Tags
bike, Broadway, Christmas, College, Dance, Dog, Family, Florence, Friends, Germany, Graduation, Kieve, Krakow, Lion King, Paris, Philadelphia Broadway, Prague, Rome, Russia, St. Petersburg, Teach For America, Travel, UPENN, Venice, Vienna
So it’s been a while since my last post… just over a year to be exact. It’s amazing to me how much life can happen in just one year. I’ve been meaning to get back to blogging for quite some time, but it always seems to get put on the back burner. I guess I didn’t want to start any new posts because I felt like I had missed so many previous. It just didn’t feel right to start telling new stories when there were stories from the past still screaming to be shared. I’ve had some time over the Christmas break to do some life sorting and I’ve put together a “life since the last post” presentation. This is my tiny attempt to give peace to the tales I missed. So without further adieu, here is what Thoughts of Shawn missed in 2012…
Lion king at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas with the Madre
A wicked awesome dance party
Some bad hair days
I almost bought a dog! Someday… Finnish Spitz
Time spent with the Padres
Class projects
Greg Laswell in concert
Twice!
Mountain biking with the cousin-in-law
I graduated from college!
Some fun dates
Random memories
I flew to Europe with Hayden… for 5 1/2 weeks!
Germany
Family visit with the nieces and nephews. Aren’t they cute? (Katelyn, Tanner, Trevor, and Brianna) Thanks for everything Paul and Janae!
A day on the Rhein River
Castles!
Paris
Sneaking into an abandoned castle in southern France
Rome
Florence/Pisa
Venice
Vienna
Prague
Poland/Auschwitz
Ukraine
Back to the mission Sashleek! (Russian bbq)
I’m on a boat!
Reuniting with my Russian family
Love in Petersburg
Rooftop sunset at 12 am
Sites of Petersburg
Russia… country of opportunity
And all the friends that we met along the way…
A week after returning from Europe, I packed up my car and drove from Utah to Philly
Stopped by my mom’s hometown in Colorado
Reunited with friends and family on the way
Gettysburg
Church history sites
Relived the birth of our nation at Independence Hall in the room where the constitution was signed.
George Washington’s house
Moved to Philly at last and found it to have everything I need. Still waiting on the girl, love, and dog BUT…
I got the bike!
I started a new job with Teach For America (TFA) and survived summer institute. My first teaching experience.
And I made lots of friends along the way
I started a graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania in urban education. Never thought I’d end up at an ivy league school.
Went to my first Real Salt Lake soccer game (in Philly)
I survived a hurricane and helped clean up afterwards
In 2012, I completed a journey from sea to shining sea. I started in San Diego in January and ended on Staten island in November. My lovely red Nissan was there with me for every second of the trip.
Mit Romney’s election night party
I made it home to Utah for thanksgiving to play canasta with my grandma
I made a lot of new friends and had a lot of fun.
To wrap it all up, I got to spend the holidays with the parentals and my brother’s cute little family in North Carolina. Thanks Keith and Katie!
Christmas hiking and bird watching with the fam
What a great little nephew… Charlie!
Wow, what a year! This was definitely a year for the memories… but next year will be too! Thanks to my wonderful family and to all of the amazing people in my life! I’ve met some incredible people over the last year and built some lasting friendships. None of my adventures would have meant anything if it were not for the people creating the memories with me.
I believe that every day there is something that happens that is worth telling a story about. My new year’s resolution… tell the stories more often. Blog!
My motto: Life is meant to be lived… so live it!