After Months of Training....

Back in May, my sister and I were asked by a fellow Boy Scout volunteer if we would be interested in running. At first we laughed, but then we thought about how fun it would be to run a 5k race. Soon enough we were out at local park running a mile. A mile might not sound like a lot, but when you have never ran, except for those pointless mile runs in school where most people walked, it is a lot. Within a few weeks Ashley and I were up to a mile and a half without stopping! We spent the whole summer running 3 times a week. Each night we were scheduled to run, we met at a park and ran whatever distance was planned for that night. It was nice to run with other people and not by yourself. And it was also great to be able to tell people "oh, I just ran two and a half miles without stopping, nothing crazy" when asked what was up.

 

 

 

Finally, after months of training, Ashley and I signed up for our very first 5k race, the Four Seasons Parkway Run & Walk. We were told it was a really big and fun race, so we figured it would be the perfect first race!

 

 

The day of the race snuck up so quickly! We were so jittery all morning, excited to just go and run. Even though we had already picked up our race packets, we still got to Philly super early. We spent some time walking around before we met up with people on our team (we teamed up with a teacher from Ashley's school and his group). By time everyone was there, it was time to go to the starting line. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as I waited for the race to start. Finally the gun went off! And off Ashley and I went! I stayed behind her for a good 3/4's of a mile or so. When I passed the one mile marker the time was around ten minutes so I felt great! The area we ran around was pretty and I had so much fun running with thousands of people. After 3.1 miles, I crossed the finish line at just under 35 minutes! My official time was 34:11, an 11 minute mile! I never have felt so accomplished before! Now I am excited to run another 5k in October :)

 



First Month of College = Complete!

It's been a month since I moved into MU and I'm surprised at how much I've already accomplished! One thing that I really love about being here is that I'm never bored. My hall has so many activities throughout the week that I really can't ever sit still long enough to feel bored. Well, I guess I get bored while doing homework, but it's good to know I can always take a break and go do something fun for a bit before returning to my work. Here are a few examples of some fun activities my hall has had lately...

 

Thursday night we decorated coffee mugs with Sharpies! But instead of baking them, the RA is going to use spray Mod Podge. I'm really curious as to how they will turn out. She told us we would have to hand wash them, which makes sense, but I'm not sure if I would even drink out of a mug sprayed with Mod Podge. Is it safe? If not, it will be the perfect pencil cup!

 

 

Along with the coffee mugs, another RA hosted an activity at the same time where we made cute flower type balls out of tissue paper! After some pinterest searching, I found the exact directions we used on this blog. They were super easy and fun to make! I already have mine hanging around my bed. The purple really goes with my room!

 

 

Friday night my RA had a small activity where we wrote our dreams down on a big poster board labeled 'Hobbs Dreams' (Hobbs is the name of my hall, by the way). You could write down any dream or goal that you had. I chose to stick with my main goal in life, which is to impact the lives of children when I am a teacher. It was a small activity, but there was pizza! Almost every activity in the hall has food so we never go hungry!

 

So far everything about MU is great! I'll be sure to continue updating on here about my college life, especially the fun activities I participate in that allows me to show my creativity and crafty-ness!

It's been awhile...

Seriously. I feel like I just disappeared from here. It wasn't my intention. I actually had this plan to blog all summer about everything I did... then my computer crashed. Imagine spending a whole summer without a laptop. That is exactly what happened to me! By time I finally got my new laptop (that I am completely in LOVE with! Hello, touchscreen and Windows 8!), everything just started getting crazy busy. Flash forward a couple weeks and here we are with all the craziness over with and now I am living at school! My first week of classes went very well. I think I have a pretty good variety of professors this semester. I am just loving being away from home and experiencing new things! I think my favorite part of moving here to Millersville was the ability to make my dorm my own little cozy home. Here's a few pictures of my crafty mind concoctions!

Here is my bed with my absolutely adorable comforter set! I seriously fell in love with it the moment I set my eyes on it's beautiful colors and flowery pattern!

After spending a ton of time printing and cutting, I finally ended up with adorable polaroid look-a-like prints to hang from twine with mini clothes pins. Adorable!

This little cutie took more time than I had imagined. It's actually kind of challenging to take a pile of various sized photos and shape them into a heart. However, I was eventually able to make it look pretty so I feel accomplished!

 

This here is my little coffee corner! It may be the most important part of my room considering coffee is the highlight of my day!

 

I'll be sure to post more now that I actually have a laptop and occasionally have free time!

Class of 2013!

Last night I officially became a 2013 graduate of Gloucester County College! It still feels unreal that I have already completed my two years at county college and in just 99 days I'll be off to Millersville University to start a new chapter in my life. As the day I leave gets closer, I get a little bit nervous. I'm not sure what exactly I'm nervous about, though. Maybe that classes there will be much harder than I'm used to? Or that I'll get really home sick? As nervous as I am, the fact that I am about to basically start over makes me happy. I'll finally have a chance to go somewhere that I won't know many people and just start a new life. But of course I'll always have my friends and family back home. And my wonderful boyfriend who I'll miss quite terribly. Good thing we are pretty much pros at being at differenty schools. I'm not worried about our relationship one bit.

Dear Me Challenge: Day 14

Write to yourself about something you are struggling with right now, and how you think you can help it.

Dear Me,
Since it is the end of my last semester at my community college, I am struggling with keeping up my motivation to do well in my classes. It's really hard to sit down and focus on a paper when I really just want to go outside or focus on Millersville transfer stuff... So far I haven't found anything to help me besides just forcing myself to sit down and work on some of my homework for a little bit before getting distracted with something else. I really wish finishing up this semester and starting to get Millersville stuff together didn't overlap. It's a lot of work to do! But luckily in less than a month, I'll be done school and can just enjoy the summer so that's something to motivate me to get work done!

Dear Me Challeneg: Day 13

Write to yourself about your ideal relationship.

Dear Me,
This is completely unnecessary because right now I am in my ideal relationship! I guess I'll talk about that then? What makes my relationship ideal is that we are both her for each other 100%. If I ever need to talk about anything, John is there for me. We also get along so well and like most of the same things. We rarely argue over disagreeing with things. I feel like we're on the same track when it comes to thinking because we usually feel like doing the same things at the same time, like taking a nap or eating. The thing we are best at is being silly together. We can make any situation funny. He always has me laughing. We know each other so well and I feel like we have a very close and amazing relationship.

Dear Me Challenge: Day 12

Write to yourself about something you secretly really want to try.

Dear Me,
I honestly can not think of ANYTHING I want to secretly try... so I'm just going with something random. I would like to try living on my own to see if I could handle it. As a kid, I always thought once you graduated high school you moved out on your own, got married, and started your life. Obviously that isn't the case because I left out the part where I spend so much money for college that I can't afford to buy myself a place. I think it'd be so cool to live in an apartment on my own now, while I'm in school. It would really make me feel grown up and I could decorate however I'd like :D

Dear Me Challenge: Day 11

Write to yourself about one of the happiest moments in your life thus far, and why.

Dear Me,
This is honestly a hard decision. I have had so many happy moments in my life, it's almost impossible to pick one. I'm just going to go ahead and choose the first that comes to mind which is naturally January 20, 2011, also known as the day John asked me out. It was the day that everything changed between John and I. We had been crushing on each other off and on since 6th grade, and that was the day that we finally got what we both had always wanted. A few days prior to January 20th, John and I had a "homework date." I'm pretty sure the reason for this homework date was to study for an English midterm, but I may be wrong. Of course, we did do what we planned to, but there also was some flirting going on. I'm pretty sure he even thought about kissing me a few times! That night we met up with a bunch of friends at the Ming Ku Lau, where we were asked multiple times if we were dating yet. John's responses made me certain that he had a thing for me at that night. Two days later we had to go somewhere with the band to accept something for winning ACC's. Afterwards, John invited me to go get ice cream at Bruster's. I was sure it was going to be the night he asked me out. I was wrong, though, because a friend of ours ended up tagging along and ruined the privacy that we needed in order for him to ask me to be his girlfriend. Luckily, he had invited me over the next night with the reason that he would be able to install Microsoft Word onto my netbook, which hadn't come with any type of program I could use to write papers. While he did attempt to install Word onto my netbook, he spent more time flirting with me. Eventually we ended up sitting on his couch, where he kissed me and soon after asked me to be his girlfriend. It's crazy how after over two years I can still remember this night like is was just a few days ago. I guess that means it really was one of the happiest moments in my life!

A picture taken at the band thing the night before we started dating. We were so cute :)

Dear Me Challenge: Day 10

Write to yourself about one person you really want to meet and why.

Dear Me,
This answer is obvious. I would LOVELOVELOVE to meet Taylor Swift. Ever since she first released a song (okay, that sounds very hipster of me but I really did love her since the beginning) I thought she was amazing. I never did think she would become as popular as she is today. In a way, it bothers me because now everyone loves her and acts like they have since the beginning, but I am happy for her! She deserves the publicity. I honestly don't even know how I would react if I was given the chance to meet her. Would I cry? Be in shock? I have no idea. I just want the chance to tell her how amazing she is and how happy her music makes me. I'd love an autograph, too. Sometimes I think about what I would have her sign if I got to meet her. It's between the cliche album cover or maybe a copy of my favorite photo of her that I could frame. So many possibilities...

Dear Me Challenge: Day 9

Write to yourself about where you want to go in life.

Dear Me,
I suppose this wants me to write about my future dreams and goals. Even though I am still trying to figure this out, I suppose I can tell a few things. Basically I just want to go to Millersville, love my life there, graduate, get a great teaching job, marry an amazing guy, and have a beautiful family. The end. I know that might not all happen, but hey, it's my dream. Honestly, no matter where I go in life, I just want to be happy. I want my job to make me happy. I want whoever I marry and my future family to make me happy. I just want a happy life. Is that too much to ask for? I hope not.

Dear Me Challenge: Day 8

Write to yourself about something you are nervous about that will happen before you read these letters.

Dear Me,
In about 152 days I will be a student at Millersville University. I am beyond excited to move there and experience college life beyond community college. The only thing that makes me nervous is getting a roommate. What if we don't get along? What if we have nothing in common? I was so used to seeing my sister and her roommate be so close and even room together for three years, but I never even thought that that might not happen to me and my roommate. We may not even become friends and then we are stuck with each other for a whole year. I am usually one to get along with everyone but I've never had to live with someone like this. It could be a whole different story. I just really hope we have one thing in common that could make us become good friends. I also hope she is also an education major!

Dear Me Challenge: Day 7

Write to yourself about your favorite quote an how it affects you.

Dear Me,

This quote has been my absolute favorite for years now. It became really important to me senior year of high school because I had a lot of emotions and while I always just wanted to cry, I had to remember that I should be happy because what was now over had once made me really happy. After breaking up with a boyfriend of almost two years right before my senior year, I had to ignore my tears and focus on going on with my life. If anything, the heartbreak made me stronger and I eventually learned to smile about it because at one point in my life, that relationship was what made me happy.
Graduating was one of those things that would make me really happy one moment, and then get me really sad at another moment. Graduating meant being done with marching band, being away from the friends I was used to seeing everyday since kindergarten, and starting a new life. At this point, I knew I had to just smile about graduating because there was no point in crying.

Dear Me Challenge: Day 6

Write to yourself about 10 things you want to save up to get.

Dear Me,
There are many things I want to save up to get, some are things I'd like to buy soon and others are things I will want to buy in the future. Since I love lists, I will make this letter a list, too!

1. New car: I love my car now, but it's getting old and it's only a matter of time before it just dies...
2. Nice digital camera: The one I have now is getting old and I would really love to have a new camera to take to the Taylor Swift concert in July!
3. iPhone: I just seriously want one.
4. Summer clothes: I am actually saving money now in a jar that once I decide to go shopping, I'll go cash all the money in the jar in at the bank and take all the cash to buy new clothes. I'm so excited!
5. Polaroid prints from Persnickety Prints: I absolutely love the Polaroid prints Persnickety offers. I plan to purchase all my photos for my dorm from there which is going to cost a pretty penny!
6. Little Hipster Vera Bradley bag in Ribbons: This is a purse I've had my eye on since the fall!
7. An adorable purple with white polka dots I found at JC Penney's: I think it will be the perfect bag to use during the summer and when I go away to school.
8. An apartment: This is definitely something I won't be getting for a LONG time!
9. More craft supplies: Enough said!
10. New bikini: I really want to splurge and get a nice bikini this summer since I should be able to go to the beach more!

Dear Me Challenge: Day 5

Write to yourself about one place you’d love to go and why.

Dear Me,
Once upon a time, ages ago (well, my freshman year to be exact), my music department went to Chicago as a trip. It was one of the best trips I had ever been on. And I even went to California! What made this trip special was that we did A LOT while we were there. The main reason we went was to perform at the Navy Pier but we also visited Six Flags: Great America, Millenium Park (Where I fell in love with The Bean!!), Sears Tower, Giordano's Pizza, Gino's East Restaurant, Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain, and the Magnificant Mile! It was such a fantastic trip and I want nothing more than to go back! I hope that sometime in the near future I can return to Chicago and relive some of the memories I made year ago!

The Bean- My favorite part of the trip!

 

Dear Me Challenge: Day 4

Write to yourself about the goals you wish to achieve by the time you read these letters.

Dear Me,
My plan is to read all these letters in about six months, which will be shortly after I move into school at Millersville. I have a few goals I wish to acheive by then. I hope to graduate GCC this spring with all A's and B's. Another goal I have is to keep up with eating healthy so I am able to lose the amount of weight I wish to lose. I don't expect to make it to my goal weight in six months, but if I do, I'll be happy. This summer I hope to get outside more and be active in order to keep up with my weight loss. Other than those few goals, I don't really have anymore except that I hope John and I continue to be strong and that my move into Millersville University is successful!

The pond at Millersville University.

Dear Me Challenge: Day 3

Write to yourself about one non-living thing you find beautiful and why.

Dear Me,
The most beautiful, non-living thing is love. I love love. Everything about love is perfect. It doesn't matter what kind of love. Whether it be relationship love or friendship love, I love it. I love how when you love someone you can never find yourself mad at them for more than an hour. Or how you know you love your best friend when you can share personal items (trust me, I have this kind of friendship and I LOVE it!). Everything about love is beautiful. The way you look at someone when you love them. How love can make you do crazy things. Love is perfect. I know this because I have the kind of love with my boyfriend that sometimes makes me sit back and think "wow, this is perfect."

 

This is love and it is beautiful.

Dear Me Challenge: Day 2

Write to yourself about one thing you wish you could change in this world.

Dear Me,
While there are many things I wish I could change in this world, there is one thing that really erks me. As much as I love technology, I feel like it is beginning to take over our world. I definitely agree that technology is great when it comes to the medical field, but I don't think it is great when it comes to our children. Yes, I love Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, texting, and many other activities involving technological devices. I just don't think people should constantly be on their phones and computers. Some children these days have no social skills whatsoever, and that goes for adults, too. I just remember back when I was younger and children actually went outside to play with friends. They didn't have to get on xbox or go on Facebook to talk to a friend. Girls actually waited by the phone when a guy told them they would call them. They didn't have the luxury of being able to text them. I know I'm only 20, but it still bothers me how much technology has changed people's social lives. Like I said, I think technology is great for many things, such as the medical field, but if a child is unable to speak on the phone because they have never needed to, then something is wrong.

Dear Me Challenge: Day 1

Write to yourself about 10 things you love about yourself, 5 about personality and 5 about appearance!

Dear Me,
This first letter makes me feel like I need to make it a list. I love lists! So here it goes...

Personality:

• The number one thing I really love about me, personality wise, is that I have a great sense of humor. I love how I can turn any situation into a funny one if need be.
• Although sometimes it may annoy me, I love how caring and sensitive I am. The only time it annoys me, though, is when I feel too guilty about situations that are out of my control.
• This goes along with caring, but I am also very loving. I strive to make those I love as happy as possible.
• I love that I'm creative. I can turn anything boring or simple into something more interesting and beautiful.
• Once again, this thing about me can bother me sometimes, but I'm thankful that I am a very cautious person. Some people may say I'm a coward but I would just say I'm afraid of doing things I know I shouldn't be doing. I would never call myself a coward because I have done stuff that is risky.

Appearance:

• I love my long, brunette hair. It's very healthy because I've never dyed it and I'm very proud of that!
• Some people may think brown eyes are boring, but I think mine are big and pretty.
• I love my small feet because I'm able to shop at Journey's For Kidz which is MUCH cheaper than other shoe stores. I've gotten my UGGS for almost $30+ more than the regular Journey's.
• This is almost the same as above but I also love my small hands because I'm able to wear adorable kids gloves/mittens in the winter!
• Last but not least, I love my height. I admit, sometimes being short can get annoying, but I'm the perfect height for John. I'm not taller than him and I'm not too short that I have to stand on my tippy-toes to kiss him.

Dear Me Challenge

Awhile ago I stumbled upon one of the most amazing ideas ever: a Dear Me Challenge! You basically write a letter to yourself everyday for 15 days and then go back and read them sometime in the future.I can't take any credit for coming up with this challenge. I actually found it on tumblr. When I found it I knew right away that it would be the perfect challenge to complete on my blog. I'll be posting the list right now, but I won't be starting until tomorrow. That means that starting tomorrow I will post a new letter to myself, addressing one of the topics featured on the list below, for the next 15 days. My plan is to read these letters to myself a couple weeks after I've moved into school, which will be in August. That will be about 6 months from now. I hope this helps me get on my blog more and maybe even get a steady schedule of posts!

Here is the list:

Day 1: Write to yourself about 10 things you love about yourself, 5 about personality and 5 about appearance!

Day 2: Write to yourself about one thing you wish you could change in this world.

Day 3: Write to yourself about one non-living thing you find beautiful and why.

Day 4: Write to yourself about the goals you wish to achieve by the time you read these letters.

Day 5: Write to yourself about one place you’d love to go and why.

Day 6: Write to yourself about 10 things you want to save up to get.

Day 7: Write to yourself about your favorite quote an how it affects you.

Day 8: Write to yourself about something you are nervous about that will happen before you read these letters.

Day 9: Write to yourself about where you want to go in life.

Day 10: Write to yourself about one person you really want to meet and why.

Day 11: Write to yourself about one of the happiest moments in your life thus far, and why.

Day 12: Write to yourself about something you secretly really want to try.

Day 13: Write to yourself about your ideal relationship.

Day 14: Write to yourself about something you are struggling with right now, and how you think you can help it.

Day 15: Make a video to your future self, talking about whatever. Really ramble off :)

162 Days.

162 days until what I hope to be the best day of my life (besides the day I started dating John, of course). I'm seriously just sitting here getting myself excited because in 162 days I'll be at Taylor Swift's Red Tour!!! John really won my heart by getting me the tickets for my birthday. And the way he gave them to me was so clever and adorable. Since my birthday was on the Sunday before John's finals and I had work, we postponed celebrating my birthday until two weeks later. The morning we had planned to celebrate my birthday, he texted me to say he was running late with some things he had to do so we would have to get together an hour or so later than we planned. Little did I know, he was putting together a scavenger hunt that would send me around our town (and a bordering town). When he eventually texted me and said he was ready, he included in the message that I had to go to my mom and she would give me something. I was a little skeptical at first, but finally I went to her and asked in a confused tone, if she had something for me. That was when she handed me my first clue:

 

This clue didn't take me long to figure out. He had sent the second clue in an e-mail.

 

 

This second hint took me awhile to figure out. Obviously, the numbers 2, 5,and 9 were missing. The bonus hint is what finally made me realize he was referring to the Scout Center, which used to be an old school house, and his Boy Scout troop (295) and the Boy Scout troop my brother and family are part of (9) meet there. I didn't want to go about this adventure on my own, so I recruited my sister to come help me out. We left my house and I drove us to the Scout Center. When we pulled in, I was thinking he might be there, but instead I found a pink envelope sitting on the bench out front with another clue inside.

 

This clue had so many meanings from the title of the clue to the place this clue sent me to. The community center in our town in right next to the Delaware River. Behind the community center is a nice area where you can sit by the river. One night we went down there to sit by the water and we saw kittens running around! Other night we go there we see deer, which I think are adorable. The location of this clue was down by the river, taped inside the gazebo, which just so happens to be undercover from the rain.

Geocaching is something John and I love to do together. This geocache in particular was the first one we ever found together. It is in a park in our town which is also next to the Delaware River. When I arrived at the park, my sister and I got out of my car to walk to the location of the geocache. As we were walking, we saw John's car pulled into the parking lot. I was a little confused. He got out of his car and ran over to me. Apparently, he was supposed to be waiting for me at the last location, but he had to take a road detour and that made him take longer than he thought it would. I didn't care that he wasn't there first, I was just happy to see him! That was when he gave me my amazing present!

 

 

 

I was ecstatic! For one, he gave me a Taylor Swift card. And second, I had no clue he had gotten me the tickets! He knew how badly I wanted to go to her concert, but I didn't think he would actually get me the tickets. That day was so exciting, and now I'm really looking forward to July 20th!!!!