Midterms, Birthdays, and Shoulder Angels

            Is it really almost February? Almost 1/12 of the way done with 2016 — although I shouldn’t say that. Kinda makes me sad. Although! It has been a packed 2016 already for me, as I’m sure it’s been for all of you.

            January is always a weird month for me. It starts after a long break and ends with a bunch of — dare I say the word — midterms. Cue the sighs from all students. Yes, midterms are a reality, no matter how hard we try to ignore them or put them off. The hardest part for me isn’t even the exams but the build up to them. Let me sum that up in two statements: I extremely dislike studying and I tend to stress myself out way too much.

            Studying used to be heaven for me. Cue the gasps of surprise. It’s true, though! Then the last year in Middle School happened. “I can just take this test and not bother to study. Studying takes too much time, and I want to watch a movie.” That’s what started this all for me. School no longer seemed interesting compared to everything else going on in my house, and that carried over to this year, my first in High School, where I realized another problem I had that probably was what set off my dislike for studying. When I think of studying, I tend to think of all the studying I have to do in the entire week. That’s fine, right? No harm to make a game plan for studying!

            Until you dwell on it and stress over it. Like I tend to do.

            I’ve gotten slightly better. Not a lot of progress has been made, but some has! If you struggle like I do, listen to this: you don’t have to do the work for an entire week in one day. Ok, in some cases you might have to, but generally it’s not required. Take it one day, one subject at a time. Seems easy until you start to do it, huh? But you have to start somewhere. Set an achievable goal for the day, and maybe you’ll surprise yourself by “beating” that goal and doing even more than expected. Now to make sure I continuously take my own advice. :P

            Okay!! I’m done talking about midterms!

            January also has a lot of – *drumroll* -- BIRTHDAYS! My aunt has a birthday early in the month, some of my friends had birthdays, my great aunt and I share a birthday, and my sister’s birthday is the day right after mine. That’s the happier part of the month, and I don’t just add the  –ier because it’s better than midterms. After my thirteenth birthday, I am officially done with aging. I want no more getting older!! But I’m just not on God’s page in saying that because, lo and behold, I’m fourteen now and learning to be happy with the challenges He puts in this new year of my life. But hey! Being fourteen brings bragging rights, so… *evil smile* Naw. Just kidding. But seriously. It’s been super so far. :)

            Alright, I have to do this — raise your hand if you wondered about the last part of the title: “Shoulder Angels”. I seriously am wondering who put their hand in the air.

            Shoulder Angels. Well, if you haven’t seen the Studio C Shoulder Angel clips, a) you should, and b) this may not be super funny. But it may not be anyways. Who knows! ;)

            After watching these Studio C clips, free entertainment like we’ve never had before entered the house in the form of my three younger brothers desiring to recreate the Shoulder Angels. When dinner ends, we all just hang out in our living room and watch as they try to sit on each other’s shoulders and recite the lines from the clip. And then walk. Let me tell you: after a long day of school and often work, that family entertainment is heaven. To see their smiles and actions just warms my heart with happiness and thankfulness and makes my muscles ache from rolling on the floor laughing.

            Moments like that make me smile and pray. “Thank You, God, for this perfectly imperfect family and yet another day that I’ve been able to enjoy them. Thank you for all You’ve given me, Your Son above all else. Thank You.” And I find myself, once again, content beyond belief, basking in the blessings the He gives me.

            Now if you’ll excuse me. I need to watch my little Shoulder Angels and save them from possible concussions.

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