Wow, what a year!! 2022 was a year that I never could have planned for myself, but God knew. And that is why we don’t have the pen of our own life and I’m so thankful for that! This year started out with a lot of traveling, ended surrounded by my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ enjoying the Lord, and had many exciting adventures along the way. It was year full of growth in my spiritual walk, furthering my personal relationship with the Lord, and learning how to serve and how to take care of others. I love doing this blog post every year to look back on all that has happened & remember all the great times with great people! So here we go-2022 in review 🙂

Major Highlights of 2022:

-Traveling in Europe for 1 month with my cousin Megan

-Moving to California to attend a 2 year post-graduate Christian training program (FTTA-Biblical classes + service in the community!)

-Being a bridesmaid in Hannah’s wedding

-Going on a cruise with my mom, Faith, and Cristina

-Passing my NCLEX & officially getting my RN (registered nurse) license

-Celebrating my 24th birthday!

-Serving at the college conference retreat at Oak Glen

-Finishing my 1st year in FTTA

January 2022:

• Ringing in the new year at the Lopez’ house with friends and family
• Started off the year flying over to Europe to visit my cousin in Scotland and then travel together to 5 other countries in Europe! We traveled to Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, and Spain over the course of about 4 weeks. Back in 2019, I traveled solo around most of Western Europe for 2 months so it was really fun to get to experience traveling Europe this time with my cousin who is just 1 year older than me. Memories that will last a life time ❤
• First stop-Edinburgh, Scotland (highlight=touring the city & seeing the castle)
• Second stop-Budapest, Hungary (highlight=the outdoor baths which were basically a huge outdoor and indoor hot tub + saunas)
• Third stop-Vienna, Austria (highlight=ice skating & catching up with my friend Jorge who is working there)
• Not exactly a highlight, but a notable happening on our trip was getting sick with covid & having to quarantine in our airbnb in Vienna (such a crazy experience but glad I had Meg by my side)
• Fourth stop-Ljubljana, Slovenia (highlight=Lake Bled day trip!)
• Fifth stop-Zagreb, Croatia (highlight=hiking in the snowy mountains & ending up in a random town where they didn’t speak any English and eating the best meal on the trip of Croatian food at a locally owned restaurant)
• Sixth stop-Malaga, Spain (highlight=being back in Spain again & having my favorite spanish things like tinto de verano & paella + going to the Caminito del Rey)

February 2022:

• Seventh stop=Sevilla, Spain (highlight=Royal Alcazar + gardens, we enjoyed walking around in nature and seeing the peacocks!)
• Eighth & final stop=Madrid, Spain (highlight=being back home!!! So good to see a few friends and be back in my old stomping grounds)
• Spent some time back in Dallas & Austin before packing up to move to California
• Road trip with my dad out to Cali
• Started my 1st semester in my program

March 2022

• Getting into the swing of things in Cali + exploring & meeting new people
• Flying back to Dallas to be a bridesmaid in Hannah’s wedding
• Attending Kaylin’s wedding in Ohio

April 2022

• Lots of ordinary days exploring LA & enjoying life!! ❤
• Attending my first college conference in SoCal with the college students I serve with at USC
• Volunteering at Bibles for America with my team

May 2022

• Lots of cherishing visits from friends from Texas
• Hosting the memorial day conference which was the first conference we have hosted back live since covid started
• AP’s graduation from USC with my small group meeting

June 2022

• Team photos! (With our new USC gear, go trojans)
• Dinners with my termmates (the girls who started the program at the same time as me)
• The Last Bookstore & Griffith Observatory in LA

July 2022

• Finished up my first semester
• Angels’ baseball game
• Visited Disneyland (more specifically California Adventure) and got to see the new Avengers’ Campus
• Went on a cruise to the Bahamas with Faith and our moms (this trip had been postponed since covid so we were so happy to finally be able to go!)
• The cruise was the best, but unfortunately got covid again at the end of the trip
• Our friend Maddie visiting in Dallas for a few days

August 2022

• Rangers’ baseball game with the fam
• Got to catch up with a lot of friends in Dallas
• PASSED MY NCLEX!!! (my licensure exam to be a nurse); I didn’t pass my first time I took it so I had been studying throughout my first semester in California which had been difficult, but I got it done and I felt so much relief and gratefulness that it was finally over and I did it. Now whenever I choose to practice as a nurse, I will be able to 🙂
• Quick trip to San Diego before the semester started
• Welcomed 2 new housemates (1 of whom is now my roommate!)
• Term picnic & house breakfast with another house ❤

September 2022

• I turned 24!!! My housemates surprised me with a cake and one evening I got to go out to dinner with my friends. Thankful for another year!
• Dad was visiting for a work conference so I got to spend the afternoon with him one day
• Cali adventures (hiking, shopping, coffee shops, all the things)

October 2022

• More visits from Austin friends and some meals together
• Visited the California Science Center in LA and saw the spaceship Endeavor
• High tea with the college students one afternoon
• Pumpkin patch and Sidecar Doughnuts with Moriah

November 2022

• College conference at Oak Glen
• Finally got a house photo with my lovely housemates
• Spent Thanksgiving with my friend Libby’s family

December 2022

• Final weeks of my 2nd semester!
• Attending graduation for my friends
• Lots of visitors for the end of year training

Wow, what a year! I’m so thankful for all the new people that became a part of my life this year and all the memories that were made. Can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store. Praise the Lord! ❤

XOXO

Texan on the Go