There are only 2 more finals standing between me and my first semester of college being over.  Man has it been a crazy few months.  I can’t believe it’s already December and in just a few days I’ll no longer be a first semester freshman.  Time flies.  As I am sitting here in the Student Activity Center trying to study for my last two final exams, I can’t help but think about everything that has happened this semester.  So in this short post, I want to reflect back on my semester and share with y’all what some of the highlights have been for me.

If I think about this semester and the biggest thing that has changed with me this semester, I would have to say it has been my relationship with the Lord.  I am involved in a Christian club here called Christian Students on Campus and I have thoroughly enjoyed having so many opportunities throughout the week to be around other Christians.  This semester I attended a Bible Study on Tuesdays, ministry series on Thursdays, and home groups on Fridays.  I really enjoyed being able to learn from the older staff members in the club.  They are a real pattern to me and I am so thankful I have been able to be a part of this club.  Being a part of all this fellowship throughout the week has also helped me tremendously personally with my relationship with the Lord.  After years of trying to have a daily time with God, I finally got into a regular habit of it this semester.  It has been so sweet to read the Bible every day and keep a prayer journal.  I have learned to trust the Lord with everything this semester.  I learned that He really does care about every little thing in our life and He wants to have a personal relationship with each one of us.  I believe the Lord placed me here in Austin for a reason and I am so thankful to be here.

This semester, I have also enjoyed getting back into the habit of running.  Freshman year of high school, I was on the school crosscountry team and I became a much better runner, but throughout the rest of high school I didn’t run consistently.  Of course, I ran during soccer practice, but not much for myself.  Since coming to UT, I have joined the Texas Running Club.  Running Club has been such an amazing group to be a part of this semester.  It is a super chill club and nothing is mandatory.  The group meets to run every night and you can show up if you feel like it or not show up if you don’t feel like it.  You can choose to run either 3, 5 or 7 miles and there are four different routes we usually run.  The first few weeks, I felt kind of self consciousness because I was pretty slow.  But the amazing thing was that no one cared how slow I was.  Everyone was so supportive of each other no matter how slow or fast you were.  As the weeks went by, all the sudden I noticed myself running faster and not being as exhausted on long runs.  My times were as fast as they were freshman year of high school and I was so happy.  I finally felt like a real runner again.  I am hoping to do my first half-marathon soon and check that off my bucket list.

Academically, this semester wasn’t too bad.  Everyone had scared me into thinking college would be impossible so I had some pretty high expectations of how difficult it would be, but luckily I feel like my amazing teachers at Trinity and taking AP classes really prepared me for college classes.  This semester I took general chemistry, spanish 1, elements of music, and statistics.  Chemistry was very challenging to say the least, but yesterday I took my final for chemistry and I have never been so happy in my life to be done with a class.  Chemistry is just not my thing.  Kuddos to everyone who loves chemistry because that is definitely not me.  My favorite class this semester was spanish.  If you knew me in high school, that is probably shocking because as most people know I absolutely hated spanish class in high school.  But somewhere between stopping spanish after sophomore year of high school and registering for college classes, the desire to learn spanish came to me.  I decided to start over with spanish 1 and I can honestly say I have learned SO much this semester and I feel much more confident in my spanish abilities.  I am excited to continue learning the language and hopefully one day to be fluent.  The first few weeks of college were challenging learning how to study and getting into the routine of things, but once everything clicked into place, it was just living week by week to get to where I am now.  And I am almost there!!!  Next semester, I am taking classes a little bit more related to my major and I am really looking forward to that.

One of the reasons I came to Austin was because of family.  My aunt, uncle, and two younger cousins live here.  Although, I don’t get to see them all the time, I have still gotten to hang out with them a good number of times and I am really thankful to them for inviting me places and being my home away from home.  Shoutout to y’all ❤

Living in Austin has been a pretty fun experience.  I really love living in the city (most of the time).  Of course, traffic in the city is awful, but it’s worth it to live here.  I have loved exploring Austin.  There are always new places to go to and there is never a dull moment.  My bucket list of “things to do in Austin” continues to get longer and longer every day.  Thank you and shoutout to all my friends, especially upperclassman, who have taken me under your wing and showed me around Austin.  I appreciate you and look up to you more than you know.

Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision to attend UT, but at the end of the day life is going pretty good and I can’t complain.  I love Austin and this university is pretty incredible and I am continually amazed at all the resources and opportunities students have here.

Anyways, so that was my semester in a nutshell.  I still can’t believe it’s already over, but as I look back on the past few months, I wouldn’t change anything.  I am so, so ready for this winter break to have some time off and spend time with my family.  Although I never really got homesick, I still do miss my fam a lot.  (Shoutout mom and dad-see y’all soon!)  I am excited to see what next semester has in store for me.  I have a feeling that it’s going to be so much more that I can even imagine.

XOXO,

Texan On The Go

Zac Brown Band ConcertMy friend and future roomie Corinne got baptized at freshman connect!My team at freshman connect!Meeting one of my favorite authors at Texas Teen Book Festival!Hook em horns!Had the best weekend at Austin City Limits Music Festival.Silent Disco at ACL!My cabin at the college conference.Intramural volleyball team with friends.Thursday nights at Dori’s house after the ministry series.At pancake night to help raise money for Texas THON.At the UT volleyball game.Celebrating my friend Lauren’s birthday.My amazing home group when we had Thanksgiving meal together!Got to play IM soccer with my friend from my club team in high school!Intramural soccer champions!! Love this team.My spanish pals.Kayaking in December! Only in Austin.My amazing FIG (first year interest group) and FIG mentor!!Seeing the lights show at Mozart’s coffee shop.Texas Running Club Banquet!Star Wars Premier!! #maytheforcebewithyouWent to see Coco for my Aunt’s birthday!