Graduated

WE ARE COLLEGE GRADUATES!!!

We took our finals, hosted a party, slept until noon, shook President Smith's hand, and had some quality time with family. It was a full week.

I have to say, I did get a little emotional during the commencement ceremony. As I watched my fellow  grads walk across the stage, I couldn't help but think about all of the memories we have made together in the passed four years. IWU has been the source of a lot of stress, but mostly a lot of joy and growth. During my time here, I have done missions in Greece, became a barista, started this little blog, got elected as Vice President of PRSSA, got engaged, lived in Ireland, spent a weekend in Paris, interned with The Boys and Girls Club, got married, and all the while forming deep and lasting friendships with some really amazing people. Now it's time to say thank you, and farewell.

And hey, we're done. We did it. We have bachelors degrees. What??!!!

graduating seniors party on Race Street!!!! 

celebrating our first day of post-grad life with breakfast at a new local diner

walking to the senior picnic at President Smith's house

Friday night baccalaureate ceremony

our lovely caps & tassels (plus Jordan's Cum Laude Honors cord!)

my boys.

about to enter the chapel!

Public Relations degree....

...Marketing degree

President Smith. Love that guy.

all the pretty grads

yayyyy!!!!

:) 

Dowell fam

Shepherd brothers & sisters

Shepherd fam

party at the Shepherd house with yummy food, coffee, Toby the dog, and gifts

Shepherd bro/sis Ben & Jerry's pajama party

A few of my gifts - leather name embossed Bible & a new road bike to take with me to Colorado!

To our parents,

You have made this experience possible. Thank you for all that you do for us. We can't express enough how much we appreciate your support and love and sacrifice. It is because of you that we are here living out our dreams. We love you!!!

- Alli and Jordan

Near The End

At 12:00pm today,  I walked out of my very last class session at Indiana Wesleyan University.

My college To-Do list is quickly getting smaller, and the feeling of freedom and accomplishment has started to settle in. I am relieved to say that I've completed my general class assignments, research papers, campaign final proposal, senior project portfolio, and the dreaded senior project presentation. Whew! 

After finals are over on Wednesday next week, I will be officially done with everything undergrad. I can't believe this time has actually come (it still doesn't feel real). Now I am preparing to soak up every last moment with the people I have made memories with over these four amazing years. 


This is a time to reflect, celebrate, and be thankful. Here comes the emotion roller coaster. 

I think the right word to use here is bittersweet. yes, very bittersweet. 

[oh, college]

Life is crazy right now. And when I say crazy, I mean crazy busy. Not only is it my final semester of college, but I am also taking 17 credit hours and working almost 20 hours a week at McConn. And I am not just taking 17 normal-college-whatever-class credit hours, I am taking my senior capstone AND my senior project, which are both extremely time consuming and ultimately lead to stress, self-doubt, and anxiety.

The most difficult part about this semester is time. I never have time to sit and share a meal with someone. I don't get home until 10:00pm. I barely have a social life. There isn't a minute in my day that isn't scheduled.

Like I said, life is crazy right now.

Yes, it's crazy, but I also have to remember that it is worth it. I have reached the point where I am tempted to slack off and give up on this school stuff. I want to spend all of my time with the people who I will soon be separated from when we all graduate. The emotional sentimentalism has set in, and it's only going to get worse. My conversations with friends lately never fail to end in reminiscing about these past four years of college. Everyone is feeling it. We are close to the end and we don't want to forget these moments of life together.

And then we realize it midway through our storytelling. We are hit with the reality that we will never again experience anything like college. It really is a once in a lifetime thing.

So I am challenged with making every interaction, conversation, and hour count. I don't want to take it for granted. Someday, I will look back on my college years and laugh at how beautifully odd it all was. I will ask myself, "How can it be that we lived in a world where our classes, jobs, meals, entertainment, and friendships all took place on one little campus?" We worship together, learn together, grow up together, and live together. It's pretty cool actually.

Today, tomorrow, and everyday until April 28, I will do my best to intentionally make memories that will keep my heart full forever. Oh gosh, I am beyond excited for these final two months :)

To sum it up in photos... 

{November}

(photo sources)

November is here! The time has come for snowfall, turkey dinner, cable knit scarves, heavy socks, and gift shopping. By this time in the fall semester my brain gets weak and I stop caring about school. Looks like I'm right on schedule. I am counting down the days until Thanksgiving break when we get to spend five days with family and friends in Battle Creek. Oh, and I am finally getting an iPhone this month!  I will never complain about early Christmas gifts. Thanks Mom and Dad for being the best parents ever. 

I hope you all enjoy your November weather. Have a fantastic weekend! 

P.S. If you live in Marion, you should really come see the IWU theatre production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. I'm doing hair and makeup for the cast, and I would love to see you there. I'm pretty sure you won't leave without a few laughs.   

{Back to School}

It was my last first day of school on Tuesday. It's a surreal feeling being back at IWU after living in Ireland for a semester, becoming a Mrs., and starting a whole new stage of life that involved bills and house work. I have this strange feeling like I don't really belong here anymore. But I guess I expected that once Jordan and I had made our plans last fall. We knew everything was going to change, and change for the better.

The best part about starting school is the season. Fall. And with fall comes pumpkin spice lattes at the bucks. In fact, I think I just might head over there right now to get myself some fall goodness in a cup.

reflection.

I leave Ireland in 4 days. It still hasn't hit me yet.

In order to process and fully transition from Ireland to America, this week is dedicated to our last assignment - the integrative 10 pager about our experiences here, and also packing all that we have learned about Ireland into this one assignment (which is a lot!). Along with the paper, we are taking some time to reflect on this semester as a group. We had our first debriefing session today, which included sharing our favorite stories and memories, and then time on our own doing a journaling exercise. By the end, we each had narrowed down our top 3 events/themes/things learned while being here.

My Top 3:

1. Finding solitude and rest, allowing myself to be quiet and alone: I have found my introverted side. I have recognized that being with people constantly is not healthy. I have learned to love my time in stillness with God.

2. Growing through conversations and intimate one-on-one time with specific people here: Jordan, Emily McCardle (Squirrel), Kyle and Kelsey, Laura, and Jen Lewis. These people have taught me so much.

3. Truly appreciating home. Being here has given me a whole new perspective on the U.S. I hope that I will never again take for granted the blessings I have. I am so so excited to be back in my familiar place with the people that I love and have missed everyday of this semester.


I have felt the ache of being away from the people I am closest to, especially the ones I am used to seeing all the time. Now I realize just how important they are to me. I have become so emotional and sentimental lately, because I can see that my life would not be the same without them.

My parents have raised me, loved me, supported me, and poured into my life in every way. My sister is my other half - she understands me best. My soon to be in-laws have welcomed me into their home and have treated me like their own daughter for the past two years. My friends at IWU (Hannah, Tim, Beth, Kate) are the people that keep me sane, grounded, and joyful, each one bringing their own unique and beautiful impact into my life.


Nothing can replace these people.