>surprise.

story time.

i was rudely awakened last friday morning by 3 text messages, a missed call, and a voicemail, all from david.... this is what i saw...

alright, come on... now i had to call him. david continued to explain to me how he thinks he should come out when brittany and grace come out. i don't exactly remember the entire conversation b.c i was half awake. i think i heard the phrase YOLO in there though... i told him i would call him later when i was awake.

go back to sleep. wake up. i was at the disney resort all day. didn't call david. go to bed.

wake up the next morning... bright and early.. again. to 4 text messages, 2 missed calls, and a voicemail, all from david... again. tired and annoyed i pick up my phone to see this...

after laying back down for a little bit, i picked up my phone again, reread everything and processed what just happened. please excuse my language, i was in shock.

DAVID IS COMING TO HAWAII! 

i can't even believe it!! 3 of my best friends will all be here in about 3 weeks and i am so unbelievably excited!!! 

oh and just on a side note... i also got this text later too...?

yup.. my friends back home saved a chipmunk, named him dale and fed him and got him healthy again. random? i seriously wish i was there to see that little guy though. too cute.

i miss my friends back home, i'm too excited for some of them to come out here :)

xxx

L

>and i'm back.

it's been awhile. finals week came and went. i survived. and then we had a week of vacation. i lived it up to the fullest. and sadly it is back to school for me now. summer term. which is actually not bad at all. i'm taking 2 classes and 1 online so i don't have much to complain about. quick update via instagram

easter came. homesickness definitely kicked in around that time. but it was such a great time with my friends. we made easter dinner together and i learned how to cook a ham! my mom would be so proud.

i roamed around campus barefoot (which isn't exactly out of the normal for me) but this time it was in honor of toms.

i miraculously passed all my classes with A's and B's. with a few freak outs in between. still don't know how i didn't fail one class.

i saw one of my best friends graduate and then celebrated all week long with my friends that school was done!

i devouted more of my time to my long term relationship with the beach. spent it at sharks cove where catherine almost got attacked by a seal. still laughing about that.

and spent many days at the disney resort on the island. amazing. stevens parents were there so we became registered hotel guests for the week as well. perfect. that place is heaven. it's so fun to feel like actual vacationers in hawaii instead of students.

the break was so wonderful, but sad too because so many of my friends went home for the summer.

i am all moved in to my new house (the canal house) with my new roommates, which i love dearly. this semester is going to be great, i can already feel it.

xxx

L

>it's finals week.

and that is why i have been missing.

i am beyond sleep deprived. 

and i'm pretty sure my brain cannot fit anymore information inside. 

is it sad to say that i almost did this yesterday in the library? 

i can't help but start singing this is how we do it by montell jordan. 

oh how i miss the music of the 90s.

L

>a rambling mess.

today was my last day in my first level peacebuilding class.
i left class teary eyed and with a mess of thoughts.
i've learned so much in this class. words can't describe it.
i would literally write for hours to explain it all to you guys.
but in short, this class and the principles i have learned saved my life.
many of my peers all agree that this class changed them. and it did indeed change me, but it also saved me.
it's crazy to think where my life was a year ago. 9 months ago. and even 3 months ago.
one of my favorite quotes is by j.k. rowling who said, "rock bottom became the solid foundation on which i rebuilt my life."
i honestly feel like within this last year i've taken so many twists and turns. but i've rebuilt my life. i've discovered who lauren is.
i can't help but want to cry when i think back to the past and where i was in life. so many low points. but the great thing about it is that it's in the past.
and i'm finding peace within myself through it all. finally.

xxx
L

i'm in a birdy kind of mood. enjoy.

>anthro dreamin

one of my new years resolutions was to become less materialistic.
so i am proud to say that i haven't gone shopping once since the beginning of the year.
i'm sure for some that read this probably think i'm completely ridiculous.
but for a girl that once wanted to go into the fashion industry... it's a big deal.
it's a good thing though.
we really do spend too much time focusing on all our wants when there are so many
people struggling for their needs.
but hey, who said i couldn't still look?
probably a bad idea though because somehow my fingers typed in the letters, a-n...
and magically this glorious site appeared and before long, i realized i spent about an
hour browsing the entire anthropologie website.
it always seems to happen that way doesn't it? dang it anthropologie.
which then led my eyes to this gem.

come on now anthro, not that i wouldn't absolutely love to sport this at the beach

every day, but $328... let's get real.

looks like i'll continue dreaming and continue not shopping for now.

on a side note, this morning i was awakened by the sound of the

blaring tsunami sirens... i literally gasped as i woke up, heart pounding,

sweat forming, immediately went for my phone to check twitter 

(yes i do indeed follow tsunami watch on twitter)

just a test. beginning of the month. that alarm, always gets me.

oh the joys of being overly paranoid.

happy monday everyone.

xxx

L

>robert fulghum

i believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge

myth is more potent than history

dreams are more powerful than facts

hope always triumphs over experience

laughter is the cure for grief

love is stronger than death

>invisible children.

my final event for the semester and what a great way to end it with invisible children.
most people are aware of the invisible children organization with the newest release of their latest film kony 2012.
back in january i booked the screening for a team from invisible children to come to our school.
with the release of kony 2012 in march it ended up being both good and bad you could say.
good, because some people became supper passionate about the cause and wanted to help.
bad, because some people became supper against invisible children and practically boycotted wanting to go.
here's my take on it all.

get. the. facts.
while i'm happy that invisible children is getting so much attention now, in case you guys didn't know, they've been around for quite awhile now. this problem has been going on for a long time. and just now people are deciding to have an opinion about it all? wake up people. i don't want to come off sounding rude, but the negative criticisms some people voice about invisible children is rude. have your opinion. you're entitled to it. but look up the facts first.

there is one thing i know for sure. they are doing something about the problem in africa. that's more than anyone else can say. i feel it's our duty to help one another. love your neighbor. so why is it that just now we are doing more to help? the publicity invisible children has gotten has been good and bad, but i see more good out of it all. if anything, more people are aware. for the first time i walked past the tv with the news turned on to see them talking about kony. not invisible children. but joseph kony and the problems going on in africa with the LRA. finally. i remember learning about the holocaust in middle school and i always questioned why the united states didn't do more to help? why didn't anyone do more to help? i don't want my children to learn about the attacks going on in africa and ask why we didn't do more to help. now is the time to do something.

we had 5 amazing rhodes come to our school to talk to us. it was so exciting to finally meet all of them, especially sara jane. spending so many months talking over the phone and emailing each other, it was so exciting to finally talk face to face. these people are amazing. i love their ambition and their willingness to serve. i was touched by hearing about pepito's story. he's from uganda and his family was attacked by the LRA. his dad was killed in front of him. his uncle died inside of the house when the LRA burnt it down, and his sister was abducted and later killed. wow. i can't even understand or begin to try and understand what it would be like to go through something like that. he said that it was a miracle that he was even there talking to us. despite all of this, he is probably the most upbeat and happy person i've met. such a positive attitude and friendly guy. he's amazing.

our time was short but fun filled. i'm sorry again for introducing pepito to m&m's because he's addicted now. if you're reading this pepito, easy on the sprite and m&m's... :)

i can't wait for the day when i turn on the news and get to hear about the capture of joseph kony. i pray for everyone that has been hurt by his acts of terror.
peace. that's all anyone wants and all invisible children wants. i can't see how anyone else can't support that.
thank you guys for your trip to our school. i'll never forget the wonderful people you all are.

if you want to learn more about invisible children and get the facts, visit their site and click on critiques.
they have done such a great job at responding to everyone's questions.
when talking to one of the reps, nate, he told me that they encourage people to ask questions.
read the other information out there on the internet. but dig deep. get the facts straight.
xxx
L

>goodbye hello.

well the time has come, a slight update on the blog was very much in need.

i got over the whole hello theme quite awhile ago, so it's time to say goodbye. 

xxxxxx

L