My summer in pictures!

(Clockwise: Margy, Kate, Eric, J. Nel, Doug, Kaitlyn, Renee, Evan,

Sarah, Me, Nakasha, Clare and Lauren).
The Campus Outreach Virginia students and staff at the Summer Beach Project. Last year Margy was the only representative, woo hoo!

Margy and I at one of the meals at the Summer Beach Project. We had some pretty incredible meals this summer! Margy and I will be living together next year in Radford, couldn't get any better than that!

(L to R: Clare, Margy, Katie, and me)
My friends, Doug and Kaitlyn got married this summer and we got to celebrate by dancing the night away. It was absolutely great!!

(L to R: Marina, Vitor, Me, and Marina)

I got to got to Brazil this summer to visit my family. I got to spend all of my time with my brother, Vitor and his wife Marina, as well as my niece, Marina (right) and my new niece Beatriz (not picture). I hadn't been back to Brazil in six years, it was extremely refreshing to spend time with them!

Here's me and my niece at the mountains: Campos do Jordao. It was winter in Brazil, but not very cold.

This is me, my niece and my brother at the beach, Ubatuba. It was absolutely gorgeous!

(L to R: Margy, Me, Jim Lyndon, and Megan Long)

My friend and staff partner Collin Setterberg got married on the 16th of August. I had a great time at the wedding, we danced a lot and I got to catch up with some old friends!

Me and my friend Julia Bradner at the wedding. Second wedding this summer of the guys in our staff team, it has been a lot of fun to see each other so much :)

(Clockwise: Sarah, Luciana, Emily, Mara, Me, Indy and Isaiah)
On my way back from Collin's wedding, I stopped by to see my sister and her 5 kids! Needless to say, they're crazy!

Me and my sister, Luciana at her house.

All in all it has been a very fun, very busy summer. I have gotten to do a lot of things and see a lot of people. School starts on the 1st of September, I'm excited to see all the returning students. Alright, until next time :)

Street Performance in NYC

I'm going to start practicing and hopefully I'll be able to do this by next year!

Wicked isn't so wicked.

Radford's Spring Break was this past week (March 7th through March 16th). For spring break I went to Southampton and then New York City with four girls from Radford (Clare, Kate, Margy and Beth). While we were in the city we all watched different plays. Beth and I were fortunate enough to watch "Wicked," on Wednesday afternoon.

The story of "Wicked" is the untold story of the witches of the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba, the "Wicked Witch of the West," from the Wizard of Oz is born green, which makes her different than all the other characters of Oz. When Elphaba goes to school she is offered the opportunity to possibly meet "The Wizard." Her heart is so filled with joy, she responds with this song:

"Once I'm with the Wizard
My whole life will change
'Cuz once you're with the Wizard
No one thinks you're strange!
No father is not proud of you,
No sister acts ashamed
And all of Oz has to love you
When by the Wizard, you're acclaimed
And this gift or this curse
I have inside
Maybe at last, I'll know why
When we are hand and hand -
The Wizard and I!"
And one day, he'll say to me, "Elphaba,
A girl who is so superior,
Shouldn't a girl who's so good inside
Have a matching exterior?
And since folks here to an absurd degree
Seem fixated on your verdigris.
Would it be all right by you
If I de-greenify you?"

When I heard that song, I was thinking how that's the longing of my heart too. To be loved and accepted just the way I am. Oh, the freedom, to be me and be loved by the most lovable, most respected, most important Person! I think it felt so real to me because it is real to me and Jesus put that desire in all of our hearts not so that we have that desire there and that's it. He put that desire there for the same reason He gave us hunger and thirst. He put that desire there to fill it with Himself!! He is our "Wizard," the One who loves us for us and frees us to be fully us!

This is a picture of all of us in the Hamptons.
Left to Right: Beth, Clare, Me, Margy and Kate.