A New Adventure

The fact that I leave for college in just one day (technically two but it is very late on Wednesday night) is incredibly terrifying yet thrilling at the same time. As I've mentioned time and time again, I have been waiting for this moment for so long. College was the light at the end of the tunnel that was high school. I am so excited for the new adventure I am about to embark on and I cannot wait to see where life takes me.

Tonight I had my last dinner with my family, at least for a few weeks (my dad will be at work all day tomorrow and my brother has football team dinner at school). We ate an amazing meal, we laughed, we I cried. I really haven't been that emotional about everything until this week. I think it is due to the fact that I've been waiting for this moment for so long so it doesn't seem possible that it can finally be here.
Hunter and I (featuring his great football tan lines)
In all honesty I'm probably just being dramatic about how much I'll miss my family. I'll be back home for Labor Day weekend in two weeks, however, it will definitely be an adjustment being away from my family. We are all really close and not having my mom there to vent to and laugh with everyday will definitely be a challenge.
I look rough because I had just finished crying... It's fine

On the other hand, though, I am ready for the challenge of independence. I'm ready to get away from my hometown and start over. There is something so liberating about going to a university where almost no one from your high school is going. There are so many new experiences awaiting me along with so many new people. College is going to be a change, a refreshing change, that I've been craving for so long.

I cannot wait to see where the year takes me and I hope that you all will continue to follow along on my blog to see how my freshman year unfolds.

Until next time,
Taylor xx

Summer 2016

In twelve very short days I will be "moved in" to my freshman year of college. I am obviously extremely excited but also nervous. I wanted to take this time before the craziness of my final week(s) in St. Louis wrap up, to recap on what I've done this summer. I'm thinking of this as a "summer scrapbook". 

May:
Graduation: Graduation feels like it was so long ago but really it was only a few months ago. May 21 really was a life changing day. Not only was high school "officially" finished, but seeing everything I've worked for be showcased as I walked across the stage was a very proud moment in my life. 


June:
Mission Trip: On June 8th a team of 130 youth and adults from SunRise United Methodist Church took 13- 12 passenger vans to Kansas City, Missouri. It is crazy because I went on our youth group's first mission trip to Joplin in 2012 and this year was my fifth mission trip (we also went to Joplin in 2013, Memphis in 2014, Tulsa in 2015). It's been incredible to see how our youth group and adult support has grown from the initial mission trip to this past trip. The people we served (and who also served us) and what we were able to accomplish throughout our time in Kansas City truly shaped my summer.
The Boys and Girls Club in KC
I helped stack over 1,100 hamburgers for the lunches we were serving 
Organizing toys, puzzles, and games at Mission Adelante  
Some free time in between our choir performance and the drama team skit
Work: Other than mission trip, I really didn't do anything else in June besides work. I tried to work a lot so I could cushion the whole "broke college kid" thing. I'm sure it'll hit, but you know, at least I worked a lot this summer.
Driving the Gator to take out the recycling at work
July:
Cedar Point: My family and I went up to Cedar Point, an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. It is 100 times better than Six Flags and if you love amusement parks you definitely need to check this one out. Somehow I didn't get any pictures while we were there but check out the link below to view some of the rides. We were the second car of the day to go on the newest ride, Valravn, and when we got off of the ride there was already an hour and a half wait. My favorites were the Top Thrill Dragster (google it) and the Gatekeeper.

LEAP: LEAP stands for Leaderships Enrichment Adventure Program. This was a four day first year student camp through Drury that worked on building leadership skills and meeting other freshmen students going to Drury in the fall. The specific LEAP I was in was "Outdoor Immersion". I don't have very many photos from this either because we actually went to a park in Arkansas and tried to camp out so I didn't have my phone on me. Note that I said we "tried to camp out" because at 4 am we awoke to our tent trying to blow away in a thunderstorm. We had to run to a van at like 5 o'clock in the morning and sleep in that for a few hours. PS: Our tent was the only one that flooded... Even with the rain changing most of our plans, I had a great time and learned a lot. I also made so many memories and have many stories to share because of this camp.
This was actually the first time I ever drove to Drury by myself.  
Camping gear: duffel bag, sleeping bag, pillow 
Escape Room- Springfield on our last night of our trip

Florida: For my 18th birthday I went and visited my friend Natira in Florida. I hadn't seen her since May for graduation, and that was only two days. Then the last time I had seen her was mid January. It was great being able to catch up and see each other before we go off to college. I got to go to Epcot on my 18th birthday and go to the beach the day before I headed back home. It was an incredible last trip before I go to college and I am so glad I was able to see Natira again.
My Grandma Sue actually picked me up from the airport when I arrived and I got to go out to lunch with her before she dropped me off at Natira's 
Epcot! 
 
Same tea kettle, same 
Cocoa Beach! I may have gotten a little sunburnt...
August:
Liverpool F.C. v. A.S. Roma Game: My dad and I went to the Liverpool v. Roma soccer game in St. Louis on August 1. My dad is a pretty big soccer fan and through his love of the sport, I've learned more about the professional teams. I don't know how the players did it because it was so hot and humid just sitting in the stands, let alone actually running around on the field.

So that was my summer, "recap" style. I hope you all enjoyed seeing what I was up to over the past few months and I'll be sure to post lots of photos of my dorm room once I'm moved in towards the end of August!

Until next time,
Taylor xx