BASC stands for Brookes Annual Student Conference...it's the St Ebbes annual student week away, Wednesday-Sunday at the same place we use for the CU weekend away.
Unfortunately because of being back on placement I only went over on the Friday.
(New placement is very good so far by the way, more later...)
Car full of girl friends, glee soundtrack, some cupcakes, and a medium-sized drive later we arrived at BASC!
It was a weekend full of good food, a barn dance, jam sesh, great talks, quiet times, worship and multiple moments of pure joy with my friends.
This weekend taught me alot of things but here are the main things I learnt:
- God wants me to work for His glory. Sometimes we need to work harder, sometimes we need to work less...and as I sat in the dining room stressing about my work I wondered if perhaps I was becoming too consumed by it. I didn't take part in the wide game on saturday afternoon because I had work to do. I wandered out during my break to check on my team (we lost!) but quickly got back to work. And whilst it was productive and necessary, it also meant I opened myself up to the stress that I can get myself into sometimes. Cups of tea, a few tears and lots of encouraging words from friends meant that I was able to get out of it, but it challenged me to maybe think about not letting it consume me.
- God desires me to be a godly woman. We had a girls only seminar which was great :) and I was challenged about how we relate with other girls. Often we give compliments on their clothes or hair but it's a reflex rather than a genuine thought, sometimes a genuine observation about their character would be better...more 'I really appreciate that I can talk to you about this' rather than 'I love that top, where did you get it?'
And that it's sometimes important to challenge and rebuke our sisters, not in a mean-spirited or judgemental way but if they are more focussed on make-up than quiet times, or conducting themselves inappropriately around boys, or gossiping about others...then perhaps a gentle challenge is appropriate. I know I'd want my friends to be honest if they thought I wasn't acting in a godly way. Equally if I think something about a friend I should challenge them directly rather than talking to others about it because I don't want to hurt them by being honest.
- God has blessed me with great friends. Sometimes I have these moments when I catch myself in the middle of something and wish I could capture it on film. The sort of clip that would be put into a montage in a chick-flick. The moment that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Moments where we're all sat around singing along to 'Your Song' whilst the boys on guitars try and get the chords right. Moments when you're sat at dinner and everyone is trying to balance a spoon on their nose. Moments when you're at a barn dance suddenly it's more about who can dance the silliest rather than who looks the coolest. Moments when my best friend who hasn't been in Oxford for the last term rests her head on my shoulder and I realise how much I've missed her.
It's results day tomorrow but I'm actually pretty calm about it- I've been so distracted by new placement which is going well, and BASC that I haven't had a chance to think about it!
Will blog once I get them and about new placement tomorrow
But for now it's definitely time for some sleep!
Much love xxx
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Breakthrough!
Two days ago I had a breakthrough with my dissertation!
We technically started the module in September but were supposed to be thinking about it/starting it from last April.
I did this...I thought about it, I created a research question...
and then scrapped that question....thought about it some more...created a new subject...
and then scrapped that....thought about it some more....came up with a new area of interest...actually started doing some research, gathered some journals...thought about it some more...forced myself to go to the library on Monday where I actually read the journals and actually worked out how on earth to start my dissertation!
And I had a lightbulb moment! DING! In my head it suddenly all clicked into place...Mum said it was like trying to put a puzzle together but with no idea what the picture is and suddenly someone hands you the box and it all makes sense!
So Monday and yesterday I actually started my dissertation! Still got a long way to go but at least I now know what to do :) I've written over 1000 words which is a tenth of what I need but I've also done alot of the literature gathering which is most of the work!
I start placement next week so I'm glad I managed to get my head around it and get a load of work done before I lose all my time to placement.
I haven't done as much today but I've done a bit, and I've got a friend coming round on Friday- she came round yesterday too with her dissertation and we just both sat and worked. It was good because we were accountable to each other and couldn't just get distracted by other things.
Anyway I should go finish off the bit I'm doing today before lunchtime :)
Much love xxx
We technically started the module in September but were supposed to be thinking about it/starting it from last April.
I did this...I thought about it, I created a research question...
and then scrapped that question....thought about it some more...created a new subject...
and then scrapped that....thought about it some more....came up with a new area of interest...actually started doing some research, gathered some journals...thought about it some more...forced myself to go to the library on Monday where I actually read the journals and actually worked out how on earth to start my dissertation!
And I had a lightbulb moment! DING! In my head it suddenly all clicked into place...Mum said it was like trying to put a puzzle together but with no idea what the picture is and suddenly someone hands you the box and it all makes sense!
So Monday and yesterday I actually started my dissertation! Still got a long way to go but at least I now know what to do :) I've written over 1000 words which is a tenth of what I need but I've also done alot of the literature gathering which is most of the work!
I start placement next week so I'm glad I managed to get my head around it and get a load of work done before I lose all my time to placement.
I haven't done as much today but I've done a bit, and I've got a friend coming round on Friday- she came round yesterday too with her dissertation and we just both sat and worked. It was good because we were accountable to each other and couldn't just get distracted by other things.
Anyway I should go finish off the bit I'm doing today before lunchtime :)
Much love xxx
Saturday, 1 January 2011
2011: Bring it on!
It's officially 2011- Happy New Year to all!
Last year was actually a pretty good year overall, there were some ups & downs but thinking back about it I see it as a good year :)
January wasn't great as a start to the year with Dad having his neck surgery, February saw a bit of illness and the start of uni work getting more stressful, March was when we took over as the new CU exec and I was anticipating what it would be like.
April was a good month, I booked my holidays and got a new car and finished placement! May was packed full of seeing friends before they went home for the summer.
June involved my epic trip to America which I loved! It was also the month that our housing situation changed, I got my original third year placement, and realised that I can live away from home without my world ending.
July was meant to be a few free weeks but I packed it full of fun things with friends. August included New Wine and Holiday Club which were both God-filled and brilliant.
September was Disneyland and my birthday and freshers week and start of placement! October was the weekend away and leaving placement. November was my month of being a 'normal' student, not dealing with placement but just hanging out with my friends and getting my academic work done.
December included assignments, parties, carol services, Christmas and New Years Eve Murder Mystery.
So what does 2011 hold for me?
- New placement starts on 17th January
- Results on 24th Jan
- Exec weekend away 28th Jan
- Dissertation due in end of March
- Finish placement in June
- New Wine, Holiday Club and possibly Momentum in August
- Birthday and GRADUATION in the same week in September
- Get a job at some point
- Move out! (and get a kitten!)
The biggest are Placement, Graduation, Job and Move Out.
But 2010 has taught me to enjoy my friends and family, to trust that God has a plan and to just be happy :) and with those things in mind I'm sure that 2011 will be just as good!
Bring it on!
Much love xxx
Last year was actually a pretty good year overall, there were some ups & downs but thinking back about it I see it as a good year :)
January wasn't great as a start to the year with Dad having his neck surgery, February saw a bit of illness and the start of uni work getting more stressful, March was when we took over as the new CU exec and I was anticipating what it would be like.
April was a good month, I booked my holidays and got a new car and finished placement! May was packed full of seeing friends before they went home for the summer.
June involved my epic trip to America which I loved! It was also the month that our housing situation changed, I got my original third year placement, and realised that I can live away from home without my world ending.
July was meant to be a few free weeks but I packed it full of fun things with friends. August included New Wine and Holiday Club which were both God-filled and brilliant.
September was Disneyland and my birthday and freshers week and start of placement! October was the weekend away and leaving placement. November was my month of being a 'normal' student, not dealing with placement but just hanging out with my friends and getting my academic work done.
December included assignments, parties, carol services, Christmas and New Years Eve Murder Mystery.
So what does 2011 hold for me?
- New placement starts on 17th January
- Results on 24th Jan
- Exec weekend away 28th Jan
- Dissertation due in end of March
- Finish placement in June
- New Wine, Holiday Club and possibly Momentum in August
- Birthday and GRADUATION in the same week in September
- Get a job at some point
- Move out! (and get a kitten!)
The biggest are Placement, Graduation, Job and Move Out.
But 2010 has taught me to enjoy my friends and family, to trust that God has a plan and to just be happy :) and with those things in mind I'm sure that 2011 will be just as good!
Bring it on!
Much love xxx
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