T-shirts galore, thankfulness, and the 2013 March for Life?

Hello peeps!

This week was mercifully easy - after my terrifying organic chemistry test, that is. Monday night at fellowship we talked about things that we're thankful for this Thanksgiving, and I have to admit I got super emotional when it was my turn. For me and my family, last holiday season and the beginning of the year 2012 were really hard, but everything on the home front started to settle down over summer and is continuing to normalize. That was what I was most thankful for - the return of normalcy and the continuing cohesion of my family unit (which admittedly is mainly just my mom, because I was raised by a single mother). I also mentioned my boyfriend's parents, who opened up their home to me when mine was a miserable war zone, and CNU itself for bringing about major changes in my life (all for the best). 

I'll probably post more about all that over Thanksgiving break, closer to the actual holiday. I'm getting emotional even thinking about all of that. Moving on to happy things!

Well, one not-so-happy thing: did anyone watch American Horror Story this week?! Oh. My. God. In order to avoid spoilers, I'll leave it at this: it was seriously the scariest episode so far this season!

Last night was volunteer orientation at our local SPCA, so I'm one step closer to starting. I'm so excited! as you know, I want to work as a veterinarian in an SPCA/Humane Society environment, so I'm looking forward to getting as much experience as possible. I also got my "uniform," which is really just a t-shirt:

The top picture is in little font on the front left chest. The bottom picture is in large font across the shoulders. Cute, right?

They recently lowered the required age to join the "Dog Squad," the group responsible for the direct care of the dogs, from 20 to 18, so I can proudly say that my first animal handling class is tomorrow at 1pm. :) Otherwise I would have had to be a greeter and do other non-liability jobs that, frankly, I wasn't super interested in. As grateful as I am for this opportunity, I'm much more keen on getting my hands dirty, as the saying goes.

Also, Be The Match! tie-dyed shirts this week. We finally got to see them at tonight's meeting. Mine didn't turn out as vibrant as I'd like, but I still think it turned out okay:

I don't know why it's sideways. I keep trying to fix it. Oh welllllll.

Also, and this was surprising, I found out this morning that I might be able to attend the 2013 March for Life in Washington, D.C. on January 25th, 2013. Though I've secretly wanted to attend for a while, I've always felt excluded from the traditional pro-life movement because I don't want to repeal Roe v. Wade right away, and I extend my concern beyond the unborn to people on death row, prisoners of war, etc. (Also, I'm a little terrified that I'll incur the hatred of my pro-choice friends.) Then, this morning, I came across this post on a Secular Pro-Life Facebook page I'm a part of:

"The March for Life is often portrayed and publicized as an event to protest against the (legal) killing of the preborn human among us. But what if it meant something more? What if the rallying cry in our ranks was one that stood for peace and all life? What if we stood not only for the preborn, but for the criminal, the prisoners of war, innocent civilans everywhere, the aged and the disabled, the depressed and the bullied, people of every race, gender, faith, sexuality, size, level of dependency, location,

 nationality?

If you are a supporter of the Consistent Ethic of Life, or just want to see our world engaged in a conversation that does not exclude any human life from consideration, please join us for a meetup and march with us at the March for Life. We represent the fullness of the pro-life mission!

The plan is merely to have a space and a time to share in the community of our little movement that encompasses the anti-abortion cause, but to be strengthened in the knowledge that we are not alone. Network with others in the CL cause, learn about opportunities available, and help to spread the message for peace and all life!"

Admittedly, I'd never heard of the Consistent Ethic of Life, or the Consistent Life Ethic, but after some googling I discovered that I do largely support it (despite being pro-euthanasia in extreme circumstances). I'm really excited that there will be other people there willing to defy the typical pro-life stereotype and stand up for what it TRULY means to be pro-life. I'd love to meet up with them, and I hope it works out.

Tonight, I have some online chemistry homework due at midnight, and I'm attending a packing party for Operation Christmas Child. Our Christian campus ministry, Elevation, is running it this year, and my best friend who's a part of it has been going crazy trying to organize it for months. The idea is that people make little shoe boxes for children in need. Mine are going to include a puzzle, a coloring book, crayons, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bar soap, a stuffed animal, and winter gloves. I got enough to do one for a little boy and one for a little girl. I even wrote little notes to the kids who receive them, to make it more personal.

I'll more than likely end up using this blog to document my experiences with SPCA and how it shapes my goals and ideas about my future. Because I overthink everything, and I assume that all of you care. :)

<3, Ali