The Oglesbys' Adventure

We're on the second day of 2018. So far I can tell you two things. First, I already know I'm going to struggle writing the new year, again. Second, this coming year is going to be another one full of adventures, but also a time for me to slow down and reflect on 2017. For those of you who know me, 2017 was a bit of a whirlwind to say the least. Between moving home, student teaching, getting engaged, planning a graduating, planning a wedding, changing my plans mid-summer to stay in Kansas instead of move to Georgia, starting my first teaching job, getting married, and moving out, 2017 was one that I will never forget, but also one that I am ready for a break from. With all of the craziness of the year, I haven't had a whole lot of time to reflect on the emotions throughout the year and fully process everything. And boy can I tell through the frustrations and tensions and anxieties I have. I have decided that I am yielding 2018 to that. If I could sum up 2017 in one wor...

Happiness. {Noun} What does happiness mean? Where does happiness come from? Why are so many people struggling to find happiness? In today's world it is so easy to place your happiness in worldly things... boys. grades. money. success. friendships. Sure they help get us through the craziness of life, but do these really last? I have been guilty of this, there's no doubt about it. I have been guilty of ignoring the one thing that creates true happiness in order to please others, to feel successful, to get good grades, or even to get the attention of that boy I've been eyeing. I'll be the first to tell you that true happiness can't be found in these things. Lately, I've felt surrounded by the mistakes I make, by the loss of people that I care about, by the guilt of placing my happiness in things that could all change in the blink of an eye, by the distance between me and my relationship with God. Many people's first reaction when things go wrong is ...

     20's. The decade of change. The decade of finding yourself and learning to love yourself. Sounds simple right? I mean how hard can change really be? Asking those words is a dangerous move, because in fact, change is hard. Change is what creates new things and new adventures, I mean the definition of the word itself is "to make or become different." Different from what you are and different from what you have been in the past. Doesn't sound so easy now does it?     Your 20's are such an awkward stage of your life, I mean you're an adult legally, but many of us are still in college, and personally I still don't live in the "real world" per say. I mean a sorority house isn't really a real world situation, because living with 40 other girls in any other setting might be pretty difficult to explain to people. But for other people, the decade of our 20's is an awkward transitioning stage. I mean we are still trying to figure out our inter...

    Who knew one month in the place that you had lived for two years could feel like forever? Who knew that coming back to the state you've called home all your life would be such a crazy adjustment? I never knew the meaning of culture shock until I came home after a summer in the mountains.     Everyone said the summer wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it. But no one said coming back to the real world would be this hard. Leaving my camp family was one of the hardest goodbyes that I have had. After spending three months with the same people, being open and vulnerable with them, and getting to know them inside and out, saying goodbye is not fun. The relationships that I made throughout the summer were some of the best ones that I've ever made and they will last a lifetime.      This summer pushed me in ways that I could not imagine. This summer showed me how to serve wholeheartedly, without complaints and without any reward coming from the act. ...

     With a week left, my summer adventure is quickly coming to an end. This summer has been one for the books for sure and one I'll never forget.       In my last post I told y'all about my upcoming week of working with innercity kids and counseling them for a week, which was also our last week of group camp. That week was probably one of the best one's that I've had here. The beginning of the week was a little rocky because I wasn't sure how well I was going to be able to connect with these kids and get them to open up, but as the week went on all of my worries were gone. The first night we met with their youth pastor and ran through the week. At the end he told me and my co-counselor Aaron that he had been praying the whole way to camp for two counselors that would be able to help these kids and guide them closer to God and close to each other. He also told me and Aaron that he thought we were the perfect pair to do just that, which was a...

     The past two weeks have been crazy, so sorry for not keeping you all updated, but I promise you I am still alive. A little sore and tired but definitely still kicking.       The past couple of weeks have been filled with both behind the scenes work and actual counseling. The first week I was not a counselor, but I helped out with behind the scenes work to help group camp run smoothly. I have never cleaned and unclogged so many toilets in my entire life. It's amazing how dirty highschoolers can make a dorm in just a couple of days! I guess if teaching doesn't work out for me then I might have a calling to be a professional toilet unclogger. That week I definitely learned a whole lot of humility and patience, which is what I asked from God for the summer. Funny how he shows us things sometimes.        The week after that, this past week,  I was counseling for group camp again. Usually with group camp th...

     138 hours, 14 campers, 4 clogged toilets, and 1 SUPER squeaky bunk later individual camp was a success. Some of you might know, but my job here is a group camp counselor which means I work with junior high and high school kids that come with youth groups. This past week Glorieta introduced a Beta camp known as individual camp.       There are a couple of differences between the two camps. With individual camp the campers are dropped off by their parents, not a youth group, so therefore us counselors had to stay in the dorms with them the whole week. This meant being a mom, counselor and leader to 14 kids all at once. The second difference is the age of the kids. They ranged from 6-16 years old, I worked with the 10-12 year olds all week. I'm telling you being a mom to 14 preteens for a week is the best birth control you could ever ask for.       The week I spent with them was definitely a learning experience an...