Sacrifice

Sacrifice: short term loss in return for a greater gain.

Running has been my life since the end of middle school. I am constantly thinking about my splits for my next workout or preparing for my next race. When I decided to come to Philadelphia, I knew I would have to make a sacrifice. I wanted to still be a part of the Messiah Track & Field team. However, I would have to train alone daily and only compete at a few meets.

I quickly noticed how much freedom I had when I came to Philadelphia. I still trained arduously and went to as many meets as possible. The major difference was having free weekends.  : ) My life was no longer consumed by running and the team. I made new friends, explored the city, and even found new running partners.

Last weekend, I ran in the Broad Street Run with 30,000 runners. The course was 10 miles directly down broad street into the Naval Fields. The sides of the streets were covered with people and decorated signs. So many people were cheering for runners that they didn't even know! Around City Hall bands were playing pump-up music. The vivacious crowd boosted my energy and definitely helped me finish! I ran a 1:08:57, 2nd in my age group and 501 out of 26,000 finishers. Not bad for my first race over a 10k.


The entire run I thought about my experiences in Philadelphia. The first week I ran down Broad Street and now 14 weeks later, I am running down this same path again. I have become connected to the city of Philadelphia and the Broad Street Run became a way to celebrate my semester here.

After the 10-miler, I started tapering for MACs, Messiah's Conference Meet. My runs became shorter and I attempted to go to bed earlier. I had planned on running the 10k Thursday night and the 5k Saturday. Less than two hours before my event, I found out that my ride was stuck in traffic. I attempted to race down to the subway and get to the suburban train station for a train. Yet, I did not make it on time. At that moment, I felt like my whole world had crashed. I feel to the ground and started balling. I slowly started to walk back to City Hall's subway station. One man walking by said, "Smile. Things will get better."

I had trained so hard and stayed dedicated while being 2 hours away from the team. My last race of the season had been taken away from me. I stopped at a bench in Center City and asked God what he was trying to tell me?

All I know right now is that God did not want me to be at MACs this weekend. Instead, I had a great last weekend with my roommates. I even saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall for the first time. Maybe it was to show me what I was really sacrificing. Going to the meet would have taken away from my time in Philadelphia. I signed up to be in the city and that's what happened. I had an awful start to my weekend, but now it's Sunday evening and I would consider this weekend one of the my best weekends of the semester.

Last day of Classes

Today was my last day of classes at Temple University. It was also my last day as a student volunteer at Duckrey Elementary School. I relieved that my classes are over, but I will miss my students from Duckrey tremendously! I have learned so much my daily interactions with these children. I wish them the best of luck as they prepare for 3rd grade!  This semester has gone but so fast. I hope that I am able to really enjoy my last few weeks in the city.

Room 124: 2nd grade

Philadelphia Zoo!

One of my favorite afternoons in Philly was at the Philadelphia Zoo! I honestly can't remember going to any other zoo besides the San Diego Zoo. My mom claims that I have visited that zoo over 40 times! With Larry's guidance, I saw the entire zoo in 2 hours!

Lions

 Tigers

AND FLAMINGOS!!!

A night with friends!

My future roommates, Courtney and Megan came to visit Friday night.  Last fall, we made random trips to New York City and Washington, D.C. To continue our traveling tend, they took a spontaneous trip to Philadelphia! We went to Pietro's Coal oven Pizzeria for dinner. Afterward, I gave them a tour Center City and Temple's campus. MCPC was also having our end of the year garden party. Megan and Courtney joined in the dance celebration!

Courtney, Megan, and I in front our our favorite store, Anthropologie.

Fast-paced City Life

Finally a new post! This semester has been awesome and there are only a few more weeks left. It is definitely going to be a bittersweet ending. I want my classes to end but I don't want to leave the city.


Classes:
This spring I have learned more than anyone should ever know about President JFK. Don't even get me started on where the bullets went through his head. Thank you Joan M.  Also, I have found a new calling...well not really. Writing computer code for my electrical engineering course. No idea as to why it counts as an elementary education computer course. Come on Messiah! 

Duckrey Elementary:
I absolutely love working with my second grade class. I love entering room 124 every week to their smiling faces. They welcome me with hugs and waves of approval. Every week the students know I am coming in. They have built friendships with me. A few weeks ago one of the girls asked me about "Miss Katie." Katie was a previous MCPC student that helped out in their classroom last fall.
Here is a little description:
The children of Room 124 were sitting on the square rug waiting for Ms. S. to start her lesson. Biana declared, “Miss Mary? Is Miss Katie your best friend?” I said, “No, Biana. However, she is a friend of mine.” Biana replied, “Do you call Miss Katie every night?” I replied, “No Biana. I can email her.” Biana and the rest of the class happily replied, “Tell her we said hello!”

These children on God make me laugh! When they start third grade, Miss Katie and Miss Mary will not be around. However, I hope the students value our time with them. I desire to have the children feel just as positive about Miss Mary next year.
Third grade is the start of PSSA testing and attending school every day becomes even more crucial. I hope memories of Miss Katie and Miss Mary will continue to inspire the students of Room 124.

City Life
I am really enjoying my time in Philadelphia.  I went to the Philly Flower Show, the Museum of Art, and the Mutter Museum. My mom and sister came to visit for Easter. It was wonderful to show them my new home. We checked out Body Worlds 2 and had a personal tour inside the Kimmel Center thanks to Larry : )  I had a special dinner date with Larry at Jack's Firehouse on Fairmount. I definitely recommend checking out this 19th century firehouse restaurant. It is right across from the Eastern State Penitentiary. Speaking of food...dessert!! Naked Chocolate is awesome but one MUST stop at Capogiro's Gelato.


Running
Indoor 2010 MAC Champions. Yeah Messiah!! 4th in the 5k. I love running down Fairmount Park. It is so peaceful to get away from the craziness of the city. Feeling the breeze while running along the water reminds me of the beach! Training is getting a lot better. I am finally over my beginning of semester cold and the track is completely free of any remnants of snow. I ran a great ladder workout this Wednesday. I am happy to be healthy and enjoying running. This weekend I am home to compete in the Messiah Invite...first 10k of the season! Pumped. The Broad Street 10 Miler is coming up and Outdoor MACs is only a few weeks away!

Well that's it for the updates. Here are a few photos...

                     View from the steps of the Art Museum

                                     Flower Show

                                    MACs

                      Local Garden - Messiah Service Project

                               Rittenhouse Square

                            Go Phillies!

                         love sign : ) 

                                    higgins ladies

I'll work on updating this more often. Until then, enjoy this quick view of my fast-paced city life.


                  

A City on Pause

I can't believe that I have been here for 3 weeks! I have been loving every single second in the city.  Most of my pictures are of food...no surprise there. I haven't been blogging in a while (sorry mom!). This snow storm has finally given me an opportunity to pause and reflect. I was suppose to compete at the Ursinus track meet today, but the meet was canceled. I am disappointed because I really wanted to reconnect with the Messiah track team. Yet, the snow covered city is absolutely stunning. The campus looks amazing in the snow. I am going to try and venture outside today to take a few pictures. Here are some pictures that capture my favorite moments so far.

Restaurant Week: El Vez 

Four Course Meal = $45

Coat Check: Lucky Number : )  

Reading Terminal Market: Megan's visit. 

MCPC

Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

 Orientation Weekend is almost over. It has been a great weekend exploring the city of Philadelphia. I have tried a few amazing restaurants, started mastering the subway, and I have been familiarizing myself with the Temple campus. Yet, tomorrow is the beginning of the spring semester! I am very anxious to see what classes are like at a University setting. Today some very helpful experienced MCPC students helped my roommates (they're awesome) and I find our classrooms. Definitely a relief and this new knowledge will hopefully help me fit in as a Temple student.

Last night I went to Naked Chocolate Cafe for dessert. Anyone who knows me, knows at least this fact...I LOVE chocolate!!! This place is heaven drizzled with chocolate syrup. I had a milk chocolate fondue with a variety of delicious treats. This morning, we broke up into small groups to complete service projects on Martin Luther King Day. I went to a thrift store called Circle Thrift that is connected to Circle of Hope Church. I helped organized clothes and sorted through numerous bags of shoes. (Let's get some Shoes). It was a wonderful morning and I enjoyed helping out our surrounding community.


Psalm 15
Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth form his heart.

Today Dr. Peterson talked about academic integrity and our responsibilities within the Messiah and Philadelphia community.  We want to focus on making sure we demonstrate our integrity by acting the as daughters and sons of Christ that we strive to be.

To follow up on my first post and run. Derek, my running partner for the semester, and I did find an Art Museum...Just the wrong one. We still finished a solid 6.6 miles with a 7:25 pace. The "Rocky Steps" are still on my running destination list!

Hello Broad Street

Today I moved into the Messiah housing across from the Temple campus. Goodbye Grantham with it's backroads and hello to the busy streets of Philadelphia. Upon arrival, I was excited to discover that the "triple" I was assigned to can easily accommodate four people. My roommates and I have so much space! Too bad I already stuffed the Honda Fit to it's capacity. We took a campus tour and had a MCPC community meeting to get ourselves more acquainted with our new home for the next 15 weeks.  In the evening, we broke into small groups to explore the city and try various ethnic foods. I decided to try a Malaysian restaurant called Banana Leaf. The decor was beautiful with actual rocks on the walls. Due to a previous recommendation, I ordered the Thai pineapple rice and I successfully used chopsticks for the majority of my meal. The meal was served in a fresh pineapple and tasted delicious. I am looking forward to trying more unique food options throughout the semester. After dinner, we walked through Chinatown and strolled through a few shops. I would not be surprised if a giant pig statue shows up in my room within the next few weeks. We used the Philly's subway, Septa, during tonight's outing. There are so many routes. Hopefully, I'll get the hang of the system soon. Tomorrow morning I am going on my first run in the city. I think the 72 steps in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art may be a good destination.