Shoebox.

Living in Georgia hasn't brought me too many GREAT things. Aside from finishing school and spending time with Katie and her wonderful family, I've really learned a lot about how I have taken the most special things in my life for granted. My family and my friends. Something that has hit me like a frickin' ton of bricks this week is how quickly people come in and out of your life. There are people that are no longer apart of me that I never ever thought would be gone, and people I never saw coming. Both have purposes far beyond why I can imagine but I guess I say that to say: it KILLS me that some of the people I've grown to love and see every single day are about to be out of my life maybe even forever. The people I have gone to school with at Paul Mitchell in Atlanta (with the exception of a few people I had issues with..see previous blogs..) have been some of the most real and genuinely cool people I've ever known. My learning leaders Matt and Destiny who taught me how to love hair again and not take myself so serious..to Lauren and Aeriel and Elizabeth and Shade..Laura and Monique and Melanie and Calisto..just to name a few. Each person I've gotten close with has shown me a new side of personalities and traits I never knew only living in small town Crawfordsville, IN..and I also realized that some of these people truly are invested in me and seeing me succeed and be happy, just as I am in them. I've talked to these people, cried with them, laughed harder and been crazier and been through a lot and it's so crazy to me that I go back to Indiana soon and they'll all be a memory until the next time in Georgia and even then I won't have time to see them all. Everyone comes from such diverse and different backgrounds and places but I am so thankful for each of their roles in my life. They've literally gotten me through some of the most difficult moments of my life..even when I was being a bit dramatic. And it also just kills me because even the girls that I went to hair school with in Indiana live only like maybe an hour from my in Cville and I still never see them..life is crazy and busy and moves on even when you don't want it to and it scares me that I may forget about some of these people and memories. I just want to lock them up and put them in a shoebox and slide it under my bed for when I'm feeling sad or missing my life here.

And for all the people back home who I have managed to not make time for lately or have seemed to have "forgotten," you're in my shoebox of memories I always have had, don't you worry. My best friends who have been there since birth..preschool..elementary..high school..ISU..all of you. I love you and can't wait to get back and pick up right where we left off. I don't know if it's the realization that I'm about to start all over AGAIN back home..or just simply the things that have happened this past weekend/week that have just made me realize how precious time is with the people that really mean the most to you..you never know when that time's up..and even when you do know..you're never quite ready to let go.

God continues to bless me with peace which is something I am just in awe of. As I said yesterday I just expected to have a cruddy and lonely week and Christ has given me just the right people to keep me distracted and motivated. I am a Child of God and it would be false of me to claim that and not fully believe in His plan. 8 school days and 2 and a half weeks til I'm home for good. The countdown is slowly dwindling and it's so bittersweet. Thank you Jesus for sunshine, best friends and that I am never out of your sight..

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSp-3kvKQZs