A weekend AWAY.

Sometimes I forget to thank God for the amazing people he's placed in my life. Among those are three girls who within the last few months have honestly become my best friends. And if it were mathematically correct to say this, I would suggest they are my better halves... but it's not mathematically correct. In fact, I'm not mathematically correct.

Selah, Rach, T and I went to Lincoln City for a weekend away. We left on Friday afternoon and spent two nights in Selah's grandmother's beach house (she goes by Dabi, and don't any of you forget it.) It was beautiful. We spent the first night doing what a lot of TV-deprived girls do best: claimed spots on the living room couches and watched movies and TV shows into the wee hours of the night. We didn't fall asleep however until we had all gotten some reading in- we are all very studious after all. The next morning we woke up at what felt like the crack of dawn to Jack Johnson's "Better Together".

At times, all it takes is someone else's words for you to realize something. Yes, Jack. You had it right when you said, "It's always better when we're together." With these girls and the direction my life has seemed to take, those words could not be truer.

So anyhow, we woke up early so Selah could catch the tide at this one spot in Newport so she could spend a few hours surfing and we could spend a few hours bonding underneath a blanket in the rain... because of course when it comes to surfing the rest of us are plain ignorant fools. We got then returned home for some leftovers and a sad movie, dinner at Moe's and yet another movie. What can I say... we had a craving and we needed to fulfill it.

What came next is something I probably shouldn't share with the whole world, but here goes: An hour of dancing and random work-outs that resulted in every one of us being sore today.. sad? You decide.

So we were homeward bound this morning after we woke up to the beautiful Oregon coastal weather ever. So beautiful in fact, we decided to make our ways down to the beach to bask in God's magnicence, and read his word. This life-changing session was interrupted by the realization that we had locked the house keys in... and there was no way to enter. So the four of us spent 40 minutes digging through dirt around the house for the spare key. We found it, needless to say. (Those 40 minutes were greatly needed, mind you, so that we would all stop to realize that NOTHING ever works out the way we want it to.)

I may have learned a few things over this past weekend (i.e. how you should always pay attention when writing in the beach sand with a stick to avoid wet sneaker) but the most monumental of them all is that I should never forget to thank God for these wonderful girls that have been so strategically placed in my life. I love them so much.



OH.. and PS. Today, Sunday January 31st, 2010, is a ground-breaking day because I finished my first Spanish novel for my 315 class. May that book be set on fire so that I never have to deal with it again. Seriously, my life is back.

Haiti. Haiti.

Yet another disastrous situation has hit our tiny little world and it has seem to come out on top... but they always do at first.

I was at the gym this morning when I heard the news about the devastating earthquake that happened in Haiti. Yes, Haiti. As in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere? Yes. That Haiti. The country that just underwent one of the most horrifying natural disasters in human history.

My room mates and I sat in front of the laptop screen listening to CNN's report on how the death toll has hit more than 100,000 and is not stopping there.

Selah, one of my three room mates has an adopted Haitian brother, so one can only imagine the hysterics taking place in our room as we watched- powerlessly- as the number of those affected gradually got bigger.

It's amazing how small I feel in times like these. As four girls with willing hearts, we felt unable to do A THING. Sure, we donated money. And we prayed. We prayed for God to hear the words of four college girls who have compassion for this poor country because there was nothing else we could to.

Rachel and Tiara talked about how there must be something good coming from all this because God wouldn't turn on the world like that. He has a plan. How his plan involves 100,000+ deaths in a country that already had nothing is far beyond the capacity of my brain. But he's got it.

Haiti, God's got you. You're in our hearts.

Off.

It's a really strange feeling to be one of the last people left in a house of 55 girls. Everyone's gone for the holidays it seems besides me and my beautiful room mate. It's kinda depressing, but in a way we're enjoying the solitude.

T minus 15 hours until I'm off to the airport for China. I get to see my family after a 15 hour plane ride- well worth it I'll add. I always look forward to the part where I'm getting out of customs and walking to the end of the terminal and I see them all there. It's a heartwarming feeling. Whoever said "absence makes the heart grow fonder" was a very right person. I wonder if his family lived in China?

Well it's time to reflect on the past few months with Rachel. We have much to discuss :)

Jesus bless everyone's travels.

unsettled

haveyouevertriedtotypeanditjustseemscompletelypointlessbecauseallyourwordsarejjumbledtoget

hersoyoucan'tgetasinglethoughtoutofyourheadandontothecomputerscreen?Itssofrustrating.

It's so frustrating.

I've suddenly felt convicted to pray for patience because all of mine disappeared a week ago. Why am I getting so easily annoyed recently? It actually makes me feel guilty how internally annoyed I get with the girls that live in the house and the people I have class with. It's not good... and it's not healthy. So from this very point on, I'm going to be more tolerant with people, understand that they were brought up differently than I was, grew up in different places than I did and obviously don't look at a situation the same way I would.

Get over it, Joce. Everyone's different. Stop thinking you want to punch people in the face, stop scheming of ways to get back at people for the rude things they said to you, and you really gotta stop caring so much. Just let it go.

On a lighter note, I go home in one week. Actually, by this time next Saturday, I'm going to be on a plane to China. Awaiting me on the other side of the terminal are the people who i haven't seen in more than four months. These people can never annoy me... well maybe sometimes, but in a different way. Mom, Dad and Braden. I only consider it home because they will be there. The only home I have is where they're at. 7 more days :) :) :)

So I don't really have much to talk about. I have a room to move into and 3 finals to study for, but life's good. The weather outside is frightful! The fire is so.... yah too much Christmas music I think. The term is coming to a steady end and I will be left standing, not sitting on my butt, not laying down to sleep, but standing proudly!!! Life's good.

Just some pictures I'm fond of:

Sometimes I'm Fun

Good Evening.

I feel a little rotten. Kinda like all my individual innards have become meshed into one. Yeep, that's what the inside of my body looks like right now: 1 piece of sludge just kinda ruminating as if it were a soup- no a chowder of some sort.

The reason I feel like this is because my room mates and I just went for a run.. in the dark, freezing December night. It was kinda miserable, but since it was my idea I can't let them know it has had this awful effect on me.

Shhhh... don't tell.

So it's been awhile since my last post, and I think the reason is that I've been at somewhat of a loss for ideas. That, and the fact that every ounce of my soul has been poured into passing some of my classes (ahem.. comm 114. Yes. I hate you quite passionately.) It's really hard to write a creative blog when you have no soul, trust me. If I would have chosen to blog last week, you guys would have lost a few braincells from just reading the pitiful things I had to say. All this crap actually has a point, believe it or not. And that point is... I now have thought of something neat to write. Whether you find it entertaining or not is your own business.

Fun With Joce's Friends.

This fall has definitely been one for the books. While, as you may have understood from my last paragraph, it has been far too filled with disgusting paper writing and countless hours spent at the university library doing only Lord knows what, it has also given me plenty of chances to spend time with my wonderful friends, or as I refer to them in my head: "my college family."

[this is just a quick pause to let my readers know I am listening to Christmas music on Pandora and that yucky feeling I had only minutes ago is gradually ceasing to exist- all thanks to the holiday spirit :]

Let me give a brief introduction to the best of the best for Fall 2009 (in alphabetical order) :

Cameron Blok

This, folks, is a stand-up guy. I swear he has a way of surprising me with kindness sometimes, under that tough-guy exterior. [There's no fooling me, Cam!] He probably doesn't know I think this, but he's probably the first real guy friend I made at OSU, ever since that time he helped me with my recycling chore during winter last year. Sometimes I'm just thrown off by the random friendly things he does, like just popping into rm 6 to say hello to me :)

I chose this picture of him because this is, in a single shot, what I picture when I think of Cameron: intense, but not in the annoying sense (y'know, the kind where you can't get a guy to shut up about how intense he is.) Intense, in the sense that life is intensely fun and we have only so many intense opportunities to enjoy it... intensely. All that, PLUS he makes a wicked awesome Jay Leno face.

Kenny Davis

Kenny "The Mountain Man" Davis. This is an interesting case because he's sort of the new kid. I haven't known Kenneth as long as I've known the rest of them, but I can proudly say that it seems like it's been longer than it actually has. Kenny is the guy people enjoy talking to and talking about. (Don't worry son, not in a bad way.) I think my favorite trait is... well... okay it's a tie. The bike obsession, his seriously absurd randomness (Us: Kenny don't go running at night you'll get mugged. Kenny: Why else would I go running at night?) and the way he can make any situation seem suddenly brighter. Also (and he really shouldn't read this- it might get to his head) he is a total trend setter. What other guy rocks brown cords and purple-ish fuzzy clog things? And don't let me forget that his pictures always turn out amazingly. (haha)

Sometimes, when he's not trying, they turn out just great:)

Matt Davis

Matty! I call him that not knowing if it annoys him, I hope he would tell me if it did. Matt Davis, no relation to the above Kenny Davis (random fact, though, is that Kenny's dad's name is Matt. Or wait.. is it the other way around? I can't remember...), is a tall blond guy that people just enjoy having a conversation with. It takes two seconds after introductions to realize this guy is a comm major because he's a good talker. I picture Matt as a traveling public speaker making millions in the future- although I'd have to ask him how he feels about that career. Over the year that I've gotten to know him, Matt is to me someone who is basically down for anything and, when put to a task, will make it happen. A fond memory... Halloween 2009 he was given the idea of being The Birdman for a costume. The excitement on his face was unforgettable. With all his wit and charm, it is easy to see why a certain room mate of mine may or may not (but definitely does) like him in a more-than-friends sort of way.

Rachel Trindle

Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. As we like to tell each other constantly: we weren't even that great of friends until we moved in together this year. Yes, I was her friend. Yes, I loved her and cared about her. But honestly before we became room mates, my mind never really comprehended how close we were capable of becoming :) We share a lot of the same strange characteristics (i.e. hate any kind of confrontation) and laugh about the same dumb things (just the most recent being the laughs we got out of last night's meeting: Tina, Aimee, Tina, Cathy, Tina, etc.) and the millions of inside jokes we have developed this term. Hey, remember the time you socked me in a tender region so you could lock me first inside the bike cage and second outside of the house? Oh.. I remember, roomie. I hope you know how much I love our fake fights.

Tyler Dean

Last but certainly not least. Ohhhh... gosh Tyler. Okay well I'll start by saying (with the risk of sounding a little stupid) that Tyler and I have strangely similar fashion senses. I don't need to explain because pictures speak for themselves:

Scary, right?

This kind of thing happens between the two of us a lot, I feel. Tyler and I, we have a lot in common. For instance, our passion for somewhat nerdy things: The Lord of the Rings movies (yah.. maybe we can quote part.. okay... all of them), reading, and board games. Long story short, Tyler somehow understands my sometimes childish sense of humor and has managed to cater to it since we became friends at Sunriver last year. Laughing comes easily when The Dean is around. Not to mention he plays guitar pretty dang well.

Now you have met my college family. I hope you are half as lucky as I am!

A little background, yes?

Do you ever just wonder as you pass people on the street what their story is? This is a daily occurrence for me. Oregon State's a rather large school (getting up into the 20,000s I'm sure) so on simple walks to class, one would probably end up passing hundreds of students a day. That's hundreds of life stories.The thought just blows my mind.

So for anyone who was just dying to know, my life story in a paragraph:

Joce DeWitt, born to Ron and Abbe DeWitt.

Born in Vancouver, WA during my parents' summer vacation on July 8th (if they planned that I am unaware.) Spent the first 6 years of my life in Sanaa, Yemen in the Middle East of Asia. This was where my brother, Braden, now a senior in high school, came into the picture.

The Civil War forced all foreigners out of the country, so my family left for a brief "break" to our home of Oregon. They are teachers, you see. But not just any teachers, they work overseas in International Schools. So after Oregon, we went to Bratislava, Slovakia where we spent over 2 years and once again came back to Oregon so Braden and I could spend out junior high years as normal Americans. As one could imagine, this didn't last longer than 5 years, so we were off. Again. As a family to Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela where the sun shines bright every single day of the year. After 3 years of high school in this tropical land, I spent my senior year in China and graduated in a class of 12. I made the decision to be a student at Oregon State for many reasons, but mostly because this is my home, and every radiant season brings with it a new glorious means of being alive.

I suppose if a stranger wanted to know a single thing about me, it is that I feel I have a very specific purpose in this life, and every experience I have, every person that I meet, brings me closer to finding out what it is.

A wonderful friend and pastor of mine once told me,

"God's future for you is not fragile."

What an amazing comfort to know that your hopes and dreams were taken into account when God wove together his plan for you.

...You thought I was leaving, didn't you? Wrong.

Not before I send out a prayer for my fantastic room mate, Selah Meyer, who is currently undergoing more stress than most college girls should. I thank God for her courage to stand up for what is right for herself and the people around her, including me. Selah, your determination is something I will never forget and I am so proud of you. The actions you are committing yourself to now will remain some of the most honorable in my memory.

Portland Hospitality

Good Evening, World. I'm back.

It's been the most relaxing day I've had in a long time. Who would have thought the life of a college student could get so busy? (That was a joke.) But seriously, this is the first weekend that I've gotten to actually leave Corvallis (being the wonderful black hole of a college town that it is) and come visit my godparents in their beautiful home of Portland, Oregon.

Portland, everyone.

If I was to ever choose a "big" city to live in, it would be this one.

"One cannot live well, love well or think well, unless one has dined well."

Let me tell you, I have dined like a queen today. We woke up early (okay, early for me) for a nice Breakfast at Marco's in Multnomah Village. Peggy and Clancy have eaten there every Saturday for the past... who knows how long. It's quaint and friendly, yet has novel decor that makes me grin every time I come in.

Dinner was nothing short of delightful as we dined at a German restaurant called Gustav's near Washington Square. Fondue anyone?

This type of eating out is like gold to a college student with a tight budget. But to be honest, we could have eaten all our meals at McDonald's and it wouldn't have made a lick of difference because it was the company that made this weekend so spectacular.

Peggy and Clancy, you both never fail to spoil me. Thanks again for your generosity and hospitality. Without it, going out into this crazy world "on my own" would be a million times harder. ♥