Adventure is Out There!

Everyone has those days where they find themselves waking up before the sun does, maybe for school, work, or  a road trip. Your alarm goes off, you fumble for the snooze to steal back a couple more minutes. Rubbing your eyes, you stumble towards the shower or that quick bowl of cereal. It seems like this is the worst. Why, why did I have to get up? This is insane, how can anyone do this? That's what I used to think. Then, I discovered sunrises. Okay, so I know they've been around for awhile. Okay, fine, forever . But somehow I've been let in on the secret. Years ago, while I was at the beach with a group of friends I woke up at 5:00 am. The sun had not woken up, but I was. I pulled into the Wawa, grabbed a coffee, and found myself on an empty beach waiting. All of this while my friends slept in til noon. I just didn't do this for one day either. I found myself waking up every day. The next summer I started running, but not at the normal human time of mayb...

Outside. Hiking up a mountain, strolling by the sea. Going somewhere or nowhere. When I'm outside, I'm at peace. This realization didn't dawn on me until this past Saturday. Yes, I have always loved the outdoors. But the realization that I belong outside did not strike me until I was hiking through woods by Loch Raven Reservoir. There were no mountains or vall eys, no gushing rivers or waterfalls. Instead, the breath-taking view was in the simple rustle of the leaves in the wind, the sunlight through the canopy of trees, the still water, and scattered leaves on the dirt path. Nature is simply incredible. I can't even comprehend the amount of detail He put into all of his creation. Every day I pass by his masterpieces, giving them no thought. Hiking reminds me. It pulls me back to the truth, the  truth of His greatness.

You're okay. Even on the days that you think you aren't. You are. Life is good. There are just those moments where you can't quite see that, like trying to see out your dewy car window. Leaves still rustle in the wind. Acorns still scatter the ground, waiting to be cracked. The sun still rises. God is still there. You're okay.

You step outside of yourself and realize that this is a moment, this is a memory you want to hold on to. And you know it will end, so you find yourself looking around, everywhere, left and right. Your nose grabs on to any smell it can. You try to embed every detail you can in your store of precious memories. There I was, in the middle of a crowd, hunched under a hasty umbrella canopy my friend and I created. My free hand clung to hers and we inched our feet towards our chests. The rain persisted on our backs as the thunder pounded louder and louder. We were so very wet. And it was glorious. Yes, we came for Ed Sheeran. And yes, he completely blew me away with every note he hit, every harmony, every humble smile. But, I will forever remember the concert as that moment. That moment under umbrellas. That moment of screaming with the crowd at every lightning strike. That moment of laughter at our wet selves. That moment of finding joy in the storm.

When you read a book, you find yourself becoming attached. Their lives become yours. You cherish their moments, their words. You let them linger as reality pulls you away for short time. But the first chance you get, you open the pages and step back into your current life. Your reality becomes the fantasy and the fantasy becomes the reality. At least until the last page.

There are moments in life where you have to leap, take a chance. Some take a road trip to anywhere. Others get that tattoo that's been lingering at the edge of every thought. I dyed my hair. Red . It's not a life altering decision. It get the occasional, "ooOOhhh let me see you hair!! When'd you do that??" Besides that, life's been pretty normal. Billy Joel sings me awake, I find myself dressing, and I'm off for a run. OR I put Billy on hold via the magic of Snooze and I doze back into a fuzzy, warm doze. But I dyed my hair. ME. Permanently . When I look in that mirror, there I am (no, duhh). But then I start running a hairbrush through my hair and RED . The under layers of RED peek through. I'm not the same Rachael before I boarded that plane to Italy. I'm not sure if others notice, but I can tell, I can feel it in my gut . The RED reminds me of that, reminds me that I've grown . Flying across the Atlantic, living in a foreig...

This past weekend took me to St. Mary's College. The water, the sunshine, and most importantly the people. Have you ever been asked,"If you could live anywhere, where would you live?" It's not really a fair question because even if Miami, Boston or even Rome is your favorite place on Earth, you can't live there without the people you love. If I've learned anything over the past 20 years, it's that life is nothing without the people you love. That's why I fell in love with St. Mary's this past weekend. My twin, Laura, was there and I had forgotten just how much fun we have together. We laugh about the stupidest jokes and talk about the most random. We're really weird people. But it's amazing. Amazing to find that weird spirit of yours embodied in someone else. And it wasn't just her. She has incredible friends that made me feel right at home. Plus, there were quite a few FIRSTS: First time sailing. First St. Mary's sunset...