Get Ready For College With Me: The Days of My Summer

Hello there lovelies! Summer has absolutely flown by, and this is one of the last times I'll be blogging from my room here in Colorado. Next week, I'll be in a different state for school surrounded by new people (hopefully making friends out of some of them). So by the looks of things, I'll finally be drawing the series Get Ready For College With Me to a close. But before I get on with the body of the post, I just wanted to thank you for your readership and comments--this blog would be nothing without you, and I am pleased to see how much it has already grown and look forward to see how much it will continue to grow. I also really hope that this series has given some of you a better idea of applying to college and helps you feel more prepared for everything you need to accomplish the rest of your high school career.

I wish I had more to blog about regarding what I've been doing as far as getting ready for the move goes, but to be honest I haven't really started packing yet. I have organized the essentials of course--the mound of clothes in my closet is fairly intimidating, though.

Girls night out with my best friends was one of the many
highlights of my summer. We went to a fondue restaurant and
the food was so yummy! What's one of your highlights?
Let me know in the comments below!

However, this summer has been one of the best I've had. I've experienced an incredible amount of growth and have been blessed with opportunities to write, work, and of course spend time with my dearest friends.

I definitely kept myself busy this season, by keeping active while training for my black belt test, by connecting with my friends, by sharing snippets of inspiration with you on this blog, and by working (minimum wage isn't much, but it'll make a small difference in fighting off that student debt). I also went through a massive beauty obsession, experimenting with makeup and learning how to trim my own hair (tips to come in a future blog post!). Anyone who thinks that teenagers just sit around all summer long is kidding him or herself.

Here is an example of a typical 2013 summer day in the life of Riley:
7:00 AM - wake up, drink a glass of water
7:30-8:30 - work out (either elliptical training or a series of blogilates videos)
8:30-9:00 - breakfast
9:00-10:30 - blog ^_^
11:00-5:00 - work
5:30-6:00 - practice violin
6:30-8:00 - tae kwon do class
8:00-9:00 - dinner and family time
9:00-11:00 or 12:00 - social networking or texting friends or YouTube surfing

The above is definitely one of my productive days. Having work for 30-36 hours a week was actually beneficial for me because it added more structure to my schedule. I'm usually pretty bad about time management, and when there is too much time available a lot of it tends to end up reading other people's blogs or on YouTube--I actually become less motivated to work out or be productive on my days off. So on the days that I didn't have work, I'd usually invite some friends over to hang out, and being with them was always refreshing and a lot of fun.

It wouldn't be appropriate to go into detail, but the personal things I experienced this summer also helped me gain a sense of peace. Like I'm ready to go into college; I'm also so blessed because I've both given and gotten the most from my current relationships. I thank God every time I pray for the friends He has placed into my life, because I have a strong belief that we will be friends for life.

I can't find the words, you guys. There is just so much peace in my heart right now and I couldn't have asked for a better way to end this part of my life and start a new chapter. Does anyone else feel the same way?

Well, this is the last post in the series Get Ready For College With Me. I'll be going back to the usual content now, which consists of snippets of inspiration from yours truly. Please follow me on Bloglovin' or Twitter if you haven't already, and if you have requests for posts let me know in the comments! 

I hope your summer has been full of great memories, whether they be good or bad, because they will ultimately shape you into the great person you are growing to be. 

Take care,
-Riley XO

P.S. I realize that I've talked quite a bit about myself in this post and the last one--I've just been so excited about everything that's been happening to me and wanted to share this sense of enthusiasm with you. I am currently working on a post that only scratches the surface of inner beauty; it's quite a project, but my goal is to have it up for you to read and enjoy within this week. In the meantime, smile on :)

Backyard X-scapes