Down Memory Lane

I am officially done with my Bachelor's degree! I said I would do it in four years and by golly I did! My question as I finished my last final [A&P] was, "What was the point of college?" What was the point of my $46,000 in college loans? Can someone please remind me, because I sure am clueless! I left campus feeling more confused than I was when I first started!!!! Over the course of pondering this question however, God struck some amazing memories in my brain and I just had to write them down:

[Most of this will be memories of the past 4 years!]

Okay, I totally know that God placed me at U of L for a very good reason: one and probably the most important reasons is that I met my Asa my sophomore year! I was very "anti-man" when I met him, but he sure worked his way in to my heart and the very first day I met him, I knew I wanted to marry HIM or at least a guy LIKE him. If I hadn't moved here to Louisville to pursue my jockey dream, I would have never met my husband! I'd say that's a pretty good justification of college debt :) I will never forget walking into "his" coffee shop (Sunergos Coffee) where he was working (and still works when he wants extra money) and him offering me a free cup of coffee to help me (a stranger) get through my day of 5 exams and a speech!!!!!!! 

Also if I hadn't moved to Louisville, I wouldn't have inherited the family [and especially sisters] that I have! I was looking back on old photos and found this of Asa, I and Arie when she was born! What a blessing this girl has been to my life...anytime I am REALLY sad or down, if I'm anywhere close to Arie, she can make me laugh out loud so hard that I am forced to get over it!

If I hadn't moved to Louisville, I never would have found out that God never intended for me to be a horse racing jockey. [At least...I don't think He did. Maybe he'll still blow my mind?] I got a job at Churchill Downs as soon as I moved here and was living my dream. I worked every day at 4:30 in the morning and was over joyed as I watched the Thoroughbreds that I had only witnessed on television thunder past me on a dusty track. My heart would practically jump out of its chest and I couldn't help but grin ear to ear... Unfortunately I had the wrong kind of boss, and went through some things I shouldn't have gone through... and when he moved back to Arkansas for the winter [and I had been working for him 8 months] I got a job with Winstar Farm at their training center in LaGrange, KY. Those were some of my most blessed days as well, as two of the men [who were like father figures to me] began to train me to exercise ride...Some of my best memories in this world are of me sitting in my favorite horses stall each morning [mainly Thunder's!!!!], getting there around 5am: they would be curled up in a ball [it was winter] under their cozy blankets and just stare at me. The men would warn me I was being crazy, that it was dangerous and I "could be killed" but I never cared...I trusted my favorites and they trusted me. I miss the track, and I miss the Thoroughbreds and I miss galloping down a track...but I know I can and probably will have it back someday--Thoroughbreds of my own with Asa! Someday, I will have my little farm <3 

ALSO if I hadn't moved to Louisville, I never would have gotten my baby girl, Elsa Noel. It was in middle school I decided a Golden Retriever was what I HAD to have...they were too expensive in Michigan, so I decided I HAD to have a WHITE lab puppy for Christmas instead. [And I did: Holly Lou, my baby sister, who still lives with my family in MI and who now calls herself "Nathan's Dog." She is now 10 years old, and completely was my dream dog.] However, she lives in MI so I decided shortly after dating Asa that it was time for me to get my Golden...I looked at ONE breed of Goldens and knew immediately that I wanted HER out of her 13 other siblings. She is the sweetest thing in the world, as similar to Holly, has gotten me through way too many rough times in my life. Her past 2 years have been the biggest blessings in the world to me...she really is like MY GIRL. 

If I hadn't moved to Louisville, I never would have been involved in the amazing diverse and different friendships that I was blessed with. Freshmen year, God supplied me with a group of girls who I hung out with ALL the time...while we drifted and parted ways towards the end of the year, I am still so grateful for the laughs and tears that we shared. 

As you can see, I loved a lot, laughed a lot, and lived a lot these past four years. I met one of my very best friends, Erin Marie [in the picture above] freshman year on the very first day of English class and she is one of the only ones who have stuck with me through the end which is kind of sad to say but at the same time, incredibly sweet. I met my husband, I figured out who I was, who I am, and who I want to become. I learned that I will always be a horse girl no matter what...even though I no longer pursue racing, I will always pursue my dream of owning my very own horse that I can gallop, sleep with, feed, and pick up poop after :) I learned that I have a deeper passion for special needs people than I ever fathomed, as well as a passion for medical ethics. I learned that in four years, people change drastically...but that God never does. I am so grateful for these four years. . . 

To God be the glory for all of these things and sweet, sweet memories.