. But all in all it was a fantastic weekend and I had a ton of fun. I wish I could have stayed longer. Sorry there isn't any deep stuff in this blog post like there was in the last one… I’m not in a deep mood ;) Well… kind of but I don't feel like writing anything. Oh and just so you guys know I am on spring break this week so if you feel like doing something just call me. My number is on facebook if you don't already have it. Love all you guys and hope you enjoyed it!

So… How do I sum up everything?

Hmm… lets see. Now that I have windows live writer I will hopefully begin blogging again (emphasis on the hopefully). Anyways I think I’m going to cut this blog entry into sections a little bit. Ill probably talk about school and then some personal stuff (it will be limited so don't get all excited.) So lets get started!

Well lets start with school! Schools going pretty awesome this school year. I'm doing dual enrollment classes and going to go into college with English Comp out of the way! woo woo! (I hate English btw). So the first semester went fantastic even though my teacher was a little crazy… She was very liberal and against every political stance i have (abortion, stem-cell. gay marriage, the list goes on.) But she, if nothing else, was an easy A. every paper i turned in was an A paper and we had like drafts of each one before we turned it in. So yeah every paper was close to perfect as is probably humanly possible… Or at least humanly possible for me. And then was my math class…. boy Br. Joel… or should i say the spawn of Satan? No not Nicolai Carpathia (all who read the left behind series are chuckling hopefully) but close. He may have been the deaf dumb and blind kid that played pinball that the who sang about. He sure had the deaf part covered. I was on the second row of our class and Br. Joel could only hear me if i yelled at the top of my lungs. I mean kids were playing ringtones on their phones during class to see if he could hear them… Which he couldn't. Plus he would forget to explain things that he put on his tests or overcomplicate word problems to make his basic class much more difficult than need be. Its sad really. Tenure is a wonderful thing huh? Anyways that class is over now (much to my relief) and I have moved on to Pre-Calculus. Oddly I am doing better in this class than i did in the last! Mr. Miguel Arellano is a fantastic teacher and more than adequately prepares you for his tests. If I go to Christian Brothers next fall (which I’m praying I don't) then I’ll probably take Calculus from him. English class is fantastic this semester as well and it really catches my attention. I get my first paper back this Wednesday so here’s hoping i did well!

Well considering how I’ve been talking about dual-enrollment classes those of you who do not know my intentions should know that I hope to attend Union University with the intent of getting a degree in Biology to pursue a career as a Pediatrician. I absolutely love interacting with and caring for children (i want a big family) and have been inflated with medicine since i broke my arm at age 4. I'm still praying for and hoping that my scholarship money I need comes through (only about 4000 more needed!) so I can go there. I really think God wants me to be there for a multitude of reasons. Unions science building is awe inspiring. They have a massive building dedicated to science classes and nursing and such. It really is something to behold. I truly hope i can get the money to go there (Obama where is my handout?)

Well another reason (and not even the main reason to all you neigh-sayers, you know who you are… bite me) is Rachel. last time I left you guys we hadn't been dating for very long at all. Our relationship has definitely blossomed some in the 6 months since I last posted. Man I am so glad God has me where I am right now because i cant think of a moment where I have been happier. Rachel has been good for me in general. She has helped my temper from flaring as often (she tamed the hair color!) Aaron Rowland can tell you that's true. She has shown me what it means to truly care for someone. She has drawn me closer to GOd which is most important. She likes me for the goofy weirdo guy I am! She’s beautiful, modest, caring, sweet, and just amazing in general. I am the luckiest guy in the world to have her. In the past 8 months that we have been dating I have certainly changed and I think its definitely for the better. Why? Because I’m happy and in God’s will. And when those two correlate you know your in an amazing place. I hope dearly that Rachel and i can have more happy moments and inside jokes for a whole lot longer. Speaking of inside jokes who’s up for sex on the couch? (Some of you started laughing… others… i promise it isn't dirty).

God has really taught me a lot in the past 6 months. Mostly about patience and reliance on him. And a lot about what comes first in a relationship and life in general! Patience is indeed a virtue and something that I have had to take a dose of this school year. With Rachel off at school I have had to be patient and wait to see her on weekends or whenever it is that I can. Otherwise our long distance (or one hour) relationship wouldn't work. So obviously some of god’s patience lesson has stuck in that area seeing as 6 of the 8 months that Rachel and I have dated she has been gone. But really in the patience lesson God has been teaching me our relationship has grown even stronger. She is my best friend and I have trusted her with everything and I mean everything. So yeah God has shown me patience in that and also in my English class last semester. I had to be patient with my teacher as to remain a good witness of what I believe in and more importantly who. I hope i did an alright job in doing so. Also patience appeared in the scholarship department. I have had to be very patient waiting on scholarships to come in all the while praying to God that my patience would pay off and he would allow my dream to come to fruition. So for all of you who read this that is part of what God has been teaching me.

Well this has most certainly been a fun blog post to type seeing as there was a considerable amount on my mind. I hope those of you who took the time to read it enjoyed it. I realize that I am not the most influential writer in the world but this is a blog so get over yourself. Haha just kidding…. or am I? but anyways I want to leave you with a tidbit of advice for any of you looking to get into a relationship. I may not be well versed in the girlfriend department but Ive tlaked to enough girls about their guy problems and I’m happy enough now to know this… Wait on the person God has for you. It mat not necessarily be your future spouse but just the one God gives you an ok for. And when your looking dont ask “God show me why to date this person” but ask “God show me why NOT to date this person” you can always rationalize why to date someone but its harder to think of why not to. Rachel gave me that tidbit of advice and said it was the prayer she prayed when she was praying to God about me. So anyways goodnight all. It’s late and I am VERY tired. So I bid you adieu.

Connor Avant

"Never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

8/09/08 man alot has happened?

Well... when i told you i wouldn't update this frequently i lived up to my word lol. wow... so much has happened since Ive blogged... Ive worked vacation bible school (amazing), my grandmother passed away, I started going out with Rachel Beard, and went on choir tour....

Well I'm going to start with Vacation bible school. Jake Hughes and I worked backstage for vbs which was outrageous! This was probably one of the most fun weeks Ive had this summer... all i can say is throw Ian and me and extreme fatigue together and you get insanity and lots of fun. I got to help Billy rappel from the ceiling and got to be in the catwalks even though i wasn't 18... for shame Ian. but i survived (obviously)

Well the next thing that happened to me was one of the worst things that's happened to me ever. My grandmother who lives next door passed away. She was like a second mother to me and I loved her dearly and will always miss her. My grandfather is still alive and i worry about him because my grandmother is the one who kept him from overdoing everything... but that has been over a month ago and i have dealt with it emotionally for the most part.

The next thing that happened is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me (with the exception of accepting Christ as my savior) and that is Rachel and I have started going out. She is the most wonderful person I have ever met and couldn't imagine life without her. She completely exceeded all the expectations I ever had for a girlfriend and I am very blessed to have her.

The last and most recent thing that has happened to me is I went on high school choir tour to New York! Although this year it was much more of a mission trip than a choir tour.... which was both good and bad... but overall it was a fun trip and i found out how good of a soprano i was lol.

Well I know considering how much time its been since Ive posted a blog that this entry is short... but in all honesty I only blogged before to be able to get what i feel out there and i found someone special to listen to me whenever i need it... so honestly i doubt that i will blog again anytime soon... sorry!

Blog Post No 2.

Well i told you guys I probably wouldn't update this often and have held true to that promise. Well to start I recently went with Jake to see "Expelled, No Intelligence Allowed." the first thing i need to say is that it is something all who believe in creationism or intelligent design should see. Ben Stein has created a great movie that has displayed how much our society tries to suppress anything that isn't Darwinism. Ben also makes many of the evolutionists look like absolute idiots. i don't know if i can explain it on here very well but you should see the movie to understand what I am talking about.

Well above was my general analysis of the movie, but here i will share with you the idea from the movie that most interested me. In the movie Ben makes a disturbing but unfortunately true comparison with America and Nazi Germany, he says that evolution is a wall, one that can be compared with the Berlin wall and freedom of education is only allowed if your on the right side of the wall. Ben then decides that he wants to take down the wall... he then points out that he cannot take down the wall on his own and says that we must help of we want it to ever come down. Well this is what i got out of the movie and if you haven't seen it i hope that reading this will persuade you to do so...

Well now that I've gotten that done, i guess i will continue on to some of my personal life.... Well I'm almost done with school so that a good feeling, I have already finished my advanced math class and have done my American literature final and only have to read a poem to the class w00t! So yeah... but i kinda wish i was graduating i only have one credit left until i can.... I'm gonna miss seeing all my friends once they graduate... But alas my heart will go on (sorry for the cheesy titanic line lol) and i have like 6 graduations to go to... but oh well... I'm really gonna have few friends to hang out with next year tho... *sigh oh well. Well lets get off that subject. next year I'm going to have only three classes English Comp 1 and college algebra and physics. Its gonna be pretty sweet. Also I'm really excited about this summer... I'm gonna hang out with people and swim and all that jive and the Mhea banquet coming up should be a lot of fun too!

Well its about 10:40 and Ive said all I'm willing to say on here so i guess this is the end of my second blog post. and i think I'm going to open it for comments if you wish to post them. so with that i bid you all adieu for now. bye!