Who Is Erika Anyway?

Good Morning! It's Snowing On The Way To The Bistro  Upon request here is my day in the life post. This week is the week of winter finals here at CWU, so without further ado here is a day in my life finals style. Today is the first day of exams and my roommates birthday. We both had eight am finals and no one deserves to have an eight am final on their twentieth birthday, so a trip to the Bistro was a must. I woke up slightly before she did and left on a quest for coffee and donuts. The 1891 Bistro is CWU's coffee shop and the hangout spot on campus. Students come here to get their caffeine fix, catch up homework, meet with friends or occasionally sleep. The Bistro also hosts really cool events for students like Friendsgiving, Open Mic night and VR Thursdays.  This year they made the Bistro open 24/7 with a laptop kiosk and printing which is amazing. My dorm is right next to the Bistro and it is perfect to grab a late night snack or like this morning a deliciou...

Kamola looks great in the snow Guys! I haven't done a blog post in so long. Partly due to the craziness of college life, as fall quarter was insanely busy and partly due to my laptop acting out last quarter. Anyway, now I am back and on a working computer. Happy New Year everyone! Hope the holidays were spent with loved ones and were a restful time for all. I really enjoyed being home for a few weeks. My family and I had a lovely Christmas spending time together and focusing on what really matters. For me it was a time to reflect on how blessed I am and what God is doing in my life. Fall quarter was extremely busy. I took sixteen credits and was apart of a production of The Nutcracker.   Through that experience I learned not only technical dance skills, but also that bullies can still exist, even in adults. Working with difficult people is sometimes just apart of life. Overall the good that accompanied that show out weighed the bad and I am thankful for the experience. ...

Let me start by saying this blog post was not in anyway shape or form inspired by current events or the news. However, it can be applied to the way society often acts. This blog post was inspired by a personal experience that lead to some self-reflection and opened up some wonderful conversations with friends.  Proverbs 15:4   “Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”  Words can be so destructive. One side comment, one gossip conversation, one social media post, even one look can hurt someone. The action may take a few seconds or it could be longer, either way, the pain is still there.   So why do we find a need to bring other people down? Why as a sibling did we intentionally say something to hurt our brother or sister? Why do we find ourselves talking negatively about someone? What does any of that accomplish? Does it make us feel better about ourselves? Maybe in the moment, we stop thinking about our own insecurities a...

Erika and Madame Blueberry   The last few months have been crazy busy, full of adventures and the like. It would take forever to tell you everything that has happened, but I will attempt an overview. Since April I was a stage manager to an amazing show called The Lonesome West . I learned so much from the actors I worked with and the experience to produce theatre in the back of a records shop.  Soon after the show closed I took my finals, loaded up my Cadillac (named Madame Blueberry) and left Ellensburg for the summer. I only had a few days to unload my college boxes and reload Madame Blueberry for my summer job. Camp Lutherhaven  Camp Lutherhaven! What an incredible, God arranged summer. There were days I wondered if I was up for the job, but the people I met and the experiences we shared were irreplaceable. When I was at college I made a comment to my mom that all I had to focus and worry about was me and how easy it was to only be concerned about myself...

Hello, I hope everyone has been able to enjoy the beautiful weather we have been having lately. The campus is in bloom, the sun has been shining and it has just been stunning. I have decided it is God's personal gift to me. Every day, as I am walking to class its like all the trees and flowers in bloom, are His bouquet to me. I love it I am positive they are getting more astounding with each day!  As far as school is going we are officially over the half-way mark! Mid-terms ended on Friday for me and all I can say is sometimes your thankful you Professor drops the lowest grade.Overall spring quarter has been going pretty well. I am taking Nutrition 101 and made it my personal challenge to eat better and work out more. I did really well for about three weeks, but I am not giving up! Then I am in Math 100B which is a course I have to take before I can take the math required for my major. It's nice to know math and I still like yelling at each other, hopefully, this time I w...

After the first night of shows I was so close to getting February's post in February. I sat down to write this so many times, but with a million papers to write for school the idea of writing more at the end of the day seems absolutely impossible. Which is depressing because I love writing. However, the homework has slowed down, relatively, I mean finals are around the corner. Anyway, I did want to update you on a few awesome things that have been happening in my life. Artsy photo that I took in the dressing room before the show.  First Distracted, the first CWU show I was apart of, went up in January. It went really well I had such an amazing, supportive cast, director, and crew. My amazing, wonderful, family and some family friends came to see me. It was an incredible experience and the topic of the show was one that reached a ton of people. I learned to play a character that was completely opposite of who I am and different from anyone I know which was learning exp...

     It's a new year and I am stoked for the adventures that lie ahead. This past year was full of experiences that made me grow and push myself. But I gotta say I am really happy with the outcome. Now I am starting my second quarter at Central and looking forward to a whole new set of experiences. I have met some incredible people and continue to be blown away by the constant support and love of my friends and family.    2017 taught me to trust in myself and showed me that I can handle living on my own (as long as I call home like every hour). It made me remember how many people have been apart of my life and who truly care about me. I have been blessed. It taught me that not every day is a good day and that's okay, you can move on from that. It reminded me that change is apart of life and that's exciting, not scary. It brought me to places I have never been before and I learned that I love to travel, but my heart belongs to the small town life. Most important...

In an attempt to be more focused on the positive and not dragged down by petty annoyances of life.  I give you this picture. A cluttered desk full of assignments, to-do lists, deadlines, and requirements. At first glance, it would be easy to say, "Man, what a busy, chaotic life." Honestly, when I looked at it I felt overwhelmed. I knew what I needed to accomplish a synthesis paper, a grammar quiz, a theatre quiz, textbook notes, class scheduling, job searching, and a stack of reading material. I felt overwhelmed. The homework doesn't bother me so much, for the most part, I enjoy studying, taking notes and learning. It was the "what if's" that were messing with my head. What if   I can't get a job for next quarter, What if I can't get into the classes I need, What if that requirement falls through, What if I waste my life. Now that last one was a bit dramatic, but you get the idea. Then I go from the What if's floating in my head to the minor ...

Barge Hall the oldest building on Campus Happy Fall Y'all! I am missing my beautiful little town in Latah this season, but I gotta say my first fall on campus has been stunning. I will never get over how amazing fall colors look against the brick. We have been blessed with amazing, crisp, clear days. It makes walking to classes an absolute joy. It's hard to believe where the time has gone. I have been here over a month, mid-terms have come and gone, and Thanksgiving break is only a few short weeks away. In all of this hustle and bustle, it is easy to get caught up in the next to-do list. What homework needs to be done or what chores need to be finished. Did I talk with that advisor? When is that meeting again? It's life we all have our schedules. I am trying hard to make it a point to stop and thank God for what He is doing in my life...right now. Because He is and has done a LOT. I have a tendency to go to Him when I need or want something, not always in the little t...

Hey Everyone! This girl has successfully survived her first week of college. It was not without gallons of coffee, a million phone calls home, a multitude of prayers and amazing support from a few new friends. So far I have enjoyed college life so far, there is a sense of "Oh my goodness I am grown up independent person!" Followed by "What do you mean I have to do all this myself?" The first day moved into college  However, I must say I like doing my little rituals like getting the coffee ready before I go to bed and making everything organized for the next day. I enjoy tidying my little corner of the world and making food for myself. Drinking tea and having a bit of chocolate in the afternoons when I get done with class. Habits I have picked up from my parents and I love to think that I am a miniature version of the wonderful people they are.  I moved to Central Washington University on Friday. Then the weekend was spent with a variety of welcome events to ge...

A Family photo on our  Marble Creek trip This summer has been amazing. Full of new adventures such as my first solo road trip to Ellensburg. Time with friends before we take off on to new adventures. Camping trips with the family, Skyfest at Fairchild Air force Base. Tons of reading and just enjoying summer.  The pictures got out of order and I am not sure how to fix it so here we go. Our family has enjoyed a couple chances to get out and go camping this summer. We did one back in June to Marble Creek. It was after a week of VBA (Vacation Bible Adventures) a few of us were pretty tired, but I don't think we are ever too tired to go camping. We went exploring up a short trail that went to, played in the river and went for a drive on some of the back roads. It was really nice to spend some time altogether. Mom and James even worked in some hiking into the end of the trip. Family gathered around reading Patrick McManus Stories  Tired after a week of VBA ...