What Am I Doing?

Brilliant question. I don’t really know.

I’ve been kind of absent from the blogging world—at least on this page—because life has been a little bit crazy for the past year. The goal for this post? Summarize a year of my life and let all you neat followers know what’s up next for me. It might be long. I’m sorry. I don’t do short.

In the past year, I have…

·      Been a frequent guest-poster on one of my dearest friends’ blogs, Precariosities. Check out a couple of my favorites [[here and here]]—and while you’re visiting, give the rest of the site some love. I’ll try to do better about linking in my posts there so the faithful few who have stuck with me here can see them. [[Have I mentioned I love you? All five of you. Seriously.]]

·      Met some life-changing people at Grace College. This is my roommate, Deborah (right). I adore her. And on the left is my RA, Katelyn. I learned so much from her. She's great. They're both great. I can't even begin to express all my love. Last summer when I got home from school, I didn't really miss people from Grace. This summer? I miss these two.

·      Visited Aruba with my dad’s family. Sunshine gets me, you guys. Family vacays are just the greatest. Plus I got to play Paul Blart for a day. It’s fine.

·      

Visited Florida for Spring Break with my two best friends. We stayed at Universal for a couple days [[because Harry Potter]], and then we headed down to see my grandparents in Fort Myers. My friends took time off of their big-girl jobs to hang with me. Since they live in Tennessee, I don’t see them as often as I want to. The whole trip made my soul a little bit lighter. And any time spent with my grandparents is always a solid 10.

·      Changed my major to communications, with minors in Spanish and creative writing. The next question I typically get is, “What do you want to do with that?” And the answer is that I have absolutely no idea. I have a concentration in public relations. I just want a degree. And I want to write. Everyone stay off my back. Srsly.

·      Hosted two successful bridal showers in the course of a month. While also juggling 16 credit hours. Three of which counted toward a heinous advanced speech class that robbed me of sanity and sleep. I lost count of my emotional breakdowns but tHE FOOD WAS GOOD AT BOTH SHOWERS SO EVERYTHING WAS OKAY. [[Thanks for all your help, Mom. You the real MVP.]]

·      Been a Maid of Horror [[!!!!!!]] I married off Miss McAvoy/Mrs. Blazier at the end of May. I also gave a speech. People cried. I almost threw up. It was great. I think. I really don't remember that much. [[This all happened approximately 15 months after I convinced her to date the guy. Not to brag or anything. What a year, though.]]

·      Been a Bridesmaid for another one of my dearest friends. Mr. and Mrs. Grover made their debut in the first week of June. My heart is so full for them. Also I didn’t have to give a speech for that one. Bless. Although now that I think about it, I did have to help with the whole hold-the-dress-while-the-bride-pees fiasco, so it all evens out.

·      Regained the Maid of Horror title in a wedding slated for next May. Which means I have to write another speech. I'm already nervous; it's fine. I met Ashlyn in pre-school way back in the day. We ended up being best friends all through grade school just because she asked me to play with her one day at recess in kindergarten. The rest is history. 15 years later, we found ourselves going shopping for her wedding dress. Life is weird, guys. But so grand. 

·      Purchased plane tickets to study abroad in Costa Rica from August 30-December 10. So far the only person not handling it well is my grandma [[I love you, Grandma]]. So in just about a month and a half, I’ll be packing my bags and heading to some uncharted [[to me]] territory. I consider myself a “wannabe adventurer,” but I’m looking forward to dropping the “wannabe.” [[Also I’m scared out of my mind, but I’m not thinking about that until August 29.]]

·      Been to CDYC with Hope Missionary Church as a small group leader. One of my co-leaders described the move as “uncharacteristic” of my personality, and I loved that description. It was so not me. But do you know how humbling it is to watch God move in places you never expected to be? It was strange and challenging and real—all because I took the chance and said a hard “yes” when my first reaction was “no.” My nine small group girls brought me so much joy. How rewarding, friends. [[Bonus: my cousin was there, too. He was thrilled to have me along.]]

So that’s where I am now. This summer is low-key. You can find me at Grounds and Grains reading a good book, at Dairy Queen perfecting my ice cream extraordinaire skills, or at Starbucks having authentic conversations with the people I love. And sometimes, you can't find me. Because sometimes life is hard, and I need to just take a day, you know?

Hopefully, you'll also find me blogging more. I’ll still have frequent guest posts on Precariosities, and I’ll give you a window into my [[insanely boring]] life from this platform. Whatever it is I’m doing, I’ll be writing about it.

What am I doing?

I still don’t know. But I do know that I’m continually learning what it means to be a Child of Light. And I know more about walking in Light today than I did last year at this time, because when I look back at the girl I was last July, I realize she isn't me. I miss her a little, but I don't think I want to be her again. So I guess we’ve made progress. 

Okay, that’s all for now.

No more long posts like this; I promise. The goal is to have the presence of mind to have frequent life updates, so we don’t run into the whole one-year-in-one-post debacle again.

One more time—thanks to all five of you who have courageously kept me on your Blog List despite my silence. I’m breaking it. Finally.

Let's keep adventuring in the Light.