Diary of a Sanctoid

tigerfan88 · 04-17-2007, 11:23 PM

So, I thought I'd start a journal here. I can't guarantee that I'll keep it updated, but I'll certainly try. Let's start things off with a little background info on me:

I'm Michelle, 18 years old and from Michigan. I am a Catholic Christian who is more about the personal relationship with Christ than the denominational things. In other words, I'm just a Christian who attends a Catholic church weekly and on holy days and who is really passionate about her faith. Presently, I'm a senior in high school and have been a homeschooler since age 5. It's been great for me.

I have many different interests. The two biggest (besides Christ and family, of course) are music and sports. I've been playing the guitar for a bit over 2 years now and also play keyboards/write lyrics. I regularly play basketball and golf as well. I dabble in writing, web design and forum development on the side.

Since music is a big part of my life, it seems logical to mention what kind of music I enjoy. I'm mostly a rock & roll girl. I am a fan of the following artists/bands and many more:

12 Stones
Audioslave
Alter Bridge
The Afters
Anberlin
Creed
Downhere
Dakona
dc Talk
Shinedown
Pearl Jam
Kutless
Jeremy Camp
Kevin Max (probably my favorite solo artist)
Sanctus Real (where'd you think the title came from? lol)
And of course, U2!

In the Fall, I will be attending the University of Michigan-Flint. I'm somewhat excited about that, but also nervous and sad to see my high school journey end. I'll be studying Computer Science and possibly music.

Currently, I'm single, which is alright with me. I trust in God that He'll put me with who I'm supposed to be with.

So, yeah, that's me in a nutshell.

tigerfan88 · 04-25-2007, 10:20 AM

Well, I've been a bit stressed out lately. Basically because there's so much to do and not enough time to do it. In the next three weeks I will:

Take placement exams
Attend Freshman Orientation and schedule classes for the fall
Take my temporary license exam and then begin driving
Have a tonsillectomy
Celebrate a few birthdays and finish up high school

Taking placement exams is by far the most stressful thing right now. I have to take Math and English. English doesn't concern me, but Math does. I want to place into Calculus, and if I score poorly on the placement exam, I won't do that. So I've been preparing like crazy the past week for this test and I'm somewhat confident, but also nervous. I just pray I do well enough on it.

I'm looking forward to the rest of those things (except being laid up for a couple days due to the tonsillectomy). Even though I'm faced with some things that are quite trying, I still feel exceedingly blessed by God. And I know He'll give me the strength to face anything.

tigerfan88 · 04-30-2007, 08:50 PM

Well, I take the Calculus placement exam tomorrow (!). I'm hoping I do well enough on it.

tigerfan88 · 05-07-2007, 11:24 AM

Just got my exam results back. I placed into the highest Freshman English class possible. Which kinda surprised me, but I'm really thrilled. I ended up just barely placing into Calculus I, which thrilled me even more. So the exams turned out A-OK, praise God!

I go to Orientation in two days and will set up my class schedule then.

tigerfan88 · 05-14-2007, 07:54 PM

My class schedule has been set:

Calculus I
College Rhetoric
Logic
Intro to UNIX Systems
BASIC Programming
Fundamentals of Music

For a total of 16 credits. When I talked to my adviser, she thought I was kinda crazy for taking that many. She said, however, that she wasn't going to stop me. So, despite her cautions, I ended up going with my plan. I'll be on campus 5 days per week, though I'll have Friday afternoons off. I'm planning on working 10-15 hours per week and also joining the on campus Christian club. And spending time on campus chilling with a good friend that also goes to the college (I met him through MySpace). So, yeah, I'm excited.

tigerfan88 · 06-18-2007, 08:40 PM

Lots of stuff has happened in the past month. May was pretty crazy, pretty busy. Still a lot of fun. I just took my last Biology test this past Friday and have finals in Government, Geography and French before I am officially graduated. We went later because of how sick I was during the school year, plus the time I took off for recovering from the tonsillectomy. It feels weird to actually be done(or almost done) with high school. Still, I'm happy and excited about what God has planned for me in the future.

Speaking of the future, it currently includes a pretty full Fall of 2007. I'll be taking 16 credits at UM-Flint and hopefully working 10-15 hours per week. I'm a little stressed about finances, as it is my goal to come out of college with as little debt as possible, if any at all. Right now I have roughly $4300(scholarship money) out of $7000 tuition secured, with a $3000 work study award. I'm going to probably accept a $1500 Perkins loan to ease the financial burden. I figure $1500 isn't too bad, considering how expensive college is.

I just bought a laptop this past Friday. It's really sweet and should prove helpful for college in the fall.

I also recently bought some recording equipment: an M-Audio MobilePre USB interface and Nady SP-4C mic. Since I'm a novice to recording, I've been spending some time figuring things out. I've finally come across some settings that yield surprisingly good quality. My hope is to really work on my guitar playing this summer and try to record a solo demo, with the hope of eventually forming a band.

My golf league started today, and it was hot. We golfed in 93 degree weather at a very difficult course. I had an OK'ish round that left something to be desired. Oh, well, I'll rebound next week.

tigerfan88 · 06-25-2007, 12:08 AM

Ugh, being up at 1AM finishing up a job really sucks. I'm very tired of writing about nutritional supplements and can't wait to turn this work in and get paid. It's especially bad considering the fact I have to be up in a little over 5 hours for golf in the morning. Oh, well, I've pulled all-nighters before, so it'll be nothing new. And if I faint on the golf course, it's no big deal.

tigerfan88 · 07-02-2007, 09:06 PM

Today has been pretty good. I got paid, deposited money to my checking account, cleaned the house and am now just relaxing in my room on my laptop.

tigerfan88 · 07-05-2007, 10:38 AM

Yesterday was 4th of July. I did pretty much nothing. I got up at 11, ate breakfast, showered, went to the driving range and hit some golf balls, played guitar, did some writing, went to my sister's house for a BBQ and then came home and watched TV.

Now I'm just watching my niece and getting ready to probably make lunch in a little while.

Cruelty*free · 07-05-2007, 10:42 AM

tl_guitarnut · 07-05-2007, 01:42 PM

Hey, just thought I'd welcome you to the "T" section!

tigerfan88 · 07-05-2007, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruelty*free

Hi

Hi, thanks for posting in my blog.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tl_guitarnut

Hey, just thought I'd welcome you to the "T" section!

Thanks for the welcome!

tigerfan88 · 07-06-2007, 01:53 PM

Wow, summer has just been flying by. It's already July 7 and there's just so many things I'd still like to get done before school starts. Oh, well, at least I still have some time to do those things--I'll just have to rush.

It's hard to believe that I'm done with homeschooling. It's definitely something I'll miss, and I know that the adjustment from homeschooling to college won't be the easiest thing. The first day (August 29, btw) will probably be very tough on my mom and I, because it'll be the first day that I'll be going to an outside school. But we'll adjust in time.

tigerfan88 · 07-06-2007, 03:07 PM

Ugh! College text books are ridiculously expensive! I've been trying, for the past few weeks, to buy some of my books on eBay to save money. So far, that's worked pretty well, but it's still gonna cost a ton. Much to my dismay, I discovered today that we're using the 6th edition of the Writer's Brief Handbook, which doesn't come out til this Monday. I already bought the 5th edition for a bargain price, and since it's only 2-3 years old and is virtually the same as the 6th edition, I'm going to tough it out and use the one I bought. Thankfully, I did get it right with the other textbook purchases I made--Unix for Dummies and the Art of Reasoning. Now I need to get a $150 math book (Calculus by Stewart) and a $66 Music Kit for Fundamentals of Music. I might still have to get a book for BASIC programming, as well. It sucks bad to have to pay for this out of pocket, but it's surely better than taking out a loan just for books. Speaking of which, I think I'll go down to the Financial Aid office next week and ask some questions about how I should pay for college. I only have like $500 saved of my own money, and I'd prefer to use that strictly to live off of, while I use the work study money to pay for college. It'll all work out in the end, but I still worry a little. Guess it's time to give it up to God.

"But Praise God, He's got a plan and understanding isn't my place" ~ Sanctus Real

tigerfan88 · 07-08-2007, 02:47 PM

Yes! I found out that I don't need the most expensive Calculus book. Now it'll cost me $60 instead of $150! After I purchase that today, all I have left is the Music Kit and I'm all set!

So this weekend has been pretty good, I guess. We went to a wedding reception for my second cousin. I thought that would be very boring, but it turned out to be OK. The food was good, lol. We got back at 10:30, so I stayed up watching TV for a while before going to my bedroom and staying up til 3:30 messing around on the coputer. Lots of fun.

Then I got up at 11ish this morning, ate breakfast, and went to church. Now I'm just doing various things on the computer--it's 97 degrees outside, so it's way too warm to go out there. I hope it's cooler tomorrow morning because I'm golfing 18 holes.