College Student

My Daily Routine (Fall 2019)

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Hello, and welcome back to Capturing College! I hope you are enjoying reading my weekly posts. I am not sure what kind of content you all prefer, so feel free to comment and let me know!

When debating on what to post this week, I ultimately decided on sharing my daily routine with you. While in college, my daily routine isn’t always consistent, but I thought it would be fun to share with you what my average day is like.

My schedule does change every other day, so I figured I would share with you what my typical Monday is like this quarter.

My day starts at 7 a.m. when I wake up to shower. I usually shower fairly quickly and then head back to my room to get dressed. When deciding on my outfit, I usually check the weather so that I am prepared for the day. Recently, it has been pretty cold, so most mornings I am ending up wearing jeans and a sweatshirt under my black North Face rain jacket.

After getting dressed, I wash my face and put on my makeup. Since I am pretty tired and it is very early in the morning, I tend to wear very minimal makeup. After my makeup is done, I usually fix my hair while popping a K-Cup into my Keurig so I can brew some coffee while I finish getting ready. Some days I curl my hair if I have the time, but typically it is straight. However, since it is usually a little frizzy from sleeping, I sometimes run a straightener through it in oder to sleek it over again in the morning.

After my hair is done, I brush my teeth while pouring some caramel creamer into my coffee. I then put on my shoes and jacket, pack up my backpack, and spray on some perfume before slipping on my jacket. After that, I pop in my Airpods before putting on my backpack and heading out the door, coffee in hand.

I head to my first class, Contemporary Biology, and usually am greeted by my friend Harrison, who happens to be the teacher’s assistant for that class. I sit in class and take notes while drinking my coffee. At 8:50 a.m., that class ends and I then tread across campus to my second period class, Writing for Advertising.

After sitting in that class and discussing methods of advertising, I head on my longest journey to my last morning class, Introduction to Music, where we learn all about the history and methods of music composition and how to identify different instruments.

After that, I am typically free until my 1 p.m. class, and I usually use that time to eat lunch. However, on Monday’s, I have an officer meeting from 12:30-1 p.m. for the CommLang Club, of which I am the vice president.

Once that meeting has ended, I head straight to my last class of the day, Media Writing, which ends at 1:50 p.m., but what happens next varies by the day. On Wednesday’s, I have Contemporary Biology Lab from 2-5 p.m., and luckily it is taught by Harrison, so I feel comfortable asking questions. He is actually a very helpful TA and does a great job. On Monday’s, Tuesday’s, and Thursday’s I usually work from 2-5 p.m. and that really works up my appetite for dinner.

I head out to eat with Christopher usually right once I am off of work. We try to go to the cafeteria as much as we can, but honestly we do end up going out way more than we should.

If we go out to eat, we usually end up getting fast food, and once we get back to campus, we get straight to work on our homework and studies for the week.

I tend to finish my homework anywhere between 8-10 p.m. depending on how much there is to do that night and how soon I need to complete it. After that, I head back to the dorm to relax.

Usually, I change into sweats and prepare for bed, and then start to watch “Friends.” Right around then, one of my friends, typically Lexi or Allison, knock on my door, and we end up hanging out. We usually catch up and make plans for the following day, or talk about what is going on in our love lives.

Sometimes, if it is a particulary slow week, we even watch a TV show together. Lexi and I have recently been watching the Netflix original show “Raising Dion.” It is amazing and really well done, I highly reccommend it. Other nights, we binge watch One Direction videos and sing along, or we spend the late evening eating a bunch of food at Sheri’s.

Most nights, however, we just talk for hours and leave the door open until we end up with our whole squad gathered at the end of the hall in either my room or Mariah and Allison’s room, which is across the hall. Eventually, we end up deciding to turn in for the night.

To prepare for bed, I usually make sure to remove my makeup before washing my face and brushing my teeth before putting my retainers in. I put an essential oil in my room diffuser and turn it on before turning out the lights and crawling into bed. My favorite night time scent for my diffuser is lavender, but recently I have been running thieves or eucalyptus due to the fact that myself and my roommate have been sick for a while now.

That is the end of my typical day so far this quarter. While it does tend to vary due to after school activities, amounts of homework, changing schedules, and other variables, this is the basic outline of a day in my life.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! If you would like to see more post like this, perhaps a day in the life post with images, or a quarterly updated version of this, let me know by commenting below, Please be sure to follow Capturing College and check out more of the posts I have. Have a great rest of your week!

Disposable Date

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I know what you are thinking, “Why would you want to go on a trashy date?” Well, that isn’t exactly where I am going with this.

This summer, I had the idea that Christopher and I would take a disposable camera with us when we would go out on cute little dates throughout the summer. I wanted to capture these moments on film, and I was super excited when we got them.

I thought that this would be a pretty cheap date idea, especially considering we were able to take it on a total of six dates and end up with approximately 27 photos. The camera itself I believe cost about $10 at Walgreens. When I had it developed, I wanted two copies of each image (one for Christopher and one for myself) so that ended up being about $24.

I don’t know about you, but I used to use disposable cameras all the time when I was a kid. Back then, when you had them developed, you would get the film back, along with one print of each image. Now, they have changed that (at least at Walgreens). You now only get one copy of each image printed, along with a CD of all the scans of the images.

The Cost

To sum up: For a total of approximately $34 (spread out over about one month), I ended up with one camera, 27 images on a CD, and 54 prints (two copies of each photo).

As far as being on a college budget goes, I was working and it was summer vacation, so I had a little bit more money to spend. While this is pretty pricey, If you only take three photos each time you go out, you could spread it out over 9 weeks (assuming you only go out once a week).

You also could reduce the cost by only getting one copy of the photos and deciding who gets each one. Plus, since you have the CD, you can always go in and print more.

Originally, I was going to try and fill up the whole camera on the first date, so there are a lot of photos from that first day. However, we realized quickly that it would be more fun if we could just shoot images over the next few weeks and get them developed whenever we were ready.

Date One: Exploration

For our first date, we went on a drive to explore the more remote area around us. It was super fun. We found some abandoned trails and fun things like that.

Date Two: Craft.19

Over the next few weeks, we basically went out for coffee a bunch of times, so the majority of the photos are just of us drinking coffee. This first image is of Christopher outside one of his favorite coffee shops, Craft.19 in Sumner, Washington. (He took two photos of me, but I don’t like them enough to include them on this post.)

Christopher outside Craft.19
Date Three: Metronome Coffee

These next photos were taken at Metronome Coffee in Tacoma, Washington. They had amazing lattes. We went twice this summer, and this was the second of the two. I really liked their vanilla lattes.

This is absolutely my favorite image from the camera.
Date Four: Craft.19 (Again)

Our next date sent us back to Craft.19, as it is close to where we live and one of Christopher’s favorites. These photos turned out a little bit better this time, however you may notice that in most of the photos Christopher took, his finger was covering the lens.

Bonus Photo: DAT

The next photo I have was from when Christopher came over to show me his scores from the DAT, the Dental Admissions Test, which he had been studying for all summer up to that point. As you can tell by the big smile on his face, he did very well.

Date Five: Dog Walking

Another thing we did this summer was take Patrick on a walk a few minutes away from my house. He had a wonderful time, and was very excited to have a brief moment away from his annoying little brother, Lewis.

Date Six: Seattle

The last two photos were taken on a date we had in Seattle one afternoon. Christopher drove us up to Seattle, and we explored the area around University of Washington. We had some amazing Thai food, and then decided to explore the campus a little bit. We ended up in their amazing library. I wanted to take photos in the library, but I thought the noise would be too disruptive, so we took photos outside instead.

The funny thing about these photos is that we look like two young adults touring Europe in the summer of the 1990’s, especially with the architecture behind us and the clothes we were wearing. I’m not sure what exactly went wrong with the photo I took of Christopher, but it may have just been weird since it was the last one on the camera.

Tips and tricks

While shooting with a disposable, you learn many things that are helpful to know as you continue to shoot that I want to share.

First of all, using a disposable camera means you essentially only have one chance to get it right. While this may put the pressure on for some of you, I urge you to focus on making this fun. Every shot you take is going to be different and one of a kind, so think of this as a sort of fun time capsule and a chance to get creative.

Also, keep in mind that there are different types of disposable cameras. I believe the one that I got was a Kodak. Different cameras use different film, which means the tones and colors will be different in each brand. So that I could give you an accurate representation of how these looked when they came out of the camera, I did not edit the images posted here at all, however I did edit the digitals I keep on my phone to look the way I would prefer. Next time, I am going to try to use a different camera until I find a brand of film I prefer to use.

I think I am going to try to spread out the photos over a longer portion of time, that way it is super exciting when I finally am able to get them developed. I also think that next time, I am only going to get one set of the prints, and then Christopher and I can split them between each other, and if there are others we each want a copy of, I can order them from the digital version given to us on the CD copy.

As far as using the camera, I have a few pointers. I recommend not winding it up for the photo until you are about to take the photo. When I was a kid, I would wind it up way before I was ready to take the photo, and then accidentally press the shutter before I was ready, and this ended up with a lot of wasted photos. To avoid this, and to get your money’s worth, I would recommend waiting to wind it up until right before you are taking the photo.

I also would recommend making sure that people don’t accidentally have their fingers in the photos. This was more of an issue for Christopher than it was for me, but if I had reminded him when he was taking the photos, it may have been less of a problem.

I also think that remembering that this camera is meant to be used from at least three feet away, so don’t try to take close up photos with it, because they end up blurry and oddly colored.

In addition to that, keep in mind that this camera works best in direct sunlight. When your subject is back lit, the photos aren’t going to turn out the way you expect, so maybe try to use the flash in those situations. The flash may not solve your problem, but it should help. Also remember to use the flash in darker surroundings. It may not look as great as shooting in direct sunlight, but it should help it look better for sure.

Overall, I really enjoyed shooting with a disposable camera, and I want to do it more over the coming quarter. I will be sure to share them here if I do end up doing it again.

Have you shot with a disposable camera, and if so, what is your preferred brand? Leave a comment below and let me know. Be sure to follow me here on Capturing College to keep up with me on all of my adventures.

College Journey Part Eight: Summer 2019

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Hello everybody, and welcome back to Capturing College! It is the start of another academic year for me, but before I start posting about all that entails, I want to share with you some highlights from this past summer.

This summer started on a high note about half way through June. Christopher surprised me with tickets to see the Broadway show “Wicked” while it was touring in Seattle as a birthday present. We spent the morning in Seattle grabbing coffee and then headed to the show. It was phenomenal, and I would see it another million times if I could!

Of course, the big news of the summer was the fact that we got a puppy. His name is Lewis, and he is an American Mastiff. We actually got him at the end of May, but I wasn’t able to be around him really until summer, so I thought that I would include it here. I took some adorable photos of Lewis with his big brother Patrick, a great dane who is about a year older.

These photos are from Independence Day when they wore their matching bowties!

Later in the summer, I was able to take a day trip with Christopher and his family to Seabrook, Washington. We walked around town, took photos on the beach, and played with his dogs. It was a wonderful day.

A few weeks passed, and then Christopher and I went on a day trip with his father to explore the many coffee shops in Portland. It was a wonderful trip. By the way, if you happen to be in the Portland area and want some AMAZING food, the Lardo fries at Lardo are amazing! Let me know if you try them, they are my favorite for sure.

Every weekend for about eight weeks, I joined my parents and took Lewis to puppy kindergarten. He did really well most of the time, but since his breed tends to be a lazier breed, he did not really want to participate. Honestly, I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to wake up early on the weekend and then be forced to behave for an hour either.

Lewis on his first day of puppy kindergarten

While the above activities make my summer look like it was all fun and games, it was not. I was taking a yoga class at a local community college for credit. The class met twice a week for two hours and was about five weeks long. It was a good experience, and I really enjoyed it in the end, even though it required waking up early.

I also was able to have a job. This summer I ended up being a photographer at JCPenney Portraits. It was a very taxing job, as I was one of two employees at the studio by the end of my first month, and I was running through the studio by myself at least once a week.

Although the hours were long and hard, I did learn a lot in a short amount of time, and I did appreciate having set hours and having a lot of evenings off to spend with my family and friends.

That pretty much sums up my summer. It was wild and fun and crazy in every possible way, but I am excited to get back to work at school and learn more about myself and my chosen field every day.

I will be updating this blog on a more regular basis now that I have returned to school, so keep an eye out, and be sure to follow so you receive updates when I post!

Five Memories From My Sophomore Year of College

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This is my finals week from my last quarter of my sophomore year of college. To celebrate, I thought I would post some of my favorite memories from this year.

1. Friendsgiving at the cabin

My friend, Luke, has a cabin that we all go and visit sometimes. This year was my first time going to the cabin. It was Luke, Lexi, Ryan, Harrison and I. We cooked, baked cakes, watched movies, and played games. We even got to explore the town of Leavenworth, Washington. We had a “Friendsgiving” meal which we all worked together to prepare, and we enjoyed getting to know each other. We went to a diner that reminded Lexi and I of “Riverdale,” so we had to take a Betty and Veronica pic. Check it out!

Lexi and I as Veronica Lodge and Betty Cooper
2. Weezer Concert in Portland

For my boyfriend’s birthday, I bought him tickets to see Weezer. We went with his friends and had a fun time exploring Portland for the weekend. I wrote about it in a previous post, so I won’t elaborate too much here, but it was one of the most memorable things that happened this year.

3. Boise trip

Another friend of mine, Harrison, lives in Boise, Idaho. During a long weekend, Christopher, Lexi, Kailee and I went home with Harrison and were able to explore his hometown. This is another thing I referenced in an earlier post, but I had to mention it again, especially since I was able to explore a new town with my new friends.

4. Joseph, Oregon with my family

One of the first weekends in October, my parents rented an RV and drove out to meet me at school. They even brought our Great Dane, Patrick! The four of us all went camping for the weekend in Joseph, Oregon. We had a wonderful time, despite the cold weather, and really enjoyed spending time as a family to celebrate my mom’s birthday.

5. The many, many photoshoots.

I have done so many shoots this year! I have met tons of people and it made me more comfortable shooting with people I am less familiar with. I have loved all the content I have produced this year. I won’t make you scroll through all the images on this post, but if you would like to see them, please check out my posts on my Instagram and Twitter, @kirstenimages.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my memories from my sophomore year of college. If you want to read more about it, check out my College Journey series under the college tab on this blog, Capturing College, and don’t forget to follow to see more content!

20 Things I’ve Learned Before Turning 20 (Part Four)

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This is the final part of my 20 Things I’ve Learned Before Turning 20 series! If you missed Part One, Two, or Three, read those first, and don’t forget to follow this blog, Capturing College, for more helpful hints and advice.

16. Everyone is on a different path.

I struggle to remember that I can’t compare where I am at on my journey with other people’s journeys. We are all on our own journey and have our own struggles and trials, as well as our own successes and triumphs. Don’t compare your phase two with someone else’s phase four. Also, don’t compare your phase two to someone else’s phase one. Don’t go around thinking you are so much father ahead than someone else. You may just have an easier path now, and they may catch up or even pass you. Everyone is on a different journey, just be concerned with your own.

17. You can learn something from every situation.

No matter if it is the best scenario, or your worst nightmare, you can learn something from everything you experience in life. You woke up late and missed your first class? Maybe next time don’t stay up late studying and set multiple alarms. Your friend brought you coffee to work today? Maybe follow their example of kindness and bring them a treat next time you go out, or treat a random stranger by paying for their order at Starbucks. No matter how good or bad a situation is, you can always learn something from it.

18. Love everyone.

Life is too short to go around making people miserable. The world would be so much better if we all chose to love each other. Regardless of race, gender, religious beliefs, sexuality, or any trivial thing that may make someone different from you. Love them. Love everyone. Be kind to others.

19. Take risks.

There are two things I have struggled with since I was a child. One is making fast decisions, and the other is taking risks. Ironically, those two things kind of go hand in hand on a fairly frequent basis. When I was a child, if I did all my chores for the week, my mom would let me chose between a mystery present or $10 or something like that. She was trying to teach me that taking risks in life is okay, and they even help spice up my life. I like to weigh all my options as a kid, and if I ever had to make a choice, I would always try to find a way to compromise and get both things. Unfortunately, you can’t always do that in the grown-up world, so don’t be afraid to take risks. It will all turn out the way it was meant to.

20. Do what makes you happy.

I saved this one for last because this is the most important thing I have learned before turning 20. Do what makes YOU happy. This is your life, and it is short. Don’t compromise when it comes to your happiness. If you hate your major now, you are going to hate doing things in that field for the rest of your life, so change your major now while you still can. If you don’t like your school, don’t just sit there and live through it, make a change and transfer schools. Make this life worth living, do what makes you happy. Pursue what you love, whether it be someone or something, a person or a career. Do what makes you happy.

I hope you enjoyed this series. Be sure to check out Part One, Two, and Three if you missed them. Follow me on this blog, Capturing College, for more content like this, and don’t forget to do what makes you happy.

College Journey Part Seven: Spring 2019

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I am currently just finishing up the spring quarter of my sophomore year at Walla Walla University, and I have to say I have really enjoyed this year over all. I will be returning in the fall for my junior year, and I already have my schedule mapped out for the whole academic year.

This quarter has been tons of fun. I surprised my boyfriend, Christopher, with tickets to go see Weezer in Portland, Oregon, with me and two of his friends, Andrew and Maria. The concert was the first weekend after spring break, and it was totally worth it. Weezer was super entertaining, and we had a wonderful weekend overall.

We also went home randomly one weekend to spend some time with our families. It was a nice break from the grind of school, and I think we both seriously enjoyed it.

Over the course of the quarter, we enjoyed spending time with our friends. We had about a billion cups of coffee and enjoyed the sunshine, which was a welcome change from the buckets of snow from winter quarter.

We went to Bennington Lake with Harrison and Lexi earlier in the quarter, and took some fun photos. Christopher walked away with 17 bug bites, I ended up with 21, and Lexi ended up getting lost. It took us a while, but we managed to help her find her way back to the car.

Christopher and I at Bennington Lake
  • Lexi and Harrison
  • Lexi and Harrison
  • Lexi and Harrison
  • Harrison
Christopher and I
  • Lexi and I
  • Lexi and I

As far as school goes, this quarter has been a pretty strong one. I have really enjoyed my classes this quarter, and I even got an amazing job that I love. I am so thankful that I ended up at WWU this year, and I can’t wait for a new year with more amazing memories.

College Journey Part Six: Winter 2019

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By the time I entered my second quarter of college at Walla Walla University, a lot had changed. I had a boyfriend, Christopher, who has been my best friend for years. I had new classes and was excited to go on some fun trips with my friends.

Over winter quarter, my roommate Lexi, and our friends Luke and Harrison, joined Christopher and I on a trip to Portland, Oregon. We had a great weekend. We went shopping, took some photos, and stopped at about a billion coffee shops.

Christopher and I at Multnomah Falls on the way back from Portland

Later in the quarter, we went to visit Harrison’s hometown, which is close to Boise, Idaho. This time, it was Kailee, Lexi, Christopher and I, and we all stayed at Harrion’s house for the weekend.

We, of course, took some amazing photos, and had a lot of coffee. As you may sense, this is sort of a theme for us: coffee and photos.

Christopher and I at a park in Boise
  • Lexi and Harrison
  • Lexi and Kailee
  • Kailee and Harrison

This trip was super fun. I was able to get to know Kailee since I hadn’t spent much time with her.

There were some fun ski trips we also went on, and we also were able to have some fun in the snow, since it snowed a lot that quarter.

While I was making more friends and going on trips, I was having a hard time adjusting still. The dark and cold weather was rough to handle every day, but I eventually adapted, and looked forward to the sunny weather coming with spring quarter.

College Journey Part Five: Transition and International Education

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Once I figured out I was going to attend Walla Walla University in the fall, I had less than two weeks to figure everything out.

I told only a few friends, wanting to surprise the rest by my showing up on campus, and began the process of signing up for classes.

My friends were happy to see me on campus, and several people I knew from high school were puzzled by my appearance on campus. Once they all learned I was attending classes, they realized I had transferred.

I was unsure about how I felt for the first few weeks, but soon grew to like it. I made new friends, and I enjoyed my new major, Strategic Communications. Don’t worry though, I still decided to get a photography minor.

About half way through the quarter, I made a meeting with the registrar to see if it would be possible for me to go to England for two quarters.

After a few hours of juggling classes and transferred credits, we came to the conclusion that I would not be able to go to school in England. I was crushed, and it took several days to process the fact that my dream of traveling abroad for school was not going to become a reality.

My friends were very supportive, but none of them could really help me since they didn’t fully understand what I was experiencing. It was a really hard week for me, and I had to lean on Christopher, who was then just my best friend, a lot.

He helped distract me by watching movies with me and talking to me about things like cars and making sure I was around other people. I was really thankful for his help.

So that settled it. I was staying at WWU for the rest of my college years.

What kind of trouble would I get up to? Would I make new friends? Would I ever get another chance to study abroad?

Those questions swirled around in my mind for the remainder of fall quarter, and soon, winter was approaching. What was next for me?

College Journey Part Four: The Decision

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When I returned from my impromptu road trip back from Michigan with my former college roommate, I returned to a lot of unanswered questions. The largest of them being: what am I going to do now? 

I was accepted to Seattle University, and I had toured the campus, which I really enjoyed. It was stunning, not too far from home, and offered a degree in photography. I scheduled a meeting with the department, and went to the university to get a department tour. Everyone I met was kind, however something was off. While I was excited, I was also nervous to figure everything out. 

Once I realized that this wasn’t going to be an easy choice, I decided I wanted to take some time to think about it, and to give myself that time, I was going to take time off of school in order to determine my next steps. 

I waited for my parents to return home from work, and then we decided to sit down and have a conversation. They seemed open to it, and I was glad to be relieved of the pressure of making a decision. 

The next afternoon, my dad called me and told me that he didn’t want me to take time off of school, and I had essentially two days to make things happen. I started to panic. How was I supposed to make that choice in a matter of hours? I could feel the clock ticking, so I went to work. I continued registering for Seattle University, even though I was conflicted as to whether or not I wanted to go there. 

That evening, my mother returned home from work and I discussed with her what I was dreading. I didn’t know what to do, and I was so anxious and panicked by this decision. We spoke about what was important to me, and what I wanted out of my university experience other than a degree. 

As we discussed my options, I spoke the words that I never thought would come out of my mouth: 

“What if I went to Walla Walla?”

Now, you may remember that I have had a complicated past with my feelings toward Walla Walla University. I was originally against going there because they didn’t offer a photography major and everyone from my high school attends there.

However, when I visited my friends that were attending there earlier in the summer, I really enjoyed being around them. I loved the way that they all were close to each other, I enjoyed the church services, and I thrived being around familiar people, even though it was a relatively new place. My eyes were opened as to what college life could be like, and I was glad my friends had found a university they enjoyed more than I was enjoying my time at Andrews. 

Those memories played through my mind as I heard the question echo through the room.

“Did you really just say that?” my mom asked, her voice filled with surprise.

“Well, yeah. It wouldn’t be so bad. If I didn’t like it, I could transfer to Seattle University after two quarters,” I explained.

My mom was happy to help me research my decision. I made a chart with columns for the things that mattered to me, such as social life, cost, and distance. 

In the end, I looked at the chart and saw that it ultimately pointed me in the direction of Walla Walla University.

College Journey Part Three: A Summer Epiphany

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Once I had been home for a few weeks, I decided to go to Walla Walla and visit all of my high school friends, plus it was one of my closest friend’s birthday weekend, so we were going to celebrate. I had visited a few times during high school, but had never really enjoyed my time there, but most of that was circumstantial due to things happening in my personal life. I was determined to have a good time this weekend, plus I hadn’t seen my friends since Christmas break, so I was so excited to see everyone.

While I was there, I found an entirely different type of college experience. All of my high school friends had made a bunch of new friends. They were always in each other’s rooms, spending time together, going to parks, sharing clothes, and having fun together. I was not expecting that at all. My college experience was nothing like this, but I was happy to see them satisfied with their chosen school. Plus, it was refreshing to see that college wasn’t terrible for everyone.

Over the summer, I decided I wanted to do a semester abroad in England. In order to do this, I had to drop my honors program and do regular generals. The bad thing about this was that my only other friend was in the honors program, so I wouldn’t have any friends in my classes anymore. It was a tough choice to make, but I knew I would have an amazing time abroad during spring semester my sophomore year. Plus, one of my friends from high school was planning on going to the school in England as well, so I would be able to room with her and explore Europe by her side.

While I wasn’t excited for being back in Michigan for fall semester, I was super jazzed about going abroad for the spring, so it made up for it. I knew that it would be fine in the end, plus, I just wanted to travel. I would do anything to get out of Michigan.

I had a busy summer. I was working, helping out at home, and also trying to make time to spend with my high school friends, who, by then, had finally returned home for the summer. Finally, in my busy schedule, I had found time to fly down to Los Angeles and visit my aunt for the first time since my junior year of high school when we looked at colleges together.

At this point, I was supposed to return to Michigan in two weeks for school. That was when she asked me why I was going back at all if I didn’t want to go at all. My aunt had kept in contact with me though out my freshman year and she knew how hard it was on me, so when I told her I had a new plan and was going abroad, she was glad. She made a good point though, if I wasn’t happy, then why was I going back at all? Ironically, earlier that day I had a received an email from a school that I started applying to on a whim during fall semester when I was sure I was going to transfer, before I settled on just remaining where I was. 

I mentioned the email to her, explaining how they said there were two days left before the application deadline. She encouraged me to apply, and to get out of the school that I wasn’t happy at. Just one problem­–– I hadn’t even toured this school before, and I wasn’t sure I would like it. This school, Seattle University, was within an hour of my house, and located near the heart of Seattle. 

She helped me finish my application the next day, and kept me on task while I made calls to the head of admissions and the photography department. It was nearing the weekend, and I needed to know if I was even accepted as soon as possible, especially since I needed to find out if I was going to be going back to Andrews to stay for the semester, or just to pick up my car and drive straight home. Luckily, the people at the school were super accommodating, and told me quickly that I was accepted, and I arranged a tour with the school and then the department afterwards. 

Then came the hard part, telling my parents. They were very understanding and supportive, however I stressed my mom out since she was out of the country visiting family, and she was going to be gone and unable to help me for a while. 

Once I knew I was accepted, I was sure I wanted to leave Andrews. While I didn’t know if I would be attending Seattle University in the fall or taking time off from school, I did know for sure I would not be attending Andrews. Luckily, I had a flight and bus ticket booked in order to get me back to where my car was already since I was planning on returning for school, but instead, I decided to pick up my car and all my stuff, and then drive back to Washington. 

Luckily, my old roommate was able to join me on this expedition, and we drove from Indiana to Washington in three days. It was a wonderful adventure, and I am so thankful for everything that happened. 

I was relieved to be home, but I didn’t know what I was going to do next. Where would I end up? Was Seattle University the answer? I had a lot of thinking to do.