Wild Hope

Alright guys, please tell me that I am not the only one stuck in a “I have my degree and I still don’t know exactly what I want to do with my life or how to go about chasing my dreams” phase right after graduating college! I am five months out now from graduating with my bachelors in communication, and I still haven’t done anything with it, unless you count spending 20 minutes creating a Linkedin profile under duress of a fiance wanting you to make an effort towards a “big girl job” doing something with it.

You see, the thing is, I have a lot of ambitions. I’ve been this way since I was a little girl. One day I would want to be a reporter, walking around the living room interviewing various family members on what exactly they thought of their Christmas presents they had just received, and the next I would be using the camcorder I had just gotten for Christmas and bribe all off the neighbor kids to star in the movies I would make (I still wish I could find these tapes that miraculously disappeared years ago.) 

Now I am almost 24 years old, getting married in a few short months, and I still have no idea what the hell I want to do with my life. I’ll narrow down a list of viable options for you and for the sanity of myself. 

• Singing Superstar: My best friend and I actually tried out for the 8th season of American Idol down in Louisville unsuccessfully. I was in choir for 7 glorious school years. I’ve always loved singing but apparently the world is just not ready for me yet. 
• First Female President: Being the first woman to lead our country has been a dream of mine since the 1996 election and the Clinton/Dole era. I remember getting puppets of these two for my grandpa (he is a Republican and I have always leaned left) and my 7-year-old self debating for hours one night using those things with him.
• Famous Photographer: I have always loved photography, always taking pictures everywhere I went. However, in the recent years I’ve discovered that I actually kind of have a knack for it. I love to edit my pictures and have definitely impressed myself with my Instagram portfolio. I just feel like photography is the new jewelry making, that used to be the new blogging… everyone and their mother is doing it, which for some reason makes me question my own integrity, creativity, and originality.

  

  (a picture i took a few months ago, proving my artistic ability) 
  
• Blogging Sensation: I’ve always loved blogging, although I have never been able to post on a regular basis (which I know is one of the most vital parts of owning a successful blog). Writing has also been one of my passions, having been in advanced english classes almost my entire life. Words have always been an outlet for me to express myself. Blogging also allows a way for me to combine a lot of my personal interests (writing, photography, creativity), all in one place! 

So, maybe you guys out there have more of an insight into what it is I should actually do with my life. Any advice would help. Until then, I suppose I will walk through the vast wilderness that is post college life until my future self slaps me in the face with some words of wisdom. I know my loving fiance would definitely be appreciative! After all, these student loan bills are certainly not going to pay themselves!

as the summer is kicking off, you’ll find me blogging more and more about my wedding. i cannot believe that jamie and i are getting married in less than four months! this is definitely going to be the craziest summer of my life, but i am so ready for it! 

also, i told you guys that jamie’s brother just got married this summer. this is how the wedding ended! such an amazing time with so many amazing people! 

bought my plane ticket to minot! so excited to see my man, especially since it will be the last time we see each other before the wedding! 

buying my ticket to north dakota within the next few days so jamie and i can register for our wedding shower and get his outfit for the wedding picked out! so excited! september 14th is coming so fast!

back to work after 10 days off… this should be interesting! have to make some money for my trip to north dakota to see jamie next month! 

jamie and i haven’t really been able to talk much lately besides textng and random phone calls because our schedules are so weird. i close a lot at the restaurant so he’s always in bed before i get home. i’m literally working every day until the dominican next week besides this friday and saturday because my best friend is in town from la. definitely going to be ready for this vacation! 

jamie’s aunt, uncle, and cousins were down at the marathon on monday because one of his cousins was racing. About 5 minutes after his cousin finished (such an amazing accomplishment by the way), one of the bombs went off about 10 feet from where they all were standing. After being blasted about 10 feet in the air, his uncle was the only one to sustain any injuries (shrapnel in his leg and back and a ruptured eardrum). we are all so thankful that everyone is okay and Jamie’s family came out of that tragedy okay. 

jamie and i also bought our plane tickets a few hours before the bombings to fly in to boston on may 2 to leave for the dominican with his family. just so crazy how close this hit to home. 

overall i’d say i had a pretty awesome day off…

• spent way too much money with my cousin shopping for things for the dominican
• had a turkey burger from burger king (for those of you who don’t know, i haven’t ate red meat in about 4 years so burger king putting turkey burgers on their menu is a huge deal!) 
• went to the gym with a broken toe (not as fun as it sounds)
• watched some tv with mom and grandma
• now i’m skyping with jamie before we go to sleep. he’s watching some viking show, i’m about to watch dr. who… we’re a nerdy match made in heaven i know… 

haven’t really wrote much on here as of late, so i figured i would change that. i suppose it’s because there is nothing that exciting going on right now but, here it goes. 

• i’m leaving on may 2nd to fly out for a week in punta cana with jamie and his family. his oldest brother is getting married down there. i’m so excited to not only spend time with him, but have some fun with his family as well, they’re pretty awesome! 

  

  this is where we’re staying!
• wedding planning is going great! honestly, the hardest part for me is the small tedious details, like do these flowers really go with each other? should we have picked a lighter shade of grey? (the answer to that is yes). it’s all coming together so nicely and i honestly cannot wait for our wedding day! Jamie and I almost got married in February and I’m honestly so glad we didn’t, more about this below!)
• I went out to visit jamie in north dakota in february and we were going to get married while i was there. we would get more money to save up for when he gets out in october, i would get his health insurance, etc. it all sounded rational and nice until we talked it over some more. note: i have nothing against military couples getting married legally and then having a ceremony down the road, it just wasn’t for us, and for me it would have taken away from the whole wedding day experience. that, and jamie is already guaranteed to get out in october so there is nothing stopping him from being able to make the wedding in september (deployments, all that jazz). 
• there is, however, the little issue of jamie having to leave a few days after the wedding and finish up his last month of being in the air force. we’re debating on if i should go and live with him for that month instead of being apart. it all depends on our money and job situation really. 
• all in all, life is pretty good. obviously planning a wedding is pretty stressful, but the only thing left to get is our cupcakes and cake! (cupcakes for the guests, a little cake on top for jamie and i.) 
• omgsh, totally forgot! another life changing event! my best friend of over a decade is having a baby! her due date is september 3rd and she’s standing up in my wedding as my maid of honor on september 14th, so that definitely should be interesting, but i am so excited for her and her husband! i’m already spoiling the little guy with lots and lots of clothes!  

  

  
  

• okay, i think that’s really about it now, thanks for taking the time to read guys! and, as always, if anyone ever wants to ask me questions or has some wedding advice, let me know! 

Day 3: What’s Your First Memory With Her?

My first memory with him was when he drove 20 hours to come see me in Michigan. He came to my door and he was so cute but so tired but you could tell he was so excited to be there and be with me!

so, i finally realized that i never even had an ask button on my page! bring it on people. any questions about my life, my experience being a MilSo, my journey to fitness, books, music, maintaining a long distance relationship, living in michigan, photography… you name it, i’m your girl!