What a Year

Going in to 2016 I anticipated a year full of change, but oh how I greatly underestimated just how much change, and how much of it would be for the better.

Along with a lot of change, 2016 brought so much fun, growth, and opportunity.

As always, there were hard days and weeks, but I have to say that overall this year has been one for the books.
I've loved every minute of it.

I skied multiple times throughout our snowy January and February.

Birthday ski trip with @nroej was an absolute blast! Thanks, Natalie! A huge thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes yesterday! It's going to be a great year!

Swapped the Salt Lake smog for clear skies and a little shoop shoop this afternoon. (Friends reference, anyone?!). I've gotta say, it sure was beautiful up there today.

After applying to graduate school and being surprised with multiple acceptances, I finally decided on BYU and within a matter of weeks I put in my notice at The Adoption Exchange and moved to Provo to start early during Spring Term. 

I sure miss working with these ladies! 

Over my first summer off from school or work for the first time in years, I got to play mom to all of my nieces and nephews at different times while both of my sisters took trips with their husbands.

It only reminded me that the most important thing is family, and I can't wait for the day that I have little babies to call my own :) 

Instead of writing a novel about how incredibly fun and exhausting this weekend has been, I'll just say that I didn't think it was possible to love my nieces and nephews more, but apparently it is, and that's fine by me.

I had such a fun time watching this wild bunch for a few days! They went all out to make sure grandma was extra welcomed when she came to join us for the weekend. From chalk to homemade ice cream and Zootopia, we sure did have a blast! 

After moving to Provo, and through a series of very unfortunate events, I ended up moving three times in six months, but ultimately ended up in the best place I've ever lived.

I wasn't too thrilled about Utah County, but instead of sulking about it, I got out and enjoyed everything that my new home has to offer.

Kicked off the Fourth of July weekend with a gorgeous hike to Squaw Peak! These Utah mountains continue to amaze me! 

I also lucked out with a fantastic roommate who's become a truly great friend, too :)

I am beyond grateful for the loving service I've received from my roommates, classmates, friends, and family over this last week, especially from this girl right here. She's been more than willing to give me rides to and from school and hasn't complained one bit. It's been a humbling thing for me to ask for an accept the service of others, but to everyone who's reached out and helped, please know you've helped to #lighttheworld, even if it's just been in my little corner. "Service doesn't have to be big and grandiose to be meaningful and make a difference." Cheryl A. Esplin

I went to a ton of concerts, including Tyrone Wells, Tim McGraw, Brett Eldredge and Keith Urban, Coldplay, and Carrie Underwood. 

I visited Santa Barbara for the first time, and although I'm not a Cali girl, I'll admit that Santra Barbara sure is beautiful!

I had a blast with my friend Amy at Universal Studios (mainly Harry Potter World), watching the olympics for hours on end, and bumming on the beach.

I got in my first car accident in a decade of driving.

It was a truly terrifying and humbling experience that has left me struggling to drive on the freeway without having a panic attack, but boy am I thankful for the angels that were surrounding me that night.

I finally attended multiple BYU football games as a student.

And last but not least, I started and completed my first term and full semester of my graduate program.

So many people told me before I started that it would be the hardest thing I ever did and that they didn't miss their time in graduate school.

While it definitely hasn't been easy, it's also easily been the best thing I've ever done.

I love my program, I love my field, and I love the girls (and two guys ;) ) that I spend countless hours with in the outcasted Taylor building on BYU's campus. 

I've made lifelong friends and colleagues and every day I'm more and more excited to be a Speech-Language Pathologist. 

Completely candid and cliche first day of school picture. It's my (second) first day of graduate school, but Spring Term only partially counted, so today is the real deal. Here's to months of sleepless nights, tears over horribly challenging exams, and eventual relief at the end of the semester only to start it all over again a week later. But yet, I still couldn't fall asleep last night because I was so excited. Some things never change! Here goes nothin'!

Had the best time tonight at BYU's New Graduate Student Dinner! My cohort is the best (including those not pictured), and I'm so happy we all have each other to rely on over the next two years of chaos!

I've been filled with so much gratitude for the opportunities, challenges, trials, and blessings I've been given, and I wouldn't change a thing from the past 365 days.

What a year.

Here's to an equally fantastic 2017!

Gratitude

It's crazy to look back and see how much can change in a year. 

This Thanksgiving last year (here) was easily one of my favorites, and I think my entire family is in agreement with that.

I went to bed last night a little sad that I wouldn't have my immediate family all together for Thanksgiving this year, but I woke up with a list of things too numerous to count swirling around in my head to be grateful about. 

It seems like gratitude has been a common theme in my life for the last few months.

This time last year I had just taken the GRE (for the second time) and scored one point above my goal. The nervousness that I felt when pressing that final submit button, and the relief I felt when I saw my score was overwhelming.

I walked out of that place with a thousand pounds lifted off of my shoulders and I drove straight home to pack my bags and head up to Park City to spend the perfect Thanksgiving with my family.

I had so much to be grateful for.

This year felt very different.

I woke up to an empty house. I didn't take and conquer a big test yesterday. I'm not spending a long holiday weekend with every member of my immediate family. My immediate sense of gratitude wasn't overwhelming when I woke up this morning. 

Rather, I realized that for the last several months I've taken a near-weekly inventory of the many things that I have to be grateful for, and unfortunately, that isn't something I've done nearly enough in my life.

This last year has been a whirlwind of change and for a girl that grew up learning to thrive on change, it rocked me to my core and took a lot of adjustment and acceptance, but over the last couple of months everything has fallen into place and with every last piece I've been more humbled and grateful for the interest that my Heavenly Father has in my life. 

Walking out of my graduate school interview with BYU, I knew I needed to be here, and while there were so many question marks and uncertainties, I've spent the last year watching reason after reason unfold before me.

The gratitude that I've felt this year has been unlike any other.

I only hope that through times in my life when things aren't falling into place and I can't clearly see the reasoning at all, I can look back and remember the times that He was so evidently there, and know that He still is every single day.

I hope I can focus on feeling gratitude in every circumstance, every day of the year, and then reflect on those moments of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day.

Lastly, what would Thanksgiving be without sharing a picture of the people who are the absolute most important to me?!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grad School Update #1: Priorities

Just over six months ago, amid all of the chaos and excitement of acceptance letters and starting grad school less than two months later, a coworker of mine who has a Master's Degree mentioned that I could call her anytime to complain that I'd made the worst mistake of my life.

I made it through spring term without feeling an ounce of regret or wondering what in the world I'd done to myself, and I'm proud to say I also made it nearly a month into my first full semester without feeling that way as well.

But then it all hit.

Hard.

And all at one.

I quickly went from feeling the euphoria of making it into graduate school to wondering how the many SLP's before me have made it through and turned out fine.

I've been through a whirlwind of emotions over the last month and particularly over the last week.

I went through the first stage of having no clue what I'm doing and wondering why anyone would ever trust me to actually work with and treat REAL people (imposter syndrome is a real thing, friends)...

... to stage two of admitting to myself that maybe I do know just the tiniest bit about what I'm doing, but feeling overwhelmed to the point of actually considering quitting...

...and to stage three of having my first emotional breakdown of graduate school, which, if I may say so myself, seems like a definite rite of passage.

I learned this week that sometimes it's okay to admit to yourself that you're overwhelmed, that you took on too much, or that you need help. 

Sometimes it's okay to call your mom for a mid-day therapy session because you're on the verge of an emotional breakdown and you need her reassurance.

Sometimes it's okay to take a step back and make the right choice for you, even if you know it's going to be tough to let a few people down. 

This week I had to step back and realize that I'd bit off a little more than I could chew. 

I had to look at the bigger picture and prioritize.

If I learned one thing this week it's that to make it through challenging and demanding stages in life, whatever they may be, one of the most important things you can do is keep your priorities straight.

For me that means the gospel, my family, exercising, and football (obviously).

I also learned the value of chocolate milk - one of those small things in life that has the power to momentarily make it all better.

My Month in Europe: Lake Como

Lake Como, Italy

This is where our travels ended.

We were originally supposed to spend our last day in Europe in Cinque Terre, but it was a very rainy day and our instructor knew better than to attempt cobblestone streets and swimming in the Mediterranean on a sub-par day.

So, Lake Como it was, and Lake Como could not have been better. 

This day was bittersweet from the moment we woke up.

Everyone knew it.

The bus ride was full of jokes and laughter as usual, but there seemed to be this air of awareness over all of us that this was the last day we'd spend together traveling Europe.

But instead of getting all teary-eyed right now, let's talk about Lake Como, because it was remarkable!

We all took about an hour-long boat ride around Lake Como, but before that we naturally had to find a gelateria that was open early in the morning.
This particular gelateria had a balsamic-strawberry mascarpone gelato.
Let's just say that isn't something you can describe and effectively get the point across, so I'll just leave it to this:
It. Was. Heaven.

Our boat ride around the lake was beautiful.
We were able to drive past George Clooney's property, but we unfortunately didn't spot him or Amal (even though this was just two or three days after their wedding which shut down the entire city!).

After the boat ride we wandered around Lake Como for a bit and found a spot for lunch.
Now, I have to admit, I'm not the biggest fan of gnocchi, so I had yet to order it anywhere in Italy, but the place that we ate lunch had a Havarti Chickory Gnocchi that I had to try.
It did not disappoint!

It was so delicious and light, and to this day I still haven't had gnocchi anywhere else because I'm sure it won't be nearly as good!

After lunch we went back for a second round of gelato, and then just walked around the homes and piers.

Lake Como was the best way to end one amazing month. Italy, you're fantastic! #lakecomo #italy

We all kept remarking on how surreal it was that this was our last day in Europe, and that we'd soon be back in the United States with the memories we made and experiences we'd had.

When you spend a month traveling Europe with a group of people you've just met, you create a truly unique bond.

Whenever I think of the month I spent in Europe I think about more than just the places I went to and the things I saw.
I think about the friends I made, the people I met, and everything that I learned about myself as well.

So after our beautiful day in Lake Como, we took the bus back to Milan, where a group of us just couldn't resist riding the metro back to the heart of the city for yes, you guessed it, a few last scoops of gelato.

We walked around the shops and Duomo, and stumbled upon a street performer.
All of us in the group I was with looked at each other and just knew that we were all feeling the same thing.
It was one of those indescribably palpable moments - like a scene from a movie, which resulted in teary eyes from almost all of us.

I took a video, and I'm putting it below, although I'm fully aware it won't even begin to translate what that moment felt like! 

At that point we went back to the hotel to get some sleep before our early (and long) venture back to the United States!

We were exhausted, excited, sad, and already nostalgic, but most importantly, we were changed for the better as a result of every minute we had spent in Europe.
We had made it home - until next time :)

Tomorrow morning I board a plane back home, but a part of my heart will forever be in each part of Europe I have visited over the last month of my life. I have seen rolling hills and sheep in Ireland, walked the streets and fell in love with London, spent half an hour in awe of Van Gosh's Starry Night at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, came closer to God while hiking the Alps in Switzerland, was kissed twice on the hand by a completely wasted man in the famous beer hall of Germany, sampled every type of balsamic vinegar and olive oil in Austria, ate more gelato than I should have in Milan, and got lost in the squares of Venice. I have developed relationships with the people I have traveled with as well as the people I have met along the way. I have gained a deep appreciation for all cultures and the lives each individual leads, and most importantly, I have learned more about myself than I ever would have anticipated upon boarding an airplane from New York to Dublin. This has been the most spectacular month of my life, and is one I am not soon to forget. 

My Month in Europe: Venice

On our second day in Italy we took a day trip to Venice!

This was the day that I realized that my trip through Europe had officially taught me how to sleep in a moving vehicle, because I slept from the minute I sat down on the train to Venice until we arrived.

It was fantastic.

We had one goal for Venice: to get lost.

Let me tell you, it wasn't hard to do. 

We spent the day wandering the squares of Venice, looking at artwork and architecture, taking a gondola ride, and eating some delicious ravioli right there on the Grand Canal.

Venice is a dream.

Gondola riding with these lovely people! #venice

One year ago today I was eating the most delicious ravioli I've ever tasted on the Grand Canal in Venice right after a delightful gondola ride on said canal. What a dream it was. #venice #takemeback

What I loved most about this day was that it wasn't really anything special.

We were just able to wander around, get lost, and enjoy the unique beauty that is Venice.

The atmosphere was incredible, and it definitely helped that there were things like this happening throughout the city...

Venice, you treated us well.

It was a truly magical day.

My Month in Europe: Milan

We started off our day in Milan with a business visit to the AC Milan soccer stadium, which was pretty impressive despite not being a big soccer fan. 

^That's the face of a girl who's spent nearly a month traveling Europe and is so brilliantly exhausted.

Afterwards, we headed downtown near the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping center for lunch and gelato!

We went to the most amazing gelato place, called Cioccolati Italiani!

(Side note - I just googled it for the correct spelling and the pictures made me incredibly nostalgic.)

This gelateria was incredible. 

They have chocolate fountains with three different types of chocolate, and thee best raspberry gelato my mouth has ever tasted and probably ever will!

With one bite of Italian Gelato my life was forever changed. I may have purchased gelato here three times today... #nevergoingbacktoamerica #italy #milan #gelato

Okay but really, I had 16 scoops of gelato in my 3 days spent in Italy.

I don't regret it.

After lunch and gelato (I swear, my memories of Italy revolve around when and where we got gelato) we had a business visit with World Expo 2015.
We had a beautiful view of Milan from their building and it was a really interesting visit!
It was crazy to think then that the event was still a year away, and now, as I'm writing this, we're almost a year beyond it.
Proof that I'm the most diligent blogger ever :)

From there we headed back to the main shopping area and toured the Duomo.
The Duomo is the third largest cathedral in the world, and I absolutely loved it.
It was the millionth cathedral we had seen in Europe, but easily the most impressive.

Visited the Duomo Cathedral today in Milan!

We spent the evening shopping (well, mainly window shopping), eating pizza and, you guessed it, gelato!

I bought a pair of jeans at Zara, drooled over purses at Prada, and savored every spoonful of Cioccolati Italiani gelato :)

It was a great Milano day.