New Year. New You. :)

The past year has brought about so much change in my life. Change with living in a new place, making new friends, having a COMPLETELY different sleep schedule, new church, etc. I have never been one to adapt to change very well, but as part of my new year, I am making a point to put more trust in the Lord through all of the changes. Going to college was hard, but I now can say that I survived the first semester and am anxious for the next one! Only a few more days!!

Looking back at 2011, I can honestly say that it was the best year of my life! All the graduation festivites, rush, meeting LOTS of new friends, and reminiscing with old ones, it has all been so wonderful! I guess my biggest goal for 2012 is to really focus more on the Lord and what His plans are for me. Too often, I try to make MY plans work because I don't like not knowing. What I am so quickly reminded is that MY plans don't matter at all. They are completely irrelevant to anything because God has so much more in store and He already knows the exact plans for my life. I am making it habit to stop stressing over the little things and just enjoy what all He has given me! So as 2011 comes to an end and 2012 begins, I ask- will you make your goals to live more for Jesus and less for yourself? Think about the ultimate goal!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7

Happy New Year :)

the Lord will provide!

One of the things that I have learned so much about is valuing my friendships. I never realized how truly blessed I was to have the greatest friends a girl could ask for. They are there for me through WHATEVER! I really hate that it is just hitting me now, seeing that several of my closest friends are 3-5 hours away! Friends come and go, but if God wants us to stay friends forever, we will! He is in control and even though it's hard sometimes to accept that things may not go EXACTLY the way I want them to, He knows what He is doing. I am so incredibly thankful for my friends this holiday season. For always being such good listeners, or giving the best advice, to just laughing with me until we cry. Don't know what I would do without them!

BEST FRIEND.

 best friend since birth.

SO thankful for her!

love them!

 twin. best friend. we are the SAME person!

 sweet sweet friends!

 so blessed.

so thankful for them.

I know I kinda rambled on this post, but after being home for a while now, I realized how truly thankful I should be for every one of my friends. Just the nice "I'm praying for you" text is a constant reminder of how good our Lord is! 

don't take your friends for granted! they are truly gifts from God!

first post :)

So I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but why not?
This one will be long, but hang with me! I have to catch you up on an entire semester!

A Brand New Start!
Freshman year so far has been an incredible experience. I am continually amazed at how the Lord is using me at Auburn and how He continues to show me that He is in control. When I got to Auburn in August, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself in to, but boy, has it been fun!

Back in August when move in day came, I absolutely couldn't wait. I was so excited about everything that I had heard college would be. From staying up til 3 talking to my best friends, to taking spontaneous trips or staying in the library to pull my first all nighter.

Not to say that college hasn't been difficult at times. I've always been pretty independent, but I've quickly realized how much I really did rely on my parents and everyone else while I was home in Hoover. This was a tough semester as far as classes went and everything, but I continued to trust that He knew exactly what He was doing. I changed alot this semester, but one of my big changes was my major. I have been convinced for years that pharmacy was the perfect degree for me. I loved chemistry in high school and figured that there was no other job for me. After praying a lot about it (and many all nighters studying for chemistry), I decided that maybe this wasn't the right path for me. As much as I would love it, I decided that maybe something like nursing would be better for me. Something where I could really invest in childrens' lives. I made the decision that (as of now) I want to work with cancer children in a Children's Hospital. I love kids. I love medicine. I don't know of a more perfect job for me! I'm so excited to see how the Lord will use me in this field!

Quickly after getting to Auburn, I joined AOII! This was the perfect fit for me and I could not be more thankful to have been blessed with the most precious sisters ever! I truly loved every second of rush week (unlike most!) but I like to socialize. What can I say? These girls have been there for me through whatever this semester. I tend to stress alot, but these girls were constantly giving me words of encouragement and reminding me of true friendship! I feel like I have known them for a lifetime when in fact, we have only known each other since the end of August. It absolutely amazes me, the instant friendship you have when you join a sisterhood like this. I could truly see us being friends forever. I also have been blessed to get to know several older girls as well.

This is Lauren Swindle, my big :)

She's so great and has taught me so much by just being such a great example of someone who loves the Lord! I am beyond thankful for her and her heart!

meet my best friends(:

so grateful for their friendship!

we took a trip home with hailey one weekend to nashville, home of the AOII headquarters! What an experience!

this was at pledge retreat. love them so much!

just throwin' up our panda ears in a bamboo forest! BEST.AOIIs.EVER.

lauren worley. don't know that i would've survived the semester without her!

the roommates! so thankful for these girls. we are loving living in Keller 102.5! 

who knew we would stay as close as we always have been! allie is wonderful.

So of course, I couldn't come to college and only get involved in one thing. But instead 100! Back in July, I tried out for Auburn Singers: the show choir at Auburn. Although this has truly been a dream of mine since I was 9, I knew that there was a slim chance, but I gave it my best and hoped that maybe they would like me! The waiting period seemed like forever, but on August 8th, everything I had worked for came true! I made it! I have always had a passion for show choir and this was icing on the cake! I get to spend a ton of time with my Singers family and wear pretty sequin dresses. DREAM COME TRUE. It's hard coming into such a small group, but these friends were all so welcoming to us and I could not have asked for a better group! We have so much personality in the group and it is SO FUN! I think my mom and grandfather are sometimes more into than I am! The DVD of the Fall Show came in yesterday....needless to say, I think my mom has watched it 6 times. She is a tad bit obsessed! But how could you not be?! She sees me having the time of my life and doing what I love! Here are just a few pictures of all of us :)

So now as I sit back and reflect on the past semester, I have no others words but thankful and blessed! God didn't have to give all of this to me. I don't deserve it by any means, but because I have learned to trust Him and obey everything that He tells me, I can say that I am having the time of my life in college. There have definitely been bumps in the road, but I can't pretend that life is perfect. It's not!

I am so excited to see what is in store for next semester! Meanwhile, I'll be learning guitar, crafting, and working over the break (: