Author: amp388

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Senior Year

It is officially my senior year of college and even typing that phrase sounds crazy. I know that everyone always says ‘time flies’ but it truly does, and I hadn’t really realized it until now that it’s almost over.

When I first decided to apply to college, I was absolutely terrified because no one in my family had ever done it. Soon enough came my acceptance letters from different colleges. At the time I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go or even how far I wanted to go, but then I took a tour of Texas State’s campus and I instantly fell in love with the environment and the people here. There was no changing my mind after that, so in the fall I happily moved into the San Marcos Hall dorm rooms.

Moving into the dorms was the greatest thing that could have ever happened to me. I had a random roommate that I had met once before at orientation (who honestly was not the best but thankfully we made it through) and other than that I did not know anyone else who ended up at Texas State. Because I didn’t know anyone, I decided to go through sorority recruitment and although I met some amazing people through rush, I quickly found out it was not for me.

Luckily the dorm hall is where I found my best friends. I lived on the second floor in room 227 and it was magical. Right down the hall lived Laci, Rachel, and Reagan who became my best friends. I also lived right across the hall from a guy named chase, who was best friends with girls named Michelle and Emily. Still to this day we are all the best of friends.

Sophomore year is an absolute blur at this point. Laci, Rachel, Reagan, and I all moved into a house at hillside ranch together that quickly became the party house. We had epic house parties for very occasion. We had football watch parties, birthday ragers, Halloween parties, and my personal favorite our New Year’s Eve party. The NYE party was so insane that we actually broke our granite countertop, which was not great, but the party was awesome, so in the end it was all worth it.

Junior year we left the fever dream hillside party house and Rachel, Reagan, Michelle, and I all moved into the Lyndon. Laci decided to go through sorority recruitment and ended up living in the ZTA house, but we’re all still close.

Moving into the Lyndon was one of the best decisions any of us made. I’m not sure if it was junior year or the Lyndon that taught us the most, but I am so grateful for the people I met that year. After a few weeks of moving in I met a guy who changed my world for the eight months he was in it. Although it obviously didn’t work out, and for good reason, I learned a lot about myself going through that relationship and coming out on the other side.

Coming out of that relationship starts my senior year. Michelle, Reagan, and I all decided to stay in the same apartment while Rachel moved in with her boyfriend just down the hall from us. Our friend Audrey, who was actually our neighbor when we lived at Hillside, then moved into Rachel’s room and having her live with us has been great.

We all do so many fun things together like shopping, Wurst fest, squaring, and our favorite is going to Patio Dolcetto on Tuesday nights to play bingo and drink a glass of wine.

These last three years have been the absolute best, even with the ups and downs I would not change it for the world but knowing that I only have two semesters left here at Texas State is kind of scary. Coming to Texas State University was so scary but the thought of leaving is even scarier. College is almost like a false reality; we all get to party and live in a bubble, but the real world is not like that. The real world is full of real-life responsibilities not just schoolwork.

To this day I have no idea what I want to do but I’m hoping that by the time I graduate I will. Even if I don’t know what I’m going to do after college, I gained so much more than just a degree. I have learned so many life lessons, gained so many friends, and had so many fun adventures that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Texas State University has been a dream and even though I am scared of going out into the real world, I am ready to move on and live my life away from San Marcos.

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A Night in Nashville

Have you ever dreamed of going to a city and then went and it was absolutely magical? Let me tell you about the time I went to Nashville and fell in love with the city.

I have dreamed of going to Nashville Tennessee since I was about 15 years old. I love country music, big city lights, and sparkles, but most importantly (as you’ll come to find out later) I love Broadway Street.

In May of this year, I was going through a really bad break up; my heart was broken and all I wanted to do was run away from this tiny college town. Thankfully in June, the travel Gods answered my prayers and southwest airlines was doing a deal for 40% off flights in august. My girlfriends called me, and we immediately booked our flights to Nashville for August 17 – 21. The price was SO great I didn’t even mind waiting two months. Just the thought of knowing I was going was enough to hold me over.

Two weeks before my friends and I leave a couple of our guy friends decided to tag along and were able to get on the same flight as us. The night before our 5 am flight my dad decided to get into a major accident that crushed his pelvis, leaving me to decide whether I was going to catch my flight or go be with him. Thankfully he was able to talk to me into still going to Nashville once I knew he was taken care of. The next day rolled around and by 5 o’clock in the morning we were boarding our plane in Austin soon to be in Tennessee!

Stepping off the plane into the fresh Nashville air was almost electric. We grabbed our bags hopped into an uber and 15 minutes later we had arrived at our hotel. We were all so tired after our morning flight that we passed out for a few hours so we could wake up feeling refreshed.

We were staying on the street right after Broadway so luckily everything was within walking distance. We all got ready in the cutest outfits and took a walk to get some food. While we were walking, we saw a sweet little brunch spot named Milk & Honey. Their food was absolutely amazing, their drinks were so fresh, and their service was great. A couple stores from the restaurant is a boutique named Kittenish and it is a company started by Jesse James Decker a famous country music singer. The girls and I went CRAZY in this store. The quality of product is amazing in not only clothes but accessories as well and the prices are very fair. After that, we took a quick walk to Kristen Cavallari’s jewelry store and let me just say it is stunning in person. Her jewelry ranges from simple and dainty to thick pieces but each item is gorgeous. We then walked around some more and then went back to the hotel to rest before getting ready for dinner.

Our first dinner in Nashville was at the graduate which is a restaurant dedicated to Dolly Parton. It was absolutely magical! There was pink everywhere and it was just so fun and cute inside. The food and drinks were not the best and it was definitely over prices, but at the same time we were paying for the experience, so it wasn’t too bad in our minds.

Once dinner was done, we walked down to a local bar and had some drinks while listening to live music. The music scene is just impeccable there, we saw everything from country to saxophone playing. We then ended up on Broadway and this where you want to be in Nashville.

The night life is unreal, its almost like a bigger cleaner version of Austin. We went to Miranda Lambert’s bar which is all pink at the top and has a fun platform section. Kid Rock has a three-story bar that was absolutely too much fun. My personal favorites are Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean’s bars because they’re right next to each other, but they connect at the top for an ultimate good time! The bartenders are fast, the drinks are good, and the vibe is right there.

Once the bars were closing, we decided to treat ourselves to the Taco Bell Cantina that serves alcohol in their slushies. If you have never had an alcoholic Baja blast freeze, you are truly missing out. It was the best way to end our first night in Nashville.

The next morning, we had a little bit of a late start but not to worry because day two of this trip was probably my favorite. We started out by walking to this place named the Gulch where there’s a bunch of different restaurants and shopping. We decided to get breakfast at this place named Biscuit Love and their name does not disappoint. Their biscuits were better than any homemade ones I’ve ever had. We then did some more shopping and eventually ended up at the country music hall of fame.

The entire trip was a little bit of rinse, wash, and repeat but it was amazing. We went to midtown and listened to some jazz music and even tried local bakeries that were so delicious. This actually led us to the downtown chick fil a which had chicken wings that made my life complete.

Moral of the story, I am in love with Nashville, and I encourage any one and everyone to go!

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Weekend Recap

This past weekend was a whirl wind for me! I had so much to do with so many places to go and just barely enough time to do it all. So, let’s get into it:

It all started on June 24, 2022, when my mom happily accepted her boyfriend’s proposal to get married. Fast forward to September and it was time for their engagement party. Around three o’clock on Thursday Sept. 29, 2022, my roommate, Michelle, and I loaded my car with our suitcases and started our five-hour journey to my hometown of Midland Texas.

Arriving in midland at around eight o’clock, we went straight to, Kessler’s the party venue, to help set up for the celebration the next day. Once the lights had been strung and the center pieces had been perfected, it was finally time to go home and eat some dinner. My amazing big sister, Autum, made Michelle and I Birria tacos from scratch and they were the most delicious tacos I have ever eaten. After dinner, Michelle and I said goodnight to each other and went to sleep.

The next day was very fast paced but honestly one of the best days ever.

I woke up at around eight in the morning and hastily got ready for the day while Michelle was still asleep. This morning, my mom, my sister, and I all had manicure and pedicure appointments for ten o’clock, so we picked my sister up at around nine-forty-five in the morning and headed to the nail salon. The three of us had the best time laughing and catching up while getting our nails done – I miss them so much it is unreal sometimes!!

Once we got home from the nail salon PANIC set in as I realized I did not have a dress to wear to the party! You see, I ordered a gorgeous dress online from Princess Polly but mistakenly shipped it to my mom’s house instead and when I tried the dress on, you guessed it, the dress did not fit – it was two sizes too big.

Michelle and I rushed to the mall in hopes of finding anything to wear and with a little bit of luck and a lot of hope, we find a very similar dress to my original one but at least ten times better – so it all worked out the way it was supposed to. We then stop at Target to see my best friend Dezmond who works there and to get a new lip liner (if you’re not using lip liner – it’s a game changer). At around two-thirty in the afternoon we arrive back at my mom’s house, and we start the hours long process of getting ready.

By five o’clock the white hummer limo had arrived, and it was time to go celebrate the two love birds. Once at the venue, we step out to the photographer taking our pictures exiting the limo and walking into the venue – it was such a magical experience.

The venue was gorgeous; it had amazing fountains and other water features, huge sparkly chandeliers, an outdoor space with sparkly string lights and an ambience no one can forget.

That night was purely magic. We danced and laughed and loved the newly weds to be.

The next day, Saturday, was a major recovery day for everyone because we all went to bed at around three in the morning after the engagement party.

My mom’s Fiancé, and I suppose my soon to be stepdad, was so sweet and went out and got breakfast burritos for everyone in the morning and they were delicious. Once we had finished eating, we lounged around the house lazily all day until around eight o’clock at night when Michelle and I decided to round up some friends and grab some drinks.

My sister, Autum, is a bartender and server at a restaurant called Cork & Pig, so my friends and I went to see her for a quick drink before heading to a bar called Fair to Midland. It is a really cool fair themed bar in Midland that is supposedly owned by the same owners as Kung fu on west sixth street in Austin Texas.

At Fair to Midland, we meet up with some of my hometown friends and have the best time playing skee ball and going down the giant slide they have. That night we shut down the bar and went to sleep at around three o’clock in the morning once again.

The next day, Sunday, was the longest day of my life (it felt like at least)! I woke up and got myself ready for the day at around nine in the morning. I then went to fill up my car with gas and got a car wash because Michelle and I were going to leave at around 11 o’clock that day to head back to San Marcos.

Unfortunately, we noticed that one of my headlights had gone out so we had to spend time fixing that before I could get on the road. After my car had been fixed, we loaded up the car once again with our things and started the five-hour journey back to our apartment at around three o’clock in the afternoon.

Michelle and I arrived in San Marcos at around nine o’clock in the evening where PANIC once again set in when we realized we had a birthday party to go to at ten o’clock. We rushed to get ready and surprisingly showed up to the birthday celebration on time.

That night we got home at around two-thirty in the morning, and we were EXHAUSTED!

To our own surprise we had just completed a five-hour road trip, a 45-minute rushed get ready, and a full twenty-first birthday celebration of our friend all back-to-back-to-back.

Overall, this weekend was an absolute whirl wind but in the best way possible! I would not change a single thing about this weekend!