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An Open Letter to High School

Abi Leah5 Comments

openletter-highschool

Dear High School,

I can’t believe the time has gone by so fast. Four years ago I started high school and now I’ll be graduating.

I’ve learned so much in these four years, about myself, about my family, about relationships and friendships, about God, about the world. I’ve grown in ways I never would have expected. I made new friends, gained confidence, tried new things. I lost some friends too, experienced grief, and had to say goodbye to some amazing people.

I know that even though I’ll be leaving an amazing school, the relationships that I’ve built will always be there for me. It was in high school that I found my best friends, people who have pushed me closer to Christ. It was in high school that I stretched myself and became friends with people from many different groups. I know that all of these people are going on to study at great colleges and universities and will always be just a phone call, text message, or Insta picture away.

I am so grateful for the teachers as well, as they have taught me, not only about history and government, French and religion, science and Spanish, but also about life and the importance of following Christ along the way. These teachers have been praying for me and I am certain that they will continue to pray for me and the rest of the 2018 graduating class.

I think the parts that I’m going to miss the most about high school are the memories that we made together. From the camping trips at the beginning of the year, to the spirit weeks with crazy inflatable dinosaur and Baymax costumes, to the time we skipped class to play in the snow, the grades bonded together and laughed together. I loved the senior pranks, the photography class field trips, the picnics, and the prayer chapels. I loved the school trip to Peru, the movie days in French class, and the time my friend ran to Aldi to buy icecream during lunch. I loved the surprise parties, the dance nights, and the musical bells between classes. These are the things that I will miss.

And even though I am sad to leave all of these amazingly beautiful people and memories, I can look forward to the days when we will all reunite again and reminisce about the best four years we all had together.

Thank you High School, for giving me these times. Thank you for the lessons. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the friends. But, most of all, thank you for the opportunity to grow.

signi

101 in 1001: Beginning

Abi Leah15 Comments

Hey, everyone! So today I’m going to start a new project for myself called the 101 in 1001. It’s basically a list of 101 things that I want to do in 1001 days (2.75 years). I wanted it to end on my 21st birthday as a little “birthday present” for myself, so I’m going to start today!

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Start date: Friday May 11, 2018
End date: Friday February 05, 2021

A healthy lifestyle

  1. Eat gluten free for 2 weeks
  2. Work out twice a week for three months in a row
  3. Eat meatless for 3 months
  4. Take dance lessons
  5. Become plastic free
  6. Go to bed by 10 every night for 2 weeks
  7. Get up at 5 every morning for 2 weeks
  8. Go through my clothes and donate what I don’t wear
  9. Learn 5 new recipes
  10. Go through all of my photos and purge the duplicates
  11. Spend at least 15 minutes outside every day for a month
  12. Bike somewhere (anywhere)
  13. Go skating again
  14. Delete unwanted emails
  15. Make an emergency kit for the car
  16. Run in a race
  17. Complete a 30 Day Squat Challenge
  18. Go a day without my phone
  19. Go a week without my phone
  20. Go a month without social media
  21. Complete 10 random acts of kindness
  22. Try to go “car-less” for a week
  23. Volunteer at an event
  24. Be able to do a split
  25. Work out in the morning for 2 weeks

For family and friends

  1. Quilt a blanket for my aunt
  2. Take a trip with my mom
  3. Send 50 handwritten letters
  4. Send a “just for fun” package to my friends
  5. Throw someone a surprise party
  6. Sing around a fire pit with some friends
  7. Go to 5 sports games
  8. Finish the 2017 scrapbook
  9. Have an early morning Bible study outside
  10. Visit a high school friend at college
  11. Give someone a handmade gift
  12. Send birthday cards
  13. Take my sisters on “sister-dates”
  14. Volunteer with my family a Saturday morning
  15. Start a future hope chest
  16. Reconnect with an old friend
  17. Start a birthday tradition

Exploring the world

  1. Go to a drive-in/outdoor movie
  2. Go camping
  3. Take a roadtrip
  4. Visit a city I’ve never been to before
  5. Go to a flea market
  6. See a shooting star
  7. Watch the sun set, stay up all night, and then see the sun rise
  8. Play an instrument on the beach
  9. Have a picnic
  10. Explore downtown Charlotte
  11. Study abroad
  12. Speak French with a native
  13. Go horseback riding
  14. Go on a spontaneous trip
  15. Learn sign language (enough to have a small conversation)
  16. Become fluent in French
  17. Find a church by the university
  18. Go sailing
  19. Go to a lavender farm
  20. Learn to identify 5 constellations

A little bit of me

  1. Read the entire Bible again
  2. Memorize 25 Bible verses
  3. Read every Jane Austen novel
  4. Finish watching all of the Doctor Who seasons
  5. Watch 20 documentaries
  6. Complete a 30 day photo challenge
  7. Have a photoshoot
  8. Vote in every election
  9. Sew a quilt for myself
  10. Put $5 into savings for every goal accomplished
  11. Fill a sketchbook with doodles
  12. Visit my high school teachers after I graduate
  13. Paint on a canvas
  14. Memorize a chocolate chip cookie recipe
  15. Learn a poem by heart
  16. Attend the midnight premiere of a movie
  17. Read a book in a day
  18. Celebrate Easter really big
  19. Read 5 classic novels
  20. Update my makeup
  21. Have a spa day
  22. Spend an entire day watching Disney movies
  23. Build a blanket fort a read under it all day
  24. Sell something on Etsy
  25. Buy something from Etsy
  26. Make a new vision board
  27. Make a reading corner

Scribbles and words

  1. Write 5 more poems
  2. Journal every day for a month
  3. Compose and write down 2 new songs
  4. Write 3 “How-to” blog posts
  5. Write 10 more devotional blog posts
  6. Write a letter for myself to open when 1001 days are over
  7. Guest post for another blogger
  8. Map a book I love
  9. Reach 500 followers on my blog
  10. Write a wishlist of places I want to visit before I die
  11. Go to a book signing
  12. Write a new list when the 1001 days are over

I am so excited about my goals for this list! I will be sure to share an update every couple of months but you can check my progress on the “101 in 1001” page located at the top of my website.

Have you ever done a 101 in 1001 challenge? If so, how did it go? If not, would you want to do one? I can’ wait to hear from you! Have a great day. :)

signi

Help Me Get to Know You!

Abi LeahLeave a comment

blog-survey

Hello, everyone! As my blog continues to grow, I want to make sure that I am listening to what you are saying about my blog. Here is a short Google form that has questions that will help me know when to post and how to post. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer the questions!

If the form doesn’t work for you, click here to access the form.

signi

Photography: Snow

Abi Leah11 Comments

Hello everyone! How are you? Did you get any snow this week? I did! It snowed on Wednesday so the schools were canceled. Life in the south :)

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The two days off from school were much needed. To celebrate, my family and I went down to the park to go sledding. It was so much fun! It was also so beautiful seeing all of the trees covered with snow.

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In the park, there is a bridge over the little stream. The sound of running water was calming. With the snow, it was even more beautiful.

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There’s something about fresh snow that makes time seem to stop. It’s peaceful and perfect for hot chocolate and reading. :)

Did you get any snow this week? If so, how did you spend your snow day?

signi

Liebster Award

Abi Leah6 Comments

Hello, everyone! How are you? I’m doing pretty well! The second quarter ended yesterday and I finally get a chance to breathe after all of the assignments. Yay! I was nominated by Bella from the Dancing Damsel for the Liebster Award! Many thanks to her! Be sure to check out her blog and her version of the post here.

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The Rules

  1. Acknowledge the blogger who tagged you and display the award button.
  2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asks you.
  3. Give 11 random facts about yourself.
  4. Nominate 11 blogs.
  5. Notify the bloggers of their nomination.
  6. And give them 11 questions to answer!

Questions And Answers

  1. What are a few of your goals for 2018? – I actually just posted a blog post on my 2018 goals. You can read it here.
  2. What’s a song you’ve had on repeat lately? – I love listening to “Well Done” by Carly Bannister. Both Carly and her sister Ellie Holcomb performed at Windy Gap at the beginning of the school year and it was amazing! You can listen to the song here.
  3. If you write, what’s a current WIP about? – I haven’t really been writing recently so I’ll skip this question. :)
  4. Do you have any siblings? – Yes! I have two younger sisters who are amazing! I love them so much. :)
  5. Sweet, salty, or sour? – Sweet! I love all kinds of desserts, especially if my mom or sister made them.
  6. Which book do you wish would be turned into a movie? – I would be so excited if The Selection series became a movie! It would be amazing!
  7. What’s a word you always misspell? – I also misspell “misspell”. I forget there are two “s”s.
  8. If you could live in only one city or town for the rest of your life, what would it be? – I’ve always wanted to live in London.
  9. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? – If I could have a superpower, I would want to have the power of teleportation. That way, I could just “poof” myself somewhere instead of having to drive.
  10. What is the best and worst movie you’ve ever seen? – The best movie I saw was Wonder Woman. It was so good! I don’t know the worst movie that I saw.
  11. Why did you start blogging? – I had been thinking about starting a blog for a while before I finally did start writing. It wasn’t until a lot of my friends started blogs that I decided it was finally time. I started Life as a Homeschooled Teen in November of 2014. It was a way for me to practice writing and I continued by adding more posts about life. And now here I am. :)

Tag! You’re It!

  1. A Day in the Life of Anonymous Me
  2. Call Me Ash
  3. Day Dreamer Teen
  4. Dreamers and Dancers
  5. Elsie LMC
  6. Georgie Grl
  7. It’s Louises Life
  8. Joy Unspeakable
  9. Linds 4 Dance
  10. Livalittle Blog
  11. and You!

Questions For You

  1. What are some of your goals for this year?
  2. What are you looking forward to?
  3. What cheers you up?
  4. Give one piece of life advice.
  5. What is your favorite pizza topping?
  6. If you had to move to another country for 10 years, what are some things that you would miss?
  7. What comes to mind when you hear the word “rabbit?”
  8. What is your most reccommended book?
  9. Do you have a bullet journal?
  10. Tea or coffee?
  11. How would you describe your style?

Thanks again to Bella for tagging me! Be sure to check out her blog and I hope you all have a great day! :)

signi

My 2018 Goals

Abi Leah12 Comments

Hello, friends! You have survived the first week of the new year! Yay! How has it been so far? My days have been pretty crazy as my second quarter of school ends this week and we are scrambling to have enough assignments in the grade book.

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It’s that time again to reflect on the past year and make goals for the future. 2018 is going to be a big year for me, as it is the year that I graduate high school and enter the world of college. While I am very excited for this year, I know it’s going to include lots of scary and uncomfortable changes. But that’s what life is full of! So the best thing is to make this year a great year. You with me? Here are my 6 goals to make this year great.

1. Grow in my devotion to God.

Every year I have had a different theme representing who I wanted to be and focus on for the year. Last year, my theme was peace and the year before it was hope. This year, my theme is devotion. As I looked back on 2017, I noticed how my relationship with Him has faltered a bit due to doubt and personal struggles. What I realize now is that I was resisting God because I wanted so desperately to be in control of things in my life. But, I’m not in control, God is. This year, I want to work on growing closer to God and trusting in Him for my future.

2. Keep my family relationship strong.

My family isn’t perfect but they are wonderful and I love them. We are already seeing the stress that senior year brings but I don’t want that to hinder our family relationship. This year, I want to continue to keep our relationship strong, even while I’m at college.

3. Stay connected to my friends.

I have been so blessed to have great friends who are very involved in our community as well as each other. But that also means that we are constantly busy. While we may not be around all of the time, I still want to stay connected to my friends and keep my relationships with them.

4. Finish Senior year strong.

Senioritis is real. I didn’t realize how real it was until I got my first acceptance letter. Although there is a lot of pressure among my senior class to give up and stop caring now that I’ve been accepted to college, I need to continue doing my best work in class and outside of class. To do this I will:

  • Set priorities
  • Stay organized
  • Stay motivated

5. Invest in myself.

I believe that a healthy mind and body leads to healthy relationships and a happier life. This year, I want to really make an effort to invest in myself. This can include getting back into photography as a creative outlet, writing music as a way to de-stress, and learning to say no when I am stressed and in need of rest.

6. Invest in my blog.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might have noticed that I took a couple of breaks this year. Part of that was because of my sanity, the other part being health-related. While I don’t know what this year will have in store for me, I want to put in a greater effort to be involved in this lovely blogging community. Specifically, I’d like to:

  • Host a giveaway!
  • Comment on 200 posts through the year.
  • and Host guests for collabs!

So that’s what my 2018 looks like! What are your goals for the New Year? Are there any things that you are really excited for this year?

signi

Looking Back: 2017

Abi Leah5 Comments

Hello, everyone and happy New Year! This year has flown by so quickly! Time really does fly when you’re having fun, or just busy. :)

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2017 has been a crazy year for me. Between all of the travels and my surgery and starting Senior year, I’ve been busy! But I wouldn’t change that business for the world! It makes life interesting. :)

In the beginning of the year, I wanted my theme to be growth. But as life continued, I found that my theme was becoming peace. Peace in my school decisions, peace about the future, and peace about who I am, were all really important for me this year.

Popular Posts

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I posted a list of some things that I Want, some things that I Need, some things to Wear, and some things to Read for my 2017 Christmas Wish List.

Link: here.

 

This year I celebrated 3 years of blogging! I talked a little bit about all of the changes on my blog and how I came to be happy with those changes.

Link: here.

 

This summer I took a trip to Europe with my family to visit my grandparents and cousins. It was so much fun and we took so many pictures.

Link: here.

 

March was a particularly good month for me this year. My family hosted quite a bit of people and we did some traveling too. I also worked on memorizing Bible verses and worked on my photography.

Link: here.

 

 

2017 ended pretty nicely for me too! My sisters and I hosted a group of girls for a New Year’s Eve party. Ending and starting the two years with my friends and family is a blessing and I am so grateful that we had that opportunity.

So, how was your 2017? What were some of your favorite parts/memories? I hope that your New Year is just as great!

signi

Exams Are Over! + Recent Posts I Loved

Abi Leah2 Comments

Hello everyone! I survived my exams! I’ve gotten two of my six grades back and I did pretty well so that’s good! While I was gone studying my head off, some of my favorite bloggers posted some great posts that I wanted to share with you! So here are some of the recent blog posts that I loved. :)

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Four Reasons Why You Should Be Writing In A Journal
by Specsclad

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Specsclad started her 25 Days of Self-Care Blogmas posts this December. One of my favorite post from this series so far was her Four Reasons Why You Should Be Writing In A Journal post. (But the rest of her posts have been great too!) I think it’s really nice that she decided to take a different perspective on Blogmas and do the Self-care theme. Be sure to check out her post here and her blog here.

Peru – The Highlights
By Silke

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Silke from Belgenius wrote a post recapping her trip to Peru. I loved seeing all the pictures she took and reading her travel tips. The pictures are really beautiful. Be sure to check out her post here and her blog here.

November – December Illustrations
By Tabi

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Tabi from Busy Bear posted some of her recent drawings from November and December. I love all of her drawings (who wouldn’t?) but I especially loved the one of the whale. It’s so cute and happy! Check out her blog post here and her blog here!

Those were just some of the many posts that I had to catch up on after my break for exams. Be sure to check out these three amazing bloggers’ blogs! I hope you all have a great 2 days until Christmas!

signi

Traveling, Surgery, and A Life Update

Abi Leah7 Comments

Hey, everyone! Did you miss me? I am so so sorry that I haven’t posted! Life has been pretty crazy. But I’m back with a ton of new posts for you! First, I’ll catch you up on everything with a life update.

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Travels and Adventures

At the end of June, my family and I took a trip to Europe for a couple of weeks to spend time with my grandparents and other family members. We spent a lot of time in Belgium and Holland but we also took a road trip to Germany to get a clock repaired. I had so much fun and met so many cool people. I am working on a travel journal to post soon so keep an eye out for that!

Surgery and Recovery

Monday morning, I woke up bright and early for the surgery on my arm. I was pretty nervous especially since during the nights leading up to the surgery I had nightmares. But, everything went well and I got to go home before lunch so it was fine! The rest of the day I spent sleeping.

On Tuesday, one of my best friends came over to visit me and cheer me up. She even attempted to clean my room for me which was actually really funny. Even so, she helped get my mind off of my arm and the hours I spent feeling useless.

Yesterday, my other best friend came over with her mom and her brothers. She also brought chocolate and flowers so it was a good day! ;) She helped to brighten up my day a bit and I am grateful for that.

Today, I can use my arm a bit more (enough to write some posts) and it doesn’t hurt. I’m planning on taking the rest of the week slow and careful. I am so glad that my arm is healing and that I will be able to use it normally again soon. This whole week has made me feel much more grateful for a healthy and functioning body.

So that’s my quick life update! I’ll be posting a Travel Journal from my Europe trip in a couple of days. Also, this is completely random but, I’m wondering what are your favorite brands for backpacks? Let me know in the comments below; it’ll help me a lot. :)

signi

Happy Best Friends Day! + 23 Things To Do With Your Friends This Summer

Abi Leah9 Comments

Happy Best Friends Day everyone! I hope you get to spend some time with all of your friends today but, if not, here’s a list of 23 things you can do with your friends this summer! :)

bestfriends

  1. Hang out at the pool.
  2. Have a friends photoshoot.
  3. Volunteer somewhere together for the day.
  4. Road trip!
  5. Go horseback riding.
  6. Attend a floating lantern festival.
  7. Make homemade icecream.
  8. Have a paint fight.
  9. Go camping together.
  10. Have a weeklong sleepover.
  11. Go thrift shopping together.
  12. Make a friendship playlist.
  13. Make friendship bracelets.
  14. Have a picnic.
  15. Start a book club together.
  16. Go to a music festival.
  17. Stargaze.
  18. Try out new crafts.
  19. Play with animals at a local shelter.
  20. Make a summer scrapbook.
  21. Go hiking to a waterfall.
  22. Tie-dye shirts.
  23. Go back to school shopping together!

I can’t wait to try all of these things out with my friends! I know it’ll be a lot of fun. :) If you try any of the things listed with your friends, let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you! :) Have an amazing day!

signi