Let me start with this- I KNOW I will get emotional writing this. It's been a tough four years. My lost soul started this blog 4 years ago with the hopes of being able document things that I thought were worth reliving. Kinda like writing in a diary, like as I did when I was little. but this time with a little more thought and many more ideas. I think I felt lost during my freshman year of college, sparking my interest in new places and so called "adventures."
I had always loved traveling, camping, and everything outdoors, don't get me wrong, just something about being on my own, in my dorm room, out there, free. I wanted to go. Just go, anywhere and everywhere. I spent so many nights looking at pictures of exotic places in nature instead of doing homework. So, I started this blog as a way to preserve those moments that I would collect in this part of my lifetime; just the solo minded, free spirit, just out there. Anyways, it has been a tough four years. A long four years. I think everyone goes through that transition period in college, where you find yourself as a person, and mine really led me down a messy road. Some bumps and pot-holes later, I will be graduating in 4 days. 2 Universities, 3 years of pre-med courses, 4 trips around the sun. It will be a time in my life that I look back on with your not so average college memories, but that's okay with me. I didn't go to many parties, I realized the sorority thing wasn't for me, and I really didn't talk to anyone on campus. I didn't like school, and school really didn't like me. Not that I was a bad student, I just didn't feel like I wanted to be there. I have been feeling nostalgic lately. I think about this last year a lot. With the help of my incredible support system at home (2 dogs & Riley), I managed to keep my head above water during my hardest college semester while we flipped our farmhouse and lived in our 1983 Layton Camper. No working lights (lamps only), no kitchen, no bathroom, no Wifi, no real anything. We lived out of the tiny closet and spare bunk. Our fridge didn't really close, and neither the camper door after the handle broke. What a time to be alive that was. An 18 credit semester of pre-med courses, I won't ever forget. What a 4 years. And in 4 days I will be graduating. I'll celebrating the only way I know, not attending the ceremony- but out in the woods in a tent. XO
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This trip was really a testament to our one year anniversary of a camping trip we did after first meeting each other. It feels like we have been around the block a time or two since then, with all we have accomplished in one year's time. We managed to completely renovate a vacant farmhouse, experienced true tiny home living, saw some mountain tops, hiked through some valleys. Ups and downs, but always together with our favorite 4- legged companions by our side. It was only fitting that we close YEAR 1 with a trip doing what we love, and more importantly, with who we love.
Stay tuned for whats next in our crazy life together. XO -Riley &Al My final college semester is starting on Monday. That's right, FINAL SEMESTER. I have had such a love hate relationship with college these last 3.5 years, and I can tell you this much: I am so ready to graduate. I have no idea where my next road will take me, but I am to hit the beaten path. I'm ready to have that degree in hand to show for all the late nights, tears, and mental breakdowns. I've been stuck in the same vicious cycle for the last 3.5 years and I'm ready to break the mold. I have had some time to reflect on all thats happened in my life in a years time. A complete 180. I owe a lot to a lot of people for the countless efforts that have made me who I am and given me what I need, but to one person in particular.. ..to one person in particular that has shaped me into a person that I'd never thought I'd be. Happier, healthier, brighter, more intuitive, all of the above. I have never meet anyone quite as special. He has managed to change my life for the best everyday since the moment we met. I had a hard time believing that men like Riley still existed, and was of course skeptical of his rugged handsomeness and Prince Charming character. But since that first day at that dog park, he has never failed to make it known that he is a one of a kind. drop everything, do anything kinda guy. He has shown me through our inseparable ways what it means to take care of your woman, cherish your best friend, and tease your life buddy.
Over the months, we have grown attached at the hip. We joke that it all happened so quickly. We met, went camping that following weekend, and the next week I was moved in. We haven't looked back since. We made it through some stressful scenarios, setbacks, and downfalls like everybody does, but what is special to me are the good memories we look back on. The good times have never been so good. We are constantly laughing, joking that our faces always hurt from smiling so much. I never wanted to be that girl so dependent on a man for happiness or support, but here I am. He is my happiness, my support, my everything. I have never been a firm believer of the concept of "When you know, you know" and to be honest it had become an obsolete, movie only idea. Until now. I appreciate this man more than I could ever describe in words. He has shown me what real world, real life, real time love looks and feels like. He has done nothing but treat me like royalty, put up with my wild and crazy ideas, and bring me back to earth when they get a little far fetched. He has lightened my life, granted me with clarity and peace that I so desperately needed, and has put so many opportunity corners in our future path together. XO As another school semester winds down, I look back and can't believe HOW FAST time has gone these last few months. A lot of changes have been made, a lot has been accomplished, and a lot of plans are in the making. Between having my nose in school books, hands dark with stain, hair in knots, and clothes covered in paint, there has been little down time in my world of two dogs, an 18 credit semester, an entire farmhouse renovation, an incredibly supportive other half, and everything else that has become my daily life. Here's a little house update & what we've been up to: Somedays I forget why exactly I signed up to be a part of this crazy project, but the other days I curl up on the couch with my "so very thankful" coffee mug and my 3 boys and realize why it was all worth it. After 2 months of living in an 1983 Layton camper without heat, water, or a working bathroom, it was good to finally have a place for our immense amount of stuff we realized we had. We had been living the minimalist lifestyle for so long, that we had forgotten about the storage unit and our parents basements that had accumulated years and years of our belongings. We thought moving that all in and getting it all organized AFTER the house was complete would be the icing on the cake and a big pat on the back for all of our sweat equity and tears.. but we were so wrong.. Once we started getting settled, we got into the vicious cycle of "once you fix one thing, something else breaks" Our fridge survived for about 2 days after it was moved in before it broke, putting us back to a cooler for our groceries. We eventually got a new one working, but that wasn't the end. Soon after, it was our dishwasher, heat, and then our sewer pipe... We've been getting outside and in the woods as much as we can to hunt, but as you can probably guess, that has been taking a back seat for the majority of this season, at least for me. But, after the semester ends, were getting out of town for awhile (or until my final semester of school starts). We both need a vacation. Above all things though, my life has never felt more complete. Without a doubt, it has been an ongoing learning experience for the both of us. We've learned a ton about ourselves, each other, and the makings of a life together. We have a roof over our head, food on our table, and an immense amount of love within our family of 4, and that's all that I could ever ask for.
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allison mathews |