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

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!