This is Who I am; and Baby, I'm Luckier than the Lottery

Hi, I'm Katie Ferrell. I'm 19 and a sophomore at Marshall University where I'm majoring in online journalism. I love Jesus, and the next boy in my life has to love Him more than he will ever love me. Stubborn could be my middle name and sometimes my mood swings are worse than a menopausal woman's. I probably paint my fingernails too much and to me, there is no other sporting goods brand than Nike. When texting, I never capitalize anything, just because I think it looks prettier and neater...that's probably caused by my OCD. Clothes are my obsession and putting together outfits is something I like to do for fun. My friends are the best around, there's no doubt about it. If I had to describe myself in one word "classy" would be in the top 3 choices. The morals I have were decided when I was 11, and were not prompted by my parents at all. Writing is what I use to release all the the thoughts in my head; that or praying. God always listens, even when no one else will. When the season changes, so does my Bath&Body scent, and my candles. Makeup and I have a love/hate relationship, but you'll hardly ever catch me wearing much. I struggle with my love of food, but controlling it is becoming easier every day. You can catch me at the gym 5 days a week. I'm either completely dressed down or completely dressed up; there's not much of a happy medium for me. Somedays, I'm just plain lazy. It's nice. My room is usually a mess, but everything else of mine has to be nice and organized. Speaking of being lazy and a mess, I haven't washed my car in 3 months. My silver bug is a dull grey. The bug reminds me, gas costs too much; especially when my baby takes premium. And I'm a penny pincher..but I'd rather spend my money on a gift for someone else rather than something careless for myself. And one of the most important things about me is, as much as I screw up, or as wretched of a person I can be, my God and my family always love me. They're all I need in this world; the rest of my blessings are simply bonuses...and I've hit the jackpot.

God Isn't Going to Write that Term Paper for You

Man it's funny how that God of ours works sometimes, isn't it? This summer I have become such a morning person. I used to go to bed SO early back in the first semester of school last year. I then got out of the habit and 3am became my new bedtime. My body totally rejected this new routine and wasn't very nice to me, so throughout the summer I've started getting up earlier and 3am turned into midnight or eleven. Slowly but surely, I've gotten back to my normal sleeping hours of passing out around 10pm; thank goodness. What does my bedtime and sleeping schedule have to do with anything? Well I shall tell you why I think it's relevant.

Being the Follower of Christ that I am, I have a devotional book and try my best to stick to it routinely. I was doing so well until I started working practically full time at the Hut and all of a sudden my "I just haven't had time" excuse surfaced. Seriously, Katie...no time for God? Strike one. Axing out your devotionals but still having time to watch lame videos on YouTube? Strike Two. Changing the color of your fingernails every three evenings but not reading your Bible? Strike three. "You're outta there!" No, no...God didn't erase my name out of the Lamb's Book of LIfe or anything, but He did send me a subliminal message...He's so dang good at those..

In comes my sleeping patterns! The more I changed back to my old sleeping habits the more time I found myself with in the mornings. And then it dawned on me! Something I'd heard a while back but had let settle in the depths of my mind. Say I take an hour out of my day to spend with God; reading, studying, praying...imagine the uplifting mood and the amount of blessings He could bestow on my other 23 hours. Now, I'm not saying I bargained with God. I can just imagine: "So, uh, God..let's make a deal. If I spend some time with You every morning, thennnn will You bring everyone in the Charleston area to the Sunglass Hut and buy a pair of Oakleys from me?" Doesn't work that way. It's a matter of trust. You have to trust that He will see the obedience you're showing Him, and the faith you have in Him; therefore, He will take care of you (as always) and see to it you get everything you need to finish in that day completed. This leads to a snowball affect.

If your day immediately begins on the right foot (spending time with Him), you're going to be in a much happier mood, you will become more productive, less stressed, and in the end become a better you. Ding, Ding! We have a winner! Of course, if you're going to sit down and study your Bible for 3 hours thinking God's going to magically write the term paper you've been procrastinating on, it's not going to work like that. God knows the desires of your heart, the reasons behind your doings. You need to want to be with Him, want to read His word, and want to be the obedient Follower of Christ He expects you to be.

So see, my sleeping patterns do matter. And if you think they still don't, just let me think they do. Thanks, I appreciate it. But anywho, simply remember to never make the terrible excuse I did, that "you just don't have time", because you do. Maybe start with a small prayer every morning, and build your time up. He'll understand every step of your way with Him, and help you to become the best Child of God you can be. And remember, it's never too late to start something new; so go for it. Start spending your mornings/afternoons/evenings/nights with Him, see how your days go and how your time pans out. I bet you'll start sleeping a little easier.

MTV Answers Prayers?

365 days ago, I was a nervous wreck. At 11 '0 clock p.m., August 3rd, 2010 my life was going to be aired on national television. I sat in my living room with ten close friends and my mom, scared to death at how I was going to be portrayed and what the results of filming from a few months earlier were going to be. A year later, I'm smiling at what an impact that hour showcasing tears, laughs, and camouflage brought to my life.

Some of you may still be lost, because if you didn't go to high school with me, you may not know; considering I hardly ever talk about it, but I was featured on a reality documentary series for MTV's "If You Really Knew Me". The response to the show was phenomenal. I received over 600 friend requests on FaceBook and numerous private messages explaining to me how my story helped and inspired them. The entire reason I agreed to be filmed was to make an impact on someones life; never did I think it would have such a positive impact on so many, including myself.

A short time after the show aired, I hit the campus of Marshall and heard many "She looks so familiar" or "I know her from somewhere" as I walked by. Even had some brave people come up and ask me if I was that girl, or ask me about my experience. I even had a person throw up the "I love you" sign to me as I walked through my local mall one day; and though it doesn't happen near as often, I still get recognized and questioned. I'd be lying if I said it didn't make you feel dang cool.

But enough about that; it's been a year and if you're actually interested in the entire story I can explain on a personal basis; but I just wanted to focus on the fact that my life has changed in more ways than one since the show aired. The most important being a response to something I'd said on the show: that all I wanted was a relationship with my dad. And I can gladly say, that's exactly what I have now.

My dad is a hardworking, West Virginia coal miner so his work schedule makes it hard to really spend time one-on-one, but we do the very best we can. It all began when Dad started taking me back to school on the weekends. In that hour drive to Huntington, we'd catch up on life, and slowly start to bond. He'd carry my things into my room, and after he'd leave I'd have a smile on my face knowing my prayers were being answered. We now talk just about everyday (sometimes I miss his call and he'll be out of service by the time I can call back) and I spend every Sunday night with him; the one day he has off a week. We'll go grocery shopping together, talk about life, boys, and my future. Everything I'd dreamt of having in a relationship with him, I have. It may have taken 19 years, but by golly; it's always better late than never.

The show wasn't scripted, just as life isn't. And never did I realize how being on MTV was going to provide me with the relationship I'd always wanted. If I were back in that Riverside classroom again, when we were told the show was coming, I'd never doubt for a second about going for it. There were times when I was crying with a camera glued to my face that I questioned myself about what I was doing. But looking back now, it was all worth it, and I hope the others that were on the show with me have had the same positive results as me. So, to be cliche; if you really knew me, you'd know my life has been a roller coaster in the past year, but I wouldn't change one single thing. Cut; press play; continue.