2013 | Year in review | The Year of Tomily

First of all I have to take a moment and

congratulate myself for blogging consecutively 

for an ENTIRE year.

Yay, go me!!

Next I need to take a moment
to just take it all in.

This past year, 2013, has just been incredible.
So incredible that i can't even explain it all in one simple blog post.

I was writing this post earlier and well, it was turning into a book.
That's because it's been such an amazing year, and there is so much to say.

This time last year was obviously New Years Eve 2012.
I remember feeling really really good about 2013.
Not sure why, but i wasn't going to question it.

Little did i know that this year would be so fantastic.
I mean it's hard to top a year where you got to spend
three months living in Paris with your best friends.

But i think i did it, not that i was meaning to or anything.
Love will do that to a girl...

I had been talking to Tom for almost two months
when New Years Eve 2012 rolled around.

Which is probably why i was feeling so hopeful for 2013.
2013 would be the year i would graduate from College,
start figuring out my life and really come into my own.
And maybe, just maybe, get to know this Brit a little bit better.

When i first started talking to Tom I knew that something special was happening.
I didn't know how special, or what would come of it but i knew i liked what was happening.

Relationships have never been easy for me.
I've always been really shy around boys,
ever since i can remember.

I held hands with a boy in the 3rd grade
while watching a movie in class
and my palms got so sweaty that he let go of my hand
and asked to go to the bathroom to wash up.
yea...

I'm also really awkward in most situations where
awkwardness isn't really allowed.
So there's that...

You know when something big happens and it just flows naturally
into your life with ease, it's almost too good to be true...
Well that's my relationship with Tom.

Lucky for us it is good and it is true.

I never in a million years would have imagined
that this year would go as it's gone.

From hundreds of Skype dates...

To Tom coming to America...

To me going to Liverpool...

What an incredible year it's been.

Tom is obviously incredibly handsome, which helps him out a lot ;)
but he's so much more than a handsome face.

He's my best friend.
I can laugh with him for hours and hours.
He makes me feel so loved.
He believes in me and reassures me that i can do anything.
He longs for my happiness, and i long for his.
He's what i've been missing and i love him so very much.

I get kind of emotional just writing this because
it's been such a fun and silly and amazing year but in all seriousness
i've come out of this year knowing myself so much better than i did in previous years
and i really have Tom to thank for that, he's opened my heart and my mind
to so many things that i've never had before.
Love will do that to a girl ;)

And as i sit here looking at this past year
i'm feeling so blessed to have this opportunity
to love and be loved by such a great guy.

We've had such a good year but i know if we could change
one thing about it, it would be less skypes and more together time.

So my New Years Resolution is an easy one.
Spend more time with Tom.

Oh yea, i'm leaving for England for 5 months
next thursday...so we shouldn't have a problem fulfilling
this new years resolution ;)
sneaky sneaky..

I want to thank you all for following along on this journey.
I don't remember ever thinking about why i was making my relationship
open and public to the world but no matter the reason, i'm so glad i did.
You are all so wonderful!!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe New Years Eve.
Can't wait to ring it in with family and friends.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
See y'all next year ;)

-Em

I want a house

I want a house.

You know how some people get baby fever..

well i have house fever, i've got it real real bad..

Thing is, i can't afford a house..

i can't afford much of anything at the moment..

but money can't stop these house dreams..

And as New Years approaches

it makes me want a house even more.

Does it sounds like I don't live in a house??

Because i do, live in a house.

My parents house.

Not my house.

Back to New Years.

Why do i want a house so badly?

Well first of all it's the thrill of the hunt.

I can't wait to go house hunting and find that little charmer

with the exposed brick walls and the beams, oh the beams...

Basically this just like this pretty...

And once we're all moved into this little fairytale house

i want to throw parties...lots of parties.

I've never been a party person.

But i feel like i'd be a really good hostess.

There will be lots of snacks, confetti and balloons involved.

I know i'll hate vacuuming after, but it would be too magical to pass up.

New Years is the perfect party time.

And i'm seeing so many pretty party ideas

and it makes my house ovaries yearn for my own place.

Ok, i admit it, that was a weird statement ;)

But i can't help it.

New Years just makes your

heart jump for joy.

New chances, some changes 

and time to reflect on the past year

and dream of the year ahead.

It's just perfect!!

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And if i'm being honest...

I just want to throw confetti all over the place

wear a sparkly dress and kiss my Tom Tom at midnight...

Is that too much to ask for??

I don't think so ;)

I'll have my little dream house one day

and i'll invite you all over to all of my parties.

Promise ;)

-Emily

New years fitness resolution

It's the same every New Year...

I want to get back in shape, and that shape is not round ;)

I think this is the year, 2014 is my time, your time, our time.

I like the 30 day challenges that you find on Pinterest.

Most of them are 30 days of arms/legs/abs but 

they only hit on one part of your body.

What if you want to work on your whole bod??

So i took 4 really popular 30 day challenges and i put them together.

that way your getting a nice full body workout for 30 days.

It's not hard, it's not crazy, it's simple and repetitive.

Which is something that i need.

I need it to be easy enough to do it consecutively.

To make working out into a habit.

So let's do it together.

I'm going to start January 1st :)

And i'm going to get Tom to do it with me.

He doesn't know that yet ;)

Now i just have to get my snacking under control ;)

we will work on that in time haha

Have a great weekend!!

-Em

Happy Boxing Day!!

So because i'm dating Tom i now get to celebrate

Christmas time for one more day.

It's called Boxing Day...and it's today.

I'm not really sure what it is.

Let's find a definition.

Boxing Day - is traditionally the day following Christmas Day, 

when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts, 

known as a "Christmas box", from their bosses or employers. 

Today, Boxing Day is the bank holiday that generally takes place on 26 December. 

It is observed in the United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia,New Zealand, 

South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth nations.

Another non-wiki definition for Boxing day.

The best clue to Boxing Day’s origins can be found in the song “Good King Wenceslas.” 

According to the Christmas carol, Wenceslas, who was Duke of Bohemia in the early 10th century, was surveying his land on St. Stephen’s Day — Dec. 26 — when he saw a poor man gathering wood in the middle of a snowstorm. Moved, the King gathered up surplus food and wine and carried them through the blizzard to the peasant’s door. The alms-giving tradition has always been closely associated with the Christmas season — hence the canned-food drives and Salvation Army Santas that pepper our neighborhoods during the winter — but King Wenceslas’ good deed came the day after Christmas, when the English poor received most of their charity.

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Seems legit.

Plus Tom told me that it's basically a day

to just be really lazy and eat...

I can get into that.

When i first heard of Boxing Day

I thought it was a day that people sat around

and watched boxing all day.

Apparently that's not the case...

Thank goodness too because that would be boring.

So on this lovely Boxing Day i'm going to do a few things.

Laze and eat...duhh

gather up the presents from yesterday.

Which includes clothes and glittery things

and travel bags and chocolates.

speaking of glittery things...I have a problem.

A gold glitter problem.

Ever since i started my Etsy shop

i've been obsessed with gold glittery things.

Yesterday i got some gold moccasin slippers and

a gold glittery turvis tumbler...to go with my 

gold glittery cross-body that i got in England.

Ok so it's not a problem ;)

Today will also be a day of research.
Tom and I need to find a place to visit
because his parents gifted us with this gem!!
I'm SO excited!!!!

I could get used to these joint presents ;)

Tom's parents are so sweet.

I can't wait to start planning where we will go!! :)

Any suggestions?? :)

Hope you all had such a wonderful Christmas.
My family is off school and work for a few more days
so i'm excited to spend some time with them.

Happy Boxing Day...
Whatever it is ;)
-Emily

Merry christmas!!!!!

From my home to yours, hope you all

have an absolutely wonderful Christmas.

We're all done with presents...

so let the stuffing our faces begin ;)

I can't wait to fill you in on the happenings of Today.

A joint Christmas present from Tom's parents

for the both of us...it's really exciting.

And then i got some stuff for traveling

which is really really exciting.

It's been such a good day already

but not because of the gifts, but because

of the time we all get to spend with family and friends!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!

-Em

Merry Christmas Eve

We're fake tree people, we have too many allergy people

that would die before Christmas even got here if we had a real tree..

I'm one of those people ;)

Our Christmas starts today!!!

We always go over to my grandparents

house on Christmas Eve to spend the evening 

with my Dad's side of the family.

It's full of good family time plus pizza and presents.

What's not to love, right? :)

I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas Eve.

I'm going to spend most of the day trying to trick Tom 

into telling me what he got me for Christmas ;)

Y'all have a wonderful day!!

CHRISTMAS IS TOMORROW!!!!!! 

-Em

Packing for 5 months in England

I have 18 days till i leave for England for serious Tomily time :) :) :)

Which translates to... 

I have 18 days to figure out what the heck i'm going to pack for a 5 month trip

I should be given an award for being the worst

packer in the history of packing.

I always wait till last minute and then pack

tons of clothes that i don't even wear.

And if that wasn't bad enough i just throw

my clothes/shoes/accessories in there like they

mean absolutely nothing to me, and well

that's just not the case...

So since i'll be gone for so long

I really really need to do a good job with this packing thing.

So i'm really trying to become a professional packer 

in 18 short days, it could really go either way...

I know the first step is categorizing.

Outerwear/tops/bottoms/dresses.

The four essentials to any wardrobe.

I also know that while color is good it's best

to pack a lot of neutral items that you can mix and match.

Then add pops of color with accessories.

Here is my current packing list.

Outerwear - One nice coat/neutral sweater/green comfy jacket.

Tops - Neutral sweaters/denim top/white blouse/striped shirt.

Dresses - one short solid color dress/one maxi colorful dress.

Bottoms - Black jeans/one black skirt.

Obviously i'll add to this, and probably pack multiples of each item.

Since i'm staying for so long it's important to have enough clothing.

But at the same time there is some serious shopping that could

be done at the drop of a hat if i happen to forget anything.

I feel like the key to packing long term is to pack

the essentials in neutral colors.

Bring comfy/casual/dressy so you'll always be ready for any occasion.

I'm hoping that when i actually start packing 

these tips will help me to stay on point

and not overpack.

Do you have any packing tips

that could help me out?

I'd love to hear them.

Have a wonderful day, It's almost CHRISTMAS!!! :)

-Emily

Trip Planning - Croatia

Yesterday Tom and I had a pretty lengthy skype date

where we watched the Princess Bride {his first time}

and started planning out trips for next year.

We get pretty excited about planning trips.

I mean what's not to be excited about when you have

most of Europe at your fingertips...

Well...within reason ;)

We're planning trips that may or may not happen.

Depending on time off work and money.

But planning nonetheless so that we can

be ready in a moments notice to get plane tickets

or book a place to stay.

Like i've said before, we both like the idea of

going back to Paris, but i'm also really wanting to branch out

and find new places, explore new lands ;)

-Croatia-

Yesterday was the first time that i looked into Croatia.

It is absolutely stunning.

I just want to stroll through these streets

hand in hand with Tom taking in the sights of

pretty towns like Dubrovnik.

I think Croatia is a real contender for a trip next year.

Have you been to Croatia?? Or heard anything about traveling there?

I would love to hear what you have to say!! :)

We're also looking into Germany/Austria/Amsterdam...

Lots of fun places that i can't wait to go to!! :)

Have a great weekend!!

-Em

Alex and Sierra - Say Something

I kind of have a thing for Tv music competitions.

Ok, so i'm a Tv competition junkie, survivor, amazing race, x factor, the voice...

I can't help myself, they're just so exciting to me.

I've been keeping up with the X-Factor this season,

well, ok i've only been watching one act perform since day one,

I fast forward through the rest of them.

Alex and Sierra...

Be still my beating heart.

They are PHENOMENAL.

First of all they might be the cutest couple of all time...

apart from me and Tom of course ;)

They are so good...TOO good for a singing competition.

They are going to go so far and i personally

can not wait to buy their first Album.

  

Just have a quick listen and tell me what you think!!

            

Do you keep up with the X-Factor?

Who should win??

I'm crossing my fingers for A&S!!

While i wait for the show to come on tonight

i'm going to spend the whole day skyping with Tom Tom.

We're going to do some serious trip planning and 

maybe even watch a movie or two ;)

Should be a greeaaattt day!!

Hope you're all having a good day as well! :)

-Em

$5 Drive Thru Challenge - Secret Santa - why you should floss...

First of all let me address the Dentist.

I was shamed by the dentist yesterday...

shamed real good.

Floss?? Do I floss?? HA! No, who flosses???

Oh wait, i have a cavity? Oh wait i have a few cavities...

So....that whole floss thanngg you were talking about...

I guess it's pretty important huh??

Be Thinking of me this morning at 8:00am as i will be sitting

in the dentists chair of death getting fillings...

I'll probably be awkwardly drooling too.

Should be an Awesome day...!!!

Floss people, they're serious!!

Moving on.

YESTERDAY...was awesome.

It literally brightened my whole life and

restored my faith in nice people.

You might be wondering what happened?

Well let me tell you...

I was running errands and needed to stop for something quick to eat

after being told i was an awful flosser, so i stopped at Wendy's 

because well, it's delicious, stop judging me.

I went through the drive through and was all prepared to 

pay the 4.75 for my little kiddie meal that i got.

I roll on up to the window with my $5.00 ready to roll

and the sweet guy working the drive through told me that

the lady in front of me had put $5 towards my order.

Which just happened to pay for it all.

Which made me feel like this...

                         
                                                                                                                                                                                               

   

It literally made my day, my week, my month.

I've heard of people doing this but it's never happened to me until today.

And it has sparked something in me, sparked something real sparkly!!

It inspired me, because she didn't have to do that but she did.

And not only did she pay $5.00 towards my meal but she gave the 

man working the drive through $5.00 too.

Dear sweet lady, whoever you are, thank you for being so kind!

$5.00 isn't a lot of money, but it made my day.

And like i said, it inspired me to do the same.

I've created a little challenge for anyone and everyone who wants to be involved.

It's called the $5.00 Drive Thru Challenge.

All you have to do is print out the rules posted below.

It's as simple as that.

You should be able to save this image below to your

computer and print it off.

vvvvvvvvvv

I'm going to print mine out and roll it up and tie a little bow around it.

Then i'm hitting up Starbucks at some point today for 

a celebratory after surviving the dentist drink.

And i'll kick this challenge off by paying $5.00

towards someone's Starbucks order.

I'm EXCITED about this.

I hope you'll join me.

ALSO If you blog and would like to post this

idea out to your readers i think that would be awesome too.

Let's spread the word and get this thing rolling!!

...

Lastly, I was involved in a Blogger Secret Santa

through the blog Travel Babbles.

I thought this was such a cool idea and i couldn't pass

up the chance to get involved and meet some new bloggers.

So i found out yesterday that my Secret Santa was Sara

from the blog Pearls and Curls.

She sent me a Kate Spade Golden Bangle.

Can you say PERFECT gift!!

It's so thoughtful and pretty.

I've been wanting something Kate Spade for a while now

so i was pretty excited with this showed up.

Go show some love to Sara, she's awesome!!

Bloglovin - Facebook - Instagram - Twitter - Pinterest

And i sent a secret Santa gift to Kassi over at Truly Lovely.
It's tough shopping for someone you don't know but
as i looked through her blog and instagram i felt like
I had a pretty good idea of what to get Kassi.

A cute color block wristlet from Target and some Sally Nail Polish Strips.
I kind of loved this gift so much i bought the same thing for myself ;)
I hope you liked it Kassi, it was so fun to pull together.

Show Kassi some love.
bloglovin - Pinterest - Twitter 

Wow that was a long post.

I hope you'll join in on the challenge.

Let me know if you do, and be sure to 

send me a linkup if you blog about your experience.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

-Emily

Graduation

I graduated from College on Saturday...

It's such a strange and surreal feeling.

I keep having to remind myself that it's normal.

People who go to College have to move on from College 

at some point and that usually means graduation.

It still hasn't sunk in that it's over.

That we're all moving on.

That i'm not going back.

I'm not sure how i feel about it.

I cried, only a little, on my way home.

I couldn't risk wrecking so i held myself together.

But i am sad, sad to leave such a wonderful 

place that i've called home for the past 4 years.

I was talking to Tom yesterday,

i told him how my head was all confused, 

I wasn't quite sure where i belonged.

I've lived in Arkansas for 4.5 years,

However i grew up in Texas.

But while in Arkansas, it became my home away from home.

And now i have Tom, which means i have England

and since i'll be spending a significant part of this year in England

I feel like that's partially my home too, so i'm feeling a little in between homes right now.

Which is strange because i'm at my house that i grew up in and i feel at home here too.

There's just so many places that i want to be and not enough Emily's to go around.

I am so happy and thankful that I was fortunate enough to 

go off to school and get an amazing education while growing

into the young woman that I am today.

It's been a crazy whirlwind at times

but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

We had such a wonderful weekend.

My family showed up on Friday for the festivities.

The College of Business did a Blessing for all of us

Business Majors that were graduating on Friday night.

Then the next morning it was time to walk across the stage.

I skyped Tom so we could get a picture together.

We were trying to do this thing where my brother held the Ipad

up in front of his face so it looked like Tom had a body but it didn't work ;)

I'm glad i got to see him before the big moment.

Thankfully i didn't trip.

Everything went as planned and I

walked gracefully across that stage and accepted

my diploma cover...yea...no diploma yet.

It's being mailed to us ;)

A nice Selfie to commemorate the occasion ;) 

 Love my family, so happy they could all be there and

happy that those that could not were able to watch a live stream of the ceremony.

This photo above is one of my favorite pictures from the whole day.

This has been my family for the past 2 years.

The Lynn's are the family in the above photo.

Brit, Ashley, Haley, Rebecca and Braden.

They went to Paris with us back in 2012.

Over the past 2 years we have all bonded

and become really great friends.

They have always been around to put smiles on our faces

and make us laugh, and reminisce on Paris adventures.

Oh and occasionally feed us ;)

I'll miss them the most, my little Lynn family.

They mean so much to us, i'm so glad we were all put together.

And i'm glad we're planning future google hangouts so we can stay connected.

Now that Graduation has passed me by it's time to focus on other things.

Like what do i need to pack for 5 months in England???

I've got a lot of work to do ;)

-Em

I'm not going to cry...i'm not going to cry..

How do you sum up four and a half years?

Four and a half years that have taken you from

being shy and reserved to open and outgoing.

The school you HATED is now the school you love.

The people who were strangers to you are now people you don't want to leave.

I'll be honest, i'm sitting here writing this with tears in my eyes.

In fact one just landed on my cheek.

Coming to the end of an era is hard.

Leaving friends is hard.

Leaving Harding is hard.

It's funny because when i started school

here my love for this place was sub zero.

And now it's hard to imagine myself anywhere else.

It's weird how that happens.

I'm sad and i'm not sad, all at the same time.

I'm sad to leave friends and to say goodbye to 

the professors that I've grown to love.

My school is small, about 6,000 students small.

Which means we sometimes only have about 20 people in a class.

Small classes lead to building relationships with the professors.

The Professors i've had over the past 2 years all know me by name.

We joke in the halls after we learn from them in the classroom.

It's an incredible atmosphere that i'm really going to miss.

But like i said, i'm also not sad.

Not sad because i'm just so excited.

Excited to start fresh, i have an entirely different

perspective on starting fresh then i had 4 years ago.

What's more exciting than having the whole world as your oyster.

You can go out there and do anything, there are so many possibilities.

I'm just feeling really positive about this change.

Even though it will be hard and contrary

to what i wrote a week ago i will be very nostalgic,

it's still a very exciting time and i'm ready to take it on.

I'm proud of the person i've become during the time

i've spent here at Harding University.

I'm more outgoing, i care deeper, i love harder,

I believe in adventure and not worrying so much.

Harding has changed my life, even though we've had our

ups and downs over the past 4 years i can still say

with complete certainty that this place is magical

and i'm so happy to have been apart of it.

I want to take a quick second to publicly apologize

to my parents for putting you through my silly freshman year drama.

And i want to thank them for putting me through school.

For letting me chase my dreams here in the USA and around the world.

For being the BEST parents in the whole wide world.

And for loving me unconditionally.

So with that being said...

It's be real HU

Catch ya on the flip side.

I GRADUATE TOMORROW!!

Congrats to everyone graduating this December!!

-Em

Senior Year {Tomily Year}

Senior year started in the fall of 2012.

It was a time of readjusting to a school that

wasn't 7 miles from the Eiffel Tower ;)

It was a rough transition...

But i've got to be honest,

all i really did for the first few months

of Senior year was go to classes and be really lazy.

That was about it.

I don't even have very many photo's from this year.
Well...I do but they're not school photos ;)

I don't even remember much during those couple of months

when Senior year started...it's all a little bit of a blur.

And i think i know why.

I don't really remember anything before November 6th.

Also known as the day i started talking to Tom. 

We might as well just dub senior year the year of Tomily.

I remember keeping Tom a secret for a few weeks.

I didn't tell anyone about him until right before 

Christmas break came around.

I mean it's a bit of an awkward thing to throw at people.

"Oh yea....met this guy online...he's from England...he's really attractive..."

That's when you get replies like "oh! and how do you know he's real?"

"OHHHH EMILY'S BEING CATFISHED"

hmmm, no thank you...

So i got ahead of the game and skyped Tom before i told anyone about him.

You know, a girls got to make sure he's legit ;)

For the record i knew he was real

long before we skyped.

I had an inkling ;)

I told some close friends about him before Christmas.

They weren't so sure about the whole thing.

I told my parents about it over Christmas break.

They probably thought i was insane.

And then Tomily just kind of bloomed in front of 

the eyes of thousands through this blog.

And it shut down the critics ;)

Or at least it should have.

Now that i think of it,

this blog that i started almost a year ago

is kind of, in a way, my senior year.

So when i first started writing this blog post

i was struggling to think of a single thing that i have

done with my senior year.

But truth is i've done more in this one year than

i can even talk about in one blog post.

Maybe it wasn't all school stuff

but it was BIG life stuff.

My first serious boyfriend who just so happens

to be a hot british guy who just so happens to come

visit me in Texas during the summer who just so happens 

to buy my flight to England at Thanksgiving who just so happens

to be one of the best things to ever happen to me.

What more could a girl want in her senior year?

And even better is the time i get to spend with Tom in the coming year.

I'm happy that i can hop on over to him for a while

and just get the opportunity to date without being sad

about leaving each other in a few days.

It all kind of goes back to where we started on

monday in my post about Freshman year.

I was so petrified to do anything on my own.

I didn't know how to handle myself in this big crazy world

and now here i am, about to graduate and go off to England for 5 months.

Who is this girl and where was she in 2009 ;)

I'm just glad i found her along the way.

If there is one thing i learned in this whole process

it's that just because something seems hard

and scares you doesn't mean it's not where you should be.

and for me, it's exactly where I needed to be.

And now it's all coming to a close.

I'll talk more about that in tomorrow's post.

Until then, you all have a wonderful Thursday!

-Em

Junior Year AKA the year of Paris!

It's now Junior year.

This is the year that will change my life.

When i started back to school junior year 

I started it with a pep in my step.

I was excited that Sam was still my roommate

so i didn't have to worry about that.

I was also excited to start taking more serious business classes.

It was destined to be the best year and it hadn't even started yet.

Our junior year dorm room.

Yea, i brought a giant chalkboard and a couch 

to college with me...I couldn't stop myself...

The fall semester of Junior year was really basic.

Not much happening, just the normal stuff...

classes and the occasional outing to Little Rock.

Then I guess it was right before halloween

that i heard the announcement about Paris.

My University does study abroad programs

as i'm sure you already know if you've read more of my blog.

The amazing thing about the way this all happened was

I was actually really starting to think about studying abroad

when they made a big Paris push.

I told myself before hearing the announcement that if

any of the programs offered a discount for a program that i would

try my best to go on the trip.

I wasn't biased toward a specific program.

So i made myself a promise that if given the opportunity

I would take it.

I was feeling adventurous.

Not even 10 minutes after i made that promise I heard the Paris announcement.

The Paris program was newer and it needed more

students to fill the spots so they were offering a discount

for anyone who wanted to go on this trip.

After hearing the announcement 

I instantly got my dad on the phone and 

told him i was considering it.

He told me to go for it if it was something

that i really wanted to do.

And I did.

Now remember...this is the same girl

that had a month long panic attack about being on 

her own when she started school two years earlier.

And now she's going to Paris.

Had i not stuck out Freshman year

I don't think i would have had the guts to

sign up for a study abroad program.

It all worked out the way it was meant to.

I'm SO glad it did!!

After I decided to go and after i had

gone to a few Paris meetings I was able

to talk Sam into going with me.

So now not only was i going to Paris

but my best friend was coming to!!

We signed up for the trip 

at the end of october and boarded 

the plane to Paris the following January.

I can't tell you enough about how much

i absolutely loved this trip.

The people we went with

the places we went to,

It was life changing.

And had i not stayed freshman year

I wouldn't have had any of these experiences.

Funny how life works sometimes ;)

I made some lifelong friends on this trip,

friends that included a family of five, Lauren&Tyler Knight,

and 8 other students that i will remember for the rest of my life.

We spent 3 months gallivanting in Europe.

Going from France to England to Switzerland to Italy.

We had a blast and it opened my eyes to this 

incredible world that is out there.

I'm now and forever more addicted to adventure.

I thank God for putting these amazing opportunities in my path

and for giving me these amazing people to share it with.

If there is one thing i'm nostalgic about....it's these people.

I will miss them the most!!

Junior year was one for the record books.

Tomorrow is Senior year.

Which consists of three semesters.

Because i like to take extra laps ;)

-Em