2013 in Review

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I feel like the older I get, the faster time flies by. Honestly, I cannot even believe it is the end of 2013. I remember anticipating this year and being excited about what it had in store. I had some pretty big plans for 2013 like studying abroad and living in Cleveland. The experiences I had over the past year have presented me with opportunities to learn more about myself. 2013 was a year of tremendous growth and discovery of my passions and purpose in life.

Study Abroad.
Since 7th grade Spanish, it was my dream to one-day visit Spain. Spring 2013, I studied abroad in Seville, Spain. I never thought in a million years that my sophomore year of college I would be in Europe. It was incredible (I want to keep this brief so I won't go into much detail, but here are some posts.....here, here, here). I had the opportunity to live with the most amazing host parents, see breathtaking sunsets, develop my Spanish, meet new people and travel to 10 different countries. I will be forever grateful for that experience, it was the most amazing way to kick off my twenties, 2013.......and my life.

Summer.
The time following my study abroad experience was difficult. I wanted to pursue my next adventure...I wanted to be out of my small town. Instead, I babysat my two little sisters (here) and, in June, began this blog. It started off as Passionately Curious and, now, Permeating Purpose.

Urban Semester Program.
After being away from campus for spring semester, I was off-campus the following semester for an Urban Immersion Program . In Cleveland, I lived  in a house with 9 other students, completed 5 courses (all in the living room) and finished my first internship with a non-profit organization. This experience helped me grow as a person, learning a lot about how I communicate, what my strengths and weaknesses are and discover a new interest in Urban Planning and Development.

Good News.
My time abroad has instilled in me a passion for traveling, experiencing new cultures and meeting new people. As soon as an international opportunity arose, I leaped at the opportunity. I was accepted to a service trip in Jinotega, Nicaragua teaching young children English in May 2014.

An Election.
Elections for the new 2014 Alpha Gamma Delta-Alpha Iota officers were held at the end of Fall semester. My sisters voted me President of the Alpha Iota chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta. I am honored to hold this position and look forward to being a leader and role model to my sisters.

Well, I am going to enjoy my time back on campus with my sisters and friends next semester. I hope to start accomplishing some of my goals for this year (here). It is going to be a busy year, but I am excited and looking forward to what this next year may bring.

I wish you nothing but the best this New Year!

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21st Birthday: This Year's Goals

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It's that time of year again....my birthday! Oh yes, the big 2-1. I'm looking forward to moving into my twenties and the new year! Here are 21 things I would like to accomplish this year:

1. Enjoy some time to myself: reading, napping, shopping, walking, watching movies, etc.
2. Eat better
3. Make mistakes...admit it was a mistake, learn from it, and move on
4. Drink beer and be merry
5. Find an internship
6. Leave the country (doing this in May- Nicaragua)
7. Volunteer
8. Workout 3-4 times a week
9. Conduct 10 informational interviews (to get a grasp on the field and my interests)
10. Conquer a fear (not sure which one....I really don't like heights..maybe something with that)
11. Figure out what I'm doing with my summer
12. Tell people more often that I appreciate and love them
13. Keep practicing Spanish
14. Plan a weekend trip to a big city like NYC or Chicago (taking the Megabus or greyhound)
15. Write letters to my family and friends
16. Stop and enjoy the little moments
17. Complain less, do more
18. Listen
19. Be thankful
20. Journal and blog
21. Have fun

What do you hope to accomplish this year?

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Weekend in Review: Wicked, Books, and Family

Winter break is about taking advantage of free time between hectic semesters. And, trust me, I have been taking advantage of it. Aside from taking glorious naps, I enjoy spending time with family, reading, watching movies, and blogging over break. This past weekend was a blast.

Randomly my cousin that I have not seen or talked to in awhile texted me and asked if I wanted to take a mini-road trip to visit my sister and nephew. Well, seeing as I had free time, I headed with her. Cool thing, my sister lives near the Longaberger Basket building (above picture). It was pretty cool. I snapped a lot of pics when we passed by. It was fun seeing her and the baby. We ended up staying the night because it is dark, country roads between her house and mine. It was great to spend time with my cousin and catching up with her. Spending time with family is refreshing.

 I had been waiting almost half a century semester to go see Wicked at Playhouse Square in Cleveland last Saturday. My grandma and I ordered tickets at the beginning of November when I called frantically looking for someone to go with me before tickets were sold out. I absolutely love, love, love musicals and I had not yet seen Wicked so I seized the opportunity. I loved spending the day with my grandma. #bestdateever

Sunday, my family headed over to my grandparents house for a Christmas lunch. A couple of my siblings and I will not be able to be at my grandparents house on Christmas day because we will be at our mom's house. So we headed over to grandma's house to celebrate early with a yummy lunch and opening presents early! I think the best part of the day was my grandpa's Minute to Win It games.

How are you spending your holidays?

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Weekly Wishes

Sunsets: Masterpieces in the sky

WHoohoo! Only 2 days until Christmas! I couldn't be more excited. Starting off the week with a focus on what I want to accomplish this week, this really busy week. I hope you are having a wonderful day and have a great holiday!

Last Week's Wishes                                                                                                                        

Write and Plan Posts. well, I posted twice this week. I kept getting a little side tracked, but 2 posts is better than no posts. I have a post planned for this week and hopefully one more than that. Make Christmas plans. One more thing to figure out this week, but Christmas plans are pretty much made! I can't wait to spend time with my family! Read. I finished Water for Elephants! It was wonderful. Now, I am reading Blue Like Jazz.

This Week's Wishes                                                                                                                        

Enjoy Christmas. I love Christmas so much! Mostly because I get to hang out with all of my family and nothing could be better than that. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, as well!

Have an awesome 21st Birthday. Yes, it's true! My birthday, my 21st birthday, is 4 days after Christmas! I need to get my new license this week and enjoy my next step into my twenties. No, my 21st is not going to be wild and crazy, but pretty chill, maybe dinner and cake or something.

Happy Monday! 

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Cleveland Blogger Meet Up

I'm a little slow on the uptake, nevertheless this is a cool thing that happened so I wanted to share it.  Blogging is all about the community that is created between bloggers. It's awesome to "meet" someone through blogging, but it is even better when you get to meet them in real life. 

My blogging big, Rachael, at Pretty in Pink, and Cleveland blogger, Jessica, at Anchored in CLE, decided to plan a Cleveland Blogger Meet Up for bloggers in the area to hang out and meet each other. We met up in Ohio City for a Holiday event, ate lunch in the Market Garden, and picked up some snacks in the West Side Market. 

There is a lot you can learn about someone through their blog, but even more when you meet them. Plus, I have a theory that only bloggers understand the world of blogging. I swear every time I talk to my parents, siblings, boyfriend, anyone who doesn't blog, they look at me like I have completely lost it. So it's nice to talk to people who understand. I really had a wonderful time hanging out with each and every one of them. I look forward to another blogger meet up!

Who I met: 

Margaret Life After Athens

Katie Call Me Trouble

Mike Icing on the Lake 

Ashleigh The Darling Prepster

Lisa Ameliorer La Vie

Lunch! Eggs on a burger is one of the best things ever! 

Thank you, Rachael and Jessica! You guys did a great job!

Have you ever met a blogger? How was it?

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Weekly Wishes

Hello partyblogger people! It's a blogging miracle, finals are over and I can get back to blogging. So I decided to start off with weekly wishes with Melyssa at The Nectar Collective to get me motivated again. Melyssa chose love as this week's theme. The picture above is the day my nephew was born when my grandma and I came to visit him. I love these two human beings more than words can truly describe. Life is so precious and it is important to cherish memories with the ones you love most. I cherish this one as our family moved into another stage together.

Due to my finals, I had to take a blogger hiatus and focus on my studies. It was a difficult end of the semester, but it is done! Now, I am home and the only things I have to do are: take naps, blog, read for fun, drink coffee, take more naps, celebrate my 21st birthday (Dec. 29), hang out with family and friends and read Buzzfeed. Those sound like wonderful plans to me. So since it has been a while, I will just skip over past wishes and head right into this week's wishes!

This Week's Wishes                                                                                                                        

Write and Plan Posts. Now that I have some free time, I want to devote time and creativity to my blog. I want to write some posts and plan them, read other blogs, and interact with other bloggers. I am really looking forward to this.

Make Christmas plans. I have a very large family like 4 sets of grandparents, boyfriend's family, cousins, 8 siblings, and a nephew. Yes, the holidays are crazy, but I love spending time with everyone. 

Read. I did not have much time during the busy fall semester to read for fun so I'm hoping to take plenty of time for myself. I started Water for Elephants yesterday, but I have many more like Blue Like Jazz, The Google Story, and The Choice. I hope to finish at least one this week! 

Happy Monday! 

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My Love

Well, it has been a really bad week and I just haven't been in the mood to write posts. But when I saw that today's prompt for The Thankful Project was "something about your significant other", I had to do it. I do not normally talk about my boyfriend, but I knew that writing about him would bring me great joy and the prompt gave me an excuse to. 

He doesn't like photos so I have to sneak them. 

His name is Nathan and he is the man that has completely stolen my heart. We are nearing 3 years together and that is pretty exciting, but seems like forever. He is my best friend. He is smart, kind, hysterical and, basically, a gem. Although, we do not get to spend very much time together, due to the fact we go to different schools, we always find ways to make each other a priority. 

He is the balance in my chaotic life. There are many things I appreciate about Nathan, but there is one thing, in particular, that means a lot to me. I am someone who is very stuck in preparing for the future and focusing on what will come. On the other hand, Nathan is a live in the moment kind of guy. I am so thankful for that because without that perspective I would be missing a lot of awesome things that are happening right in front of me. 

Overall, he is a fantastic, lovable guy who has made a tremendous impact on my life. We have been on a long, hard journey through some crazy stuff, but we have made it through; which has only made us stronger. And one more photo because it's fun! He played dress-up with my younger siblings and this is him losing his wig. Makes me laugh every time. 

playing dress up with my sisters

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