Day 15 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 15: A picture of something you want to do before you die.

As cliched as it may seem, one of my greatest dreams in life is to learn to love unconditionally. Whether it be to love my friends, family, or future spouse, I always want to be able to say that I am loving them truly and not half heartedly. I've met a lot of people over my life who started their relationships loving the other person tremendously, however as time progresses their love for their once dear friend seems to cool and the brilliance of it begins to fade. It is my goal in life to never allow that to happen in any of my relationships. <3

Day 14 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 14: A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

As unoriginal as it may seem, it's true. At the age of four, I accepted Christ into my heart and I've lived my life with Him having a constant presence. Even though I've hurt Him time and time again, He was always there.

A few months ago, a friend of mine and I were talking about an apologetics/ worldview/ communication Simulation and we began discussing what worldview we would be if we had never met Christ. In our discussion, I came to the conclusion that I would most likely be an Atheist, and probably wouldn't put much weight on anything. Nothing would have meaning, and my life would be pointless.

I'm so thankful to say that my future did not unfold in that way, and I pray that it continues to unfold in way that is filled with hope, joy, and love. It's an understatement to say that I couldn't imagine my life without Christ. The truth is, I would have no life without Christ. <3

Day 13 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 13: A picture of your favorite band or artist.

A few years ago, I was listening to the radio and a song cam eon that was completely different then any other song I had ever heard. A little later I heard the broadcasters talking about how the artist wore his socks inside out, and other weird traits about him. Eventually I discovered that the artist's name was "Owl City."

As I continued to become more interested in their music, I discovered that they were also a Christian. This picture is the cover to one of my favorite albums by Owl City. Even now, I still love the song from that day! (Fireflies) <3

Day 12 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 12: A picture of something you love.

As some of you already know, I have been blessed with the opportunity to compete with the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association, or NCFCA, the past three years. I remember specifically at my very first tournament a young man, whom I did not know and was competing against, asked to prayed with me before one of my speeches. I was blown away by the idea that someone I was competing against would volunteer to pray with me that my speech would go well and bless the audience. However, as I have come to know very well these past few years, this was the norm in our region.

One of the many things that I love about my regional family is that, no matter who you are, who you know, or who you are competing against, you can believe that someone is praying for you constantly. Someone is watching over you with encouraging eyes. Someone is cheering for you outside of the room. However, everyone is waiting to hear your name in the closing ceremonies. Thank you for every hallway prayer. <3

Day 11 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 11: A picture of something you hate.

In this slightly different picture, is one of the few things that I will honestly say that I highly despise. The title of this shirt design from shirt.woot.com is "Tofu, Food's Master of Disguise." While I have nothing against tofu, I find it very sad when people try to be something they are not. We are each created to be unique, and when we sacrifice who we are to become who we are told to be (by others, magazines, tv, movies, etc.), we begin to miss out on what our life could be.

Just like how tofu cannot truly replace chicken or lobster, we cannot truly replace who we are with who others say we should be. <3

Day 10 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 10: A picture of the person you do the craziest things with.

The lovely ladies in this picture are two of my team members from ICC's 2010 fall tour, as well as two of the funniest friends I have ever had. Individually these girls can come up with the craziest plans, however when the three of us are together, you can be certain that something crazy, weird, and possibly odd is going to happen. Whether it be random dance parties, getting abandoned in the middle of NJ just outside of NYC, or stealthily finding the local cookie dough stash, there is always something happening when we are together. <3

I miss you, girls!

Day 9 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 9: A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

After my parents, the lovely lady in this picture has helped me through some of the hardest times in my life. Whether it be life changing decisions, trying to better understand the people around me, or even overcoming times of conflict with myself, those around me, and even between ourselves, she has never given up on me, even when it would have been the easier option. <3

Day 8 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

First of all, I apologize for the delay in "day 8," for the past weak my mother and I have been at Regional Competition, and blogging does not come before sleep in my personal opinion... Anyways, here we go!

Day 8: A picture that makes you laugh.

On occasions, I will send random pictures, such as this one, to my Duo partner. All of which have come from "shirt.woot.com" a website that sells a different shirt pattern every day. This specific shirt is title, "The Unstealthiest Ninja." It's one of my favorites. <3

Day 7 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 7: A picture of your most treasured item.

While I do treasure many items in my life, I have to say that my computer is probably one of the most important ones to me currently, however not simply because it's a piece of technology. Despite it being just a bunch of metal and wires put together in the shape of a box/book, the reason I treasure my computer, or really technology as a whole, is because it allows me to have constant contact with countless friends all at once. Some of my closest friends live in Texas, Minnesota, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, and without a computer or phone it would be hard to contact one another.

However, apart from allowing me to easily communicate with friends, my computer has also been a wonderful tool to help me do my best with any project, wether it be for school or simply for fun. It's definitely been a blessing to own. <3

Day 6 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 6: A picture of the person you'd love to trade places with for a day.

For those of you who are asking yourselves, "Is that a stuffed frog?" yes. Yes it is. While traveling with ICC, our team had a "mascot," so to speak, named "Mr. Froggers." Whenever something was wrong, he was always there to "listen" to our complaints. While he may not be a real person, it would be really interesting to become Mr. Froggers for a day. Not because I want to be a stuffed animal when I grow up, but because he was a source of comfort to the girls on our team. I remember numerous times when some one was stressed they would just spend a few minutes with Mr. Froggers and everything would be better. If possible, I would love to become that source of comfort and encouragement to my friends and family. Even if only for a day. <3

Day 5 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 5: A picture of your favorite memory.

About 2 years ago, my friend Kember and I decided that we were going to compete in the speech category, "Duo Interpretation" together.

Skip to our first tournament, we made a LOT of mistakes, changed a couple lines, made some new blocking, and qualified to Regionals. Stunned and excited could not describe how we felt. Now that we are on our second year of competition together, we've made some pretty interesting memories to say the least...

However, the reason our Duo journey has become one of my favorite high school memories, is simply because we were able help each other do our best as a team. We were able to overcome some of our fears as a team. We were able to achieve our goals as a team. There's nothing quite like competing with a partner, especially when your partner is just as random, weird, and "special" as you. <3

Day 4 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 4: A picture of your favorite night.

This particular evening was one were I was able to talk with my close friend who live in a completely different state, for the first time in quite a while. She's amazing. While this may not be a picture of my absolute favorite night ever, it is a picture of my favorite kind of night. A night where I am able to talk, or communicate in some way, with a friend. Looking back at my life, there is no one night that stands out above all others as being special and meaningful to me, however there are many nights that are important to me. All of which are ones that are spent with my friends and family (related by blood, or related by heart). <3

Day 3 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

Being the not-so-average millennial that I am, I actually do not enjoy watching TV very often, so I don't have a favorite show... However, I do love Disney's recent movie called, "Tangled."

When I was little, I always wanted to grow my hair out as long as possible, and found the story of Rapunzel interesting and fun. Having some personal ties to the original storyline, plus getting to see it for the first time after spending the entire day with my mom, made it one of my current favorites. <3

If you have not yet had the opportunity to see "Tangled" I would absolutely recommend it as a fun movie that is appropriate for all ages.

Day 2 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Day 2: A picture of you with the person you have been closest with the longest.

It's not exactly the most recent picture, however it's certainly one of the best I have of myself and Rachel. She has been an incredible friend of mine for over 10 years now, and we have shared some the most.... interesting memories. Despite not being able to talk or see each other much, she's still an important friend of mine. ^-^

ps: beware if we're on the same team in catchphrase... it will be random, and it will be awesome. <3

Day 1 of the 30 Day Picture Challenge

Today I made a life changing decision: I have decide to conform to the ways of others and partake in the 30 Day Picture Challenge. For 30 days, or one month, I'll be, hopefully, posting some interesting pictures and stories. If you've ever done anything crazy with me, be afraid, you may just receive a special appearance ;)

Day 1: A Picture of Yourself With 10 Facts.

I love music and colors. My favorite animal is a lemur. My favorite numbers are 2 & 5 {thank you ICC <3}. Despite learning karate for 8 years in two styles, I hate fighting. I have helped with more weddings then I have been invited to. In a 4 month timespan I visited 3/5 of our United States (No, Hawaii and Alaska were not in the mix). I LOVE playing the Nancy Drew computer games. I am the daughter of a picture Nazi. My favorite "sport" is forensics (communication/speech and debate).

I am, and will always be, an unashamed follower of Christ.

Despite my geeky-nerdy-abnormal-ness, I truly love my friends and family, and can't wait to share more memories throughout the next 30 days <3