To Infinity and Beyond: travel

2016

New Beginnings

Hello and welcome back everyone! It has been a bit since I have tip-tapped on my blog. How have you all been? A lot of things have changed since the last post, and I cannot wait to share the news with you.

As you all know, the school year has finally started and everyone is back in school again. Some of you have dreaded this moment. Whilst the rest of you (and I) could not wait to begin school again, whether it's high school or university. I have yet to start school, and there is a reason why...I'M GOING TO SCHOOL IN ENGLAND! I never thought I could do it, but here I am. A week away from living in the place I've always dreamed of living.

Let me start by saying again, that I never actually thought that I would be able to follow through with a dream this big. There were so many factors that played a role in the situation that made me think I'd never make it; Finances and emotional support. When you move to another country, you will need to have at least thousands of dollars saved up. You have to factor in a visa, the health surcharges, rent for a few months, food, transportation, and much more.

I was absolutely blessed to be able to get approved for a federal loan. So I can tell you first hand that if you have a dream, no matter how big, you can achieve it. Honestly. Take it from me, a teenage girl who always talked about being able to travel on her blog, and after some time, actually being able to travel. If you believe, you can achieve. As cheesy as that sounds, it's really true.

I will be attending Kingston University, and I am so excited to see what this adventure has in store for me. New friends, new experiences, and maybe a love interest? Ooh la la

With travel, there comes the sad part; leaving all your friends behind. I work at a Forever21 near my home, and in my time working there (almost 2 months), I have managed to make friends with many people. Although I will be leaving friends behind, I have many friends overseas that I am beyond excited about getting to finally meet (you know who you are<3). There is so much diversity where I am going, so the opportunity to meet people from all over the world is inevitable.

Now I want to know, how many of you are in the same boat as I am? I would love to know. And who knows, maybe I'll meet some of you guys some day.

I hope you all are doing tremendously well and have a great day, or night, wherever you lovely people are.

Until next time!

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books

Mini Stationary Haul: Blogmas #23

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dallas

Travel Day: Blogmas #18

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England

Oh, The Places You'll Go: Blogmas #15

Hello everybody!! Friday is approaching quite quickly and I am so happy. Today is going to be a topic that is loved by a lot of you wonderful people and something that I love to talk about: Travel. I just want to apologize beforehand. I talk about travel A LOT. I can't help it. Traveling makes me ooze with happiness. Sadly enough, I haven't been back to Europe ever since 2013. But soon enough. all of that is going to change. So in honor of my future travels, here are a few places that I am very interested in visiting when I make the move to the UK!

Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum London

I've been to the Madame Tussaud's wax museum in New York City a few years ago and I had a pretty good time. But I just feel like the museum in London has a lot more to offer. I mean, One Direction and Zoe Sugg are there!

British Museum

I am quite the art enthusiast so I love every opportunity I get to go to a museum.

Covent Garden Market

Every time I see pictures of Covent Garden, I just think "Wow, I really want to go there". It's just a beautiful place to be. There are so many things to do in the district that you will never get bored(Well I won't. I don't know about you).

WB Harry Potter Studio Tour

As you all know, I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. I've never been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios because I never had the chance. But I think it would be much cooler to do a studio tour so I can see how the movie was made and get to see the actual props and costumes in real life. It would be a dream come true.

Highgate Cemetery

Because I am sort of an adventurous person, I'd really want to walk through the Highgate Cemetery. I've seen so may pictures and I just think that the tombs are so beautiful and they would make for great pictures.

Hunterian Museum

Also, because I am kind of a creep, this museum seems like the perfect place for me. This museum is all about science and softcore(hardcore for some) gore and human parts.

Oxford Street

Ah, yes. The very famous Oxford Street; a haven for avid shoppers like me. Although very cliche(and tourist) of me, this place is somewhere I can definitely stay for hours.

Trafalgar Square

This location is quite the picturesque scene. Beautiful fountains and beautiful statues. Definitely a place that should be on every travelers list.

If any of you have been to any of these places or live in England, let me know in the comments and tell me how awesome they are in person(or don't. I get jealous easily). If you are like me, and you long for these places, let me know as well. Have a wonderful night or day my beautiful travel junkies.

Day 15 Calendar Reveal

And the countdown continues...

WE ARE FINALLY IN THE SINGLE DIGITS!!

ho ho ho

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Polaroid

Chill Day: Blogmas #12

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advent

Wanderlust: Blogmas #4

Hello everybody(I have realized that I alternate between saying everyone and everybody)! I can't believe it's Friday night already. This week seemed to sneak past me quite quickly.

I feel like having a chat session with all of my fellow wanderlusts out there today. So if you haven't guessed it already, I'm going to talk about travel. As if I don't talk about it enough.

Wanderlust (n): a strong desire or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.

I love to travel. You know that. I talk about traveling on Facebook, on Twitter, to my friends. I post throwback Thursdays of when I did travel...2 years ago. I guarantee everyone is getting sick of me rambling on and on about how much I love to travel and how I can't wait to travel the world like I want to. I don't blame them. It's basically all I talk about, besides boys. I can also talk about boys for a very long time.

I don't know when my love for travel started to blossom, but once it reached its full bloom, the desire to travel completely skyrocketed to the moon. I wanted to go everywhere. I wanted to work and raise the money to go everywhere. I would always go online and research all the places I wanted to visit. I would look up things to do, places to stay, places to eat, and places to shop. But that was all I could do...Look at a computer screen and long for the places I wish I was. When I was finally given the chance to actually fulfill my dreams, I jumped at that chance and held on tightly. During my sophomore year of high-school, I was nominated by one of my teachers to travel with the program People to People, since was one of the leaders. I was beyond elated when I found that out. I went to every meeting, and read and reread every checklist I had. I was counting down the days where I would finally be able to travel outside of the US for the first time.

The trip was absolutely amazing. It was hands down the best days of my life. During those 3 weeks, I traveled to Belgium, England, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France. I took pictures, I ate snail, I made friends, and I met some of the most attractive males I have ever seen in my life.

For as long as I can remember, I've always been drawn to England. I don't know why, but it was just my number one place that I've always wanted to visit. During the trip, we only had 2 days to spend in England, but I made sure those 2 days were the best days out of all of them. For some reason, I feel at home in England. I have this deep connection with the country and I just feel so comfortable there.

When I came back home, I immediately knew that I just had to go back. No matter what it took and how long it took. For my senior year here at university, the only credit we need is an internship. No core classes, no labs. Just an internship. When I heard about that on the first week of design school, my heart jumped with happiness. For my internship, I have wholeheartedly decided that I want to go to London. This is something I really want to do so I am going to do everything in my power to keep my dream alive.

One day, just out of boredom and curiosity, I looked up interior design internships on reed.co.uk, and I was not disappointed. There were so many opportunities to choose from. I actually emailed a few of the internship firms just to see if any would actually answer. To my surprise, one firm actually did respond and they showed interest in me. I was thoroughly surprised and happy that they replied to me so quickly because at the bottom of the page where they give you the description of their firm, it said that they only reply to potential candidates. I sent them an email of a written CV/resume and they replied by asking me a bunch of questions like why I think I would be good for the roll, how long would I be able to work and when would I be able to work. If those questions didn't sound like "We like you and we are definitely considering you", then I don't know what will.

Unfortunately, because of how far away(but not far at all)my senior year is, they can't exactly hire me yet. But they said to contact them 6 months before I am able to intern, so I guess I still have some sort of chance. So from now until senior year, I am going to work my butt off to try and save up all the money I can to make the move to England. I've told a lot of people close to me how much this means to me and how badly I want to live there. They all basically said the same response: It's going to be difficult to transition and change. Every time I hear someone say that, it immediately puts me in a "Challenge me" mode. I don't know why, but I feel like they are telling me that I can't do it and that it'll be too hard or too much for me to handle. But I can reassure you all now, nothing is impossible. Sure, the transition process may be stressful at times. I'd have to apply for a visa, change banks, change cell services, and find a job. But I know that with the right mindset, I can do it.

At this point in my life, I feel like this is what I'm meant to be doing. I'm following my dreams. I'm going to become a successful Interior Designer with an amazing life, living in London. But for now, I am going to do my best in school. I'm going to start small and work my way up to the top. Something I can look forward to in the near future though, is my semester in Rome. For the design school, it is required in our curriculum to travel abroad to Italy for the second semester of our junior year. Italy is another place I have always wanted to visit. The people, the beautiful architecture, the culture. To prepare for that amazing semester in Italy, I am going to be taking Italian classes my sophomore year and the first semester of junior year. I feel like it would be so much easier to navigate my way around and meet people if I knew how to speak their language. Italian is another very beautiful language, in my opinion.

To tell you the truth, I honestly cannot wait to move out of the US. Not that I don't like it, because I absolutely love my country, but I just feel like I belong in Europe.

All of my fellow wanderlusts out there, I want you to tell me where in the world you would like to go. Or to all of my fellow travelers, what is your favorite place that you've gone?

I know today's post wasn't very festive at all, but I feel that as long as I make a post for all you beautiful people, then it'll be okay. Also, if you didn't know, you are now able to subscribe to my blog if you just scroll to the bottom of the page. All you have to do is enter your email address, then it takes you to a page where you have to put in the given code. After you confirm your email, you are set to sail. I know it sounds like a long process, but I promise you it will be worth it.

So now, to get back into the festive theme, here is today's advent calendar reveal!

Milk Chocolate Ornament

And the countdown continues...

ho ho ho

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2015

Eagle U: Your'e A 10

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYBODY! (depending on where you are lol) I hope you are all doing swell this fine night. I have a little story to tell you all. So enjoy this little look into my life :)

..................................

Recently, I just came back from a week long leadership program called Eagle U at the University of Louisville. Eagle U is a program where you learn about college readiness and preparing yourself for your future and goals. I can honestly say it was one of the greatest experiences ever. The seminars were so life changing and I've learned so much. I don't know how I've lived without the things I've learned.

When I first arrived at the program on Sunday, I was nervous about making friends and if the people in my group would like me. But all those worries were put to rest when I made my first friend; Kennedy. I had emailed her and texted her prior to the trip. She is honestly the most charismatic, lively and enthusiastic person I have ever met in my life. She aspires to be an actress and I just know she's gonna make it. In due time, I'll be watching her on television winning award after award. On Monday, she introduced me to her friend Madison, who is absolutely gorgeous. I love her accent and she can dance her ass off. The next friends I made were Kaylee and Zoe. I had met them when we sat next to each other at a seminar, and I am so glad I did. Me and Zoe became friends super fast and we got so close. One thing we bonded over was pointing out cute guys, and there were a lot :-P I then became friends with this guy named North. Don't tell me that's not a cool name. When I first heard that was his name, I immediately thought of baby North West (lol) He is such a chill person and he's fun to be around. As the week progressed, I just started making friends on the fly. I was literally friends with everyone in my group, and I actually had a small crush on one of the guys in the group #scandalous

So I just want to give a s/o to all of you guys and Jamie and I just want to tell you that I miss you all so much!

Zoe, North, Kaylee, Me, Nichols, Ryan, Brycen, Jacob, Zach, Carter, Noah, Jasmine, Madison, Kennedy, and Jamie <3

On the first day of the program, everybody received a drawstring bag with a t shirt, water bottle, notebook, and a notepad. But it wasn't your ordinary notepad. I was an appreciation notepad. On the top of the note it says "I appreciate", then it has a line where you put the persons name. Below that, it says "Because",then a space were you write down why you appreciate them. The thoughts that were going through my mind was that whoever made this was a pure genius. I wrote so many appreciation notes for people that I needed to get a second notepad. I fell in love with the concept so much that I vowed to use it in college. Writing these notes really puts a smile on people's faces. I got 19 appreciation notes and I smiled every time I read each one. I still smile every time I reread them to remind myself of all the amazing people I was surrounded by.

The last day of the program, Thursday, there was goodbye party in a barn-like building. I had the time of my life and I was not looking forward to the end of the night. I danced with Zoe, Jasmine and Zach the whole night. (<3) And the walk back to the dorms after the party was nice *blush*

Sadness had completely overtaken my body Friday morning, which was when everyone had to go home. As I drove home, the whole time I was thinking 'Take me back to the night before'. I promised myself that I would go again next year and this time, I'm going to bring a friend.

I got really lucky with one of my friends, Nichols, because he lives in Alabama too! So I am definitely going to visit him before I go off to college. I also made it a goal to visit Zoe and Zach in Minnesota.

L to R: Brycen, Zach, Me, Zoe, Jasmine :)

I have learned so much about myself when I went through this program and I would literally recommend this to anybody. But enough about me, lets talk about you #BeInterestedNotInteresting

Have you ever been to a leadership program? If you have, what kind of things did you learn and do you still keep in touch with all of the friends you've made?

I hope you all had a great day and Happy 4th!!

c'est la vie

xoxo