I Love College

College is something I never though I would partake in. It isn't because I didn't think it was useful, I am just not a school kind of girl. I struggled through cosmetology school, granted I had a lot emotionally going on, but if I almost didn't get through that I obviously made the right choice to no go to college, right? Apparently my brain thinks I am wrong because for some reason I applied to a school. I also got into said school and I will be starting in May 2015. The next shocker? It's in Utah! Now, anyone who knows me, knows how much I abhor Utah with all of my being. Right after I graduated high school (literally 2 weeks later) I was shipped to Provo and forced to live out the worst 6 months of my life. I vowed I would never return to that hellish state but here I am subjecting myself to it again. The only thing that makes me feel better about this is that I won't be in Happy Valley, I might have to visit since that's where my Sister and Brother-in-law live and some of my favourite people go to BYU. Plus my best friend is also going to Weber so I will be able to stay semi sane ;).

 

When I go I plan to Major in Business Management and minor in some kind of music related thing. The music is mostly to keep my sanity since Business includes math and well, math and I don't get along very well. Math was almost my downfall in high school, I actually almost didn't graduate but luckily Mr. Cottoms is an amazing tutor. I know, I know I am 22 and JUST starting college but, to be honest, if I had started any earlier I wouldn't have finished and just wasted a bunch of money. I still fully plan on doing hair but I think a degree could also help me in other future endeavours! 

 Right now in Italy, not much is going on but I am going to Germany next week to stay with Gabriela! I am super excited about that and we are going to get up to some shenanigans ;).

Gabriela and I

 

  Also, for those of you who don't know I bit the bullet and posted an original song on YouTube so here is the link for that!

Secrets (Original)

We also celebrated Giovanni's 16th birthday recently at Garda Lake, which was beautiful (even though it rained pretty much all day). He got some gear for his guitar and a yummy cake and then they went to the pool and swam a bit! After, we all played a couple card games and then Gio, Ugo and I headed back to the house while Annamaria, Matteo and Linda (Matteo's friend) stayed at the lake and camped. It was a pretty good time and I think Gio had a good birthday!

 

My ootd (50lbs down)

Until Next Time

<3

Rachel

Marriage

Marriage-

noun

1. (broadly) any of the diverse forms of interpersonal union established in various parts of the world to form a familial bond that is recognized legally, religiously, or socially, granting the participating partners mutual conjugal rights and responsibilities and including, for example, opposite-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, plural marriage, and arranged marriage:

 Marriage is something I naively assumed would happen pretty fast after I graduated high school. Maybe that is my LDS upbringing talking, I guess I just assumed that I would find a good LDS boy immediately and live happily ever after. Four years later I am still single and definitely no where near marriage and I think somewhere subconsciously I feel like a failure about this. I think I have 3 or 4 close friends left who are neither engaged or married, it's like a virus or something, right now.  

At this point in my life I am enjoying what I am doing, I might joke and say I will be forever alone but I really don't want to get married right away. I think at some level I think it would be nice but, there are so many things I want to do and try before I settle down. There also is that small matter that I seem incapable of attracting a man haha. My best friend Sara and I have this thing that we say, 'clearly our personalities suck' because I really don't know what else it could be.

Another thing about my views on marriage that are different from what I was taught at church my entire life is this, I don't care what religion he is. If I love him and he loves me why should it matter? I will say that I am jaded when it comes to LDS guys, I have never had a good experience with then and my worst experience was with a 'good LDS boy' who turned out to be the world's biggest tool. I know for some of y'all reading this that this will be controversial but I just make myself care. I just want to be happy and what if the guy who will do that for me isn't LDS? I should immediately brush him off because he isn't? That just sounds very illogical to me, I want to be happy and so I will be with the person that makes me the happiest. 

I have seen a lot of marriage and divorce and unhappy marriages in my life and I don't want to be part of that. I looked up the divorce rate online and found this, ' PolitiFact.com estimated in 2012 that the lifelong probability of a marriage ending in divorce is 40%–50%'. That is a high percentage and I don't want to become a statistic, so I think I will happily continue being single until I find the one person who I can live the rest of my life with. I want to be like my grandparents and parents who have been together forever through thick and thin. My parents went through a very difficult trial early into their marriage that would have ended weaker relationships but my parents stayed together. I want to have a marriage like my parents, that is what I strive for. 

Until next time

<3

Rachel

Ramblings and Cravings

This weekend I took a much needed break and went north east to a little place called Conegliano! I got to realx, see some castles and some beautiful scenery! I have been having a bit of a hard time lately, the depression has been hitting me hard so this was a nice break. I might also be taking a week off soon and going either somewhere around Italy or even possibly to Germany, which would be super cool for me! I love pretty much everything to do with WWII history so this could be a once in a lifetime chance for me to see things up close and personal!

While I might be having a rough time I am still so glad I am here. The host family I have is more than amazing and I couldn't be any more greatful! This past week my host dad got a job offer so we went out to celebrate at a japanese restaraunt! I am so happy to have asian food back in my life, it was like heaven in my mouth. People keep telling me I shouldn't miss American food because I have realy italian food at my fingertips but, i've had that for 6 months! I miss the food I haven't been able to eat, more specifically I miss Chipotle. I miss it so much, I crave it pretty much every day haha. That will be the first place I go, and then Tropical Smoothie, I need a good smoothie in my life. I always get the same one, I don't think i've tried a different one actually. I go for the Sunrise Sunset because it is life and speaks to me on a deeper level. Fun Fact, the only reason I tried it in the first place wasbecause of the name, It made me think of 'Fiddler on the Roof' so I knew it had to be delicious and man, was I right!

Anywhooo this post wasn't all that exciting but this is my life right now! I'll try and be more interesting next post ;)

Until next time!

<3

Rachel

My Bucket List

I think mostly everyone I know has a 'Bucket List' of sorts, not all of them have it written down but they definitely have a mental one. Sara (my bestest friend) got me inspired to start mine after she wrote hers. So now I will tell the world what my bucket list/dream list is composed of, some of them might seem silly but if you know me at all, I am kind of a weirdo. ;) Also, this list is a work in progress, I will probably add on to this as the years go by!

1. Volunteer in an Orphanage
2. Learn to speak Spanish fluently
3. Go to England
4. Write a book
5. Write an entire album worth of songs
6. Record said album
7. Become the voice of a Disney Princess
8. Get my bachelor's degree
9. Go to Australia
10. Go on a safari in Africa
11. Learn Guitar
12. Learn Piano (mom, help!)
13. Live in NYC for at least a little while
14. Build my parentals a house
15. Go to a music festival (or multiple)
16. Preform for a big crowd
17. Have my own clothing line
18. Adopt/foster children (older ones not babies)
19. Be on the Amazing Race with my bestest friend
20. Meet the cast of the Hunger Games
21. Meet the cast of Harry Potter

So that so far is my list, nothing super exciting and I know what y'all are thinking, 'be a Disney princess voice? Really Rachel?'. Seriously, yes. That has been my dream since I was little, will it ever happen? Probably not, but, I am a big believer in having dreams.

Until next time!
<3
Rachel

Birthdays and Sunburns

 This past week (as I said in my previous post) I was in Sardinia, Italy. Sardinia is more than I could have ever dreamed, the sea was so clear the weather was perfect and the company was amazing. While on holiday I also had my birthday! I am now the ripe old age of 22, people keep asking me if I 'feel' 22 but since I have never been 22 how am I supposed to know what it feels like? I don't really feel older, and I can't bring myself to listen to Taylor Swift tell me what 22 supposedly feels like.

I will admit though, it wasn't all sunshine and daisies there, I had a complete meltdown on my birthday. I have decided that I truely do miss my family, like, a lot. I used my host mom's phone since mine is broken and I called my mom and just cried to her like a little baby. By the end of the phone call I felt much better but since my phone is still broken, this means I can't talk to anyone in my family. I am still super homesick but hopefully i'll be able to buy a new phone soon and get over that homesickness.

My birthday is not only my birthday, not only is it Lilja's (who was a jerk and left me ;P), it is also my host dad's! We had an amazing tart like cake with tons of fruit, a big south african style barbecue and went to the beach and just generally had fun. I am so greatful I am with the family I am with, they are amazing and are always there for me when I need them. For my birthday I got a beautiful, matching coral bracelet and necklace, a beautiful hand fan and some Kerestase hair product! This will defenitely not be a birthday I forget, ever. My sister, Marisa, was telling me that when she turned 22 she was in Australia. I turned 22 here in Italy and now I think my younger sister Tiana wants to continue this tradition and turn 22 somewhere cool and foreign!

Me, Gio, Annamaria, Ugo, Matteo

Annamaria and I

here you can see a bit of my lobsterness

My nose got hit hard and is still red haha

Now onto the sunburn bit, I obviously forgot how white I was and how hot the Italian sun is because I turned into a lobster. Now though, I  am a nice bronze colour with minimal peeling. The FIRST day though I burned the back of my knees, after falling asleep on the beach. That is one place I can say I have never burned and hope to never repeat the experience. Holy crap it freaking hurts, and then my skin got so tight and it hurt to walk. I really know how to kick off a vacation ;). Anywhoooo this is what's going on in my life right now, tans, slight homesick depression, birthdays and broken phones.

Until next time

<3

Rachel

Lonely

Lonely. That's kind of how I'm feeling lately, well not kind of, that is how I'm feeling lately. Ever since Lilja left (one of two friends I have here and the only one who lived close) I have felt lonely and homesick. I have now been here for close to 6 months so I think it is about time to feel a bit homesick haha. I know I should just suck it up, go out and meet new people but that's hard when you don't know the language well. I'm sure I could do it but, anyone who knows me knows I am an awkward person and it takes awhile for me to make friends. I didn't always used to be this way, I used to be quite bubbly and personable maybe I can return to that Rachel again and shed this introvert personality I have seemed to develop.

The one thing that is definitely keeping me going is knowing my mom will be coming out here! Not for another 6 1/2 months but still, she's coming! The plan is to show her around a good chunk of Italy and then head to France. She has always wanted to go to Paris but has never had to opportunity until now, I'm so glad I get to be the one to experience it with her! My mom is literally the best you guys, you might think your mom is cool but she has nothing on mine.

Another thing that is keeping me in good spirits (for the most part) is tomorrow I am heading with my host family to the lovely island of Sardinia. Sardinia is apparently supposed to have the nicest seas in all of Italy! This makes me happy because if I could be a mermaid, trust me, I would be. I love the water and all things beach related, except the whole swim suit thing. I may be losing weight but I'm still no model so Bathing suits are not my favourite clothing items on the planet.

I don't really know why I'm writing this post, maybe it's just because I haven't written in awhile and just needed to get this off my chest. My name is Rachel, and I am lonely and miss my mommy. Obviously I also miss my Daddy and my best friends but mostly, I miss my mom haha. If you had told me 5 years ago that I would be feeling this way about my mom, I would have laughed at you. I've always been a Daddy's girl but lately my mom has taken over that spot! Love you mommy! I love you too Daddy but ya know, you're not as fun since you grew a back bone ;).

Me, Daddy, Mommy and the beautiful D.C. Temple

Anyways, until next time!

<3

Rachel

'F' Is For Friends Who Do Stuff Together

So in light of recent events I have been doing a lot of thinking about friends. Tomorrow a really good friend I met here in Italy is leaving me to go back home to Iceland, and I am really freaking upset about it. I am not one who trusts or makes good friends easily so when I met Lilja it was a surprise for me that I felt so comfortable so fast and that we became so close so fast. I just want to publicly thank her for putting up with my crazy emotional boy crazy nerdy and certifiably insane personality. It means a lot and I am going to have to make a trip to Iceland soon!

Throughout my lifetime I have had a handful of people come into my life that I can genuinely call friends. People who have never made me feel like crap about myself and have been there for me at my best and my worst times, people who have seen me looking like I just crawled out of a grave and haven't run away. Those are the people I consider most important to me.

When you're young you think that the more friends you have the better off you are but no, that is not the case. I had a ton of friends in elementary school and middle school and even in the beginning of high school but that didn't matter, the ones that mattered were the couple of people I kept close to me and knew I could trust completely. Those types of people are few and far between so keep them close if you are able to.

I won't name names because I will inevitably forget someone but I want I want to say thank you to those people I have been able to consider my 'best friends'. Y'all mean the world to me and without you guys I would have been a lot worse of than I was. Thank you for getting me through all my trials and suffering and for being brutally honest with me when I needed to hear it.

I might joke and say that I 'hate everyone' and while that is semi true, I could never hate the small amount of people in my life that have affected me so much. Who mean so much to me and who I will always consider the most important people in my life. This is kind of a sappy post but I want to let the world know I have a handful of amazing friends and I would never trade them in, ever.

Having good people in your life is very important, keep the people who uplift you around and say goodbye to the haters!

 Until next time!

<3

Rachel