Onto the Real World

Onto the Real World      
     
      I have not posted in a while, but I want to update everyone about where I have been and where I am going.

- I graduated Summa Cum Laude from Queens University of Charlotte on May 7. Almost all of my family came into town, as well as many friends of the family. We celebrated at Leroy Fox (a delicious local restaurant in Charlotte) after graduation and had quite a crowd and a celebration! I loved being celebrated and was grateful to Rachel for sharing her birthday weekend with me for graduation weekend. Don't worry...she enjoyed world's best grits on her birthday on the 8th!

- I returned to Troy and worked at the Lincoln Community Center as the Latino Outreach Coordinator. I reached out to a new community of Latinos for the Lincoln Community Center and translated all of the the organization's forms into Spanish so that the Lincoln Community Center is close to bilingual. I learned so much about Troy and connected with the community that the Lincoln Community Serves. I only wish I had begun working with or volunteering with them many years ago and am so thankful to them for hiring me and teaching me during the last few months.

- During my time in Troy, I also saw my baby sister, Rachel Culp, graduate from high school and celebrated with our family at a French-themed crepe party.

                                    

- I also cruised with my best friend, Abby Coon, to the Bahamas as a college graduation celebration!

- I traveled to Warsaw, Poland as a leader of four, eleven year old children to a CISV Village from July 7 until August 4. I watched as my children, and 44 others from twelve different countries, grew, learned, and changed as they befriended children from other nations and began to understand new and different cultures. I also changed as I watched how the smallest influence can affect kids and change the world for years to come.

- Today, I said "see ya later" to my home church, my most favorite place in the world. My family will move to Texas in September, so I will no longer be returning to my home every holiday. I am forever grateful for my family at First Presbyterian Church in Troy and know that this church and this city will forever be my home.

- In three days, I leave to move back to Charlotte, NC where I will work for Hillary for America and the North Carolina Democratic Party until the Presidential election concludes. While I do not know many details of my position, I do know that I will be a Community Organizer and know that my job is very important for North Carolina! I am excited to be a part of history and to teach and learn from people who have views both similar and different from mine.

- After the Presidential election, I plan to move to Washington, D.C. I hope to have a job by then, but I think I will move there with or without a job (if anyone knows anyone with whom I can live, please send me their contact information!).

- My dream is to live in D.C. and to work at a nonprofit organization. I recognize that many people do not have the ability to chase their dreams because of financial instability or lack of other resources. I also recognize that I am privileged in so many ways and one of them being that I am able to chase this dream of mine. So, I will chase my dream, move to D.C. after the election, and hopefully begin to make my mark on the world. As many of you know, I do not do much without a detailed, outlined plan. I am hoping that this "chasing my dreams" mantra will not only teach me that my dreams are worth chasing, but I will also learn that not everything has to have a perfect, seamless plan.

As my family moves to Texas and as I begin my journey in the "real world," I am reflecting on the last seventeen years of my life, which have been spent in Troy for thirteen and in Charlotte for four years. Our move is definitely bittersweet and I will always be grateful and honored to be from Troy, OH and to have grown up as a child of FPC Troy.