Adult Things

I feel like such an adult. Yesterday I got up at 6am to get ready for work and worked a full work day. Spent my day being all mature talking to people on the phone and meeting with one woman in person. All day the people I interacted with outside the office actually viewed me as a worker. It's so amazing to get a little taste of what it's like to be a working adult. Honestly, I'm really excited for the day that it's for real.

I've been so reassured in the career path I'm seeking. However, prior to starting my internship I thought I knew the population I wanted to work with, but now I am questioning it more and more. It may still be where I end up but I am willing to try just about anything right now.

Here I come job search!

My minor capstone project is forcing me into reflection mode again. I'm currently digging back through my college years and identifying 3 key events that shaped the leader I am today. I'm out of shape with writing reflections but it's good to get back in the groove. Jake would be proud.

"Let not thy living be thy trade but thy sport" -Henry David Thoreau 

Old News

Wow, I definitely had intentions of blogging much more in the past several months but as you can see, that didn't go too well. Though summer wasn't completely hectic, it was a whirlwind. An amazing whirlwind though. 

Tomorrow I am embarking on the fourth week of classes of my senior year. After procrastinating for the past year, I have actually been seriously researching grad programs and am going to get my applications as soon as possible. I'm just taking it one step at a time. I'm starting to get excited about what next year is going to hold but need to make sure that I continue to live in the present. 

Besides emotionally preparing to move into the next phase of life and whatnot I have also decided to take charge on my eating philosophy. I partially consider myself paleo now. If paleo is unfamiliar to you check this out.  I say partially because I am not 100% and feel guilty calling myself a true paleo. I have adopted it as my philosophy of the ideal way to eat but I'm not able to always perfectly execute this goal. I say this after I ate a delicious salad for lunch followed by a couple delicious cookies. I have made great improvements in my diet but I still adore sweet things and am not planning on giving that up anytime soon. 

I would like to take a paragraph to make a note-to-self: Mackenzie, you LOVE the outdoors! Think about how this weekend you went for a trail jog, hiking, and then the Mud Run for four consecutive days! Ohmygosh, wait... it didn't kill you? Who are we kidding! So what if you're a little sore. You still have energy and could probably do it all again tomorrow. 

Speaking of outdoors, here are some recent pictures:

View from the almost-summit of Dragon's Tooth. Catawba, VA

Andrew and the very top of Dragon's Tooth.

Dragon's Tooth... Before the rain came.

Hiking Angel Peak with Kelsey. Pearisburg, VA

Probably the creepiest thing ever.

Thanks for reading :)

Fish and Chips

My parents have come to visit me this weekend and we have the weekend quite filled up! Today when they got here we went out for lunch at a great local towney sandwich shop and then went to the new Irish Pub for dinner. I had been wanting to try fish and chips for quite some and and they were great! Since my parents have had authentic fish and chips in Ireland, they are able to compare to the real stuff and the southwest Virginia version was up to par. Also, I had been craving some good ol' MD Boardwalk Fries with Old Bay and vinegar and had given up on the fact that I'd be able to find them here. However, our chunky potato wedge "chips" had a bottle of vinegar just waiting to be sprinkled on them. There was no Old Bay but the vinegar was more than satisfactory for now. I am so glad that I am able to appreciate these simple pleasures.

After dinner, we walked around campus for a bit so that we didn't feel like complete fatties and then went to 180, InterVarsity's large group meeting. It was a great night for them to come and visit and they really enjoyed it. It was great for them to see some of the things that God is doing through this ministry and meet some of the people that I have come to love dearly.

I am looking forward to spending tomorrow and Sunday with them as well. We will be doing a service project with some other families tomorrow morning, the Spring Game in the afternoon, and the 1st annual SERVE family banquet in the evening. Tomorrow's a big day!

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;

my hope comes from him. 

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; 

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 

My salvation and my honor depend on God;

he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, you people; 

pour out your hearts to him, 

for God is our refuge. 

-Psalm 62:5-8

Nature

I love being at school. I love how productive I feel and all of the people I am around every single day. I love how I am so close to everything and can walk everywhere I need to go. I am truly grateful for the life I have here.

However, there are some things about being in college that are not my favorite. It is extremely difficult to find a place of complete solitude. A place where I am able to be alone and look around without seeing any man made structures. I miss that. I am also dissatisfied with not being able to live a natural life. There are many days where I am so busy that i am not able to take a few minutes to enjoy the beauties of nature or amazing weather. I am constantly seeking out many little ways to satisfy this, such as growing plants in my room, picking fresh flowers, and constantly admiring the many beauties that are outdoors. All of these things help, a lot, but they are not the same as living with constant opportunity to plant, water, grow, harvest, and eat things. I love being on the farm and working with animals, fruits, vegetables, and flowers. When I am in that environment I soak it up as much as possible to ensure that even when I am removed from it, I will be able to carry with me the joy that it gives me. 

Spring break this year was really nice because I was able to spend some time hiking. Honestly, of all the fun things I did over break I think that the day I spend the entire afternoon in the woods was a highlight. Opportunities like this bring me joy that I can carry through when I am cooped up in buildings all day.

Andrew and I packed a picnic lunch and found a really cool rock to eat it on. The rock was sticking out into the creek so the water was rushing all around. So fun!

Along the trail these trees had fallen over creating a perfect archway! It was so pretty.

One of the last (or the last) in the county. Makes me think that we are still somewhat connected to our old-fashioned ways.

Bold

Today started out just like any other day. I went to community event with my roommate to get a nice breakfast and was planning on spending the rest of the day preparing for exams. Shortly after I arrived back to my dorm room, I started hearing unwelcome sounds out my window and receiving text messages from Virginia Tech and my friends on campus. A day that I had planned out went horribly astray from what it should have been. One minute, it was just another day on campus, and the next minute it turned into a day that many Hokies will never forget. December 8th, 2011.

This concept of everything suddenly changing shouldn't be anything new to us. Sadly, it happens quite frequently. National tragedies, natural disasters, loved ones passing away, unexplainable deaths, and changes in plans. They are all unforeseeable events that have a tendency to change everything in our lives. The thing is that we can't usually see these things coming and they come at us like a punch in the face. 

Through the course of events yesterday, I felt a community pull together. There were no gaps, but instead we were a united community. It is powerful when you are receiving so many texts messages that your phone doesn't even have a chance to send another one. It is powerful when people who you seldom speak to sincerely ask if you are okay and tell you they care. It is powerful when you finally hear from those that you have been trying to check up on to make sure that they are okay. 

I realized how much I value the relationships I have with people in my life. I feel like it is impossible to return the amount of love i was given from everyone yesterday, but I want to try. I want to show people that I care about them too. I want to be there for them in their moment of weakness, sadness, strength, and joy. I want to be proactive is showing people that I care about them.

We shouldn't let things in our life cause us to live in fear. Instead, they should encourage us to be bold. We should be bold with our loved ones and tell them how much they mean to us. We should be bold with those who are strangers because you never know how bad of a day they might be having. Our world needs more people who aren't afraid to stand up for what they know is right, even if it comes at a price. I want to try to be one of those people and I invite you to join me.

I couldn't help but think of Beautiful Things by Gungor. Below are some of the lyrics:

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

The County With Only One Traffic Light

 

I went to the town of Floyd this past weekend for their Friday night Jamboree with my roommate and my good friend and had a wonderful experience! When we first arrived at the General Store, we walked up to the sales counter and each paid our $5.00 charge to enjoy the music. The woman who took our money was very kind and gave us each a sticker to know that we had paid. The three of us walked around the store looking at the inventory on the shelves and on the tables. There were a lot of practical items for cooking and other household uses. There were also huge barrels full of classic candy such as the delicious Goetze’s caramel candies.

After observing almost everything the general store was selling, we walked over to the seats for watching the band. At first, we did not see enough open seats for us so we stood along the side near a room full of work gear such as gloves and Carhartt products. We were invited to join in on the dancing but nervously declined. We stood there for a few songs and soaked in this environment that was different than any of us were used to. We were in awe of the upbeat enthusiasm of the event. I don’t think that any of us could stop from smiling the whole night. Once we decided that we loved the event and we definitely weren’t going to turn around and run out of the store, we decided to take a seat.

The back half of the store was packed tight with simple folding chairs but each of the chairs had a handmade cushion on it. Having the cushions on each of the chairs made it seem even more welcoming. It gave them impression that they were glad that each of us was there and they wanted us to feel welcome. The cushions made it seem as if someone was saying that they wish that it was their home that we were invited to but knew that there was no way that that would be feasible. We sank into our folding chairs and absorbed even more of the event as we sat in silence, talked, and laughed.

One thing that really caught my eye at this point of the night was one of the ladies on the dance floor. She was probably in her mid-twenties and was dancing with her whole heart. Her face was glowing and she looked like she was completely in her element, as if she had started dancing at the Jamboree every weekend as a young girl, just like some of the other young girls on the dance floor. It looked so natural for her and she was incredible confident about her situation, and honestly, I think I was a little bit jealous of her for having grown up in the amazing small town environment that I’ve always wanted. 

After watching this lady and everyone else on the dance floor having so much fun, we decided to give it a try. We walked into the crowd of people on the dance floor and joined in. None of us had really danced like that before, but after a little while, we got the hang of it and realized how fun it was! I honestly could not stop smiling; it was such a blast and it was way different from the dancing I had learned to use at homecomings, proms, and college dances. It was carefree and easy enough that anyone could do it but had plenty of room for expertise.

As we were dancing, an older gentleman named Leo danced his way over to us and asked if we would like to dance with him. Leo is a Floyd local who was missing a few teeth and was wearing a hat that was decorated with bird feathers. We accepted his offer and he took my hand above my head and spun me around in circles until I began to get dizzy. He did this for each of us, and then very kindly thanked us for dancing with him as he shook each of our hands.

While the three of us were dancing, many of the people around us would leave or come onto the dance floor in between songs. It came time when we had to go, and we headed off of the dance floor, grabbed our coats, and left the Floyd General Store. I was reluctant to leave because I felt as if I had found a new community to belong to, but I was able to leave having thoroughly enjoyed my evening there and wanting to return again soon.

       
    I really enjoyed being in Floyd for the evening and partially wish that it wasn’t so far away so that I could spend much more of my time there. I’m sure that I will be going back again in the future and getting to know the town a little bit better.  

*pictures are not my own and came from floydcountrystore.com

Breathing in Fall Air

This week has been absolutely beautiful in Blacksburg! The weather has been sunny with temperatures as high as 71 degrees and wind at about 2 MPH. I have been able to breathe lots of fresh, crisp air which is helping me recover from I cold I've had.

I mentioned the wind speed because this is the only complaint I have had about the weather in the past week. Gran and Gramps came down for a lovely visit last weekend and Dad sent with them one of our kites. I have been dying to fly it one afternoon on the drillfield, especially because its sunny and mild right now. Maybe one day soon God will give me some decent wind so that I can fly my kite.

On Thursday of this week I went outside with my camera and my friends Caitlin and Jen to exercise my photography abilities. Here are a few of the shots I took:

Caitlin

Jen's beautiful feet!

I know Converse pictures are very cliche

but that's because they look awesome!

Caitlin standing under the rafters of one

of the natural resources buildings.

Jen relaxing in the leaves.

Caitlin crawled under a filthy bike rack for this picture!

Jen and Caitlin were awesome models :) Thanks Ladies!

These five pictures are just a sampling of the many I took. There are more posted on Facebook under my "Virginia Tech-Freshman" album. Check them out. I also took some really cool pictures to add to my "Textures" collection that I have been working on.

Peace and Blessings (in my best Glozell voice),

Mackenzie

"Don't listen to them when they say

You're just a fool

Just a fool

To believe you can change the world

Oh the smallest thing can make all the difference

Love is alive"

Carrie Underwood - Change

Only 18 school days left of my first Hokie semester

I can't believe it, my first semester at Virginia Tech is almost over! People always say "Time flies when you're having fun" but I say that time flies no matter what. It has been an amazing journey finding my place. The journey is far from complete; in fact, I don't think that it ever will be.

Here are a couple things about my semester:

• I began volunteering with Southern VA Special Olympics for my SERVE individual project. Once a week I would go to the aquatic center and coach the swimming. It was a very rewarding experience, and I can't wait to help out with it in the spring semester. Our last day meeting together we had a swim meet against ourselves. It made all of the endurance and patience required during the practices 100% worth it. I loved watching the athletes who usually express neutral emotions, jump up and down because they were so excited watching their friends retrieve rings from the bottom of the pool.

• School has been challenging but manageable so far. I know that it's going to get harder in these last few weeks but I am going to try my best to stay focused and give it my all.

Thanksgiving break starts November 19th, and I am looking forward to having a little break before the chaos of finals begins. Overall, this semester has probably been the most challenging semester so far in my life. I have pushed through and learned from every tough experience I've gone through.

-Mackenzie Adams

"Some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"

-Shakespeare

College at last!

Well Folks,

I finally made it to Virginia Tech. I have already been here for more than a month. It feels like it has gone so fast but so much has happened since I've been here. I have made some amazing friends here and I am so thankful for them! There is always something going on around campus and there's always something I can get into.

Here are a few of us about to go downtown standing outside of the dorm.

I am loving most of my classes and surprisingly (yeah right) the classes I don't like as much involve math. Eg. Math and Finance. I have also officially made it through my first round of tests and they all went pretty well.

As far as a favorite class, I am not sure yet because I like them all very much. I am taking Child Development, Personal/Family Finance, Math, English Composition, and a Leadership class for my theme housing.

For those of you who do not know, I am in the SERVE theme housing here at VT. SERVE stands for Students Engaging and Responding through Volunteer Experiences. It is a lengthy title but it really sums up what were all about. It is Tech's newest theme housing program so there aren't very many of us but it is an amazing program. It has given me the opportunity to see areas of the New River Valley in my first month here that I may not have ever seen in all of my time here. Also, because there are only a few of us in the program, we all are very close and look after one another.

This is a small portion of the view from Wind Rock.

I have also been enjoying trying out different clubs and organizations on campus. I have yet to decide which ones are my favorites but when I find that out I'll be sure to let you know.

There was a pep rally last Friday for the ECU football game and I was about one yard away from Frank Beamer and the rest of the VT football team! It was a very exciting day.

This is the football team and Coach Frank Beamer!

Some of my friends and I with the Hokie Bird.

Me and the Hokie Bird!!!

I do have some sad news: my mailbox has been empty for over a week. Hint hint. So, if you would like to send me anything call/text/message me and I'll give you my address. :)

Ut Prosim!

-Mackenzie

College Applications

Welcome everybody to my very first blog post on my very first blog. I am excited to start this and think that this will be a convenient way to keep people updated on my life. In addition to sharing about my life I would also like to hear about yours so if you have a blog of your own please let me know the address so I can follow you.

Lately, I have been keeping pretty busy by spending much time on my classes and college decisions/applications. I started writing my first college essay today. I am going to write 3 of them for this particular application but each one can only be 250 words so it shouldn't take very long.

Bragging section: Last week I won a photography project in my Photography I class. The project was to photograph the letters in the word "design". The contest was class nominated and I was not expecting to win it at all. I was really excited about it! :)

Much much more is in the works for my life and as my plans solidify I will certainly keep you updated.

Thanks for reading.