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| It's definitely been a long three months....too long. My
internship is now over, which means I am that much closer to having a
college degree. A 10-page faith and reason paper and two more
Spanish classes are all that stand in between me and my diploma.
I have also learned that it is not necessarily the easiest thing to
move back home after being away for four years and thoroughly adapted
to an independent lifestyle. I have had more arguments with
numerous members of family than I would care to admit, but I think
through it all I am learning to have patience and grace with
people. You would think it would come more easily with members of
your family, but that is not necessarily so.
Also, being so far away and feeling so disconnected from your boyfriend
and friends is certainly pretty low on my list. Hopefully once I
am able to relocate back down to Northern Virginia, I will not take for
granted the fact that I can see Ben every couple days, or even just
every weekend.
At any rate, I actually have a job interview scheduled for this Monday,
the 11th, with a house cleaning company as their office
assistant. I know, I know.....as I have heard many times.....it
is not exactly in the field that I want to enter. But then again,
I do not exactly have a degree, do I? So, once I can just get
established in the Leesburg area, get my Spanish credits done and
complete my degree, THEN I can get picky. Right now, I'm pretty
excited at the prospects of being able to move back down there.
But I am trying hard not to get my hopes up, either. We shall
see.....won't we? 
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| I'm not so sure anybody reads my Xanga anymore, but I post for
posterity's sake and also because it makes me *think* that people still
read this. Anyways....
I have completed my first week of internship and it is about what I
expected. I am not thrilled with it, but I am thrilled with the
fact that it will lead to my eventual graduation from PHC. The
internship is with the Butler County Sheriff's office and so far, it is
fairly bearable. I knew that there would be lots of language and
without sounding too "goody-two-shoe-ish", I am tyring very hard to
keep my language clean. I want to be friends with the deputies
without coming off high and mighty, while attempting to keep my own
conscience clean. One thing that I did not expect to come across
in this internship is the pity that I feel for the inmates. Since
watching bench warrant hearings is something that I have done often
this week, I also shadow the deputies while they escort the inmates
from the jail to the courtroom. (The courthouse and jail are
connected). I come in very close contact with the inmates and try
to initiate conversation with some of them. Most are only there
on account of missing a pre-trial date or some other misdemeanor.
It is rare that I come across the rapist or child molestor, though I
did meet an inmate who murdered his wife and then burnt down his house
afterwards....alledgely, that is. But back to my point. I
understand that the inmates have committed a crime and are simply
encountering the consequences of their actions, but I think about the
small differences between me and them that have lead to far different
lifestyles. In the end, I only come up with one difference that
matters--God's mercy.
What if these inmates had had just one (or one more) encounter with
somebody who had displayed God's mercy to them? What if somebody
had prayed for them daily, as my own family did? Who knows, maybe
they did experience God's mercy and hardened their heart against
it. Maybe I am naive, but I can't help from believing that if
somebody tried hard enough, they could appeal to the side of human
nature within them that craves God. They would see that life does
hold hope for them and they can become someone entirely different
through Jesus! I don't know how much influence I can have in my
lowly, intern position, but I pray daily that God could somehow use me
during my three months at BCS office to make a difference, if only in
the life of one person. So, here's to a life-altering three
months!
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| A post just for the heck of it entitled "States Katlyn Has Been To"
-Pennsylvania (born/lived there)
-New York (NYC baby!)
-New Jersey (eh....it was okay)
-Delaware (some good memories, some bad)
-Maryland (Baltimore Harbor----bee-u-tiful)
-Virginia (it's been a life changing experience, but I still hate its drivers.)
-West Virginia (the eastern side of the state...eh, not so much, but the western side is gorgeous!
-North Carolina (Other than PA & VA, feels like home to me. Both the mountains and beach of NC are incredible!!!)
-Florida (hmmmm....been awhile, but I liked the palm trees best!)
-Ohio (Ohio....what can I say about Ohio...I visit its Nordstroms in Cleveland.)
-Indiana (I was there during winter. Maybe it would be nicer in the summer)
-Illinois (Used to just pass through, but now I have a reason to stop.  )
-Missouri (campaigned there and drove there on way/back from KA...its okay)
-Iowa (Really don't like the idea of a whole state smelling like cow manure)
-South Dakota (Went to an Indian Reservation, but I still want to still Mt. Rushmore)
-Nebraska (Flat as all get out and after passing through this state I have decided that the world is NOT overpopulated)
-Wyoming (similar conclusion)
-Kansas (I definitely got my dose of the midwest)
-Colorado (Gorgeous state, but I still prefer the mountains of Utah)
-Utah (Park City! Salt Lake! I want to go back!!!!!)
-Idaho (I only went to Boise for a conference, but from what I remember it was okay)
-Nevada (Ummmmm.....Las Vegas was cool....I guess)
-Arizona (I definitely could get use to more sunshine and less humidity)
-California (Awesome memories...been to Orange County and LA...I want to go to San Diego and Northern Cali still.)
-Georgia, Texas, Michigan (had layovers there...don't think that counts)
States I want to go to:
-South Carolina (I want to see Charleston!)
-Texas (Just to say I've been there. I've heard great things about San Antonio)
-Washington (I want to visit the Northwest! And I've been told its a beautiful state)
-Vermont (Despite its stench of liberalishness(?), I want to visit New England)
-Massachusetts (I want to go to Boston)
-Georgia (Savannah sounds like such a cool old city)
-Lousiana (I STILL want to visit New Orleans)
-Tennesee (Apparently you haven't lived till you visited Nashville)
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| I've hardly been blowdrying my hair lately. This is definitely a
big deal for me! I have this thing about not leaving the house
with wet hair. Granted, I can always wait the extra hour and let
my hair dry naturally, but during school my time more limited and
rather than wake up an hour and a half before a class, I invested in a
hairdryer. But now, I just wash my hair and throw it up.
It's funny how PHC made me care less about presentation. That's
not to say that I don't have nice "business casual" clothes and can
dress for the occasion. I just figure that there are more
important things in life than wasting 15 minutes a day on drying my
hair. I like to think it reflects a change in my
priorities. 
At any rate, my summer has been very long and very stressful, but it
has been good. I have realized that I should not take for granted
when I know what my future holds. Unknowns are a scary part of
life, but they occur more often than not and until you learn to deal
with them, life is only that much harder. As much as I was
dreading going home at the end of the summer, I think it will be
okay. More than okay in fact. It's just a matter of
enjoying and relishing my time there, rather than just biding my time
and tolerating it. Basically, it is all a matter of
perspective. I want to have a good one! 
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| It's not that I hate posting. It's just that I try to not clog up your inboxes with pointless ramblings that only serve to help me vent.  But at any rate, life keeps rushing by. Since I am moving back home indefinitely at the end of August, I am trying to savor every minute of being here in VA, close to all of my friends and my amazing man. And after either being in or attending a grand total of three weddings so far this year, it has honestly been a struggle to remain content with my own life, especially since I am still working on my degree. In the wake of others' lives, my blessings seem to blend into oblivion. So, I am trying to constantly remind myself of the good things God has done in my own life. And he has!!! The upside of all of these weddings? I now have a better idea of what I want for when I eventually get married and it will also serve as a good reminder that weddings themselves are not necessarily stressful....the people involved are. Also, I have had fun times with all of the people included in these events. The realization of how many good friends I have has been a real eye-opener in itself. And instead of thinking that my life will begin eventually, I am going to be of the mindset to enjoy it now! Life is certainly a gift and I want to make the most of it.  | | |
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