officially official.

i received an acceptance e-mail by the holden village staff earlier this week to work in the kitchen for a month this summer. there are times when i honestly can't hold back a smile, just thinking about how many exciting things will happen in my life in the near future. as draining as this whole working nonsense has been this semester, i am thrilled to have the money to travel a little bit.

first stop:
queretaro, mexico
where i will get to spend the days with these amazing ladies.

second stop:
holden village, chelan, washington
where hopefully i'll be able to stand my ground as one of these.

third stop:
fort collins/denver, colorado
where i get to roadtrip with this really awesome girl to watch this guy tie the knot.

it's gon' be a partay! get ready for lots of pictures.

You know you're in Nebraska when...

you're in a the middle of a crowd of people, all who are dancing to raise money for Children's Hospital, and nearly everyone around you is doing a form of the electric slide that you've never seen before as they sing along to every word of some country tune you maybe recognize. You move off to the side because you feel uncomfortable. "I don't know how to do this. Plus, I'm tired. So I'll just sit this one out." WRONG. Somehow the side of the ballroom I was standing on turned into the middle of the routine and I was kicking my legs and clapping my hands like nobody's business. All in all, now that I can claim I know the dance for Cotton Eye Joe, I'd say dancing 12 hours through the night was probably worth it.

lo lo really did a go go.

one of my best friends moved away last week. since i've had to say goodbye to quite a few people who mean a heck of a lot to me in the recent past, it felt pretty routine. it has been pretty easy to stay connected with the people who mean most to me but there is always a part of me that worries about it. there is a certain bond between some friends that can't really be broken, no matter how distant you are. but then there's always the off chance that you'll lose touch. my relationships with some people have not only continued but have grown and become even more meaningful than before. but there are others that have completely died. ones that i expected to hold on tight to. but as i "grow up" and i live apart from them, i realize that i'm changing and they're changing and we're both just slightly different from what we were before. for the most part, yes, people stay the same but this time in my life is making me into the person i'll be forever. my thoughts, opinions, priorities, worries, and dreams have all shifted (some more than others) in the last year. i don't worry so much that lauren and i will completely lose touch but just that we won't have the opportunity to learn as much from each other because of the distance between us. i learn from each one of my friends but it's so much easier to grow when you are around them. but i suppose the google machine will have to tide me over until we meet again.