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

Senior Week

Hey yall!

As you may know, this past week was something commonly know as Senior Week. It's a time when graduated high school seniors head to the beach to wash away their stress.

I went to Rehoboth Beach with 15 of my friends and we had a blast. Senior Week is typically full of partying and rowdy behavior and I will admit that there were people who were wary about me going. However, I am proud to say that we had an amazing time while staying safe and honoring God. One of the highlights of the week was sitting on the beach late at night singing worship songs with the accompaniment of a guitar. A typical day on the beach included playing volleyball and other games. It was great being able to relax with my friends and simply enjoy each other's company.

Summer has officially begun for me and I am excited to see what I have ahead of me. I plan to keep you posted on the interesting and amusing events of my life.

Hasta Luego!

Adulthood At Last

This past Friday was my 18th birthday! I never thought the day would come as soon as it did but isn't that how everything in life is?

In the beginning of the day Mom and I decorated cupcakes. We baked all the cake part Thursday night so that on Friday we could concentrate on icing/decorating all of them.

This one is a cherry poke cupcake with vanilla icing.

Strawberry cake with vanilla icing

Lemon cake with vanilla icing. The butterfly wings are ginger snaps and the head is a Spree

Strawberry cake with Vanilla icing. Flower petals are sliced marshmallows and the center is a candy corn

Last but most certainly not least my personal favorite, chocolate cake with a double stuff Oreo baked inside :) Even though I'm not much of a chocolate person this one was delicious!

Once we finished decorating the cupcakes, we were off to linner (a combination of lunch and dinner) at Don Pablo's! It was Mom, Dad, Nana, Pop, Gran, Gramps, and myself. Pretty much the only reason I wanted to go there was because they have spectacular corn cakes! All of the food was delicious though.

At 7pm my girlfriends began to trickle in for a night of fun and memories. Mom had made a delicious array of appetizers and desserts. We chitchatted and played several games, including Cranium and Forks (Same game as spoons but as you might guess, played with forks instead).

One of the best parts of the party was when we got out a plain white pillow case for each of us and several handfuls of Sharpies. We all sat in the basement and decorated each others pillowcases with words of encouragement, doodles, and inside jokes. It was a great thing to do at this stage of life because we will all be traveling in different directions soon. It will be nice to be reminded that our high school friends are thinking of us and praying for us no matter where we are.

Finally, we settled into our make-shift beds and watched a movie.

The story's not over yet!!! Saturday night we had a family party and almost all of the in-town family was here! It was lots of fun and I'm really glad everyone was able to come.

This year I really did feel older. Turning 18 is different than any other birthday. The day you turn 18 you become an adult. With this comes freedom but you are also legally responsible for your actions. It is also time to start paying close attention to what is going on with global politics so that you can be an educated voter. Its also time to start thinking about what design and what tattoo shop your going to go to.

All in all I had an amazing birthday and wouldn't have changed a thing.