I have two brothers, one older than me and one younger, and the majority of my family lives in or around the Perry area.
I am currently a senior at Berry College in Rome, GA. I decided to come to college 3.5 hours away from my hometown and family for two reasons: 1. I felt a huge peace when I got my acceptance letter and honestly felt like this is where God wanted me to be. 2. I really wanted to get away from my parents.
Needless to say, He has provided for every single step of the way. Without His provision, I would have transferred after my freshman year of college. God's plan was so much bigger and continually amazes me. I will graduate from Berry on May 5 (probably around 10am) with a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and a minor in Art.
That being said, I would prefer not to teach. At one point I wanted to be like the numerous teachers in my life and bestow glorious works of literature, such as Kate Chopin's Awakening or Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote, onto the hearts of eager young readers. I don't feel that call at this point in my life, but feel God urging me into something else.
Personality wise, I'm pretty crazy. I'm a huge mess and I'm often not afraid to show it. God loves me even in my mess. He loves me even though I'm broken and often act out of fear and selfishness. He has called us to be transparent (2 Corinthians 5), which is a huge deal to me.
I am a HUGE fan of trees. God has used them so many times in my life to help me understand Him and help me understand myself. They are beautiful.
I am an encourager. The one thing that brings me the most joy is having the ability to love on others and speak life into them, whether it's through a text or letter or in person. It's my favorite hobby.
Football and tennis are my favorite sports (Football to watch, tennis to play), but I enjoy pretty much all the rest except for golf (mostly because my dad made me watch it every Sunday afternoon as a kid and it was terribly boring).
I love coffee and food, in general. Eating and having a coffee are opportunities to spend some good Quality Time with friends, family, and even people I might not know.
My great-grandma taught me to crochet when I was in middle school and I still do – scarves, blankets, sometimes hats. On the same crafty front, I really love art. I've been painting for about two years and have been drawing for much longer. I enjoy being able to put my ideas down on paper, even though they might not come out that well at first, and the smell of acryllic paint is calming. I also color in coloring books quite frequently and bake cookies during every finals week at school.
Relay for Life became a huge part of my life during my freshman year of high school and is still a huge part of my life. I've got a passion for celebrating God's victories over Satan's mess ups. Relay does that by celebrating lives – both present and past. I have celebrated with friends who have won the battle here over cancer and have celebrated the life of my greatest mentor who also won her battle, but in a much more exciting way.
God has blessed me with some of the most incredible friends. The ones I've made over the past few years at school will always be with me. God has blessed me immensely with a great community, a great mishpocha.
Summertime is my favorite time. I love being in the sun. I love celebrating how incredibly breathtaking this world is because God made it. I love complimenting Him on His artwork and getting a glimpse at it all.
I've answered the "what are you doing after graduation?" question in so many different ways over the past six months and in doing so have come to the realization that I completely trust God with my future. In early September, a friend of mine told me about a girl from Berry, Shanna Landers, who was leaving on this thing called 'world race.' I checked it out and felt an urge on my heart to just jump. I refrained for a few weeks and read more about the organization, the Race itself, and prayed over my future. I've taken a few leaps in my life, such as going away for college rather than staying close to home and taking a trip to Germany with people I did not know. Needless to say, I believe this is God's next big leap in my life. I firmly believe that we have to take irreversible steps for God to move in our lives, as outlined in Joshua 3. In joining World Race, I'm taking an irreversible step outside my comfort zone and into an opportunity for God to move in my life and in the lives of those my team and I encounter on the race.
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This is where you, as family, friends, and great influences on my life, come into the picture. This trip will cost around $15,500 and I desperately need your help funding this trip. Please pray it over, then click Support Me in the left column!
