Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Expired

Heyyyya guys who follow me, Im not doing this blog anymore, just for your infooo
You may find me on kjrstinsjourney.blogspot, its much more interesting than this one and less whiney.

=)




And this is a picture of me taking over the world. BYAAA!!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

I wish I cooooould..

drop out of school and just travel, taking pictures and writing and drawing and singing.
Why cant I just do that?? =)


This trip has been amazing so far.
Herrrre are some of my favorite pictures if you're interested:
























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Monday, May 17, 2010

My new favorite place:


Duomo, Milan, Italy =)







The end
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Monday, April 19, 2010

Nothing Stops A Bullet Like a Job


Sooooooooo.
This weekend was awesome.

Early early friday morning, I left for LA to learn about gangs with a group of 12 other CLU students for a retreat called the Urban Exchange!
I was soo nervous the most of first day because I was on the planning committee and we were all stressed out about everything going according to plan, BUTTTT, it went reeeally really well!!
Friday we did ice breakers and had a short lecture from a professor who has a lot of experience with gangs. And then we drove to Home Boy Industries in LA. Its a rehabilitation center. And its right by China Town, that was cool.
They have awesome services there and its all free! If you go to them and say "hey sooooo, I want out of my gang..." they'll get you a job, free tattoo removal, child care, GED programs, counselors, pastors, job training, food, shelter, protection, its awesome. This guy Gus told us his whole story after he gave us a tour while we ate bommmb tacos from their restaurant. He got shot a bunch if times and had to have one of his legs amputated =/
He was really chill though, he told us about his family and his childhood and his neighborhood.
The whole experience was just mind blowing because it's just the norm for them, I couldnt believe it.
The scariest thing to me was something he said. We asked him if he wanted revenge on the guy who put him in a coma and shot him in the leg and he says soo casually
"Oh he's dead." and we didnt say anything for a second and he said "I knew my homies would take care of it."
That shooock me I dont know why.

After Home Boys we went to the church we slept at and did some learning activities. Which I planned. Which was scary. But went really well =)
And we cooked and explored the creepy church and played janga and hung oout.
And then we watched a movie about MS13 and went to sleep. Wooh.


Sunday morning we all had breakfast and then went to a park down the street to hear one of our group members, Chris, tell his story. Fascinating. I mean I couldnt even summarize the whole thing. This is just a guy who gets inspired and straight up does things. He was involved with gangs all his life, his parents got him drinking as a toddler, he did drugs and later ran drugs for all the major shot callers in LA. He never affiliated with a specific gang but he hung out mostly with the Mexican Mafia and a local biker gang. He doesnt remember exactly when but between ages 15-17 he drew out a series of flame tattoos which he got all over his body. He also has a ton of gang symbols and letters, coy fish, slogans, bike chains, pin-up girls, just tonnns. He's literally covered. Including mustache. Wooh. So when he's 17 he goes to prison. Continues to run drugs inside. But then later decides he wants out.
So he literally just does it. He stops gang banging. He stops doing drugs. He gets his GED. When he gets out of prison he goes to culinary school, works his way up the later, works with Wolfgang Puck, then moves to the Philippians and works for the president. Crazyyy. Then he sees a starving girl and all the sudden decides he wants to help people and make a difference in the world. So he just goes out and does it!
Now he's at CLU getting a degree in religion and political science. And he's going into the navy. And he's getting all his tattoos removed and he wants to be a lawyer someday he says. Maybe.
And this kid dropped out of school in 6th grade. Wasnt sober for a day in his life until he was 17. And he's sharing his story, working with rehabilitation, studying legislature, trying to make a change.
Its like wooow... what have I done with my life.
We were all so inspired!!
After that, we went to an organization called Project Cry No More. It was founded by this beautiful strong amazing woman Vicky who's son was killed by gang members. And its all women who's kids were murdered by gangs. We met with a panel of 3 women in the organization and one ex gang member who is now a mentor to kids. The ex gang member actually founded a prominent Compton gang and was then in prison for 30 years for a bunch of counts of murder. And the mothers shared their stories too, and it was really emotional.
Their organization mentors a bunch of kids too, they are so awesome.

Thennnn after being lost all over LA for like an hour, we went to Rosco's! Where chicken on waffles is actualllyyyyy really ridiculously delicious!!

Likkkkkke seriously. Soo goodddd. It was really fun =)
And this group of people was kind of heckling us or whatever and looking at us weirdly and Chris turned around and made a face at them and they totally stopped it was so cool.

Sooooooooooo! It all went really well! Im so glad Pastor Melissa made me be on the committee. Hahaha. No really though. It was so awesome, I learned so much. And I could write foreverrr but Im already babbling!!

My whole weekend was fantastic =)

When I got home from LA I hung out with the girlllllls =) It had been way too long sense we just had a normal hang out. We just went to World Market and BJs and then sat around talking and painted our nails. Mine are green. Quite exciting.

Then sunday morning I woke upppp and my mama and dad and Andrew came annnnddddd they brought my sweet Javiiii with themmm, it was the best thing everrr!
I had a choir concert and it was the coolest thing to see them out in the crowd. Esp. Javi who I miss way too much all of the tiiiiiiiiime!!
It was such a good day =) I love my familyyyy!!

SO!
that is my wonderful weekend!
Thank you for reading this you weirdyyyyyyy

Looooooooooooooooove KJ




Thursday, April 8, 2010

No Subject:

There's no way to catch you up... I went to Huntington Beach with my family and then home for a week for Spring Break, and it was completely and wonderfully fantastic. The best week Ive had in monnnnntttths. Every single day was full of all the love and smiles I miss the most, and I got to see allllll my favorite people.
There were a bunch of high lights but Im sure if youre reading this you already know themmm... =D
AHHHHHHH succch an amazing week I cant even tell you!!


But anyway moving onnnn, getting back in the habit where I write about my day.

Today was a good day. As was yesterday and the day before.

Its again fallen back into the "same old same old" and thatttttt, you should know, is my LEAST favorite thing EVER. I hate doing the same thing every day and I hate monotony.
But today was alright.
I woke up fairly early (another least favorite thing of mine) and went to Bfast with my Shelby. We just realized that in 5 weeks we're done with school, and we wont see each other for a year and a half!! I wont see Shelby again until the beginning of my senior year in college. That is if Im even still at this school!
Its weird how things like that sneak up on you. The whole study abroad thing too, its so close I cant even believe it! And in 5 weeks I will be in ITALY!! =) And in 8 weeks I will be HOMMMME having the best summer of my liiiiife with the greatest people I will ever know =)

Oh also, today was A Day Without Shoes, to support Tom's Shoes and awareness of difficulties that people in other countries face because of lack of resources (and shooooes! could you imagine not having any shoes??)
So that was fun. I stepped on a couple of painful things and the pavement was hot but it was actually kind of fun, it made my day better for some reason. Maybe bc I felt more free or something. And a bunch of people in choir werent wearing any either it was fun.
Um thennnnn Idk, I went to class and we talked about Revelation and all this awesome symbolism and crazy stuff, it might be my new favorite book of the good ol' Bibe.

Now Im at work. Thrilling. As always.
Nicole and I spent a whole hour google-ing women with afros and bald heads. Because I desperately want one of the two. I wisssh I could pull it off, how cool would that be!! Or dreadlocks! I am seriously considering dreadlocks, but my mom and roommates and best friend all said they would shave my head in my sleep. But hey maybe that would be cool too.
Jk. Shaved head is a no go. But I wish. And if I had a fro Id just look like my mom. Oh waaait. I already do.


Anyway that is my life. And I am currently very bored. School is boring. Thousand Oaks is boring. Im busy but I feel unattached and I dont really care about very much that's going on here.
I am excited for next weekend though, Im part of a planning committee for this group that is going to LA to learn about gangs and rehabilitation and that is gonna be really really cool. And then there's a choir concert and Im really hoping my Javi can come see meeeeeeeee. I miss him already.
I miss all of you already!!

To every single person I saw in the last 2 weeks: thank you so mucccch for such an amazing spring break and thank you for brightening my life, I love you so muccch!!


Wednesday, March 24, 2010

No trespassing
















TODAY has been beautiful.

It had the worrrst start. I woke up early to study for my voice midterm, and I mean really, who likes to wake up early? I love my voice lesson but it's only one credit and a lot to memorize on top of the 20 other songs I have between two choirs, so lets just say, I wasn't ready. But it went okay. I managed to somehow get the words out and make coherent french sentences. Si mes vers ont eu des ailes....Then I went to Oceans... WOOOH... (Plankton from Spongebob is classified as a Copepod, who knew?)
What really made my morning bad was just some disappointing news that I won't be able to see my boyfriend tomorrow, we were planning on meeting at the Getty. I wont get to see him for like a trillion more dayyyyyssss (next tuesday! Haha!)
Waaaaahhh !!!
It's hard being away from home, its hard missing people, "long distance" (even if it's only 2 hours) is hard.

That's not to say that we can't do it, because we can, we are and we will. But its just hard. I'm just sooo ready for spring breeeeak AHHHHH !!!

What turned today around was meeting with the campus pastor, and just talking. About everything, but with no direction, just taaalking. She's really awesome, and it was just what I needed.
Then while I was walking back to my room I noticed what a nice day it was outside (how easily we overlook these things and take them for granted, right?) and I thought hey maybe Id like to stay outside today.
Wednesdays are really cool for me because I have a 4 hour break in between classes. Haahaha.
















SO I put on tennis shoes and decided to venture out farrrr beyond the confines of West Residence Hall, into the hills, up to (dun dun dunnnnnnnn.....) THE CROSS!!(Its actually part of CLU property and its like a 30 minute walk.. hike? but it's really cool, it's up on the hill with the CLU rocks, which are currently painted a hideous yellow color)
Im so glad I went today. I was like... birds? Lizard?? Flowers?? Wind??? Air???? What is all thisss????
And it was beauuutifullllll up there. I used to go a lot last year, just as a work out kind of and then I would run back down, but I always stopped at the cross. But today I prayed a little bit and I reflected. And it was gooooooood.
It was so awesome to just sit and clear my head and watch some birds fly around and look at the view.
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God" I just needed a quiet reminder like that =D


I also found a new path! I mean I had seen it before but I never walked that way, so I went up therrrre, I decided I wanted to go to the highest point on the next hill. Soo I headed that way.
There were a bunch of cacti, it kind of looked like the thicket of thorns that Simba falls into... yeaknow?
I walked until I found a "No trespassing" sign...
Then I stepped over it and trekked onward.
And I was glad I did that, hahahaa. Its not really important enough to make it my title but uh yeeeah, Im keeping it.
I want to go to Malibu Creek State Park soooon, maybe next time Sara and Jav come see mee! Yes??

Anyway then the rest of my day was normalllll. I went to choir and work and now Im watching a movie. I CANT WAIT TILL SPRING BREAKKKKKKK, come quiiiiiiick, thaanks!!!

The end.

NYYOU



Monday, March 22, 2010

Crystal Diamond Ruby

Today was a good day toooo. I would rather be home, but what can you do?
My roommate and I went to a play called the Most Massive Woman Wins, and it was SOO GOOODDD!!! It was all about body image and empowerment! My friend Storie was in it and she did sooo well, she was soo goood!! There was a part they were all in their underwear and I was so proud of her for being up there. Freaking goooodddd duuudddde. I cried! HAHA! Every girl in the whole place did Im sure, it was so so good. Just about like self esteem and stuff and things we alllllll struggle with. 

Um alsooo today, Cameron drew this picture at work. He was just drawing it and it turned out to look JUST like my chemistry teacher from high school! Hahaaaa!!
OK thats all goodnight!!