If Only

I swear I have the biggest imagination of anyone I know. I can take one small detail and run with it, until I have exhausted every possibility in any direction. For example, my friend Meghan and I, have this obsession with fictional characters. We could easily tell you all of our favorite gentlemen from books to tv to movies. Seriously, we have better luck with those men than we do in real life. Currently I have two new celebrity crushes: Skylar Astin and Paul Klein. Pretty sure if I had the chance I would easily marry either one of them. Not gonne lie, I have thought about that, even though I have zero expectation of that ever happening. A girl can dream though, right? :)

Have any of you seen Pitch Perfect? If not, you need to go see it. Like now.

That was not a joke. I have seen it three times in the past two weeks, and I am still not sick of it. The music is wonderful, and I promise you that you will fall in love with the main love interest, Jesse, who is played by the adorably handsome, Skylar Astin. Folks, just look at this face.

I bet you are swooning already. Trust me when I say that I do every time. Some might call it pathetic, but I just call it unrealistic dreaming. Now I am not normally one of those girls that gets all psycho and crazy about a celebrity, and still to this day I refuse to act a fool, but I don't mind admiring some of God's greatest creations and giving a shout out to them. If that picture is not any motivation to go see the movie, then maybe this clip will be. 

He is the perfect combination of dork and adorable in this movie, and you better believe I asked for it for Christmas! If only he were real, I would marry him in a heartbeat. *Sigh*

My next celebrity crush is Paul Klein. The last post I made included one of his Christmas videos, and seriously from the moment I heard his voice I was hooked. It was inevitable too because not only does he play piano, but he is from Kansas City, which is beyond close to me. But the best part is he has a heart for God, and his music displays that, which as you all should I know I love Jesus, so it's a win win for everyone. Plus, when I tweeted at him (because yes even though I am not one of those crazy girls, I wanted to give him props for his music) he most definitely favorited my tweet. Talk about being on cloud nine. I am pretty sure that single act made my entire day. And to top it all off, he is totally hipster cute, which just makes me happy on so many levels. If you guys have never heard his stuff you need to take the time to go check him out on itunes! I promise you it is worth your time :) Here is just a clip from one of my favorite songs!

I am sure that I could share more with all of you about my crushes or even more just about these two, but I will spare all of you my silly day dreaming. However, I do hope you enjoyed both clips, and I hope that you will give them both a chance by checking them out. I promise you won't regret it!

Til Next Time.

Home for Christmas

I have been home from Europe for two weeks now, and I have loved spending time with family and taking time to catch up with friends. It is hard to believe that just two weeks ago I was sitting in my room in Busingen, Switzerland. My time this past semester seems a blur and a lifetime away. It seems crazy to me that I spent 3 months in another country because being back home feels like I never left. I am so grateful for the opportunity I received, but there is nothing like being around family and friends for the holidays. Thanksgiving was hard enough, so I am very thankful that this Christmas I will be with all my loved ones. I have had plenty of downtime since being back because I am not working very much, so I have tried to make the most of my time. Well, most days anyways. Sometimes being lazy is exactly what you need, but anyways in the spirit of the season I just wanted to share with all of you one of my new favorite artists that I have come upon recently. The cool thing is that he is from Kansas City, which is close to home for me! I don't know that much about him, but I know that he has an amazing voice, and I absolutely loved his version of I'll Be Home for Christmas. Enjoy!

Til Next Time.

Take a Peek

Please enjoy this video that my friend Hayley made of our semester in Europe!

The End Has Come

When I was 15 years old I had the opportunity to travel to Europe, and I had no idea how that would transform the next 4 years of my life. Ever since that trip I have had this deep desire to see and do as much as I possibly can while I am young. I have traveled somewhere every summer since then, and I even have a goal to set foot on all 7 continents during my lifetime. A girl can dream. When I found out that MNU had a study abroad program located in Europe I was sold. I wanted to make sure that I would be able to spend a semester abroad living in the continent that I had so quickly fallen in love with the first time I had stepped foot on it. Problems arose because well let's face it in life they always do. I was feeling discouraged, but also determined. I prayed a lot about this semester because I wanted to make sure that this was something God was in support of. And even though it took a lot of effort and work and patience and let's not forget trust, I found myself boarding a plane in September heading across the big blue to the beautiful country of Switzerland, where I have spent the last 3 months of my life. But now my time is up, and it's time for me to head back home.

This semester I have been to 7 countries, 15 cities, and I have plenty of pictures to show for it.

As I think back on these past few months I am blown away by how quickly it flew by. It astounds me that it is already December. I remember thinking about this semester and getting excited about it. And now as I sit here writing this, I am to board a plane tomorrow morning to head back to the states. I can remember the first day that I arrived in Busingen like it was yesterday. I remember looking at this campus and being so confused because it was so different than any other campus I had been on before, but over time, and now it feels like a home away from home, and I know that I will miss this quaint and peaceful town. I have been pushed and tested in more ways than one, and I believe that God used this semester to help continue to shape me in the way that He wanted. I have made so many memories, and with as small of a group as we have I have made lots of new friends as well as growing friendships with people I formerly knew. I went to places that I have only learned about in classes, but here I was able to see and experience the history that I only knew from sitting in a classroom. On top of the school trips to Munich, Paris, Taizé, and Frankfurt, Cherith, Hayley, Erin, and I took two trips of our own to Salzburg, Austria and Rome, Italy. I was in a city that the disciples had once been in centuries before me. I walked the streets Caesar did, and I skipped down the lane Maria von Trapp (Julie Andrews) did in Sound of Music. I stood and looked out across an empty lot that once held hundreds of barracks for concentration camp prisoners, and I felt the sadness and despair that once filled that area. I was even able to see some family that I had not seen in some time. I learned a new way to spread Christ's love to others, and I even got to see it in action. I met so many amazing people from all over Europe, and I experienced love and patience from others that can only come from God. 

This semester has been a bundle of ups and downs, but I would not trade it for anything in the world. I would not take back a single late night girls talk or any trip that may have made me pressed for time on homework. Every minute spent here in this country, on this continent was worth it. I have learned so many things about myself, and I have been pushed out of my comfort zone time after time. I have gained a greater appreciation for things stateside, especially family, and I even experienced a good bit of homesickness to my surprise. This experience is something that I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys traveling or who wants to have a trial run of living overseas. I feel beyond blessed to have been chosen for this pilot semester of MNU Europe. It has exceeded my expectations, and I cannot wait to get home and share all my stories and pictures with everyone. My bags are packed and I am ready to go!

Thanks for everything Europe! Til Next Time :)