Spirit Rally 2010 and My Sister's Bday

What a day.

I got to spend today with some great people filled with joy and laughter. The day started by spending the night at Chris Beltran's house. Thanks to Beltran letting me crash at his pad, I didn't have to drive out to Irvine twice, and it allowed me to forget about all the distractions and begin to focus. I learned all my lines for the Main Skit last night before going to sleep, and I was able to practice them during setup today, which allowed me to perform my long-ass monologue with minimal casualties. Here's my secret though: I trusted in myself and I trusted in God. Instead of doing this monologue for ME, I decided to offer it up to God and to let Him work in me. It gave me the confidence and strength I need to give my best effort (of memorizing two and a half script pages of lines in less than a week).

This was my FAVORITE Spirit Rally. I loved how it also took place in the same building that my very FIRST Spirit Rally took place in. It may not have been the most emotional Spirit Rally, but I had the most fun. Part of that was because I didn't worry about my lines too much. I just thought about having a good time and trusting in myself that I knew my lines. Watching Julian act as "Sue" from Glee was the highlight of the day along with Angie Amador's very personal testimony for us. I think Angie has just become one of my role models not because of her brilliantly structured testimony, but because of her truthfulness, coolness, and faith. Angie is probably one of the chillest people I know next to Julienne, and I would love to get to know her better. After Spirit Rally was over, I said my goodbyes and headed home to my sister's birthday party.

My sister is 18 whether you believe it or not. She is legally an adult, but she will always be my little sister. She had a good party, and it seemed like everyone had lots of fun. My highlight was seeing my good old friend Matt from grade school tonight. At one point Matt, Cody, and I were inseparable, but interests changed and we grew apart. We got to hang out again tonight and share a couple (a lot) of beers together and it showed. Matt totally DGAFed and said whatever was on his mind with most of it being HILARIOUS. It was def good times.

It was a good day seeing old friends today. Just to name a few, I loved seeing AnnaLiza, Brenton, Mark Sescon, ToniAnne, Sherry, Matt Chick, Erwin, Bellamay, Abby, Jerick, and King Chris. Those few people I could hang out with any day at any time and never get bored. That's saying a lot as I realized a few things about myself today during Spirit Rally: My heart has hardened, and I'm not letting people get as close to me as I have before. I started sharing a LITTLE bit with Beltran last night as we were driving around, but even then, I was barely scratching the surface of what is on my mind. A lot of the times, I have been blaming lack of direction on the youth groups I've been involved in to be attributed to my lack of "passion," but now I'm staring to think that I've been my biggest obstacle all along. I don't reach out to people like I used to, and I don't initiate the deep conversations that I desire. To wrap this up (because I'm exhausted), I'm looking for that person who I can share with and to help open me up (not necessarily one of those romantic relationships with, but someone I can trust and share with. It's something I really need right now.

Goodnight God; thanks for a great day.