Sarah and the Adventure of Life

On January 20, 2015, I turned 19. I know that doesn't seem very old, but it's the oldest I've ever been! A lot happened my eighteenth year: prom, a new relationship, graduation, moving away to college, changing my major... It's been quite exciting, that's for sure! I had my fair share of adulthood as well, and I'm sure more adulthood is going to smack me in the face every chance it gets. Anyway, since I'm here at school, I spent my birthday with my roommates. The night before, my roommates took me out to a local coffee shop and all gathered their spare change to pay for my drink. It was very thoughtful, and we had fun spending quality time together. On the big day, Mom sent me a big package that was also known as The Party Box . She had packed a bunch of fun toys for my roommates and me to play with. We all had party hats, balloons, noise-makers, bouncy balls...you name it! We even went outside and made giant bubbles. We definitely got some strange looks,...

Back in high school (or any schooling before now), the new semester never felt very...well...new. However, here at college, a new semester feels like a brand new start. It makes sense, since usually the new semester means absolutely new classes. I'm especially excited for this semester since I'm starting to work towards my new degree. I'm also taking super interesting and, in my opinion, unusual classes such as Geology (+ lab) and an education class. On the first day of school (last Wednesday), I only had one class. I woke up pretty late, but early enough to see the snow flurries that had welcomed the students back to class. I've never seen smaller snowflakes...I could barely see them! It was so sweet and a nice beginning to the school year. In contrast to Wednesday, Thursday had three classes back to back. I sound like a real wimp, but I'm not sure how I did this in high school. It was quite exhausting to go from class to class for just under 5 hours. This also ...

On the night of January 10, I had family and friends come over. This wasn't a big extravaganza or anything… We were just celebrating my birthday, since I wasn't going to be home for the real day. It was fun and enjoyable: we had pizza and I, of course, opened up gifts. I received a ton of cool gifts, but the entire celebration was a little bittersweet, since I was leaving so soon afterwards. I would not see my family and friends until March. Robley, my nephew, playing with AJ, my second cousin. Feat. Granny I knew I had to return, despite wanting to stay. It's not that I don't want to learn or anything…I'll just miss the people. My people . But this is all a part of getting older and all that rot. January 11 was my packing day. Victoria, my best friend, came by and gave me my birthday gift. We hugged a lot and said, “S ee you soon ,” because we knew we would. In the evening, I went to Mass for the last time in my home church. Then, after dinner, I said ...

Happy New Year! I've been quite busy this week. On Tuesday, I spent the night at Jenny's (my roommate!) house. The next day, Wednesday, I went to school. Well, sort of. Jenny's mom is a middle school teacher, and I decided to shadow her for a day, since I'm considering becoming a middle school teacher. It was beyond educational...I learned so much! I took about 6 pages of notes there, and I'm not even done asking Jenny's mom questions! So far, I am really enjoying the idea of being in her shoes in about five years. It was definitely interesting because Jenny's mom teaches at a private school. I went to public school all my life, and I didn't even think about teaching at a private school. Shadowing was such a great experience...and I am hoping to do it again soon! Henry the Hippo ready for a Day at School Later that evening, my parents took me out for a birthday dinner at one of my favorite places: Joe's Crab Shack . I love crab sooo much, s...

As we all know, it is December 31, 2014. We are on the brink of a brand new year. Before we shout "Happy New Year!" I think it's important to review over all the blessings and hardships 2014 presented to us. 2014 aged me...literally. I turned 18 in January, which, to me, is a huge milestone. The year of adulthood. The year I had to renew my license. The year I started applying for credit cards. The year my life changed. In March, I went on a fun trip with my high school choir and orchestra to St. Louis, MO. We traveled by train, which was an experience in itself (I believe we spent 12 hours on a train...talk about fun and uncomfortable!). This was my first time seeing the city, and I really did like it. It was a bit smoggy, which I'm not used to, but the experience of seeing a new place and traveling with people I love was so much fun. It will be hard to forget. The Arch, the City, my Group, Ashley and I, the Old Courthouse In May, a lot of exciting things...

Merry Christmas! I hope your day was as wonderful as ever. I had such a great day...but before I talk about Christmas, I have to talk about the few days leading up to this very special holiday. This past weekend was full of cleaning in preparation of Christmas and my Aunt's birthday (which was on Sunday). Early in the week, I had dinner with Luke, his mother, and his step-father and helped decorate the tree. I didn't get to decorate my family's tree, so it was fun to do! Besides, you can learn a lot about someone by looking at their Christmas ornaments. On Tuesday, Luke and I went on an adventure. Every year, Gaylord Texan hosts ICE! (Click the link to find out more information!) ICE! is where hundreds of pounds of ice is shipped to the hotel and about 30 Chinese ice-carvers come to Texas just to carve the ice and create the magic. This year's theme was Frosty the Snowman...and it was absolutely beautiful. It always amazes me how beautiful these sculptures are....

It often surprises me how quick time can pass by. I remember when I was little(er) and a five-minute time-out seemed to last forever. Now? Five minutes seem to slip away faster than I can get my feet out the door. This Christmas season seems to be speeding right by...and not slowing down, either. I believe this is because I've grown a little older and, as my father always said, time seems to go faster the older we become. On Wednesday, to follow up from my Mommy-Daughter date on Tuesday, Dad and I had our own Daddy-Daughter date. We accomplished a lot of errands, had some pizza (his gluten-free), and shopped around at Half-Price Books, one of my favorite places. I picked up a couple of books, all of which I had been wanting for quite awhile. New Books! Well...new to me! One that I have been wanting for awhile is The Fault In Our Stars , by John Green. You've probably heard of it, since it recently was made into a movie. For those of you who have no idea what I'm t...