"I can honestly say you've been on mind since I woke up today. I look at your photograph all the time. These memories come back to life."

For the past two days I have been thinking a lot about everything. Today all of the upperclassman moved back to Erskine. It is so weird to not be moving back to college. I still cannot believe that 4 years flew by. College was such a wonderful learning experience. I learned so much about Education (since that was my field of study :) ), life, myself, and so much more. I made some of the greatest friends ever! Also throughout the 4 years I lost some people. Given the chance to repeat the last 4 years, I would change a few things but then again I do not think I would be where I am at today. I had not been to the lake in a long time to take pictures of the sunset so I decided to go yesterday. Taking pictures really helps me escape the worries of life. Below are some of my favorite pictures I took:






There is nothing like a gorgeous sunset to help you heal!!

More pictures!

Here are some more pictures of my classroom. The first day of school was AMAZING!!! I love the people I work with. They are beyond awesome!! I am excited about what the rest of the school year has waiting for me!!

NEW JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since I cannot sleep at the current moment, I figured I would update my blog. A few new things have happened over the past few weeks. As of last Monday, I am currently an employed teacher of the Lexington/Richland School District 5. I will be teaching 6th Grade Math this year. I am BEYOND excited about my job! I started school last Thursday and my kids come this Thursday. The past few days have been very overwhelming but I am really excited about this school year! Below are some pictures of my classroom before and after. I have not taken any recent pictures of my room but I will today and add them soon!!




When I first walked into my portable this is what it looked like. I had to get all of that other stuff out before I could set up my stuff.



Now here are some pictures of my room after I got in there.





I have been working in my room like crazy this week. I will update soon :)

Rambo

The day after I graduated I went and got a puppy. His name is Rambo and he is a black/tan dachshund. We have another dachshund that we got when I was in the 6th grade. His name is Rocky. :) I have always wanted another dachshund and my parents said that I could get one after I graduated from college. However, they did not realize I was going to be so literal and get on the day after graduation!! The past few months have been very trying on me mentally, physically, and emotionally. Rambo has been such a blessing and allows me to love him unconditionally! Below are some pictures of him!



He loves my brothers dog Boone a lot!! They are the best of friends. Anywhere Boone is, Rambo is sure to be there soon!

Change

"Change. We don't like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. And it hurts to grow; anybody who tells you it doesn't is lying. But heres the truth: The more things change, the more they stay the same. And sometimes, oh sometimes, change is good. Sometimes, change is everything."

This quote pretty much describes the last four months. I began student teaching in February and that was a huge change within itself. I had to adjust to being at the middle school every day and not have the "college life" so to speak. I was used to being at Erskine all day every day with classes and such and then all of a sudden that stopped. But I eventually adjusted. Then May 15th I graduated and yet again that was a huge change for me. It is still weird to think that 4 years of college has come and gone. So now I enter the "real world" and for once in my life I do not already have a set in stone plan. When I graduated high school my next step was attend college. Now that I have graduated college, I plan on getting a teaching job but right now with the economy...jobs are not readily available. Plus I do want to go to graduate school to start earning my masters but my application is not due until July so I will have to wait to find out if I get in. So right now I patiently wait and see what the Lord has instore for me!!

As a side note: I am in Tennessee this week on vacation with my dad's side of the family!! My aunt and her husband rent a huge cabin for the week and the WHOLE family comes up and stays!!! I am so excited for this week! Everyone started arriving today. I will try to get better at updating my blog so my goal is to try and update each day of vacation :)

God's Beauty

I love to take pictures! When I have a camera in my hand I get picture happy and snap tons of pictures. My favorite thing to pictures of is the sky. I am obsessed 100% with the clouds and the shapes they make. Last year I was at the park and took a picture of a cloud that was shaped like a heart. This was by far the coolest thing I had ever seen. Below is the picture:

Yesterday, I went down to Lake Murray to take pictures of the sunset. The sunset last night was breathtaking! I had never seen such a beautiful sky as I did last night. I was mesmorized and captivated by the beauty God was showing me. I love the clouds in this picture! I think the clouds really add to this picture. They are dark but gorgeous.

This one is my favorite picture that I took!!

I did not notice the sailboat at first but I think that it added to the picture!

I wish I was on that sailboat so I could see the sunset closer up!

Halfway There!!

So tomorrow I finally get to go home for Christmas break! I am so excited and so very ready to be home!! Tomorrow will be my last Fall semester at Erskine!! I will not have to be back at school until the end of January. I am an elementary education major and I will be certified 2-6 grade but hope to teacher 3rd or 4th grade! But with jobs being the way they are I will not be picky about what grade I am offered. Next semester I will be student teaching and I cannot wait! It is hard to believe that I will be graduating in a semester and starting a whole new chapter in my life, but I am ready for the adventure!!