Looking Back on 2017.
I cannot believe all that happened in 2017! So many stories, memories, creative moments, and love was poured into 2017. And there's only so much more to come in 2018! But one of my favorite parts of the end of a year (or very beginning of a new one), is looking back and reminiscing at all the memories that were created during the year, good or bad. Here's a timeline of all my highlights of 2017:
JANUARY
I started my second semester of my first year of community college. I had 4 classes: history 2 (with one of my favorite professors), english 2 (with one my least favorite professors), and digital photography (my favorite class EVER). I learned a lot and grew a lot, which is what college is all about, right?
I woke up waaaay too early to watch the sunrise at the beach with a dear friend. We took lots of pictures and had a grand time, but we also froze our fingers and toes in the process. Who thinks its a good idea to visit the beach in January?! Only the locals.
I started working at a local juice bar in town: the Vine Juice Company. It was started by a few guys at my church, and my pastor hooked me up with the job (thanks James)! I learned how to make cold pressed juice and smoothies. It was the beginning of a great learning experience!
I had to say goodbye to my older brother as he went off to Maryland for a mission trip at a college up there, and I didn't see his face for another four months (WHY CRUEL WORLD).
FEBRUARY
I learned a new sport while in college: racquetball. I learned about 20 different ways how to *not* play because I didn't have anybody teaching me, and I only hit myself in the face with the ball like 2...errr, 5 times. It was a fun way to stay active and definitely helped me with my reflexes!
My two years of teaching middle school girls every Sunday morning came to an end in February. We had a special going away party with a cake and sweet notes and I gave away my reins as their teacher to another. It was a lovely two years seeing these girls grow up from sixth graders to eighth graders. I love that I can still see them every Sunday, as I didn't move away or anything, and I love getting hugs from ten girls all at once. What a reminder of how loved I am!
I celebrated my 18th Valentine's Day alone. But it was great as always. I am my best Valentine. xD
MARCH
I spent a whole day taking photos, which ended with my photographing a music festival, complete with matthew west and jamie grace. I also went on a sweet aftter party to Fridays with my two bosses and their girlfriends, which led to an interesting conversation about burning down the competition (literally- we discussed pyrotechnics). What a fun day !
I celebrated my 19th year of life! It started with a super fun birthday party a few days before my actual day of birth. I had some of my closest friends over for KFC bowls for dinner and me attempting to guess what gifts people brought me (I was mucho unsuccessful). We ended with a movie and some great laughs.
My actual birthday was super boring, actually. I felt like a true adult because I had college classes all day on my birthday. So the only celebrating that I had was a 2 hour dinner break with my family at a little burger joint down the street from the college. That was super fun, but it ended quickly, because it started to downpour and we were eating outside, and I had math class. That evening made it even better, because when I got home from class (a little later than I would like), when attempting to do laundry, the washing machine decided to break down and flood the entire laundry room. So I spent my birthday evening sweeping water out of the garage. Talk about memorable.
Later that month, as a birthday gift to myself, I and a few of my friends went to see one of the most amazing movies of 2017. We got dressed up for such a special occasion, to go see the new live action Beauty and the Beast. It was amazing. We fan-girled the entire time (even though I was the only girl) and we celebrated a very fancy dinner afterwards with Whataburger and talking about every amazing part of the movie.
At the end of the month, I had the opportunity to photograph my very first wedding, as a dear friend and his fiance got married! It was stressful, but so fun, and I was so thrilled that they chose me to capture such a special moment in their lives!
APRIL
I spent the entire first day of April eating an entire watermelon (April Fools...I had about ten bites for an eating contest and got last place).
At the end of the month, I found out how to incorrectly cut pineapples, as I found myself at the ER with my boss only 30 minutes after clocking into work with a bleeding pinky. Three stitches and a whole lot of bad puns later, my boss took away all my knife privileges. Also, I got the award for being the first ever work injury! (not sure if that's an accomplishment or a horror...you can choose.)
MAY
I took a break from social media. I learned a lot in that time about friends and family and about myself. I also slept a lot more, which I think is a good thing.
I went to Washington DC with my younger brother and his history class. We did a lot of walking and found out that the DC metro isn't nearly as exciting as the New York City subway, but it is cleaner. We learned so much about the history of our country's capitol. We also went to twenty different museums and learned everything about space and dinosaurs and trains and pretty much anything else you could think of. We ALSO went to the zoo where I found the love of my life: GIANT PANDAS. (to those who may or may not know, panda bears are my favorite animals in the entire world and this was my first time ever seeing them in person) I probably spent a solid hour studying those animals and loving them even more in person than in pictures or videos. What extravagant creatures.
I found out that I got accepted to attend this super awesome three month program called Summit Semester, in Colorado. Little did I know in May what an impact it would have on me come August.
JUNE
I went on a mission trip with my church to Bolivia, South America through Compassion INternational! We spent a solid ten days out of Corpus instead of eight because we missed our Miami flight by THIRTY minutes and had to spend two days in Miami (in a casino hotel), trying to figure out how to get into Bolivia. It was quite a memory maker! Once we actually got to Bolivia, we hung out with the kids and spent time at a local church helping out with VBS and sports camps and visiting sponsor children. I actually decided to sponsor my very first child while I was there, and the next day I got to go to his house and meet him and his mother. His name is Pablo and he's 4 (now 5), and he's as precious as can be. We actually had a funny scenario when my translator was needed elsewhere immediately, so him being gone for ten minutes, we had to figure out how to communicate. I was only english speaking and Pablo and his mother and his teacher were only spanish-speaking, so we had an interesting few minutes. The teacher eventually pulled up Google Translate on her phone so she could tell me what Pablo was saying and that's how we survived, aside from coloring.
My cousin got married! He's the first one of the grandchildren on my mom's side of the family to get married, so it was a big deal. We had a big party and had a blast. It was so weird to think that he's only a few years older than me and if this cycle continues, I could get married myself in two years. I decided that was too early and my parents are very happy to hear that.
JULY
I attended a family reunion, where I had to say goodbye to a lot of aunts and cousins and grandparents as I woudn't see them until Christmas (NOT a normal thing for us). A lot of tears were shed that weekend, but it was good to see them all when I did.
I took my first solo trip to visit my aunt and uncle and their kids in Houston. We cleaned and played and shopped and had a grand ole time. It was fun to go on the road by myself and *act* like an adult.
Not only two weekends later, I made the same trip up to Houston to attend a nieces weekend at my aunt and uncle's with all my girl cousins. We ate a lot and went swimming and had a fashion show and sung along to Disney music and made get well cards for my grandma (she had double knee surgery in July). We had a lot of fun together.
AUGUST
I went to Six Flags with my family and cousins and had a blast! We said our final goodbyes then too (until I got back from Colorado), which was super hard for me.
I prepped for Colorado. I packed my suitcase four different times and still didn't have a way to get everything that I needed to fit (#firstworldproblems).
The week before I was supposed to fly to Colorado, a little tropical storm aka HURRICANE HARVEY decided to make his appearance and shake up our world. We retreated to McAllen, Texas and hung out my dad's boss and where my dad used to work before he got married (flash from the past). We came home three days later to see minimal damage to our house and neighborhood (PRAISE GOD), and also notice that the airport that I was supposed to fly out of was back and running (ALSO PRAISE GOD). So two days after I came home from undergoing Hurricane Harvey, I was set to travel to Colorado. What an amazing God we serve, am I right?!?
SEPTEMBER
I started my three month adventure in Colorado attending Summit Semester. I became a huge fan of my roommate and we made many memories together the first few weeks.
We had our first camping trip in the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, where it was too cold at night and too warm during the day. I also hiked to the summit of those dunes and cried my eyes out when I got to the top. Ashley and the strength of the Lord were the only two reasons that I made it up the whole way.
We had our first experiences with our professor, Dr. B, to whom a lot of us hated and a lot of us loved. (I was a hater.....sorry man he just wasn't my fav.)
I learned that I actually really like playing basketball and I'm not that bad at it either. I got lessons (unprofessionally) and learned what a basketball foul was (I think).
OCTOBER
I hiked up a 14,000 foot mountain with no prior training and didn't die (accomplishment).
A few of my classmates and myself started to help lead worship at the local church we were attending. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about music and how to work as a team and how to lead.
We also went to the freakin' GRAND CANYON and had the bestest time ever. We watched the sunrise and napped on a rock in the middle of the canyon and almost got forgotten cuz Jed had to use the bathroom (ask me for the full story- it's quite hilarious).
We celebrated Halloween with SNOW, which was super amazing. All of us had the hardest time staying focused in class cuz a whole blizzard of beautifulness was being created out our window. We also celebrated Halloween a week later with an entire festival (called Farvest Hall), complete with Disney Villians, Fear Factor (where I did 70 pushups in like 10 minutes), shotgun shooting, and a costume party at the end of the night. Micaela and I dressed up as old ladies (Betty and Ruth).
NOVEMBER
As a group, all 32 of us read the entire New Testament in two days. We were so stir crazy by the end of it...it's not even funny. We also spent little time together (not normal), so seeing each other at the end of those two days was like a big family reunion.
We experienced finals together, which was super hard. It was so stressful, that my roommate and I got sick the night before, making it hard to concentrate and study. But I think we did pretty well! We celebrated with Sonic after.
We celebrated Thanksgiving as a class! We went hunting for a Christmas tree in the woods and decorated it, spent a lot of time in the kitchen prepping, and my family came to visit me! When they showed up, I cried my eyes out. I hadn't seen these people in three months (longest time I've ever been away from home), so it was a precious reunion.
We celebrated graduation as a class (the next day)! Lots of tears were shed as we packed and reflected on the last few months. We spent as much time as possible together, getting dressed together and singing together (as it would be the last time we could). We had a fancy dinner and lots of speeches given from the students, which made us cry even more. We had a slideshow and got diplomas and danced in celebration an hour later. We then stayed up the majority of the night before people left the next day.
One of the hardest days of November, we said our goodbyes. We were running on little sleep and looked like complete trainwrecks as we said goodbye. Words can't express how hard it was to say goodbye to the people you lived life with for three months straight.
(bt-dubs, all stories and more in depth memories from September-November can be found in separate weekly blogs that I posted here! Just search "summit semester" and enjoy!
DECEMBER
December was spent back home in Corpus Christi, and full of working two jobs at once: the Vine Juice Company (happy to have my old job back) and at the KBNJ studios, helping my dad with working on air during the lunch hour! I had worked with my dad in the past as his co-host in the mornings, but this was my first taste at solo radio hosting. It was scary and rough the first few days, but I slowly got the hang of it.
The first week of December, the impossible happened: IT SNOWED. The last time such a wonderful thing happened in town was thirtteen years ago and I wasn't even in town to experience it. But this year I was, and I had the morning off from work, so I got to enjoy it even more! We built snowmen and had snowball fights and made snow ice cream. I dressed extremely incorrectly for the weather and froze my fingers and toes, but it was so much fun. I even got my first taste at driving in snow, which is not something I really want to have to experience again (at least for a while).
My brothers and my dad and myself had a blast watching another amazing film of 2017: the newest Star Wars movie, the Last Jedi. I laughed, I cried. It was such a good movie and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Star Wars even remotely. I watched a double feature the night that it premiered (with the Force Awakens film), and only three days later, watched it again with some friends from church. I regret nothing.
The last two weeks of December were spent traveling to visit family for Christmas vacation. It was so precious and exciting to see people that I love after a long awaited five months. Lots of hugs and lots of stories and lots of hugs. We traveled to Houston and to Waco area, and then up to Missouri to see my dad's family for the first time in two years. We watched a lot of Hallmark movies because it was too cold to go outside (we even played Hallmark Christmas movie bingo) and ate lots of soup and had a good time together.
We rung in the new year back in Texas with my family and some friends as we played card games, ate tacos, got a super sweet video call from some Summit buddies (video lag is real, y'all), and sparkling juice. We were gonna do fireworks, but instead decided to watch others through the dining room window with the heat on inside the house. Happy New Year!
2017 was so full of so many wonderful things. So many great trips and so many memories were made. Lots of laughter, a full share of tears, singing, walking (a LOT), hiking, eating, being creative, thinki9ng, sleeping, and cherishing all the people that God put into my life. It was a blessing to have lived through 2017 and I'm even more excited about what 2018 brings to the table! It's got some pretty big shoes to fill.
hugs,
Becca
JANUARY
I started my second semester of my first year of community college. I had 4 classes: history 2 (with one of my favorite professors), english 2 (with one my least favorite professors), and digital photography (my favorite class EVER). I learned a lot and grew a lot, which is what college is all about, right?
I woke up waaaay too early to watch the sunrise at the beach with a dear friend. We took lots of pictures and had a grand time, but we also froze our fingers and toes in the process. Who thinks its a good idea to visit the beach in January?! Only the locals.
I started working at a local juice bar in town: the Vine Juice Company. It was started by a few guys at my church, and my pastor hooked me up with the job (thanks James)! I learned how to make cold pressed juice and smoothies. It was the beginning of a great learning experience!
I had to say goodbye to my older brother as he went off to Maryland for a mission trip at a college up there, and I didn't see his face for another four months (WHY CRUEL WORLD).
FEBRUARY
I learned a new sport while in college: racquetball. I learned about 20 different ways how to *not* play because I didn't have anybody teaching me, and I only hit myself in the face with the ball like 2...errr, 5 times. It was a fun way to stay active and definitely helped me with my reflexes!
My two years of teaching middle school girls every Sunday morning came to an end in February. We had a special going away party with a cake and sweet notes and I gave away my reins as their teacher to another. It was a lovely two years seeing these girls grow up from sixth graders to eighth graders. I love that I can still see them every Sunday, as I didn't move away or anything, and I love getting hugs from ten girls all at once. What a reminder of how loved I am!
I celebrated my 18th Valentine's Day alone. But it was great as always. I am my best Valentine. xD
MARCH
I spent a whole day taking photos, which ended with my photographing a music festival, complete with matthew west and jamie grace. I also went on a sweet aftter party to Fridays with my two bosses and their girlfriends, which led to an interesting conversation about burning down the competition (literally- we discussed pyrotechnics). What a fun day !
I celebrated my 19th year of life! It started with a super fun birthday party a few days before my actual day of birth. I had some of my closest friends over for KFC bowls for dinner and me attempting to guess what gifts people brought me (I was mucho unsuccessful). We ended with a movie and some great laughs.
My actual birthday was super boring, actually. I felt like a true adult because I had college classes all day on my birthday. So the only celebrating that I had was a 2 hour dinner break with my family at a little burger joint down the street from the college. That was super fun, but it ended quickly, because it started to downpour and we were eating outside, and I had math class. That evening made it even better, because when I got home from class (a little later than I would like), when attempting to do laundry, the washing machine decided to break down and flood the entire laundry room. So I spent my birthday evening sweeping water out of the garage. Talk about memorable.
Later that month, as a birthday gift to myself, I and a few of my friends went to see one of the most amazing movies of 2017. We got dressed up for such a special occasion, to go see the new live action Beauty and the Beast. It was amazing. We fan-girled the entire time (even though I was the only girl) and we celebrated a very fancy dinner afterwards with Whataburger and talking about every amazing part of the movie.
At the end of the month, I had the opportunity to photograph my very first wedding, as a dear friend and his fiance got married! It was stressful, but so fun, and I was so thrilled that they chose me to capture such a special moment in their lives!
APRIL
I spent the entire first day of April eating an entire watermelon (April Fools...I had about ten bites for an eating contest and got last place).
At the end of the month, I found out how to incorrectly cut pineapples, as I found myself at the ER with my boss only 30 minutes after clocking into work with a bleeding pinky. Three stitches and a whole lot of bad puns later, my boss took away all my knife privileges. Also, I got the award for being the first ever work injury! (not sure if that's an accomplishment or a horror...you can choose.)
MAY
I took a break from social media. I learned a lot in that time about friends and family and about myself. I also slept a lot more, which I think is a good thing.
I went to Washington DC with my younger brother and his history class. We did a lot of walking and found out that the DC metro isn't nearly as exciting as the New York City subway, but it is cleaner. We learned so much about the history of our country's capitol. We also went to twenty different museums and learned everything about space and dinosaurs and trains and pretty much anything else you could think of. We ALSO went to the zoo where I found the love of my life: GIANT PANDAS. (to those who may or may not know, panda bears are my favorite animals in the entire world and this was my first time ever seeing them in person) I probably spent a solid hour studying those animals and loving them even more in person than in pictures or videos. What extravagant creatures.
I found out that I got accepted to attend this super awesome three month program called Summit Semester, in Colorado. Little did I know in May what an impact it would have on me come August.
JUNE
I went on a mission trip with my church to Bolivia, South America through Compassion INternational! We spent a solid ten days out of Corpus instead of eight because we missed our Miami flight by THIRTY minutes and had to spend two days in Miami (in a casino hotel), trying to figure out how to get into Bolivia. It was quite a memory maker! Once we actually got to Bolivia, we hung out with the kids and spent time at a local church helping out with VBS and sports camps and visiting sponsor children. I actually decided to sponsor my very first child while I was there, and the next day I got to go to his house and meet him and his mother. His name is Pablo and he's 4 (now 5), and he's as precious as can be. We actually had a funny scenario when my translator was needed elsewhere immediately, so him being gone for ten minutes, we had to figure out how to communicate. I was only english speaking and Pablo and his mother and his teacher were only spanish-speaking, so we had an interesting few minutes. The teacher eventually pulled up Google Translate on her phone so she could tell me what Pablo was saying and that's how we survived, aside from coloring.
My cousin got married! He's the first one of the grandchildren on my mom's side of the family to get married, so it was a big deal. We had a big party and had a blast. It was so weird to think that he's only a few years older than me and if this cycle continues, I could get married myself in two years. I decided that was too early and my parents are very happy to hear that.
JULY
I attended a family reunion, where I had to say goodbye to a lot of aunts and cousins and grandparents as I woudn't see them until Christmas (NOT a normal thing for us). A lot of tears were shed that weekend, but it was good to see them all when I did.
I took my first solo trip to visit my aunt and uncle and their kids in Houston. We cleaned and played and shopped and had a grand ole time. It was fun to go on the road by myself and *act* like an adult.
Not only two weekends later, I made the same trip up to Houston to attend a nieces weekend at my aunt and uncle's with all my girl cousins. We ate a lot and went swimming and had a fashion show and sung along to Disney music and made get well cards for my grandma (she had double knee surgery in July). We had a lot of fun together.
AUGUST
I went to Six Flags with my family and cousins and had a blast! We said our final goodbyes then too (until I got back from Colorado), which was super hard for me.
I prepped for Colorado. I packed my suitcase four different times and still didn't have a way to get everything that I needed to fit (#firstworldproblems).
The week before I was supposed to fly to Colorado, a little tropical storm aka HURRICANE HARVEY decided to make his appearance and shake up our world. We retreated to McAllen, Texas and hung out my dad's boss and where my dad used to work before he got married (flash from the past). We came home three days later to see minimal damage to our house and neighborhood (PRAISE GOD), and also notice that the airport that I was supposed to fly out of was back and running (ALSO PRAISE GOD). So two days after I came home from undergoing Hurricane Harvey, I was set to travel to Colorado. What an amazing God we serve, am I right?!?
 |
| hurricane survival crowd! |
SEPTEMBER
I started my three month adventure in Colorado attending Summit Semester. I became a huge fan of my roommate and we made many memories together the first few weeks.
We had our first camping trip in the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, where it was too cold at night and too warm during the day. I also hiked to the summit of those dunes and cried my eyes out when I got to the top. Ashley and the strength of the Lord were the only two reasons that I made it up the whole way.
We had our first experiences with our professor, Dr. B, to whom a lot of us hated and a lot of us loved. (I was a hater.....sorry man he just wasn't my fav.)
I learned that I actually really like playing basketball and I'm not that bad at it either. I got lessons (unprofessionally) and learned what a basketball foul was (I think).
OCTOBER
I hiked up a 14,000 foot mountain with no prior training and didn't die (accomplishment).
A few of my classmates and myself started to help lead worship at the local church we were attending. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about music and how to work as a team and how to lead.
We also went to the freakin' GRAND CANYON and had the bestest time ever. We watched the sunrise and napped on a rock in the middle of the canyon and almost got forgotten cuz Jed had to use the bathroom (ask me for the full story- it's quite hilarious).
We celebrated Halloween with SNOW, which was super amazing. All of us had the hardest time staying focused in class cuz a whole blizzard of beautifulness was being created out our window. We also celebrated Halloween a week later with an entire festival (called Farvest Hall), complete with Disney Villians, Fear Factor (where I did 70 pushups in like 10 minutes), shotgun shooting, and a costume party at the end of the night. Micaela and I dressed up as old ladies (Betty and Ruth).
NOVEMBER
As a group, all 32 of us read the entire New Testament in two days. We were so stir crazy by the end of it...it's not even funny. We also spent little time together (not normal), so seeing each other at the end of those two days was like a big family reunion.
We experienced finals together, which was super hard. It was so stressful, that my roommate and I got sick the night before, making it hard to concentrate and study. But I think we did pretty well! We celebrated with Sonic after.
We celebrated Thanksgiving as a class! We went hunting for a Christmas tree in the woods and decorated it, spent a lot of time in the kitchen prepping, and my family came to visit me! When they showed up, I cried my eyes out. I hadn't seen these people in three months (longest time I've ever been away from home), so it was a precious reunion.
We celebrated graduation as a class (the next day)! Lots of tears were shed as we packed and reflected on the last few months. We spent as much time as possible together, getting dressed together and singing together (as it would be the last time we could). We had a fancy dinner and lots of speeches given from the students, which made us cry even more. We had a slideshow and got diplomas and danced in celebration an hour later. We then stayed up the majority of the night before people left the next day.
One of the hardest days of November, we said our goodbyes. We were running on little sleep and looked like complete trainwrecks as we said goodbye. Words can't express how hard it was to say goodbye to the people you lived life with for three months straight.
(bt-dubs, all stories and more in depth memories from September-November can be found in separate weekly blogs that I posted here! Just search "summit semester" and enjoy!
DECEMBER
December was spent back home in Corpus Christi, and full of working two jobs at once: the Vine Juice Company (happy to have my old job back) and at the KBNJ studios, helping my dad with working on air during the lunch hour! I had worked with my dad in the past as his co-host in the mornings, but this was my first taste at solo radio hosting. It was scary and rough the first few days, but I slowly got the hang of it.
The first week of December, the impossible happened: IT SNOWED. The last time such a wonderful thing happened in town was thirtteen years ago and I wasn't even in town to experience it. But this year I was, and I had the morning off from work, so I got to enjoy it even more! We built snowmen and had snowball fights and made snow ice cream. I dressed extremely incorrectly for the weather and froze my fingers and toes, but it was so much fun. I even got my first taste at driving in snow, which is not something I really want to have to experience again (at least for a while).
My brothers and my dad and myself had a blast watching another amazing film of 2017: the newest Star Wars movie, the Last Jedi. I laughed, I cried. It was such a good movie and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Star Wars even remotely. I watched a double feature the night that it premiered (with the Force Awakens film), and only three days later, watched it again with some friends from church. I regret nothing.
The last two weeks of December were spent traveling to visit family for Christmas vacation. It was so precious and exciting to see people that I love after a long awaited five months. Lots of hugs and lots of stories and lots of hugs. We traveled to Houston and to Waco area, and then up to Missouri to see my dad's family for the first time in two years. We watched a lot of Hallmark movies because it was too cold to go outside (we even played Hallmark Christmas movie bingo) and ate lots of soup and had a good time together.
We rung in the new year back in Texas with my family and some friends as we played card games, ate tacos, got a super sweet video call from some Summit buddies (video lag is real, y'all), and sparkling juice. We were gonna do fireworks, but instead decided to watch others through the dining room window with the heat on inside the house. Happy New Year!
2017 was so full of so many wonderful things. So many great trips and so many memories were made. Lots of laughter, a full share of tears, singing, walking (a LOT), hiking, eating, being creative, thinki9ng, sleeping, and cherishing all the people that God put into my life. It was a blessing to have lived through 2017 and I'm even more excited about what 2018 brings to the table! It's got some pretty big shoes to fill.
hugs,
Becca
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