Living and Learning

=]......No computer smiley face can even come close to letting me express how much I love this topic!!!

I love traveling! Basically my whole year is based around the fact that I get to travel in the summer.  I hope to live a life in another country helping women and children in other countries.  The thing is without even planning for this I will learn so much from them.  See it took me a while to realize that when i think I am going to help someone I end up benefitting an equal amount if not more from the person I came to help.

This past summer I was extremely blessed and I was able to live in Tarpum Bay, Bahamas for a month.  I traveled and lived there for a total of only $200 for food!!!  I went to intern with four other random girls for a man who has a small non-profit organization based out of Tarpum Bay.  With this internship we worked hard saving a beautiful island from being turned into a resort, creating a heritage trail with a brochure for tourists coming to Tarpum Bay, working with the development of a local church, and the coolest part one of our jobs was to get to know the people there
and how they lived their lives.

I absolutely fell in love with the people there and I miss them so much.  I'm not sure how to say one thing I learned from one person so I will have to sum it up............

"Will the Prophet"- He called himself the fourth in the trinity. (pretty ironic huh?)   Well he was simply amazing! After giving him a peanut butter sandwich and becoming his friend he told us the story of how he fell from a plum tree and was sent to the hospital and hasn't been the same since then.  We ended up learning from others that he was now mentally handicapped because of his fall.  The crazy thing was, he saw nothing wrong with his condition.  He was one of the happiest people I have ever met even though he lived in a shack he built himself on the beach, he lived day by day hoping for food, and was alone.  He however would tell you otherwise.  In his own words I remember after an hour of conversation with him he said "people think that I'm crazy, but how can I be crazy for loving God?"  He made me realize the beauty of this world that we live in.  No matter how bad his circumstance seemed or how bad he felt, he always found the bright side in every situation. 

We can all learn from him. When it seems like things couldn't be worse we have to realize all that we do have! He helped me to see the beauty in a sunset, the awe in a chicken, and most importantly the love and wonder of my God!

Peace Out,
Adrienne Pitre

Will- just sitting on the curb outside of the local grocery store, where he would normally ask if we had any money so he could get a soda :)








JUST SOME RANDOM PICTURES OF PEOPLE I WILL NEVER FORGET

Healthy=Wealthy!!!!

Ok, ok so I have school, school, practice, practice, more school, eating, school, study, work, a paper, a test, work, oh yeah sleep, oh and fun?

Fun? That's how it feels right now.  Fun, what is fun.  Where does it come into play.  You see I love to eat.  I love cultural foods.  I love eating healthy too, it's fun to me.  I'm not going to lie though it has definitely been very hard to eat the way I should here.  I find myself practicing or studying up until 6 PM when I have to go to work and then I can't go to dinner.  When I get out of work at 9 PM Gee is closed and then I get to choose between a lovely granola bar or nothing.

This past week however I have tried my hardest to get my life together, because it seemed like it was kinda ripped away.  I have made a pact with myself to try and run at least three miles a week.  Hip Hip Hooray I followed that this week!!! I cannot tell you just how much the excercise alone helped in giving my life back to me.  I know, I know excercise takes time and we don't have time.  Wrong, excercising gave me sooo much energy that I didn't have before, I know I have to eat because I'm hungry after I excercise and my brain is functioning a whole lot faster and better because of the endorphins so why not run?  Honestly though call me up at 3:30 on hopefully everyday of next week and we will run together!!! :)

So here's the deal with the whole alcohol thing. Don't do it! First of all it's illegal and I know I sound like a goody two shoes but believe me I'm not.  I know that if we are all worrying about time alcohol is the farthest thing from help in that situation.  Growing up in a home with a father who is now a recovered alcoholic I can say first hand that it does not help anything.  The quote, "You do not have to be an alcoholic to experience problems with alcohol," says it all! I mean I think it is more than ok in moderation at the age of 21.  I have had my share of "fun." It wasn't fun and I even knew it at the time we just wear blind folds, because everyone says it's the cool thing to do. 

I want everyone to know that I'm not a judgemental person however.  If you honestly have fun and you aren't hindering your studies, yourself, or the people around you than your life is your life and you have control!!! :) I honestly believe that too. So have fun whatever in whatever way you want just be considerate of yourself and others.

So that was way too serious and I feel like a judgmental person just writing it and I am the last person to have the rite to judge anyone.  I think that the group of music students happens to be a very wise group of girls.  It's a lot of fun being in classes with each and every one of you!!!