Australia: highlights

1.) At the Sydney Aquarium. iPhone photo, oh yes!

2.) Sand at some beach haha

3.) Sunset at a beach near by the to the previously mentioned beach 

4.) Ohmygosh so cliche Australian -- pulled over on the side of the road to get a picture..

5.) Leaves, ahh so tropical

6.) At the Great Barrier reef, I have NEVER seen water so blue, it was absolutely beautiful 

7.) Sydney Harbour Bridge

8.) Manly Beach

9.) View from our hotel room in Cairns

10.)  Low tide in Cairns (love this picture)

Australia was the most amazing experience that I have had in a while. Was it hard? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely. It still feels so surreal, it was the experience of a lifetime. I conquered so many fears on this trip it's crazy. 

Planes.

Plane Bathrooms.

Plane food. (not quite over this one..)

Going into the unknown.

Things being out of my control.

Eating new foods.

Leaving my family. 

and many more.

To say that it was just myself getting me through these things, would be a complete and utter lie.

Written while still in Australia:

"Most people would say that doing something they didn't think they could do and overcoming their fears would make them realize just how strong they are. I, however, beg to differ that statement. In fact, I have found it to be quite the opposite. Now before you stop reading this thinking that it will be a post about me complaining about how hard it was, don't, because its not. Not at all. Actually this post is about how I, a fifteen year old girl who has anxiety and has never been away from home for more than a week, was able to travel halfway around the world and live with a host family for a month. It's about how someone who used to cry and have a panic attack every single time she got on a plane was able board her 15 hour flight with hardly any fear at all. But most importantly it is about how I had the realization of just how powerful my God is. 

Now I'll try not to make it too preachy or anything, but I really feel that God has moved me to write a post telling about this experience. And who knows, this might even bring someone to him, I might make an influential difference in someone else's life.

Traveling halfway around the world with no one but a peer at age 15, is not exactly a piece of cake and I knew that from the gate. But the one difference is that I knew that even though I wouldn't have my mom and dad with me, I would have God. I have known since the young age of five, when I became a born again Christian, that God has and always will be with me. But it wasn't until this trip that I really started to see everything that he had laid out before me. When I got accepted to this trip my mom realized that God had been preparing me for this ever since fifth grade (age 10) when my teachers daughter was in Australia and we heard all about it. That truly is amazing. Even back then, five years ago, before I went to my current school, God knew that I would be going to Australia."

It's weird how something could be right in front of you and you wouldn't notice it. That is truly what happened to me -- crazy, I know. 

Australia was the best experience of my life, and I will never forget it.

P.S. My exchange student comes in 41 days! :) sooo excited

xxx

Aussie Animals

1.) Wallaby. sosoosos cute! I got to pet one! yayy

2.) Ostrich. I love this picture soo much!

3.) Cassowary. If you are not scared of large birds, you will be after seeing this one

4.) I forget what this kind of bird is called but they were everywhere.

5.) Kangaroos. Ah so typical

6.) Koala <3

Clearly much more diverse than deer, squirrels and chipmunks.

xxx

Australia: Pre-Trip

1.) I was the master folder after this trip

2.) Talk about efficient 

3.) Yay my suitcase was under 50 lbs!

4.) Right before I left my house. Do you see those pants I'm wearing? If you are planning on going on a long plane ride anytime soon, get them, they are actually the most comfortable thing I've ever worn. Spent over 40 hours total on a plane in these babies. Ew thats a long time..

5. NEVER do unaccompanied minors, never I tell you. It was awful! (except during customs at the Sydney airport!)

this is only the beginning, more pictures to come!

xxx

individuality.

sweater - H&M

pants - j.crew

shoes - Steve Madden

Nearly my whole life I have wanted to be something or someone else. Whether I wanted my then straight hair to be curly or wishing that I was English and not American, there was always something. But when you think about it everybody at at least one point in their life has wanted something that they don't have-- it's only completely natural.  

If I learned one thing this summer, it's that I need to be content with who I am. I need to want to be myself and not someone else. I finally realized that being an individual really isn't a bad thing.

Starting with the post after next I am going to blog about my trip to Australia, it will be a series of posts (I took nearly 800 pictures!) It was an amazing trip and it truly did change my life.

School is crazy at the moment (and we just started 4 weeks ago?) so excuse me for the sporadic posts.

p.s. That is my film camera in the photos above! I developed the film today! yayay Cannot wait to see how the photos turn out!

p.p.s That sweater is my life. $10 at H&M and it is the softest thing ever. Can't get much better than that!

xxx

sophomore

eyes started to burnnnnnnnn

 I touch my hair in nearly all my photos..

shirt - j.crew

I can now say that I have survived 6 days of school. Not a lot, but it feels like it's been ages since last thursday-- the fist day of school, and then I realize that it has only been one week. sigh. Summer 2012, where are you?

On a different slightly better note I really like my classes, I am taking (in no particular order):

Critical Reading and Writing 2 (English)

Modern World History

French 3

Honors Algebra 2

Honors Chemistry

Global Scholars 2/3

Photo 1

Intro to Graphic Design

Gym ( only because I don't play a sport :/)

I have 8 free periods every 6 days so thats good

my favesies: sephora 'rosy glow' lip gloss, chanel le rouge briliant 'chance', co bigelow mint lipgloss, MAC 'just desert' lip gloss, clinique light pink lip gloss

both bowls: hand painted by none other than me, the one with the lip glosses in it I just painted and I really like the way it turned out. 

money; lens cap; many earringssss

yayyy for scarves!

I. am. exhausted. 

longest. week. of. my. life.

goodnight (:

xxx

TC

dear summer,

Dear summer, 

Oh how I love you and oh how I will miss you

I will miss playing on the playground right around the corner

I will cherish all the memories from when the family came

all of the many badminton matches played

all of those face in the hole things

I will miss those hot summer nights where you are without a care in the world. Especially the 4th of July

I will miss doing my summer reading on the hammock. (well maybe not the summer reading..)

I will always remember snorkeling in the pacific ocean at the great barrier reef

My amazing australian adventure

I will miss water this blue

and going to the beach

but most importantly I will miss the laziness, the carefree feeling of summer and just being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, not having to worry about school or homework.

You were good summer 2011, real good. 

Summer 2011- never to be forgotten 

xxx

TC

p.s. I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog.. what do you think? any suggestions? comment and tell me!

the land down under.

J. chillin' in Sydney

ewewewewewew. But it's a picture of me by the harbour bridge so I had to put it on here.. I look like a hobo hahah thats what slanted rain will do to you

well that's cute.. Me and my exchange student by the harbour bridge on such a nice day- I mean the weather was just awesome! It was pouring..

warmer weather up north in Cairns yayayay

oh hey, look at that crashed plane, lets take pictures with it!

Hi, I like to sit on rocks in the middle of rivers

Our CAH-YUTE uniforms.

sydney northern beachesssss

Boarding the very first plane ride of many in a month, with just one other girl, Alex, there were quite a few things running through our minds. The main one being: WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING?! However once we got over the initial shock of the fact that we were traveling halfway around the world, without our parents or any adults, and then staying with a family who we hardly know for a month, the nerves turned into excitement. Of course it really wasn't real that I was going to Australia until at 6am Sydney time we touched down at Sydney International Airport right at sunrise.  And this began the adventure of a lifetime.

All in all the trip was awesome, even though I was homesick for the first week (I got over it). I'll never forget it and there will be many more posts because I took 682 photos (I'm not going to show you all of them, don't worry!). 

Oh, also, I am super sorry for being such a slack blogger since I've been home. I literally have not done anything in the past week. Jetlag has been killing me haha literally, I cannot get out of bed. Like usually I have difficulties getting out of bed but I'm talking my mom woke me up at eight and I didn't get out of bed until 10:30..

xxx

TC