Forever a Seminole

**Warning- this is a picture heavy post**

It's hard to believe how quickly four years can go by.  It honestly seems like last week I was packing up my room to move to Tallahassee to start college but somehow, four years have passed.  They have been four great, great years.  College was so much more than I thought it would be.  I had no idea how great it was as a little freshman afraid to move two hours away from home. From football games, to living in Italy for four months, making new forever friends and keeping close with ones from high school, and from discovering how much joy middle schoolers can bring to taking classes I never knew existed, my four years as a seminole will be ones I look back on fondly for my entire life.

I took my very last final of my undergraduate career on my birthday and then graduated that Saturday, May 4, 2013.  My family and grandparents came up on Friday night.  We all went out to dinner and Beth and Logan joined us.  The ceremony was nice and our speakers were actually pretty interesting.  Our main speaker was some man who creates nature documentaries.  At first, I thought that it was going to be super boring but he actually spoke about his life.  He grew up Amish and at the age of 16 ran away.  He spoke about the gift of education and how important it is.  He also kept it short and sweet.  After he spoke, they began to read the names of the graduates.  Luckily, I was in the first quater of names called but after my name, it become very boring very quickly.  I think the poor man reading names read for over an hour and a half straight.

It hasn't hit me yet that I've graduated. I don't think it will until I am off to my new adventure getting my masters in Colorado and I don't return to FSU.  But I do know one thing, I will always be proud to be a Seminole.

Freeze this moment

Sometimes, you experience something in life and think, "All I want to do is freeze this moment and replay it over and over again." A moment in life that is so perfect that all you can do is sit and wonder how can this be? How can I be so utterly happy and content right now.  A moment where there is absolutely nothing you would change.  A moment that is perfect.  

A few months ago, I experienced one of these moments. It was probably on my list of the top 5 best things I did in college.  It was a perfect, perfect evening.

Britt, Jenny, Coco, Logan, and I drove to Thomasville, Georgia for the afternoon.  We piled blankets into the back of Logan's car.  We bundeled up in scarves, jackets, boots, and warm socks.  We wondered through quaint bookshops, jewlery stores, and boutiques.  We saw some of our friends and ate dinner Jonah's.  It was delicious.  We met up with some friends and went into a local coffee shop for coffee and hot chocolate.  Then we made our way to the closed off street.  Three outdoor heaters were set up, a stage, and some lighting equiptment. Two places for bonfires were piled high with sticks.  We layed out our blankets as more and more friends joined us.  In all, there were around thirty of my dearest friends from younglife surrounding me.  The bonfires were lit, smoke curled around our heads, and Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors came up on stage.

If you don't know who Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors are, they are sort of a folkish band and have been gaining popluarity recently.  Their songs have been featured in many television shows and a NBA commercial.  Most importantly, they are huge younglife supporters.  They usually spend a month each summer at a younglife camp.  Drew's grandpa actually knew Jim Rayburn, the founder of younglife.  This was a free concert put on by Thomasville younglife.

Drew and his adorable wife Ellie shared stories, laughed about the church bells that would go off in the middle of the songs, and appologized about the cold (although there was nothing they could do!).  

I sat there snuggled next to my best friend, surrounded by so many friends, and felt so, so loved. So happy, so content.  Singing along to that Better Love, my breath showing in the cold, bonfire smoke in the air, I knew that this was a special moment.  This was a moment I didn't ever want to end.  It was like what a piece of what heavan must be like. A moment I wanted to freeze in time and remember forever. It was perfect.

If you want some other great songs to listen to by them, "Live Forever," "Fire and Dyanmite," "Anywhere but here," "Hung the Moon" and "Good Light" are some of my favorites.  But they're all great.