The video my students made me from Spain. Prepare for tears. Love them so much!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1z-rx2UYuA

Finally home.

Well, I am finally home. I have been home now for nearly two weeks. Life has been so hectic I haven't been able to blog! The day I got home my sister came into town from Phoenix, Arizona so I spent most of my time with her.  Saturday I graduated college! Yes, I finally graduated! Sure it took me 6 years but I am so proud of myself! I paid for everything alone all 6 of those years. I had an interview last Tuesday at Potter Gray where I just finished my student-teaching! I don't know what will come next for me in life! I am not sure if I will continue traveling or if I will try to get a job in the Bowling Green or Warren County area. All I know is that my adventure abroad was the most AMAZING experience of my life! Also, in my interview the standards board wanted to know all about my trip! It truly makes you a better teaching candidate and it is the experience of a lifetime.


Go. Live. Dare to Dream. Succeed.

La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell.

Please watch my YouTube picture video. This video is a collection of photos and music from my travels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9uoH4vYCo

London! 🇬🇧

Wow, London was AMAZING! We were at Buckingham Palace when they announced the BIRTH of the ROYAL baby! We even saw the easel outside announcing her birth! Everything in London is lit up and illuminated in pink, even the London Bridge. Paparazzi fill the streets! How amazing; can you believe we just decided to travel to London on the day that royalty was born?! 

London was truly a MAGICAL experience! I will definitely visit London again. The food in London was PHENOMENAL! I am now obsessed with roast and fish and chips! Mmmm Mmmm! The food in Spain is good too, but the food here reminded me a bit of my favorite food at home! 

We stayed with a girl named Polly and her wonderful family. Polly is a free spirit like I am and she was able to show us ALL around London in 2 days! We literally saw everything there is to see! I am so happy we were able to stay with a local! Her family cooked us an amazing Sunday roast on our last day in London. IT WAS DELICIOUS! I think Polly and I will stay friends. I am so excited to have a friend now in London that will make going back to visit so easy! 

Also, I am a HARRY POTTER fanatic! I was able to see platform 9&3/4 YES that is right! I was able to live out one of my nerd dreams!!!! If you travel abroad, PLEASE go to London! I promise you, you'll LOVE it! :)   

Here is the house we stayed in! 

The London Eye 

Daily thoughts.

After this trip, sometimes I truly wonder if staying in Kentucky is meant for me... I do not want to leave in a week. This has been the greatest and most thrilling adventure of my life. I haven't felt alive until I came here.

Colosseum and Roman Forum

Last weekend I traveled to Rome, Italy. I have already posted once about the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican City in Rome. It was phenomenal. However, I have not yet blogged about my experience at the Colosseum and Roman Forum. 

The Colosseum: This name appeared for the first time in a famous prophecy of the medieval monk Venerable Beda: “Rome will exist as long as the Colosseum does; when the Colosseum falls so will Rome; when Rome falls so will the world." 


As I stepped foot off of the tour bus the first thing I saw was the Arch of Constantine. This triumphal arch is an amazing entry way to the Roman Forum. Inside the arch are reliefs of Trajan's victory over the Dacians. The archway was the first thing we saw of many awe inspiring monuments. 

My attention was then drawn to the Colosseum, in all its bright and historical glory.  The Colossuem is one of the most inspiring structures I have ever laid my eyes upon. I just remember closing my eyes after soaking in the astonishing splendor of it all. I imagined learning about the Colosseum when I was in grade school. I remember learning about the gladiators who lost their lives in the arena. I closed my eyes and imagined the trumpets sounding, the crowd rising to their feet in gleeful cheer and stomping their feet while the gladiators paraded around the arena like heroes. I imagined the Colosseum in all its grandeur, with white stone walls filled with spectators. It was a humbling experience, I was standing on ground once soiled by blood where history was made. It truly is a feeling I cannot describe, the magnificence of it all is more than I can put into words. This entire adventure has been moving. While walking around the Roman ruins I felt as though I was present in the bible times. Growing up reading about the Romans and the letters to the Romans I could distinctly imagine the forum bustling with people walking about the gardens and the city. 

The Bible records a number of ancient civilizations however, the most famous of these is ancient Rome. By the time the New Testament Rome was the major world power. Jesus was born and crucified during the reign of Roman emperors. The book of Acts even records specific events about Rome. True facts are somewhat shrouded in the mists of time; yet while I walked around the Roman ruins I felt the realness of it all. The impact of the Romans on the gospel is apparent right from the beginning of the gospels in the Bible. Walking around the ruins helped me to imagine the world in which Jesus lived. Once again, my eyes filled with tears and my body was covered with chills. Now, it has been said that Christians were killed and crucified in the Colosseum, I do not know what is true but just the thought of it chilled me to the bone and made the whole experience ETHEREAL. 

If history means anything to you, believe me...the Colosseum and Roman Forum is a place you NEED to travel. 

When I had my eyes open it felt as though I was walking through the skeleton of Ancient Rome as a ghost viewing the city through misty eyes. Yet, when I closed my eyes I could clearly see the colosseum and forum in all its glory, gory and majesty.