2018 has been a wild ride, and I can’t believe it’s already over! My year has consisted of travel, new adventures, and lots of change. This year, I graduated high school, started college, traveled far and wide, and met lots of new people. I’ve narrowed down my favorite memories from each month to share with you all!
January: Wicked
The year started out with the opportunity to see Wicked in Chicago! My senior year of high school, my marching band’s show was inspired by the musical Wicked. Because the show was going to be performed only hours away, we took a day off school and traveled north to the Oriental Theatre (which is BEAUTIFUL). The cast was absolutely amazing- and I was lucky enough to see them again later in the year!
February: Sadie Hawkins Dance
February was a dull month, but I still had some wonderful memories! Our school held its first Sadie Hawkins Dance. If you’re unfamiliar with Sadie Hawkins, it’s a dance where the girls are supposed to ask the guys instead of boys asking girls (these days, it’s common for girls to ask guys, but I guess back when the Sadie Hawkins dance was invented it wasn’t traditional). Also, was Sadie Hawkins an actual girl who was the first to ask a guy? Probably. I should do the research, but I don’t really want to.
-Anyway-
I asked my boyfriend, Ethan, to our Sadie’s dance by buying a bible and highlighting certain verses that each contained one word from the sentence “will you go to the dance with me?” I then wrote out a list and left it on top of the bible. It was like a mini scavenger hunt!
The dance was so much fun! I wore a vintage blue dress that my aunt gave me a few summers back (Thanks Aunt Lisa!). I felt like a 50s beauty. It was such a fun night!
March: Choir trip to Nashville
In March, I traveled to both Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee with my choir. We sang at the country music hall of fame in Nashville, went through a choral masterclass at Vanderbilt University, attended the Grand Ole Opry, recorded songs at the notorious RCA Studio B (where artists like Elvis, Dolly Parton, and Johnny Cash all recorded music!), visited Graceland in Memphis, and got to see Wicked (the same cast from the show I saw in January). We did all of this over the course of three days!
April
“Oh, isn’t this amazing?”
One of my dreams came true this spring- I was cast as Belle in my school’s production of Disney’s Beauty & the Beast. I was single cast (I didn’t have an understudy) which was a lot of responsibility. I was constantly in rehearsals for months, but I never complained! I was absolutely in love with my character, the cast, the crew, and everything in between. It was the absolute perfect way to end high school and I’ll treasure those memories forever.
Prom
My senior prom was a wonderful night. I had the perfect dress, perfect friends, and the perfect date! The cherry on top of an incredible night was that Ethan and I won prom king and queen! I seriously was not expecting it. When I found out I was even on the ballot I was so surprised! If you had told chubby, awkward, socially unaware me that I would be prom queen, I would never have believed you. It surely was a night to remember!
May
Graduation
On May 11th, the day I’d been waiting 12 years for had finally come. I said goodbye to high school! I graduated from Charleston High School with high honors and ecstatically threw my cap into the air. High school gave me a lot of great memories and opportunities, but I was antsy to get out. I’ve never stayed at the same school for more than 3 years (due to moving), so being in the same building for four years was tiring. Now I’m so happy to be in college and working towards bigger and better things!
Disney
My oh my, what a wonderful vacation! I was able to go to my second home this May. Walt Disney World holds a very special place in my heart. Our trip this year was incredible. We stayed at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort and visited all four parks. My favorite moments were getting to visit Mickey, traveling around the world at EPCOT during the Flower & Garden Festival (the park is littered with beautiful topiaries of all types of plants and flowers- it’s my favorite time of the year to visit EPCOT!), eating as many dole whip floats as I could, and watching the “Happily Ever After” fireworks for the first time (that soundtrack? Gets me every time). This trip to Walt Disney World was surely my favorite so far, and I can’t wait to get back!
June: Bethel
In June, Ethan and I attended a Bethel worship concert in Peoria, Illinois. It was an amazing night of breakthrough and love. John Bevere, a Christian speaker and author, was the guest speaker. His sermon was incredible! He spoke about true repentance, obedience, and how our number one goal in life should be intimacy with Jesus. It changed the way I look at my faith completely. I’m so excited to be attending Bethel’s 3-day worship conference in Los Angeles this May! It will be a life changing experience. Many of Bethel’s songs are my favorite worship songs, which you can read about here
July: Bigstuf
July was a great month! For the past three years, I’ve gotten to attend Bigstuf with my youth group in Panama City Beach, Florida. Bigstuf is a 5-day camp for high schoolers right on the beach. My week was full of worship, small group, incredible sermons, and lots of sunshine. On the last day of camp, I decided to publicly declare my love for Jesus through baptism. I was baptized when I was 11, but I had no idea what baptism stood for or why I chose to do it. I thought that baptism was just something that people who went to church did. I later realized that it means so much more. Baptism is simply the physical representation of a spiritual union you have made with Jesus. 13 people from our youth group were baptized that day! It was an incredible week, but I’m sad that my time at Bigstuf as a student is over.
August: Starting college
August was a big month! I began college at Eastern Illinois University. I’m currently studying hospitality management with a business administration minor (I’m also hoping to audition for a vocal performance minor in the fall!). So far, college has been awesome. I’ve learned so much in a very short amount of time! I’m so excited for the rest of my college experience.
September: Camp Out
Every year, my mom’s side of our family holds a family reunion on Labor Day. I’ve gone almost every year since I was little (except a few years when I lived in Austin), and it’s always so much fun! Our family gathers at a campground that a distant relative of mine owns. It used to be more common for people to camp out all weekend (hence the name), but the tradition has died off a bit. The reunion only lasts one day now, but that day is still so much fun. Every individual family wears a different colored shirt, so we can know where we all fit in on the family tree (green shirts for life). I’ll be honest- it’s super redneck. I have family members who are super redneck, but that’s what makes them fun! The camp out is a very nostalgic event for me, and I’ll always cherish my time with my family there every year.
October: Halloween
I’m going to be completely honest- not much happened in October. However, around Halloween a little more happened. I served at our church’s Trunk-or-Treat, which was so much fun! I decorated my trunk with a Disney castle and lots of my other Disney decorations, and handed out candy. It was such a great way to meet new people at our church! Later that month, I dressed up as a scarecrow and Ethan dressed up as Johnny Bravo (the most last-minute costume ever) for a Halloween party. It was a super fun party! I was ready for Christmas the whole time though.
November: Aladdin
Way back in September, Ethan bought me tickets to see Aladdin at the Fabulous Fox in St. Louis for my birthday! It was the first Broadway adaptation of a Disney show that I’ve ever seen. It was absolutely beautiful. The actors, costumes, orchestra, sets, and effects were amazing. My favorite scene had to be “Friend Like Me”, sung by the Genie, or “A Whole New World”, where Aladdin and Jasmine fly on the magic carpet. I’m so lucky to have been able to see three Broadway shows this year (that might not seem like a lot, but it is to me!).
December: Christmas festivities
2018 wrapped up with a magical Christmas season. I couldn’t pick just one memory, so I’ll include my entire month! I attended countless Christmas parties, participated in many white elephants, and got to lead worship with Ethan at our church’s Christmas services. It was a wonderful season celebrating Christ’s birth. If you’d like to read more about my favorite things about the Christmas season, click here
I hope that your 2018 was full of wonderful and new experiences. Whether your year contained celebration or tragedy, we can have hope that Jesus is so much better than anything that could ever happen to us. I hope that your 2019 is full of blessings!
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