Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Since I started this blog with a Lord of the Rings theme, and I just finished watching all three LOTR movies, I think I’ll tell you about some things I’ve taken away from them, and how they apply to my life.

            First, it feels good to have accomplished something.  I finished my first fall semester at BYU, and it’s been quite a journey.  Not quite like Frodo’s journey, but none the less, it’s an accomplishment. 

            Second, true friends and family are there till the end.  I’m so blessed to have a family that have been supporting me from the beginning, and friends that are there to stand by me along the way.  I couldn’t have done it without my wonderful family and friends.

            Third, the Lord carries us through our trials.  There is a part in the 3^rd movie, where Sam and Frodo have almost made it to the top of the mountain, but Frodo is too exhausted to keep moving.  Sam looks at his friend and says with courage “I may not be able to carry your burden for you, but I can carry you.”  I think that the Lord hears our prayers and says “I can’t take your trial away, but I can lift you up and carry you through it”.  He strengthens us and helps us to make it through.  Just like Frodo could not have done it on his own, we can’t do it alone either. 

            Fourth, trials make us stronger.  At the time the road may seem tough, and we feel like we can’t make it, but we can.  And once we’ve made it through, we come out so much stronger.

            Fifth, it is nice to be home.  Whether in the beautiful green Shire or Idaho, land of the potatoes, home is home.  Today, I spent a relaxing and fun Christmas without a care in the world, other than to enjoy the time with my family.  I may not remember all the presents from years past, but I do remember all of us gathered around the tree-together.

            As the year is coming to a close, I can reflect on this past 2012 year with joy.  I had an amazing experience on choir tour to Seattle, spent spring break on the beach in Coronado, enjoyed the end of high school with my best friends, graduated high school, had the best summer of my life, and finished two semesters of college, and then returned home to spend the holidays with my family and friends.   Yeah, I’d say it’d been pretty good.  But the journey does not end here.  It is only just beginning. 

Bleeding Blue

I’ve made it through the first half of fall semester.  So much has happened, and I don’t even know where to begin.   It’s been really hard, but I’m still loving it.  I feel like I’ve grown so much throughout these past few months, but I know I still have so far to go.   I’ve had a lot of challenges, but as I’ve made it through them, I know I have come out stronger.  Classes have been hard, but manageable.  I’ve started a job, and it’s been fun, but tiring.   And my days are so busy with school, work, and then when I have time- hanging out with friends.  I barely have time to write anymore, thus why it’s been a while since I’ve posted.   I could tell you about the hard things about college, but I’m going to reflect on a few of the fun things I’ve done recently.

            During Homecoming week, there were lots of activities throughout the week, and I went to True Blue Football with my best friend Kylie.  Basically it’s a huge slip n’ slide down a hill filled with blue foam.  Afterward, you were literally completely blue.  It was a ton of fun, especially trying to get it off…

            The first weekend in October, one of my best friends’ Spencer from high school came to visit, and one thing led to another, and my absolute best high school friends Preston, Spencer, Macey and I all went to the theme park Lagoon.  It was THE BEST day I’ve had in a long time.  Riding roller coasters, laughing with my best friends, and just enjoying the day not worrying about school for once, was such a relief. 

Then this past weekend, my best friend Kourtney came and visited from Arizona, and I spent the most amazing weekend with her.  On Friday, I got to be reunited with Brynne, Erin, and Kourtney all together for the first time since middle school.  And on Saturday, after Kourtney spent the night, Preston took us to City Creek mall in Salt Lake where we met up with Macey and spent the day shopping.  I’m so lucky to have such amazing friends. 

I’m so blessed to be at this university, and there are stories to come.  

Back to BYU

Today marks the end of Labor Day weekend, the end of the first week of fall term, and the beginning of a new week.  This past week has been full of ups and downs, and everywhere in between.  Last Friday I arrived at BYU and moved into my new apartment, still in the same complex.  The familiar kitchen, cozy living room, bathroom, and bedroom felt like home to me.  After settling in, grocery shopping, walking around campus, spending a frightful amount on textbooks, and bidding my parents goodbye, I finally felt ready to start the semester.  I met my new roommates, who seem really nice, and saw my friends from this summer.  Then on Monday, I started classes.  And let me just say, in comparison to summer term, campus was packed.  And then I remembered that this was college.  For real.

            Tuesday was a momentous day, the biggest day perhaps in history.  Yeah, it was my birthday.  I woke up as an 18 year old, and I walked into the living room, where my roommates had put up a colorful “Happy Birthday” sign.   On the table was a plate full of pancakes and strawberries – how sweet! I dressed up cute for classes, and received many birthday texts and Facebook messages, and even got sung to in Spanish.  When I came home, there was another sign outside my door announcing my birthday, and then a pan full of frosted brownies sitting on the counter for me.  Needless to say, my roommates are the best!  Then later that night, I got the best present ever.  My friend Brooke from summer invited all of our friends from summer term over, and it was so great to see all of them together again!  I’ve really missed them, and I wish we all still lived next to each other.  I also receive two more cakes from my friends, so there was a lot to go around.  So my birthday was a good day.  No, a great day!

            This week of classes was stressful for me, because I was taking more classes than I wanted to take, and I couldn’t decide what I wanted to drop and take next semester instead.  Finally I figured out my classes, and then I could breathe a little easier. 

            On Thursday I attended my first BYU football game! I went with my roommate from this summer, and it was a blast!

            This weekend was pretty good too.  Friday night was movie night.  Saturday night I went country dancing for the first time, which was way fun.  Sunday night I had dinner with my brother (who also attends BYU), and then went to a dessert social with my two friends from summer.  And today I went to Salt Lake with those two friends.  We had the best, I mean, the BEST Belgium waffles I had ever had in my entire life.  Then we went and walked around Temple Square and took pictures, and it was a really fun day.  Since my roommates went home for Labor Day, I’ve had the place to myself, and a while to relax before life starts getting crazy!  I’ll keep you updated on my future endeavors. 

Home Bittersweet Home

I’ve been home for almost two weeks, which means I’m getting ready to go back to Provo tomorrow.  This is my last night at home, and I’m feeling nostalgic.  Being at home has been such an emotional journey, and I’ve come to realize some things.  First of all, change is hard.  It’s just a fact; life is full of changes, and change is hard, which leads us to the conclusion, that life is hard also.  And everyone knows this of course, but sometimes it just hits harder at times than others.  When I first came home, I actually came home a day earlier than planned, and I didn’t tell my parents.  It was so good to see my family and to surprise them with my early arrival.  The next day I saw my friends at a get together, and it good to see them too, but I felt like things had changed.  It was a slight change, but it was still there.  Everyone was talking about how excited they were to go to college and I was totally there with them (college is great!) but it just felt strange.  Was everyone really going off to college in a matter of weeks? Would this really be it?   These friends that I had gone through high school with, who I had come so close to and shared so many wonderful memories with, would all soon be in different states.  And I knew this time would be coming.  I guess I just realized that it was time to move on, and that scared me. 

Anyway, so the next couple of days at home were really boring, because all of my friends were busy.  And in that time that I spent alone, I was just sad.  Sad because I missed my friends from BYU, and sad that the friends I had here would soon be gone.  And sad because the one person I wanted to see and talk to, wasn’t the same person anymore.  Or maybe I wasn’t the same person.  When I came home, I was suddenly surrounded by all these places and memories I had with this person, and I realized how much I missed him.  

So anyway, I went shopping, and had a sleepover with the girls, went on a fun blind date, and all was well. Deep down though, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. And finally, I got to see him.  That Saturday night, I invited everyone over for a movie night, just like old times.  Most all of my friends were there, including him.  And seeing him just made me want to run into his arms, and think that everything would be ok.  But I knew that wouldn’t happen.  Before he left, I gave him a hug, and for a moment it felt like old times, but it ended too soon. 

Tuesday night was the most epiphanous night for me (yes I just made that word up).  After talking to my best friend, I realized a lot of things, like that everything I was feeling was completely normal, and that it would get better.  But also I realized I needed closure.  For me, I just wanted to see him one last time before I left for college again.  So today, after spending the day saying good bye to all of my close girl friends, I saw him.  We swinged on a swing set and talked about college and classes and change and squeaking swings.  And after talking to him for a while, I knew that there weren’t any hard feelings between us, and that we could be friends.  I got the closure I needed, and now I feel like I can move on.  In fact, with everyone going off to college, that seems to be the motto for the day.  It’s time to move on.   I love all of my friends here, but I am ready to make new ones.  BYU, here I come!

A BYU Summer

Can it really be over already?  This summer has gone by soooo fast.  And this has probably been the best summer of my life.  I met so many great friends and had so many fun adventures with them.  Here is what a BYU summer looks like, for me at least.

25 things I did this summer

1. Hike the Y
2. Fright night Fridays
3. Volleyball games
4. Dance parties
5.  Sleepovers
6.  Road trip to St. George
7. Spelunking and night driving
8. Cliff jumping
9.       Double dates
10.  BBQ’s
11. Temple trips
12. Shopping
13.  Sushi dates
14.  Midnight movie premieres
15.  Paint twister
16.  Swimming/ hot tubbing
17. Girls nights
18. Eating lots of mint brownie ice cream
19. Jumping fences and jaywalking
20. Spooning
21. Baking cookies
22.  Stuffing 8 people into a 5 person car
23.  Dinner with friends
24. Dollar theatre
25.  Being crazy!

So there’s a good list.  I’ve made so many wonderful memories with so many awesome people.  My first semester at college has taught me so much about friendship, and staying up late, and doing the dishes, and procrastination, and having fun.  I’m sad to say goodbye, but I’m also excited to go home for a bit.  And then I can’t wait to come back and make new friends and have more adventures!  

Adventures with Aleah

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve been here at college, and man how the time flies.  And I already feel like such a college student: late night movies, writing papers hours before its due, dance parties in the kitchen, making new friends everywhere I go, random games of volleyball, hiking, buying a kiddie pool and having pool parties, playing paint twister, going to midnight movie premieres, sushi dates with your friends, staying up into the wee hours of the morning laughing with my roommate Aleah, shopping, going on double dates, eating junk food, and lots more fun stuff.  But I’ve realized it’s not all fun and games.  There’s also having to make dinner, do laundry, clean the dishes, do homework, shop for groceries, clean your room, etc. 

There are also times when you’ve just watched a scary movie with your friends, and you come home thinking your roommate is asleep, but you actually end up locking your roommate out, so when she gets home at 3 am, she comes banging on your door, and then banging on your bedroom window, and you think it’s some kind of demon out to get you, but then you realize its just her trying to get in.  Yeah, there are those times.  And then there are the times when you’re sitting on top of a canyon overlooking the city and watching the lights come on at night, and then seeing the spectacular fireworks light up the sky.  But then there are times when you are sitting alone in your room, missing your friends and family, and just wishing for one moment, they could be there with you. 

College is full of a lot of fun and a ton of crazy adventures, but it’s also full of hard times.   But you just have to put one foot in front of the other, and tell yourself “You can do it.”

This is College.

I’m officially done with my first week of college, and it’s been amazing.  How can I even begin to describe all the things that have been happening this week?  Let’s start with classes.  Since its summer, and there aren’t very many people, my classes consist of about 20 to 30 people.  I really like it that way because you get to know the professor and the other students better. I also only have 3 classes, so the workload isn’t too hard.  Now let’s talk about my roommate.  I was always worried about this, because what if you don’t get along? You have to stick with them.  But my roommate is awesome, so no worries there.  She basically completes me.  I’m neat, she’s messy.  I’m quiet (at first) and she’s super outgoing.  I have curly dark hair and she has straight blonde hair.  And although we’re complete opposites, we get along so well.  We also have fun together, and although it’s only been a week, we already know each other so well and I know it’s going to be an amazing semester with her.  Now let’s get to fun stuff.  Every night is a new adventure and an opportunity to meet new people.  Throughout this week, I’ve watched movies, played games of volleyball, bowling, ultimate spoons, capture the flag, apples to apples, uno, and done lots of walking, talking, and laughing, arranging furniture, making attractive noises with my roomie, shopping, eating ice cream and other yummy food, and basically having a blast.  I’ve also met lots of awesome people.  College is such a great experience and I look forward to my next adventure!

Life in a Box

So, I’m going to college.  Wait, what’s that you said? Yeah, I’M GOING TO COLLEGE.  TOMORROW.   Tomorrow, everything changes…

Yeah, so I’ve been packing for college, and I’m realizing how hard it is to pack my whole life into a box, well, several boxes, but still.  I’m deciding what to take with me, and what is getting left behind.  And who is getting left behind.  There are so many people I have to say good bye to, and it’s probably one of the hardest things I have to do.  I'm going to miss all my amazing friends, and my supportive family, and this town that I've grown to love.  With all of the packing and saying goodbye, I’ve barely had a moment to just, take it all in.  Everything is moving so fast and I feel like I barely have time to breathe.  And don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited to start college, but I’m also kinda scared.  I keep telling myself it’s going to be so much fun, and it will be, but I also know it’s going to be really hard.  And I’m going to tell you about all the fun times and the hard times and the awkward times, ‘cause let’s face it, we all know it’s going to happen. 

So here is where the journey really begins.  As soon as I get into the car and drive off tomorrow, there’s no turning back.  And like i learned in Arthur, when one door closes, another door opens.  So although my time at home may be ending, but my life is really just beginning. 

Reflections on High School

Guess who's officially a high school graduate? This girl right here.  And now this is where I’m going to tell you about all the things I learned in high school, but ironically, none of it has to do with actual school or anything from class.  Here’s what I mean.
1.      You are never alone.  I actually learned this in my health class my junior year.  We did this activity where we wrote down on a piece of paper our problems or anything that was going on in our life or how we were feeling or something like that and we crumbled up that piece of paper and threw it around the room, then everyone picked up one, and we read them aloud.  And after each one we’d raise our hands if we had ever felt that way.  Some of them were like “I’m not good enough” or “I don’t fit in” or “I’m struggling with this or that” and afterward when everyone raised their hands, it opened our eyes to realize that everyone else had at some point felt the same way.  We’re all in this journey together folks, remember?
2.      True friends will be there for you no matter what.  I know this seems cliché, but in high school, you really find out who your true friends are.  True friends put up with your weirdness and they stand by you and they lift you up and make you laugh and you can trust them, and if they don’t do these things, then they aren’t a real friend. 
3.      Don’t stress about the little things.  I was a big stresser in high school, and I wish I hadn’t wasted so much time stressing about things that didn’t really matter.  Life is to be enjoyed. 
4.      Do your best.  Again, this is kinda cheesy, but really, if you try your best, you will be happy with the outcome.
5.      Be yourself.  Honestly, there is no one else you should be, than yourself.  I struggled with who that person was, but after many experiences, I think I finally found out.  Don’t take till your senior year like me to really discover yourself.  And then once you know you are, don’t change who you are, because you’re awesome.
Those are just five things I learned, and I could go on, but that’s the advice I will give for now. 

Caught up on Life

So it’s been a while.  Life has been really crazy, but now that I’m done with high school, I finally have time to write.  Wait, what’s that you said? That’s right; I’M DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL! WOOT! Let me tell you how the past three months have been. and get caught up on my life. 

March: We had Sonous tour, which was the most AMAZING EXPERIENCE EVER.  We went to Seattle and Portland and sang at ACDA Northwest, which is kind of big deal.  It was one of the most fun, inspiring, exciting, truly amazing experiences ever.  Also practically all of my friends were there, so that made it extra awesome.  Especially ‘cause we got to see WICKED on BROADWAY. Yeah, be jealous.
         Then for spring break I spent a week in Coronado with my family.  We stayed in a time share that was just a block away from the beach, where we went almost every day.  Also, all of my mom’s side of the family lives in San Diego, so I got to see my grandma, my aunt and uncle and cousins, which was a lot of fun.  Between enjoying the sun, seeing my family, going to the beach, shopping, eating out, and just relaxing, it was a great Spring Break!

April:  Let’s see, there was my Senior Prom!  It was one amazing day, and certainly a night to remember.  I had the movie moment where I walked downstairs with my hair done in an elegant up-do, my makeup salon-done, and I wearing a gorgeous purple ball gown, and my date dressed in a tux, looks up at me, and doesn’t say a word, because the expression on his face said it all.  The dinner was great, and the dance was really fun, and pretty much everything that it was supposed to be. 
           Then in April there were also senior projects, which was less exciting.  But then after senior project was done, we had senior skip days!  One day my friends and I went out to breakfast for delicious French toast and then had A Very Potter Musical marathon, and it was epic!  Then the next day we all went and had lunch at a park, and enjoyed being out of school for the day.  Then I had a girl’s night sleepover at my house, and one of my friends put chocolate across her face for war paint, and craziness just ensued from there.   It was a super fun day. 

May: This is when all of the fun senior perks go on.  No one really does homework anymore and don’t bother coming to class on time, and teachers just have to accept it.  We’re seniors, and we can do whatever the heck we want.  Everyone is counting down the days.  I had my last choir concert, and it was a sad but happy moment at the same time.  I remember the end of year concerts from years before, and after the last song, everyone is crying and hugging and it was a special moment for the seniors.  This time it was my turn to cry, but for some reason, the tears didn’t come.  It didn’t really sink in that it was the last time I would sing on that stage. 
             Anyway, then life got really busy with the stress of AP tests and finals.  Then , I blinked, and school was over.  I’m now done with high school.  Let’s say that one more time with feeling.  I’M DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL.  On the last day, we had our senior picnic at a park, and there was lots of food, bouncy houses, the playground, music, and lots of excitement and joy in the air.  Then later that day, all of my girl friends got together at my best friend Macey’s house, and we had a camp out in her backyard, which was seriously one of the most fun nights of my life.  I can’t wait for more adventures this summer with my friends. 

Leap Day

EXCITEMENT.  That is the emotion for the day.  I even would say that is the emotion for this month.  I'm excited for March, because so many things are coming up.  Our choir, Sonous, is going on tour for 4 days to Seattle, and I can’t wait!  And then for spring break I’ll be going to San Diego with my family to see all of my mom’s family and spend my days lounging on the beach.  This month is going to be full of travel and fun!
Anyway, I realize it’s not March until tomorrow, but still!  Today is leap day, and this day doesn’t come around every year, so I figured I should post J
I’m also so excited for college.  I'm excited for classes, for new roommates and friends, for parties, for late nights, for adventure!  I will be sure to keep you updated on all of my upcoming adventures. 

           

I'm a cougar!

Life is good.  I am so happy to be alive.  As a dear person once said “I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friends.”  This weekend has been of the best weekends ever.
On Friday afternoon, with trembling hands, I typed in my username and password for the BYU website to check my application status, and up at the top, under BYU Provo, it said one word: Admitted.  I clicked on the link next to it, and the first thing I saw was “Congratulations!” I could barely keep on reading the rest of the acceptance letter before I started screaming.  “MOM! MOM, COME HERE RIGHT NOW! I MADE IT!!!”  That moment was possibly one of the happiest moments of my entire life.  Everything had been leading up to this very moment.  BYU Provo is the only school I’ve ever wanted to go to, and I’m so grateful to have been accepted. I called my best friend who is currently attending BYU and told her the good news, and then I drove over to my other best friend’s house to tell her that I'm now a BYU cougar!
That night, I had one of the most fun girls nights with three of my best friends.  We went and saw The Vow, and sat up in the front so we could see the glorious Channing Tatum up close and personal.  Then we went to the grocery store and got cream sodas in bottles that looked like beer, and we went back to my friend’s house and sat on top of her car and we drank our cream sodas.  We looked up at the stars while we talked about college and marriage and that scary thing we call The Future.  It made me think about everything ahead of me, and to be grateful to just be living in the moment. 
Then on Saturday, it was a momentous day.  First of all, Saturday was February 18^th.  It may not seem like a big deal to you, but from that day, I have exactly three months until my last day of high school, and four months until my first day at college (I’m taking summer session at BYU).  Everything now seemed to be coming so close!
Also, I got to see three of my best friends that had left for college and were home for the weekend.  It made me so excited that in only a few months I would be going to college like them.  We all exchanged stories, talked,  laughed, watched a movie, and it was such a great night.
Monday, we had off of school because of President’s day, so it was a par-tay!  Sonous, the top choir at our school, had a get together at someone’s house.  This was the first time I was able to go one of these, so I was really excited!  We ate food, talked, play games, and had a ton of fun.  It was great to feel like I was a part of something awesome.     
Anyway, tonight marks the end of an amazing 3 day weekend J

This Road

It’s been a stressful couple of weeks.  Today though, gave me a new perspective.  We had a guest clinician come into choir today and he worked with us on our songs.  But it wasn’t the songs, or the technique, that I got out of it.  It was what he said to us.  He said “Where is your soul? Is it in a good place? What do you feel?” And that made me think, is my soul in a good place?  And then he also had us snap.  And he said, ok, that was the past, now let’s live in the present.  He talked about how we get so caught up with thinking about the past or thinking about the future, that we forget to live in the now.  We are reaching for the destination, but we forget about enjoying the journey, and the road we're on to get there. He talked about how we sometimes get worked up about what college we get accepted to and where we decide to go, but he said all that doesn’t matter.  It’s not about the place we go, it’s about the kind of person we are.  All of this hit home to me, because that is exactly what I'm struggling with right now.  I'm so focused on getting into college and worrying about where my future will take me, but I should be enjoying right now, living in the present.  I want my soul to be in a good place.  And if it’s not, then it’s up to me to change it. 

A song we're singing:

The Road Home

Tell me, where is the road
I can call my own,
That I left, that I lost
So long ago?
All these years I have wandered,
Oh when will I know
There’s a way, there’s a road
That will lead me home?

After wind, after rain,
When the dark is done,
As I wake from a dream
In the gold of day,
Through the air there’s a calling
From far away,
There’s a voice I can hear
That will lead me home.

Rise up, follow me,
Come away, is the call,
With the love in your heart
As the only song;
There is no such beauty
As where you belong;
Rise up, follow me,
I will lead you home.

Roller Coaster

There’s something I’ve learned in high school, and that’s that even though there are ups, and there are downs, it will all eventually lead back to middle ground, where everything is normal and safe, and you can catch your breath.  Sometimes the journey gets so rough, you just have to remember to breath.  And when life gives you those moments where it’s quiet and peaceful, you have take those moments to be grateful to be living, and to be, simply, you.
Ok, so the last week for me was kinda rough, but I’ve been doing better.  As far as college applications, here’s how it’s going… I’ve applied for three colleges now.  I’ve been accepted to one of them so far, and I’m still waiting for the other two.  I’ve also now applied to a couple of scholarships, because let’s face it, college is EXPENSIVE.  So a little while ago, there I was, writing this essay for a scholarship application, when my hand slipped up and before I even realized what happened, a message pops up on my screen and says “Your essay has been submitted” and I’m like WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?! I WASN’T DONE! This is terrible. What if they get it and they’re like, oh this essay is really good and then, wait, what happened, it just stopped. Well, we’re definitely not going to give a scholarship to this screw-up.  WHAT AM I GONNA DO?! Well, I just ended up re-doing it and hoping that they get that one instead.  Here’s crossing my fingers!

Continuing the countdown:

# of schools applied to: 3

# of scholarships applied for: 3

# of schools accepted to: 1

# of scholarships earned: 0

College-bound babies

How did it come to my last semester of high school?  Where has the time gone? Somehow, I’ve made it this far, and I know I can do it.  But we’re taking this journey together, remember? You and I, us, together, we can make it!

On another note, I was at the gym the other day, and on the TV I saw this commercial about the Gerber baby college plan.  Yeah, you read that right.  They have this college fund that parents can start saving for their babies.  It’s like, I know college is important and parents have to put money away for their children’s education, but doesn’t this seem a little ridiculous? I mean, when you’re out getting Gerber baby food, why not pick up a college fund while you’re at it?  This made me realize that parents have already planned your future for you, even when you’re too young to even say the word “college”.  Doesn’t this put pressure on you? Parents always have these expectations for you, and you feel like you have to live up to everything they want you to be.  At least that’s how I feel.  And I feel like they expect me to have it all figured out, and know what I what to do with my life.  But do I have a clue? Not at all.  I'm only just figuring out things about myself. 

Anyway, and then I was watching Glee and this isn’t an exact quote, but Kurt said something like this: “The future was always this idea, you know, a dream.  But then the future has the nerve to just show up at our door and expects us to do something about it.”  Amen to that.  Even though everything seems to be happening so fast, I know that the right opportunities will come to me, and I will be brave enough to take them.

Here's a little count to keep you updated:

# of schools applied to: 2

# of scholarships applied for: 1

# of schools accepted to: 1

# of scholarships earned: 0

Start of the Journey

Hello!  Whoever might be reading this blog, I would advise you to prepare yourself, as you and I are about to embark on a glorious journey together.  And that, my friend, is called college.
After an internal battle with myself, I decided to start this blog.  I was hesitant, because I never keep up with the blogs I’ve made in the past.  But those were different times.  I’ve decided that this one is going to be the one.  Why, you ask? Because this blog is all about the college experience.  Applying to colleges, getting accepted into colleges, preparing for college, and then, yes, going to COLLEGE!
Here’s a little about me.  I'm a high school senior, ready to begin my journey, much like Bilbo in The Hobbit.  I have exactly one semester left of high school- one semester to get myself ready to enter the fiery pits of Mordor, or in my case, the real world.
Anyway, I also have many close friendships, like that of Frodo and Sam, whom I love to death. This blog is going to be one of the ways I intend to keep in touch with all of them. 
Ok, so if I promise to stop making the LOTR references, will you promise you take this journey with me, and stay with me to the very end, until we destroy the ring?  Haha, just kidding!

"Every journey begins with just one step."