Close, but far far away.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what is going to happen in just a few months. I will finally be a college graduate (amen), I will be moving back to a familiar place, and yet I will be leaving a place I have grown to love. It's hard to explain to people the feeling of being excited to move home, but at the same time wishing that I could stay. I know that I am going to miss Nashville. The city, the music, the people, and possibly even the weather. Strange to think that I knew nothing of this bustling, guitar strumming, honky-tonk singing city just a couple of years ago.
My expectations were so severely wrong. But amazing! Eye-opening, reality-checking, but most of all this experience has forced me to grow up in the most beautiful way possible.

I have to say there are so many things that I wish I never forget. I will list them below, to eliminate the difficulty of writing a paragraph that would be confusing.
Here they are, in an order that is all equally important. Thank you, Nashville for:

1. participating in a growing, life-long friendship with the most joyful, loving girl I know
2. giving me new friends who have given me so many great memories, and photos to cherish
3. inspiring me
4. telling me i'm not good enough (strange, I know, but this has been something that has solidified my courage and determination through music. it seems backwards but maybe i'm just crazy.)
5. showing me how to teach, adapt, and listen to children
6. all of the great places to eat. fried chicken, fried cookie dough, fried fish....it will never be the same without you.
but most of all, Nashville has given me the whole-hearted belief that the growing of love is stronger than the tearing of distance. (that's number 7)

Now it's time to grade essays and write lesson plans. I'm not even a teacher yet!
-Rachel

So, again, it's been a while. Today is Saturday and that means catching up on homework so I'm not completely overwhelmed next week. This semester will definitely be the hardest i've had in college yet. I have 20 units, and 6 practicums, 4 of which include 10 hour microteaching experiences. AAH! But on a more exciting note, this means I will be graduating in May! YAY!

I've been using these last months in Nashville to to all of the touristy things that Jessica and I can think of. A couple of weeks ago we visited the historical town of Franklin Tennessee. It was really cute, and it looked just like Paso! :) We saw The Carter House, which Jess and I thought was owned by President Carter at one point, but instead it was owned by a soldier in the civil war. An epic battle too place at this man's house and you can still see some bullets lodged in the brick barn.

We also have had a few snow days this winter. It has been very very cold, but when the snow falls it's bearable, due to the entertainment it provides.

Last Wednesday Jess and I celebrated her birthday by going to a John Mayer concert. It was filled with spectacular light shows and squealing guitar solo's, and also a heartfelt apology for his recent behavior in an awful interview. His tears told the story of a troubled pop star who struggles with going too far to be entertaining. Sad. But an enjoyable show nonetheless.

Now my life is filled with watching my friends and roomates go off to spend time with their significant others in this season of chocolate and hearts. I don't blame them, I would be too. I just wish I could do the same. I miss Randy, and I miss my friends and family back home. You all mean so much to me and I can't wait to be home to do the things that I love to do.

-Rachy




Jessica and I waiting for the concert to start


"Gravity"




Hockey Stadium transformed into a concert venue.

Downtown in the winter time
A snowy walking bridge


My buried car

The Carter House


Makeshift Sleds
the Parthenon in January
Can

So everything has been a little crazy lately, as you can see. It's been over a month since my last blog (sad), but things are very busy. Volleyball season is underway, and we've had a lot of ups and downs this year. 3 weeks ago 8 out of the 14 girls (including me) on our team were all out at the same time because of the flu, and i think we are just now getting completely over it. Then, last week, Kimi our libero did something to her back, so she's out. We've lost games that we could have won, and I've been more than frustrated with myself and my team several times. I'm not sad that this season is ending in 4 weeks. (unless we go to the national tournament).

On a different note, living in Nashville is tons of fun. Two nights ago I went to a Copeland/Relient K show (wasn't that excited for Relient K). I loved it, and I met Aaron Marsh, the singer of Copeland and shook his hand and got really really star struck. When Relient K played I felt like I was in high school again, mostly because i was surrounded by teenagers, but they also played a few old songs from back in my day. It made me happy. Then last night Jess and I went to a CD release party for the band that writes some of the music that they play at my church, and it was good except we were an hour late so we were only there for 30 minutes before the show was over. Oh well. Next Time.

Pretty much all the other free time that I have is spent playing guitar and trying to write songs, so we'll see how that works out. I'm excited about music these days. God is reminding me that music is my passion, not volleyball.

I haven't taken many pictures this year, i'll try to get better at that. But these pictures are from a friend's wedding last weekend. Jessica's boyfriend's roomate from last year, good times. :)

The Reception was at an observatory, we looked through a big telescope at the moon

Me, Jess, Chris, and Chris (the groom) :)

yep, they would.

Very Fall-colored

we definitely got lost on the way to reception....way to go, give the California girls confusing directions...

Friends :)

Like true basketball players...they did it.

Zoo

So my last day of volleyball preseason is Monday, and i have to be honest, i'm a little sad. I mean, this is the last time in my life that I am going to put my body through this kind of pain! (hopefully). But seriously, it's kind of setting in that this is my last year of playing volleyball. I can't believe it. Last night we had our game vs. the Trevecca Alumni and we beat them pretty badly. It was awesome.

Well, once Randy and I arrived in Nashville safe and sound, we did a few fun things :) This was a great safari adventure that we went on (aka, we went to the ZOO!) It was a great time, we walked around for a few hours, even though it was hot and really humid! But the animals were very lively and entertaining. We had so much fun. (I put lots of pictures below).

Today is Sunday, which means that it was the first time since i've been back that I was able to go to Mercy Hill Church. This made me really happy. God put me there today because the message was about looking at your life through your own prideful lens, compared to God's outward loving focused lens. I feel that recently (and not so recently) I've had very selfish desires for my life, i.e. not wanting to go back to Nashville, not wanting to play volleyball because it was going to be too hard, complaining about various things that weren't going my way, etc. etc., but God put my heart back in order today, and basically said "Rachel, your life isn't about you, it's about loving the people that are in your life, friend and stranger." Some things i wrote down in my journal were "As people, we will always worship something in our lives...am I tuning in to what God has for me, or what I want?...and What song do you sing in adversity? (is it "woe is me my life is terrible" or is it "Praise the Lord for teaching me something new and putting me in a new place.") I learned to sing the latter song today, and I really want to continue to do so. Having a love so big in my life outweighs any pain. I love Jesus.

-Rachel

Here's the aminals!!!

The First

So here it is! My connection with friends and family, my place to vent about private school, my....blog. As you know, Randy and I ventured cross-country all the way to Nashville, Tennessee in 5 days! We were able to see a lot of different places. The first day we saw Bakersfield, Ca and Kingman Az, and camped just outside the Grand Canyon National Park. Day two was the Grand Canyon extravaganza. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed the sights. Then it was on to Gallup Nm and an overpriced hotel room...ick. I would be okay with never seeing New Mexico again. Day three it was off to Amarillo Texas, home of the Big Texan Steakranch...we K.O.A'd it again this night, and rode banana bikes around the campground (a highlight!). Then we were on to Oklahoma, home of Randy's cousins who have a lot of dogs...and puppies. We finally got a good night's rest and then took off for Arkansas! Our original plan was to stay in Arkansas this night, but at the last minute we decided to keep moving and make it to Memphis since one of the girls on my team lives there, and they love to cook for guests ;) Well, along the way we saw Russellville Ar, the world's second largest cross, and the world famous, West Memphis Wal Mart. Dinner and a bed were excellent that night. The final day we drove the 3 hours to Nashville and met the city skyline with a bittersweet feeling. We made it. Relief about the long drive being over was great, but if time could have just stopped as soon as we got here, I would be a more joyful person. I dropped Randy off at the airport Thursday, with "You Can't always get what you want" playing in my car as i drove away. How ironic.

So a new chapter in my life....titled "My Hopeful Senior Year of College" has begun. Volleyball has kept my life very busy, with very little down time to even think about how far away I am from California (which is probably a good thing). My knees are very achy, and i'm going to bed really early every night becuase I am so tired. But the last preseason of my whole life is almost over, and I'm trying to look at the bright side of all the hard practices :)

I already can't wait to come home. 3 1/2 months doesn't seem like SO long...but it is a long time and I love and miss my friends and my family a LOT. It is going to be a tough semester, but just know that I'm thinking and praying about all of you back at home. I Love You!

-Rachy

Here are some pictures from our adventure!: