November.

November. 
It's a month full of thanksgivings, recognizing and acknowledging all of our blessings.
The last few months have been so full of blessings for me.

I've watched one of my best friends marry the sweetest guy ever.

I've been working most weekends, and learning so much about pharmacy in practice.
I've been able to go to a UGA game in Sanford, and be still my heart. Athens will always hold a special place in my heart.

My sister and I have been overwhelmed with business, and it couldn't be more wonderful. We literally bought an embroidery machine on a whim, hoping we could at least break even. And at this point? We've done more than break even. We've had so much fun sewing, and can't wait to see what the next few months bring. (Sewing may or may not have taken over our free time though... ) Our etsy shop link is HERE; and facebook HERE.

And last but not least, pharmacy school.
As hard as it has been the last few weeks, I still feel so blessed to be learning and under stress. Challenging, but rewarding-- that's the best way I can describe it.

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving break SO much.
I can't wait to spend time with my family,
and of course... eat a TON of good food.

My life--- it's busy.

The last few weeks have flown by.
I feel like I blinked and it was October.
School has been wonderful, and ohhh so busy.
In fact,
LIFE has been wonderful, and ohhh so busy.

I haven't posted in ages,
and it's literally because I'm spending most of my time doing schoolwork.
And those free moments of time?
I usually like to spend NOT looking at a computer screen.

Thus, the blog hiatus.
But I've started to miss it,
So here I am. :)

There's so much that's been happening in my life,
and it's hard to make it short and concise.

In the past month I have....

• turned another year older... and 23 is not nearly as exciting as 21 once was.
• started a new job
• gotten more adjusted to life in Atlanta (I still miss you ATHENS!) 
• been sewing like I work in a sweat shop... our Etsy page is booming. (more on that soon!) 
• welcomed fall with open arms
• learned a tremendous amount of pharmacy-related stuff, and have grown to love the profession EVEN more
• been guzzling caffeinated beverages like it's my job
• saw my boyfriend, aka John Mayer, in concert
• been consumed by Scandal, and I want Olivia Pope's wardrobe

Hopefully I can post more than just once this month. ;)

All the best,

Goodness in the World.

These days when you turn on the news, or read the latest headlines it's hard not to see the world as a cruel and scary place. It's filled with so much violence, hatred, and horrible crimes that occur on a daily basis.

But then, just as soon as you start to lose hope in humanity.. you see something that completely restores it. Something that shows you there is still goodness out there.

Watch this video and then tell me your heart doesn't fill up with joy.
There is still so much goodness in the world.
It makes me look forward to having a love like this sweet man has for someone.
But have tissues ready, because it'll make you cry!



Much love,

Beginning with the End in Mind.

Friday was our White Coat Ceremony for the entering class of Pharmacy school. 
The white coat symbolizes a commitment to professionalism and dedication to patient care. During the ceremony, we each went on stage to be presented with our white coat and then we all took a Pledge of Professionalism to begin our time has professional students working towards our Pharm.D.

It's a pretty meaningful ceremony, and I would be lying if I didn't say I've dreamed of the day I'd get that white coat for quite a while now. It's silly how an object can make things seem so real for you, but that white coat made the fact that I'll be in pharmacy classes this week seem MUCH more real.

During orientation the day before our WCC, one of the professors talked about what professionalism means. How would we define professionalism, and what does it mean in the pharmacy profession? You don't realize how hard it is to define professionalism without the word profession until you're asked that question. We spent time going through the Pledge of Professionalism, the Oath of the Pharmacist, and the Code of Ethics for Pharmacists, taking the time to recognize what they all meant to us and what the ultimate outcome of pharmacy school will be-- focusing on our duty and role as pharmacists.

"Beginning with the end in mind," is quote that she shared with us. That's the way we should begin pharmacy school, keeping a large focus on why we're here, why we're entering the profession of pharmacy, and what professionalism in our field means. That quote she shared with us is ultimately what the White Coat ceremony symbolizes.

 

We ended the ceremony with a reception, where we each signed the Pledge we recited.

I was so thankful to have my family there to celebrate the mark of the beginning of my Pharmacy career, I can't tell you how supportive they've been of me up to this point. And I'm sure all of the pep talks they've given me aren't over yet. ;) 

Now, the rest of my weekend is dedicated to studying. Class hasn't even started yet and I'm already behind... pharmacy school has arrived!!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! 

Orientation

My first day of the beginning of pharmacy school was yesterday-- Orientation.

My gosh, can words even describe how weird it is to sit in a room alongside 175 other people who share the same passion and goal as me? I have worked so hard for so long to get to this point. And sitting in the room being prepped for these next four years of coursework, the expectations of us as student pharmacists, and the importance of professionalism in our profession really hit me-- I am going to be a pharmacist. It's no longer an "I hope to be..." it's an "I will be...".

The Dean shared a quote with us that really stuck with me, "People won't want to know what you know, until you show that you care." As we looked over the Pledge of Professionalism, the Oath of the Pharmacist, and Code of Ethics for Pharmacists, that quote continued to resonate. The profession of pharmacy revolves around patient care, and as much schooling as we have ahead of us, and as much knowledge as we will all have after the next four years-- it will all mean nothing if we don't have the care and compassion behind what we do.

I know that these next four years won't be easy, and I know I'll probably end up complaining about all of the studying and assignments before it's all done with.. but I hope I never forget this feeling right now. This excitement that I've been feeling about getting started. I never want to take pharmacy school for granted, because it has taken so much work to get to this point, and there are so many out there that don't even make it here.

May 2017-- I can't wait to see how much knowledge I hold upon graduation. Going into our White Coat Ceremony today we're all excited, nervous, and anxious to get started. A class full of strangers that I can't wait to get to know in these upcoming weeks.

And I swear all of these sappy pharmacy posts are almost over... :)

Leaving.

Last week I sat down to write a post, and in the midst of it I got so emotional I had to stop. I tend to get overly attached to places and people, and as I've said before.. goodbyes aren't easy for me.

It was a blogpost about my last day of working at the Pharmacy that I've worked at for the past two years. The place where I spent countless hours falling in love with the profession of Pharmacy. The place that not only confirmed my love for pharmacy, but taught me how rewarding the profession can be.

There's something to be said for a small town, family-owned pharmacy. From the employees, down to the patients, it's a different atmosphere than your big retail chains. To say I was blessed with the opportunity to work there would be an understatement. I'll miss the abundance of laughs we shared at work, all of our quirky patients who made work so much more enjoyable, and just the people in general. I'll miss the people.

I can't even put into words how much all of the people at work have meant to me. The friendships I built with each of my coworkers, and the time we spent together is something I'm so grateful for. I have learned a tremendous amount about patient care, and how to handle situations that I never knew I could potentially encounter just from watching the pharmacists I work with. I feel more ready than ever to take on Pharmacy school and eventually join them in the profession.

Now bring it Pharm school!! ;)

Kayaking.

A few weekends ago, we took an impromptu kayaking trip with some guys from Jasmine's softball team. I had never been legit kayaking.. and didn't really know what to expect. But I CAN tell you, I didn't expect them to just dump us out at the top of the river with zero instruction.

Also, let me mention that this was during the month of monsoons that Georgia was having.. so the river was beyond full. When we crossed the bridge on our way to the kayaking place, and saw the river below, we started wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. And then as we started driving on the winding, muddy roads to get to the kayaking place we reeeally started to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into.

But we caught on within no time.
Yeah, we may have fallen out a time or two.. or three...
but it was a blast.

We all just kind of formed a big party barge, 8 people/kayaks across, as we let the river carry us down for the first few miles. Midway through we stopped for lunch, and those boys mean business when they plan a kayaking trip. Portable grill, bratwursts, the whole shabang. I think that may have been the best bratwurst I've ever had.

Then it was back onto the river for the last 7 miles.
We ended up doing 11 miles total, and we literally spent the whole day out there. Arriving at 9:30, and ending around 6:30. We were worn out.

The first half of the river was pretty laid back and easy, but the second half was more fast-paced with the rapids. At one part we went over a waterfall, which was terrifying.. but definitely worth it. ;)

Around the last mile it started raining pretty badly on us, and we came to some fast-paced rapids that were pretty scary. It's like you can't paddle hard enough to get you where you need to go... and I ended up getting dumped out of the kayak in the midst of the rapids. My adrenaline kicked in and I managed to grab my kayak, but I got swept along in the current and it was pretty scary. My legs were slamming against rocks.. and it feels like you're literally helpless when you're in fast-moving water like that. There's nothing you can do to stop yourself. It all ended up being fine after we passed that rough patch, my kayak just suffered some damage-- it filled with water all along that last stretch. And my leg had an awesome battle wound for the books. ;)

We survived our first kayaking trip though, and we can't wait to go back.
And you best beliiiieeeve we devoured some McDonald's Big Macs and french fries after that day on the river. That was some serious work!

And... the waterproof camera survived the trip too. That's a success! I forgot how to operate the old school disposable cameras... they're so much fun to get developed. The pictures are a mystery. ;)

Goodbyes

Lately I feel like I've been running a million miles a minute, constantly.
The past month has been so busy between finishing up my summer class, packing things and moving into Atlanta, finishing up at my job, getting last minute things in order for pharmacy school, and starting a new business venture with my sister (more to come on that later). Oh.. and squeezing in a bit of a social life in all of that. So needless to say, finding time to blog has been difficult.

There are a lot of exciting things happening in my life right now. Big changes that I've worked hard for for a very long time are about to take place. But it's also a bittersweet time, leaving a place I've called home for the past two years being one of the more difficult things.

It's no secret that I have a strong love for Athens, GA. Packing up our apartment and reminiscing on all of our wonderful memories we've made in that sweet town made it very hard to leave. And I know that at some point good things have to come to an end for better things to happen... but it doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to a place that's become such a big part of your life.

My roommate, Jasmine, and I have talked a lot about how much our lives have changed just within the last two years.. and how crazy it is to think about how much they'll change in the next four years. There are a lot of opportunities to be had in Atlanta for both of us, and I'm excited and a little anxious to see what all that city holds for us in the coming months.

I started off in a small college town in the mountains, ventured to the big ole city of Athens, and now it's time to tackle Atlanta. I can't wait to see what all unfolds for me in the future, and I can't wait to share it on here.

Just pray that I survive in that ATL traffic. ;)

#leakeywedding

Saturday I went to Jamie and Adam's BEAUTIFUL wedding.
Pictures don't even do it justice.
It was THE wedding of the summer, if you ask me ;) , and every last detail was pinterest-worthy perfection.

She was stunning.
I am in love with her dress, her hair, everything.. but did we expect anything less? Jamie is beautiful! And I'm so happy for her and Adam. Their love for each other is just the sweetest.

And since Jamie invited some fellow bloggers to the wedding.. we had a blast sharing a table and getting to know each other in real life. Blogging. is. Awesome. These girls are all so wonderful!

bre // me // nicole // jamie //  jess // savannah

 gotta love blurry iphone pics. ;) 

 Congratulations Adam and Jamie!! Enjoy your honeymoon in St. Lucia!!

Coke Bottles and Paper Straws.

The Sunday after Mal's graduation we threw her graduation party, 
and with our luck...
it started thunder storming, and pouring buckets of rain around 4:00 that morning.

We had planned to have her party in our yard.
We had strung wire between the trees to hang the pom pom balls we made,
Mama and Daddy had rented tables and chairs,
we had put in hours of yard work...
and it. was. pouring. BUCKETS.

So around 7:30 that morning we all started scrambling to clean the house, and move the party indoors.
Around 50 people were expected.. and we had to find places to put everyone.
But it turned out just wonderfully regardless, Mama and Mal did a great job with all of their decorations.

AND, how cute was Mal's little dress with those bottled cokes?
Her color scheme was on point. 

 Mama and daddy did the barbecue for the party, and it was incredible.
The bottled cokes, paper straws, mason jars for sweet tea, and monogrammed petits fours.. just too cute for words.

 

 All in all, the party was a success.

And it quit raining as soon as it was over, so we had a photo shoot.
Those I'll have to share next ;)

Lake Recap.

Finally, I'm getting around to posting pictures of our lake weekend.
We've had some people leave for vacation at work this week, so I've been filling in.. making my schedule full time from 9-7 each day. When you're not used to being on your feet that long, it's exhausting. But I love every minute at our sweet pharmacy, getting to see our patients every day is a treat. :)

Anyways, as for the lake.
My grandparents joined us this weekend.. but I didn't get any pictures. FAIL.
I took a lot of video footage in an effort to compile a sweet video like Jamie did of the Bachelorette party. (she inspired me) But I haven't had time to sit down and get to that just yet. So... one of these days it will happen.

My sister Mallory lives for the lake.
She waits all year for that first day in the summer when she can slip on her ski and hit the water.

But we all love sitting on the dock at that perfect time of day.
When the lake starts to clear out for dinner time,
the sun starts to set,
and the temperature starts to cool off a bit.
It's a little slice of heaven,
and my mama's "happy place."

NOW, back to reality.
My summer class starts today...
and I've kind of put it out of my mind that I actually have a summer class.
So today will be loads of fun ;)
A 3 hour Microbiology lab followed by a 2 hour lecture?
That's exactly how I envision my summer. #not