the best last 4 years in photos

4 years ago I moved into this Dorm



Kristen was my roommate and Christina and Mackenzie lived next door. They would quickly become my dearest friends...



I pledged ZTA and got a twin and a big sis!



Texas had an amazing football season that ended with a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!





I went through Young Life leader training and was placed as a leader at Dripping Springs High School. I love these friends and loved serving with them.



That summer, I was an intern for Klein Young Life



Had the Best Week of my Life at Frontier Ranch with these girls



I moved into this apartment with Christina, Mackenzie and Kristen and have so many sweet memories of that place



We spent many fun weekends at the lakehouse in Marble Falls



On Spring Break I went on my first mission trip to the Dominican Republic with a college group from Austin Stone. I would never be the same after that trip.



Christina began her Debutante seasons and I got to tag along for lots of fun parties




The next summer I had the other Best Week of My Life with my Drip girls at Crooked Creek Ranch



Then I jetted off to Spain to study abroad for 7 weeks





Just before school started I went with my family to Canada



When we got back from Canada we made two additions to the family, Addie and Bidge



Back in Austin, I moved into the ZTA house with Amanda and Jessica and loved living with them!



That fall I started Nursing school and would be stressed out for the next two years



However, I was still in college and there was still fun to be had. Christina and I drove to Denton to visit Caroline for her Dance Off December Christmas Party.



Had the other Best Week of my Life on a ski trip to Crooked Creek Ranch



Then I took another trip to the DR with a group from Austin Stone



In March I turned 21 and celebrated with sweet friends



Then in May Caroline and I set out on the Grandest Adventure to raft the Grand Canyon



Brad graduated high school and we celebrated in Center Field at the Astros game



I took some classes that summer and full advantage of living Austin



Then I moved into a house with these 6 sweet girls



Caroline married Mark in October and it was a joy to be in their wedding!





Senior year brought the best Texas vs. OU weekend and a triumphant win



Caroline took pictures of us for my parents' Christmas present. Look how big the puppies are now!



New Year's was awesome. No other way to put it.



I went to Haiti over Spring Break and God gave me a huge heart for the people there. I can't live my life the same as I was before that trip.




I have spent the last few months enjoying everything about living in Austin











they have been the best last 4 years...

Change is gonna come

And frankly, it's already here. I graduated from the University of Texas this past weekend. I'm almost a real nurse. I am going to have a serious change of address. (two new zip codes in the next few months, and one of them has it's own country code). Austin has already changed. Many of the people I have shared the last four years with aren't here anymore. It's good...really good, but weird. I love this part in Patty Griffin's When it Don't Come Easy and it's how I have felt a lot lately...

I don't nothin but change will come,
Year after year what we do is undone.
Time gets movin' from a crawl to a run.
I wonder if we are gonna ever get home.

You are out there walkin' on a highway
and all of the signs got blown away
Sometimes you wonder
If you are walkin in the wrong direction.

This weekend was so much fun. Tons of my family came in town and after the formal graduation festivities, we celebrated with a weekend at the lake. My peeling shoulders are proof of how much time was spent soaking up the sun :)

Here I am with my parents after the School of Nursing Graduation



We went to a really nice lunch at the Shoreline Grill, but this is for some reason the only picture taken...very typical me and my cousins laughing hysterically while Brad is at the end of the table texting.



My cousin Dede (Lindsay) and I after lunch. If we didn't have sunglasses on you would see why most people think we are sisters. Oh wait, our mom's are identical twins so we are sisters.



On Saturday night we had the big UT commencement ceremony and it was a blast! The rain stopped just in time so we were able to see the fireworks and the tower all lit up.



More pictures to come later. I am working on an epic post to chronicle the last 4 years in pictures so get excited about that...

So are you ready for me to tell you what I am doing with my life??? Well you will have to wait a few more paragraphs...

The night before my graduation I read this short passage in 1 Timothy. Paul is talking about where people find true contentment. He talks about those who desire to be fulfilled with things of this world, such as money, they plunge into ruin and destruction. But on the contrary there are a people who find true contentment in simply having food and shelter....but how is that possible? Then Paul gives Timothy this charge...

"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith.

He goes on to tell Timothy to take hold of the eternal life to which he was called and "set his hopes on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy". Our call is "to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for ourselves as a good foundation for the future, so that we may take hold of what is truly life."

So that's it, that's what I am doing with my life. In the worst job market in my lifetime, I am pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. I know it's not going to be that easy, and I'll probably screw it up a lot (that's why Paul called it a fight). But as change is coming and I am unsure of the direction I am going, I am sure that this is what God has called me to. And I want to experience what is truly life, don't you?

What does that look like? Well in my opinion it looks like the most exciting adventure and the LAST thing I thought I would be doing when I finished college. I am going back to Haiti to serve at the clinic and rescue center I visited on Spring Break through the end of August and then moving to Nashville, Tennessee. (Did I really just type that???) Yes, I am intentionally going to a foreign country where I don't speak the language to serve along side some really amazing people and take care of the poor and the sick. Only to return to the States and move to a new city without a job. Crazy, right? I cannot contain the excitement because the ONLY reason that God would have picked this for me is because it is better than what I planned for myself.

Amongst the excitement, there is fear and sadness. My Dad warned me this weekend about post-partum depression. I don't have an RN license yet, but I know that is not what he meant. I am doing really well right now, however I am not sure that it has really hit me yet. So in advance, I apologize if you are in my presence when out of nowhere I completely lose it and don't stop crying for 3 days.

This post is already long, and I have so much more to say. Good thing I will need to take lots of "breaks" from studying over the next week. Did I tell you that I am taking the NCLEX (Nursing Boards) on June 9th? That's what I am studying for. And I want to tell you about my future roommates and how seriously excited I am to discover a new city. And I haven't broken the news to Austin that I am leaving so I am working on my "it's not you, it's me" break-up letter. Don't worry, you'll get to read it.

Love you all and if you are in Austin, I want to see you soon!!!!!

Colorado adventures!

Last week, I took a trip to visit my favorite couple, C Fontenot and her man! On Friday they picked me up and we played around in Denver and then went to the Rockies game. It does not suck to watch baseball with a view of the Rocky Mountains in the background.







After the game, we drove to Colorado Springs and stayed with some friends of Caroline's parents who I know from the Grand Canyon trip last year. Saturday we had breakfast in the Springs and then drove back to BV where Mark and Caroline were hosting a party to kick-off the summer! We grilled out and played washers in their backyard (you can tell Caro's pictures apart from mine taken on the iphone)...





The weather was gorgeous the whole time I was there and we even got out for a short hike. Unfortunately, Altitude Sickness got the best of me, but we still got to enjoy the outdoors for a few hours!




When we weren't watching Season 10 of Friends on DVD, we got out to Frontier Ranch and visited Leadville, Colorado. Leadville is the highest city in the country at 10, 200 feet and the home of the famous Baby Doe Tabor, the Unsinkable Molly Brown (from the Titanic) and my great-great-grandfather James Corbett. Here are some fun pics from the day...





If you are on Twitter, you might find this funny...




We also spent a great deal of time laying out in their backyard soaking up some sun...



All in all, it was a really great trip and a fun way to celebrate being done with college! Since I got back on Wednesday I have been fully enjoying my last week as a college student by doing all things Austin. Adventures have included El Arroyo $1 margaritas, Cain and Abels, Mt. Bonnell, floating the river, Kerbey Lane pancakes, spending the night with friends in a sorority house and a late night Whataburger trip. That was all in two days... gotta soak it up people!