Christmas Break

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Happy New Year! I am back in New Orleans after a great break filled with family, delicious food, snow covered mountains and Santa visiting :) I have done quite a bit in the past two weeks so I think it is easiest to tell my story in pictures (I took many!) It's hard to believe that the next time I will be in New Jersey is after my YAV year is up. It was comforting and relaxing to be in the presence of my family. I love them more than they know and to part with them is really hard. On that same note, however, I missed New Orleans when I was away so it is nice to be back. I just wish I could have packed my family in my suitcase as well! It is an ongoing battle to convince them that yes, they must come visit me while I live down here. Hopefully that will happen in the near future...but for now, here are the top highlights from my wonderful break.

My roommate gave me this book called Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller for my birthday. It's one of the best books I have ever encountered. I say encountered because it didn't feel like a book when I was reading it, it felt like a being - almost alive. For the first half of the book I couldn't read more than one chapter a day because I was so overwhelmed with the questions it asked and the ideas it forced me to think about. I was overwhelmed yet undeniably intrigued. I drank in every word and the second I was finished, I knew I couldn't wait to read it again. I have never had a book challenge or make me think about my beliefs the way Blue Like Jazz did. I filled up pages on pages in my journal on my thoughts of the book. I went out and bought two more books by Donald Miller and I can't wait to start them.

This book was thought provoking, funny, and extremely well written. I recommend it to anyone! It's a great read that no matter what you believe (if anything!) you can get a lot out of it. 

On Christmas Eve, me, my dad and my cousin climbed one of the mountains in Bedford, PA that surrounds my Grandma's house. It's not an easy hike - it's pretty steep and the last quarter of the hike is more like rock climbing. You pretty much make your own path where your sense of direction consists of walking up the mountain, trying to avoid thorns and loose rocks. It was a foggy day and it was snowing on and off the entire hike but it felt so good to be hiking and who doesn't like being on top of a mountain looking down below?

We made it to the top!

Foggy view and tired legs but feeling accomplished!

Oh to be reunited. Seeing some of my friends that I hadn't seen since graduation was wonderful. I traveled into the city and got the grand tour of where my now super grown up friends live. It's actually pretty crazy now that I stop to actually think about it. All my friends are doing really well - they all have jobs that for the most part they love. They pay bills and live in cute apartments and have couches delivered and cook dinner and have things on the walls. I am so proud of all of them and it was so nice to catch up like old times. We ended up getting all dressed up to go out but when we got to the bar and realized we couldn't all hear each other, we were back in our pajamas, eating pizza, watching Modern Family before you know it. I miss my friends every day and to have a whole night with them was really awesome.

I have the best friends in the world who will shamelessly take public mirror pictures with me. 

The best part by far of my break though was traveling to the beautiful state of Colorado to visit my uncle and aunt and the mountains of course. We spent 5 days skiing Winter Park and Mary Jane and were even lucky enough to get 20 inches of snow during our visit! Let me say that again...20 inches of snow! I had never skied in so much powder - it was light and fluffy and up to my knees. I also had to restrain myself from taking all the pictures I wanted to but it would have filled up my phone. I truly have missed mountains and snow and - dare I say it - the cold! It was a nice change of pace to bundle up and enjoy the cold wind on your face as you came down the mountain. I also got the opportunity to make Jambalaya for my family! It turned out great and they all loved it - subtle hint to get everyone to visit me....I think so!

On the plane to Colorado (minus Thomas who is sitting in the row ahead of us!)

Chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage jambalaya!

Went from sea level to over 9,500 feet of elevation! 

All 11 of us at the top of Mary Jane! The mountain behind us has been nicknamed the Baseball Mitt by my uncle, aunt and cousins. Pretty accurate name, huh?

Sun over the mountains. You don't get these kinds of views in flat Louisiana. 

It's a Mary Jane mountain unwritten policy that it is ok to leave your board, skis and poles outside while you buy your tickets, get some lunch or if you're just doing your thing

Me and my mom on the ski lift!

I could lie and say that this sunset is photoshopped but then it would be a lie. That's an unedited Colorado sky for you ladies and gentlemen.

Being with my family always make me realize how lucky I am. Not because we all get along all the time and not because we are really good at not losing things and not because we never, ever get on each other's nerves but because they are my family and I know they will always be there. I think I'm starting to understand unconditional love. I love my entire family - flaws and all - simply because they are mine and I am so lucky to have such amazing, supportive people in my life. Not everyone gets that and on top of it we're not that bad looking are we.....

My family is weird and awesome and crazy and one of a kind. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

I must admit that although my break was awesome, coming home was filled with more emotions than I had expected. It was different than coming home from college. The ties that have connected me to home and friends seem to have taken on a new shape. Now I know part of this disconnect stems from the fact that every day I wake up in a different time zone, with different weather, hundreds of miles away from the people I feel this disconnect from. But this feeling that washed over me as I stepped off the plane and was greeted by my family at the airport was something more than this. I just felt different. I think a lot of what I am feeling is something that is internal. New Jersey didn't change, I have changed and adapting to this change is something I have no idea how to do since I am just beginning to realize how much I have changed since I have moved to New Orleans. It's exciting and terrifying and awesome.

Lessons from the Journey: When you do something different you will become something different. But the ones that mind don't matter and the ones that matter don't mind - they love you for you, whatever that turns out to be.