Since I have arrived in California, my life has gotten quite filled with new friends and fun things to do! I had some time to just hang out and have fun before school started, so I took full advantage of being in the Southern California area. I have been to the beach several times already. I'm trying out many of the beaches out here. So far I have been to Huntington, Manhattan, Hermosa, Newport, and Seal Beach. Each beach has unique characteristics that make it fun, like being close to a huge pier with cute shops or being a great beach to watch surfers. I've even been to a coffee shop that had a view of the beach! I have also tried surfing. I wasn't able to stay on the board very well, much less get up to stand on the board. It's much harder than it looks! It was fun trying to surf though and I may give it another chance in the future.
The beach out here is also very different from the beaches I have experienced at the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The waves out here are much more powerful and the water is a lot colder! I have to let my body go numb in the water before it's actually comfortable. There's also a cool breeze by the ocean, so I don't start immediately sweating as I lay out on the beach, which would be the case on another coast. So, the beach is different than what I was expecting. I'm growing to love it though! It's great to be able to go to the beach and be a perfectly comfortable temperature. I am only 30 minutes away from several beaches as well, so I plan on going as much as possible. This week I have gone to the beach twice to study! I have to make studying enjoyable somehow! And of course, I will take any excuse to go to the beach!
Disneyland is a new favorite fun place too. I have an annual pass to Disneyland, so I plan on reliving my childhood quite a bit at Disneyland. I've been a couple of times now, once to eat dinner for a birthday celebration and then a full day to play with some friends of mine. While there aren't as many parks associated with Disneyland as there are with Disney World, there are tons of fun things to do at Disneyland and California Adventure. I love feeling like a little kid again riding the rides, seeing shows, and just forgetting all of life's troubles...or grad school studies. Apparently, one of the theology professors, J.P. Moreland, came to Disneyland to write several of his books. If Disneyland can inspire such a great thinker, then what better way to follow in his footsteps than go to Disneyland myself? That will be another place I might occasionally take a book to read for class. (Yes, the recurring theme in my life is now reading books).
Classes started for me last Thursday, August 28. I am taking Advanced Statistics, Introduction to Psychopathology, Biological Bases of Behavior, Theology I, and Measurement and Assessment I. So far, I'm really enjoying my classes. I have tons of reading to do for each class, along with an additional lab time for each class, whether it's time in the computer lab or discussing the subject matter for the class. My life now completely revolves around school and my classmates, but as a nerd, I like that anyway. Grad school will be a ton of work, but I'm up for the challenge! I have such a great cohort made up of all my classmates, which I know will make the experience so much more enjoyable. God is going to use grad school as a time of huge growth and change in my life, and as a source of fun too!
