Obey and Go.

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” – Hebrews 11:8

A little over a year ago, I felt God calling me to leave the college I was attending at the time. I discussed it with my parents, I dropped out after my first semester, and I went home. About 3 months later I was accepted into the conservatory in NYC that I am attending now. I was excited about it, but I had grown comfortable with being home. I then spent 5 more months at home before the time came to make the move to New York. I had spent an entire summer working, interning at church, being with my family, and if I’m being completely honest, by the time September rolled around I did not want to leave. At all.

But I did. I did my best to remember the way I felt while I was at college. I had felt stagnant. I felt that God was telling me there was something else for me. And after facing much rejection during my semester at school, there was no doubt in my mind that it was no accident when I got accepted into the first and only conservatory I auditioned for after dropping out of college. I remembered all these things and I went to New York.

My first year here in this big, bad, crazy city is coming to a close, and I’m going to be honest with you all: it’s been (without a doubt) the most difficult year of my life. It’s also been exciting and thrilling and I’ve met some amazing people and learned so much. But there has never been one day that I didn’t wish I were at home. Not one. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – if I could do what I want to do (at the level I want to do it) from home, I would. But that’s not possible, and it’s certainly not what I feel God has told me to do.

Maybe you’re in a season of life where you feel lost. Maybe you wish God had called you to something else – something easier, closer to home, or more convenient. I just want to remind you of two things:
1. God is all you need to be happy. You may be feeling discontentment in your calling at the moment, but trust Him. Lean into Him and I promise you’ll find peace.
2. It may hurt now, but remember you’ll be blessed because you’ve listened to God. The other day my dad said to me, “There’s a reason a Mercedes costs what it costs and a Yaris costs what it costs. The bigger the price, the bigger the reward.”

God called Abraham to a place where He knew Abraham would be blessed. Abraham may not have known that, but nevertheless he obeyed and went.
So if you feel God calling you somewhere, even though it may be hard to step into the unknown, obey and go. Trust that God will guide you and know that He is all you really need to be happy. And be blessed.

Stay sweet,
Caroline

A love letter to New York

I have always loved New York City. While large crowds of people are not my favorite, I’ve always been a city person at heart. I love to constantly be moving, always on the go, consistently being productive. This is part of the reason I always loved the city.
I feel like that’s a pretty common thing, though. New York is the “cool” place to be obsessed with. What, with Times Square and Broadway shows, Central Park and 30 Rock. Who doesn’t love this place?
I’ve realized that there is a huge difference, however, between loving New York as a visitor, and loving New York when it’s your home.

I love New York City. I love discovering a new cafe every weekend, and adorable chocolate shops in Greenwich, and perusing the market that sets up camp every weekend in Union Square. I love that I’m a 2 minute walk from a pizza place that’s open until 4am, I love getting cupcakes from the bakery down the block, and I love befriending the lovely people who work security in my building. I love that I can be whoever I want to be in this city and I never have to feel judged for it at all. I love that when I see the skyline my heart doesn’t flutter because I’m visiting such a cool city, it flutters because I get to call such a cool city my home.

I live about a 3 minute walk from the Empire State Building. My roommate and I like to call it our North Star. No matter how far I go, whether it’s back to Maryland for a few days or to SoHo for a few hours, I see that building and I know I’m almost home. Home. How amazing is that?

Sure, New York can smell bad sometimes. Sure, if you walk too slowly you’ll get trampled. I still love it.

I’ve been stopped on the street a few times by people who need directions and nothing brings me more pride. I know I haven’t been here long, and I might not be there yet, but it tells me that I’m on my way to being a true New Yorker – and those people can see that. Cool, right? 🙂

I think the biggest lesson that New York has taught me is about the good in people that often goes unnoticed. People around here have this reputation of being mean and rude, and I’ve found it to be the opposite. Yes, they definitely stick up for themselves, but I’ve learned that they’ll stick up for you too. Most people love small talk and will greet you with a smile and a friendly conversation while you wait for your Panera order to be ready. Just don’t stop them on the street because we all have places to be haha.

There really is a magic and a warmth here. It seems crazy if you’ve never stayed longer than a few days, but this city is cozy and makes a wonderful home. I’m so very blessed to call it mine.

Stay sweet,

Caroline

San Francisco

Let me just tell you a little something about San Fran…  It’s absolutely phenomenal.  I had the fabulous opportunity to visit the beautiful city this past January and it is now one of my favorite places ever (right behind Camden Yards and Busch Gardens Williamsburg haha).

Here’s the story.  My dad had been planning a trip to San Francisco for business – he would be the only one going.  Then, the weekend before he was supposed to leave, our family was on our way to Tennessee for a funeral.  We’re all sitting in the car when my dad suggests that my older sister and I join him on his trip, “…if you’re not doing anything else this week.”

I am unashamed to admit to you that I nearly peed.

“Do not say that if you don’t mean it because I WILL come.”

As you can tell, he did mean it and we did end up going.  Despite it being crazy cloudy and misty while we were there, it was so much fun.  The fog didn’t make for very good Golden Gate Bridge pictures (I don’t have any because you literally can’t see the bridge in them at all), however it made for wicked cool pictures in Muir Woods aka The Forest Moon of Endor (WHAAAAT?!?!?).

Yes, as if I weren’t enough of a nerd, you now know that I’m a bit of a Star Wars freak as well.  Sorry not sorry.

Anyway, we also visited some Full House landmarks such as Alamo Square, which is where the family is seen having a picnic at the end of the theme song.  Being there was pretty surreal.

While these two things were very cool, my favorite part of San Francisco was just hanging out around Fisherman’s Wharf.  It’s absolutely breath-taking.  I loved adventuring around there with my sister and exploring all the different shops.  Oh, and we went to In-N-Out Burger in Fisherman’s Wharf, which was so choice.  I highly recommend that you dine there if you are ever in an area that has one.

Lastly, we visited Alcatraz Island – an old, shut down prison that is on an island in the San Francisco Bay.  It is perhaps the most famous federal prison ever, and is especially known for housing gangster Al Capone.  It was basically where the worst of the worst went.  I saw a t-shirt in the gift shop that read, “People who break the rules go to prison.  People who break the prison rules go to Alcatraz.”

It was very cool being inside where the cells were, mainly because I felt like I was in The Shawshank Redemption (great movie, by the way.  If you haven’t seen it, see it), but honestly my favorite part of being at Alcatraz was the view of the city that we got from the island.

San Francisco is definitely one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been to.  I love it because of all the hills.  When you stand somewhere far away and look at a city that’s built on hills, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

That’s just my two cents on San Fran.  Have you ever been?  Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment! 🙂

Stay sweet,

Caroline