My Favorite Memories of 2018

2018, you were so good to me!

It's been a little while since my last post: I had a few crazy weeks at school with finals and then I've been enjoying my time at home for winter break. However, with today being New Year's Eve, I figured it would be the perfect time to get back to blogging and reflect on this last year.

The year went by in the blink of an eye, they always seem to! I can confidently say I learned and grew a ton this year and experienced love, adventure, amazing friendship, stress, joy, lots of laughter, frustration, creativity, and so much more. As I look back, a few specific memories stand out and bring a smile to my face. Today, I wanted to share them with you!

MEREDITH APPRENTICESHIP

When I toured Iowa State in the spring of my junior year of high school, I had the opportunity to meet with students, advisors and professors from the journalism school. In this meeting I learned that journalism majors are required to complete a 400 hour internship. I also heard from a student who was completing her internship as an apprentice with Meredith Corporation in Des Moines (only 30-40 minutes away). Needless to say, this captured my attention and was a large part of what sold me on attending Iowa State.

This all came full circle this year when I officially applied for the Meredith Apprenticeship program in March. I had attended the info session my freshman year but you have to be a sophomore to apply. So, once I was eligible, I wasted no time and submitted my application. I will never forget the moment that I found out I was named a Meredith Apprentice with Better Homes & Gardens magazine for the 2018-2019 school year. I had just sat down and slipped off my shoes in a movie theater with one of my wonderful friends when I checked my email and jumped out of my seat. I immediately ran into the hallway (without shoes on) to finish reading the email and call my parents to celebrate!

My time as a Meredith Apprentice is only half over and it has been nothing short of amazing. I am fulfilling my dream of working for a magazine and it has further motivated me to pursue a career in this field. I look forward to every day I spend at Meredith Corporation and I am eager to work on more projects. For now, I'm patiently waiting for the February issue to be released because my first piece of my own is included!

TRIP TO THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS

One of my favorite experiences from this year is one that was extremely spontaneous. This past year, friendships have been so sweet. I am so grateful for the relationships I've developed and the experiences that have come along with them. At the end of spring semester, one of my friends Sarah (center in the second photo) called me out of the blue. She asked if I would want to join her and a group of friends on a camping trip in the Smoky Mountains only three days later. Thankfully, the details worked out and after moving all my things home from school I drove back to Ames to meet up with everyone and start our adventure.

We spent the week hiking, bonding around the campfire, singing loudly in the car and in general, admiring the beauty of God's creation together. This week started my summer off on the right note and brought me some of my closest friends. I would go on another spontaneous trip with this group in a heartbeat!

TRIP TO MAGNOLIA

Also in May and after years of watching Fixer Upper, my sister and I fulfilled our dream of traveling to Waco, Texas to visit Magnolia. I absolutely loved road tripping with my sister/best friend. We spent the entire drive jamming out to music, chatting and reading. Once we arrived in Waco, we immediately drove to the Magnolia property and started crossing off items on our itinerary. We took tons of photos, purchased matching Magnolia shirts, ate breakfast at Magnolia Table, visited various Waco sites and even worked in a trip to a movie theater to see Avengers: Infinity War! Traveling just the two of us was so much fun and I'm already counting down to our next sister trip.

Read more about our trip HERE and HERE.

FAMILY TRIP TO CANADA

In June my family took a trip to Vancouver and Banff. It was a blast to be back traveling together and all of the sites we saw were breathtakingly beautiful. These four will forever be some of my favorite travel buddies and I can't wait to see where life takes us next! If you're interested in more of the details of this trip, head to my Instagram and view my Travel highlight.

FRIENDS VISIT MADISON

One of my favorite parts of the last few school breaks and summers has been getting to show my closest friends around my hometown. This summer was no different. In June Sami and Grant visited and I got to play tour guide for their first real visit to Madison. We went to the farmers' market, went up in the capitol, walked State Street, ate Ian's Pizza and Babcock ice-cream, just to name a few.

Not too long after Sami and Grant traveled to Madison, another one of my close friends came. Allison had visited me in Madison the summer prior but this year she visited around the 4th of July. We had fun eating delicious food, hiking around Devil's Lake and seeing fireworks. I look forward to continuing to introduce my friends to the city I love.

RECRUITMENT WITH ALPHA DELTA PI

In early August I returned to school early to participate in Spirit Week and Recruitment with my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. This year's recruitment was tons of fun because I got to bond with my little (second photo) as she recruited for the first time, participate in fun social events with my sisters and I got to play a larger role in recruiting amazing women for our sorority. While my sorority experience hasn't been without some struggle, I am so grateful for the confidence it has instilled in me and all of the impressive and the incredible women it has introduced me to.

TWO OF MY BEST FRIENDS GOT ENGAGED

September came with one of my favorite memories of the year and one of the things I'm most looking forward to in 2019! On September 14, 2018, two of my best friends, Sami and Grant got engaged at Grant's family farm. Along with my friend Bri, I got to help set up before all of our friends came to celebrate their engagement with a bonfire. A lively and wholesome party with tons of my favorite people from Iowa State made for a truly memorable night.

In 2019 I get to stand by Sami as her Maid of Honor and I CANNOT WAIT! I am so beyond excited to watch one of my best friends marry a truly amazing guy. Stay tuned for tons of pictures and stories from this big day!

IOWA STATE FOOTBALL

Overall, Cyclone football season was a blast this year! One specific moment I loved was my parents visiting me in Ames and getting to go to their first ever Iowa State football game. Ever since my freshman year I had been telling them how different and unbelievable the environment of Iowa State football games is so being able to experience it with them for a big game like ISU vs. Oklahoma was awesome. I think I may have even succeeded in making them huge Cyclone fans!

SALT COMPANY FALL RETREAT

The Salt Company Fall Retreat has always been one of my favorite Salt events of the year, and being able to experience everything with my amazing connection group for this year made it extra special! One of my favorite memories from the retreat was how our group spent free time. We decided to spend our time having a photoshoot throughout the woods and all over the camp. The nature around camp was absolutely beautiful, but I absolutely loved getting to see everyone's confidence and relationships grow as we took tons of photos.

I could detail so many more of my favorite moments from 2018, but this post is getting pretty long! Thank you for sticking around and taking time out of your day to read this post. I love bringing content to you and I am set on writing and posting content more consistently in 2019 (I've even got an extensive blogging calendar set up) so stay tuned! I'll end similarly to how I started: 2018, you were so good to me, but 2019, I'm ready and excited for you!

#LIFESTYLE