Goodbye for now VCU

Today some friends of mine that go to VCU with me decided to take a cute VCU picture, and this is how it turned out. I really love this school and I am so happy that I got into the VCUarts program for my freshman year and that I was accepted into the Interior Design program which is what I came into the school wanting to do.

However this is my last week in Richmond until December. I guess its also time to write that my original plans to serve an 18 month mission have changed and I will no longer be serving a mission at this time. I have decided that I still want to take a semester off and move to Utah, to spend time with my grandparents who are ill and to work. I will be heading West at the end of June and I will be staying there until December when I will return to Richmond and finish my general education classes in the Spring Semester

This change of plans is definitely a curve ball thrown in my path. I am pretty bummed about not going on a mission at this time in my life, but in some way I feel this strange peace and "okayness" with it. Maybe I thought I was ready when I really wasn't, maybe I am not suppose to go and I just wanted to prove myself to someone or to myself. I don't want to over analyze what happened but everything that happens in life has a reason, we just have to figure out what that reason is. 
I found this poem about curve balls from Nick Wolf, and it reads

Life constantly throws it's curveballs of confusion

These curveballs can either be embraced as opportunities to gain wisdom and cause growth

Or these curveballs can be embraced as defeat and failure

It's our free will as human beings to decide how we will react to these curveballs

Patience and perseverance are key to surviving and thriving in this life

Without patient we will be defeated

Without perseverance we will fail

Life is an uphill battle

As the saying goes: "Patience is a virtue"

If we live life with patience and perseverance we will experience life to its fullest

When I found out I wasn't going to be serving a mission I decided that I still wanted to take time away from school and travel somewhere different to live for a little while, to clear my head, to work hard and to spend time with family and doing something that I can look back at later in life and be proud of.

I am really going to miss Richmond and all of my friends here, and I will miss my house that I helped remodel and lived in for my whole freshman year. I have no idea what lies ahead out West for me, but hopefully it is good and brings happiness into my life and helps me grow. 

goodbye room 

This last week has been really fun so far, I've spent time with the people I care about the most here in Richmond, and been living up the last days I have here. We went to Belle Isle for 4 hours on Monday and before that Taylor and I went to Lamplighter for breakfast/lunch and I love that place! 

On Tuesday we went to VCU to take pictures and came back to my house to have lunch which Taylor made and it was delicious fried rice :) yummy! And today I am going to the Bastille Concert at the National which will be amazing! I am sad to leave RVA, but I will be back soon. :)

with love, 

Arianna