Hope Dorm - Room 705

My sister and I invited a bunch of people over to watch a movie. One of Jen's fellow Witness! members and one of my old roomies ended up being the only ones to come. We had a great time! We spent the last couple of hours watching a movie, talking, and just hanging out. It was nice to spend some time with a couple of people who know me better than anyone else in the world.

As we were talking we started to reminisce about the year I spent in Hope Dorm Room 705 with Heather, Lindsey, and Faith. It was also my sister's first year and since she was in the same dorm, she also spent a lot of time in there.

I made memories that I hope I never forget! One is the memory of the only time I can really remember getting angry with them. I had won a Beta fish in a Christmas game at work and jokingly named him Ross after the CEO. Even though we tried repeatedly to rename him, nothing ever stuck and he was stuck being Ross.

Well, one day I came home and Ross was not alone in his fish bowl. There were these awful, disgusting little shrimp things swimming around with him. I was so annoyed! If you know anything about Betas they typically cannot live with other fish because they kill them. I knew that my little Ross was especially aggressive with his reflection in mirrors, so I knew that he would end up killing and eating them. Long story short, my roomies didn't believe me, but in the end that's exactly what happened. It took a while, but it's now funny!

Other memories include my 24th birthday at BJ's, the picture we drew and hung on our door and added to throughout the semester, Heather falling for Tim, the nicknames we all gave each other, the room meetings that always lasted way too long not because of trouble but because we were having such a good time, Heather and I studying together for Blythe classes, the laughter, Faith singing the same made up song over and over for weeks, Lindsey and Tae Bo, Jen doing a creepy face and chasing Heather around the room with a highlighter behind her back. The list could go on and on. We shared our hopes, dreams, fears, tears, failures, successes, prayer requests, praises, heartaches, and laughter, lots of laughter.

Personality-wise we couldn't have been more different. I have a hard time letting people in and opening up to them, but they just loved me and accepted me so easily that I couldn't help loving them back. By the time the year was over, we were almost as close as sisters.

While it's a lesson still in progress, it's good to remember the biggest lesson they taught me that year. It was my "extra" year. My 5th year at HBBC. My 6th year of college. The year I was supposed to already be done. It was the BEST year of college I had and that room was the best room. Yet, if I had planned my own life, I would have already graduated 2 years earlier. I can look back and see how His plan was magnificently better than my own.

I am so thankful that God's plans are not our plans!