Sophomore No More

One final separates me from ending my sophomore year and being half way through my days at Berry. I can't help but wonder where the time has gone and what I have done in the past year. 

A few weeks before coming back to school I went with all the second year Winshape students to Chicago to learn about our Strengths. I fell in love with this city!

A view of Chicago from the Ferris Wheel on the Navy Pier

I moved in a few weeks later and checked off being a Berry Bellhop from my bucket list. I helped move freshmen in and had a blast! I'm already signed up to help next year.

My RA, Keri Beth, made our first hall meeting so much fun! We had a paint fight! Our hall theme is a Splash of Color. KB is the best!

My RA, Keri Beth, made our first hall meeting so much fun! We had a paint fight! Our hall theme is a Splash of Color. KB is the best!

I attended Berry's first ever football game! We didn't have a great season, but those boys have heart. It was our first year and we only have room to improve.

Speaking of football, I played intramural flag football. Our team was terrible and we played the same team most of the time, but we had fun! I also learned how competitive and aggressive I can be. The result? A fractured thumb and no more piano for the semester.

Mountain Day weekend is my favorite weekend all year! You have the Olympics to start it off! This year Pilgrim and Friendship were Cavemen and Dinosaurs. The boys won in the mens division and girls came in second in theirs. Mountain Day is the best! Alumni come back and all of Berry, old and new, is together! Last year I didn't get to march because I was in the band, so I quit and joined the choir. Marching up and down that hill eight times was the highlight of my day! I absolutely loved it, even though it was sweltering hot and I didn't get to hold hands with a boy. To end the festivities we have Marthapalooza. A giant carnival created to keep people away from field party. Sketchy rides with my best friend sounds like a party to me.

My roommate, Emily, and I as dinosaurs before MDO.

My view at the end of the Grand March.

At the beginning of November, Carroll and I journeyed to Mississippi to visit Alyssa and watch Berry play Millsaps. It was my first road trip with Clarence, my car, and it was a success. We watched football and drank coffee. Nothing better than that.

My birthday was doomed to be lame because all my friends, except a few in Rome, would be gone. I cried and whined about never being celebrated while having to go to infinite surprise parties throughout the year. So, Emily was sneaky and got a lot of my friends to surprise me at Steak-n-Shake. I had no clue. I even saw their cars and thought they were there celebrating the end of finals like we were.

I went to Mississippi a second time before 2013 was up. This time I went with Alyssa en-route to a Saints game! It was my Christmas present from 2012. Needless to say, it was an incredible experience in one of my favorite cities.

I went to DC at the start of the New Year with the second year Winshapers to discover our life purpose statements. I have been to DC before and I wasn't impressed. Maybe it is because I am older or with my friends, but I loved DC. It is such an interesting city full of history. I had a good time exploring the city with my friends and drinking coffee and learning more about what God has created me to do.

#dreamclass14

I found myself going to more swim meets as the semester began. Kate is making her mark on the RHS swim team! She made state this year and established/broke some school records. And she is only a freshman! I love watching her swim and I can't wait to see what she does throughout the next three years.

I experienced a bit of a change in early February. I decided it was time to chop off my hair once again. This time it was different. I would donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. They give wigs to women who have cancer. I love how this large company works together with others to give back. Another difference was the length. I've gone short bob and long bob, but this time it was pixie. Multiple people told me not to do it and that I would regret it. They were right. I did regret it for about a week, then I embraced it. I love my short hair and I would absolutely do it again!

I can't forget the snow! This semester flew by and I think some of that can be attributed to several snow days. I took part in sledding, snow ball fights, hikes, snow angels, and many other snow filled activities. I got to see the House O'Dreams in the snow. What a beautiful sight! The pond was so thick, we were able to "skate" on it.

Mountain campus in the snow.

No picture for this one, but at the end of February I had a new experience. Surgery. We found a benign cyst in my right breast at the end of my senior year of high school. I found out in January it had grown and was advised to have it removed. The scary part for me? The IV. I don't like needles. It went over smoothly and I had to be very dependent upon others, namely my wonderful mom, for a few days. A lesson I need to be taught more often is dependence upon others. I can't do it all myself.

Spring break anyone? I went to Knoxville with my friends Brittany, Phoebe, Jordan, and Carroll.We stayed at Brittany's house and mostly watched old Disney movies. We went to Gatlinburg one day and Pigeon Forge another.  I just enjoyed spending time with them. And the delirious dance parties. We documented the trip through snap chat.I also read the entire Divergent trilogy while there. I was often accused of reading too much.

Phoebe sat on Carroll a few times. I don't remember why, but it was always hilarious.

I was the co-captain of a Relay for Life team. My friend Rhett and I started a team with the Child Development Center.  We had a Parent's Night Out fundraiser and raised almost 700 dollars! We stayed all night the night of Relay and raised over $1,000 by the end. It was awesome to see the Berry community fight against cancer.

 This is how we all felt at 4:30 in the morning. I was hyped up at that point because of coffee and games. They were not.

Easter weekend was full of fun events! I went with my mom and Kate on Saturday morning to help with and the Easter party at 301a, a ministry in Rome. It was started by a couple, AJ and Lola Pierce, who bought a foreclosed house next to this apartment complex. The families who live in the apartments are all hispanic and their children attend Southeast Elementary School. AJ and Lola provide tutoring on Tuesday afternoons and have Reading Day on Wednesdays. After the Easter Party, I went back to the mountain to help Katie Edwards with a wedding. I had such a great time solving problems, helping people, and hanging out with Katie. 

It's not a party unless there is a piñata!

The rest of my semester has been spent writing papers, studying, and watching movies. I am honestly not prepared for next year, but I am so excited for it. I will be in Junior Block, leading a Community Impact Team, working two jobs on campus, and possibly a few other things. It will be crazy, but fun. Emily and I will not be rooming together next year. She will be an RA on second Friendship. I am so excited for all she is going to experience and learn through this position. I will be rooming with Angle Fortnash, who will be a senior ECE major. She is such a sweet person with a big, big heart! I can't wait to be her roommate next year. My best friends, Carroll, is my partner for Junior Block and we are going to rock it. 

My summer will start in Norway for my Maymester. I am venturing to Clarkston after I return to spend some time with some sweet friends. For June, I will be at Berry as a SOAR leader! I get to welcome the incoming freshmen and let them know how amazing their new home is. What a great job! In mid-July I will be in Oregon for one of the famous Nobles-Williams trips. The whole Nobles fam will be there and we are going to get on each other's nerves, but have a good time doing it. I am so grateful for my parents who have taken us on these trips for 12 years now. So many fun, beautiful memories have come out of them. And I love to travel with the Williams family! Thanks for being our traveling buddies. I hope to make it to North Carolina to visit some more friends before coming back to beautiful Berry. This summer is going to be an adventure!