TWENTY SEVEN MONTHS AGO
June 2010
Home base: (basically Moldova)
Trip: Went to Colorado to move my sister back to Kansas
Departed for the Peace Corps
May 2010
Home base: None
Trip: Visited San Francisco for the first time
Returned to Kansas City for 3 days
Got a job in San Francisco photographing graduation ceremonies
Experienced Bay to Breakers in San Francisco
Officially graduated from the University of Kansas
Went to Janesville, WI for photography
Sold my car- I’m car-less!
Cut 5 inches off my hair
Home base: None
Trip: Visited San Francisco for the first time
Returned to Kansas City for 3 days
Got a job in San Francisco photographing graduation ceremonies
Experienced Bay to Breakers in San Francisco
Officially graduated from the University of Kansas
Went to Janesville, WI for photography
Sold my car- I’m car-less!
Cut 5 inches off my hair
April 2010
Home base: Kansas City
Trip: Had a flight booked for Paris, but due to the volcano in Iceland, I got to spend a few days in Chicago
Salem visited Kansas City from New Jersey
Officially invited to be a Peace Corps Volunteer as an English teacher in Moldova
Home base: Kansas City
Trip: Had a flight booked for Paris, but due to the volcano in Iceland, I got to spend a few days in Chicago
Salem visited Kansas City from New Jersey
Officially invited to be a Peace Corps Volunteer as an English teacher in Moldova
March 2010
Home base: Fort Myers, FL; Kansas City, MO
Trip: Traveled back and forth between KC and FL 3 times
Returned to Kansas City after 3 months in Fort Myers, Florida
Officially sold and moved out of our house in 4 weeks (while having an estate sale)- I’m homeless!
Home base: Fort Myers, FL; Kansas City, MO
Trip: Traveled back and forth between KC and FL 3 times
Returned to Kansas City after 3 months in Fort Myers, Florida
Officially sold and moved out of our house in 4 weeks (while having an estate sale)- I’m homeless!
February 2010
Home base: Fort Myers, FL
Trip to: Kansas City to photograph a wedding
Official nomination to a program in the Peace Corps
Home base: Fort Myers, FL
Trip to: Kansas City to photograph a wedding
Official nomination to a program in the Peace Corps
January2010
Home base: Fort Myers, FL
Trip to: Las Vegas, NV for a friends wedding, and to spend some time with dad
Took tour on a Hummer in the desert and the canyons around Vegas
Home base: Fort Myers, FL
Trip to: Las Vegas, NV for a friends wedding, and to spend some time with dad
Took tour on a Hummer in the desert and the canyons around Vegas
December2009
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: NOWHERE!
BUT photographed Brittan’s wedding (friends since we were 4!), and finished up my last semester at KU (finals galore!)
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: NOWHERE!
BUT photographed Brittan’s wedding (friends since we were 4!), and finished up my last semester at KU (finals galore!)
November2009
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: Hermann, Missouri
Amelia, Jenny, Kim, and I packed in the car and headed to the wineries of the Midwest for a long weekend
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: Hermann, Missouri
Amelia, Jenny, Kim, and I packed in the car and headed to the wineries of the Midwest for a long weekend
October2009
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: Bedford, Pennsylvania
Visited my moms friend, Bette, on her 260-acre farm in Pennsylvania
Officially applied for the Peace Corps
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: Bedford, Pennsylvania
Visited my moms friend, Bette, on her 260-acre farm in Pennsylvania
Officially applied for the Peace Corps
September2009
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: New York City
Just needed a weekend getaway
Trip to: Littleton, CO
Visited my sister and had a photoshoot
Turned 22!
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: New York City
Just needed a weekend getaway
Trip to: Littleton, CO
Visited my sister and had a photoshoot
Turned 22!
August2009
Home base: Europe and Kansas City
Trip to: Lisbon, Portugal; Antibes, France; Paris, France; New York City
Grandma died
Returned back to the States after 8 months abroad
Home base: Europe and Kansas City
Trip to: Lisbon, Portugal; Antibes, France; Paris, France; New York City
Grandma died
Returned back to the States after 8 months abroad
July2009
Home base: none
Trip to: Athens, Greece; Folegandros, Greece; Rome, Italy; Florence, Italy; Orvieto, Italy; Paris, France; Antibes, France; Nice, France; Cannes, France
Linda met me at the airport in Germany and we then headed to Greece and finished in Italy
I got incredibly sunburned, but had a blast with the fields upon fields of sunflowers!
Home base: none
Trip to: Athens, Greece; Folegandros, Greece; Rome, Italy; Florence, Italy; Orvieto, Italy; Paris, France; Antibes, France; Nice, France; Cannes, France
Linda met me at the airport in Germany and we then headed to Greece and finished in Italy
I got incredibly sunburned, but had a blast with the fields upon fields of sunflowers!
June2009
Home base: none
Trip to: All over France (+Monaco, Italy, Switzerland) Germany, Austria
Dad met me in France and we rented a car and drove all over France, with stops in Monaco, Italy, and Switzerland. I then went to Germany and reconnected with my nanny whom I had not seen in 10 years, and saw an incredible show of fires in Austria
Finished classes in Angers, France
Home base: none
Trip to: All over France (+Monaco, Italy, Switzerland) Germany, Austria
Dad met me in France and we rented a car and drove all over France, with stops in Monaco, Italy, and Switzerland. I then went to Germany and reconnected with my nanny whom I had not seen in 10 years, and saw an incredible show of fires in Austria
Finished classes in Angers, France
May2009
Home base: Angers, France
Trip to: Besançon, France; Paris, France; Madrid, Spain
Visited Pauline and Julien in Bes, celebrated Rodrigo’s 30th birthday in Paris, and visited Sarah in Madrid
I found out the importance of knowing other languages when I was able to communicate with the maid of the family I stayed with in Madrid because she lived in France for a few years!
Home base: Angers, France
Trip to: Besançon, France; Paris, France; Madrid, Spain
Visited Pauline and Julien in Bes, celebrated Rodrigo’s 30th birthday in Paris, and visited Sarah in Madrid
I found out the importance of knowing other languages when I was able to communicate with the maid of the family I stayed with in Madrid because she lived in France for a few years!
April 2009
Home base: Angers, France
Trip to: Rome, Florence, Verona, Siena, Venice, Italy; Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Liverpool, England; Dublin, Galway, Ireland; Rennes, France
Traveled to 3 counties with Piper and Kayleigh 16 days for spring break. The highlight of the trip was probably when we arrived in Stratford, London instead of Stratford-upon-Avon and made it within mere minutes to see the Shakespeare play (and changed in to nice clothes on a very dirty train)
Home base: Angers, France
Trip to: Rome, Florence, Verona, Siena, Venice, Italy; Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Liverpool, England; Dublin, Galway, Ireland; Rennes, France
Traveled to 3 counties with Piper and Kayleigh 16 days for spring break. The highlight of the trip was probably when we arrived in Stratford, London instead of Stratford-upon-Avon and made it within mere minutes to see the Shakespeare play (and changed in to nice clothes on a very dirty train)
March 2009
Home base: Angers, France
Trip to: Munich, Germany
Home base: Angers, France
Trip to: Munich, Germany
February 2009
Home base: Angers, France
Trip to: Besançon, France
Visited Pauline and Julien for the first time in their hometown of Besançon
Home base: Angers, France
Trip to: Besançon, France
Visited Pauline and Julien for the first time in their hometown of Besançon
January2009
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: New York City, official move to France for studying abroad
Was supposed to have an internship in NYC but it fell through
Ended relationship with "N"
Home base: Kansas City
Trip to: New York City, official move to France for studying abroad
Was supposed to have an internship in NYC but it fell through
Ended relationship with "N"
December2008
Celebrated New Years at Henrys in an incredible black, sequined dress
Celebrated New Years at Henrys in an incredible black, sequined dress
November2008
Trip to: Omaha, Nebraska to watch my cousin play hockey
Started dating "N"
Witnessed the live birth of a baby
Trip to: Omaha, Nebraska to watch my cousin play hockey
Started dating "N"
Witnessed the live birth of a baby
October2008
Got official acceptance to study abroad in the spring (therefore decided against dropping out of school)
Got official acceptance to study abroad in the spring (therefore decided against dropping out of school)
September2008
Turned 21! Celebrated one night at home, one night in a limo, and for a weekend in NYC
Found internship with RW2 Studios in Kansas City
Was photographed for the University of Kansas’ “Sex on the Hill” issue of the newspaper
My goddaughter, Olivia, was born
***
(I no longer have anything in my calendar—so the rest of the 27 months is pretty unclear… now I know why keeping a journal is so important!!)
***
August2008
Began my 3rd year of college
Turned 21! Celebrated one night at home, one night in a limo, and for a weekend in NYC
Found internship with RW2 Studios in Kansas City
Was photographed for the University of Kansas’ “Sex on the Hill” issue of the newspaper
My goddaughter, Olivia, was born
***
(I no longer have anything in my calendar—so the rest of the 27 months is pretty unclear… now I know why keeping a journal is so important!!)
***
August2008
Began my 3rd year of college
July2008
Went to NYC for 2 weeks to hang out with Salem
Met Jason Hackenwerth at his awesome studio 5Pointz over the 4th of July
Went to NYC for 2 weeks to hang out with Salem
Met Jason Hackenwerth at his awesome studio 5Pointz over the 4th of July
June2008
Moved into my first house in Lawrence with 4 other girls
Ended relationship with “A”
Moved into my first house in Lawrence with 4 other girls
Ended relationship with “A”
May2008
Finished my second year of college
Went to Cancun, Mexico with Linda
Visited Cristina in New York City
Finally ended the school year of being a RA (Resident Assistant) in Ellsworth Hall at the University of Kansas
Became official with “A”
Finished my second year of college
Went to Cancun, Mexico with Linda
Visited Cristina in New York City
Finally ended the school year of being a RA (Resident Assistant) in Ellsworth Hall at the University of Kansas
Became official with “A”
April 2008
Started dating “A”
Spent Easter with Gnar’s family because she was in France
Started dating “A”
Spent Easter with Gnar’s family because she was in France
March 2008
Wanted to drop out of college to become a photographer full-time and attend photography seminars
Ended relationship with “S”
Trip to NYC to promote High School Confidential: was on the Tyra Show and Good Morning America
In sum (in NO particular order whatsoever!):
In the last 27 months, I have said I’ve wanted to live in 12 countries (13 counting the USA) and 13 States (more if you count where I’ve had layovers!). I studied abroad, GRADUATED COLLEGE only after wanting to drop out many times, threatening to do so, and changing my major twice, had 3 heartbreaks, owned a business, worked for 2 people other than myself, taken hundreds upon thousands of photographs, deleted all of my study abroad photos (but thankfully rescued most of them), became more organized, met people from all over the world, traveled to 4 countries and 3 states with my dad, missed a flight, got vouchers for free flights, said a huge word too soon, learned the consequences of gossiping, become homeless, become car-less, learned to travel light, lived in the dorms 2 years, discovered the power of couchsurfing, had strep throat, been exposed to H1N1, witnessed friends having babies, friends getting married, friends getting engaged, reconnected with long-lost friends, developed an addiction to facebook, turned 21, become closer than ever with my dad and sister, got my first A in college, moved to 2 new States, learned what to do when someone verbally abuses you through your professional website, battled with my body image, babysat for hundreds of hours, learned from many mistakes, got accepted to the Peace Corps, began to collect magnets, realized why I love Apple products so much, studied abroad, been terrified about making changes and then looked back and wondered why I was so terrified of making those changes.
The reason for doing this is to look back and see how much has happened in the last 27 months of my life in order to prepare for the next 27 months of my life. I’m going in to this new adventure with (hopefully) 2 suitcases, and without any expectations. Ok, this is a lie because I have many expectations- the most important being that all of my expectations will be wrong. Going to the poorest country in Europe (Moldova) is a huge step in my life. I’m leaving all of my friends and family at home and going to this foreign country without really knowing anyone (facebook doesn’t count). I don’t even know the official date/time of departure from Philidelphia, nor where I will be staying once I actually arrive in Moldova. Am I terrified? Excited? Nervous? Anxious? Scared? Pumped? YOU BET! Name an emotion and I bet I will say I’ve felt it for at least a few minutes at least once in the last week or so.
Overall, I can’t wait for this experience and to be able to re-cap on the next 27 months when I’m done to see just how much has happened in my journey and how much I’ve changed. Eight months in Western Europe brought me back to the States as a completely different person- I can’t imagine what this has to hold for me. What will happen to my friends while I’m gone? Who will be married? Where will my love life be? Where will my dad be living? Do I still want to go to Grad school? If so, for what? And where?
I love the life I live.
Wanted to drop out of college to become a photographer full-time and attend photography seminars
Ended relationship with “S”
Trip to NYC to promote High School Confidential: was on the Tyra Show and Good Morning America
In sum (in NO particular order whatsoever!):
In the last 27 months, I have said I’ve wanted to live in 12 countries (13 counting the USA) and 13 States (more if you count where I’ve had layovers!). I studied abroad, GRADUATED COLLEGE only after wanting to drop out many times, threatening to do so, and changing my major twice, had 3 heartbreaks, owned a business, worked for 2 people other than myself, taken hundreds upon thousands of photographs, deleted all of my study abroad photos (but thankfully rescued most of them), became more organized, met people from all over the world, traveled to 4 countries and 3 states with my dad, missed a flight, got vouchers for free flights, said a huge word too soon, learned the consequences of gossiping, become homeless, become car-less, learned to travel light, lived in the dorms 2 years, discovered the power of couchsurfing, had strep throat, been exposed to H1N1, witnessed friends having babies, friends getting married, friends getting engaged, reconnected with long-lost friends, developed an addiction to facebook, turned 21, become closer than ever with my dad and sister, got my first A in college, moved to 2 new States, learned what to do when someone verbally abuses you through your professional website, battled with my body image, babysat for hundreds of hours, learned from many mistakes, got accepted to the Peace Corps, began to collect magnets, realized why I love Apple products so much, studied abroad, been terrified about making changes and then looked back and wondered why I was so terrified of making those changes.
The reason for doing this is to look back and see how much has happened in the last 27 months of my life in order to prepare for the next 27 months of my life. I’m going in to this new adventure with (hopefully) 2 suitcases, and without any expectations. Ok, this is a lie because I have many expectations- the most important being that all of my expectations will be wrong. Going to the poorest country in Europe (Moldova) is a huge step in my life. I’m leaving all of my friends and family at home and going to this foreign country without really knowing anyone (facebook doesn’t count). I don’t even know the official date/time of departure from Philidelphia, nor where I will be staying once I actually arrive in Moldova. Am I terrified? Excited? Nervous? Anxious? Scared? Pumped? YOU BET! Name an emotion and I bet I will say I’ve felt it for at least a few minutes at least once in the last week or so.
Overall, I can’t wait for this experience and to be able to re-cap on the next 27 months when I’m done to see just how much has happened in my journey and how much I’ve changed. Eight months in Western Europe brought me back to the States as a completely different person- I can’t imagine what this has to hold for me. What will happen to my friends while I’m gone? Who will be married? Where will my love life be? Where will my dad be living? Do I still want to go to Grad school? If so, for what? And where?
I love the life I live.
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