Pros and Cons

Here are some pros and cons that I have found out since I have moved to Statesboro:

Pro: Walmart is 5 minutes away.
This is a good pro to start off with, but only someone who has been at Freed will understand. Now, I can just run to Walmart without having to plan out the rest of my day and invite people to go with me. The 15-minute trek to south Jackson will not be missed, though the good times with friends there will.

Con: Finding a job.
This was the first con that I have found, even before I moved down here. I really think that if I can find a full time job here, then I can find a job pretty much anywhere. I thought having a college degree would help separate me from the college kids, but it really doesn’t do that much (at least I haven’t seen it do anything for me yet). There are just not that many jobs here in Statesboro.

Pro: There is a football team.
I am excited about being able to go to football games on Saturdays! I found out as well that students get into the game free, so hopefully I will be able to catch a few GSU games this semester. Another bonus is that three guys that I went to high school will play for Georgia Southern, with two of them starting (Josh Barker – OG, and Lee Chapple – QB).

Con: The weather is SO hot.
South Georgia is so stinkin’ hot. It is like an average of 7-8 degrees hotter than in Winder/Atlanta. I walk out of my apartment and I start sweating. It may be a positive though in the winter, if it isn’t as cold.

Pro: I get to cook/live on my own.
Even though my kitchen is pretty small, it still is my own kitchen. I have already cooked salsa chicken in my crock-pot (excellent, ask me the recipe if you are interested, it is REALLY easy) as well as Tilapia. The oven is really small, but that sucker gets really hot and cooks your food in like ½ the time it normally would take. Living on my own is cool. I get to do whatever I want, whenever I want, which is nice.

Con: I am lonely.
I moved down here to Statesboro knowing only one other person. I know a few more now, but most are just associated with work. I hang out with two people, both girls, and though they are nice and fun, they aren’t the close friends that I had while at Freed. If you asked me the thing that I miss most about being at Freed, it would definitely be the people. I call some of them up on the phone, but it isn’t the same. My prayer to God is that I can find some good, Christian friends down here (especially some males) that I can hang out with.

Pro: I am/will do a lot of reading.
The past couple of years, I haven’t been able to read because I have just been busy with school, hanging out with people, and having an Xbox in my apartment or down the hall. With my ancient N64 and no cable/internet (see the next con), I have been able and will have a lot of time to just read. So far, I have read 1 ½ books, with another book that will be started as soon as I finish the one that I am working on now. Last night I just sat down and read a 230 page book because there was nothing else to do. I love reading, so I am glad that I will be able to read a lot of books that I have been wanting to read for a long time; and with the GSU library very big and very nice as well as the Statesboro city library, I will have plenty of books to read.

Con: I have to be grown up/pay bills/decide where to spend my money.
I have learned fast that money doesn’t grow on trees, but if it does and I do not know about it, please let me know where asap so I can pay my bills. Being grown up means that you have many bills that you are now responsible, rather than mommy or daddy. I have to pay for rent, water, power, and hopefully soon internet. I have debated whether or not to get cable with my internet, and though I would love to just chill at home on a Saturday afternoon this fall and watch college football, it may just not be worth spending that money. After all, I do have to eat, lol.

Pro: I can walk around my apartment naked if I want to.
If any of the guys that I live with ever read this, they would say it doesn’t matter if I am living by myself or not, that I am going to walk around naked anyways. Ok, maybe they are right, but I still consider it a pro that I can walk around naked if I want and nobody will see/say anything/care. (note: for the record, I do not walk around naked very much, but I don’t have all my clothes on most of the time, lol)

Con: On-campus parking absolutely stinks.
Yes, it stinks because I am a cheap-o that doesn’t want to pay money for a parking permit, but still. There are like two free parking lots that are like 2 miles away from the building to park at, not cool. The upside I guess is that I will be doing a good bit of walking and if anybody has a bike that they are not using and wants to donate it to the Michael Young Foundation, I will be more than happy to take it off your hands.

Pro (though could be seen as Con): The church in Statesboro, GA.
I don’t know all there is to know about the church here in Statesboro, I think I will learn a lot more on Sunday, but from talking to a couple of people, this is my take on it. The church is small, I would say around 60 on a Sunday morning, though I will find out for sure on Sunday. The preacher is a friend of Tommy Tidwell, so I know he shoots straight and from being in class with him on Wednesday night, he knows his Bible very well. I asked him after church how many college kids there are. He said last semester wasn’t a very good semester for college kids. He said that if 10 college kids on a Sunday, it was a really good Sunday. He said there had been more a couple of years ago, but a lot of that had to do with leadership and how those people had graduated. I see this situation as a positive for a few reasons: 1. I have an opportunity to serve, whether it is by song leading, preaching, praying, or just encouraging those there. 2. I know I have the ability to lead and that it seems there is a opportunity to lead, especially with the college kids. Going to a Christian university has given me ideas and resources to use to help lead in that aspect. 3. God’s plan for me has led me here to Statesboro. There is a purpose that I haven’t figured out yet for why I am down here, but no matter the situation, if I am positive and try to make the most of it, then the Lord will bless me and the people that I try to touch.

[if you are interested, you can check out pictures of my apartment on facebook]