What's a Resolution? Let's Relive Shall We?

As this year comes to a close I've been reliving all the memories I have made. Every time a new year starts I browse the usual social media sites and read the unsurprising new years resolutions that people supposedly commit to. "New Year! New me!"....that saying rarely goes unnoticed. While I sit back and watch my friends create their own written lists of goals they hope to check off later, I constantly remind myself that not acting on the goals you set is pointless. There seem to be some people in this world who only create a resolution to say they have one, but yes there are some who are devoted to every word they write on that sheet of paper, and I admire those. I, myself, am not one to write down goals, because I know they'll be forgotten in the next few days if not hours. I just continue to strive to be the best I can be and work to the best of my ability. My main goal: be happy.
And as this year does come to a close I have decided to relive some of my favorite and not so favorite memories on here with y'all.
1. senior year I had the best time being in a relationship with one of my best friends. His name was Samuel and we were together for about 9 months. It was a rocky relationship at times, but I learned a lot about myself during those 9 months: don't overreact; talk things out in person; never overuse the words "I love you"; both of us needed some growing up to do; smiling is the best form of medicine.
2. senior year involved multiple papers, presentations, and exams to guarantee our graduation and key to freedom. Our keys to freedom would not have been complete if we didn't have plans for the next year. BYU, Brigham Young University, you could say is my dream school and only school I had sights on. In February of my senior I got accepted. I'm not afraid to admit I texted my best friend Gibson in the middle of the night, not expecting him to still be awake, and him calling me and tell him how happy he was for me. I cried I was so happy, not gonna lie.
3. February 21, 2014: will forever be a day I live to remember not in the happiest of ways. That day was the day my soccer career was flushed down the toilet, hypothetically. But I was still crushed when I tore my ACL that night in the 3rd game of my senior season. I was devastated, but I think my dad was more upset then I was.
4. April 8, 2014: I had my ACL repair surgery. I wasn't exactly thrilled,because surgery scares me, but if I ever wanted to play soccer again it had to be done. I sound totally dramatic, but that's a trait people have said I have gained from playing such a sport (watch the Men's World Cup and see how dramatic they are and then you'll understand. The Women's World Cup, however, is a different story. We are more dramatic off the field then on). My surgery was early in the morning, and the rest of the day the anesthesia still affected me pretty good. My leg felt like it weighed a ton, but it didn't hurt, because the nurses gave me a femoral block to suppress the pain for about 12 hours, so of course right on  cue at 12 midnight the block wore off and pain flooded my leg like a fire flooding a house. It consumed me; I seriously thought that's how I was going to be the rest of my life: in pain and bed ridden, unable to walk or ever see my friends and family again (take note I was still heavily influenced by the anesthesia). This was obviously not one of my fondest memories.
5. May 29, 2014: I graduated from Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School. After 4 years of what seemed like never ending stress, I was finally free. Free to finally find a job and not worry about managing school with it. Free to finally stay out as late as I wanted and not worry about finishing 3 papers, and 2 projects all in one weekend. Free to finally sleep as late as I wanted. Free to finally enjoy a summer not filled with books that needed to be read and papers that needed to be completed by certain deadlines. I was finally free to be free.

LtoR: Jonathan, Genevieve, Alex, me, Gibson, Kelsey, Gabe, Morgan, Reisa, and Zach

LtoR: Amanda, Cami, Mom, me, Heather, Grandma, Dad

 6. Road trips with my group of friends to Cullman, Alabama for the weekend.
7. Samuel getting his mission call to Rancho Cucamonga, California. He reported to the Provo, Utah MTC on November 4, 2014.
8. August 6-7, 2014: I helped Gibson pack for Bama, and throughout the summer we spent as much time as possible together before both of us went off to college. No lie, being 1900 miles away from your best friend is hard.
9. August 28, 2014: I said goodbye to the 205 and hello to the 801 of Utah County. That day, Gibby had promised me earlier, if I didn't help him move in at Bama, he would come to the airport to say goodbye to me, and he didn't disappoint. He drove me all the way to the airport and waited until I went to security to say goodbye. I will admit I cried, and he did too, a little I think. But he is a guy, so I can never be too sure. December 20th had never felt so far away.
10. September 1, 2014: I started my first semester of college at the school of my dreams, BYU.
11. October 4, 2014: I got the chance to go to my very first General Conference instead of watching it live on BYUtv every year.
12. October 31, 2014: My new group of friends and I went camping in Butterfield Canyon. Yes there was a huge party on Center St that night that I was dying to go to, but getting to camp in my Eno hammock for the first time was a huge thrill. Everyone slept in the big tent, except for me and one of my other friends Enoch. He too had an Eno hammock, and he also brought a tarp to keep the wind out. We managed to fit both of our hammocks under the tarp and sleep through the wind storm the entire night. Needless to say I love hammock camping.

13. Thanksgiving weekend: I was able to take the train up to Ogden and spend the holiday with my grandma, aunt and uncle, and my three cousins and their wives and kids. Seeing one of my cousins I hadn't seen in about three years was for sure the highlight to my entire holiday.
14. December 6, 2014: I went on a road trip with my FHE brothers, Paul, Chad, Scott, and Nate to Salt Lake City for a day. We wandered around City Creek Mall, but the highlight to our day was  temple square and seeing the beautiful Christmas lights.

Chad drove.

L to R: Scott, Paul, and Nate.

15. December 18-20, 2014: I said goodbye to Paul before he headed back home to Billings, Montana. Later I said goodbye to Chad for 2 years. He has been called to serve in the El Salvador San Salvador East Mission, and he reports to the Guatemala MTC on March 4, 2015. That Saturday I turned 19, but I was also finally COMING HOME. After 4 months I finally got to see my parents and best friend again. When I finally landed in Birmingham and saw my mom I couldn't stop crying. All of the people I cared about were there at the airport waiting to see me. I couldn't be more grateful to have such loving people in my life. I honestly could have cared less that that day was my birthday. All I could focus on was the fact that I was finally home and with the people I loved the most.

TL: Gibson TR: Gabe BL: Neely

Now here they are: out of all the most amazing memories, the hardest 15 I have ever had to choose. Some of you may ask: why isn't Christmas one of your top 15 faves? Christmas comes every year, but the memories I chose probably only come once in a lifetime. 
As this year comes to a close, I ask that you all sit back and relive the memories that you want to keep forever. Write them in a journal, retell them to your family and friends, or post them on a blog. These memories can have made you smile or cry. They don't all have to be happy memories. I want them to be memories that'll help you remember the year 2014.

Much love to you all and to all a soon to be very happy New Year!
                       McKenzie :)

Exploring Said World

I know I have not been diligent in posting about what I have seen and done this past year. This post, however, should hopefully makeup for all the lost time I have caused y'all.

This past spring break I had the marvelous opportunity to travel Europe and visit Paris, Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Pisa, Florence, Assisi, and Rome; all in the span of 10 days. 

I traveled with a group of people from my school along with my TOK and HoA teachers, Chambers and Clayton. A group of seniors went as well, and we had the best time together. 

These are the seniors that went; standing outside the gates of the Versailles palace! I myself am crouching in the middle.

Day 1: We landed in Paris at 7 am and walked what seemed like the entire De-Gualle airport. For starters let me just say that the hot chocolate there sucks and shows not even the slightest hint of American obesity; meaning it's lack for sugar and sweetness. 

Once we retrieved our bags we joined the other 2 school groups, Arkansas and Canada, and borded our bus to the hotel which was located just outside of Paris in Crétel de Université, basically a "college" town for Parisians. Our hotel was called the "Novotel" similar to middle class hotels in the states but smaller rooms and separate rooms for the toilet and shower which was actually a saving grave for a few. 

We showered, which relieved some of the jetlag we were experiencing, and started our walk to the metro; that's what they call the subway. Although we were tired the view on our walk was beautiful. It had just finished raining, so the clouds were beginning to separate.

As we entered the metro station we were given little "temporary" metro tickets that our tour guide purchased for us. 

We rode the metro all the way to Notre Dame and spent most of the day there. We walked along the Seine River, ate at a traditional Paris restaurant where I snuck a sip of Red Wine, explored Le Cathédrale de Notre Dame, and granted the freedom to explore the rest of the Latin Quarter on our own.

Just a short little side note to explain this picture: The entire trip I was walking on a torn ACL which I tore on February 21st. My surgery was schedule for April 8th, so I had to wear the big brace my whole time in Europe. It wasn't awful. You could say it added some flare to my "American style."

The next 2 days we went to The Louvre; which was magnificent by the way. The size was spectacular. I wish we had more than just a few hours to explore the museum, because you couldn't see everything you wanted in just one day. 

After The Louvre and possibly getting lost in the Latin Quarter we hopped on a train and headed to Nice. Over the 5 hour ride my friends and I met a soldier who was on his way home from working in the city. His name was Nicolas Biq.

He wasn't very good in English, so we practiced our French while he practiced his English.

Nice: 

        "Nice is nice." 

We traveled Nice and Monaco before crossing the border to Florence, Italy. 

We first took the bus to Monaco and toured that tiny little country whose capitol is Monte Carlo.

         "Fun fact: gambling is illegal in Monaco, so you have to travel outside the border if you want to bet your life away." 

 

    All of the yachts in the harbor are Russian and Israeli. None of them are French. 

After the day trip to Monaco we headed to the beeches of Nice. Just on the border of Monaco, the beach is made of black and grey rocks. There is no sand and the water, unsurprisingly, was incredibly cold. 

Next stop: (after a 6 hour bus ride) Pissa, Italy.

Of course we had to visit the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" and the baptistery.

    You can't go to Pissa and NOT do this!

   The baptistery was a full dome with very narrow stairs in the gut of the building. Every half hour or so a man would come in and sing and chant a few octaves to show how cool the acoustics were. 

Next stop: Florence!!

Out of all the places in Italy, Florence was by far my favorite. It had a "more chill" vibe during the day, but it was open to fun and partying at night. 

 

Everywhere you went the views of the city were breathtaking, and you could never go wrong with the food. 

In the US we eat pasta and pizza all the time, thinking it's the best stuff ever. NO! Once you have had a pizza from Italy, it's like they say, "you can never go back," to the old stuff! 

 And a little FYI to non-foreign travelers: when you are finished eating and ready to leave, ask the waitor/waitress for your ticket. Don't wait around for them to bring it to you, cause they won't! 

 And of course you can't go to Italy and NOT have gelato! 

Literally the best thing I have ever tasted. I had pecan and vanilla mixed together. 

Our tour guide took us to a corner gelato shop that was very small but had "the best gelato in all of Florence," our tour guide would say. 

We stayed 2 nights in Florence, and let's just say this hotel had some rooms that weren't on the map! 

I said earlier that two of my teachers came on the trip; this is the room of my HOA teacher. His room wasn't even on the map of the hotel. We had to go through an "emergency" exit to find his room nudged in the side of the hotel. His room had "2" floors, but the stairs leading up to his bed had a weight limit. Keeping him from bringing his suitcase up! Hence, why we only stayed 2 days in Florence. 

Last stop: ROME

I love Rome. I do, but Florence still had me dreaming. Florence had the fun and relaxation, where as Rome had the culture and history. 

"All roads [in Italy] lead to Rome."

We naturally had to take a tour of the Coliseum and a walking your of Rome.

 

And the trees in this picture were called "Umbrella trees" to make shade for te soldiers while they walked to Rome or to wherever they were marching to.

Another fun fact: all of the water in Rome was so clean (according to our tour guide) that we could drink it anywhere.

Our last night we went to the Trevi Fountain. 

The next day we took our bus to Rome airport and flew from Rome > Philadelphia > Charlotte > Birmingham!!!

Needless to say I was sad to leave, but I was excited to be back home, in my own bed, and to wash my hair in a normal shower! 

Southern Hospitality

Many who have heard about the South create the idea that the weather is constantly warm. They, whoever "they" are, however, are wrong.

Living in the small town of Irondale, just 10 minutes outside of Birmingham, for 18 years, I have seen most of what Alabama weather is capable of. Throughout the first day pictures swarmed in throughout the state showing the effects of the snow.

    Starting the year of 2014 Alabama experienced a great "snowpocalypse." This, however, was not the first time the South had their run in with snow. In 1982 Alabama was disturbed with a massive fall of snow. It was a full on crisis. Cars were abandoned everywhere, and that's how it was during the snowpocalypse of 2014. Without snowplows, snow tires, or snow chains, most of us were helpless. A lot of my friends hunkered down at my house for 2 days and my parents stayed in a hotel and a family friend's home. The house to ourself was nice, and we all kept it decent. 

      The first night of the crisis my friends and I bundles up and walked about 2 miles down the road to the SAMs, McDonalds, and eventually the BP gas station. I was hesitant to walk on the freshly fallen snow. The sparkle it emanated from the street lights was quite pretty. 

      As we walked we sang and people we passed on our way joined in. When we got closer to our destination a hunting cart road up next to us offering crackers, coffee, and a ride. Knowing all of us wouldn't have been able to fit, we politely declined. The Southern hospitality they offered and heard about the rest of the 2 days we were all together was truely amazing. It was inspiring to see how kind the people of the South can be when disaster strikes. 

      The South isn't always full of negative stereotypes. You just have to look beyond the every day actions and into the history the South has experienced to see the good in the people here.

    (From left to right) Morgan, Alex, Me, and Gibson