Touchscreen Future

Encouraging Lyrics

2009-11-09T05:43:00.000-08:00

I was encouraged by these lyrics Friday night. If law school isn't a storm I don't know what is.

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Quick Catch Up!

2009-11-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

It has been almost a month since I've last blogged and I really didn't want that to happen, but obviously law school did. BOO.

October flew by and I'm still looking for where exactly it went. The highlight of my month was, of course, my birthday. My friends made a huge deal out of it all week and made me feel so special! I have truly been blessed by the Lord with some amazing girlfriends here at Regent. I have no doubt that we were all perfectly placed in each others life by the Lord.

The best birthday gift of all was getting to go home 2 days later and spend some time with friends and family that I have dearly missed. I really think I got to see all the favs in my family except for my cousin Will and Aunt Suzy. I even got to keep my favorite kiddos Emily and Russell for a night!

If any of you know me well at all you know that I am always looking towards the future. I think that partially is because something inside of me always wants something to look forward to! Every month since law school started I have had something big to look forward to: in September I got to go see Heather in Chicago, in October I got to go home, in November Heather is coming to spend Thanksgiving with me, and December I get to go spend Christmas at home! Next semester will hopefully be the same way. So far I have Alison on the calendar to come spend her spring break with me in march!

So my first semester of law school is OVER halfway done and I still wake up wondering if I'm actually still doing this?! The work has NOT eased up at all, but I do feel like I have more of a grasp on time management. The only thing that really annoys me is when we are assigned 4 or 5 cases to read for a class and we end up only getting to one of them. I just leave class mad because it is such a waste of time! Other than that I'm getting by.

Still coveting your prayers daily for strength and knowledge!

Very Elle Woods during the climactic part of the movie with music

2009-10-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

Week 7?? More like week 7 hundred!!! I feel like I've been in law school forever!!!

I heard one of my classmates tell another 1L in the hallway a few days ago that we have read 107 cases since our first day of classes. I can honestly say that I really have read and briefed every one of them. I wish I could also honestly say that I read everyone of them because I was vigorously trying to learn everything about the subject that I could. The truth is that some nights after 8 hours of studying already, the only motivation I have to read and brief a case is the knowledge that there is a chance that I will get called on to stand in class and present the case. To me, that's fundamental in law school. The teachers ask you to stand and usually keep you standing anywhere from 5 minutes to the duration of the class depending on how they are feeling. If you do well everyone knows it, and if you don't...it ruins your day.

Last Friday all of my reading paid off when I was called on for the first time in Property. It was the last class before the weekend and my mind was already taking a nap when I hear "Miss McKinney, will you please stand and tell us about this case?" My first instinct was to freak out, but I remembered that I had just taken notes on this case during lunch and so I just start saying what I remember. I grab my notes and he starts asking me questions pertaining to what he wants us to get out of the case. To make a long story short I knew what I was talking about. I did really well and the prof was pleased. Several classmates found me after and told me how impressed they were. My heart was so full of joy at that moment because everything I had worked so hard to learn since August was all worth while finally!

It was the BEST start to a weekend I've ever had, and I even sang karaoke that night to celebrate!

So my first "getting called on" experience in law school came and went, and as most attorney's say I will always remember it!

Law School

2009-08-30T06:43:00.001-07:00

I finished my first week of Law School last week. So if I don't make it through at least I can say without lying that "I've been to law school" :)

Here are some of my thoughts:

- The amount of work/reading that I did last week seems like I should have finished 2 weeks worth of normal school.
- Everyone has an incredible drive to please the prof's the first week...I'm thinking it may linger on in some cases
- I'm going to need more sticky tabs
- I wish that there was some sort of brain cleansing pill that took things out of your mind that you didn't need to know, because I think I'm running low on space
- I LOVE living alone
- My love for office supplies will, without a doubt, continue to grow throughout the next 3 years.
- I love the complexity of the law, right now at least.

A part of me still can't believe I'm here!

P.S. - some of the Latin words/phrases remind me of Harry Potter spells...maybe J.K. got her inspiration from Black's Law Dictionary :D

Judy

2009-08-29T12:57:00.001-07:00

In the past year I've been more of a Judy Garland fan than ever. Maybe it's because I'm more grown up now and will actually sit down and read a biography, or maybe it's because I received an awesome gift set of 5 of Judy's movies that I had never seen and watched them all within 3 months. This summer was no different. Of course every June I think of Judy because the month marks both Garland's birth (in 1922) and her death (in 1969), but more importantly I read the so called "best" Judy bio out there called "Get Happy" by Gerald Clarke which came out in 2000 but has recently received fame for another reason:

It has been confirmed that Anne Hathaway will be portraying Judy Garland in the film adaptation of Gerald Clarke's biography.

Although I should probably be happy, I am slightly conflicted about this news for a few reasons.

1) This book is more critical of Judy than any others that have been written, and I don't want it to be sort of "walk the line"-esque in a way that people discover things about her that they would have been happier not knowing, thus dubbing her an addict and swearing off of her because of it. I am a huge Judy fan and the book was hard for me to get through...
2) I'm not really sure if Anne Hathaway is the best pick for the role. There are the obvious reasons like Hathaway is 5'7-5'8 and Judy was barely 5'1, but also Anne Hathaway always ends up glamorous in her roles, whereas Judy never even tried to be glam because she knew she wasn't made for it (not to mention she was told she wasn't good enough for Hollywood her whole life).
3) The company who bought the rights to make the book into a stage production/movie hasn't come out with whether Hathway will be lip-syncing or if she will try to embody Judy's voice on her own - that will be another telling factor for me.

It will definately be something that I pay to go watch, but I won't get my hopes up as of right now. Judy was/is a star in my heart and I hope that Hollywood does the best they can to show the world that very thing.

The Art of Dreaming

2009-08-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

I'm a firm believer in dreaming big things but only recently have a told myself why I ought to keep doing it.

You see, once upon a time there was a young girl (3rd grade) whose mind revolved around 3 things: softball, church camp, and being a lawyer someday. Unlike most of her friends she enjoyed school because people told her that if she wanted to be a lawyer she would have to get good grades. As the girl grew up so did her dream, although the thoughts of other things came and went the thoughts of her future career engulfed her. By the time she was a high school graduate everyone around her knew what she would be doing, and most told her that she could do it. The opponents were forgotten quickly because she never had a problem "brushing her shoulders off" and moving past discouragement.

3.5 years later she sits at college graduating scared and shaking in her stiff black gown not because she's about to walk on stage in heels she's never worn for more than 20 minutes, but because that far off, larger-than-life, too much to swallow, dream is now sitting in front of her with a sneer...is this real?

So why consume a life with a long term dream? Because it has made me who I am. I mean think about it, if I can do this...the biggest dream I've ever had, then what can I not do? Talk about a confidence booster! But seriously, I never do this but here's a list of reasons why I'm proud that I'm a dreamer.

5. It has taught me who motivates me best: myself. which in turn allows me to be able to encourage myself every once in a while.

4. It has allowed me to encourage others to dream big!

3. It made short term goals seem minute

2. I always had something to look forward to and I was prepared for every step of the process!

1. Because I only had to be nervous for about 5 seconds that day at graduation - my heart knew I was ready to take this dream by the horns and run with it...faster than I ever had before. Nervousness turned to excitement before it had time rear its ugly head.

So I encourage you, my faithful few readers, to dream with vigor!

It is a life changing addiction :D

My "I AM" poem

2009-07-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

My friend Heather has been wanting me to write one of these for about a year now. ENJOY!

I am always watching
I am pepper, never salt
I am easily amused
I am Beethoven's 5th personified
I am the sparkle in my daddy's eye
I am a patriot
I am the missing puzzle piece
I am rarely on time
I am undeterred
I am ice through your veins
I am striving to succeed
I am fourteen shades of green
I am the antithesis of a southern belle
I am moved by music
I am the smell of a new book
I am proud of my friends
I am a part of something special
I am harmony to your melody
I am a dreamer extraordinaire
I am someone Judy should have met

New look.

2009-06-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

Okay so obviously I've changed the look of my blog, and I'm hoping it will motivate me to post more often!

The Ultimate Thank-You Note

2009-04-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

Discouragement has always, and will always be looming around the world waiting to rear its unnerving head at the right time, being sure only to kick us when we’re already down. But sometimes discouragement is personified by the people we least expect. It’s to those people who I write this rant of slightly haughty gratitude.

Thank you for telling me there will always be someone better than me. Thank you for advising me to not try out in that section of the choir because there were so many people better than me. Thank you for giving me the percentage of students who lose their scholarship minutes after I get my acceptance/scholarship letter. Thank you for telling me that living in a foreign country isn’t feasible for someone my age. Thank you for wishing me good luck with a smirk while I applied for the internship of a lifetime. Thank you for telling me I wouldn’t ever get that 4.0. Thank you for constantly rolling your eyes and looking down your noses at me every time I mentioned my dream of becoming a lawyer. Thank you for brushing my dreams aside and telling me that I’d change my mind before I got to college. Thank you for always telling me how hard law school was compared to anything else I’d ever done in my life, and that getting in would not be an easy task.

I’m thanking you, you see, because you became the voice in my head that I’ve grown to hate. I’ve grown to hate it so much that I refuse to let it beat me. In turn, I’ve refused to let you beat me, and I’ve won. You’ve made my smile much bigger when I do achieve what I set out to do, and I thought I ought to say thanks.

It's beginning to look a lot like springtime!

2009-04-17T14:35:00.001-07:00

I guess I should find my blog voice, but I kind of wanted to be sporadic. Just say what's on my mind...that's a voice!

I'll be working 8-5 everyday next week which is unusual since every other week I pick up kids from school at 3:00 on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday which gives me a nice break from the office. Oh well, I feel like I'm making lots of progress at my nice little office job now and will miss it this summer.

I'm STARVING. I'm going to pick up the kids to babysit them tonight from 5-8 and we're going to eat somewhere but because I'm trying to teach the oldest one how to be decisive I'm making her pick. I just get so tired of conversations that drrrrrag on because one person can't make a decision. So I'm passing my knowledge on to a 12 year old drama queen. haha, she'll make a damn good decision maker someday ;D

This week has been absolutely beautiful...I put on my flip flops this morning and welcomed spring in with a smile!

Nothing but thoughts

2009-04-16T08:34:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the judges used their save on Matt...next week's gonna get crazy.

Things seem to be falling into place for my summer plans and the money saving extravaganza for law school that should've started oh about 21 years ago...I've got a great summer job set up being basically a nanny for two kiddos who live a very different life than mine at that age. We'll wake up, grab some breakfast, and lounge by the pool until I want to get up and make lunch. It'll be just the relaxation I need before the most intense 3 years of my life.

This in-between stage of my life is still awkward...my parents aren't sure how to treat me since I'm living at home but at the same time have a full time job and a college graduate. And truthfully I'm not sure how to live there normally. I miss Conway and the freedoms of not having to report to the 'rents about my every move.

I got off the phone a few minutes ago with the Regent housing people who didn't have good news. The guy was nice, but told me the truth...I'm at the BOTTOM of the waiting list for campus housing. So I started looking at some apartment complexes around campus for some price checks. It's bananas. I'm going to try and enlist the two people I know at Regent to hook me up with cheaper places. So far I'm looking at $800-1000 per month to live in a decent complex.

I'm also reading Judy Garland's bio for the first time. I've skimmed most of them through the years just for some fun facts but I've really dug into this one. My dilemma is that I'm afraid if I finish the book I'll end up hating Judy, whom I've adored my entire life. She was a pretty awful person although a lot of it stems from her childhood, or lack thereof, thanks to her mother and MGM who owned her...literally. I'll probably finish it because I'm halfway through, but I will definitely look at her differently for the rest of my life. One thing that the book has only said good things about is that Judy was without a doubt a genius when it came to acting. There were only 6 or 7 times that she ever had to shoot a scene more than once. Her directors said she could see the scene in her head as she was performing it. That is what I will take from this book.

I feel like I could keep writing but I'll save it for tomorrow's post.

Happy day after tax day :D

Unashamed

2009-04-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight one of my favorite shows on TV is returning and I'm not ashamed to blog about it :D

Of course everyone has those shows that you never want to tell people you're addicted to but I am unashamed when it comes to The Hills. I even have season 1 on DVD. I have been told that "The Hills" is the worst of the worst in the category of reality TV and truthfully I can make no argument against that. But how hilarious is it to watch people who live like they do? Even more than hilarious it's obviously captivating to some viewers (like me) because I know that even if I could choose to be transported into Lauren's life I would refuse.

I have to commend the writers of the series because to me it follows like a good lighthearted romance novel...always dramatic when there's no need, in the circle of friends everyone dates everyone else, the girls are gorgeous and the guys are pretty boys...It's just all around a mind numbing smile fest :)

So I thought I'd give my girly two sense on the previews for the upcoming season:

First it's LC's final season which should truthfully be the last season of the show. I mean the only other person people cared about on the show was Whitney and now we follow her on "The City!" Basically LC's who holds everyone else together...it's not like when she leaves Audrina is going to call Heidi to hang out and start drama with Spencer?? I won't watch anymore after LC leaves...it's my silent protest.

Second the previews show Audrina moving in on Brody and supposedly "staying in his room" after what looks to be a drunken night on the beach. Well who cares? Everybody in that group has probably slept with every other person in the group at least once...and none of them will end up together.

Finally just like in every preview since the first season there is a hint that Heidi and LC will rekindle their long lost friendship and there will be a cry ridden forgiveness episode where we all cry. It never gets that far though and I don't think it will this season either...LC reads too high on the cool meter now, and obviously Heidi can't get herself away from Spencer long enough to regain her sanity

Anyway it's a 9pm tonight on MTV

An inspirational tragedy?

2009-04-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

I hope it's not just me who thinks at least once a day that I am not prepared for law school at all. There are, at the moment, 4 books on my nightstand that would undoubtedly be of some aid to my preparation but I choose to read a whimsical love story that is probably deadening my brain cells. But I mean the bright green cover goes hand in hand with the springtime that's blossoming outside, and those 4 educational books are deep shades of burgundy and gold...not stimulating.

I do judge a book by it's cover...and who doesn't?

My brother's recent history fair project was on the life of Mozart, and I was challenged by this composer's story, or really his tragedy. He died at the age of 35 in the prime of his life. Every time I think about that it boggles my mind. Many say it was a tragedy and I agree to a point, but Mozart spent his life doing what he loved from the age of 2 until literally minutes before his death. For numbers sake, he composed over 600 pieces of music in his life. That was not a waste. So I choose not to mourn Mozart, but instead let his life inspire me to press hard into what I feel that I am called to do. Surely some may argue that the world was never exposed to what he could have written and that is the true tragedy, but Mozart did not let the world of music down when he left the world; he left us with a challenge. Whatever it is that you are called to do, that "hobby" that is so much more than that petty word, that part of your life you would hate most to lose: do that with fervor each day, run after it with a vigor that takes you over.

And let Mozart inspire you...

Chapter One

2009-03-30T11:41:00.001-07:00

Today is the day.

I am officially accepting Regent University's offer of admittance into their Fall 2009 entering class. Is this real? Law School is finally at my fingertips and the ball is in my court to accept or deny. I feel like my entire life has been leading up to this moment. Shouldn't I hear some version of the hallalujah chorus in the background as I'm signing this "seat deposit form?"

I'm ecstatic. Elated really...

My life will soon be changing in more ways that I can think to count.

Bring it on :D