Some late night blogging.

All of my energy always come so late at night. (Hence the fact that Im blogging at 1:40 in the morning). I could probably contribute it to my multiple cups of coffee I had around 8:30. I don't handle late night caffeine very well.

Christmas was so great. Being home and getting to spend time with my family is always so... Just awesome really. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas. It came so soon this year though, does anyone else agree? I still feel like I should be waiting for Christmas, but it's already come and gone. It was a beautiful holiday, nonetheless.

Next is New Years. I am really looking forward to 2013. Now, I don't believe in New Years resolutions really. Let's face it, they never last. And shouldn't we be bettering our lives at all times of the year? I don't know, that is just my opinion on the matter. HOWEVER, I am still looking forward to the year. 2012 was great, and I will reflect on that in a minute. But I'm ready to close parts of that chapter and move on with my life, while continuing to build on the amazing aspects of my life that have began to evolve in 2012.

2012 in a nutshell:

18th birthday.

My decision to attend the University of Missouri.

Last State Beta Club Convention.

A lot of self-improvement after some major changes in my life.

Last school play.

Graduation.

A summer filled with goodbyes and more self-improvement.

Also, trip to Alabama and Louisiana

  & trip to North and South Carolina

Mizzou.

So many friends.

Connecting with the best church family I could have asked for.

Halloween REMIXED.

Thanksgiving.

Finals.

And now we are here :)

Looking back, it has been a really good year. So many lasts, so many firsts. I'm happy to look back and be able to say that I probably wouldn't change a thing. With all my trials and mistakes have come knowledge. Without every little detail of my past, I might not be where I am today, and I am happy today.

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On another note, I've noticed a flaw in my thinking lately and I would to share it. More or less I just want to share it just as a reminder for myself to stop thinking this way. Constantly, I am looking toward the future, planning for the future, imagining the future. "STOP THAT, ANNA. Enjoy now before it is too late. Be better at living in the moment. Sure, be prepared for the future, but don't forget that you will never get this moment back." That's my advice to myself as I have began to notice how quickly my life seems to be passing me by. I am tired of only planning for the future and forgetting to live for every single day, every single moment. I don't know if anyone else struggles with this, but it's something to think about at least.

I apologize for the scatteredness and multiple grammar mistakes in this blog. It's 2:00am and I've lost my mind!

Henry wanted to make an appearance on my blog.

One last thing. I just got iTunes money for Christmas. Album, song or artist suggestions anyone? I can think of plenty I could get, but it has to be really worth it, so give me good ones!

Until next year,

Anna

The sun always rises after a storm.

It has been forever, I know. The last few weeks have been filled with studying, exams, more studying, and more exams. Before that was Thanksgiving break, which was truly amazing. I couldn't have imagined a better break home from school, except if I would have got to spend a little more time with friends from high school. Besides that, it was hard to go back to school after such a good break, but I did it. I stuck it out and finished. My motto throughout the past week has been, "Well, if I fail out of college now at least I can say I completed 24 credit hours!" I'm kidding of course. I won't fail out, but just in case... Anyways, after 6 tests/finals in the last two weeks, I finally made it home on Thursday night. I was so anxious to get home. I'm not really sure why, because I absolutely love my little life I have made in Columbia. Actually, that is probably a lie, I know why I was anxious to get home. Never mind that though, I am already missing my friends from Mizzou. Thank goodness for Brooke, Tori, Jordan and Daniel Boone for living so close to me. 

This break has already been much different than I was thinking it would be. Even just in two days I can tell it is going to be a lot harder than I expected. That's what I get for trying to predict the future. I am convinced though that God is going to use this time for me to grow closer to Him and really make sure I am putting Him first in my life. 

When I think back to where I was even a month ago, I realize I felt so comfortable with my life and the way things were going. With time has come a lot of questions though. Questions about what I am supposed to be doing with my life. Everything from my major to what I am supposed to do with myself over this break. This is hard for me because I like having a plan, it's just my personality. I'm a planner. But I think God is using this time to teach me that I don't always have to have a plan, because He does, and I need to learn to rely on that and trust that.

I don't know much about what these next 5 weeks are going to look like. I have hopes to spend time with friends from Ash Grove, my family, take a trip to Chicago, spend time with Jordan, Tori, Brooke and D.Boone, etc. Those are the only plans I have at this point and that is okay. I am learning to be flexible and take my life as it comes. Maybe I'll even end up back in Columbia sooner than 5 weeks from now, we'll see. I am trying to learn that the best part about not having a plan is knowing that I can be more in tune to God and his plans that way. Thanks D.Boone for that one. Also, sorry I'm referring to you as that, but you understand the confusion. I hope everyone is having a great Christmas break so far. And if you are a real person and have a real job, I'm sorry that you don't get a Christmas break like the rest of us. Unless you are an educator, you are real people and still get a break. Good choice in professions.

Thank you Margaret for introducing to me to this song on this week. Your timing couldn't have been better. It's perfect.

Also, as always, some pics from the last few weeks.

Plaza Canvas Group aka "Hipster CG" after regaining #1 status.

Cotton House, looking good guys.

Haha, love them :)

How many people can we fit into Katie's car? A lot.

I feel so fortunate to have this lovely group of women to share 
my life with every week.

I Need More Than One Title.

First I want to talk about last weekend. I went and saw PAUL. MCCARTNEY. It was AWESOME. If you didn't know, I consider myself to be a fairly big Beatles fan. Well as big of a fan as a girl my age can be I guess. I grew up listening to their music and actually  dressed up as Paul McCartney once for a talent show at church camp. Remember that Kayla? Those were the awkward days... Anyways, Gunnar, one of my best friends from high school and now college, asked me a few weeks ago if I would like to tag along and go to the concert. I am so glad I did. It was truly a once in a life time opportunity.

The rest of my week was spent being anxious about coming home. I was so ready, it's not even funny. I think just because I had so many tests last week and a major semester project due yesterday, I was so ready for a break. I haven't got to spend a whole lot of time at home since coming to college, so more than anything I think I was just ready to come sleep in my bed, see Henry, and spend time with my family and my friends from home. The week wasn't bad though, I shouldn't make it sound like that. There were a lot of great things about it. The best part was without a doubt, spending sunrise with some of my best friends yesterday morning. Our FLG group is becoming so close, and that makes me incredible happy. We have started having "family dinners" and hangouts, and it is really awesome getting to know all of them. Getting up at 5:40am to go see the sunrise yesterday was no easy task, but I was so happy that everyone got up and came! We drove out to Capen, walked up to the top and hung out there as the sun came up. Of course I have some pictures to look at below :)

Now I am finally back in the Grove! Let me just say, it is so nice to have a home to come back to and a comfy bed to sleep in. I am so excited for Thanksgiving and spending time with my family. Also, my schedule is fairly relaxed for the next week, especially during the daytime, so if anyone from home would like to hang out, give me a call or something! I miss everyone.

Credit to Miss Sarah Bell.

Photo Credit to Tori Vaughan :)

I'm Free!

It is always a good feeling when I complete my last exam on the weeks that I have 4-5 exams. I walk away from Middlebush just finishing my Psychology exam feeling so relieved and ready to conquer the world. Today was no different. I walked out of those doors and wanted so badly just to yell, "I'M FREE!" and then run all the way home to Ash Grove for Thanksgiving break. Unfortunately I still have a week before I can actually come home, but boy am I ready!

Tonight was good though. We had what I understand is our "Annual Plaza Canvas Group Thanksgiving." IT. WAS. AWESOME. I'm still stuffed. Talk about some good pie. Actually, everything was good. I was thoroughly impressed with our collaborative college cooking. Special shout out to Margaret on the mashed potatoes, I know she's reading this ;). Also, to my brother and Aimee who let us take over their apartment for the very last time. The next Plaza event at 'The Swifts' will be at their new house! How exciting. I am really happy for them and what looks to be an awesome next chapter in their lives as homeowners. Anyways, I'm getting sidetracked. Tonight was good, and I am so thankful to have all of the people in Plaza be a part of my life. They make a really good family away from family, even though some of my family literally is in the canvas group... But again, that's beside the point. I am thankful for them, and that was my sticky note on November 4th (see below).

I am really excited to go home and spend time with my family though. I haven't been too homesick since I've been here, but it's time. I'm ready for the holidays and ready to spend time with everyone from home. Until then, I'm working on making every day count for something! Have a happy day everyone, I hope you feel very blessed.

Picture Time! These first few pictures are from Monday. Monday I got to go out to Capen with my core group and do a balloon release. I wont get into too much detail about it, but it I really enjoyed it, and the pictures turned out awesome too!

P.S. Margaret was there too, but she took the pictures! 

And for the rest:

Some of the best friends a girl could ask for.

^"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

It's November?

I only blogged one time in the whole month of October. And it wasn't even a happy blog. No wonder I haven't been as cheery lately. I think it goes both ways, you know? I generally blog more when I'm cheery, and blogging makes me just happier in general! That is why I am blogging right now when I should be doing things like studying for my 4 exams next week, cleaning my room, applying for more jobs, etc. Darn it, I just needed a little 30 minute break. 

Wow, so not a lot has actually happened in the last month I feel like. I've developed a routine, which makes for an incredibly boring monotonous lifestyle. All of my weeks look roughly the same. I guess it's good to have some structure, but I need to learn how to spice it up a little! However, there were some fun things, including: Morgan coming for a visit, going home for a weekend, starting core group with some really great girls from The Rock,  getting my jaw dislocated at the Imagine Dragons concert (which was well worth it by the way, they were AWESOME), getting my first tattoo, and Halloween! Okay, now is when I need to apologize to my father who just started coughing, fell out of his chair and had a heart attack. I didn't really get a tattoo, I'm just making sure everyone is still paying attention. Anyways, for the most part October was a pretty routine month. It went by fast, had a little bit of a roller coaster aspect to it, but nothing life changing. I wish there were never months like that. I'll do better this month.

November. Ah, November. November through February has to be about my favorite time of the year. Not to be prejudice toward the rest of the months, but there is just something special about these in particular. This is when the real holidays start. Halloween is fun and all, but Thanksgiving and Christmas warm my heart, and that's something that Halloween could never do. This is when I can justify listening to Christmas music (like I ever stopped), spend extra time being thankful for all of the things in my life, enjoy the good things, and try to help the things that aren't so good. It's not like I don't try to do this at all times of the year, but the holidays always seem to put things in a different perspective. It fills me with joy to see all of the gracious and giving people during this time of the year. I am so excited for all of that holiday spirit to begin!

My craft for the month is this: 

Every day, Brooke and I are going to put a sticky note on the board with something we are thankful for. Visitors are welcome to partake in this ritual as well! I will take a picture at the end of the month to show how many sticky notes we put up :)

Here are some more pictures taken since the last time I blogged!

Driving home!

In Springfield :)

The Wizard of Oz, REMIXED! Love these girls.

P.S. I mentioned them earlier, but check out Imagine Dragons. Here is a video I took at their concert!

Be Careful Not to Get Amnesia.

It's been a while, I know. Five exams and a lot of studying kind of served as a road block for any blogging in the last week. I do have something I want to talk about though. WARNING: It is serious and is similar to a journal entry of some sort, so if you aren't into that sort of thing, sorry!

I think I'm in the process of learning a big lesson right now. I can't come up with any explanation other than I believe it's God's way of reaching out to me and telling me exactly this:

When I moved to Columbia a little over two months ago, all I could think about was recreating my identity. I took the move as an opportunity to start fresh, make new friends, and basically have a new life. It's not that I was ashamed of the person I had become, but like any normal person, I have made mistakes and I was ready to jump on the opportunity of moving to a large college where no one knew about any of them. No one here could judge me by my past, and my past wouldn't have any effect on my future, so I thought. Here's the problem with that philosophy: If God wanted me to be done with the life I was living, I think He would have taken care of that. I know that seems harsh. Here I have been though, living in my little Mizzou bubble for the most part, when all of a sudden everything seemed to come crashing down on me so suddenly. Everything I have been working to escape has came rushing back into my life and I am reminded of it all. As thoughts of the rough patches flooded my emotions, I vividly remembered my darkest days, my struggles. It was then that I stopped to think that maybe there is a reason for this. Maybe this was God's way of waking me up and reminding me of who and why I am. God has forgiven me for my mistakes, yes, but if they hadn't happened, where would I be today? Not here. If my past wasn't my past, I wouldn't be me, the person I am today growing in my faith and really just in life. Maybe college isn't supposed to be "a fresh start" as so many made me believe it was would be, but simply just the next step on my one, collaborative journey. 

So here is an overview. It has been so easy to get caught up in the newness of things. It is such a great feeling to know that I am making friends that could end up being my best friends for the rest of my life, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. The problem I think I am struggling with, is forgetting my past. A lot of my past has been really good: I have been brought up by the most amazing, supportive parents I could have ever asked for. I was blessed beyond belief in my upbringing and have always had a great support  system. I have friends and family from my past who are still willing to make an effort to come see me, which I think is amazing. And the parts that weren't so good, I think are still worth remembering. My mistakes can serve as lessons to learn from, and grow from. I have to remember that my testimony consists of ALL of my past, good or bad, and that is what has shaped me into Anna. I will never be perfect, nor would I want to. I have flaws and I will make more mistakes in the future, but I will be the best Anna I know how to be. I will live as the Anna today, as shaped by my past.

To lighten the mood of this post, as always, here are some pics from my last couple weeks :)

Two of my favorite Ash Grovians at the
Vanderbilt game!

So blessed to have this group of girls
in my life.

We rearranged the room!

Some of my favorite girls.

Before the torrential downpour at
 the Alabama game!

Better late than never.

I know, I know, this is a little overdue. I have just been so busy changing my major, learning to crochet (see my scarf below), and retreating with the best church family I think I ever could have been blessed with when moving to Columbia. It has been such a good week and a half since I blogged last though, really. I am constantly noticing God working in my life lately. While I know he has always been there, I think I have began to let him in and notice him working in my life a lot more. That is a good feeling, a really good feeling.

So yes, my major is OFFICIALLY changed. The paperwork is filled out and I am well on my way to becoming the best Social Worker, well that has ever been born to my parents anyways ;). I will be the best one I am capable of being! I am so excited about this decision that I have made, because I think it is really what I am supposed to do and I feeI like I am truly where I am supposed to be.

Secondly, I did take up the art of crochet. Brooke and I, on her birthday (see that picture below also) decided to teach ourselves, with the help of Pinterest and Youtube. We both wanted to make scarves really bad, so we did! We are going to make really great grandmas someday, eh? Haha, we laugh as we spend our nights crocheting instead of doing whatever normal 18 and 19 year old girls are supposed to be doing. Oh well, we love it ;)

Lastly, THE FALL RETREAT! Wow. What an awesome weekend. I am constantly reminded how blessed I am. As if I didn't realize it before, this weekend has really confirmed that I am where I was meant to be. I am so lucky to be surrounded with such deep, amazing, inspiring people. I am incredibly thankful for the friends I have made here. That includes the upperclassmen who have helped me and the other freshmen feel so at home and so loved, and my fellow freshmen, who I am so excited to journey with throughout these next 4+ years. I love you all.

Happy Sunday everyone :). Now for some pictures...

Here's my scarf :)

Brooke's birthday:

And the only picture I got from The Fall Retreat:

My girl Jordan :)

 P.S. This album came out this week. You should listen to it.

This one didn't come out this week, but it did come out this month, and you should listen to it too!

A Mix of the Past and the Future.

According to the weather today, it is fall, and that makes me so extremely happy. This sort of weather brings back a lot of memories. It makes me think of high school football, softball tournaments, the weather when I would get off the bus for volleyball games, a lot of specific things like that. I hadn't really thought about these things too much, as I was trying to avoid it, until I went home for homecoming last Friday. Seeing all my friends from high school was so special. Even though there were a few who couldn't make it, it felt so good to have most of the gang back together again. Saturday afternoon I stopped by the volleyball tournament though, and that's when it hit me. Seeing my team playing without me really struck my emotions, hard. I couldn't stay, which was probably good, because I went home for the first time realizing that I will never get those Saturday tournaments back. I will never get back those practices that I despised so much, I will never again experience that feeling that I used to get every time we would get off the softball or volleyball bus at another school. That uneasy feeling of excitement, but still somewhere deep inside, nervousness. All that is left of that chapter of my life are memories, because I will never again be able to relive those moments. Sure, I knew this already, I realized I would not be going back to that place, but in that moment when it registered with me, I truly felt the urge to be back at that school, back in those shoes.

On that note, I will move forward to a more positive subject. That subject is that I may be changing my major... Again, already. Within the last week or so I have been continuing to think about how I want to spend the rest of my life, in what career. I thought I had decided on Counseling Psychology a few weeks ago because of my interest in it, and my passion for helping people. I've always been interested in psychology. I think I could use that toward making people's lives better. Not to say that I am some kind of miracle worker, because I am not. But if something I did or said could influence someone in a positive way, if I could use my knowledge and personal experiences to relate to someone and help them out, I would want to do that. That is the bottom line. I feel like I am being called to do something which I am passionate about, and something I think I could be good at. So, psychology seems like a good fit, right? Yes, but... Within the last week, something else has jumped out and grabbed my attention. This is something that I could use this same passion toward. I feel however, like it may be more fitting. And this career path is... Social Work. I haven't officially changed over yet, in fact, according to the University of Missouri, I'm technically still Pre-Comm. I want to make sure that I am positive in my decision before I switch (hopefully permanently). I am going to continue thinking on this subject, and praying about it. God will let me know what I need to do.

That's about it for my thoughts at the moment. I might edit this later if I think of something else. Don't forget to smile today :). The End.

In honor of the first "fall" day, according to me at least,
I am sporting my dad's flannel. :)

Scatterbrained.

Brooke and I decided to try something this week. We are both big tea drinkers, and we read about something on Pinterest that told us how good Dandelion Root tea is for you! So, we went to Hy-vee and bought what we needed to try this out. I've been excited because I love finding new natural, healthy things. Last night we made a big pitcher of this Dandelion tea and decided to start drinking it today. Heres a picture of me showing how cute the little box is!

And here's one after actually drinking the tea:

It's awful. I really don't suggest it.

We made a garland of paper leaves for our room Saturday at Craft Sabbath!

I realize this is the most random post in the world, even more random than the last one. I think I might start making them more like this though. It's kind of fun! I have three exams this week, so things have been pretty stressful. I'm excited to come home Friday night and get a little break. It will be so nice to see everyone! I will be back in CoMo for the football game Saturday. Hopefully it goes better than last week against Georgia! I will say though, it was pretty fun just to be there for the first SEC game, regardless of the outcome. Okay, well I better get back to studying! Have a fabulous week, and if you don't know much about the Lumineers, I highly recommend checking out this song down below. I love them.

So. Good.

P.S. And most importantly, God bless everyone serving this country, and everyone with a loved one who was lost on this day eleven years ago. May they never be forgotten <3

Random, Unimportant Post. (But look what I did!)

Since I've been in Columbia I have been dying to do something rebellious. I didn't want to do anything to get me in trouble of course. If you know me, you know that I tend to avoid controversy at all cost. I don't really party, I'm scared of many adventurous things because of my fear of heights, I don't like things that cost me too much money, etc, etc. Basically, I'm a crazy boring person. Okay, I don't actually think that, but I definitely made it sound like it. So anyways, I came up with the perfect thing that says, "I am an adult, and I make my own decisions, BAM." I got my ear pierced. Twice. I know, I'm a rebel right? :) 

Here is a picture for everyone to see: 

(Big thanks to Brooke and Morgan for their moral support!)

Before I go, I also wanted to mention that I had such a fantastic weekend. After the rainy football game Saturday night, which we killed in by the way, I went home for Labor Day weekend. It was so nice seeing all of the family and friends that I did. It was a great time. I feel so blessed to have such awesome people in my life. And to those of you friends who I didn't see while I was home, I really hope to see everyone at homecoming next Friday night! I'll be there as soon as I can, hopefully around 8, and be staying the night in the good ol' AG. I can't wait to see everyone in their pretty dresses, and for the second year in a row I won't be giving the crown away! Hooray! Have a good week everyone! :)

Joe and Brock came for the game!

P.S. Who are the homecoming candidates? If any of you know, will you tell me? I'm curious!

The Theme of My Week: Why am I here?

For those of you who don't know, I have been getting involved in a group called "FLG" these last couple weeks. FLG stands for "Freshmen Leadership Group," and is an organization sponsored by The Rock, the church I have been attending. Basically this group of freshmen get together every Tuesday night with John, the pastor at The Rock and talk about whatever topic is that he picked for us I guess. Anyway, this week's topic really stuck with me, and I felt like it covered exactly what I am going through right now. In fact, I felt like it related to my life so much that I would even blog about it! So here I am. 

This week's first focal point was: "What is the meaning of life?" I thought this was such a brilliant topic for this week. So many of us are questioning this right now, and with this new transition into college and growing up, it couldn't have been more perfect. I know that I have especially been struggling with this lately. Asking myself the questions, "Why am I here? What is my purpose?" even led me to change my major, and it's only the second week of school! I truly believe I have a purpose here on earth, and I want to make sure I find it. Maybe I still don't have it right, maybe I should have stuck with Communication and never looked back. I think only time will tell, but I do still have time to change my career path, so that's reassuring. This week's talk was so nice though. To be assured that many people struggle with the quest to figure out why they are here, and that it's a normal part of life made me feel so much better about it. I don't have to know yet, and I think that is awesome. I do think I am starting to get a better understanding though, by seeking out the answers myself and not sitting around waiting for them to appear to me. I have a feeling I am really going to love FLG.

Now listen, I'm not trying to preach at anyone by any means, but I do like to let people know a little bit about what is going on in my life right now. And, if in any way, someone else could relate, or if it could help someone, I would always want to share that. As far as the rest of my life goes, things have been so great. It is such a great feeling to know that I have come to the right place. My classes are maybe a little more stressful than high school, but I love them so much. Anyways, I made a little video of my own "MTV CRIBS" haha. If you care to see my room, you should watch. I hope you are all having a fantastic week! Love you all!

Let's count how many times I say "pretty cool" in this video. Haha!

And now for some pictures... :)

Our new door sign!

Brooke, Morgan, Me, Abby and Eric!

Chillin like a villain :)

My first Cotton House Party with 
Rokeith, Brooke, Tori and Jordan :)

A New Chapter

I have officially completed one full week at my new home. It has been filled with tons of joy, fun, new friends, and walking. My first few days here were almost entirely spent in sorority houses. It didn't take me long to realize that I didn't really belong there, but I do have a lot of new light to shed on them. Although I made the decision late Wednesday night to withdraw from recruitment, I do have a new found respect for the sororities here on campus. Most of the girls I met through the whole process were surprisingly cool and down to earth, unlike their stereotype would make them seem. I don't regret spending time going through recruitment, because I really do have a better understanding of the whole process now. Thursday, Brooke and I spent the day exploring downtown CoMo. We have found great shopping, an awesome costume store, a cupcake shop, sushi, and coffee places. We have also made nearly a million new friends. We learned quickly that the best way to make friends on our hall was for one, to go to the bathroom, and two, keep our door open. I am so excited for the girls on our hall to all be friends. They all seem to be extremely nice, I can't wait to get to know them better. The last few nights have been spent playing sand volleyball late into the night, spending time with my brother and some awesome new friends from The Rock, going to the Ben Kweller concert (his opening act, She's A Keeper, was fantastic), and not seeing The Hunger Games at Jesse Auditorium because we were late and they wouldn't let us in.

Overall, this last week has been seriously amazing. I never imagined that I would have this many friends already. I am missing some people from home, you all know who you are. If you have Skype and feel so inclined to Skype me, I would love to hear from you and see you. I am also just a phone call or letter away, so that works too. By the way, if anyone wants my address, message me on facebook or something :). I love mail now that I have my own mailbox. Classes start tomorrow, so I will probably be pretty busy, but I can always make time for old friends!

Back to the main topic of this post: I am so excited for the things to come. I am so happy to feel so confident in having made the right choice in schools. God has blessed me in so many ways and I am so thankful that some of the best years of my life are still to come! I am going to wrap this up for now, but to all my friends from home: Again, I would seriously love to hear from all of you. I will also be making an effort to get ahold of some of you. Love always!

Here are some pictures if you haven't seen them on facebook. Our room is messy right now, but I will post pictures of it next time!

Packing, Packing, Reminiscing.

I am currently packing for college. I actually just finished putting my collection of boots into a plastic storage container with purple wheels. I had to have the one with purple wheels! Between packing and seeing a lot of my friends and family for the last time before I leave, I really am starting to get a little sad. I leave for Mizzou in three days, which seems absolutely unreal. There is so much to be excited about in this new chapter of my life, but there are also a lot of memories from my previous chapters that I am really going to miss. It has been a great summer filled with important old friendships and even new ones as well. I am really going to miss my good friends from home. On an off chance that any of them are reading this (new or old friends), I want to thank them for always being there. I could take each and every friend I have ever had and say something that they have taught me, and I can't thank them enough for that.

My schedule has been extremely busy lately, which explains why it took me this long to get around to my second blog entry. Since I last wrote, I spent a weekend in Iowa with family and had an amazing time. I haven't really had the opportunity to get close to that side of the family before, so it was a really great chance to spend time with them and get to know them better. Also, my Grandpa Ron, who I am extremely close to, has been in the hospital for a week and a half now. While my parents and I were in Iowa, he had a heart attack and since then has had double bypass surgery. His recovery is going to be rough, but he's a trooper. It's events like that which really put things into perspective for me. It has made me really appreciate my family and him especially, because things would not be near the same without him in my life. I think that happening has also made me even more sad to leave home. I love my family. I could say something similar to them as I did to my friends. Between my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc, I have been shown so much love and support. Without them it would be impossible to do what I am doing now.

I am going to get back to packing now, but I just wanted to post a short, little entry since it's already been so long since the last one! The next time I post I will probably be in Columbia! I promise it should not be this depressing. I guess my mood right now could be described as a mix between happy, sad, nostalgic, thankful, and anxious, which kind of explains the mood of the post. Love you all! :)

Here's something fun. I wanted to show off my purple wheels!

(Ignore my "I haven't done anything with myself today" look, lol)

Here we go. Post #1.

I'm officially blogging. I always thought this day might come, and after giving it considerate thought, I decided this day, July 25, 2012 would be the perfect day to make my first post. I always kind of wanted to do this, for a few different reasons. Here they are:

1. Blogging is good outlet. I guess it's kind of like a journal right? 
2. It's a great way share my thoughts with those people who actually care... Like my mommy and daddy and granny and maybe a few more random people.
3. Someday I will be able to look back at these and go, "Haha, I was dumbest, most dramatic, immature 18 year old EVER." Okay, hopefully I won't think that, but I guess we shall see.

Anyways, I really just want to document my thoughts and experiences as I go through some pretty dramatic changes in my life over the next few months. Not just that though, I want to share the little things too, the everyday fun things that I do or think about on a daily basis. And maybe, just maybe, it will inspire me to become a more interesting person.

Now that I've set this up a little bit, I guess I will do a little about me. I realize that no one probably cares about anything I have to say, because this is boring, SO FAR. But remember I said I am also doing this for myself, and I need something to build on, so here it goes:

My name is Anna Swift, as I am sure all of you know or have figured out. I enjoy listening to music, singing, riding my bike, puzzles, coffee drinks (I'm still working on regular coffee), hot tea, my family, my friends, dogs, crafts, the St. Louis Cardinals, football, the lake, twitter, night time, and much much more. I am from a tiny town in southwest Missouri. I am about to embark on a journey to a slightly much larger town, called Columbia, Missouri where I will be attending the University of Missouri, AKA Mizzou. Unlike what seems like the majority of my freshman class, I will not be majoring in Journalism, so please forgive my poor writing skills. No offense to my high school English teachers, they did the best they could, ha. Despite my fear of moving three hours away and leaving everything I have ever known, I am extremely excited about this next phase of my life. I am excited for many reasons: new experiences, friends, being closer to my brother and sister in-law, etc. More than anything though, I am ready to find out where I am supposed to be and figure out what all of this is all about. Alright, that is a good general overview on where I am today, so stayed tuned if you want to hear more, that is if anyone is even still reading ;) ADIOS.

Here's a cute picture of me on my web cam from the other night.

I'm a grandma. 

P.S. Shout out to my girl Brodie who just told me she would read my blog. She's been one of my best friends since she moved to this little place in 5th grade! Love you girl!