Life Changes

I feel as though in these past months I have grown as a person in more ways than one. For instance I finished my first year of college, which is a tremendous feat for me. Now I don't mean I wanted to quit school, but simply I have never been so continually stressed out for so long. I don't want this post to be about my unending struggles, so I am going to move onto something greater. 

I'm growing up. This is crazy to think about, but yet so exciting. I love the idea of being my own person, and making decisions that will forever impact my life. I know I never wrote about how amazing freshman year was, but there simply is no way to put it into words. I had plenty of hard times. School wasn't perfect, people do disappoint, but those few who kept me going I owe it all to you. 

Those who are going into college, and those who may be struggling with whatever I have some advice. Don't be afraid to fail. Failure has this stereotype of being the worst possible outcome of your life, but I have a few things to say about that. If you have something you work extremely hard on then be proud of that. If things don't goes as planned, be okay with that. Life is not a set schedule. It is not black and white, even though that is what many of us want. Life is a mush of colors and moments that make up who we are. The failures in life are what makes us human. So be okay with failures because you will learn and become someone greater.

XOXO--Emerald

It's a Día for the Books

I have a question for you? 

What would you do if you had one day where all classes were cancelled?

This may sound crazy, but there is a tradition here at Baylor University and it is called Día del Oso. I know you must be thinking the same thing as me, how is that a tradition, it's just a day of the year? I'm going to give you a little inside information. This "holiday" isn't even actually on the day of the bear, in absolute sincerity it was on national dolphin day. Don't get me wrong everyone loves a little bit of dolphin, but let's just say for the sake of the tradition it was the day of the bear.

Okay so let's begin. Me and a group of my friends decided that instead of staying on campus (which is a perfectly acceptable way to spend día), we were going to venture to Austin, Texas, the great ATX and have ourselves a little adventure. Growing up in Texas I have only been to Austin 3 times. Don't get me wrong it's a great place, but I feel like there are two types of childhoods. One being the DFW child who goes to Fort Worth/Dallas (or Arlington) to have their big city excursions, the second being Austin. 

We started the day with driving to Jacob's Well, which I had never heard of until we got there. We made our way back to the "hole", as I like to call it, and had a lovely picnic of PB&J and whatever else a college student can afford. We swam, the boys jumped off rocks, and we failed at taking pictures in the "hole". What was crazy is that the other groups of people that were there were also from Baylor (great minds think alike I guess). After blowing bubbles and attempting to get a tan we headed into downtown Austin, and back out, and back in to find a meal. 

We stopped to get pizza at Home Slice, which is an amazing place to pig out after being in the sun all day. After stuffing two giant slices of pizza in my face we basically sprinted down to the Congress Avenue Bridge to watch the millions of bats swarm. After watching the bats and the sun set on a beautiful day, we headed back to the car and stopped by the very small 'I love you so much' wall. We took some photos, as the typical college students do and decided that the perfect way to end the day was to get some ice cream.

Our flavor of choice Amy's Ice Cream on Congress, but the line was too long so we went to a different one. Which in my opinion was better because it had a playground. Honestly my favorite part was the cow statues that soon became our photo booth making for some lovely pictures.

After everything we were exhausted. We had conquered Día, and made an adventure out of a typical Tuesday that I will never forget. 

XOXO--Emerald

Wacotown

There's this place and I kind of love it. It's not too big and it's not too small. It's just right. It's the place I like to call my new home. Waco.

You may have no idea where this place is, and that is perfectly okay because not many people know about it. It definitely is not perfect and I wasn't really expecting that. Waco holds so many special places and that is why I love it. 

I'm going into my second semester here at Baylor, and the work load has slapped me in the face. I guess winter break got me a little too accustomed to staying up all night watching Supernatural on Netflix. (cough cough Jared and Jensen) I came back to school knowing my classes would be things I have never been exposed to, but it's an adventure. I have more of a schedule this time and I like it. I have time to just sit and be a vegetable for once in my life and I love it. Most of the time I just sit in my room and do nothing, or I watch YouTube videos and wish that I could be technological. 

I think it's crazy how I have found a place. I have found friends that I love, and friends that seem like they have been in my life forever. I have found a job that allows me to spend my summer here in this town I love with so many great people. 

People may not understand why I love Waco so much, but it's simple. It's a small place with a big heart that may not be perfect, but it is just right for me. 

XOXO--Emerald

Wonderland

My oh my it has been a long time since I have last taken the time to write a little something. Life has gone completely crazy and flipped upside down. The idea that I am in college still hasn't fully sinked into my mind, and I have no idea why. I still feel like I am at an endless camp, but it includes going to class and learning a million different things. I want people to know that college can be scary, but if you surround yourself with the right people, and a lot of people you should be floating on a cloud of happiness. I know that can be hard to believe, and it is hard sometimes. Some days you will want to just cry from frustration, or from finding out that your plans aren't always what God had in store for you. You will in fact learn a lot about yourself. You learn how to stand up for yourself and speak your mind. (Sometimes speaking your mind may not be the best thing ;), just so you know.)

Well what I have I been up to? A lot is all I can say, but I will do my best to show you a little something. I promise not to make this a novel.
I came to college knowing a few people and that was so helpful because they introduced me to other people who introduced to me to others and so on. Friends are like my family, and family is a necessity which is why I am so thankful for the people I have met.

The beginning of the year was basically me meeting new people and finding friends that understand my awkward personality, and that can be tough. :) I had to learn to come out of my comfort zone and that resulted in some great experiences with friends that I feel like I have known my entire life.

I have had the wonderful opportunity of seeing friends from back home and that is definitely a necessity while at school. I miss all of my friends from home, but phone calls and endless texts makes up for it! :)

Now let me tell you how important it is to get involved. My week literally has something planned every night, and I love that because it keeps me going. For me personally I have to be able to have a time where I can just get out of my dorm room and spend time with people that I love to be around. 

My college experience has been so extremely wonderful. Stress can sometimes have a little damper on my plans, but I make it through. 

XOXO--Emerald

What is Love?

Well what is it? 

I guess you could say it is a song from the early 90s that will always keep your head bobbing. Or I could go into this deep meaning of how love is not just an emotion, but it is a verb. Or I could simply just say what it means to me. 

Love can be summed up in so many different ways. You can love another person; which is what most people consider love. You can love an object because it has such a special meaning to you. Love is everything.

I love my family. Every single one of them. My parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins. My family at home may be small, but outside of my home it is like an entirely different world. There are so many of them and I can even say I haven't met them all. I have a special relationship with each one of them and that's something I will never change. My parents are my best friends, and this may seem like a surprise coming from a teenagers mouth but I don't know what I am going to do without them when I start my own life. Okay enough of that mushiness. My entire family is so amazing and they bring laughter to my life. Who wouldn't love that.

Now onto my friends. I have a wide variety of friends. I have those friends I left behind when I moved in 6th grade. I have the friends I am going to leave behind when I go to college. And I have friends waiting for me at college. Friends that will come and go. I hope that I have built friendships that have made a difference. I know those I spend my time with have something special about them because I would never purposely hang around someone who doesn't make me happy. My friends are like my family. I have never really had a best friend because choosing just isn't fair. They all have special qualities, and each one of them is unique that I could never pick a favorite. There are definitely those I spend more time with, but that just means they can stand to be around my crazy self for long periods of time. My friends mean the world to me. They are my support and I love all of them. 

My next definition of love is loving the things around you. Now I don't mean idolizing these objects, I just mean that you are able to gain joy from this object. Here is an example. I love my art set because when I see it laying out it reminds me of something I love to do. I love looking at the colors and imagining what could be. I love my bed because it is always there to catch me. It holds the most amazing pillows that I sometimes cry into and it holds the blankets that I love to curl up in. I love the pictures I have hanging on the wall in my room. They are black and white, but I can remember the color because I took each one myself. They are very special to me because they hold memories of adventures. I love my mirror (don't think of this as a conceded thing) because it reflects everything. When I get ready in the morning I look at my face and I am reminded of what a miracle life is. I love my piano because it gives me an opportunity to reach for a person that is sometimes lost. A little girl dreading her next piano lesson, but always feeling accomplished once it was done. I love everything I own because some may be gifts and some are things my parents have given me over time. 

Love is the feeling you get when you find something wonderful. Love is watching your favorite television show or reading your favorite book. Love is when a mother looks at her new born child for the first time. Love is the way a groom looks at his bride the day of the wedding. Love is what causes smiles and laughter. Love is everything.

Love may come and go, but you have to remember love isn't summed up in one way. It has so many different meanings and I don't think it is possible to find every meaning. In fact I don't think we are meant to find those meanings I think they are meant to find us. Just remember love can do amazing things we just have to give it a chance.

XOXO--Emerald

I'm Growing Up

I have learned lately that things don't always go as we plan.We shouldn't have this intricate plan set before us because sooner or later it is going to crash and burn. I do this a lot. I am what you would call a planner. I like to know where I am going, what we will be doing when we get there, and exactly what the rest of my day looks like. But that is not how life works. We come up with ideas only to have them completely twisted and thrown out the window. One morning you will wake up and hope to be productive, but end up having something go chaotic and be forced to focus on something completely different.
Enough of my crazy mind spilling itself out and on to more interesting things.
Who knew the summer after graduating high school would be so stressful and boring at the same time. You get all pumped to spend endless hours with your friends and meet new people while visiting your college, but like I mentioned earlier plans always fail.
I got a job; like most teens do during the summer and that has basically taken up all of my time. I'm not complaining because it was a fairly easy job that didn't take much effort, but it did take my time. I found myself coming home and falling asleep and waking up when I normally fall asleep. But I need money so that's how it is going to be.
First of all I got a new computer. Which I love! I went to Six Flags with one of my best friends and ate way too much food. I got to spend time with my adorable cousins that I rarely ever see.

I would say life is pretty great right now:)

So here is my life recently in a few pictures enjoy :)

XOXO--Emerald

Sweet Summertime

Let me start off with this; I am a slacker when it comes to posting. If you could look into my brain you would see the endless ideas I have, but life just gets in the way. I don't want to sound like a negative Nancy, but nothing really sticks out to me. But I am going to stop being a diva and just write. That's why I did this in the first place. I wanted to show the few people who actually read this a side of me that very few people see.

Since it is June, and my last post was in May (sorry I'm lazy) I thought I would update my life a little bit. The big one is that I finally graduated high school! I put on the cap and gown, and walked across a stage putting an end to a big part of my life. I really don't think it will ever hit me that I won't see most of these people ever again. On the bright side I got to wear these amazing red heels that give me so much joy. Cheesy right?!

So I have been going through this phase of reading blogs on crazy healthy food, and becoming obsessed with making it. I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Lady Smart, and she had decided to make this pizza that had so many ingredients I had never heard of. But the crazy thing is that the pizza was considered healthy! The crust is butternut squash and the sauce is fresh pesto. Delicious! I had to tweak it a little bit and add some cheese, but it still was on the healthy side.

Another thing I have fallen in love with is the store Lush. Oh my goodness!! If you have never been to a Lush store you are missing out on a little piece of heaven. I could spend my entire life in there looking at their amazing creations. 

I ended up purchasing a shampoo and conditioner. They both smell amazing and I have already used my entire bottle of conditioner. 

The shampoo is called Rehab and it smells so lovely. It has Lavender, Rosemary, and Peppermint oil that gives your nose a little party.

The conditioner is a completely different type of scent, and let me tell you it is great! It is called American Cream and smells exactly like a strawberry milkshake! Now don't tell me that doesn't sound like heaven.

Another thing I have got to experience was my college orientation at the wonderful Baylor University Campus. I was able to meet new friends and catch up with old ones. I also attended a camp called Super Summer which is a leadership camp for my church. I was able to see so many friends, and that is always an amazing feeling. 

So I believe that is about it for my summer so far. I hope I didn't overwhelm anyone with the wide variety of things I talked about. But I just want to say a massive thank you to anyone who actually read this far and for that I will give you this photo of me in a tree! :)

P.S. I am actually going to try to post more than just once a month!

XOXO-- Emerald