CMI Conference 2015

For those of you who don't know, the 17th through the 20th, Mom, Fox, and I went down to Wilmore, Kentucky, for the Charlotte Mason Institute's 2015 Conference. This was our second CMI, and like last year's, it was a great conference!

I must say the highlight for me was getting to meet two of my online friends, Willow and Nettle (names changed). We 'met' through AmblesideOnline's teen forum, but since they live all the way down in Florida, we'd never met in person. I was SUPER excited to meet two people who have gone through the same curriculum as I have, and get a chance to become friends with them.

From left to right: Willow, Nettle, Fox, and me!
(Photo courtesy Willow)

I'll tell you a little bit about them: Willow and Nettle are brothers, Willow the second youngest, Nettle the youngest, of six kids, all homeschooled up to college. Both are now graduated, and are starting college. Willow likes to write, do photography, and wear cool hats. Nettle enjoys Smash Up, Myers-Briggs personalities, and acting.
Both are very experienced CMI-goers (I believe this was their sixth conference). Nettle found us and greeted us right away, and from then on, the four of us couldn't be separated!

The first plenary of the conference was by Dr. James C. Peterson, about genetics and morality. He presented an argument against the notion, "It's in my genes, I can't help it." We are predisposed to be or act certain ways by our genetic coding, but as humans, we are able to act beyond the coding. "We are responsible for what we do with what we have."

'Directions in Courtship and Marriage' was one of the chats I went to. We learned some key lessons from Jane Austen's novels, Anna Karenina, and Far From the Madding Crowd. Some of the key points I especially took notice of:
-The right kind of love makes you a better person
-Keep a good head on your shoulders
-Keep an open mind
-Don't trust words over actions
-A person is a person, therefore, not a status symbol, tool, or ideal
Perhaps there wasn't any, what I thought, practical information, such as, "Do such and such", but why would there be? Each relationship is as unique as the people in it. I took away many good principles to ponder over, and to keep in mind for when I do meet that special someone.

Mom, Nettle, and I went to a workshop on Dry Brush for nature journaling. The key is not 'pretty pictures', but an accurate representation of what you are painting, whether you capture the shape, the color, or some little detail. I struggle with this, being rather a perfectionist. I also struggle with painting in general, and so I ended the class rather dissatisfied with my work. Not dissatisfied with the topic itself, however. I just now know that I need to work on my dry brush and nature journaling skills. Did you know the primary colors in painting are not red, blue, and yellow, but rather magenta, cyan, and bright yellow?

A goal I got to check off was 'learn a ballroom dance'. Imagine my excitement when I read on the schedule, 'Friday Night at the Park: Ballroom dance demos & lessons'!

And twirl!
(Photo courtesy North Laurel)

We learned the basic box-step of the rumba, and another routine of the rumba where I got to twirl around. This was, of course, a much more toned-down version of the rumba (I was shocked to later learn what the rumba is usually like). Willow and Fox decided against dancing, but Nettle was happy to be my dance partner. I can't say I was very graceful at all, but we both enjoyed ourselves a lot, and I didn't step on his toes!

The four of us spent Friday night after the dancing doing short scenes from Shakespeare. We chose scenes from 'Much Ado About Nothing', 'Love's Labour's Lost', and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. The last one was especially fun. Nettle had the idea to switch the genders of the actors, so that the part where Demetrius and Helena enter the forest, I was Demetrius, and Nettle was Helena. Fox and I acted out the Pyramus and Thisbe story in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', also gender-switched. It made for some laughs!

What did I take home from the conference? Materially, a bag and a mug; it's hard to pin down the rest in items. Each talk left lasting impressions, that I'm still pondering. I got some motivation to continue reading and learning. I decided to read more of Jane Austen's novels; I recently finished Mansfield Park. I've picked up my nature journaling again. I made two friends. I found out that Kentucky is a really nice state. Beyond these, I know that there are many concepts working in my mind, and that there will be a gradual change of mind and character from this.

It was a wonderful three days, spent learning new things and forming new friendships. Those three days will, I'm sure, have a lasting effect for a long time to come.

Thanks for a great time! Thank you for paying for and taking us, Mom; thank you to everyone who worked to make the conference possible; thank you for the fun times, Willow and Nettle. I hope we can do it again next year!

Looking Across the Hall (A Graduation Speech of Sorts)

In third grade, my classroom was one of two at the end of a short hallway. Right across from it was the fourth grade classroom. When it came time for lunch or recess, my class would line up at the door. The fourth graders lined up at their door, too, and while we waited to go, we'd look across the hall at the 'big' fourth grade kids, look at them with a mixture of fascination and intimidation. We always wondered what it was like over there, being a big kid, across the hall.

Next thing we knew, we were the fourth graders. Instead of going to the left door, we went right, and there we were. When we lined up, the third graders were across the hall, lining up, too. And it was weird. Suddenly, I was the 'big kid', and the third graders were looking at us, just like we had done, in fascination and intimidation.
I'm not really quite sure what it was that third-grade me expected being a fourth grader would be like, but whatever it was, the reality of being the 'big kid' was not what I expected. In some ways it was better, in some ways it was harder.

From this, I learned something: the future -- looking across the hall -- is fascinating, intimidating, and not what I expect.

I've done this a lot -- looked across the hall, at moving - multiple times; looked at new schools; looked at homeschool -- always fascinated, always intimidated. Now, at graduation from homeschool high school, I'm looking again, looking across the hall at college, living on my own, pursuing a career, and, Lord willing, someday getting married and starting my own family. It's extremely fascinating. It's extremely intimidating.

But I don't have to be worried about it. I know this because I can also look back across the hall, at the past, and see how God worked in my life in ways I never expected. I never expected to live in Nebraska, Wyoming, or Ohio. I never expected to be homeschooled. I never expected being saved by Jesus Christ, and being given a new life. All of these changes, God gave me the strength and ability to walk across the hall, and enter those new classrooms. I never expected them, and had I had an idea, I may not even have wanted them, but I am extremely grateful to God, because they all changed my life and made me who I am today.

Knowing this, that however fascinating and intimidating the future may look, that God will work things out in unexpected ways, I have courage to make plans for my future. I know that, however big my plan may seem, God will work out something bigger. I know that my plan right now may not be what He has planned -- and I'm excited about that. I'm excited, for both the future I can see, and the one I can't see.

The future I see right now starts with enrolling in Massillon Baptist College's One-Year Bible Certificate Program. Before I set out on the rest of my college journey, I want a firm foundation to stand on. From there, I plan to go to Cedarville University and earn a Bachelor's in English. What I will do with my degree is still a little far in the distance. I know there are so many more paths than I can imagine that I can take with an English degree. God has given me a passion for reading and writing -- I will leave my future with my degree open for Him to use, according to His plan.

As fascinating, intimidating, and unexpected as the future across the hall is, I have to remember something else. It was only at recess and lunch that we lined up and looked across the hall. The rest of the day was spent in the classroom, reading, working, learning, and not giving the classroom across the hall a moment's thought. Life can't be spent staring across the hall -- it's meant to be lived in the classroom, in the present life that God has given. I look forward to someday having a job as an editor, or a teacher, but right now, I enjoy my job at the garden center. I look forward to going away to college and meeting new people, but right now, I enjoy my time with my family.

Please pray for me as I start this new part of my life. Pray that I will stay content with what God has given me now. Please pray that He will provide the funds for my college education, through scholarships, work, and family, so that I can avoid taking out any loans. Pray that I will gain a firm foundation from Massillon's program, and pray for guidance about choosing whether or not to go to Cedarville University, which is a Christian college, but not fundamental Baptist.

I'm looking forward to what fascinating, intimidating, unexpected things God has for me across the hall.

Thank you!