South Carolina

South Carolina.

After attending my first college in New York, I ventured to my second college in West Virginia. For the Thanksgiving break, which is around 7 to 10 days long, I went with a friend to his house in South Carolina (SC). That was my only time, so far, that I have ever been to SC. I am writing this on a Thursday: the 25th of July 2013. We will see what the future holds.

There are like red fire ants down here. This is the most south that I have ever been. My friend's name is like Jared or something. I like the way his father talked. The dad would tell me that while hunting deer that you say that "I'm 'bout da bust one" or something like that. I like their church. i watched the Matrix with the subtitles on at their house. Most of the time, I was just watching movies during my break. I was not wasting my time. I recorded notes on the computer and safe it to like my email or to a thumb drive or something. I studied films, since I am an actor and producer and a jack of many trades.

November 2006
21 years old
Friend's House: South Carolina
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

2nd Summer As A Ranch Counselor

2nd Summer As A Ranch Counselor.

What was different about my second summer working at the Ranch, from the first summer, was the special snack bar thing that they had for the counselors. On a certain day, each week, at night, you would go to a building to fellowship with other counselors, worship God, have snacks, drinks, and somebody usually gave an inspirational sermon to keep the counselors focused.

June - August 2006
21 years old
Word Of Life's Camp: The Ranch: Pottersville, New York, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

WOLBI 2nd Year

Rachel Gasser was not originally going to attend a second year at WOLBI, the Word Of Life Bible Institute. Weeks before the new school year, she wrote to a few of her friends on Xanga. She announced her plans to return. I saw the news on Xanga. She quickly removed her comments because she wanted to keep this a secret so that she could surprise her gal friend with her return.

For me, I have thought about attending WOLBI since I was like 6 years old or so, and why stop half way? I was inspired and encouraged by the 2nd year students during my first year there and I was very interested in getting deeper into social services, ministry, into diving deeper into God's Word. I have wanted to help people since I was 8 years old. I need to dig into my journals and dig out more details about this era in my life.

25 years old

West Coast Counselor

West Coast Counselor.

I was able to send letters to people I knew. I asked them to give me money. I needed around $400 to around $800 USD or so, or more, or something, so that I could fly from my first college, the Word Of Life Bible Institute (WOLBI) in Pottersville, New York USA, to the Word Of Life's West Coast Camp (WCC). I raised enough money. People mailed in money or I at least thought people did. I was able to fly in an airplane to the camp. I was able to be a counselor. I use to go to this same camp each year when I was younger as a camper from the years of 1999 to the year 2003, which was 5 strait years.

July 2006
21 years old
West Coast Camp: California, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Home-Made Birthday Cake

Home-Made Birthday Cake.


This girl, who was friends with my friend Chris Zuagg, made me a Home-Made Birthday Cake, for my birthday, which was on Friday, the 11th of February 2005 in Pottersville, New York, United States. I think she made me a cake. I also went on yard sales hunting with Aaron Rysemus and I ended up buying a Power Rangers poster. This was while I was still a student at the Word of Life Bible Institute in Pottersville, New York, USA. I also worked 15 miles away at the Word Of Life Inn in Schroon Lake, New York USA.



Friday: 11th of February, 2005
20 years old
Pottersville & Schroon Lake, New York, United States
Joey Arnold

Timothy Knight

Timothy Knight.

In January 2005, in the mist of the snow, from the depths of Australia, came Timothy Knight. He was one of my favorites and he was my unit leader at the Ranch 2006 I think.

January 2005
19 years old
Word Of Life Bible Institute: Pottersville, New York, United States
Joey Arnold, The Original Oatmeal

Children Ministry Team

After high school, my missionary friends flew me to New York for camp and college. I arrived in New York in June 2004.

In September, during the first days of college at the Word Of Life Bible Institute, I auditioned for the Drama Team, but was rejected, but director John "Giddy" Brown, of the Children Ministry Team (CMT) saw me and welcomed me into his team.

I was able to join forces with another guy with glasses, as we were Flatman & Bobbin, which is a puppet-show parody of Batman & Robin. Our team was able to faciliate and run children events with songs, activities, games, puppet shows, drama skits, food, music, lessons, and other such things, at schools, churches, fields, buildings, in the different states in and around the state of New York USA, which includes New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, PA, and others.

I was on this team from September 2004 until August 2006.

Graduating High School

I started thinking about graduating high school as I was starting high school in 9th grade, as a Fresh Man, in the year 2000 - 2001, when I was 15 years old, and I started thinking about it more as it drew closer. The younger I was, the less I thought about it. The younger I was, the more I thought about more immediate things like advancing to the next year, to the next grade. I thought about advancing to tenth grade. I thought about each grade. Each grade was even bigger and higher than the last one.

For my senior year of high school, I started thinking about which college to attend and what to do for my senior project. I ended up building a Pocket Ball Table for my senior project, which is required if you want to graduate high school. Paul Walker and the Hoefts helped me build the table, which is sort of like a Gutter Ball Table or Carpet Ball Table or Pool Table.

I thought about many colleges but kept on going back to the idea of going to WOLBI, to the Word Of Life Bible Institute in New York or Florida or Canada or even Argentina. I ended up going to the WOLBI NY in Pottersville, New York after graduating high school through the air miles and plane ticket purchase of WOL missionaries Pete and Deb Steele.

I was also thinking about the high school year book. I wanted to be more featured in that book. Every year, I would look for myself in that book. I joined drama class, drama club, and even the earth club. I went to school dances, or I at least did so in 11th grade maybe. I was a girl's basketball manager. Went to their games, home and away, and recorded their games. I partly did these things as an attempt to get featured more in the year book.

I started thinking more about leaving my old life during my last 5 months of high school. You may have to leave your old friends behind. If you go to college, you may go into debt. I want to avoid and minimizes debt as much as I can. I want to minimize how often I say good bye to people. I hate saying bye to people. The older I get, the less scared I get, but I still get scared, and I still worry about the future, about making the right choices on where to go, what to do, in whether to work or to attend this college or that college, to spend money on this or that, to spend time on this or that, and the list goes on.

My uncle Jim, aunt Karen, grandpa Dick, grandma Skip, and my immediately family attended my high school graduation.

The all-night after party was interesting, exciting, but also sad. I was not sure what to do, who to talk to. I was home-schooled until 9th grade in the year 2000, when I was 15 years old. During my 4 years of high school, I started coming out of my shell. I became less shy, but I went back into my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shell.


I graduated on Tuesday, the 8th of June of 2004.