As I sit in front of my computer in a completely vegetative state, I'm amazed at how much my life has changed in the last year. In the last year...
I bought a car on my own for the first time. I found a little silver 2000 cavalier with 20,000 miles on it. The car drove an average of 2,800 miles a year for the first seven years of its life. This past year it drove 10,000. The car probably hates me for the tripled work load.
I quit a job with the intention of not finding another one...for 3 years. The summer I turned 16, which was the summer of 1998, my mom drove me around Burleson to fill out job applications. I didn't want a job at the time; my mom wanted me to have a job. That summer I got my first job and I always had one until August of 2007. As I shutdown my computer and walked away from by cubicle at my last job for the last time nine months ago, I was excited about the changes ahead but was also worried about the lack of income.
I moved out of my parent’s house. What better time to get your own apartment than one week after you quit your job for the next three years? Who needs furniture? Who needs towels and plates to eat on? Well, apparently I did, along with pretty much everything else that fills a home. Ikea was my best friend, as was my mom's kitchen hand-me-downs. I skimped by for four months until the wedding and then things were a lot easier. Thanks everyone for the finer things in life, like a toaster and flatware to eat with.
I started a new life in a new city - where I didn't know a sole. Chris, my parents and my brother helped me move to Lubbock, but after they left, I realized that I was all alone. I no longer looked forward to the weekends (first, because I didn't know anyone to hang out with, and second, because it just meant time to catch up at school). Luckily, I found a great church family that took me in as if I was one of theirs...and now I am one of theirs! God truly blesses those who are faithful.
I started (and finished) my first year of law school. Just ask any attorney or law student about their first year of law school and they will at the least give you a sour grimace or a downcast look of bitter recollection, and some may even throw out a few curse words. Law school takes three years, and the first year is infamous for being one of the lowest of all low points in one's life. I have never worked so hard in my life. Of course, what other result could be expected from taking 60 over-achieving, academically gifted adults, putting them in one class, and telling them they must fight for one of five available A's, with the majority relegated to C's scarring their previously unblemished academic records? Let the competition begin. When I found myself and my husband sitting in front of our computers at 11:56 p.m., continuously hitting the refresh button on internet explorer, waiting for the class registration screen for next year to appear, I realized that every aspect of law school is a competition. I took my last final this past Thursday and what followed can only be described as a feeling of true liberation. Finally, I'm no longer a 1L (slang for first year law student). I have left the crazy learning curve and grading curve behind me!
I married my best friend. Whenever I tell my professors or other people at school that I got married during the Christmas break between the fall and spring semester of my first year of law school, they react with astonishment. I must admit, it was quite an accomplishment, so much so that I was tempted to put it on my resume before I applied for internships for this summer. But the insanity of the timing in no way means that I regret it. It was by far the best decision I've ever made. The wedding was fantastic. In fact, I loved my wedding dress so much that I’ve actually found myself trying to think of places where I could wear it just one more time (an unsuccessful waste of time so far). And now that the wedding is behind me, I’m finding that married life is so much better than that big party that started it all
As I look forward to what the next year holds, I know that I can handle it. I have God on my side, in addition to a supportive husband, family and friends. Besides, if I can do what I did in the last year and survive, the next year should be a piece of cake (knock on wood).
The Gang.
Chris sledding down a dune.
About to descend.
The desert land (taken by Chris). 
We drove through Artesia, NM, where my grandpa is burried.
Enjoying the sun at Sunspot, the National Solar Observatory near Cloudcroft, NM.
Much of the equipment at the solar observatory was circa 1960's. It was like I had wondered onto the set of Lost.
We carpooled with our friends Ryan and Amber.
We stayed in Cloudcroft, which is in the mountains and overlooks the basin where White Sands is located.