"Promptness to go to a friend in adversity is appreciated."

Hello reader,

You are probably reading this and the only thing occupying your mind is:

"What is up with her title? They're not usually of any emotional context... Besides, that sounds like something you'd get from a fortune cookie. Lame!"

Well, my dear reader friend, you are quite correct in a couple of aspects.
1. Yes, that did indeed come from a fortune cookie.
2. No, my titles don't usually have any deep, emotional context... That you are aware of...
Let me give you a bit of a back story.

On Tuesday nights I have a night class which is three hours long. This class is called Intro to Public Speaking... scary title, I know. This Tuesday was the first night of class which meant that we spent an hour being informed of class expactations, rules, blah blah blah, the second hour in a lecture about common misconceptions and whatnot, but the third hour was strange. My professor held up two bags and said "Fortune Cookies!" he then outlined a two minute improv speech which would be orchestrated within the next hour. We were to grab a fortune cookie, go into the hallway for two minutes, come out, and tell the class audience what our fortune was and what spoke to us about our fortune. I do not like speeches. I do not like talking to people that I don't know... let alone larger groups of people, so naturally, I was nervous.
When I went into the hall, I busted open that fortune cookie-- I needed every second I could get. I was actually in such a rush that I may/may not've ripped my fortune in the unveiling process...
My fortune said: "Promptness to go to a friend in adversity is appreciated."
As I stared at this fortune, with a blank stare, I started to think about myself and the past week or so at Whitworth. I started to note that adversity is currently surrounding not only myself, but my friends, acquaintances, and classmates as well. I took this fortune in two ways:

1. I realized how incredibly important it is to free yourself from your secluding walls and reach out to others when you need them. Not many people have the ability to see through others-- especially others that they aren't incredibly close to. Not many people are going to know, despite your assurance that you are doing okay, that you are actually dying inside. And not many people are going to see how severely whatever you're dealing is affecting you. You are signing yourself up for a longer ride on the sad-wagon by secluding yourself or putting up false fronts and there is absolutely no good in that.

2. How incredibly important it is to try to not be a colleague/cousin/acquaintance/floor mate and rather be a friend-- a true friend. The friend that is the exception to the "not many people can see through your walls" concept. A friend that you truly know and care about them-- but more importantly a friend who makes it known that you care about said friend(s). This will change someone's life. But, more importantly, this could save someone's life.

I don't know why I'm blogging about this, really. I guess because it was a mind-molder in me and I blog about significant life changes-- but maybe also to encourage you as a reader to look deep in yourself and stretch this part of you. Allow yourself to be you around others-- to trust them. And most importantly, to make sure others know that they can trust you. This is something that we can all work on for the rest of our lives.

Thanks again for reading. You really are great.
-Ashley

P.S. I always post pictures, so here is my fortune...


I told you it may've ripped, didn't I?

Lots of work, lots of play.

Hello reader,

I apologize it's been such a long time since I last wrote to you. When I left off, the school year was wrapping up and I was telling you how happy I was to be with such amazing people here at Whitworth. Finals week came with a smash, bang, and a POW! but somehow, I survived. I am incredibly proud to say that last year, I did not fail a single class and managed to earn 35 credits towards my degree! I also said goodbye to many lifelong friends for the summer-- I didn't like that part. But with school wrapping up came summer and I was too excited for that.

When I got home, I had a job in mind which I was later hired at as a waitress at Tim's Kitchen. (Although it wasn't as much of a job as it was a blessing and a good time.) Tim's Kitchen opened up on May 25th and I got to work on opening night... holy cow. It was definitely an... interesting night. For most of us, it was our first time ever in the restaurant workplace so we definitely had no sense of a system or anything but we made it work and most importantly, we had fun. Even though it felt like a big ball of chaos, we made it through the first night and people were happy with the restaurant. This was great because this excitement from the Orting community led more and more people to come see us (in a lot of cases, even regularly). I have absolutely loved waitressing and the Speakman's are a blessing to work for. I doubt I will ever have a job in which the management truly looks after their staff the way that the Speakman's do.

So with the new job came some income. Typically, it's not kosher to talk about making money but I'm actually really excited because I was able to save up and buy myself a new(to me) car in July! Her name is Padme (I would add the accent to the "e", but Blogger doesn't like that...) and we are basically best friends. I really wanted to buy a car with all-wheel drive this summer so I could cart home over the holidays/winter season without having to buy plane tickets so I am really happy to have my little Subaru Forester.

This summer, I was also blessed a visit to see my good friend, CeeJay. I don't even know how to express how amazing this getaway was for me. All I know is that it's really nice to spend a few days with someone who you can just sit with. No tension. No obligations. Just spending time. Maybe going paddle boarding? Or geocaching? Or hiking? Or to see an overlook of beautiful Salt Lake lights. I don't know. I am so thankful that CeeJay and I have been able to keep that calm, adventurous friendship that we have despite the distance that separates us. He really is a blessing.

I also went to a family reunion at an awesome cabin-like resort in Montana. It was on a lake where we had access to canoes, kayaks, and rowboats so that was fun. Dad, Marcus, and I were able to go fishing on the rowboat which, if you can imagine, was an adventure with a three year old... We also had a campfire every night in which my dad and two uncles (Brad and Jason) attempted to charm us with their guitar and banjo playing... It was definitely interesting. The last night I hopped onto the bandwagon with one of Uncle Jason's harmonicas and basically fell in love. I also felt like the trip was very strengthening for the relationship that I hold with my parents. It's been a while since the three of us have had time to just sit and chat about life. It was really nice.

Oh yeah! Also, Chrissy had her baby this summer. His name is Lucas and he is basically HUGE and ADORABLE. I am definitely stoked to have a nephew number two! I love him lots and lots.

Now, I am sitting at my desk in the new room at Whitworth pondering life. Like the beginning of last year, I'm not really feeling the love for college but hey, it's only been a day. Plus, once you hit bottom, there's nowhere to go but up, right? I am looking forward to being around some really, really great friends but I honestly just want to be at home sitting in my favorite spot while watching The Big Bang Theory with an Alaska Roll to munch on. I don't know-- I'm sure everything will be just great. But in the meantime, if you feel inclined, prayers would be appreciated.

I think that's all I have for you for now... Sorry this posting is so long!! And really, seriously, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy life to read about mine. I really appreciate that.

Love you,
Ashley


P.S. You didn't think I'd forget pictures, did you? They're posted below!

In case you were wondering, this is my ideal setting.

I do this quite often, actually.

Ma and I went to sushi when I got home. It was awesome.

Chrissy and I spent some time bonding over pedicures this summer, too.

Luke Smith took me to the Paul McCartney concert in Seattle.

It was a once in a lifetime experience spent with a great friend. Priceless.

Marcus, Makayla, and me on the slide at the park. We had fun.

I love being an aunt.

CeeJay and I spent a lot of time geocaching. This is one that we made!
The first, but definitely not the last!

This is CeeJay and me during a freaking exhausting bike ride on Antelope Island.

There were bison roaming free around us and we were expected to 

bike a mountain up a sandy pathway.
Bike Trail: 1   Ashley and CeeJay: 0

This is CeeJay and me on the beach of The Salt Lake on Antelope Island.

After our tiresome day of biking and hiking, we spent a day in making fresh salsa. Yum.

The day I got home from Salt Lake, I bought this hot mama.

The license plates will soon say "SENF". :)

This is what fishing with Dad and Marcus looked like. Pure fun.

Jason and Dad practicing guitar before performance time. ;)

The new dorm room. Crystal and I have eight puzzles hung up (on the left) as do Tori and Sam.

We did LOTS of puzzles last year... Those are my favorite part of the room.

I"m still waiting on my new comforter to arrive, but I'll post a video tour after everything is complete!

Thanks for reading! I'm going to go back to my weird college-kid antics now!

Opening Doors While Closing Eyes

Heyyo!

I wish I could start this blog by asking how YOU as a reader are doing but that would be awkward because I wouldn't be able to hear your response and that would be no fun, now would it?

Anyways, hello reader, I hope you are doing well. :)

When I left off, I was headed to Chrissy and Cameron's house for New Year's Eve and a lot has happened since then! The rest of my Christmas break flew by and I headed back to school on the sixth of January. Whitworth functions on two semesters (Sept.-Dec. & Feb.-May) with a JanTerm in the middle. JanTerm lasts for the month of January and you basically take 1-2 classes for three hour increments every day of the week. For JanTerm I took Psychopathology and Film and Snowboarding. I absolutely LOVED both of these classes and the entire month of January, actually. With only one academic class, I had very little homework thus giving me lots of time to hang out and have fun with the lovely ladies of Cornerstone (in case you're a first time reader, that's my dorm). JanTerm was very big for me because over Christmas break I was unsure if I would be coming back to Whitworth for Spring Term because I hated it so much. JanTerm was a blessing because I feel it was God's way of saying "Keep doing what you're doing, Ashley. This is where you need to be right now." I love it when He does stuff like that!
I got to go home for a week between the end of JanTerm and the beginning of Spring Semester and it was kind of weird to me to be home and feel "alright" with the fact that I would be returning to Whitworth. That was a new concept to grasp.

So with the end of the wonderful JanTerm came the beginning of Spring. Holy cow. I started the semester with 18 credits (one above the max limit) and was fighting the realization that I bit off more than I could chew for about five weeks until I finally allowed myself to drop a class (last week). It was tough decision because I do not like quitting but I have full intentions of retaking the class so I had to cut myself some slack.

As you may know, my birthday was in February and I was so blessed to have Mom, Dad, Chrissy, and Marcus come to Spokane to celebrate it with me with Grandma, Papa, Pete, and Lora the weekend beforehand. It was great to be able to spend time with everyone together and I was so thankful that everyone took the time to spend with me. It was somewhat heartbreaking to see Mom, Dad, Chrissy, and Marcus leave because my time with them was so scarce but I was so glad to have the time with them at all! As for my actual birthday, I was surrounded by many wonderful ladies who made me feel special all day and it was just a great day. :)

I have been having tons of fun with some wonderful people here at Whitworth. A few Cornerstone ladies and I took a beautiful Sunday hike a few weeks ago which resulted in me falling into a river while attempting to pretend to jump in... oops. We've made a SICK karate music video (posted below), hung out in downtown Spokane, watched Wreck-It Ralph (such a good movie!), gone on late night walks, played Broomball (lots of fun and lots of ouch), and even performed tons and tons of pranks on each other. We watch a lot of movies here on the weekends (typically Bridesmaids, Mean Girls, or Pitch Perfect) and I love that not only because those are all American classics (<-- yeah, I said it) but because it is time that I get to spend with some amazing people. I guess all I can say is that we just have fun whether we're watching a movie, going to Walmart, or fighting crime-- it's just fun. I don't know how in the heck I keep getting so lucky but God just keeps blessing me with wonderful people in my life be it my lovely parents, family, or dorm-mates. There are some amazing girls living here in Cornerstone and I am so lucky to be blessed with their presence on a daily basis... it is safe to say that I am developing some highly cherished friendships here.

So, to sum it all up life is basically swell. I am content with where I am currently at and who I am currently with.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to catch up on what's going on with me, I love that.
I hope you have a blessed few months and that everything in your life is feeling great.

-Ashley

P.S. As always, here is some visual aid for what I've been up to for the past few months.

P.S.S. If you caught what I did with the title, here's a virtual high five for you! *Cue virtual high five*

P.S.S.S. I know it's supposed to be P.P.S. and as follows, but I'm an individual and like like S's more than I like P's... fight me. ;)

This is the karate video I referenced above.

You're going to want to turn your volume up to get the full effect of the video. Enjoy!
Filming credit goes to Allison Maus (first girl dancing with us at the end) and the video features Sam (purple bucket), Tori (black bucket), me (orange bucket), Nicole (girl with headband that dances at the end), Taylor (runs in at end).

While I was home in between JanTerm and Spring Semester,  Mom, Chrissy, and I went and got pedicures.

                 

Dad driving me back to school for Spring Semester.

Opening new doors. (New room key)

The hiking clan.
(From left to right
Top: Me, Tori, Sam, Hyeon, Jessica, Micah
Bottom: Crystal, Maria)

After I fell in...

Marcus and I hanging out at Grandma and Papa's during their visit for my birthday.

The girls decorated my room for my birthday.

One of our weaker pranks...

Some girls wrapped everything on my desk in newspaper.

Sam and me.

College is stressful.
This is my new roommate, Crystal, by the way.

Tori and me.

Mom, Dad, and I got some ridiculously good sushi in downtown Seattle over Spring Break!
The restaurant overlooked the ocean!

Cam and Marcus at Marcus' birthday party at Chuck E Cheese .

Marcus and I had a lot of fun over Spring Break.

Some puppies came to visit Whitworth's health and wellness fair the other day as a therapy mechanism.
They are indeed good therapy dogs.

                                 

This is what Winter looks like at Whitworth.