This summer
was an emotional roller coaster. It was filled with some of the very best
moments of my life that I’m going to happily look back on forever, as well as
some of the saddest moments that will forever leave darkness in my life.
There is no
particular order to this list so bear with me as I jump around from memory to
memory of the past few months. And of
course I had to include some of the best pictures, so I’m apologizing in
advance for the scrapbook.
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| So in love with him and nervous to meet him I literally tripped into his arms... |
Summer “2k14"
started off with a bang right when I got home from college. I had the
opportunity to meet Penn State’s head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson. A famous person, no big deal right? Well, not
only is this sweetheart super cute, but he’s the best of the best. Cael had a
159-0 college record, and was the only NCAA wrestler to ever go undefeated. He
was also a four-time national champion, four-time NCAA Outstanding Wrestler,
and on top of all of that he was an incredible speaker and humble man. This
will probably be the first and the last time I will ever brag about meeting someone
from Penn State, but I made an exception for him.
I got to
get my redneck on at the Luke Bryan “That’s My Kinda Night” tour at Heinz Field
back in June. It was Luke’s first stadium concert and it was incredible. I’ve
seen him in concert before and honestly, I’m not a huge fan of him, but when
you get to have an adventure traveling to Pittsburgh with some of your closest
friends and tailgating all day, well it makes for a damn good time. This little
road trip was also the first time I really got to put my new Ford F-150 to use.
We had a blast. A bunch of hicktown kids navigating our way around a big city,
somehow making it to the concert where we had prime parking to drop our
tailgates and party, and a stadium box filled with food to dance around in all
night – it doesn’t get better than that. It could’ve been the worst live music
ever, but with my friends by my side it was one of the best nights of my life.
Concert
round two was a lot different, but just as fun. After a very late start because
we couldn’t find the tickets, my cousin Gabby and I made it to PNC Park for
Jason Aldean’s “Burn It Down Tour.” Although we missed Tyler Farr (already saw
him in Syracuse so I didn’t really care) and we heard Florida Georgia Line as
we were walking across the bridge (we already saw them too), we made it in just
enough time to get to our amazing floor seats and see our girl Miranda Lambert.
When Jason came out to play though, so did the rain. The sky literally opened
up and it poured like hell. As fireworks were going off, lightening was
illuminating the sky. My wallet was soaked for the entire following week. We
didn’t care though. We were still dancing around, making friends, and having a
great time. A little rain sure didn’t stop us.
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| Still in shock it didn't cave-in on us. |
Summer
nights are about crazy adventures and lots of fun. This particular memory I
can’t say much about, but those involved know what I mean and I can’t pretend
it just didn’t happen. We like to refer to it as “From Fireflies to Felonies.” We
went from having little kid fun catching fireflies in my backyard, to having a
big kid night doing “hood rat shit.” All I can say is, I promise no one got
hurt in the process.
Another spur
of the moment night was The Campout. I haven’t slept in a tent since I was a
kid. One night after my best friend Emily and I ate our body weight in pancakes
at Perkins, we decided that the night was still young. We had no plans so after
driving for a bit we came back to my house. When we pulled in the driveway we
were joking about sleeping outside. Give the two of us a stupid idea though and
we’re probably going to do it. So we did. It took us an hour to find an old
tent in my garage, and even longer to figure out how to pitch it. But after searching
my house for all the pillows and blankets we could find, plus a life-size
five-pound teddy bear, we slept in our tent. Granted, it was all of three feet
off of my patio, but we stayed in it all night even though it was damn near 40o.
It’s something that we did and we know we’ll look back on laughing at our
stupidity for years to come.
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| Jul, you suck. |
I’m a beach babe. I could live on
the beach, do nothing, and be satisfied for the rest of my life. I got the
opportunity to be a beach bum for two weeks this summer and it was so relaxing.
In June I ventured to Kitty Hawk with my best friend, Juli, and her family. The
10-hour car ride down was an experience in itself, but luckily the week got
even better. From skim boarding to crabbing, floating on a giant raft in the
ocean, losing our bikinis in giant waves, and finding sand in some odd places,
it was a week I’ll never forget.
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| I like to think of myself as the rose among many thorns. |
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| First bar outing with our dads. |
Beach trip round two consisted of the annual Yahner/Varischetti Family Vacation – always a treat. This year we ended up in Punta Cana at the Hard Rock Resort and Casino and we had a blast. Since I was legal in the Dominican Republic I got to have my first bar outing with my dad. Nothing beats life advice over a few (or a lot of) brews. Countless dirty burgers were eaten and a lot of alcohol was consumed that week. But there is nothing better than donning a bikini from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm, lying in the sun or jumping in the waves all day, while always having a drink in hand. That’s just living the dream.
The Fourth
of July, my absolute favorite holiday and the biggest party of the year for our
little town. This year was one that will never be forgotten and the most fun
one I’ve ever had. It always kicks off the night before with my dad’s
unofficial class reunion taking place on our back porch. I love hearing about
my dad’s crazy high school stories and getting blackmail to have when he yells
at me for screwing up something in my life or a decision I make. Anyway, on the
4th itself, Juli and I rose bright and early. (Actually that’s a bit
of a lie because we had full intentions to run the 10k race but we just
couldn’t get out of bed and to the starting line that early). Nonetheless, we
had fun celebrating with the festivities around town all day until we finally
met up with Emily and Gabby. The four of us shared some good times and plenty
of laughs that we’ll always look back on with a smile. |
| Candid of Juli collapsing in front of Rails to Trails the moment we made it out. |
The Great
Bike Trip is the connector between the good and bad because I still can’t decide
which category it falls under. Most people who know they’re going to bike long
distances train for weeks, maybe even months in advance. They’re not morons,
wake up one morning, and say “Hey! It’s a beautiful day! Let’s bike 40 miles!”
But that’s exactly what Juli and I did. The first 16 miles or so were great.
Smooth sailing, beautiful scenery, lots of laughs. But after we realized it
wasn’t going to be a walk in the park, things went downhill fast. The ride back
was some of the longest miles of my life (probably because we stopped
approximately every two miles to stretch, bitch, and cry). Although we did not
wake up the next day with legs like Carrie Underwood, we did cross it off our
bucket list.
Some
friendships you assume are going to last forever. I really thought that was the
truth. I had been friends with this particular person since we were born. I
can’t even begin to count all the memories we’ve shared together and time we’ve
spent with one another. We’ve both changed over the years though, that’s
inevitable. But sometimes change isn’t for the good. He went from being a
person I could count on no matter what the circumstances were, to being someone
who I no longer wanted in my life. I use to be able to call him at any time of
the day and ask if we could meet up because I needed to cry and vent and he was
there at a moment’s notice. Earlier this summer, even after a stupid fight we
had, he promised he was going to be there for whatever I needed during one of
the most difficult times of my life. Words are pointless though unless proven
by actions. When I needed him most, he decided drugs were more important than
our friendship and he was no longer there for me. After it happened more than
once I knew I had to do the difficult thing and cut him out of my life. At
first it was hard. I’d reach for the phone and remind myself I shouldn’t call
him and forgive him so easily for him treating me so badly in our so called
friendship. As time went on though, I realized our friendship had been fading
for a while. Now it’s hard to even remember the good time we spent together
because it’s clouded by the bad times.
The hardest
thing I’ve had to deal with though was losing a member of my family in a
terrible canoeing accident. Even though Britt wasn’t technically related to me,
she was marrying my cousin in a month and had been dating him for eight years. Her
and Jimmer were my neighbors and I’d grown to know her over the years. Those days
following the accident were some of the saddest and most mentally exhausting
days my family has ever had to deal with. I still miss her greatly. And when
the wedding date comes I know it’s going to be such a sad day rather than the
celebration it was once intended to be. Britt’s death taught me a few lessons
though which I’d like to share. First, count your blessings each and every day
because there is always something to be thankful for. Second, in the big
picture of life, the little, insignificant problems really aren’t a big deal.
During difficult times you are going to realize who your true friends are. Your
family will help get you through anything. And finally, life can change in the
blink of an eye so never take anyone or anything for granted.
Through it
all, the good and bad, this is a summer I will never forget. I’ve lived, I’ve
learned, I’ve grown up, and I’ve had fun along the way. Now it’s back to school
to see what fun times await me there!
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