Lately.

The last few days have been nice. Very nice. I don't want to say they've been great, but they were in no way bad either.

School started on Wednesday, thereby kicking off my second year at Lee University. How vastly different this year will be compared to last. I remember my first day as a Lee student last year and I cannot believe what a difference one year can make. I truly believe I've managed to befriend many of the greatest people who attend this school. I don't want to come off judgmental here. I just know that there's a type of people I tend to get along with most and I think I've found a lot of them. The others I don't really fit in with--they are the ones typically involved in school in every possible way. To me, they all tend to look like those people you see in real estate catalogues. You know what I'm talking about? The ladies all wear black slacks and perfectly styled, highlighted hair and the guys wear a pressed, pin-stripe, collared shirt every day of their lives. And every single one of them sing in the choir. They're really nice people, but they're cookie-cutters. The point I'm trying to make is that I'm no longer alone here. I walk from class to class and run into friends all the time. People call out my name and there are people to socialize with or get lunch with. I can't tell you how much I've missed this. I haven't had it since I was in CRU at Cascadia, and that was nearly three years ago!

I've been walking everywhere, since my car has been extremely temperamental. Walking to school, walking to work, walking the dog... Yeah, that's right! If you hadn't noticed her picture at Flickr, I'll go ahead and mention it here. We got a dog! And not just because we wanted a dog either. We got Bella, a Neapolitan Mastiff, from our friend Mike because he couldn't keep her where he was living and Christy-Anne and I felt like we could use the extra security. We've lived here for a month and we've already had a couple things stolen. Like our fire pit and one of our trash cans. Random, I know! Nonetheless, it's nice to have Bella around to ward off anyone who comes lurking around at night. Especially since this is a house of girl. But Bella is not just a great security system! She's also a great spooner and cuddle whore. We love her a whole lot.

I'm just feeling really good about things. I'm excited about the school year and everything God has planned. He's brought me so far in just the last eight months. He removed all the ugliness from my life and has blessed me with so many beautiful things and people. He's also restored my confidance and brought to light all the things I thought I had to change about myself. No one can ever tell me ever again that I am flawed and need to change. Even if they try, I will know it is only because they feel crappy about themselves and it's the only way they know how to make themselves feel better.

I'm stronger than you can imagine. All glory to God.