Showing posts with label adventures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adventures. Show all posts
I made it. For all four years of high school, I cannot believe that it's finally over. On May, 21st, this past Sunday, I graduated from York High School. What an amazing journey it has been and I am incredibly ecstatic and anxious to see what the next four years will bring. I am truly thankful for everyone who has unconditionally supported me and who has made my high school career worth while. I wouldn't say that it's been a high school musical, but I do think that it has made me appreciate many great things about my experience there.
This post is just your usual thanking post and reflection post. It might not be as interesting as many of my other ones, but for my personal keeping, I would like this post to just be an entire reflection of my high school experience: addressing the goods, the bads, and the uglies.
Posing with my just graduated from college sister, Melissa, and my father who is a Dean at her college in Chicago, have both supported me and given me so much love. Thanks to my English professor (now Dean) dad for always spelling and grammar checking my English papers and also giving me a ton of dad advice because you just do. I know I can count on you for always answering my philosophically irrelevant questions.
Mel, thank you for being my guidance counselor throughout my stressful times and always being the derp you are. I can't wait to see what you do beyond college and I know that you will accomplish all of your hopes and dreams when they come to you. No matter what challenges you face in the real world, I know you will always do amazing things with your writing.
Obviously I can't forget my beautiful mama. She has truly been my rock throughout all of my school endeavors and I am beyond blessed to have you in my life as a supporter and everyday cheerleader. Also, for telling me to save my money and to make my bed every day. We have been through many ups and downs, but I always know that you will be there for me no matter what.
Finally, to my "little" sister Emily, I am so beyond proud of how grown up you've become. No matter the annoyances or shenanigans you pull, the ukulele playing at 10 o'clock at night, the screaming, or anything else, all in all, you have really impressed me. Thank you for taking all of these incredible photos, especially at prom. I know I put you through some tough times, but that's just what big sisters do, even if you're 5'11. We will be buddies forever and ever. I am so excited to see what your future brings as you flower into an amazing young woman. Yes, woman.
In my time my time at York, I have achieved a few awards: the State Commendation toward Biliteracy for my knowledge and accomplishments with Spanish, the Presidential Award towards Educational Achievement, and the monetary award granted from the entire English department at my school, the Corrine Johnson Scholarship of $500. It was a huge award that I was incredibly honored to receive. Especially since they mentioned my blog and how dedicated to writing I am. I just goes to show how much this blog has truly made an impact in my life.
For anyone reading this, I thank you whole heartedly for supporting all that I have put passion towards and have worked hard for. Not only has this journey been bittersweet, but so self fulfilling and I am ready for whatever comes next. It's not everyday you just graduate high school, for anyone still in high school, I give you this; don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy it. You get one high school experience and it truly is what you make of it. I spent most of it stressing about stupid stuff that doesn't even affect me now. Obviously get good grades and go to class, but one fail or two, move on. Life will bring you many failures and uptakes--embrace them.
posted in
Happy late Easter for those of you who celebrate it and also I hope everyone has been having a nice spring. My family and I went to Richmond, Virginia to visit my older sister who is there for an internship and also my very close family friends, or "cousins", just moved out there, as well. It was forecasted to be mid 80s all Easter weekend which was AMAZING. It was in the 70s in Chicago, but no it's back to 50 and I have no idea why Chicago has terrible lake weather. I got to wear shorts every single day and I think I even got tan for prom which is also this upcoming Saturday. I wanted to share one outfit that I wore because I loved it so much.
I ended up wearing my Topshop Aviators, Target cactus tee, American Eagle shorts, Birkenstocks, and all paired with my Kate Spade Spencer Court crossbody bag that I love. I felt so light and springy in this outfit and loved the way the denim went with the cactus print.
Pictured above is my younger sister (left), close friend (right), and I posing at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello or basically his entire "mini mountain" of land. We explored the property or "TJ's" home as my friend and sister would say. We did a lot of touring around Virginia and we also got to visit the University of Virginia because that's where my friend's brother goes to college and it was very nice touring the campus and seeing all of the colonial architecture that it had to offer. We spent most of Easter weekend outside and enjoying each other's company; relaxing in between feasts by snacking on abundant ham and Easter candy.
I am always so amazed by the history that can be explored along the east coast and I love visiting everytime I go (even if it feels like a school field trip sometimes with all of the history lessons). It's amazing to see how much has changed since our founding fathers created this country and I'm glad I got to explore more parts of it. I hope everyone had a happy Easter weekend and is enjoying the nice spring weather! What were your Easter plans?
posted in
Hello all! I know it has been a rough couple of weeks, but over this past weekend, I got the amazing opportunity to travel all the way from Chicago to "the happiest place on earth"--Walt Disney World. It was a very well deserved trip that my entire highschool marching band had earned. If you're new here, I am was on color guard for three years and I have been truly blessed to have been with a great family of amazing friends. It has been one heck of a year and a high school career for that matter, and I couldn't have asked for anything better.
My marching band was invited to march in Epcot's day parade and we were to travel a 20+ hour bus ride (ugh) all the way to Florida. While I have to say, it really wasn't that bad being on a bus with all of my friends, it did start to weaken as we came back home (it smelled like pee lemme just tell yuh). Besides the little things I remembered, like our insane bus driver that we loved (shoutout to ma boi Terry), our dope bus ("Bus #1, yaw yaw yaw!), or just giggling at the most randomest whale jokes, the journey was not as amazing as the destination. We were there from Saturday until Monday (March 24-26) at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and then Universal Studios.
Day 1: Magic Kingdom
I was there with all of my band and color guard friends and on the first day, we went straight from a 20 hour bus ride to a 20 hour marathon of walking and riding. I was the most excited for Magic Kingdom because it has been about 6 years since my last visit and I was feeling the nostalgia a lot once we got there. So many things I remembered and so many new things I had never seen before like Belle's castle or the new Dwarves ride that I ended up loving.
We got fastpasses to three things; space mountain, splash mountain, and to meet Rapunzel and Tiana. I had never done any of those things because when I was little I was in the "weenie club", my mom would taunt at me...then I'd just get ice cream and everything would be fine. Ah those were the good ol' days.
Day 2: Epcot and the Parade
Epcot was one of my favorite parks when I visited a very long time ago because I loved all of the world showcases and different countries to go and explore. Plus, it was mostly shopping and I never really liked rides. In the morning, the band and I had time to kill and do some stuff before the 3 pm parade, so my group and I did Test Track twice with out fast pass which was one of the smartest ideas. I love that ride so much because it takes you through a test drive and you go almost 600 miles an hour. Whenever my dad would drive really fast or recklessly (I do not condone), he would say that we're in Test Track.
After that ride, we headed to all of the showcases and explored the countries. We also had a fastpass to go meet Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy! It was really funny because Mickey left me to go grab Minni from Goofy and it I was Mickey's new Minnie.
Probably the most epic part of the trip was marching. It was one of the most fulfilling moments I had ever felt throughout my entire marching season. When they announced our band twice in the park, I nearly teared up because it was such a great feeling to be there in Disney doing what I love with the people I love.
We performed Thnks Fr Th Mmrs by Fall Out Boy and, while I didn't really approve of the song as a marching song, it was still a really fun song to perform to in Disney. I just can't believe that it's finally over. The last hoorah that many former band members never got.
After being in our hot and sweaty uniforms in the beautiful, 80 degrees and sunny weather (as opposed to Chicago's 40 and rainy) we changed and received a golden Mickey award for marching! We also got Disney performing arts hats that I ended up embroidering and getting signed by Mickey himself.
Day 3: Universal Studios
I had never been to Universal before, but at this point in the trip, we were all pretty exhausted and ready to head back home if you could believe it. However, I was most excited for Harry Potter World and had to keep my energy up to enjoy it--because I really did.
Of course, here's me with the $7.50 butterbeer that everyone needs to get when they're there. It was just like a coffee or butterscotch frappuccino with a marshmallowy foam on top. So sweet, but super delicious. I wasn't feeling too great that morning, but I did go on the Hippogriff ride which was really fast and awesome. We also went around to Dr. Seuss Land and Jurassic Park Land to explore the other rides. We ended up getting completely soaked on a Popeye raft ride and I was so ready to get on the bus and change into my warm sweats.
I know this post might not be as detailed as you might have hoped, but I want to just remember the things I want to remember and save the memories. I am probably running on only 6 hours of good sleep, but this morning I slept in until 11 and could have slept until 3 or 4. It was all so worth it and I wanted to thank my parents for helping me go on this trip and supporting me with flags for the past three years, my coach, Mrs. Riley for sticking with me and helping me become a better flagger and performer, my band directors, Mr. Riddle and Mr. Pavlik, for dealing with everyone and making this the first Disney trip our band has gone on, and to just all of my friends and supporters who have also helped me along this one hell of a journey through my high school career. I hope to remember this for the rest of my life and I am sincerely grateful and glad I got to be a part of this experience and marching band.
We brought Terry home! #bus1 #yawyawyaw #whalejokes #JuilaMccoy
<3
posted in
Over this past weekend, my family and I made a trip out to Larson's Family Farm, which is small, quaint, and everything you would look for in an all American pumpkin patch. The pumpkins were not picked over and they were very big and juicy! My family has paid for store bought pumpkins in the past and it just isn't the same. The day we went was one of the best days we've gone pumpkin picking; it was so crisp and felt like a beautiful, first autumn day!
This farm was not your average, commercialized "Big 'Ol Pumpkin Fair Extravaganza" patch. It just felt...real. The owners were so welcoming and seemed to have been running their family business for a very long time. They had a lot of acreage and owned a couple horses that I couldn't stop petting!
This farm had a pretty big patch of pumpkins which also included gourds (mini squash-like vegetables) every where we stepped! They also seemed to have been growing Christmas trees for the winter already. As we made our way around the rather abundant patch, we also managed to buy a pile of Indian Corn (some pretty rainbow corn that you can hang and use to decorate just about anywhere in or outside of your house) and some small gourds...that we totally forgot to bring home after we bought them. So, that just gave us another excuse to go back to the pumpkin patch again. Ha!
Once we were finished picking pumpkins, we paid for them all in their massive barn which consisted of a ton of Halloween treats! They had popcorn, apple cider, hot chocolate, candy, and of course caramel apples (which were amazing because they had home-made caramel).
I have always enjoyed picking pumpkins and it's a great time to spend with friends and family. I feel like fall isn't fall without a pumpkin picking excursion! I would totally recommend going to a pumpkin patch, preferably family owned and non-commercialized to get the best experience you can get! Plus, there will be warm, home-made goods that you can't get at those places anyway. If all else fails, supermarket pumpkins work, too! What's a fall tradition you enjoy doing?
Jacket-Charlotte Russe Flannel-Old Navy Denim-American Eagle Outfitters Hat-H&M Satchel-Urban Outfitters Chelsea Boots (look alike)-H&M
posted in
I am back in civilization at last! A week in the woods isn't something every single person would like doing but, I love it and I captured some pretty candid shots as to why camping is something I think everybody should do. Camping to me is very personal. I have been camping for about 12 years now and love every minute of it. My family and I go every summer to this place in northern Michigan. Sure, there are bugs, mosquitoes, birds, sand, dirt, raccoons, storms, etc. and did I mention that I camp in a tent? Ah yes, the beauty of nature my friends.
I'd like to call myself a very well experienced camper, however, I don't think the hair dryer, curling iron, Kuerig coffee maker, or electric skillet can make me an authentic camper. We just call it "Glamping".
First of all, I think a lot of people have their own definitions of camping. Whether you pitch a tent in your backyard and have a sleepover with friends or go into the mountains and you only have a flashlight and a sleeping bag with you. My version of camping isn't the only way to camp (I don't personally count trailer "camping" to be one of them due to the lack of actually being outside since you still have like a kitchen and a TV).
Many people think camping is cheap but, actually it's not. Camping with a dog and four other people means that we need a ton of stuff like sleeping bags (expensive), air mattresses (expensive), a lot of food (expensive), and the actual tents that have to fit everybody (expensive).
Camping would only be cheap if it was like you and one other person because you wouldn't need merely as much stuff as my family does. It's not like every year we buy new stuff; it took us a while to gather everything we actually needed over the years. If you are wanting to camp, make sure you understand what a financial investment it might be.
Where I camp, we have a beautiful bay area to swim, paddle board, kayak, and watch the sunsets. One of the reasons we always come back to this same place is just because of the amazing views.
While I was there, I actually managed to do some yoga on the beach. There were flyers in the little camp store and some instructor from the area was teaching in the morning on the sand. An experience I will never forget!
Another reason, besides the gorgeous views, that I camp is that I do make experiences that I will want to keep forever. We invite friends and other family members to join us camping; we go swimming, kayaking, play on the dunes, paddle board, or just enjoy the camp fire together.
The Benefits of Camping:
- You are connected with nature and get to enjoy what it has to offer
- Live off the grid (no more Snapchat folks)
- Discover new places and meet new people (or wild animals)
- The food tastes better anyway
- The smell of fresh pine and camp fire
- Quiet time
- Watching the sunrises, sunsets, and stargazing
- Spend time with pets
- Exercise
- Rekindle relationships with family and friends
Of course I brought my puppy along! My dog loves to camp and since we live in a big city, he never really gets to experience the "Great Outdoors". A lot of people bring their pet to camp and it's really not that hard. I think the hardest thing about bringing your pet is actually finding room for them in the car among all of your gear.
A lot of places have kayak and paddle board rentals which can be really nice because buying one is like $600! Fortunately, my camp site just added these amenities and people are able to rent one for like $15 an hour. You do not have to be a pro either! I have never paddle boarded before and I learned really quick (after falling a couple times).
If you are looking at places to camp, consider what types of amenities you would want! Maybe a beach store, bike rentals, kayak rentals, or just a bathhouse is your desire. Many places have websites that list what they have.
If you guys have any questions about camping and what I do, please ask! I had a wonderful week camping and got a ton of sun. If you have been camping, please share where you camp and your thoughts on it as well!
Xoxo, Nat
posted in
I am laying here comfortably in my bed reminiscing on all the fun that I have had so far this summer. It is unbelievably crazy that I will be a senior in high school in about three weeks. Time has sure flown by! It makes me sad that happy times come to an end and even though we are still pretty much in the midst of summer, school starts extremely early (ugh) for me here in Chicago.
I thought I could recount the amazing things that have happened or I have been doing lately. Sometimes I forget about the great moments I have shared with friends and family during summer. These last couple of weeks I have really tried to live in the moment and just be present because one day my young life will come to an end eventually (sorry to get all deep and stuff).
01. I always try to push myself to try new things and do more things. I mean, I have like three months to do what ever the heck I want (within my budget of course). A few months back I purchased Adele tickets and Ellie Goulding tickets. Probably two of the best concerts I have ever and will ever see in my entire life. I literally can't explain how amazing it was because you just. Had. To. Be. There. It was so good.
02. I think on everyone's summer vacation checklist is at least one or two visits to see Grandma and all the other relatives. I know people that have family that live like 20 minutes away, mine live like 7 hours away from my house so it is a pretty lengthy road trip. It's always nice to see my family; we go swimming, fishing, shopping, etc...we do practically everything together and I love the bond I have with all of my little cousins, too.
03. One thing that I have been a little bad about during this summer is hanging out with my school friends. I get so busy during the summer and it's so hard to meet up and hang sometimes. I have been reconnecting with older friends, though. I have been a little proud of myself for contacting them because they're the same, awesome people they were when we were so close way back when. Rekindling old relationships is good! It's nice to catch up with people; people who have really made a huge impact in your life. I am sorry to any of you (ahem friends who read my blog, God bless you) that feel like I haven't communicated to you during this summer. Work and trips can be overwhelming...
04. If you have been reading a lot of my posts lately then you might already know that I have been doing a ton of yoga. I mentioned that I was doing a yoga challenge at my studio; 40 classes in 90 days and you get a t-shirt and a $40 gift card to all their merch. Just to let you all know, I have only 5 classes to go! I am pretty proud of myself for staying motivated to keep on going to yoga and not decide to ditch and go eat pizza. I know a gift card and a t-shirt might not sound like much but, it's hell of a reward after pushing myself to become stronger and better. That, my friends, is something I will always take a t-shirt for.
05. One last big SHEBANG. My annual, family camping trip is coming up at the end of the week. I will be camping in a tent (have been since I was a baby) for about 10 days, more or less, next week. I love connecting with the outdoors and just enjoying what nature has to offer. I am an outdoor girl. What can I say, the city is my home but, the forest and the beach are my playground LOL! My family and I camp in northern Michigan and the views are incredible. I highly recommend visiting such a beautiful place. Here is the post of the trip I took last summer.
Since I will be on a hiatus for a week, there won't really be much going on my blog. However, I think I have decided to write up a couple posts so that you guys can have something to read while I am gone! Everybody needs a break once in a while but, I'll try my best. I also want to take more pictures during my trip so hopefully you guys can see them once I get back.
What have been some of you summer highlights so far?
Xoxo, Nat
posted in
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons