Three hundred and sixty seven days

It's been three hundred and sixty seven days since my last post.

I've been trying to figure out why I stopped writing and I think it might be because I saw this blog as a way to help me heal. I finally reached a point where I didn't need it anymore! 

It might also be because I was flooded with amazing circumstances and never found the time to write. Whatever the reason, I'd really like to give an update on everything that's happened over the last year. I'm sure it will be impossible to cover everything, so I'll just hit the high points...

On May 14, I graduated from Point Loma Nazarene Univeristy! 

On May 15, I left for Rwanda and spent three amazing weeks there!

After Africa, I came back to San Diego and worked as a nanny for the most adorable family.

These girls became my sisters. <3

On August 31st I moved to Oregon to attend George Fox University's master program in Marriage and Family Therapy. Yep, Oregon. 

Ready for the most exciting news?!

A few months before I graduated and left for Africa I reconnected with Stuart, my 8th grade crush. 8th grade! Can you believe it? The guy I was hopelessly in love with as a 13 year old. 

It turns out we had both kept all of the letters we wrote to each other during 8th and 9th grade. We started dating a few weeks before I left for Africa and this might sound a little cheesy, but I am the happiest I've been in a long time. And you know how I moved to Oregon? He came with me :) 

Lucky girl? Most definitely. 

There's so much more I could say, but through it all this past year has been incredible! I'm sorry I never wrote, but coming back to this blog and seeing how far I've come has made an incredible impression on my heart. 

I think I want to keep posting off and on. Stuart and I will have lots to report as we start this adventure in Oregon together! We're slowly making this place home and I think writing about it might help me transition. 

Anyway, this post is already incredibly long so I think I'll check out now, but don't worry. I'll write again soon! 

“The future for me is already a thing of the past - 

You were my first love and you will be my last” 

-Bob Dylan

Copeland - Love Affair Acoustic

Somehow Copeland looked inside my heat and wrote a song about it.

Well done boys. :)

And I'll feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe

Saying goodbye was my Everest.

Can I just say that I adore Adam Young?

He captures it perfectly...

http://owlcityblog.com/2011/03/14/i-hate-goodbyes/

Encouragement from class notes

So I'm currently studying for an exam tomorrow and smack in the middle of the notes I come across this, "Open your heart up to love and it will find you. Try not to overthink the process"
What do you know. :)

Coronado

I know I’ve said this a thousand times but I absolutely adore the Hotel Del.

Today is the third day of spring break and I have nothing to do until 4:00! Amazing, isn’t it?

So guess where I am. Exactly. I’m sitting on a wooden bench outside the Del overlooking the soft sand and enchanting sea of Coronado. The shore sparkles and the waves politely introduce themselves and then shy away back into the vast ocean. Just 20 feet to my left there’s a first grade class practicing art by drawing the hotel.

I love this place.

I’m not sure why I’m so drawn to it. Sometimes I like to pretend I’m a guest and I’m entering the heavy wooden doorway for the first time after a long flight. As I walk in the chandelier that hangs from the ceiling sparkles with the excitement of being in a new place. Or I can imagine that I’m engaged to the love of my life, scoping out the hotel as a potential venue for our long awaited wedding. Or I can just be Felisha; a busy college student who wore her favorite dress along with a new pair of shoes and ventured to this serene setting to escape her life for a day. It’s not that I don’t like my life; it’s just something about coming here that allows me to step outside of it for a few hours and just enjoy the present. The birds even seem to know there’s something special about this place as they whisper sweet secrets to each other in the purple flower bed by the bench. The rush of the waves reminds me of time and I wish I could stay here forever. A polite breeze touches my cheek ever so kindly as if to say that things will be okay and we will meet again soon.

Until then,

Felisha

For Dad

This morning I woke up from a horrible nightmare and before I even thought of getting out of bed I called my dad. Do you ever have those dreams where they feel so real that you have to make sure the person is okay? This was definitely one of them. After a very loving conversation with dad, I’m still a little teary eyed but I’m okay.

Dear Dad,

I love you so much! I love the notes we used to write to each other. I loved our annual trips to Six Flags on my birthday. I love that you work so hard to take care of our family, and I love that because you are so incredible I’m having the hardest time with dating because almost none of the guys measure up to you. Thanks for loving me.

Love your little girl,

Felisha