Category: My Life

On My High School Graduation…

~ Laura ~ 2 Comments

As I prepare to close this chapter of my life, I can only marvel at how awesome God is. I never, ever could have imagined being where I am today on my own. I would be nothing without God, and am beyond grateful for the blessings and challenges that have been sent my way.

From leading my Girls’ Group and camps in the summer, to volunteering, working, and all the late nights writing papers, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as a homeschooler (don’t worry, we threw out the deinim jumpers years ago ;-). I will always be proud to say that I was homeschooled through the entirety of my compulsory education. Within the richness of homeschooling, I’ve learned so much about my faith, and have been given opportunities I would not have had otherwise. This flexibility has allowed me to pursue more deeply my Catholic faith, and to discover my passion for the pro-life movement.

A couple years ago, I entertained many ideas of what I’d be “when I grew up”. It took longer than I wanted (or expected), but when the time was right, God opened my eyes to the pro-life movement. I found my passion for defending life around a year ago, and have been involved in the pro-life movement ever since.

I plan to dedicate my life to spreading God’s message of life and love which the world needs to hear so desperately. This fall, I’ll leave sunny California to study at Benedictine College in Kansas. My degree will involve business and psychology (with a minor in theology) as I prepare to work in pro-life non-profits after college. I will miss the California sunshine, but am beyond excited to see what new challenges and opportunities I will have while in college.

Thank you to each and every person who has been a part of my life. From people I’ve worked with, to friends, to strangers I’ve come in contact with over time; you have helped make me who I am today.

Thank you to my family, and especially to my parents, for all the sacrifices you’ve made and memories we’ve made together. We’re a crazy bunch of people who can laugh our heads off one moment and have serious deep conversations in the next. I predict that the years to come will be even more epic as we get older and mature our awesomeness 🙂

Most of all, thank you to God for all the blessings and challenges you’ve sent my way; without you, I would be nothing.

As I open this new chapter of my life, I wait with bated breath to see what God has in store for me. Life is an exciting adventure, and it has only just begun. Hold on tight, and stay tuned for the ride!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; In all your ways be mindful of Him and He will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6″

That Time I Almost Got Kicked Out of a Hotel

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

Sometimes I have to take a break from the heavy topics I’m used to covering on my blog. Life is so short that we have to take time to soak up the beautiful moments in our lives every so often!  The weather has been gorgeous around my home recently, and with summer drawing near I’m reminded of summers gone by, and memories my family has made together. I know I haven’t written much about my own family yet, so count this as your introduction 🙂

I am the third of seven kids. My family is pretty awesome, and so is our extended family (both sets of grandparents have been married for over 50 years!). We range in age from 3 – 22 years old, and have grow up much like other families: we play, we cook, we argue, we pray, we have random deep conversations, we make random Youtube videos, and last summer we went on an awesome road trip.

The trip took us to Ohio and back in a giant black van, and was rather momentous since we hadn’t been on a big road trip for years. We visited fourteen states (I think) and the other day we were laughing about one particular memory we have:

rapid-city-sd-lodging
Hotel Alex Johnson

We were staying in South Dakota in the Hotel Alex Johnson (where a couple presidents have stayed). Our family split up into a couple rooms because it gets a little squishy fitting more than five people on the ground (not to mention that there are usually limits on the number of people, but rules were made to break, right?)

Anyway, three of my sisters and I got ourselves situated in our hotel room, and settled down after dinner. We turned on the tv, and lo and behold, American Idol was on. Now, we don’t really watch things like that at home. At all. If the tv is on, it’s usually an Archbishop Fulton Sheen talk, or some man-show about cars.

We watched the last half of the episode, and all of us were *ahem* gushing over Scotty McCreery and his lovely voice (most of us like country music, and he wore a cross, how awesome was that?!). Then we got out a laptop, and started watching YouTube videos of his songs. And THEN we started singing along and screaming/cheering and telling each other how awesome his voice was, etc. etc. You get the picture 🙂

And then came the knock on our door…a hotel employee informed us that we needed to quiet down because a nearby patron had complained about our excessive level of jubilation (around 8 or 9pm). Alrightie then. We got quieter, and stifled our noise as we finished whatever videos we were watching. But whoever had complained must have been suffering from insomnia because they complained. Again. That time (around 11pm) we got a call from the front desk informing us that if we got one more complaint, we would be kicked out of the hotel. Yup.

We decided it would be a good idea to go to sleep after that phone call. We later realized that there had been some party down the hall, and the light sleepers might have misplaced the noise and complained about the wrong people. Anyhow, my sisters and I were pretty close to getting kicked out of a hotel that night. We felt rather rebellious 🙂 Next time I guess I’ll just have to turn the music louder to drown out our laughs, squeals, and screams!

Welcome!

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the new and improved “My Drop in the Ocean”!! Like the new look? I had lots of fun setting up this new site, and am still working out the kinks. If you notice any glitches, feel free to drop me a quick message in the “Contact” tab so I can take care of it. As always, thanks for following my work. Let me know what you think of the new theme, and I’ll get back to blogging for you all.

Enjoy the beautiful spring weather in the meantime 🙂

 

For the Dignity of All Human Life,

 

Squashing Manliness in America

~ Laura ~ 8 Comments

Okay, ladies: Imagine you’re walking through Manhattan. [Guys, hear me out. Your part is coming up.] Cars are whizzing by, people rush in every direction, and you’re in your own little world as you walk down the street. You’re now standing on a corner, and turn to look down the road to see if a car is coming before you finish crossing the street. You suddenly hear the sound of a car coming closer and closer behind you. A guy (who happens to be an attractive movie star) appears out of nowhere, and pushes you to the side as a taxi screams past you, just narrowly being saved from a nasty accident. You’re a bit bruised, but alive. Whew!

Now answer this: How would you react?

A) Shrug it off and walk away with a quick “thanks”

B) Get mad at the guy for making you look like a damsel in distress

C) Profusely thank the guy for saving you from a messy accident

Easy, right? A guy saves you from being hit by a car. The least you could do is thank him! But that’s not the case for a woman named Laurie Penny who was recently saved from a car hit by actor Ryan Gosling in Manhattan. She says:

“I really do object to being framed as the ditzy damsel in distress in this story,” she wrote. “I do not mean any disrespect to Ryan Gosling, who is an excellent actor and, by all accounts, a personable and decent chap. . . . But as a feminist, a writer, and a gentlewoman of fortune, I refuse to be cast in any sort of boring supporting female role.”

A guy saves you from a potentially life-threatening situation, and you get mad at him for making you look like a “ditzy damsel in distress” and giving you a “boring supporting female role”? Wow. I wonder what she’d say if he just walked on by as watched her get hit…..
Sadly, though, this is not a new concept. In the last 100 years or so, women have gone from stay-at-home moms vacuuming in pantyhose to belly-button-bearing women on contraception who can’t bear the thought of a males taking away their right to do what she wants when she wants.
Many women find it insulting when a man takes it upon himself to actually do something manly [ie. slay the dragon, save from car accident, open door, carry heavy box]. Why? Because women think it means men are better than women. They’d rather men impress them by walking around shirtless showing off their six-packs than actually rolling up their sleeves and performing some manly act of valor.
Now, what does this do to you guys? It makes you step back. You don’t take opportunities to do manly things because women aren’t thankful. Lift a heavy box? “I CAN DO THAT MYSELF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!” Open a door for a girl? She just walks right through and ignores you.
But let me tell you this: some people do still care. Women with at least an ounce of class would thank you for opening a door or lifting a box, not to mention if you save us from being hit by a car.
Do not stop being a gentleman just because society tells you it’s not cool. The right girls will appreciate it when you open the door for them! Men were made to fight for and protect ladies and children. Never give up because some wacko thinks you’re degrading her by helping her. You were made for more than watching football and letting women take over the world. Stand up for your dignity as a man, and don’t let women take that away from you.
Ladies: Let guys be guys. Seriously. If a guy opens a door for you, say “Thank You”. If he offers to lift a box or do something else nice, let him do it. Stop trying to squash his manliness. Letting guys do these things does NOT mean you are a damsel in distress, or that you are not equal to men. It means you care enough to let guys be themselves. They were made to love and protect you, and YOU need to respect that. Stop trying to take over the world, and let guys take the lead….sometimes 🙂
Never, ever, stop standing up for your dignity as a man or as a woman. We’re equal, but have different roles in society. Accept it, and own it. Men, be gentlemen, and ladies: performing various acts of chivalry is WAY more impressive than any six-pack. Keep that in mind next time some movie star saves you from a speeding taxi in NYC.
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Share your story!

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

As pro-lifers, we have many stories to tell about our experiences: that day at the abortion clinic, the day you became pro-life,  the baby you lost, a touching moment you had with an abortion-bound mother, that baby God helped you save, the prayer that changed everything….

Our stories are as diverse as our movement for life, and I want to tap into that wealth of knowledge and stories!

Do you have a neat pro-life story you’d like to share? A tip, or piece of advice you’ve been given? A sentence of encouragement? A story from your community? I would LOVE to hear them, and share them here on my blog. You never know who will read your story, or how many lives it will touch….

If you are interested in sharing your story, please end me an email at laurasdropinthe-ocean@yahoo.com. Let me know in the email if you’d like your name posted with the story or not. Hope to hear from you soon, and check back soon for some new stories!