Joleysblog

    Recently I have been thinking about God and his plans for me. During the end of my senior year and all of summer I thought that His plan for me was to go to IUPUI. There were all of these signs that I thought were leading me to Indianapolis, but really it was just me listening to my wants. Almost everything was lining up except for housing. I had a very good job lined up, one of my best friends was going to attend there as well, and I was in love with campus and the city. The only thing my mother and I could not figure out was housing. Where was I going to live that wouldn't put me in debt?     My mom really felt that I wasn't supposed to go away for college. Even my dad and stepmom felt that as well which was a big sign I should have seen that I should stay home because they are very big on me making my own decisions. Time was running out to find housing so I ended up applying to Purdue and going to school here. I am so glad I did. I have met very amazing people here and I

    While scrolling through my pictures in my phone I came across pictures from a vacation a couple years ago. We took my friend, Ari, to Kentucky for my sixteenth birthday. I love going horseback riding so my mom booked an eight hour trip horseback riding with a break for lunch on the mountains. We were all so excited but my mom hates horseback riding so she went hiking while my sister, Ari, and I unknowingly were going to have a very rough time. Before we started heading up the mountain with our horses the guide warned us of horseflies that were going to bother us at the bottom of the mountain. He said they would stop the more we headed towards the top.      We start heading up the mountain and the flies are torturous. They bite you constantly and it feels like a hard pinch. It wasn't even the pain that was bad but it was the constant biting for about and hour and a half. We reach the halfway point and the lunch spot is very pretty. It had an open spot where you could step out on

    For my birthday my family and I had the incredible experience of going to the Van Gogh experience in Chicago.  I am absolutely obsessed with art and museums so this was a perfect mix. I didn't exactly know what it was. I thought it was just going to be his work in a building, but it was so much better than anything I thought it was going to be.            We walked through the velvet curtains and I was in awe. The first and biggest room was the entrance. It was tons of projectors and lights that showcased his work on the walls and the floors. It was like you were living in his work.  The entire presentation was about an hour and a half. We watched the presentation from beginning to end for about three times. The only reason we left was because we were all starving. But the peace you could feel in the room was astonishing. Everyone was admiring the beautiful work of his paintings and the work of being able to make it come alive. There was nothing more beautiful than sitting on t

       I decided to watch the documentary “Holy Hell” for our project. A specific part of the documentary that surprised me was when multiple people started talking about how after their therapy sessions with Andreas, who was the leader of the cult, he would have sex with them. It wasn’t just a one time thing it was after every session. Some people had multiple sessions a week and he would make them pay fifty dollars each session. One of the past followers said that he told Andreas that he didn’t want to have sex. Andreas proceeded to try to put the blame of refusal on something traumatic that happened in his past. He then still went on to have sex with him.      What surprised me was the dedication and commitment Andreas was able to inflict onto his followers. He had hundreds of people brainwashed into serving him to their fullest. When the cult first started it was about people’s spiritual upbringings. They were there to connect to their inner selves but then slowly throughout the ye

    I absolutely love not only my church but my church family as well. Finding a good church and good people is so important. A church family is like a real family. They are always checking up on you and seeing how you are doing. They aren't doing it in a nosey way but doing it because they genuinely care about you.       As a church we are always there for one another and giving advice. There will be plenty of falls and trials, but to know that you have an entire church there for you is something I can't put into words. There is a ton of stipulation about Christians being rude or mean, which is awful, but that's not how my church is. I have such a loving and welcoming church. Whenever we have a visitor there will always be multiple people going up to the visitor to introduce themselves and welcome them. We do what we can to be our best selves. 

      When we first talked about writing our personal essays I wasn't the most excited about the idea. I don't have a problem sharing things about me because it's life and everyone's is different, but I get nervous about people's reactions. I knew we weren't going to have to share them, but I was still nervous. I eventually  landed on the topic of divorced parents. More specifically, my experience with divorced parents. I am pretty sure that every child of divorce can say that it is not easy. Dealing with one-sided stories, having to choose between parents, and parents lying about the other. Parents have such a huge impact and influence on a child. Some parents take advantage of that.     Writing this essay brought up a lot of suppressed memories. None of the memories were good, sadly. There was lots of "do this" from one parent because "the other doesn't know what they're doing." As a child I listened. I didn't want to  disappoin