"Sugar, we're going down swinging."

Hello!

November seems to have snuck up on me this year, and it has brought some wonderful and challenging new components.

I have officially been hired on as a full-time team staff at work, which brings on more responsibilities as well as an opportunity to get to know the kids in my unit on a deeper level. I am really excited for this opportunity. I've only worked two shifts in the new position and I'm already being challenged... which I believe is a good thing.

School has been pretty steady and not really unbearable, so that's a positive thing. I've officially decided to extend my program from 2 to 3 years, which I think is going to make working full-time and going to school a lot more manageable. I am supposed to be starting my practicum (seeing clients) in January, but that's still up in the air. I may decide to wait a year until I hop onboard with that because I feel like it's really ethically important that I'm in a place that's ready to counsel people before I do so. I don't want to be hasty with this process-- these are real lives I'm going to be working with.

Speaking of which, something really weird has been going on. I feel like right now, a lot of the people I care deeply about are going through some hard times. I don't know why it's happening all at once, but something marvelous is happening with it. Everyone is struggling, yet everyone is also trying to support one another. It's almost like we all have these glasses of water that are only 1/4 full and emptying quickly, yet we're still using our glasses to fill up one another's. It's a cycle of emotional exhaustion, yet people's glasses remain filled because everyone just cares so freaking much that they're willing to spare a little water even with how little they may have. It kind of reminds me of the story in the bible where Jesus feeds an entire village with only five loaves of bread and two fish. It just goes to show that God does provide when it's truly needed. Support is an incredible thing and comes in so many different forms. Whether it's something as simple as a hug on a hard day, or sitting with someone for hours so they don't have to be alone, it still makes an impact and means a lot. If you are reading this and you identify with this, I would like for you to know that you are loved and supported, and I have water to spare if or whenever you may need it; all you need to do is reach out and ask for it.

I've been trying to be more intentional about using my coping skills and branching out in my interests, so that's been kind of cool. I've been quilting more, which is something that I really, really enjoy doing and takes my mind off of things when I need it to. I'm also making it a goal to go to church regularly, so tomorrow will be my first day trying to get back into the swing of that.

My childhood best friend, Samara, celebrated a one-year vow renewal a couple of weeks ago, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to be a part of the ceremony. We had a nice pre-wedding "I know you're already married, but this is exciting and this is your big day." chat which really made it real to me that she's grown up and doing that whole "adulting" thing. I'm so happy that she was able to find her soulmate at and that she is truly happy. We spent an entire day celebrating her bachelorette party which was probably my favorite part of the weekend. Part of the day entailed a wine and paint party where I was told by the instructor that I have "my own kind of artistic style" (a.k.a. I suck at painting) so I ended up giving up and painting the death star over my moon.

My parents will be in town this weekend, so I'm really looking forward to that. I've been pretty homesick lately, especially with the anticipation that I may not be able to go home for the holidays because of this new work schedule. But, I have faith that I'll be able to work out at least a couple of days to sneak away.

Today, I drove over to Clarkston to see my friend Amanda. It was so good to see her. She was such a huge part of my Spokane undergrad experience and is someone who means a lot to me, so it really was a blessing to get to have a day with her. We went fishing and both caught a fish, so that was pretty cool. We ended the day with pizza at Fazzari's where I tried pizza with onions and sauerkraut on it... it was AWESOME.

Winter is approaching which means snow will begin to fall and snowboarding season will be back! I bought a season pass for Mt. Spokane this year, so I'll probably be going up at least every Saturday, so if anyone is interested in joining, just hit me up! Another dear friend, Jessica, is going to be trekking over all the way from Chicago so we can enjoy a couple of days up at the mountain together, so that is another thing I will be looking forward to.

Other than that, not much is going on with me. My life has basically been school, work, and doing laundry while making time to spend with friends on the side. I am so thankful for the friends I have, old and new. There are just some things that I don't think I could have done alone, so I am extremely grateful for them.

Thank you so much for reading up on my Spokane hijinks. As I mentioned earlier in this post, if you are in need of support or anything, please don't hesitate to reach out. We all need to take care of one another in this intense and scary world.

-A

P.S. Here's a picture of an Ashley Taylor Senf I masterpiece. I hung it up in my parents' kitchen while they were sleeping. It does not go with their decor at all, but I'm sure my mom loves waking up and having her coffee while admiring how I threw off the vibe of our house. You're welcome, Tudie.

P.P.S. 40 DAYS UNTIL ROGUE ONE COMES OUT!!!!!!
(Here's a countdown for anyone that needs it)

"Time goes by, time brings changes, you change too..."

Heyyo! I know I updated this thing just a couple of short months ago, but a lot has changed, so I figured I'd throw another one out there...

Classes for the summer term wrapped up last Thursday. We only had two classes that we took in this short 6-week term, but we definitely took in a lot of information and learned a LOT about what the process to becoming an MFT looks like. I received my grades today and so far, I'm 5 credits in and have a 4.0. Hopefully I can keep that momentum going strong! So far, I'm really happy with how classes have gone and the program itself. I'm definitely nervous about the big picture and the amount of time and work it's going to take to finally get licensed, but it seems like that's how a lot of us are feeling, so I'm just trusting that eventually it will all work out.

I'm definitely working on getting adjusted to the new Spokane scene as well. Graduation was really bittersweet because it wrapped up four years of hard work, but also entailed a lot of change. As expected, the goodbyes that had to be said sucked (so, so bad), but I'm making it out and I'm starting to become comfortable with this "new Spokane". I've been making more of an effort to reach out to others as well as enjoying my "me time" when I can catch the time. I'm really thankful to have the job that I do because I work with some truly incredible people who strive to support one another on and off of the clock. This transition would have been much harder for me if I didn't have the opportunity to interact with, support, and be supported by some of those amazing individuals.

We had a bit of a spider problem in our house, and for those of you who know me even remotely know that I'm not about that life. So I finally decided that it was effecting me enough to ask my landlord to do more to fix the problem. They hired pest control to come out and rid of the eight-legged hell spawns, and meanwhile I've been staying at THE REAL MVP HOUSE (aka Grandma and Papa's). I am SO thankful to have those two only 24.5 minutes away. Over the past four years, they have been a huge support system for me. I look forward to our lunch dates or the times I can make it over there for dinner, because I just love being around them. So, here's a shout-out to Judith Patron (add the accent on the "o") and Papa Senf for being so gosh darn great. Love you guys! As of tonight, I am officially back in my (so far) arachnid free home...

All-in-all everything is going really, really well. I was feeling pretty uneasy with the transition, but after a little bit of time to process and support from friends, I'm snapping out of it. I'm really thankful that I've been blessed with these incredible opportunities as well as some kick-ass friends and family.

This upcoming weekend, I'll be camping with the Senf-clan so that should be a hoot! I haven't seen Marcus or Lucas since April, so I'm super stoked that they'll be making an appearance... my inner auntie needs some nephew time. Then, two of my bests will be here next week for the wedding of another good friend of ours, so we will be reunited for a handful of days! After the wedding we will be going camping in Canada as well as staying at our family cabin in Montana (outhouse included). I'm so stoked to see my girls again and to get a little bit of off time before school starts back up again in September!

Thank you for taking the time to read up on what's been poppin' in the life of Ashley. I hope that you, reader, are doing well. If not, hit me up... we'll chat... it'll be great... all the fun will be had. But seriously, I'm here if you need anything.

Much love,
A

P.S. Marcus picked out this phone case for me while he was in Disneyland... I'm not typically a big stormtrooper fan, but I'd like to believe that that's Finn under the mask. Also he was super stoked about it, so I basically love it.

"Your world's not falling apart, it's falling into place."

Oh man, I have a feeling this is going to be a long one, so get a drink in your hand and buckle up boys and girls because I'm about to get all up in the feels and stuff.

(This portion was written after I got back from Thailand... I just forgot to publish it)

How's that for an intro? Can you tell I haven't slept in a long time? Yeah, me either.

ANYWAY, I got back from Thailand late Sunday night, early Monday morning. The Whitworth Wind Symphony went on a Spring Break excursion where we played a few concerts and spent the rest of the time taking an adventure through the Thai culture.

I came into this year without any remote expectation of being in the Wind Symphony let alone going on tour with them-- I didn't even bother to audition. Honestly, I sat on it for a while and I tried to convince myself to audition (especially after seeing where they were touring to), but I couldn't get myself to do it because I was so afraid of not getting in again and having to deal with that rejection one more time. I was a little sad when auditions were over and I still hadn't signed up for a slot, but I knew that it was for the best. However, that night I received an email from Dr. Strauch (with the subject line of "URGENT!!!" notifying me that there was a spot open for tuba and inviting me to take it. That was an email that stopped me dead in my tracks. First off, when you receive and email with the subject line "URGENT!!!", it's going to startle you because you're wondering what the hell is going on and what could be so urgent, but also because that is the exact email that I begged God to send me last year. And apparently, He delivered, just a little later than I was expecting. Anyway, I stared at that screen for a while and after talking to my parents, decided that it was a sign that I needed to go back for one last round and end my tuba career with a bang. Let me just say that I am so freaking glad that I took this opportunity. I forgot what it felt like to be in rehearsal and I forgot what it felt like to be a part of a community as strong as the Wind Symphony. Music has always been something that fuels me and I just feel so empowered and happy when I'm playing, that I couldn't imagine this year without it.

(This part was written now...)

Pardon my language this next paragraph, but it's about to get real and the filter's dipping out.
Last fall was so fucking hard on me. I'm not trying to complain, but I have to complain a little bit so I can get to the positive side at the end of this...
It was so fucking hard and I honestly didn't think I was going to make it out in one piece. I slipped to a high that felt like the lowest I had ever been before and I completely lost myself. I didn't realize I was gone it was too late and I hit rock bottom. I'm not going to go into much more detail than that, but I'll just end it by saying that it was a huge wake up call as far as what my body and mind are capable of and I now understand the importance of self-care, self-awareness, and being proactive. However, despite everything that went down, I experienced the most genuine unconditional love that I have ever felt. With everything that happened, and all of the shit I put people through, I had a couple of people who stuck by me through it all. Even with the hurt that I put people through, they selflessly showed me love and sat with me through it all and I won't ever be able to express how much that meant to me, but it really did.

Now, flashing forward to the future...

I graduate in 34 days. With that door closing in my life is going to come some incredibly hard "see you laters", and I'm not ready for them, but it's inevitable. I have been accepted into Whitworth's Marriage and Family therapy Master's program, and I have committed to it. That program is going to start in June, so my biggest objective right now is finding a place to live, which has been a struggle. The housing situation I have right now is so perfect that I'm finding myself overly critical of every opportunity that comes in front of me. However, that is honestly the least of my worries.

Right now, I'm just stuck in this terribly terrified and sad feeling. When I came to Spokane, I knew nothing about the city. I built everything I know about Spokane with some of the greatest people in this world. When I think of Spokane, I think of the things that we share together. I look at restaurants, parks, hikes, etc. and can't help but associate them with the people that I often shared them with, and it's so hard to imagine those places without those people. It's going to feel so wrong sharing those places with anyone but them, and it's overwhelming. I don't want to here without them, because they are my Spokane. (I hope that doesn't sound too weird) My people are graduating and moving on to start their lives elsewhere, and I'm so excited to see the amazing things they do for this world, but I am also terrified of the lonely feeling that is going to suffocate me once it's time to part ways. I know I'm not going to be alone, but I know that it will never be the same and I'm going to have to feel empty for a little bit before I can start to build a new foundation. I'm having a hard time accepting that right now, but like I said, it's inevitable, so I'm going to have to get through it. Every time I have reached out to God for guidance, he has delivered, so I know that staying in Spokane and working towards my future is what I need to do. I'm afraid that I'm going to sink into another low like I did last fall and not have my support system to keep me in check, but I know I'll never be alone. Their support has helped me learn how to help myself, so they have left an infinite mark on me.

I have some dreams that I am ready to start to fulfill. I want to be a therapist and I want to change the lives of people who are going through hardships. I want to use my own hurdles and make them worth something, because I refuse to accept that they were all for nothing.

I'm not trying to be a downer, but that's kind of where I'm at right now. I have a lot of shit to take care of in the next month and a half, so I have to stay strong, and I am determined to tough it out. If praying is your thing, I guess I'd just like to ask for yours. I just really need these lonely, terrified, and lost feelings to be short lived, so I can stop faking it and get back to being myself. I need something bigger in my life right now, because I can't do this on my own.

If you're reading this and are graduating alongside me, I just want you to know how proud of yourself you should be. You've put so much work into this moment, and you are going to do some amazing things in this world; never doubt that.

P.S. I read somewhere that coconut oil is good for your scalp, so I tried using that after washing my hair the other night and I'm pretty sure you could still use my head to grease a cake pan. Moral of the story, not everything on the internet is true.

Ski Lifts and Doing Shit

I was sitting at home today just chilling on the couch and I got bored and decided to look up apps on my phone to entertain me. I saw a snowboarding game and thought that looked like fun so I downloaded it. As it was downloading, I realized that I was seriously about to sit on my couch and pretend to do something that I really enjoy doing when I could just get off of my ass and go do it for real. That realization led to me taking a spontaneous trip up to Mt. Spokane where I was able to spend some time by myself sinking in the beauty of life (I know that sounds cheesy, but I don't really give a shit; I'm a pretty cheesy person).

Even though I am absolutely terrified of ski lifts, I really value the time I spend on them because it's a solid chunk of time which I'm surrounded by beautiful scenery that I can use to think about all of the blessings in my life and everything I have going for me. It's too easy to get caught up on the negative side of the spectrum when you get stuck in a routine. 

Anyway, this is probably one of my shortest posts, but I just got caught up on this thought and am feeling pretty inspired to get out of my routine and find more time to truly live my life. I challenge you to think about this as well.

Like usual, I just want to thank you as well for taking time out of your life to read about mine. The support I am constantly receiving from my friends and my family is inspiring, uplifting, and greatly appreciated. 

Love,

A

P.S. Here's a picture of my first ride up. This is the shortest lift, but you have to take it to get to the one above it- that's where you can find some really great views.

Throwback and Flashforward

Hello! I am writing this post while sitting in the living room of the house I am spending the year sharing with seven of my best friends. It's a comfy house with lots of Pinterest crafts and too many couches, and I love everything about it.

I had a post back in February where I talked about how I decided to walk away from the tuba. At the time I was feeling very discouraged and run down and despite worrying about facing regret from my future, decided it would be best to step away from the hobby. When I got the email last fall from Dr. Strauch telling me that I didn't make the Wind Symphony, I kept thinking to myself "Okay Ash, just chill. Maybe something weird will happen and you'll be back in and everything will be fine." but despite how much I wanted it to, that email didn't come... until two weeks ago. I thought about auditioning for Wind Symphony this semester, but remembered my decision back in February and decided to trust myself and forgo that pathway. The week of auditions I had several moments of doubt regarding my decision, but stuck with it. But, on the Friday night before results were going to be posted, Dr. Strauch emailed me and told me that there was an open tuba spot in the ensemble and that if I wanted it, it was mine. I thought really hard about it and about if I felt like it was something that I could fit in my schedule and finally decided that even if I felt too busy to do it, I had to defy those thoughts and just go for it! I am so very excited to be back to playing again and to have the opportunity to get to make music with some truly amazing people.
The Wind Symphony is also going on tour to Thailand this March so that's its own form of awesome as well. It feels incredible surreal to me to be back in this groove, but it's a good kind of surreal feeling. The support I received after my decision in February from family, friends, and the music department in general was absolutely amazing, and I really appreciated it. There were times that I really did miss playing and the bits of nostalgia I was hit with have made this opportunity all the more exciting, so here's to a musically awesome senior year!

That's definitely the biggest change that's happened to me this year and I'm feeling super excited and blessed about it.

This year I am striving to grow. I have set many goals for myself and am going to be actively working to achieve them.

1. Graduate college

This one I'm pretty on track with, but I always have to keep that in the back of my mind.


2. Keep finding yourself

It's weird, in the past three years I have met someone entirely new-- someone I never expected to be. Growing up, I made an act to keep the exterior me look soft an whatnot while harboring a heart of bitterness and anger and I am starting to neutralize that. I am learning to allow myself to feel things even if I don't want to, to be vulnerable with others, and to love myself despite my flaws. I am learning how to neutralize myself and how to be more independent, but also that it's okay to be dependent on people too.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff

I have always had a tendency to be super picky about stuff that doesn't and shouldn't matter and I am trying to steer away from that. I don't really understand why I have put so much energy into stressing about there being a dirty dish in the sink or a pair of shoes in the living room. I mean, what's the point? If that's my biggest concern, I must be doing alright. So, this year I'm trying to just try to take it easy and go with the flow.

4. Reconnect with God

This one's the most important to me this year. This may sound weird, coming from someone who's at a Presbyterian university, but the past three years have been very interesting for me spiritually. I tried testing out churches Freshman and Sophomore year, but I never really got plugged in or wanted to go after going to one either once or a few times. And while I absolutely still consider myself a Christian and try to live my life by Biblical standards, I definitely have lost my relationship with God. This year, I am going to really try to change that.

This summer, was the best summer I've ever had! I stayed in Spokane and worked for half of it, but I also let myself take the other half to drop all of my responsibilities and go home. It was amazing to be home for such a solid chunk of time. I got to spend an abundance of time with my nephews. Every time I come home, it blows my mind how much they seem to have grown up since the last time I was there. They're turning into these little people with their own personalities and quirks and the amount of joy they fill me with is overwhelming. I also got to see my two nieces who visited from Texas! I hadn't even met Savannah yet, so that was a big deal to me. And Makayla has grown so much since I last saw her. It amazes me how much Mak mirrors her mom when she was younger and Savannah never failed to keep a smile on my face-- those girls are just freaking adorable! They also just welcomed a little sister into the world, Journey Dawn. I haven't got to meet her yet, but she's going to be just as wonderful as the others and I'm so excited to get to be her aunt too!

I also had a very special friend come visit this summer. I hadn't seen CJ since January of 2014, so it was really great being able to catch up with him. We spent the entire trip on-the-go! We toured Seattle, the forts of Whidbey Island, and a single day 12 hour road trip and I had fun every minute of it. When he leaves, I always miss him like crazy and it definitely takes a toll on me, but it was more than worth it to get to see him one more time. The day that he left, I took myself on a date to see Taylor Swift perform in Seattle and it was soooo cool. She put on a great show and really helped numb the feelings of CJ going back home.

To top it all off, my parents surprised me with a trip to Hawaii a few days later! I literally didn't know we were going until we were in the car on our way to the airport, so that was super cool. We spent 6 days doing what we wanted when we wanted and it was absolutely awesome. It was great to be able to spend some time with just them to catch up and just be together and I will never forget that trip. I was on a plane for 6 hours each way and it didn't crash either time, so that was an added bonus.

I also got a tattoo a couple of weeks ago. I decided to participate in the semicolon project which is a movement which involves drawing (or tattooing) a semicolon on your body to represent the purpose of a semicolon: when you could have chosen to end a sentence, but didn't. It's all about mental health and suicide awareness and the message was very moving to me.

For more information about the semicolon project, check out their website!
http://www.projectsemicolon.org/

So yeah, that's the latest scoop on my hijinks. I'm still working at Excelsior and I still absolutely love it. I'm going to be doing an intramural dodge ball team with some great friends and will hopefully endure many more shenanigans with them! I'll also be mentally prepping myself for my journey to Thailand with the Wind Symphony in the spring, which sounds both scary and awesome at the same time. And, yeah, I'll just keep living the dream. So, in other words, this year is going to be full of lots of work but also lots of play! Graduation is going to sneak up on me, but it will be awesome to finally get that ridiculously expensive piece of paper that will seal up a life changing four years of my life.

Thanks for taking the time to get up to speed on what I've been up to.


Much love,

Ashley

P.S. Here are a few more photos that highlight my summer!

Chrissy, Jeremy, and me at Safeco Field.
(Mariners v. Tigers)

Mom, Chrissy, and me at Safeco Field.
(Mariners v. Tigers)

Mom, Dad, and me at the Luau in Hawaii.

Mom, Dad, and me on the plane home!

How could you not just adore these faces?!

(Lucas, Marcus, JD, Sav, Mak)

Breaking the Stigma

In honor of mental health awareness week, I’d like to share a few words.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the negative stigma that seems to go along with the mental health field and I just want to rant a little bit about the importance that I see in addressing these issues head-on.

I feel like there are a lot of people in this world who live their lives day by day trying to live the dream on the outside and fight the demons on the inside in the dark with only a flashlight to help guide them. And while I totally get the desire to keep things like mental health concealed and try to conquer them on your own, I also believe that there comes a point when it will get to be too hard, and that could potentially be scary, dangerous, and/or damaging.

I think I’ve briefly mentioned this in a past blog, but for the sake of the point I’m trying to make (and for a much more current update), I’ll give a recap. Spring of my freshman year at Whitworth, I started seeing a psychiatric nurse practitioner who told me that she suspected that I had Bipolar II disorder. When I came back to the dorm that day, I had incredibly mixed feelings about our appointment because I had always seen things like bipolar as something that couldn’t be a reality to someone like me. I saw it as something that was wrong with me and sometimes I still do, but I have also come to really understand the disorder and am at a point of acceptance with it. When you’re in the moment, things don’t look like they’re getting better, and you often actually feel like you’re getting worse, but the biggest thing that I turn to when I feel this way is my transcript. That spring, my grades were the worst they ever have been (and my GPA is still thanking me for that). But after I started being treated for bipolar, my grades have gotten a little better each semester. That may seem like something small, but to see a gradual improvement like that is reassuring to me that I am on the right path.

I am sharing this because I really truly want people to understand that it is okay to seek help when you need it. It’s time for those stigmas to get trampled on, because they are only holding society back from living happy, healthy lives. I have had several friends tell me that they are thinking about going to therapy but don’t because their either ashamed or afraid of what people may think or what they may think about themselves, but to me that is just a sign of a strong individual.

I hope this wasn’t too heavy; I just hate knowing that people I love and care about are out there right now letting outside pressures hold them back from getting the help they need, and if you’re reading this and that’s you, I hope you know that you can always talk to me about it.

Anyway, my rant is over. I encourage you to think about and educate yourself this week  on this matter, because the more we understand it, the less likely we are to deny or shame its existence.

Excelsior and Schtuffs

Hello family and friends!

My, oh my, the past few weeks have been absolutely insane.

In early March, I started a new job which was also fulfilling the role of my practicum site. The job was not at all what I expected it to be. I work at a (mostly) inpatient facility for youth with behavioral struggles, mental illnesses, and/or chemical dependency struggles and it is always an adventure. It was a serious dose of culture shock coming into work and expecting to be called names that I wouldn’t repeat in front of my grandmother, and understanding that at any moment a client had the potential to actually physically injure you. (Thankfully, I haven’t ran into that yet.)

I was told when I was first hired that there was a cycle that happens when you first come on, and I definitely underestimated its trueness. For the first 2-3 weeks, I hated that place. I came home pissed off and went back trying not to appear to be. There also seemed to be a miscommunication with scheduling at first and I’m not exaggerating when I say that I worked 47 hours one week… it was crazy.

But I am now about to start my eighth week and I couldn’t be more content with the job. Now that I’ve been able to learn the ropes and receive necessary trainings, working at Excelsior feels incredibly natural to me—it’s awesome. Here’s where the fun part comes in…

On Friday night, I was working an overnight shift as a floater. A floater basically means that I pick up kids who call in the middle of the night asking for a ride back to the facility and/or hop from unit to unit giving other overnights breaks as needed. Friday night didn’t really work that way for me. It was a pretty chaotic night and being in the wrong place at the wrong time threw me into the mix as well. I’m not going to go into too much detail but long story short a client took my keys from me and stole my car… it was awesome. (ßThat’s sarcasm)

The police found Padmé (that’s my car’s name) within an hour… I think. I hadn't talked to them until a little bit after they had arrived. Apparently the client drove it into a shallow ditch, but on the bright side “It looks like it’s just a flat tire” is what I was told. Well, Mr. Officer, I appreciate you trying to keep my spirit lifted that night, but that is not the case at all. I went to the repair shop that it was towed to today and the mechanic told me that he couldn't say for sure until he finished a full inspection, but he was guessing there was around few thousand dollars worth of damage. So, now I’m playing the waiting game and hoping there’s not actually a few thousand (or more) worth of damage to it, because I’d really prefer for it to not be considered totaled. Prayers for good news to come out of that would be greatly appreciated.

There is some good in this story, I swear. How Excelsior handled this has given me a great glimpse at the kind of place this really is. I’ve had multiple people check in on me since it all went down, one calling to let me know that she had found a replacement for my shift the following day if I wanted to take a personal day (which was amazing), and I’m pretty sure all of the damage, towing, rental car, and whatnot is going to be taken care of. A couple of people have asked if I’m going to quit, but honestly, after all of the experience I’ve gained and tackled, I would be ashamed to throw it all away out of discouragement or fear that something else may happen. I am really excited about this opportunity that I have been granted to work in a field that I am passionate about and I am actually excited to go to work tomorrow.

I've also been thinking a lot about my post-Whitworth plans lately and am starting to get excited about the thought of grad school and all of the different roads I can take. Thankfully, I have some time until the big decisions have to be made in that department, so I have time to be excited about everything before it turns into pure stress. :)

That’s really been all that I’ve been up to. I requested for a cut in hours, so I’ve had a little more time to see friends and get stuff done, but other than that, I’ve just been living the dream. I am feeling really good about life and all of its contents right now, so that is a true blessing.

Thanks for taking the time to catch up on what I've been up to!

-A

Energy drinks have basically been my lifeline lately.

This is the front view of the damages.

Most of the damage is to the right side's internal mechanics (suspension, tie rod, etc.)