"American College Student" summed up in a few photos

I put this photo first because i feel that is it the most "American!" This photo was taken at an Independence Day celebration. We always have a huge barbeque, lots of family and friends over, and shoot our own fireworks in addition to attending the local firework show. In this picture, we are playing with sparklers!

My family takes yearly vacations to the east coast beaches. In these pictures, we are at Cape San Blas, Florida, which is in the Gulf of Mexico. It is so beautiful there; the beaches are not crowded at all and the water is, for the most part, clear.

This picture is from the same beach trip. You can see that we were the only people on the beach at this time! My family loves to boogie board on our small east coast waves.

This is from the same beach trip. Here, we are snorkeling. On this snorkeling adventure of our, we saw so many fish, including puffer fish, scallops, angel fish, sea urchins, and jellyfish!

This is from the same beach trip. We found a small part of the beach near a national park and explored it. There was hardly anyone there for miles! The driftwood on this part of the beach was very abundant.

I LOVE to rock climb. East Tennessee has some of the best rock climbing you can find in the US. I got into it about two years ago when i got to Maryville College. I have a goal, although not very realistic, to become a professional tour guide for climbing expeditions.

Here is another picture of climbing. here, a friend of mine is belaying me while i stop to snap a picture of us. I am about ten feet up on the rock at this point.

Outdoor life is huge in East Tennessee. With the mountains so close, there are ample opportunities to go on gorgeous hikes, caving trips, climbs, hunting, and camping. The above picture was taken while on a camping trip with the Boy Scouts in the mountains in East TN. The creeks are beautiful, and getting to string my hammock across one was an exciting opportunity!

Chances are, if you live in East TN, you either hunt or know someone who does. I go hunting with my dad when i get the chance. We hunt for deer, turkey, and duck. It is a good time to spend a few quite hours in the woods and unwind while looking for your next year's supply of meat!

In this picture, I am about to take a short hike in East TN with some family and friends.

My BSA Venturing Crew and Troop are posing after participating in a Memorial Day service at Dollywood. I felt so "American" at this ceremony when, as i was holding the US Flag and in my scouting field uniform, the National Anthem started playing and eagles began squawking in the background -- how COOL!

More of my scouting friends and i take a group picture while taking a break from volunteering at the BSA Winter Camp here in East TN

My mother has always taken our heritage very seriously. Here, she and I are holding our certificates from the Daughters of the American Revolution organization, Our Patron is Robert Payne - he was known as “Cannonball Bob” after he fought in the American Revolution because he was rumored to have caught a cannonball that did not explode and passed it onto his family once he died. We got our certificates right before Christmas - which is very widely celebrated.

Since I’ve been in college, I’ve been to countless concerts and many music festivals. These are very big in TN since we have so many great farms and open fields to hold outdoor concerts. One of the most famous festivals in TN is Bonnaroo - I have been once and look forward to attending again. This picture is one i took while at Bonnaroo this year. We are standing underneath the arch - which is one of the festival's signature decorations.

I can entertain myself with many more concert and festivals while waiting for the larger festivals like Bonnaroo. This picture is the view of a festival in Middle TN called Pilgrimage. Some artists to perform at this festival include Wilco, Willie Nelson, Weezer, Cage The Elephant, Steven Tyler, The Decemberists, Sheryl Crow, Band Of Horses, Dawes, Punch Brothers, Iron & Wine, Neko Case, and Trampled By Turtles.

This picture was taken at Pilgrimage of The Decemberists performing.

This picture is from a Glitch Mob concert in Nashville, TN. You can see me on the far left on someone's shoulders with my hands in the air!

Since i was younger, I have always been heavily involved in choir. The above picture is of the Maryville College Concert Choir on their tour in DC in 2014.

This picture is of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The capital of our country is a very great place to site see! Even though our country is not very old, most of our history can be seen in some way in D.C. I've been here about five times.

First thoughts

BLOG October 1, 2015

    This is the first of what is going to be many blogs about me and my adventures while study abroad! I am so excited to study in New Zealand. It is crazy to think that I will be so far away for so long.I can only imagine what it is going to be like. I’ve asked some of the international students here if living in the US was what they expected and imagined it to be like. They’ve all said that it was just like they imagined, but they also said that the US was ‘put on display’ a lot in their countries through television and advertisements, so they know what to expect. For me, I don’t see a lot of kiwi culture or lifestyles other than what I’ve researched, so this has made me very curious about what to expect for my upcoming journeys.

    One of the biggest fears that i have right now about going to study in NZ is that it will not happen. I’ve never been given an opportunity this great before, and I am very afraid that I will screw it up. I have been SO sick so far this semester and have fallen behind in a couple of my classes. I am hoping that i can easily catch back up in them, but it will take me a few weeks of hard work to get to where i feel stable in my classes again. I know that if my grades fall this semester, study abroad will become more of a challenge to me for obvious reasons. Not only is the academic part of this scaring me, but the financial part is, too. I’ve always been on the ‘not-able-to-afford-nice-things’ end of life, so I am very afraid that i will not be able to afford studying abroad. I am going to have to work extra hard with applying for scholarships so that i can pay as little as i have to to study abroad. I love that i have been given this great opportunity by life to study in NZ, but it’ll be just my luck that something doesn’t go as planned.

    I am also very nervous about traveling so far for so long without an easy way of getting home in case something bad were to happen. I have two younger brothers, Dylan and Rookie. Rookie is actually in South Korea right now serving in the US Air Force. When he was in boot camp last fall, our youngest brother, Harry, drowned. Rookie was very far away when this happened and having him come home was a very big deal that was hard to figure out. I am so afraid that something like this will happen to another one of my family members while i am in NZ. I have always been very attached to my family. I love them so much. It’ll be hard to adjust to a world where i don’t see my parents at least once a week. When i moved to college, the transition from not getting to hug them goodnight every night was hard, so i can only imagine how hard being on the other side of the world for a year will be. Even though it is scary and tough, I know that it’ll make me a better and stronger and more independent person. This experience will help me grow up in my own way.

    While i am in NZ, i don't have any personal goals set for me yet other than to enjoy myself and to do well in my classes. I would love to make friends with some of the locals so that i can get out and explore the country. I want to visit where LOTR movies were filmed. I would also like to go to a Maori village. I have done a bit of research on a Maori tourist attraction on the South Island and it seems to be very interesting, so i would like to find an attraction on the north island near me and visit it. I have big dreams of being able to do things such as skydive, scuba diving, snowboarding, and water sports while i am in NZ, but i am not sure if i will be able to do many of them since i will most likely not have that much spending money while i am there. I can always dream though, right?! Maybe i will be given another awesome opportunity while i am there and actually be able to do some of these things. On a more positive note, there are plenty of things that i would like to do that i know i will be able to if i find the right group of people. I love to rock climb and hike, and NZ has plenty of places to do both of those! it is also an island and i will be there during the summer, too, so perhaps i could go to their beaches and see how they compare to our east coast beaches! That will be so fun.

    Of course when i think of study abroad in NZ, everything that comes to mind first is tourist-attraction-like things.On the academic part of things, i am very excited to see how classes differ in NZ when compared to MC. I have always heard that the classes abroad will be harder, but after hanging out with the international students here at MC, i don't think that they will be that bad. I am very excited to have to adapt to a new learning environment and see how i perform. I will be taking four classes each semester, so i hope that i will have a good balance of school work and free time.

    In the prompt for the blog, we are told to list things that we want to do to “maximize our experience” in our country. I want to make a checklist of stuff i think would be cool to do while i am in NZ. I think that making a checklist would help me to see how many things i have done that i wanted to do and what all i need to make plans for. I will also alter the list once i get there and realize what is attainable or not. I will put that checklist on the bottom of this blog and i will update it as i go along.

    One more concern of mine before i end this blog: my boyfriend… Ali and i started dating maybe a couple of weeks ago. we know that this relationship will end in heartbreak, but we wanted to have fun with it while we could. next semester, he is going back to morocco and i will be going to NZ. this will be very hard on both of us. i am falling pretty hard for him, so i am nervously awaiting the heartbreak that is to come when we live on literally the opposite ends of the earth. We have thought about different ways to make it work after we both leave,but we both know that maintaining long distance relationships is hard. Plus, we’ve only been a couple for a short time now, so in a month or so, i’m assuming Ali and i will revisit this conversation. I like him alot and hope that it all works out, but i’m excited for NZ regardless.

    In all, i am very excited to study abroad at Massey. I think i am more worried than excited right now, but i feel that once things settle down in my life here at MC, i will become more eager rather than worried. Now for this checklist of fun!

-Kayla

    STUFF TO DO IN NEW ZEALAND!!!

• Go hiking
• See the shire
• Go swimming at the beaches
• Go to a local’s house
• Go to a bar
• Get my grammar corrected
• Learn a kiwi idiom
• Go skydiving
• Go SCUBA diving
• See something breathtaking
• Tell someone about TN
• Go rock climbing
• Go to a Maori attraction
• Get a tribal tattoo
• Go snowboarding
• Do a water sport
• Visit a cave system
• Go bungy jumping
• Go stargazing
• Go ziplining
• Go water rafting
• Try surfing
• Attend an arts festival

American Life

I am highly defined by my family, mainly my younger brother. He is my source of joy and strength when I'm weak.

My friends that I have made help me see the world from different corners of the world. Even the graduates. 

My friends are my Maryville college family, and I take those relationships very seriously. Some people become like older siblings to me - like Koki.

 I also have become a better cook since I began college., because I don't like to spend money

 I am also quite the stress baker and everyone benefits.

I am an avid coffee lover/ttse tester. No regrets, none at all.

I also spend 80% of my time on my computer because I do way too much on campus. Dr. Bogart calls me a workaholic and often tells me, "You make the rest of us look bad, working all hours of the day."

 Whenever I find the stress to be too much, and baking just doesn't help, I go hiking with some friends.

When people become too much in the fall, I go kayaking - alone.

And I am a Christian, through and through who loves t spend time with Brothers and Sisters.

Life in America

My sister Josie, my mom, and I at a family wedding.

My mom and sister are so important to me and have always been my support system. They encourage me in everything I do. My family still lives in Springville, AL, the town I where I grew up. 

My family and Evy's family at Mt. Leconte 

Being outdoors and staying active have always enjoyed the outdoors. I go on hikes often with my friends and family. 

 My best friends from high school

My friends from high school helped shape me into who I am. They were always there when I needed them and still are. 

Davis RA staff last year

For the past two years, I have been an RA at school. This has been a huge part of my life. I have met so many great people and grown up so much. 

The next couple of pictures are some of the most influential people in my life. They each mean so much to me in so many different ways. They have helped make me into the best person I can be.

 From Freshmen year to senior year, these four people have been with me through it all. 

 My 21st Birthday in Knoxville 

 Spring Fling 2015

 Spring Fling 2014

The two in the previous pictures are my absolute best friends. I know they will always be there for me whether its 20 minutes from now or 20 years in the future. We have traveled so many places together and seen so many things. I know their friendship will last forever.

This is "The Fam". They are my everything and the reason I stuck around at MC.