Random Facts About Danika

Well today is my blog day and I had been struggling these past few weeks coming up with something to write about. So, I guess I'll just share some things about me that not many people know because they aren’t around me all the time, if very much at all.

I seem very chill and relaxed all the time because, well, haha, I am very chill all the time. I can also be very spontaneous. I like to go on trips without any planning - to an amusement park or just to visit someone.

A little story... I was extremely bored one day and was driving around all day trying to find something to preoccupy myself with. Eventually 5pm came around and I decided that I was going to go to King's Dominion. I called one of my friends told him to get ready - that I was picking him up in 15 min. We went and had a blast!

I’m a big animal lover as well and I have two dogs at home (Jack Russells) named Buddy and Casper. I also have an amazing cat here in town named Felix. Felix fetches, plays hide-n-seek, and acts like a dog for the most part, so he is quite an entertaining cat.

I am a huge food person; I really enjoy trying new things as long as they look good and don’t smell terrible like chitterlings (pig intestines), which smell so very super awful and look extremely terrible as well. I like to cook almost as much as I like to eat and coming from a home that at one time had two amazing cooks (Mom & Grandma) in it, I have eaten many dishes from different cultures that were fantastic. I also absolutely love sweet potatoes in any way cooked; I could eat them with any meal.

I really enjoy traveling, too. My family has lived in Germany twice, California, Louisiana, and Texas four times, and been to Spain, France, and Jamaica. My father and I have done two coast-to-coast drives when I was younger from California to Florida and back, which was tiring but a great experience.

Well that’s the most I can think of right now :) but I hoped you enjoyed this blog about me.

Go Flames!

-Danika, #12

The Beach!!

I’m going to tell you about our road trip to Myrtle Beach and Charleston! Myrtle Beach is about six hours away and I know this might sound odd, but I really like the long road trips! It’s fun to be on the bus, because Katelyn and I watch movies the whole time. This particular trip, our manager Steve really wanted to watch movies with us and so we made him watch chick flicks. He was super excited (no, seriously, he was thrilled!) to watch 27 Dresses, because he likes Katherine Heigl.

Anyway, on to the AWESOME resort we stayed in at Myrtle Beach. It was located right on the beach! We were in rooms that were like condos; they had a living space and a dishwasher and everything. I got to room with Tolu, which was really fun. One night we stayed up watching the Kardashians for a really long time! The second night, Tolu, Jasmine, Katelyn, Laura and I all walked along the beach, went hot tubbing in the hot tub by the beach, and followed that up with a trip to the steam room, sauna, and indoor pool. At that point, we still hadn’t had enough water, so we went to the outdoor pool where we found Ashley and Ellee. Laura tried to do some handstands in the pool and we made fun of her, because she’s super short (she’s our manager) and so her legs didn’t stick very far out of the water! We ended up finishing our night off with a jaunt to the hot tub by our actual building and found Coach Bloodworth, Sarah, Avery, Devon, and Amber. At least I think that is who was there - my glasses were so steamed up I could barely see! It was a giant Liberty party in the hot tub, though, and the best part was that the hot tub was so huge that we weren’t crowded at all!

I feel like I need to use this last paragraph as a shout out to someone that Katelyn and I (jokingly) torment on our road trips. Matt, our manager, is super nice and always brings us waters from the cooler in the back of the bus whenever we want them. We are sometimes are kind of demanding and the joke is that someday we are going to go up to him on campus when he’s hanging out with his friends and tell him, “Matt, I’d like a water in my locker before practice today; it needs to be toweled off (the sit in ice in the cooler and are all wet on the outside!) and ready to drink.” …Matt, we just want you to know that we appreciate you!

-Catherine, #44

A Lesson About Refining Silver

Hey Everyone!

Every game day we have someone who is chosen to do a devotional with the team, and I would really like to share what one of them taught us because it has been extremely applicable my life in this past week, as well as the lives of my teammates.

I am a freshman in college this year, so it is definitely full of new and exciting experiences. I absolutely love everything about Liberty, and my teammates are seriously the best I could ever ask for, but there are a lot of struggles along with the great things, just like everything else in life.

Kelley Deyo did the devotional before our High Point game, and I really liked what she had to say about hard times. I have personally had the opportunity to speak with her about everything that is going on in her life, and it has been an absolute blessing to hear how God has constantly been there for her family these past few months. The analogy she used in her devotional was purifying silver. The silver has to be placed in intense heat and all of the bad things are brought to the top where the refiner scoops it all out. When it seems like all of the impure things have been removed, something else comes to the top the needs to be gotten rid of.

It looks as if God is doing the same thing in our team right now. He is turning up the heat. With two practices a day, weights, film, meetings, five billion ice tubs, and injuries, it can be hard to keep in perspective all that God has for us as a team and as individuals in His kingdom. It is difficult at the time, but it is refining us as basketball players and turning us into adults that will glorify Him and His kingdom. This past week has been very difficult for me, and I feel God turning up the heat. It’s hard, but I know that God has greater plans for me, and I know that I will become a better person because of it.

I can’t wait to see how God is going to use the struggles on our team to make us better people and better players in order to bring Him the glory. God has great plans for the Liberty Flames, and I am so excited to see them unfold.

-Ashley #55

Tolu's Houston Christmas

Hey Everyone!

Tolu here! I want to tell you about my amazing Christmas break. It was great to go home to Houston for five days to see my family and friends. I treasured every minute, because I don’t get to see my family very often during the season.

I spent most of my Christmas break shopping with my family; we went to theGalleria every day but Christmas. Don’t judge my time management, though – I did most of my shopping before I flew home; I just wanted to pick up a few things for myself! Going to theGalleria was a great time of hanging out with my brother, sister, and best friend. I bought a lot of clothes for myself and my brother, of course, got a ton of games for his Xbox.

Okay, now you can judge, because what I’m about to tell you is funny. I actually didn’t wrap my Christmas presents until Christmas morning! So pretty much, I wrapped them, we went to church, and then we unwrapped them! Ooops! I will say that they were very well wrapped, though; I do a good job. ☺ The best gift I gave was probably the black suede pumps I got for my sister; she was really excited about them. For me, though, the best gift I received was just the opportunity to be home and be able to see my family. Not that I don’t love being at Liberty, but not everyone has the chance to go home for Christmas and I’m glad that I do.

Back to my Christmas...my family’s big tradition is to have a huge meal on Christmas day. It’s just my immediate family, and this year, we cooked everything on Christmas Eve – turkey, fried rice, potato salad, sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese...everything! I helped out with every dish, but the mac and cheese was my claim to fame. It was a great time of celebrating Jesus' birth and being thankful for all God has blessed us with!

Anyway, sorry to cut this short, but I have to run to a film session; gotta keep getting better!

Go Flames!

Tolu