Update on Life

Hey everyone! Well, I've been a working gal for over three weeks now, and let me say this. It is challenging!

Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I really do. There's just a lot of stuff to get adjusted to. I think the hardest thing for me to do is to be happy at all times. I mean, what person wants to come into a restaurant at be greeted by a sour-faced brat? I'm sure nobody does. I don't have a problem with it most of the time, but it's hard to be chipper when your feet hurt and you've hurt yourself in some way during the day! It's hard not to complain about things, but I try to remember that I'm blessed to have a job anyways! I'm trying my hardest to not complain or be annoyed while I'm there. I really want to sometimes, but I'm learning to keep it to myself.

In other news, on Friday morning I accidentally cut myself with the box cutter at work! It was freaky! My manager Zach had to fix it up and deal with the blood. I felt bad because he was sick anyways, but it's kind of hard to bandage myself with one hand! Long story short, I've been staying away from the box cutter. (By the way, the picture makes it look worse than it was. It really wasn't too terribly bad.)

It's 9 o'clock now...bedtime! Another thing I've gotten used to is going to bed early, and waking up at the crack of dawn! I'm learning to appreciate sleep and free time! Night, loves!

Learning something new erry'day,
Kirstin

Chances Are...

Here lately I've been thinking about marriage. Partly due to the fact that my brother, Ryan, just got engaged to one of my best friends, Amanda! :)

Anyways, I've been thinking about how I hear a lot of girls talking about how "When I get married, I'll do yada yada.." just assuming that they will get married one day. I'm trying so hard to come to the realization that God controls my life. He controls what will happen. Me getting married might not be in His plan. I'm trying to realize that my life is not my own, no matter how much I try to control things. I mean, I still really want to get married one day, but if God has something else for me, then I should be content with that. I should be content with it because it's what HE wants, not what I want.

I want to be so close to God that His desires will be mine, and I won't have any problem with whatever He wants me to do (or not do.)

The chances of getting married are high these days, but the chances of them lasting are low. If I ever get married, I want it to be God-ordained, because I'd rather wait a long time for my marriage to last, rather than jump into something that will fall apart.

I'm Not Usually Like This

I’m going to be straight with you. Sometimes, I become lame and really want to have a boyfriend NOW. I don’t want to have to wait years to finally have one. I become extremely impatient and the thoughts of “I want a boyfriend” continue to go through my head for as long as I allow them. I become discontent with how my life is because all of my friends who have significant others seem to be having a better life than I. I become so typical teenage girl-ish that it ruins my whole day.

I was having one of these “Teen Days” just a few weeks ago. A few of my girl friends had just gotten nice boyfriends, and I let it linger through my head that I “kind of” wanted a boyfriend. Well, the thought kept going through my head. It went from “kind of”, to “maybe”, to “really”, to “NEEDED”. I got to where I was in a mood where I wouldn’t leave my room and I just didn’t want to see anybody or hear about anything having to do with my friends who were in a relationship. If I saw one “I love you” written from a friend to her boyfriend, I’d scoff, roll my eyes, and become bitterly jealous. I’d become such a pathetic jerk and an extremely selfish person.

As I was wallowing in self-pity and selfishness, I looked up onto my bookshelf and saw the book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”. I thought, “Okay, maybe this will help a little bit.” I started right where I left off last, and the first thing I read was the title of the chapter, “The Right Thing at the Wrong Time is the Wrong Thing”. PANG! My heart felt like it got smacked. As I read one story, the ending to it said this -

“Too often, people want what they want (or what they think they want, which is usually “happiness” in one form or another) right now. The irony of their impatience is that only by learning to wait, and by a willingness to accept the bad with the good, do we usually attain those things that are truly worthwhile.”

As I continued to read, the chapter was about how any season of singleness is a gift from God. I have put a bookmark in the book on that page, and I now turn to it any time that I start feeling impatient when it comes to relationships.

God really knew how to get to me that day. I love how He reveals things!

Chick-Fil-A

Remember my last post talking about an interview I had with Chick-Fil-A? Yeah? Well...I got the job!

I start at the Gallatin Chick-Fil-A the first week of December! I'm excited, but oh so nervous. I had a dream about it already. It was actually a good dream, so it made me feel better about working there!

Well I guess I should go to sleep and get rid of this annoying cold!

My pleasure,
Kirstin

Nervous

Yesterday afternoon I turned in a job application at Chick-fil-A in Gallatin. After about three and a half hours, I got a call to schedule an interview. That interview is in two hours. Nervousness for today just hit really bad.

Oh, I hope I get the job!

PRAYYYY!

Shaken

God is really great. He's so loving, and He is always really creative in how He reveals things to us.

Just the other morning, I had been praying that God would open my eyes and reveal something to me. Well, God was faithful. I was in the car with my parents, thinking about MY life and MY situations, while listening to my iPod. My iPod was on shuffle and the song "Shaken" by Hawk Nelson came on. I wasn't really listening to the words, but right when I started to listen, the words "Open my eyes and help me see, there's a world outside of me." It hit me like a ton of bricks.

I am so selfish. I'm always thinking about number one. I'm always thinking about my problems, without even really caring about what other people, even my close friends, are going through. I'll care about them once they come to me and say, "Hey, can you help me out on this?" but honestly, I hardly ever REALLY put my time and effort into them. Even with some of my BEST friends, I never really take the time to see how they are really doing. This fact makes me feel so ashamed.

God's really been speaking to me about being a servant lately, and really, there's no such thing as a selfish servant. Please just pray for me!

Help Me Out, Here.

Warning: This is going to be a very honest post. It's kind of embarrassing, actually.

I used to be the DEFINITION of boy crazy. Ridiculously, I have liked countless guys in my 17 years of living. I was one of those girls that would freak out if a cute guy talked to me. I was one of those girls who would get squeaky and utterly obnoxious after talking to a guy. I still have the tendency to be obnoxious now, but not over boys.

Now, at 17 years old, I realize how stupid and idiotic I was in doing that. I'm actually ashamed that I used to be that way. My views on boy/girl relationships have dramatically changed in just 7 months. Those views have been changed by situations in my life and by God showing me through His Word and through other people. Quite surprisingly, I have not had a "crush" on anybody in 7 months. During these 7 months, I've grown so much in the Lord because my mind was not occupied by thoughts of a boy. I've been guarding my heart as best as I can.

I now believe that it is so unwise to be in a relationship as a teenager. These are the changing years. Personalities change, looks change, and beliefs change. Just because you meet someone your extremely compatible with when your 16, doesn't mean one of you won't change in a drastic way later on.

I've gone 7 months without liking anybody, and I know that I am quite able to live without having a crush, so I have made a commitment to God to not like anybody until I'm at least 18. So I have a favor to ask of my friends reading this. If you hear me talking about any boy as more than a friend, or ANYTHING of that sort, please say something. It can be something as simple as "Kirstin, guard your heart." or "Kirstin, remember your commitment." Please, please, PLEASE help me in this way.

Be praying for me,
Kirstin

The Last Day

"Live every day like it's your last." Almost everybody has heard this saying. Sure, it's easy to live everyday like it's your last, but how about this? "Live every day like it's everyone else's last day." Imagine how much kinder you would be to everyone if you followed it. Imagine how different you would treat people.

Just a thought. Props to Kaitlin Kemp for thinking of it.

My Dream

First of all, I love dreaming! I usually remember what I dream about, unless something loud wakes me up. Most of my dreams don't make any sense, so this one was a little unusual.

The first thing I remember in the dream was standing in the middle of a corn/soybean field, in this big open spot. There was this little boy who looked about 8 years old, and he said his name was Joshua Bakon (pronounced like Bacon.) I thought it was kind of humorous in the dream. He then proceeded to get down on one knee, pull out a ring box, open it, and ask me to marry him. The ring wasn't any flimsy thing you'd expect an eight year old to have! It was REAL! I just started to tell him no, when he just ran off into the field crying. It was weird.

Then later on in my dream, I was in a parking lot with my Mom, when THIS GUY showed up.



He's an actor and played as the brother on "Bride Wars", among other things. Apparently I knew him and he started professing his undying love for me. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I hadn't even given him an answer yet when he started putting the ring on my finger. The ring was GORGEOUS, and I started pacing, trying to think of what to say. I ended up saying something like, "I don't know you very well, but I'll think about it." He understood and walked off. Then me and Mom got in the car and I said, "What is this, propose to Kirstin week?!"

The rest of the dream had nothing to do with being proposed to. I just remember being sat on/crushed by Jon Armistead and Harlee, crawling through mud and then being made fun of by a kid who was in my 6th grade class, and me cooking a pizza.

So there you have it! You've now had a glimpse into what I dream about! :)

-Kirstin

Cheesy Enchiladas

Warning: This blog post may contain large amounts of rambling and incoherent speech.

I feel the need to get a bunch of stuff out all in one blog.

#1 - I ran 10 laps today at the gym. I haven't ran at the gym in months, so now I feel a tiny bit of accomplishment. Soccer is starting soon so I need to get back into shape, and I've been feeling lazy. Me and Tonya are going to start running together, so it'll be a little less boring. The most laps I've ever ran are 35. My new goal is 40. That alone will take a month or two to reach, depending on how often I'm at the gym.

#2 - I'm so excited with what is going on in our youth group! We've all learned a lot this summer, and we're planning so much awesome stuff to do!

#3 - I'm so tired of hearing people ask, "Oh, where are you going to college?" And the look on their faces when I say "Nowhere."

#4 - Once soccer is over, I'm looking for a job.

#5 - I can't wait for tomorrow night, so I can see people that I haven't seen in two weeks (or more)! :)

Eat more cheese,
Kirstin

Lift Me Up

As I was driving home tonight, CFR (Christian Family Radio 90.7) was turned down really low, and I was praying out loud. I have been kind of sliding in my spiritual walk this week, and I was just asking God to forgive me because I felt like such a failure, and I prayed that He would bring me back to Him. This one song called "Lift Me Up" came on the radio moments after I prayed that. I've heard the song a few times before, but it didn't really speak to me, I just thought that it was catchy. Tonight, though, it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear! Here are some of the lyrics:

Waiting for the sunrise

Waiting for the day

Waiting for a sign

That I’m where you want me to be

You know my heart is heavy

And the hurt is deep

But when I feel like giving up

You’re reminding me

That we all fall down sometimes

But when I hit the ground

You lift me up when I am weak

Your arms wrap around me

Your love catches me so I’m letting go

You lift me up when I can’t see

Your heart is all that I need

Your love carries me so I’m letting go

Waiting for the sunrise

I know I’m not perfect

I know I make mistakes

I know that I have let you down

But you love me the same

And when I’m surrounded

When I lose my way

When I’m crying out and falling down

You are here

It's really amazing how God can even use the radio to speak to me. The part of the song that especially got to me was "I know that I have let you down, but You love me the same". Sometimes I just think that God gets so frustrated with me because I let Him down SO many times, but I forget that He's God! God still loves me even though I screw up majorly!

Anyways, I'm definitely buying this song on iTunes ASAP, so I can play it repeatedly in my room! :) It's "Lift Me Up" by The Afters!

Love,

Kirstin

(By the way, sorry that the format is all messed up. This was originally a note on facebook, and when I copy and pasted, it made it weird!)

1 Timothy 5:1-2

"Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity." 1 Timothy 5:1-2

That's tough.

Kirstin

Inspiration Wanted

Here I am, sitting at my desk, fingers at the keyboard, waiting for inspiration.

Waiting.

And waiting.

And WAITING!

I just feel so out of it right now. The fact that it's 40 minutes until midnight might have a little something to do with it, or perhaps I'm just needing something, or someone, to inspire me. I'm hoping something will happen soon to give me something good to write about, because I'm tired of being lame and not posting anything.

Kirstin

Real Talk

Real talk.

Lately I've been really feeling like I should do something to help orphans. I don't know why. One day I just started thinking about it, and that thought grew and grew. Last week, at our S.P.L.A.S.H. event at church, one of the college team members said the word orphan, and I prayed, "God, if this whole orphan thing really is from you, then sometime during the week, have a different team member say the word orphan." Well...one of them did. I don't know where I should go from here. I mean, I'm just a 16 year old girl. I really want to get a job soon so I can use the money to sponsor one, or a few, kids through Compassion International, Orphans Tear, or some other program like that.

Someday, maybe when I'm older, I want to go overseas to help at an orphanage for a little while, Lord willing.

Is this my calling? Maybe, maybe not. But right now, my heart cries out for orphans.

-Kirstin

Crafty Wednesday - Citrus Coasters

So late last night and all of this morning was spent trying to make a felt coaster. The finishing product looks like this.

Not too shabby for a beginner. I'm probably going to make more with different colors like blue, green, pink, orange, and purple....It'll probably take a few days.

I got the idea from a website. They have a lot of craft ideas that I'll have to try. Last night was the first time I have ever hand-sewed something. I've used a sewing machine before, and I pretty much destroyed the thing I was working on. Either I'm just not a sewing machine expert, or the fact that the sewing machine was SUPER old had something to do with my failing.

Thinking of days to come,
Kirstin

Videosss! :D

I had completely forgotten about this video until now. It was from Amanda C.'s birthday party. It's like 3 seconds long...literally.

This post is going to be all about weird videos that either I'm IN, or that I like.

The Embarrassing One



The Guitar Hero One




The One That Makes Me Cry From Laughter (I'm not in it, but watch it anyways.)



Love,
Kirstin:D

Something You May Not Know

Just a warning, this post is going to be a little deeper and more personal than I think any other post I've made. This is going to be about something very important that happened in my life a long time ago, and it's something that some people already know and a lot of people don't know. People who know me really should know this about me, since it had a humungous impact on my life. It will probably shock a few people, since they have no idea this happened.

I was eight years old, and I was outside at night playing with my neighbors in Murrayville, Illinois. My parents shouted for me and Ryan to come inside. When we got inside they told us to sit down because they wanted to tell us something. My heart started beating a little faster because I thought I was in trouble for something. Then the words that I didn't expect in the least were said.

"We're getting a divorce."

Those were the only words that I remember them saying that night, because I was mostly crying the rest of the time. The only other thing I remember from that night is Mom handing me a box of Kleenex's.

I didn't fully understand what a divorce meant at the time, therefore I wasn't as affected by it as my older brothers. I just knew that it meant I wouldn't see Dad very much and that I never thought it would happen to MY parents, of all people. In what seemed like a day, we had everything packed up and me, my Mom, and my brothers moved to Lafayette, Tennessee, and my Dad moved in with his brother in Georgia.

My Mom got married to Louis McDonald. I was a lot closer to Louis than a person would expect a kid to be with their step-father. I never once remember him yelling at me or even getting mad at me. He would always call me his little nurse because anytime he would come inside with a cut, I would always patch it up. Anytime he lost something in the house, I would always know where it was. Before my next birthday, Louis got very sick. I remember that we spent a lot of time at different hospitals and that I always thought it was an interesting place. I stayed the night at a friend's house and I remember Mom had a neighbor come and pick me, Ryan, and Jake up. When we got back home, Mom told us that Louis had passed away. Yet another time I remember Mom handing me a Kleenex box. (I think that's why I never like using Kleenex's.) It seemed like after Louis' funeral, a lot of other people we knew died. Let me just say that I have been to one too many funerals, and that I would be perfectly content never going to another one.

After a few years, my Dad moved to Tennessee to be closer to us. Dad said that he kept asking Mom to marry him and she consistently said no. We all moved not far over the border into Kentucky. Dad stayed in a little mini-house behind our actual house while he was working as a truck driver and looking for his own place. He found a house in Westmoreland, Tennessee and moved there.

I don't even remember what year it was, but I think I was 12 when Mom and Dad announced that they were getting married. Not many kids get to be a part of their own real parents' wedding, but we were! It was the cutest little wedding! :D

Since then, we've been happily living in the house in Tennessee. I once remember a girl telling me that I have had the perfect, pampered life. I just raised my eyebrows and thought "If only you knew." It's not really something that comes up in a conversation, so therefore not a lot of people know about this. So there you have it. Something you may or may not have known about Kirstin Tucker.

Love,
Kirstin

P.S. - I'm not afraid to talk about it. If you want to ask me anything about it, go right ahead! I'm not shy about it or anything! lol

Drive-in Movies

A glance at the clock proves that as I am typing this, it is 2:36 AM. You may be wondering, "now why on earth would this young lady be up at such an hour?!" Well, good friends, I will tell you. It's because I went to a drive-in tonight to see X-men First Class AND Pirates of the Carribean 4! :D Both movies were good, but X-men was SO MUCH BETTER! Whoo! Is it just me, or does it seem like James McAvoy and Gerard Butler look a lot alike? Only...McAvoy is better. They seem like they could be brothers.They're both Scottish! :D But anyways, Pirates wasn't nearly as great as the other ones. It was good, but it wasn't great. :P

That's all I really wanted to talk about...I'm boring when I'm up this late.

Goodnight!

Kirstin:)

Who Lived in a Pineapple Under the Sea?

Wow, I haven't posted anything in a while. "I am filled with chagrin."

This morning, as my mother was painting the living room, I was lounging on our overstuffed chair watching her paint. We got into a pretty good conversation about the teenage views of dating and relationships. Here's one bit of our conversation.

Mom - "You don't want to be stuck dating some loser when Mr. Right comes along."
Me - "Well most girls will say that they can just dump the loser."
Mom - "Well then the girl was just using him. Is that true love? Using someone?"

Oh man...I love my Mom. She and I think so much alike, especially when it comes to these things. Mom and Dad say that I'm like an adult in my views on relationships, which in my opinion is a good thing. Other kids will probably roll their eyes and say I'm a killjoy, but at least I'll save myself from heartbreak.

Then we got on the subject of me meeting Mr. Right someday, and Mom thinks I'll meet him at camp in two weeks. *rolls eyes* Yeah right.

In other news, it is SO WEIRD that I'm not in high school anymore. It's really awesome though! I'm kind of glad that I graduated early, because it feels amazing to be done with high school! It's weird because when I'm with a group of a bunch of UCA friends, I'm like one of the only ones who is not a highschooler.

I'M GOING TO AN 80'S PARTY TOMORROW! It's going to be so fun! I love love LOVE everything about the 80's! You could say that I'm kind of excited.

Adios amigos,
Kirstin

Pomp and Circumstance

For those of you who are totally oblivious as to what has happened in my life, I will tell you.

Last night....I GRADUATED! No, I'm not kidding! I, Kirstin Joelle Tucker, have stepped into adulthood (forget the fact that I'm only 16.) I feel so old, but I also feel SO AWESOME! I'm not a highschooler anymore! I still think that part hasn't sunk in yet, because today when I was at the soccer fields, some kid asked me what grade I was in and I almost said "Oh, I'm a senior" before catching myself and saying "I just graduated last night!"

I feel so stress-free at the moment, and let me tell ya...that is an AMAZING feeling! I haven't felt this good in a long time! I have nothing to stress about now that graduation is over!

Last night, I was 100% sure that I would get up there and bawl my eyes out. I highly surprised myself when I got up there and didn't shed a tear. Of course, my voice was still shaky and I had to pause a few times to breathe, but other than that, I held my own! I showed myself that I am stronger than I think! But then, once I got off the stage and sat down, the tears. were. POURING! I was watching my slideshow, and I just couldn't stop crying. I kept thinking "Oh my gosh, I'm going to miss everybody so freaking much." I looked over at all the seniors sitting beside me and finally realized that that was it, I realized how much I am going to miss them and all the good times we have together. I knew I shouldn't have typed that out, because now I'm crying! Pull yourself together, Kirstin!

Anyways, I'm very satisfied with how graduation went, and I am SUPER proud of all of the other Seniors! I don't think they'll every fully understand how much all of them mean to me! I really hope that we won't all go our separate ways and never see eachother again...because I can't live without my brothers and sisters! I love them so much!

Oh great, here come the tears again. I'm stopping now before I bawl.

Signed,
A Very Teary Kirstin

Lame!

I've been really lame and haven't posted anything in almost 2 weeks! :O

So much has been going on! With graduation right around the corner, I've been trying to prepare for it, and I still have so much to do! I haven't even started on my display board, I'm still deciding on what I'm going to say for my speech, and I'm just so mentally unprepared for it!

Stress, stress, go away, come again...never.

In other news, some great stuff has happened! We had our Senior banquet and it was a huge success! I didn't even have to do anything embarrassing! Yesterday my church had a special thing for the graduates and we all got awesome study bibles! About a week and a half ago my parents gave me a cellphone as an early graduation gift!

On Friday, the Seniors had a party, and it was SO FUN! We all sat and told weird stories about injuries/animal stories/whatever else we could come up with for about an hour and a half! Then we played games and made videos of us playing! :D We made some good memories!

For all of you people reading this that go to UCA, you have NO IDEA how much I am going to miss you. You better not forget me! lol

Love,
Kirstin

Don't Bother To Read This

I have a really strong craving for some crispy bacon right now!

I just finished washing dishes, so my hands look really scaly and gross! :P

"Betcha my life is gonna be swell, lookin' at them it's easy to tell. And maybe I'll forget how nice he was to me, and how I was almost his baby..." Sorry, I'm watching "Annie" right now, so I'm in the musical mood.

I'm going to be finished with school this week! *screams for joy* I am SO happy about that! No longer is it "Yes! I'm finished with school for the summer, then back to school in August!" No, siree! Now I bet you're thinking "GASP! Kirstin's not going to college?!?!" Well let me calm your nerves a little bit. As of right now, I'm going to go to cosmetology school next year.

I'm really tired. Mom is in here with me watching Annie, so I can't go to sleep until it's over. Thankfully, it's almost over. :D

I've really got nothing better to do right now, so I'm just rambling on and on. Hence the title of this post.

I wish Thursday would get here quicker. I'm missing my UCA peeps majorly. *sigh* They're like an addiction...and I'm in withdrawal. Goodness gracious, I need SLEEP!

Goodnight to all, and to all a good...night. Wait, I think I got that wrong. O_o

Love,
Miss Sleepyhead

My Weekend

For those of you who don't know, our school (UCA) had the Senior Banquet on Friday! It was a BIG success, and they didn't have us Seniors do anything embarrassing, thankfully! One of the things that I loved was that people could go up to the microphone and say stuff to the Seniors! :D I cried multiple times, because a lot of the things were really sweet! Anytime that ANYBODY said anything directed towards me, I got teary-eyed. Parents, siblings, and friends got up to say things.

They shared things that made people laugh, and they shared things that made people cry. Near the end of the open-mic time, K-Bob was the first Senior to get up and say something. That alone empowered David to get up and say something, and that empowered ME to get up and say something. Now originally, I was confident and I was gonna say things to each of the Seniors, and of course to my parents, but emotional little me started to get shaky and I knew if I said any more, then I would bawl. I was rather irritated at myself for getting emotional.

Friday was officially the LAST day of me being pale. Saturday morning and afternoon was spent outdoors at the soccer fields. Of course, since I inherited my Dad's skin pigment (or...lack of it I should say) I burn very easily. I kind of wanted to get a sunburn, because I was getting rather tired of having incandescent legs, and I knew it would turn into a tan. Little did I know the repercussions of staying out as long as I did. On the drive home from LayFlat (Lafayette), I didn't really looked burned. My face and legs didn't even look remotely burned, just my arms seemed sunburned. By the time I arrived home, I realized that I was much more burned than I thought. The pain seemed so much more excruciating, since I had forgotten the feel of a sunburn. I had a very long night, and didn't get much sleep at all, since I couldn't lay on my side like normal.

When I woke up and got out of bed this morning, it really REALLY hurt to walk. My legs were so sunburned that it was like a clothes iron was put on my legs any time I took a step. I decided that I would wait to see if it would wear off, since I wanted to go to church tonight. The pain continued throughout the day, so I ended up staying home. It's not AS bad right now, but it's still pretty bad.

Does anybody else use that blue gooey stuff on sunburns? Well that's all we have, and that stuff is more painful to put on that the actual sunburn itself! It's like rubbing ice on yourself. It doesn't hurt once it's on, but when it touches my skin, I just want to scream.

All of this goes to say, Kirstin Tucker is no longer the pale ghost she once was. Now, she is known as....The Lobster Queen.

Love,
Her Majesty The Queen

Just Listen

Here's some statistics:

• EVERY DAY there are approximately 11 youth suicides.
• EVERY 2 HOURS AND 11 MINUTES a person under the age of 25 completes suicide.
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death for teens.
• Suicide is second leading cause of death in colleges.
• For every suicide completion, there are between 50 and 200 attempts.
• CDC Youth Risk Survey: 8.5% of students in grades 9-12 reported a suicide attempt in the past year.
• 25% of high-school students report suicidal thoughts.
  
• The suicide attempt rate is increasing for youths ages 10-14.
• Suicide had the same risk and protective factors as other problem behaviors, such as drugs, violence, and risky sexual activities.
• A recent survey of high-school students found that almost 1 in 5 had seriously considered suicide; more than 1 in 6 had made plans to attempt suicide; and more than 1 in 12 had made a suicide attempt in the past year.

These literally shocked me. Here lately, God has really been pushing suicide awareness on my mind. I mean, a lot of people think, "Oh, none of my friends are suicidal! They'd tell me!" I am glad to say that I have never had a friend who has committed suicide, but that doesn't mean that I never will have one in the future. Hopefully, I can be the person that helps prevent it.

Something I've learned the hard way is that not everybody is what they seem. For all we know, someone who looks happy could be having a really really tough time at home. Or someone who has a genuine smile and laugh could really be dying inside. It really kills me, thinking that maybe someone I know could be going through an extremely tough time and I don't know about it. I don't want anybody to think that I won't care.

My biggest fear is that somebody will hurt themselves because I didn't notice warning signs earlier. A lot of people just need somebody to listen to them, and somebody to understand and not judge them. I've really been trying to become more of a listener and less of a talker, but it's kind of hard for me to just shut up and listen.

Love,
Kirstin

I'm Walkin' On Sunshine!

If you follow this blog and not my other blog, then you should really follow my other one, also. I try to equal out my blog posts between the two, so I'm not swamping one and ignoring the other. The other one is also shared with my two best buds, Tonya and Amanda. They are both really creative, and they have some smart things to say. There is a lot of posts that have no relevance and are really retarded, but they are still nice to read. :D

I just posted on the other one about the "interesting" events of my day, and if you care about my well-being, you should read it. LINK TO THE POST!

I'd just like to give a little shoutout to my friend, Melissa Cherry who lives in ENGLAND (It is England, right?) Isn't that cool that she lives there? I would DIE to visit there sometime! It's one of my life goals! Anyways, I'd like to thank her for encouraging my blogging! :D THANK YOU MELISSA!

Hope you all have had an awesome day! :)

Love,
Kirstin

Amnesia and "Love"

So today as I was driving my little car to Lafayette, I thought of a GREAT subject to write about! Of course, due to my selective amnesia, I have forgotten it. Instead, I shall write about something ELSE that's on my mind, even though I'm pretty darn sure I've written about it before. The subject is on three words.

I love you.

I can't even BEGIN to express to you how much it irks me to hear young teenagers saying this to their boyfriend/girlfriend. It is one of very few things that actually makes me angry! The words to them mean "Well I like you a whole lot, and I am attracted to you, so I MUST love you!" In all honesty, I think over 95% of them are just infatuated. I know that to them it SEEMS like they are in love, because the other person is just perfect for them and they get along great and have good chemistry, but do they REALLY love them? Probably not.

In my own opinion, you can't love somebody unless you have the love of God. If you ARE a Christian and so is your boyfriend/girlfriend, then is the relationship you have together glorifying God? That's all that really matters in the long run anyway. We're here to ultimately glorify God, and God doesn't want you to be in a relationship if it is hindering you from following the Lord. Then again, sometimes God puts people together so you can strengthen one another in your walk with God, and encourage each other to follow God.

I have been asked before why I have never had a real boyfriend. Do you want my honest opinion on why I don't have a boyfriend? I will SURE tell you. I am scared of having one. There, I said it. I am SCARED! I'm scared that I'll just be following my own desires instead of God's. I'm scared that I'll turn into one of those lovey dovey couples that are annoying. I'm scared that I'll accidentally leave my friends behind. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me to admit? Wow, I feel like a new person, getting all that out. I don't really think I've told that to anyone before. *BIIIG sigh*

Well, I'm done for the night. Adios.

-Kirstin

Charlie Changed My Life

So I was sitting on facebook, going down my homepage when I see a post of a video of a kid with extremely red hair. I watch the video, get a few laughs, and go to the youtube channel to see if this one kid's hair is REALLY that naturally red. Turns out, it's not. This kid (Charlie is his name) is really good looking, by the way. (Just thought I'd mention that. I had to tell SOMEONE!) He has a British-sounding accent, so that automatically makes him a billion times more attractive.



So after watching that video, I started wondering what I would look like with dark red hair. With the nifty little Photoshop I have on my computer, I set to make myself a red head. I always thought that I would look TERRIBLE as a red head, but actually, I don't look that bad!

Before

After

So now after seeing what I would look like, my heart is set on dying it. I'm of course going to wait until after graduation, but me and Ryan both made a deal and shook hands on both of us dying our hair red. :)

What are your thoughts on me as a red head?

Love,
The Almost-Ginger

I need some prayer, peeps!

From planning graduation, having two weeks to finish the yearbook, and dealing with some other stuff, I'm feeling REALLY stressed out and worried. Just today I almost started crying just from feeling so overwhelmed by it all. I know that everything will turn out fine, but right now it's just like there's so much to get done, and very little time!

So if you can, just say a little prayer for me not to feel so stressed, and to put it in God's hands.

Anyways, enough of that. If I think of it too long, I'll get in a bad mood.

I love how at the end of the day I can always just crash on the bed and just think and pray. It's what I look forward to during the day. I'm always thinking "Oh man, I can't wait to go to bed." Of course, some nights I just fall asleep within minutes, and others I lie awake for hours. But it's a comforting thought to know that whatever I'm feeling and whatever I'm going through, I'll always have that time of night when I can just lay on my bed and let it all out to God before going to sleep.

I love God. It's the best thought knowing that you can tell God anything, no matter how pointless and retarded, and He will not ignore you. I just tell God EVERYTHING that's on my mind, even if it's a funny thing that happened during the day. Of course, He already knows it, but it makes me feel better actually whispering it to Him and trying not to laugh. I remember one night when I was talking to Him, I had to bury my face in my pillow so I wouldn't burst out laughing! It makes me happy just thinking about it! :)

There are so many things I look forward to seeing and hearing in heaven. I can't wait to feel God hugging me and actually speaking out loud to ME! But I think the thing that I look forward to most in heaven is hearing God's laugh. It must sound marvelous. I wonder if He ever cracks up laughing at things we do here on earth.

Well I think I'm done for today! :D Have a good day, everyone!

LOTS of love,
Kirstin

Duuude!

So today when my parents and I were on our way to Lebanon, I started to tell a story. I began by addressing my parents (mainly Fabio [Dad]) as "Dude". I didn't even realize I said it until a few words in when Fabio said "Did you just call me dude?" Mom said "No honey, I think she called us both dude." Me replying with "Uhhh, sorry..."

So anyways, the point of this short post is this. It's weird that I say things without even realizing that I say them. O_O

-Kirstin

Stupid Cat!

Have you ever realized how tiny and insignificant we are, and how we somehow seem to think so much of ourselves? We think that our lives are so important while we are here on earth.
Compared to God, we are nothing. NOTHING!

I, for one, lose sight of the big picture. That we aren't here for our pleasure, that we are here for God's pleasure to be used by Him! It's hard for me to focus on that! I think I just get so caught up in the here and now, and I make such a big deal out of stupid little things that mean jack squat to God, that I get majorly distracted.

I just got distracted by the cat and I totally lost my train of thought. -_-

Okay, now off to go do the dishes.

Lots of Love,
Kirstin

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

I am so sick of hearing perverted jokes all the time. I wish I could have lived in a time where most boys would actually try to earn respect, instead of trying to look macho by being perverts. These days, even girls are starting to say perverted things. I'll admit, I've said "That's what she said" more than once, before I actually knew what it meant.

From now on, if any of my friends say anything perverted, I'm just going to ask them to be quiet and respect the fact that I don't want to hear it. I am constantly convicted when I hear professed Christians say nasty things and I don't stand up for God. I'm tired of feeling that guilt!

I'm not saying that I am perfect, God knows that I'm not. I constantly make mistakes, get annoyed at small things I shouldn't, complain a lot (evidence being this blog), and I fall short on an hourly basis.

I have so many things on my mind right now, but it would take hours to get it all down. I'll just paraphrase some of the stuff.

It kind of annoys me that my most popular post was the letter to my crush. Is it that important, really? I think I'm going to delete it soon, just because of the fact that I hate that people read that so much.

So I posted a status on facebook saying "It irks me when girls say how boys need to be gentlemen when the girls aren't willing to be ladylike" in reference to this blog post by Amanda. Well honestly, I think we have a twisted version of what being ladylike means. It doesn't mean that you always wear dresses, act girly, and have a good posture. In my opinion it's a P31W (Psalms 31 Woman.)

That's all I'm saying for now. I really should get back to happy posts. :P

Lots of Love,
Kirstin

Annoyed...

It seems like lately I've been on this venting spree, and I'm here to tell ya...I have one more thing to say!

I hate when people joke around with me when I'm with a guy friend saying that I'm flirting with him or trying to put the moves on him. This happens to me ALL THE TIME, especially with one certain friend! Let's just say I accidentally brush up against him and someone goes "Ohhhh, Kirstin's puttin' the moves on him!"

Tonight was the worst! Ugh! I couldn't say something, or move an inch without someone saying that I was putting the moves on someone. No offense to those people, but they were seriously ticking me off, even though I didn't look like it. And it just kept going! For instance, I was sitting by one guy, and when he moved over, my hair stuck to his jacket and he goes, "Oh my gosh! Even her HAIR won't get off me!" And then another time, there was a piece of trash right beside me on the seat, and me and him reached for it at the same time and he goes "Kirstin's trying to hold my hand!"

I wish people just knew when to stop.

Sincerely Irked,
Kirstin:/

I'm Ridiculous...

This is probably going to be one of the most embarrassing posts I've written.

Some people think it's weird that I cry very easily. I think I have over-productive tear ducts, JUST saying. I'm not saying that I just burst into tears when I hear a rude comment, but I choke up ALL THE TIME! I can be walking through a store and hear someone say something mean, and I choke up. I have issues, folks. I've gotten good at hiding the chokiness. I don't think anybody knows that I choke up all the time, so if you're reading this then you now know something new about Kirstin Tucker!

Now if someone is mad at me and says something to my face about it, you can guarantee that there will be tears a-flowin' within milliseconds! I know this from drama-filled experience!

It's always way worse when I am around a bunch of people and I have to say something. For example, let's just say that I am in youth group and I have to do something as simple as read a bible verse, after I read it I choke up. I don't know what it is! It makes me feel like such a geek that I do that. :P

I RARELY actually cry in front of people though. Something really crappy or really deep has to happen for me to actually cry in front of people.

I hate the after-effects of crying. If I cry for over five minutes, my eyes are SUPER puffy, my whole face is red, and for some reason my nose looks huge...and it stays that way for like an hour. Hate it.

Okay, I think I'm done now. It made me laugh when I was typing all this out because now I realize how ridiculous it is that I choke up so often. Adios!

Lots of Love and Tears,
Kirstin

Pure Love

"Pure and love are not two words that we often put together. Maybe it's because most of the love we experience is anything but pure. As flawed people, we rarely love without somewhat tainted motives. We all have probably 'loved' someone because we wanted something from them, and I'm sure we've all been 'loved' because someone only wanted something out of or from us.
We often feel we have to earn someone's love by training ourselves to give them what they want. Unfortunately, this kind of love isn't 'pure' at all, and it doesn't come close to reflecting God's true heart. But we're so used to performing and trying to impress the people we want to love us that we treat God the same way. We go around and around in circles trying to make Him happy without ever stopping to consider that maybe His love is really, truly, pure-without any selfish or deceptive motive. Maybe God doesn't want anything from us except us." -Kari Jobe

How true this is! I mean if you think about it, when you "love" someone, you try your best to please them by doing things for them or changing yourself for them. God doesn't want us just doing things for Him as a way to "earn" His everlasting love, He just wants us! He just wants us to spend time with Him, worshiping and praising Him! Any relationship you have with someone can only grow by spending time with that person and talking to them. How is it any different with the relationship between you and God? The only way you will ever grow is by spending time with Him. Don't try to win God over by works, because they will get you nowhere.

Lots of love,
Kirstin:D

Quizzerz

Hey, you! You should take my quiz >>>

The one on the right. Yeah, that one. It took me 10 minutes to make, so take 1 minute out of your day to dedicate your time to this quiz. Please, I beg of you. I BEG OF YOU!

Okay, my dramatic moment is over.

Lots of Love,
Kirstin

Food

I really really really like food. Wait a second, who am I kidding? I LOVE FOOD! The only reason I'm talking about food is because a pleasant, mesmerizing aroma is drifting towards me right this very second. Do you know what that aroma is? It's roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots (aka Heaven in a roasting pan!) It's teasing me, tricking me into thinking that it is in fact ready to be eaten, when in reality I still have to wait at least 15 more minutes before biting into the deliciousness that is chicken.

Okay, writing this is making me even more hungry, so maybe I should stop...

Have you ever seen "Breakfast at Tiffany's"? It is an amazing movie, even though Audrey Hepburn acts really bi-polar in the movie! There I go, trying to change the subject, and of course the title of the movie includes food.

Okay, I'm leaving now.

Sincerely Hungry,
Kirstin

"I'm singiiing! I'm in a store and I'm singiiing!"

Whoa, people. This doesn't even look like the same blog! It's cuter! Well at least I think so...

So is anybody else's computer times mixed up? Because like on my computer it says that my last post was posted at like 9:45 PM when it was REALLY posted at midnight-ish. It does the same weird thing with my email...maybe my computer just hates me.



I would like to say that I LOVE Spring! It's all so beautiful and flowery and it has the perfect weather! *big sigh*

Plus, I mean when are you EVER going to get a good flowery picture like this? Not in the dead of winter, that's for sure! The pretty colors in that picture make my head spin!

Aren't you happy that God made colors? I mean, it would be so extremely boring in a world without color!

I'm glad God made a bunch of things...like YOU, for example! :D

Lots of love,
Kirstin:D

Drops of Jupiter

I have just recently rediscovered THIS amazing super catchy song that I remember listening to when I was a wee child. It's "Drops of Jupiter" by TRAIN!!! I love Train...oh so much. :D



Oh man, I get goosebumps every time I hear it! "...drops of jupiter in her ha-a-a-a-a-air!" Love. it!

Short post, but whaddya expect? It's almost midnight for cryin' out loud!

:D Lots of love,
Kirstin:)

You (Yes, YOU) are Beautiful!

I believe people are put in our lives for a reason.

God recently used a certain person in my life to show me something really important.

I have a really really low self-esteem. I have never thought of myself as anything much. God used this person to show me that I am a unique and beautiful person, which meant the world to me. It made me think that if one person on earth thinks I'm special, then how much more God thinks of me! If one person could make me feel this happy and joyful, God could make me so much more happier! God thinks I am amazingly beautiful, he made me in his image after all!

Today, almost every girl hates how they look. But listen. God MADE YOU THAT WAY! He does NOT make mistakes! It does not matter to God if your eyes are too small, if your nose is too big, or if you think you're overweight! God thinks you are perfect! You are his masterpiece! You are BEAUTIFUL!

I'm going to stop getting so down on myself over how I look. As some of you know, I have always absolutely hated my nose. I hate pictures of me from the side because I hate my nose so much. But you know what? I'm going to stop thinking about it! God made me that way, and if it's fine with Him, it's fine with me!

Now to get off of here and find something more productive to do! :D

Lots of love,
Kirstin Joelle Tucker

Beauty

Today's society is so messed up, especially when it comes to to their definition of "beauty". They define beauty by how much the weight scale says. "The lesser, the better" according to them. Magazines, television, and mostly every media outlet is always showing pictures of skinny women with flat stomachs and perfect skin.

NEWSFLASH! Those women are digitally enhanced most of the time. Proof being THIS video! It's only a minute long, so it's not like you're going to waste a bunch of time looking at it. I especially like what it says at the end, "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted. Every girl deserves to feel beautiful just the way she is."

Today's society is the reason why so many teenage girls have eating disorders, and self-image issues! It's because they are constantly brought down by the idea that if you're not skinny, you're not beautiful or worth much.

ANOTHER NEWSFLASH! Every girl is beautiful. It doesn't matter how much you weigh, what you look like, or what other people think of you. The only opinion that matters is God's opinion. God is the one who made you in HIS image and he made you exactly the way you are. God doesn't make mistakes.

You are perfect.

Sincerely,
Kirstin Joelle Tucker

-_-

I'm pretty much the biggest jerk alive.

Sincerely,
Kirstin Joelle Tucker

Convention 2011

This is going to be a pretty long post. You know why? Because I'm going to tell you alllll about my week at Convention. I would have done it every day, but the stupid wifi would NOT WORK at the hotel. -_- Dumb wifi connection.

MONDAY

So on Monday morning, we all met at the bank. It took foreverrr for us to finally leave, but we still had fun being together! We FINALLY left after forever! I rode there with Mrs. Jones, Claudia, Ellen, Hannah, and Peyton! :D
The ride over was oddly...quiet. We were all pretty chill, preparing ourselves for a week of rushing, probably...I know I was!
When we got there, we all sat around, played games that violated the 6-inch rule, took a gazillion pictures, and basically just had a good time hanging out with our awesome school! For real, we are THE school at Convention! We are the school for a few reasons.

#1 - We are the best looking school. Overall, we have the best looking people, and amazing personalities to go with the good looks.
#2 - We are known as the singing school. We always just burst out into song, even when Mr. C isn't around! Mainly it's the girls that do this, because the boys decide to be lame, but whatever.
#3 - We have the most people. Even with 40-ish people, we have the most, which makes us awesome.
So ANYWAYS, after hanging around, going through the creepy dress check, we FINALLY GOT TO EAT! *hallelujah chorus* I had the same thing every day, because I have no variety, and because I love it so much. I had a sub sandwich and goldfish, because WKU is amazing and they have goldfish (the snack, duh) in a huge bowl! :D Anyways, after the amazing lunch-a-mundo, we got to go back to the hotel to unpack, and chill for like 10 minutes. When we went back to the campus, we had to sing our large and small ensemble pieces. Large did AMAZING, and small was "okay". We all hung out in the main building waiting for rally. During this time, some of the boys decided to try out their modeling skills. Not bad, not bad. To truly be a model, you have to do two things, according to Benjamin Dooley. Slightly pucker your lips, and lift one eyebrow. It works, even though it makes one look as if they have braces. No offense, Ben. Anyways, we had our first night of rally.

Before rally, Mr. Counts suspiciously asked me and Richie to follow him. We were kind of freaked out, and I thought I was in trouble. Anyways, he took us to master control, and they said that me and Richie had to go out on stage to present the trophy from ISC. We. were. PUMPED! They told us to go out there and just be excited, wave it around and stuff. We kept it a secret from everyone at UCA, and they were probably wondering where the heck we were when it started. They kept having a BUNCH of technical issues! First they were testing the lights, and the second time, the lights wouldn't come back on! When the lights started working, then the microphones would work! It was so hectic! Me and Richie were just standing backstage holding the trophy. When the time came, we walked out on stage, and I had no idea what the heck to do with my other hand! So I just waved my fist around a few times and screamed, while the crowd went nuts. It was so fun!

Rally went really well. I liked the sermons a lot better this year, even though the speaker told a LOT of stories during it! Anyways, afterwords I didn't feel well and we went to eat at Zaxby's (aka the best chicken restaurant in the world) I went to beddy bye and woke up a bunch of times having to cough. :P

TUESDAY

Tuesday was the day in which I had no events whatsoever. I don't really remember what happened in order, but it went like this. Some of the boys were getting the stomach bug, and they were miserable so I felt bad for them. I spent the day sitting around, watching drama events, watching people play basketball and stuff, eating, and going to track. I got an AWESOME picture of Carey in shot put, which I think Mr. C will be proud of, me being in yearbook and all. He got first, since he threw it 35.8 feet! That's HARD, folks! I spent the time at track shivering, hiding behind tall people who block the wind, and basically just turning into an ice cube. When we went back to the hotel, I spent half the time there in front of the heater. Anyways, we went out to eat at KFC before rally that night, which was amazing, since KFC is awesome. Right as we were about to leave, Jon Armistead walked in and we all took turns hugging him, since we were deprived of hugs from our boys. It was pretty hilarious. We found out on Monday that our small ensemble had a command performance that night, which was weird since we didn't do too good. When we got up on stage, we didn't know that the piano was transposed two notes lower, so even though Jessie played the right note on the keyboard, it played the note two notes lower. Mr. Counts knew it was low, but instead of going up and changing it, we sang it. Once it started, I knew it was low. We got a little off on a few parts, but overall we were good! Mr. Counts told us that he thought we were going to crash and burn, but he was super proud of us for doing as good as we did! Rally that night was good, too! :D That night, I had to prepare myself for the most hectic day of the week.

WEDNESDAY (I took no pictures this day)

Wednesday morning at 9, I had a volleyball game. It was against sugar grove. When it started, we SUCKED! We were not playing good at all! We beat them, though, so that was good.

Right after, I had to run from the gym to the DUC building to get my clothes on for the mixed quartet. After I got ready, I realized I left my name badge back at the gym, so I had to run back to the gym. I decided to walk back to the DUC building to catch my breath. We were supposed to sing at 10:20. I had another volleyball game at 11. We had a few complications though. First, Jon didn't have his tie, and we all had to be color coordinated. So after 10-ish minutes of that problem, we got ties. Then, Jon was missing his dress pants. -_- During all this time, I had people yelling at me, telling me that I HAD to hurry, even though it was NOT my fault! Jon found his pants and we went in to sing. When I got up there, I smiled through the WHOLE song, even though I messed up a tad bit on one part. After we got done, the judges told us that we did very well. I had to run to the bathroom to change for volleyball, and apparently after we left, Bradley heard the judges say, "Now that's a group I want to see at Internationals!" That's good, people!

I ran back to the gym, and we warmed up. This game against Nelson county was super intense. We lost the first set, which brought our spirits down a little. During the second set, I did two things which were AMAZING! I went up and tipped it super successfully, which was cool, and I went up and did something I've never done before. Nelson county has one girl on their team who is a BEAST spiker! So they set to her, she went up to spike, and I BLOCKED IT! I BLOCKED IT!!!!!!! It went down, someone on their team hit it wrong, and we got the point. I wanted to scream "Eat it!", but I decided that wouldn't be very Christ-like. I messed up majorly once and watched the ball fall a few feet in front of me. We were down by quite a few points, and with all the emotions and adrenaline, I almost cried. During a time out, I had to sit down and make myself not cry. I got back in the game, and dug for the ball successfully a few times, which made me feel better. In the end, we lost. Even though I was super sad about it, since that was my last game ever, I didn't cry. I smiled to all the members of Nelson county, and told them that they did a good job.

It was around 12-ish then, and I had to go and get ready for the duet with Tonya that I had at 12:40. We got ready, and went up and sang. The judges afterwords told us that we had a good harmony together and we blended well, and that we did good. We had lunch after that, and it was the shortest lunch of the week!

Since I was done for that day, I went to watch track! It started raining near the end, and we went to sit in the car and cheer for our guys and gals from there! When I was sitting there with the window open, I looked over and there was a bus full of boys from some other school. They were looking over at me and smiling. Two of them started waving so I waved back and they cheered. It was hilarious! Every time I'd look over, they would be waving. They looked like freshmen, so it would explain some of their obnoxiousness. One of them wouldn't quit waving, so the guy next to him started wrestling him in the van. The guy who wouldn't quit waving gave me the peace sign, so I gave it back, making him go crazy. It was fun. During the next two days, anytime I saw the peace kid, we'd do the peace sign, making him and his friends laugh.

When we got back to the hotel, Ashley ran up to my window and was jumping up and down. I just thought she was having another spazzy Ashley-type thing, but it turned out that our mixed quartet got a COMMAND PERFORMANCE that night! We screamed, called Carey who wasn't that excited, and we were SUPER excited! So since we had to get there early, I went out to eat with Ash, Jon, and Carey at Arby's. We had a pretty good time. After eating we had a hugfest, since we weren't at Convention. When we got there, my nervousness kicked in. We practiced and we sounded great, though! I finally felt confident on the key change, and I was ready! So we were waiting backstage with a few other command performance peeps, and we made some new friends, Stephen and Joel! :D We were all encouraging eachother, and it was just great! Carey started feeling sick-ish, but we still got out there, sang AMAZINGLY (for real, we rocked!) and when we got off, we got congrats from our new friends, and then Carey ran to the bathroom to puke since he got the stomach bug that the boys were getting. Carey is awesome for being able to get out there, sing great, smile, and gag while singing without being noticed.

After rally, the boys and girls all went to hang out at Steak and Shake! We had a great time hanging out, hugging all we wanted, and watching the boys sing their version of the happy birthday song to Amanda Collins! It was awesome! :D

THURSDAY

Thursday would be another day of just chilling out! :D We got to the campus at around 8 to watch our boys play basketball! They first played the Eagles and I believe that they won! After that game, we all just chilled for a while waiting for their last game! We played cards, talked, ran around doing stuff, and just had a good time. Their last game against Millville was INTENSE! They were playing for third. The other team kept fouling them, though, so we got a bunch of free shots! :) I forgot what the final score was, but
whatever it was....we won! :D So the boys got third place overall!
That was how that morning turned out, though. Later, right before lunchtime, we all went to watch my buddy Jonathan Armistead play his rockin' piano solo! He got fourth or fifth I do believe...which is ridiculous because the other guys must have been mini-Beethoven's to have beat Jonathan! At lunch, a bunch of kids decided to try and win the "most unusual picture" for open events, so they covered a plate in ice cream and stuck spoons all in it....before eating it. They won first or second!

We went upstairs and played pool for a while before going back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel, most of us girls went down to the hot tub! :D We had a good time talking and SINGING! The acoustics were AMAZING in that room! We san g for quite a while! It is one of my favorite memories from Convention! Just us girls having a great time! :)

That night of rally was pretty good! One thing that the speaker said that stuck out to me was "God is not interested in your ability, but your availability!"

Afterwords, we went out to eat at CULVERS! :D Oh, how I love t hat place! When I first walked in and looked to see who was sitting where, I noticed that Carey, Ryan, and Iain were sitting at tables by themselves. Instantly I thought "I bet they're just gonna see which girls sit with them." To affirm my suspicions, David Armistead came over and said "Hey, will a couple of you girls come and sit at my table for just a few minutes. You can leave after a couple of minutes." Needless to say, I didn't sit with David. I got my food, and "Eeny-meeny-miney-moe-d" between Carey, Ryan, and Iain, since I didn't really care who I sat with. I got Ryan, but as soon as I sat down, the boys said it didn't count, so I got up and did it between Carey and Iain, and it ended up with Carey. For some reason, the boys said that if a girl sits with the guy, then she likes him. So I'd just like to clarify something...I sit with guys that I am comfortable being around, which would be any guy at UCA basically. So there! Chew on THAT!

Anyways, after what seemed like forever of just sitting there, we sang a few songs for the workers at Culver's, and then had a MAJORLY MAJOR hugfest again. Me, Tonya, and Jessica d ecided to walk back to the hotel with the guys. I LOVE OUR SCHOOL...AND OUR BOYS! But especially our boys :)

That night was EXTREMELY fun at the hotel! Mrs. Jones played a prank on Mrs. Watson! She got Ashley to distract Mrs. Watson while Mrs. Jones went and spread around coffee in Mrs. Watson's bed, making it look like bugs! When Mrs. Watson found out, it. was. HILARIOUS! Mrs. Jones was acting all innocent like she didn't know what wa s going on! :D After that little incident, we just hung out in Becca's room and watched videos on her laptop! Funny stuff! :)

FRIDAY

Friday, the day we all were waiting for. The day when we fin d out just how good we did in our events. Basically, I'm just going to say what place I got in stuff, because I am getting super tired of typing! If you made it this far...I applaud you! :P

Large Ensemble - First Place
Small Ensemble - First Place
Mixed Quartet - First Place
Volleyball - Second Place
Female Duet - Fourth Place
Sketch - Sixth Place :P

We went to Ryan's Steakhouse to hang out and take pictures , and then home at last! :D

Sincerely,
Kirstin Joelle Tucker

Compliments

So I realized something about compliments.

Girls are super easy for me to compliment, I guess because I am one and I mean what I say.

Guys, on the other hand, I cannot compliment. -_- Anytime I try, it comes out sounding mean, totally WRONG, or just stupid. I end up looking like an idiot, so I rarely compliment guys.

A short post, yes, but it was something just going through my head.

Love,
Kirstin<3

Glee

Glee, the show that has amazing songs on it. Now I haven't ever watched an actual episode for two reasons.

1 - We don't have cable.

2 - I hear it's raunchy.

Those two reasons are good enough for me. But they don't stop me from listening to their songs. "True Colors", "Keep Holding On", and "Don't Stop Believin'" are EPIC!!! For reals. You should go to youtube (or wherever) and look them up! Mhmm!

Anyways, did you know that I'm currently sitting in my car while writing this? You didn't, did you? I'm at Key Park in Lafayette. I WOULD be outside sitting at a nice little bench, but it's kind of chilly, and silly me forgot to bring a jacket. So yeah...that's my explanation. :D

I have nothing to do for another hour, so I guess I'll just go to the mall of Lafayette (aka Walmart) to hang out. Booyah!

Sincerely,
Kirstin

I don't really have much to say...i've been mainly writing this other blog. Funny stuff, funny stuff.

Only one more week until CONVENTION! I am so stinking excited! O_O I'm getting butterflies just thinking about it! :D I'm sure this time next week I'll be all spazzy. *laughs weirdly from excitement*

This song is so super stuck in my head! It's a cool song though! :D It makes meh happy!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I don't know what that was...I need sleep is all I know.

I need to go wash my feet...they are dirtyyy. Yes, that was tmi (too much information.)

*sigh* I'm so boring it's ridonkulous.

Sincerely,
Thirstin

100th Post! :D

Wow...this is the 100th post on this blog. O_O Too bad I don't have anything exciting to write.

Anyways, here's a blog that my gals and I have!

Blogggg!

I encourage you to read and FOLLOW!! :D

Oh yeah, earlier today I played volleyball for the first time in MONTHS! My knees and ankles and forearms hurt soooo bad! I felt like a fat cow while playing, because I was getting out of breath. In volleyball. Volleyball is a sport in which you shouldn't get out of breath in. -_-

Okay, that's all I got for you. I'm boring, I know. :D

Love,
Kirstin<3

Two Groups...

Two groups. You have the group of the "cliquey" ones, and the ones who don't go with the flow.

The clique. They talk about people behind their backs, they bring each other down, they make fun of other people and all they do is see the bad in people. They can make anything you say sound perverted. They groan when somebody they don't particularly like walks towards them. But, nonetheless, they're the popular ones, for whatever reason.

The fun ones. They talk about how much they miss people they haven't seen. They talk about how nice other people are. They have fun in all innocence. They lift each other up and pray for each other. They're always willing to give a hug or are always there if you need someone to talk to.

Which ones will you choose to hang out with? The ones who you have to worry about being talked about once you leave, or the ones who try to make people laugh and feel included?

I was kind of shocked tonight, because I never realized that I was faced with peer pressure until tonight.

I hate how people divide into their own group of friends. That's usually why, when I'm with a lot of people, I don't stay with the same people the whole time. I don't like being "cliquey", because where there are cliques, there are ALWAYS people who are left out. Always.

Sincerely,
Kirstin

"Be Mine?"

Valentines Day - The day in which couples flourish and singles feel like they've been smacked in the face by society.

I'm not gonna lie, I hate Valentines Day. I'm sure one day when I have a man, then I'll look forward to it...but right now, I have no possible reason to enjoy it. Not once have I ever had anything special happen on Valentines Day, so basically it's just another day. A day where the word "single" stands out.

Last night I was on facebook and there was a page that someone "liked" and it had the word "single" in it twice. I didn't even notice it then. This morning I get up, check my facebook, and as I was scrolling down past all the "Happy Valentines Day, to my sweet ____" posts, when I see that like page, those two words "single" STOOD OUT. -_- Figures...

I saw one post that made me laugh because of it's corniness. It was a post by the singer of Owl City, Adam Young. It says "Me: 'Whale you be my valentine?' You: 'Dolphinitely.'" A little cheesy I admit, but it's cute.

I mean of course I could write something like, "Well I'm happy being single, I'm totally fine flying solo" and that's true on most days. Today on the other hand, if I said that, then it would be a lie.

To all you couples out there, enjoy it. To all the singles, Happy Single Awareness Day!

Kirstin

Heeere, Kitty Kitty!

I am so terrible at keeping up with this blog. But hey, look! Kitty! ^_^



This is the cutest kitty ever! :D He belongs to my brother and his girlfriend! This cat has personality like no other! He is totally spoiled in every way! Don't believe me? Right now he is laying beside me with a fuzzy blanket covering him, while twitching and smacking his lips in his sleep! Now I'll admit, I'm the one who put the blanket on him, but only because he's injured! His back right paw is injured, so he's limping around! :( Poor baby! So do it. Call me a crazy cat lady. I don't care. I simply have a liking for the cute little animals that God made to be that way!

This cat is one of FEW who actually like me. He's my little buddy! :D I'll pick him up and put him next to me on the recliner, and he'll stay there! That's RARE, folks! RARE for Tucker cats!



See? Isn't he cute? ^_^ *squeal*

Sincerely,
Kirstin Joelle Tucker

Today Was Different

Two sites I've been to today have changed the way I think about myself and how I think about other people. They show little entries that random people write. The two sites present two different things.

http://www.givesmehope.com/ is a website that shows little instances that people have in everyday life that gives them hope. The smallest act of kindness can change a life. It could be as simple as smiling to someone, or giving them a small compliment.

http://www.sixbillionsecrets.com/ is a website where people go and tell secrets. Not all of them are posted, just ones that are effective. The "Self-Esteem" section was the one I mainly focused on because I have self-esteem issues myself. There are so many girls on there who cut themselves, are anorexic, bulimic, or suicidal, and they think nobody cares about them. There are many who said that they just wish someone would notice. I admit that I cried reading some of the things on there.

Today I'm making decisions. I'm going to stop putting myself down all the time. I'm going to pay attention to the needs of people around me. I'm going to look for something beautiful in everyone. Because really, the world needs more teenagers like that.

Fooood!

So I feel totally weird now that I have 12 followers. O_o It's like I'm being watched. Oooh creepy!

ANYWAYS, there's a new poll that I came up with because I'm hungry right now and all I can think about is food. So vote please! :D I'm interested to know your answers!

That concludes this extremely boring post because Kirstin is lacking brain power.

Sincerely,
Kirstin Joelle Tucker

Idols

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

What is the chief thing that most teenage girls talk about and think about today? Boys, without a doubt. God has been showing me many of the idols in my life, and one of them was boys, which is really stupid if you think about it.

Since then, my thought time invested in boys has been very scarce. I believe that if God has someone for me, he'll show me when the time is right. That's a comforting thought since I now know that I don't have to be constantly wondering "Is HE the one?" because I have confidence that God will reveal him to me when the time comes. I don't have to go through all the wrong ones to get to the right one. Until that time comes, God is more than enough for me. I'll enjoy the time I have with God without having any boys serving as a distraction. I don't mean that I'm going to never ever think of any guy friends that I have, but that I'm going to have them as friends and in my mind they are going to stay just friends, nothing more.

Another idol God has brought to my attention was facebook. Oh, the website that people can spent countless hours on, doing absolutely nothing of importance. I'm going on a facebook fast for this week, and even just after one day, I've realized how much time I spend on there. Ugh, Facebook shmacebook!

Sincerely,
Kirstin Joelle Tucker