Hello blog world, it’s been a while.

What a year 2016 has been. It’s been jam packed, crazy and super busy. But the best kind of busy because it’s been full of adventure, exploration and lots of traveling.

Every new place I see I feel my horizons expand. There are so many cities to discover, so many beaches to walk, so many adventures to be had. It makes me so excited for the field of study I continue to go in because I dream of doing what I love while traveling the world and writing about all of those experiences.

If 2016 has been given me anything, it’s reassurance and a solid certainty I am right where God wants me. Isn’t it funny how you can try and fight that, yet if He wants you somewhere, there you will stay?  Here’s to chasing Him while chasing dreams, because once you do, some pretty awesome things start to unfold.

So yes, 2016 has been a year of growth. I learned a lot about myself and those around me. As I get older, I feel like every year is teaching me something new and giving me lessons to discover. But that’s what I love about life. We’re always moving, always improving, always changing. Keeps things interesting and exciting, doesn’t it?

This last year has been lit for travel. Over the summer I road tripped with my friends to Chicago on a sort of last minute spontaneous trip, which was bomb. We stayed in the heart of the city and walked around like complete tourists. You can read more about that here.

I finally got to see New York City. My dream trip that I longed for happened and it was absolutely everything I wished it would be and more. We stayed in Times Square, fell in love with the city from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, enjoyed a glistening rainy day and so much more. Some recap here.

Our most recent trip was to Florida. We just got back last Tuesday and were gone for almost 10 days. It was the perfect getaway from the Minnesota cold and the best way to kick off winter break from college. We went to Disney World, stayed at our timeshare, drove to the Atlantic Ocean, stayed a couple days on the Gulf side, went deep sea fishing and more. It was so much fun. I miss it already. More on that trip soon.

To fuel my love for traveling, I spend most of my time in school earning a degree so I can get a job to pay for all my adventure expenses. I’m joking… well kind of ;). The dream goal is to get established where I can ultimately travel, see the world and document those experiences while writing and photographing it. We’ll see what happens and where God takes me. Until then, I have plans to graduate in 2018 with a degree in multimedia journalism. It’s a fun journey.

One of my favorite parts of school is working with our college newspaper, The Examiner. I’m the Feature Editor and I manage a team of writers who cover stories on topics that I come up with bi-weekly. I also do some writing, design the Feature layout and have taken photos for the paper in the past.

I joined our school’s Odyssey team last Spring and I just recently took over the role of Editor and Chief this past fall. I look forward to growing our team in the new year. If you are interested in the opportunity to create content for their platform, hit me up!

For our UNW team site click here.

For my site and writing click here.

I also stepped outside of my comfort zone a bit and tried something new: I joined our school’s TV news station. I did some anchoring, interviews, floor directing and more. I’ve grown a lot since day one and I look forward to improving even more.

I have three more semesters at college until graduation. I turn 20 in just a few weeks. Each year passes by quicker than the last. Makes me determined to enjoy my youth, live and love more fiercely every day, and travel and experience new things more. I look forward to studying abroad in the coming semesters and hopefully getting back to the East Coast.

I absolutely love my major and all the artsy classes I’ve been taking. One of my favorites was a photojournalism workshop I took during my sophomore year. I captured photos for the college newspaper, featuring different sporting events, performances and more from around campus. I also got to use some of the camera equipment to shoot photos with a press pass at KTIS’ Joyful Noise Music Festival this past summer, which was a huge 2016 highlight. I love concerts and photography, so mixing the two is always one of my favorite things to do. I’m super proud of the photos I captured, see some of them here.

In addition to Joyful Noise, I had another year full of concerts. 2015 was my record year for how many shows I hit, and 2016 was just as close. I got to see some of my favorite bands and artists again and some for the first time.

My 2016 concert highlight, like last year, was seeing 5 Seconds of Summer. Those Aussies put on one hell of a show that always leaves me in awe and in love with live music. I got to attend their soundcheck this year which was super intimate and chill. It was awesome. I featured them and their fans on my Odyssey platform a couple of times, check out my page for those articles. It explains a bit more about why I’m so crazy about that band.

During summer 2015 I spontaneously road tripped with my cousins to see 5SOS in Chicago right after seeing them in Minnesota and this past summer I did the same thing but for a different band. When my friends and I went to Chicago, we also went to hit Emblem3’s Waking Up Tour again. I got to meet the band after their shows and I still can’t get over it. I blogged about that too, click here for some photos and mushy fangirling.

I went to Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour which was an experience like none other. The last time I saw Bieber was from nosebleed seats years ago when I was 13, so it was a dream come true to finally be closer to him and sing my Bieber Fever heart out. A part of me will always love that boy.

My final summer concert adventure was spent in cowboy boots belting out the words to my favorite Luke Bryan country songs at the top of my lungs with my mom. It was the perfect way to end my summer.

I went to a lot more shows and had a lucky year in winning concert tickets too. I won tickets to a Fall Out Boy show and KDWB’s star-studded  Jingle Ball. Each show was a ton of fun.

Last, but not least, 2016 was my family’s first summer in our new lake home. We’ve made a lot of memories over the past year enjoying living in the country and having more land. The lake we live on is absolutely beautiful and every sunset feels like a dream come true. I look forward to more years and adventures here in such a serene and peaceful setting.

So, farewell 2016. That’s a wrap. Thank you for all the good moments and memories. Thanks to all my family and friends who made this year even better than the last. I know 2017 will be fun, and if it’s even half as good as 2016, it’s bound to be great.