Nostalgia / #tbt / BALL OF EMOTIONS: Boone Part 1

- July 17, 2014

Lately, I've been inconsolable about leaving Boone. I've had such a wonderful experience here. For the past few weeks, my mind has been flashing back over my time here for the past year. It's been both making me smile and hurting my heart at the same time.

I always meant to write a post about my experience here last summer, in my very first apartment with my very first roommate (I lived at home when I went to HPU... so I could save $40,000).

Last summer, I got my first taste of really living on my own. I didn't want to at first - I didn't LOVE Boone yet, and I just wanted to be at home with my family and friends, in my comfort zone. I did not want to spend my summer in the mountains where it didn't feel like summer. I did NOT want to take summer classes again.

But I had an amazing roommate (Stephanie) who I grew close to. We had so many great Jesus and relationship talks, and that was just what I needed. I also needed to be away from HP to begin the process of ridding myself of things I was holding onto and learning to be happy away from home and not get homesick.

I ended up growing closer to God and I learned a lot about being on my own and having discipline.

I spent a lot of time to myself, reevaluating what was important to me, reading, relaxing, and just enjoying what would be my mountain home for the next year - beautiful Boone, NC.

I took everything in - every sunset, the noise of the frogs outside my bedroom window, the way the apartment smelled when the windows were open and the cool mountain air came in, the way campus looked in the summer, the view of the mountains from our living room window and how they looked beautiful and different at all times of the day, exploring and falling in love with the tiny resort town of Blowing Rock, having so much free time all to myself...having room to breathe.

When it came time to leave, I was pretty sad. Luckily, I still keep in touch with Stephanie (going to see her next month in Charleston!).

I'll never forget the sweet little apartment and four weeks that started my Boone living experience.

I thought it would be cool to share my Instagrams from last summer because they already have captions and I wouldn't have to write as much in this post hahah.

At this point I was bored and homesick :(

I was really upset about missing VBS at OakView (at home), so I walked to the church by our apartment building and asked if they needed help. They did! God gave me an awesome opportunity to help with kids I didn't know at a church I'd never been to that week instead of in my comfort zone. I'll always cherish that experience. Seeing those sweet babies getting saved was the most heart-melting thing. That's an understatement.