7QTs on 38+ Goodbyes in 7 Days

Woof. It has been a whirlwind of a two weeks. I have packed up my entire life, driven it to Kansas, and found place to live in Illinois. More importantly, I have listened to Serial in it's entirety and am obsessed. I cannot wait for season two, or to start listening to This American Life on my new public transportation commute.

But I digress. Since I waited to tell anyone I was moving until I told the Events Team after SEEK, my last week in Colorado was packed back to back saying goodbye to my favorite people and my favorite places. So today I give you 7QTs on 38+ goodbyes in 7 days!

--one--

The day after I got home from SEEK, my housemates and I had our last dinner. It was awesome to sit around the living room with Carolyn, Mary, Jenna, & Matika talking about life and eating Swing Thai - Colorado Bucket List Item!

--two--

Last Thursday, I met up with my favorite Camp Tecumsehites who live in Denver. It has been a huge blessing to have Holly, Arielle, and Molly living in Denver while I was here. We ate at Trattoria Stella's and talked about our lives and our hopes for the futures while drinking delicious wine. Eating here was a Colorado Bucket List Item!

--three--

On Friday, we had an Events Team Send Off. JP is getting married and moving to LA, and I'm moving to Chicago. I love these people fiercely and already miss them so much. When I joined the Events Team, I didn't realize how great of friends these people would become. As I continue to grow in my life, I hope to become more like them in their professionalism and their faith. 

--four--

Saturday was a road trip through Colorado. In the morning I met Shelby in Boulder for brunch. After some great catching up, I made a quick stop at Celestial Seasonings, then drove north to Fort Collins to meet baby Pierce and say goodbye to the Sebastian's. Miles and I are finally best friends, right in time for me to move. Dana was my missionary at Drake and it has been such a blessing having her and Derek so close. They are a beautiful example of a fun and holy family could look like!

--five--

On Sunday I got to hit a few of my favorite Denver spots. It started with Mass at the Cathedral, followed by brunch at Fork and Spoon with Sophie and Lindsay.

Then I got to do some writing at The Book Bar. I ended the night at St. Jude's

The girls in my discipleship group are so sweet - I'm going to miss them so much! It's crazy to see how much they've grown and matured in the last 1.5 years. We read through Luke ch. 4 and Jesus talks about now it is time for him to go to a new place to preach. It was the perfect passage to end my time with these girls on.

After youth group, the leaders went and got a drink. I have a special bond with these people. It has been awesome to work for the same mission alongside them and have some good, old fashioned fun with them. Pray for Megan, Ramon, Alexei, Terri, & the Candler's as they continue to show the teens at St. Jude's Jesus' love.

--six--

Bible Study is on Monday's, so we had a big party this week. These women have shaped my past semester in such a profound way. I seriously don't know how I would have survived without them. It is incredible what God does when a group of people get together with the intention of growing closer to Him. They are going to keep Bible Study going and that just makes my heart so happy!

--seven--

On Tuesday, I got dinner with the newly married Stephens and got to catch up with them. It had been awhile since I'd seen them, so it was cool to see how married life was treating them!

Wednesday was my last day in the office. It was filled with Beau Thai and many bittersweet goodbyes. 

Finally, Mom and Tommy arrived Wednesday night. We rounded out the goodbyes to my friends by grabbing dinner at Beau Jo's Pizza with Steph and Joanna.

The next day we crossed off "appreciate the mountains" and "pray at the Mother Cabrini Shrine" off my bucket list. 

In the end, the only two things I didn't get to do on my Colorado Bucket List were skiing and visiting the 16th Street Mall. I'd say it was a pretty successful week of goodbye's!

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Moving On & Identity

SEEK2015 is over. I'm sitting at my kitchen table, drinking coffee, with Penny & Sparrow playing in the background thinking about how strange that is. Every waking second for the past four months have been consumed by this conference. This past year has been spent pouring over preparations to make this conference for 10,000 a reality. And now it's all over.

Sure, there are bills to pay, wrap up meetings to have, and summary reports to write. But for the the vast majority of the world, it's over. On to the next thing, right? Now it's time to pour into NST and into SLS and wrap my mind around the next big event FOCUS will be hosting.

That's what I thought the plan was.

Instead, I will be packing up all of my things and moving away from Denver and away from FOCUS to a fresh start in a few days. I'm terribly overwhelmed, excited, and sad. These people I've had the incredible honor of working with these past 1.5 years have shaped me so much. I look up to them in their faith and in their professionalism, and I hope to be like them one day.

Though it is hard and though I am sad, I am at peace. Jesus' hand is upon my shoulder, mourning FOCUS with me, but turning my head towards the Chicago skyline as we take this next step in the journey together.

What is scariest for me is what the answer to that daunting question of "who are you?" will be now that FOCUS Events is in my past. I remember a moment at the very beginning of the second semester of my senior year of college when I first confronted this question. I was stumped. For the past 3 years when someone asked me who I was, I was able to list a paragraph of positions and titles that made me important on campus: Panhellenic President, VP Greek Programming, Director of Special Events, etc. When I was a second semester senior, I no longer held those positions, and I didn't know how to define myself anymore. I was asked the question, "who are you," and I didn't know how to respond.

Now here I am, three years later, when my defining role is gone again and I am left with just me and Jesus. I don't know how I will respond when the question is asked. I thought it would terrify me. Instead, the future is exciting.

On the plane to Nashville, Holly & I sat by Sr. Amata of the Servidora's.  Out of no where she started talking about how when we work in the Church, we have a higher risk of attaching our consolation and identity to our work instead of simply attaching it to Jesus. She said that when people leave their work in the Church, they are uncomfortable for a bit as they stretch and learn how to just be with Jesus, but God usually calls them out so they can learn in a deeper way that their identity lies solely in Christ.

That's what I want for myself. Identity has always been my core issue, as it is for so many. For years after my conversion, I pretended that I no longer struggled with attaching my identity to what I do and the titles I wore. But as I walk away from FOCUS, I know it is still my biggest struggle. So as Jesus and I drive the 1,111 miles to Chicago, I pray that He can begin to chip away at who I think I am and replace that idea with who He wants me to be.

So pray for me as I move to the city, and pray for me as I wrap up this chapter of life in Denver. Though I do not know what the future holds, I know it is bright, because I will face it with Jesus.

The Farewell Colorado Bucket List

The Task: Visit all my favorite Denver/Colorado spots before I move.

The Challenge: I move on Friday and most of my time will be spent wrapping things up at the office and packing up.

Also, I care more about saying goodbye to people than I do saying goodbye to these places. So I'm sure most, if not all, of these places will not be visited. But I'm up for the challenge!

Farewell Colorado Bucket List

Eat at Trattoria Stella. Best. Restaurant. Ever. It's in an adorable old house and it has the best food ever. If you haven't been here, you need to go now!

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Completed 1/8 with my Camp Tecumseh friends.

Appreciate the Mountains. I'd hypothetically like to do something in the mountains, but I don't really know what I want to do in the mountains...so, I just want to appreciate the mountains before I can no longer see them out my window and on my drive to work every day.

As excited as I am for the the train, it won't look as good as this.

Buy Colorado things on 16th Street Mall. The cheesier, the better.

What even is this thing?
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Go to Celestial Seasonings. Definitely got to stock up on the tea's that they don't sell in stores: AKA the extra caffeinated black team. #caffinefordays

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Completed 1/10.

Pray at the Mother Cabrini Shrine. I've actually only been here once, right after I graduated college. But overlooking the mountains and the city with the Sacred Heart of Jesus seems like a good way to end my time here.

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Drink Coffee, Buy a Book, and Write a little at The Book Bar. I'm obsessed with this little place; it's a coffee shop, bar, restaurant, and bookstore all mixed into one.

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Completed 1/12.

Eat with my team at Beau Thai. Delicious Thai food, but more importantly, this place is filled with memories of my team bonding. I'm hoping we'll grab lunch here on Wednesday...actually I'm going to set us a meeting for this now.

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Get take out from Swing Thai. Mary & I recently discovered this thai place around the corner from us and it is so good!

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Completed 1/7 with my roommates.

Eat Beau Jo's Pizza. I mean, just look at that pizza.

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Go to Mass and pray at Basilica Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

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Completed 1/12 with Lindsay and Sophia.

Bonus Item: Go Skiing. This probably will not happen. But, I've never been, and I'd love to go before I move.

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Well, there it is! What else would you visit before you moved away from Denver?

7QTs on Anything Other than SEEK2015

--one--

I titled my first #7QTs post after SLS14 like this, and I like it, so I'm doing it again. Like last year, I get one quick take on SEEK. It's over and that's crazy. I don't know how to handle it. The team got back late Tuesday night, and I've taken the past two days off. It's actually be great relaxing and gearing back up to launch into real life.

--two--

JP is moving to LA to get married this weekend, so we're having a big team dinner and party tonight to say goodbye. I've had the privilege of working with JP very closely on AV, sponsorships, and production these past few months. He's a great guy and I'm going to miss staying at the office really late at night watching movies in the background with him.

--three--

So, I have some news. I have a new job and I'm moving to Chicago a week from today! I don't think I've had much time to process this information until yesterday. I do not have a place to live, but I'm headed there very soon!

--four--

Verily Magazine has a great article about how to move to a new city, so I have officially made a "goodbye Colorado" bucket list. I've gotten calendar time with almost everyone I want to see, so now I just need to add calendar time to visit those few last place I want to say goodbye to. Also, I really, really want to go skiing before I move. I've lived here for a year and a half and I still haven't been skiing or snow boarding. I think I need to take care of that before going to the mountains become a long trip.

--five--

I arrived home on Tuesday night to many Christmas Cards, so that was pretty fun! Thanks to everyone who sent me a card.

--six--

Have you guys started playing Trivia Crack? My sister and brother got me hooked while I was home for Christmas. I can't stop playing.

--seven--

My teammate from Nebraska, Steph, is getting married in four months! I'm super pumped. However, I have to order my dress soon (like today), and I can't decide between these two...any thoughts on which one!? The left is the Poplin Dress and the right is the Marilyn Dress!

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7QTs on Carol ditching us for Illinois

--- 1 ---

Today is officially the worst day ever. Carol packed up her car and headed back to Illinois to move home. It's not like she is really ditching us. She will still be working for FOCUS, just in a remote fashion. And I mean, moving home to prepare for your wedding and live close to your finance is a legitimate reason to move home. Still, I will miss this girl like crazy.

Carol was my first Events Team friend and my first Colorado friend. She is hilarious, extremely talented at Event Planning, and she is an incredible listener. I am so incredibly grateful to have walked with her these past seven months. She challenged me to grow in my relationships with Christ and others, and helped me develop my skills as an event planner. Only 24 days until I see her again for a whole week!

--- 2 ---

Since it was #CarolsLastWeek, we obviously had to celebrate. And man, does our team know how to celebrate. We started by leaving work a little early on Monday for a COLORADO ADVENTURE. We started with a hike up Elk Meadows, and ended with Mountain Pizza at Beau Joes and Colorado draft beers. We're really fun.

#TeamSelfie

Christina loves hikes.

--- 3 ---

Thursday was the worst, because it was her actual last day. Christina and I decked out the office.

I brought in the team favorite Reese's Bar's & Christina brought in carrots (because Carol's a weirdo and loves them) and the most amazing veggie dip I've ever eaten. After work, we toasted Carol with some wine and the team said their goodbyes.

--- 4 ---

Carol and I went with some friends to The Yard House for a last hoorah. Oh my gosh, they have approximately 1 million beers on tap and they are all amazing. So is the food. This was the best decision ever. After, I went back to Carol's apartment and watch Jimmy Fallon Hashtag videos with Hannah while Carol finished packing. As I said goodbye waaaaaay too late in the evening, Carol told me to pretend this was a normal goodbye and that I wasn't allowed to go cry in my car after I left.

--- 5 ---

This is how we're dealing with Carol being gone:

CAROL ON A STICK.

Also, we're going to drink wine after work to drown our sorrows.

--- 6 ---

In other news, my family has a March Madness bracket and I'm winning? What? I don't get it. I made my picks on the phone with my mom while shopping for earrings and I haven't watched one game...

--- 7 ---

The upside to this week: RYAN WAS IN TOWN! Kyle (Ryan) was a missionary at Drake my senior year and we've been friends ever since. He is now changing the world by growing closer to God at seminary, and will probably be a priest. Pretty much, the future of our Church is in his hands. Which is kind of a scary thing (just kidding, Ryan is really great).

I saw him for dinner Friday night, at Miles' first birthday party on Saturday afternoon, and then all day Tuesday when I spent the day in Fort Collins. Tuesday was so much fun catching up with Dana, Derek, Ryan, & Miles. We reminisced about FOCUS, Drake, and The Office. We laughed a lot, drank a lot of beers, and just had a grand old time together.

In the light of Carol leaving, I am so grateful for all the friends God has blessed me with over the course of my life. To all of you near, and far, thank you for the blessing you have been to me!

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My 23rd Year

I rang in my 23rd birthday in a van full of pretty amazing girls. We were on a nun run, and I spent the night in Nashville with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. I joked and told them I had now spent two birthdays in the convent, to which they replied, "any many mooorrreeee!" Hilarious. 

Some of the best live tweeters I've ever met. And some nuns.

On Monday night, my friend Elizabeth asked for my high, low, & God moment of the year. She asks such good questions, and I hadn't really thought about it until that moment. 

Low: Summer Training. NST is a magical place where hundreds of Catholics gather together in the middle of nowhere to grow closer to God and to be trained in evangelization. Training for me was, well, awkward. I felt kind of out of place - I was no longer a campus missionary, but I wasn't quite yet on the events team. And then there's the business of it being summer time and missing camp. But I think the biggest reason that training is so hard is because we missionaries put ourselves in a place of vulnerability where we are trying our hardest to conquer ourselves and grow ever closer to God. So this past summer, I got very attacked with loneliness and a confusion of where my place truly was. The beautiful thing about struggling in a place such as NST is you are surrounded by people who are passionate about others. My fellow missionaries, the priests, and religious that were there made all the difference in my place of struggle. And the thing about our low moments and struggles is that they propel us forward. If everything is perfect and easy all the time, we will never grow. Shout out to Caitlin & Katie for walking with me during this time, to the Marco Island crew for providing much needed community and carefree timelessness & to Carol for being so welcoming & the beginning of our events team friendship.

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee belong, we belong togeeeetherrrr.

High: Closing Campfire the week I subbed at Tecumseh. Of course my high would be from camp. I wrote about this when reflecting on 2013, but this moment was so profound for so many reasons. I last minute decided it would be so fun to have a picture with my campers who are now on CT Staff, so I asked Rachel to spread the word that we should meet behind the benches after cheers. I was not prepared for being stampeded by those 10 girls, being picked up, and all the squeals and hugs of reunions. 

such a happy heart.

It was in that moment of nostalgia, cherished memories of their time as kiddos in my cabin, that I remembered why I loved working at camp. Yes, we have fun, Yes we get to be crazy. Yes, I have made lifelong friends there. But this moment reminded me what camp is all about: loving those kids. 

God Moment: I had two I just could not choose from. First: being prayed over by my Nebraska teammates. I really struggled to understand why God sent me to UNL and how I was making an impact for the kingdom. As the year drew to a close I had no idea if I would go to the DSC or stay on campus. So my team prayed over me for a solid 20 minutes, and then we hurried off to Mass. 

look at these beautiful, holy people. 

Over the summer, I was telling a friend the story and I realized that ever since that moment of being prayed over, I had been blessed with a divine perspective of my time as a missionary at UNL. God had graced me with the ability to see some of the work He was using me for. It was a beautiful moment, and I was so grateful to The Lord for this gift and my team. 

Second: August & September of this year. Oh how the Lord blessed me during those months. I was so full of Jesus and gratitude and joy that I thought I felt like I would just burst. I was reading Interior Freedom by Jaques Phillipee and the fruit of the book was oozing into every aspect of my life. Jesus was so real and present to me and I am being propelled from that consolation even now. 

Thanks to you all for being a part of my 23rd year of life! I can't wait to see where year 24 will bring us.

7QT on moving and traveling [17]

--- 1 ---

I've been moving this week, so I've been MIA. I found an awesome Living Social deal that allowed me to pay $50 for an hour with 2 movers and a truck!!!!!! Seriously, it was the best decision I ever made. They carried all my heavy things and then brought them to my new apartment. Praise God for movers, because I hate carrying boxes to/from the car.

--- 2 ---

Speaking of things I hate: packing/cleaning is another big one. It is seriously the worst. But...it's been my life the past 2.5 weeks and it will continue to be so the week following this because I'm not unpacked yet. Ugh.

--- 3 ---

Things I like: being home!! This post comes to you from Kansas City, where my family resides. I made the 9-hour journey today (it actually went pretty fast) & I will be home for the next week-ish. I'm here to work - I've been blessed with the opportunity to speak at my parish about FOCUS, so I'll be spending the week doing some fundraising. #pleaseballa

--- 4 ---

Today, I officially crossed into the realm of being a cat lady. One of my new roomies is allergic to cats (sad day), so my kitty needed a temporary home until the roomie gets married this summer. Megan, my big in DG, is going to keep her for a few months, so I didn't have to give her up. I was not looking forward to 9-hours in the car with a cat, but she did pretty well.

someone is not pleased.

How does this make me a cat lady, you ask? Please view the pictures below from when I stopped for lunch and gave the cat a chance to stretch:

I was totally being judged by some high school girls in Hayes, Kansas. #catonalease

--- 5 ---

This morning when I checked twitter, I had this awesome notification:

Yes, that is my mother below.

I was pretty excited/flattered to be noted as an "upcoming event planner." I love this career, so it's fun to be recognized by others in the industry! Way to go, twitter, for helping me grow professionally.

--- 6 ---

Speaking of event planning, I discovered this hilarious joke on the Pinterest that I am so obsessed with, I made it my twitter bio. 

HAHAHAHAHA.

--- 7 ---

Christina sent our team this video, and I am obsessed! Talk about talent. I'm currently watching it non-stop.

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