You're ok. I'm ok. We're ok.

Dear Kelly,

My time at 935 Echo Lane has officially ended; yours, on the other hand, has just barely begun. I'm not great at giving advice, but there are some things you should know about good old MHS before you ever step foot in those color coded hallways.

It's a unique school, not like any other. To get the most out of it, you must first understand those who makes up the school. We are often stereotyped or people come in thinking they know what we're all like. And yes, some people do fit the stereotype, but they're a very small minority. And then there are many who seem like they are the stereotypical "Memorial girl" on the outside. They might have the big house, a lot of friends, or a nice car, but do not be fooled by appearances. Don't take them for what's on the outside. Give them the benefit of the doubt. I judged a lot of people in my grade throughout high school only to find out that one girl struggled from the most vicious insecurity that lead to an eating disorder, one girl lost her aunt a week before graduation and was torn up over it, or that the talkative girl in the front of my english class tried to kill herself, twice.

So don't you ever judge them. For if you do, you will find yourself sitting in your english class on the last week of your senior year broken over those who struggled with abusive parents or parents who passed away, because you never got over your pride and gave any of them a chance.

Never tell yourself that you can't do anything. Once you say it, it's true, and only because you told yourself you couldn't. Learn to discern between the voice of the Lord and that of Satan's. Satan wants to destroy those who can do the most for the Lord, and those who are threat to him. So he'll probably try to mess with your head. He'll probably say you're not good enough to be friends with so and so. He'll put a mean thought in your head about the girl next to you. He'll tell you that you can't do something, and that you will never feel apart of something. Don't believe him. I did, and it destroyed my relationship with God. Captivate your thoughts, stay in close contact with the Lord and you'll be fine.

Don't forget to just enjoy yourself. For when you have two lab reports to write up, a vocab test the next day, a map due for world geography, and a pile of laundry waiting to be done, remember that in the end, nothing matters but the Lord. So every once in a while, let the homework sit for just a few more minutes, tell yourself that wearing those jeans again without washing them isn't so bad, and grab a good book, finish that movie you've been meaning to, or call up that friend you've been saying you'll have coffee with them for forever now, because once the hats go up in the air at graduation you might look back and wish that you had enjoyed life a little bit more.

Don't worry about college. Don't do things just to put on your resume, do the things that you love. Dont' get discouraged when you fail or when things don't go your way, we all have been there.

But above all, love the Lord and pursue Him constantly. Don't ever be ashamed of yourself or try to be someone your not. If you be yourself, you just might be surprised at the responses you get. Let the Lord shine through you. Smile and laugh alot, it's good for you.

And yes, the great state of Louisiana might separate us, but I'll always be one phone call away.

your sister,

MH

I remember a 12 year old girl who fell in love with Jesus one summer. I remember how her world was turned upside down, and how Jesus became her life. When the Lord would challenge her, she would take it on with no questioning. She didn't care what others thought about her. She would speak boldly about the Lord in front of people with no fear. She knew who she was because Jesus was who she was, and she didn't care if she wasn't the most popular girl because of it.

Sometimes I wonder what happened to that middle school girl who put Jesus first in her life. I try to think about the past four years and wonder why I lost that fervor. Then I remember all those times I believed Satan's lies. I would let myself think that since I was not perfect, I couldn't do anything for the Lord, or that I was better than everybody else. I let walls build up between the Lord and me. My relationship with the Lord became stagnant as I chased after acceptance.

High school was a battle. I lost my voice somewhere along the way and with it, who I was. Not to say that all of high school was bad, there were moments of small victories, and times where I held onto the Lord. I'm not sure the best thing to say is that I'm thankful it's over, but instead that I'm thankful it happened. The Lord is slowly mending my heart, and weaving me back into the woman of God He wants me to be.

Yes, I am not that 12 year old girl anymore and my relationship with the Lord is weak. But, I've heard that trials and weakness are just what we need to amplify the hope we have in Christ.

"Little by little, I will transform your weaknesses into strengths. Remember that your relationship with Me is saturated in grace. Therefore, nothing that you do or don't do can separate you from My Presence."

-Jesus Calling

Praise the Lord.

I am not a scientist. I don't necessarily enjoy science. I don't plan on doing anything with my life that involves a massive amount of science. So why in the world did I decided to take AP Bio? I don't know.

But I am as of today, officially done with AP Biology, and therefore done with science forever.

Although my inclination towards biology and all things science is anything but large, I actually ended up enjoying the class. There you go Mrs. Strait, I said it.

I got the joy of spending my senior year with a textbook called Biology. How creative. It was 1,000 pages of information upon information. One thing I learned in biology is that you will never know everything about biology. The subject's infinite. The amount of stuff that people know about it could fill up book after book and the amount of things yet to be discovered is limitless.

Through seeing how the nerve cell is structured in just the right was so that impulses can reach our brain the fastest, how negative feedback allows for a reaction to be suppressed if the product becomes overwhelming, how hormones are regulated in our body , I saw glimpses of God's perfection. Everything we learned about seemed to just scream out God's name. Everything pointed to the Lord. Why in the world do the enzymes in our body work perfectly at the temperature our body is normally functions? What triggers cells to undergo mitosis? My teacher would say "look at this! and how structure fits its function" all the time. It was one of those "AP themes" on which they like to test us.

I remember one time my teacher was lecturing about the nervous system and at one point all she could say was "wow" over and over again. All I could think was God over and over again.

Creation is crying out to the Lord. That's what I got out of biology this year. That our God is perfect, and that if we keep silent, the rocks really will cry out.