Spring Break 2015 and 5 of My Best Friends

What a week.

Spring Break 2015.
Senior Year.

There were many memories made. A lot of food eaten. A lot of sun was taken in.
It was absolutely wonderful.

Last summer, some friends and I talked about how we wanted to do something all together our Senior Spring Break.
I really didn't think then that we would actually do it.
But we did.

Easter Sunday, I hopped in a car with 5 best friends and 3 of their moms (nine of us total..) and we drove and drove and drove. Almost to Miami. And we stayed the night in Hailey's grandparent's house.

And then we woke up Monday. And we drove two more hours to Miami.

And we got on a cruise ship.

And we cruised the Caribbean for the next four days.

And it was amazing.

In the interest of not boring everyone, and trying to keep this brief.. I will give a rundown and a few of my favorite pictures. If you'd like to see all of my pictures there is a whole nice album on Facebook.

The first day was spent laying out and enjoying the sun.
And then we had dinner. Dinner was one of my favorite parts. Actually it was pretty much one of every bodies' favorite parts.

The second day we played with dolphins, fed dolphins, hugged dolphins, and well yeah dolphins. 

We also made some new Bahamian friends, and then hung out on the beach at Nassau. 

That night for dinner was "Captain's Night", aka where everyone dresses nicely. And we took tons of cute pics, but I love this one.

The third day was at Coco Cay, the private island for Royal Caribbean. 

First of all some of us went kayaking..

Then snorkeling..

We took a ton of pictures in the crystal blue water, like this one, which I adore.

And then we ate more great food. So this is dinner the third night.

And then our last day was spent in Key West! We visited the southernmost point.

And we ate some great food on the island, and we shopped, and then we tanned, and then..

we ate (again). 

Dinner the last night.

And then we woke up Friday, disembarked the ship and drove

all

the

way

back

to

Florence.

It was a long drive. But it was worth it. 

Because this was where I spent my week.

And it was amazing.

Now.. Next topic. I want to write about my friends. These five are extremely important to me.

And if you wanna skip past this, it is completely understandable. 

This is just part of my story, and I want to share it.

Last August, the six of us went to dinner.. it was one of the last few days before school started.

And our friendship with each other has grown incredibly.

We jokingly refer to each other as the six, not to exclude. I realized that a few days ago. It's really not to leave anyone out. Rather, it's to remind each other that there are five other girls who love you and worry about you and are there to give you advice on whatever. More than that, all five want the best for you. We fight with each other all the time, but miraculously it all works out. Every time.

I love these girls. 

So let me share about them individually, in the hopes to both encourage them and just because I like to remind myself how lucky I am to have them.

Abbey. 

Abbey and I really weren't close friends until junior year, even though we had advisory together. We had Biology 2 together spring semester of 11th grade, and were desk partners and lab partners. We bonded over mollusks and taking diligent notes and it's been friendship ever since. Abbey is the one who keeps us on our toes. She never fails to have something hilarious to say. She's our star athlete too. Soccer and running.. two things I am not good at. She is such an encourager and never fails to pick you up when you're feeling down. She has been one of my "student section cheerleaders" with me the past two years, watching our cheerleaders on the field/court. She can always be counted on. On top of all this, she is absolutely gorgeous. 

I'm so excited she will be at USC with me next year. Hey Abs, thank you for being you. I couldn't have made it through Bio 2 or this year without you. I am so glad to always have you by my side. I love you my friend!

Amanda.

Amanda and I were dance friends once upon a time. We ate lunch together freshman year, and we both ran in the same circles. Junior year, we had AP US History together and that was when we really became close. Amanda is one of the most diligent, studious people I know. She is organized, and is definitely the organizer of our group. She makes decisions for us when we are all too indecisive. She really does always choose the right one. She also is known for her gorgeous blue eyes. I love them. Her spirit is so sweet y'all. She will always stand by ya, no matter what, and that is so appreciated. She is also one of our superstar cheerleaders. And she's awesome at that.

Amanda, thanks for loving pandas and babies (as much as I do). I am so glad we are friends. I couldn't make it through spanish or senior year with out you. I am so thankful for who you are. I love you dearly, and I can't wait to visit you at Clemson next year!

Anna.

Anna and I once went head-to-head at a private school debate over space exploration… and really that's the only time we've ever been on different sides. Anna and I suffered together through geography and physical science freshmen year, and then became close friends junior year. Anna is the smarty pants of our group, and is the other most diligent, studious person I know. On top of being super smart, she has hilarious sassy comments that are wonderful. You never know when to expect them and that's what makes them great. She is my other "student section cheerleader". I'm so glad to have her in the stands with me. She is also a wonderful friend, and you can always depend on her to be there, whatever you need. 

Anna Koop, thanks for being willing to go to sonic with me no matter what time or after what game. And for supporting our soccer star with me in the bitter cold, during our beach weekend. Thank you for keeping us laughing and for catching sugar packets across the table. I can't wait to come see you next year. I love you sweet Anna!

Hailey.

Oh Hailey. I have admired her since freshmen year when I walked into my first ever public school advisory class. Hailey is the silliest of our group by far. She keeps us laughing.. all the time. Besides being silly, she is so incredibly kind. She very rarely has a mean word to say. She's one of our gorgeous cheerleaders, and her curly hair is envied by many. She will always text you back when you need her, or just wanna chat. She is a huge encourager as well, and I have depended on her sweet words many many times. She is just as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. And really, I can't think of any friend qualities she doesn't have, because she has them all. 

Hailz, thank you for loving my kiddos as much as I do. Thank you for answering my text messages and reminding me that everything will be fine. I love that you have such a sweet heart, and I am so glad we are friends. I am so excited about sleeping on your futon next year. I love you oh so much!

Mattie.

Mattie, Weldon, Turk. She moved into the neighborhood as I was moving out, and I honestly was convinced that she took my place in the neighborhood friend group.. so I was sure that I wouldn't like her. But as God would have it, we were put in the same carpool Freshmen year. And we've been best friends since. Mattie is one of the most compassionate people I know. Her heart is huge, and her love stretches quite a ways. She is another one of our amazing cheerleaders. She's also my personal fashion person and has chosen my outfit many an event/school day. No matter what happens, we have remained best friends and I am so incredibly thankful for that, and for her.

Mattie, thank you for being my first public school friend. Thank you for loving on our group, and always having an encouraging word. I am so glad we rode together freshmen year, and have grown so close the last three years. I can't wait to visit next year. Love you. 

So that's it. Those are five of the people who keep me going on a regular basis. 

I am so grateful that God placed us all together. I am so thankful for each of them. When I think back to where I was freshmen year.. I honestly did not think I would ever find my core group that I would be best friends with. I am so glad I found them. I know that we were put together for many reasons, including to love on and encourage each other and I just am so thankful for that. 

And I know that whether life takes us, we will always be amigas, cheetahs, friends for life. 

(Can you tell we listened to cheetah girls 2 on our trip?)

Hey Abbey Amanda Anna Hailey and Mattie, in case you haven't figured it out, I love y'all and I am so glad we were together for our senior spring break.

I think that's about it. God's plans are great.

Thanks for reading.