I've lived in Jessamine County for 14 years, and it took me 14 years to find Jessamine Creek Gorge. After one visit, I can tell you: I'm hooked.
Read More
A couple of weeks ago, a mutual friend of mine was talking to one of her friends with whom we'd both gone to high school; this friend was getting married shortly and needed a cheap videographer just to shoot the ceremony and reception speeches. Unbeknownst to me, my friend gave Caroline my name as a videographer. I have a DSLR, a weighted stabilizer, and a couple years of documentary video experience from college, so I figured why not when Caroline got in contact with me. She was just expecting me to shoot the ceremony and reception and give her the raw footage—how hard could that be?
Read More
A couple of hours later, on the steps of Asbury University's student center, our creative director spoke the words I'd been dreading. "Basically, we might have to drive to Minnesota if we want to have it here on time."
Read More
As you'll be able to gather from the rest of this post, I have just gone through the process of applying and being accepted into an MFA in Creative Writing program. This fall, I will be attending Minnesota State University at Mankato with my tuition expenses covered by a position as a teaching assistant of Composition.
Read More
By the time my brother, Alan, and I finally arrived at the trailhead parking for Auxier Ridge Trail, my car was covered in dust. And as soon as we stepped out of the car, we too were covered in dust. It was a dry, hot day—which was strange because storm clouds rolled overhead intermittently, and we were graced with a few episodes of sprinkling rain. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day to hike, as what seemed like an innumerable number of others thought, judging by the overflowing parking lot.
Read More
Wilmore, Kentucky, isn't exactly known for its water features. The Kentucky River cuts through Jessamine County with its muddy water and swollen banks, but if you're waterfall hunting, Wilmore often makes you come up bone-dry. You have to time your hike perfectly and know routes with likely falls along them. A few weekends ago, a couple of friends, my boyfriend, and I decided to head out to the Asbury Trails a few days after heavy rain with the idea of chasing some waterfalls in Wilmore.
Read More
It feels only fitting that on the one year anniversary of my last day in England I should be planning a trip that my best friend, Mary, and I have been dreaming of since freshman year of high school: a two-week backpacking trip through the United Kingdom (with a surprise layover in Iceland). A year later, I will be traveling back across the pond to my home away from home, ready to hand over copious amounts of money to the first crêpe cart I see. But both Mary and I will have just graduated from college, which means—you got it—we're broke. This means I've got to get creative if I want to be able to afford all those sidewalk snacks (not to mention airfare).
Read More
For reference, this is my Chihuahua, Tinkerbell. She's about twelve years old and still just as feisty as ever. She weighs in at about six pounds (so about 6 percent of my Great Pyrenees' weight). She is small enough to cradle like a baby (but she hates it), she loves dressing up in doggy clothes, and she likes to pretend to be human by, for example, sleeping under the covers with her head laying on my pillow.
Read More
I've been a student journalist at my university's newspaper, The Asbury Collegian, for four years now, from a staff writer freshman year, to the executive editor now in my senior year. However, during the summer of 2016, I got my first taste of professional journalism, and it was eye opening. I interned at my local weekly newspaper for eight weeks, essentially joining the team for the months I was there. Here are the lessons I learned about the difference between your university newspaper position and a community newspaper role
Read More
PRO: They are great for general cuddling needs.
What could be better than spooning a person-sized dog? After a bad day, cuddling with the nearest fur baby makes all your troubles melt away. Pyrs, as with many giant breed dogs, are also very empathetic (they are often used as emotional support dogs), so they can usually use their intuition to sense your mood. If I'm upset, mine will immediately calm down and both will try to sit on me and lick my face.
Read More
The glasshouses were my favorite spot in the entire city. There were palm trees and coconuts, pitcher plants and lilies, lemon and orange trees. It was life, and life abundant. I could (and, in fact, did) spend countless minutes crouching and staring at the pond in the Lily House or trying to find every yellow plant to match my rain jacket. One glasshouse even included the corpse flower, which is a giant flowering plant that smells like rotting meat to attract flies for pollination. It is native to the rainforests of Sumatra, and this was the first time I'd ever seen one in person.
Read More
Last weekend, two of my best friends from Asbury, Kari and Kayla, joined me on a road trip to Red River Gorge, entrusting me with the job of navigation since they'd never been there (I'll let you decide whether that was a good idea). Our church, lunch, hiking schedule promised to play out for the perfect Sunday afternoon of adventuring.
Read More