Hi, I’m Valerie Gartland.
I was selected in 2004 to be a participant in the DMP summer
program. You can find out more about the
DMP on the main page. I was born on September 28th,
1984 in Raleigh, North Carolina. I’ve lived in Raleigh all my life (except when I’m at
school!) I’m
majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Art at
Western Carolina University, in the mountains of NC. In the fall of 2004 I will be a Junior at WCU.
– My Faith –
Even
more than my family, the most important thing to me is my faith. I am first and foremost a believer and
follower of Jesus Christ. Not too long
ago, that statement would not have been true.
My family has always been important to me, but for a long time in middle
school and high school, my faith had second place. It’s not like I was a bad kid, running around
and rebelling against my parents or doing drugs. I was just a mediocre, complacent, and bored
spiritually. I felt like I knew it all,
since I had been part of a church my whole life. Often I wondered why I didn’t feel anything
for God. Like on summer retreats, I
would try to make myself feel something and cry like everyone else was. But I am a basically calm, unemotional
person. I don’t cry during movies or
even wonderful books. And it was rare
that I could make myself cry at those retreats.
I
also had a hard time spending time daily with God. I felt bad if I didn’t
do it (which was most of the time), but I never got into the habit of it. Devotions always seemed like a chore, like
making my bed or cleaning my room. It
was something I had to do; I didn’t enjoy or
look forward to them.
Well,
all this changed when I went to college.
At Western, there is this wonderful campus ministry called Campus Rock. From the minute I met a couple of students at
freshman orientation, I noticed that these people were different. If you asked any one of them why they’re
different, they would give the credit to God.
See, that’s the thing: God is at the center of their lives! He gets the credit for anything good that happens
in their lives. I distinctly remember as
a freshman hearing one of the upper classmen in CR say, “Thank you Jesus for
this wonderful parking space!” They are
joyful and grateful in all things. But
if you are a Christian, should there be any other way than living
whole-heartedly for God?
This
enthusiasm made me admittedly suspicious at first. Was this a front they put up for
freshmen? They were also the most
friendly, easy to talk to, caring people I’ve ever met. I wondered if this was just
beginning-of-the-year excitement. But it
continued! They weren’t pretending to be
people they were not – they were just living out the life of Christ. I wanted to be like that. I mean, sure, I was a Christian and all, but
I was not close to God. I prayed many
times that God would do whatever it took to draw me closer to Him. And let me tell you, I am a different person
now, and the Lord is still changing me day by day.
– My Family –
I
come from a big family. I have five
sisters and one brother, making our entire family a total of 9. It’s so much fun living in a big family! There’s always something to do. Unlike my poor, deprived, single-child
friends, I can go jump on the trampoline with my brother, or read a book to my
sisters when I go home on break. I’m the oldest, so I did hear some of the annoying “You were
the oldest, so you should’ve known better” junk growing up. It’s alright being
the “pioneer” (as dad calls me), especially as I’ve learned to become more
adventurous and assertive. My life is
definitely more fun because of it.
I’ve never really thought of my family as big, because my
extended family is even bigger! My mom
has three sisters and one brother, and the least amount of kids any of them
have is 5! The most, in case you’re curious, is 11.
I kid you not. That’s
why I love Thanksgiving, though, because we all get together at my
grandparents’ farm and have a good, old-fashioned get-together. In the family with 11 kids, there are quads
my age, so I always played with them growing up. These days we sit around and laugh about how
old we’re getting and have fun observing the younger
cousins enjoying the same things we did at their age. Things like catching toads, swimming in the
pond, chasing chickens, making “forts” in the woods, and so on. I still do a lot of these things now! Sometimes I even get to ride the horses
there, which is a real treat (especially when they gallop!).
– My Schools –
Until
10th grade, I was home schooled. I think
that was a wonderful way for me to learn academic independence and personal
responsibility. It was up to me to get my
work done every day. If I got lazy, my
work would extend into the summer. If I
got it done early, I could play the rest of the day instead of waiting for
slower students. One day in fifth grade,
I decided to get up at 5:30 am to start my schoolwork. I was done and free for the day at 9:00 in
the morning! If I had trouble with
something, I could take my time and ask mom and dad for help. Home schooling was a great experience, and I
think I’m a better student for it.
For
10th grade, I embarked on an adventure.
I applied to go to a high school called Raleigh Charter. That year was 1999, the first year that RCHS
existed. There weren’t
very many students – only sophomores and freshmen. We bonded closely as a group. Everyone knew everyone at Raleigh
Charter. Even the principle, Dr. Humble,
made it a point to know each student.
The teachers were very knowledgeable and supportive. At the same time, they expected a lot from
their students, which stretched me even further academically to meet the challenge.
When
it came time to search for a college, I chose Western Carolina University
because it was a small environment.
Also, I’ve always loved the mountains. I loved the size of RCHS, so I thought I
would be at home at Western. Of course,
since I joined Campus Rock, I know that this school is where God wants me to
be. I’m so
happy there, it’s like another home. And
Campus Rock is like having 50 best friends.
All of them are my brothers and sisters :-D.
My
professors at Western have also been very encouraging. They are the reason I applied for this
program. Dr. Luginbuhl
was more excited than I was that I got accepted (remember, I’m a steady,
calm person). He practically bounced off
the walls! :-) Dr. Holliday was also
very encouraging through the whole thing.
Both of them wrote letters of recommendation for me. I know they are pulling for me to succeed!
– My Hobbies –
I
absolutely adore dogs. I love training
them. I love learning about different
breeds. My favorite breed is a German
Shepherd, because my favorite dog was a shepherd/lab mix. His name was Davy, and he was so smart and
eager to learn! Whenever I just said his
name he would look straight at me and cock his head with his ears pricked,
ready for the next command. I trained him
to heel without a leash, to stay for long amounts of time, to bark on command,
to jump small hurdles, to roll over, and to ignore food when I told him. I also
taught him to hold up his front paws in the air when I pointed at him and said
“stick ‘em up!” :-)
Art
is a big hobby of mine, too. Actually, I
have a minor in Art now. I love drawing
living things, like animals and people.
I also like drawing plants and landscapes. I don’t like drawing mechanical things as
much, like cars and motorcycles. I’m
trying to improve my skills in those areas, though. Some of the art I did during this program
will be available on the Photos page.
Along with drawing, I really like to do unusual art. For instance, I recently picked up the hobby
of sculpting small wax figurines. It all
started when my friend gave me one of those little wax bottles full of juice
that they sell in candy stores. After I
finished drinking the juice, I started squishing up the wax bottle. It wasn’t very pliable, so I tried running
hot water over it. That worked
wonderfully, and soon I’d formed a little wax duck. I also made a little lizard, which I gave to
another friend. She was so excited about
it that she supplied me with about 40 of those wax candies! Since then, I’ve made an eagle, dolphin,
rose, wolf, frog, lizard, dragon, beta fish, and a pig!
Another
kind of unusual art I’ve done is butter-sculpture. One of the campus ministries at WCU has a
pancake dinner during exam week. At
these dinners they have bowls full of butter.
I was messing around with the butter, then suddenly I was inspired to
sculpt a cat. I used the butter knife,
and by the time I left, the butter was in the form of a sleeping cat curled up
in the bowl. The next time we had one of
those suppers, I made an elephant.
I
love to read a good book. Good books are
always superior to movies because your experience is so much deeper. You have the chance to get inside characters’
heads so much more. Here are some books
that I’ve enjoyed:
To
Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The
Little Princess by Frances Hodgeson Burnett
Pride
and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Little
Women by Louisa May Alcott
The
Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The
Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity
by CS Lewis
Huckleberry
Finn by Mark Twain
Les
Miserables by Victor Hugo
Cyrano
de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
Anne
of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
I’ve enjoyed many more, but
I’d rather not list them all out. I noticed
that all of these books were set in some historical or imagined time. I don’t tend to like books written about
modern society, but I can’t always judge a book by it’s subject. A good amount of my favorite books are also
set in another country. Still, I can’t say I’m against books set in America, because I love Huck
Finn, and most recently To Kill a Mockingbird. I can say that I like books with good
characters (with distinct personalities) and clear morals. I love it when I feel like I personally know
a character in a book, and think, “Yes, that’s just like him. He would say that kind of thing.”