Growth

So, I'm going to take a little sidetrack from the summer and make an observation...

I'm currently on campus before classes start, and the freshmen just arrived for orientation, and they are so small! Was I ever that small? Here's a picture of me and a friend from freshman fall:

And here's a picture of me and a different friend this summer:

Did I really grow that much? The answer is: yes. I was exactly like these freshmen: young, bright-eyed, and scared of college. But I survived and here I am, getting ready for Senior year. I'm maybe more scared now than I was then (my future? haven't thought about it...) but I'm also more mature and more independent. THAT is what college is about: not classes or clubs, but growth, becoming more responsible and self-reliant. I'm so excited for this year, and ready for what it throws at me. But, even though I have grown a lot, I still have some growing to do.

14ers.

Sorry it's been a while- I was driving across the country... more on that later.

Another adventure this summer was climbing my first 14ers (for those of you not familiar with the term, it means a mountain that reaches at least 14,000 feet and Colorado has a ton of them). On July 1, we set out to hike Grey's and Torrey's Peaks. It was so difficult but also so fulfilling at the top. I would maybe hike another 14er, if I ever become in better shape.

This is the view we woke up to.

View from the top of Grey's

The tired and grumpy group at the top of Torrey's.

Grey's is on the left, Torrey's on the right.

Typical.

Horseback Miracles

The other part of my summer was a volunteer internship at an organization called Horseback Miracles, a non-profit that focuses on revolutionizing horseback therapy for at-risk teenage girls. It was an incredible experience, and I hope to return some time in the future. What Mr. Draper and his horse, Bingo, are doing for these girls is truly phenomenal. If you have the chance, check out their website: horsebackmiracles.org

I love this photograph.

The band that played at the "Horses for Hope Hoedown" in June

Sometimes, I would get stuck behind a train and be late. It happens. Also, rain.

Denver Kids

Sorry it's been a while since my last post; I've been super busy!

Here's a little bit about what I did this summer (more to follow).

My internship with Denver Kids let me do things like:

Go to the zoo!

Go to the Air and Space Museum!

 Backstage tour of Red Rocks!

Olympic Games!

 (you throw Cheetos onto someone's head and count how many stick for points. So fun.)

It was a great staff!! And an incredible summer. Thank you Denver Kids!

Back In It

Well, it's been almost a year since I started this blog to document my travels abroad, and let me tell you: I miss blogging! So, even though I'm not spending the next semester in some fantastic, foreign country, I will try to keep doing cool things and hopefully keep track of them here!

We will see how it goes.

As for a picture to start off this new leg of the blog, here's a baby picture of me that we found recently when cleaning out the house:

And here I am now, with a baby goat:

I'll post more about my summer soon. Cheers!