it's been a year?!?!

    Yes, it's been a year since I've written a blog post. I'm terrible about consistency, but maybe that'll change when I'm living in Northern Africa next year. Yeah, you read that right.
     It's also been a tear since I've graduated. A fun fact about me is that I'm a sucker for mile markers. They're a time for reflection on where I've been and where I'm going. So what have I been up to since graduation? A lot, actually. I'm kind of surprised at how much has happened in the span of a year.
     Once I got home, I went shopping for a car and got a lovely Camry named Steve. Steve was particularly great because he had air conditioning, unlike my '98 Buick Century. Such a great car, Steve was. I wrecked it in September. I rear-ended another vehicle, totaling my car. I had the nastiest bruise for about a week, but that's it. Once I got all the insurance stuff figured out, I went shopping for another car and got a red Camry, whose name is Barry (after The Flash) (I don't speed) (much). Anyway, other than the fact that I hit a deer a couple of months ago and my air conditioning just went out, it has been a good car. I know y'all don't care much to hear more about my car(s) so I'll just move on.
    Last summer I finished out my job at Haggar, a men's clothing store, and started working at Gap. Working there has been so much fun, and I love my coworkers. The time I joined they went through a major overhaul in management, so I had to deal with a lot of change in how the store was run. It was definitely a good change. There are no longer mice in our store (yeah, that was a thing). Toward the end of the summer I applied with Americorps to work at the elementary school in the same town my mom is a music teacher in. I started working there in August. Basically I've gotten to do a lot of copying and laminating, but I've also been able to hang out with kids and help them with math or reading. Those kids are a total handful, and I've had plenty days of yelling at them in the lunch room (one kid asked me how I could be so loud, I told him it was because of Tiger Tunes but he didn't understand), but they're adorable and some of them just need so much love. My eyes were opened this past year to the hardships that some kids have to go through, especially those in the foster system. Loving on them has been an amazing experience. I hope that many of them take choir from my mom so I can keep tabs on them :). Oh, and the people in the office have been amazing. We all get along so well, and they've taught me so much about myself just by living out their faith. Like, I can be extremely prideful, and sometimes I can be too pessimistic (especially when it comes to political issues). They can say one thing and pull me out of my selfish little bubble. They're all seriously amazing.
    Speaking of political issues, we all know that this year has been a 'uge roller coaster. I started out in April of 2015 as a Marco Rubio supporter, voted for him on Super Tuesday, and then he suspended his campaign a couple weeks later. I've watched with horror as The Donald Trump Following grew larger and larger until he finally became the presumptive nominee. Being back home means being politically in tune constantly. That comes with a lot of positives (being able to argue my stances well), but it also brings a lot of negatives (being depressed about an egomaniac taking over the Republican Party). Anyway, I don't need to dwell on this much more, but I've grown a lot in this area over the past year. It's pushed me to act on my claim that when it comes down to it, my identity lies more in Christ than it does in my political affiliation. That being said, as soon as I can change my affiliation to Independent, I will.
    "Elisabeth, stop talking about politics, I want to know what the heck that little mention of moving to North Africa was about." You say. Well hold up one second, I'm getting there.
    Many of you know about the job I was in the application process for. Well, I found out that I got the job in January, and found out that I'd be moving to Morocco for two years come October. Needless to say, I'm extremely excited about this opportunity. If I update this blog at all before I head over there, it'll be a miracle (like I said earlier, I'm terrible with consistency). So, next post I write will probably be from across the ocean, directly east a few thousand miles. Thanks to everyone who has offered their prayers and moral support while I went through the torturous waiting process.
    I think that's about it for this post. Other than it's fun being friends with old professors on facebook. Oh, and I still keep in contact with all of my friends from OBU. In fact, I'm going to one of their weddings in a few weeks! Hopefully I won't be caught in a supercell thunderstorm on my way back from this one (yeah, that also happened).

Anyway, see you guys whenever the heck I decide to update next.

P.S. I also got a really cute puppy. He's adorable. I may or may not use him to get my friends to come visit me :).