Craft Goes to Keeneland

About a week ago I posted this photo on my Instagram,

This was such a fun day. We started out by leaving Morehead around 6;30 and headed to Lexington. After some mishaps we ended up at Keeneland and got to eat breakfast in the track kitchen. There were jockeys and trainers and other "horse people" eating with us. It was fun to eat around people who know more about horses than I ever will. 

Then we got to take a guided tour of Keeneland. 

Even though nothing was in bloom because it was super cold, Keeneland is breathtakingly beautiful. We started at the paddocks. 

Then we went through the tunnel. This tunnel has actually been used in several movies including Secretariat! You can see our lovely tour guide in this photo. She was amazing and knew so much about Keeneland. 

Then we went into the Winner's Circle and looked at the track. We were supposed to have been able to see the horses workout, but time constraints meant that we had to skip out on this. 

From the Winner's Circle you have a perfect view of the stands, which are absolutely gorgeous. Honestly, there is nothing at Keeneland that isn't beautiful. 

We also saw these nifty little statues which all have a meaning, but I'm not a horse person so I can't remember what they mean.

Then we went to the Sales Pavilion which is where all the horses are sold. Our tour guide gave us a pretty detailed explanation of the process that is involved when people decide to sell their lovely horses. 

We also got to go behind the sales stage and see where the horses are brought in from. Most of Keeneland's money is made in sales and you can tell this by the amount of money they've spent in their Sales Pavilion. 

Keeneland is an absolutely beautiful place that if you get the chance to visit you definitely need to visit. I am super excited to back during a race and see the racetrack with actual horses on it.

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle 

xoxo

Back to School

I've been back at school for a week now, and what a whirlwind week it's been!

I've had some dinner with a great friend.

Done quite a bit of homework. I mean after all, this is college and I am here to learn something. 

Helped with Registration Day for Craft's incoming class.  For those of you that didn't know, I'm a Craft Academy Ambassador. Which means that I get the really awesome job of representing Craft at various functions and events. (I also get a really cool name tag). It's really an amazing opportunity and I'm so thankful to have been chosen.

I also went to Keeneland! I posted this photo on my Instagram Saturday, but it's just such a great shot of the racetrack that I couldn't help but put it up yet again. I'm not going to say much about this day as there will be a post here on DC coming out, hopefully, next week. For now,


Love and Happy Reading,

Gayle

xoxo

Snowmageddon 2016: otherwise entitled "Welcome back to Morehead, Gayle"

As most of you know, I'm back at Craft. That in and of its self is quite an event, but.......

THERE HAS ALSO BEEN A BLIZZARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry. 

That was in all caps. 

And a lot of exclamation points. 

Anyways....

I'm back here settling in to my schedule and avoiding adulting as much as possible. Actually, I'm looking forward to this semester. I'm taking some very challenging courses and I've increased the hours I'm taking. It's going to be a lot of work and I might cry a lot, but I'm super excited and super confident. 

I have taken some time from studying today to go play in the snow on my first snow day in like six years. I WENT SLEDGING FOR THE FIRST TIME!! It was amazing. The hill behind my dorm is perfect for sledging. Then my roommate and I went to Dairy Queen, which is literally the only thing open in all of Morehead. The entire town is closed and I'm not joking. 

Right now, I'm sitting in the lobby of Thompson Hall with my RC and my friends listening to Justin Bieber. I have plenty of food and the heat and electricity is still very much working. My plan is that if all of this goes south (like the power goes out and we are reduced to post-apocalypse conditions) I'm going to sell my food to my floormates and pay for my books for the semester. (That's what they were meant when they said they encourage entrepreneurship, right?) 

Anyways, I don't think I'm going to leave this dorm for the next forty-eight hours unless I ABSOLUTELY have to. I'm going to try and get to church, but in the words of Pastor Aaron I'll "need a tautaun to get there". So I'm holed up here like a rat with a turkey drumstick, and I'm okay with that. 

Stay warm 

Stay safe. 

Let me know if you find a tautaun. 

Signing off in Moresnowhead, 

Gayle

xoxo 

I'm sorry  if you expected cute photos of me doing cute things with my cute friends. I don't do that. A blizzard is not a time for cuteness. 

What I Learned in my First Semester of College

Yesterday I finished my very first semester of college. I am 1/4 of the way through my Craft Academy experience, and in another year and a half I will be half way through my Undergraduate degree. WOW. That really is something, isn't it? Honestly, this past semester has flown by so fast that I can't believe it's over. I've learned so many things, met so many people, and discovered so much about myself these past months. Here's just some of them:

1) Everyone is as terrified as you are. 

I guess when I started college I thought that everyone would have their life together and know what they were doing. I was SO wrong. There are a few upperclassmen and graduate students who know what they are doing, but everyone else is just "winging it". The important thing is to remember that there's nothing wrong with not knowing how to do something. Just be willing to admit it and ask for help. That's a sign of maturity.

2) You will make friends. 

My biggest fear going it to this program was that I would not be able to make friends. Honestly, I thought that I was going to that weird person that just kind of exists, but that's not what happened. I have an amazing friend group that I love dearly. I've found that in college, you make friends fast. One day, you know no one and the next you come home to this on your door:

That's just how it goes!

3) Every day is different. 

When I was home, every day was pretty much the same. Now, I wake up, I get dressed and hold on for the amazing ride. Every day is different. Every day is exciting. Every day I'm reminded of just how much I love the place I'm at.

4) Just have fun. 

College is definitely first and foremost about getting an education. That's the most important thing about going to school, but having fun is really important too. Sometimes you just have to cut loose and have good, safe fun.

(Sometimes good, safe fun is crashing the children's section of the Tree-Lighting and taking a photo with Frat-boy Santa)

5) Still.... study hard. 

I studied hard, so hard this semester, and I'm proud to say I will most likely end up with a 4,0 (not all my grades are in yet). At the beginning of the semester, I would have never thought that I would be madly in love with math, let alone tutoring it. I would have never thought I'd be looking forward to taking Calculus or that I'd be willingly taking on the trifecta of doom (Calculus, Biology 171, and Chemistry 111). Honestly, I fully expected to get into this program and completely fail, but I didn't.

Not too bad for my first college level paper.

6) Don't forget your old friends. 

I am so lucky not only to have amazing friends at Craft, but also to have the most incredible support group here. They are my oldest friends. We have grown up together: traversing the cute, awkward, and "attitud-inal" phases. They are amazing, and I love them. I am so thankful that they still keep in touch with me, and invite me to all their gatherings while I'm at home. I never thought that I'd be the first one of us to leave home, but I'm glad that I still get their support.

6) Always, always go home. 

Now I don't mean spend every weekend at home because you hate school so much. No, I think it's important that college students make their own lives outside of their hometowns and parents, but it is extremely, extremely important to stay connected to your family. You're parents are the most important people in your lives, and it is important that you go home. If you can't go home, call home. Call your mama, she worries about you. Call your daddy, he loves you. Just whatever you do, don't ever take your parents for granted.

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle 

xoxo 

A List of Several Things

1) It is the end of the first semester of Craft. I honestly can't believe that it's over because it has simply just flown by so fast. There have been so many wonderful things that have happened over the course of this semester, that I can't even begin to go through them all. All in all, it has been an amazing semester, and I'm proud to say that I will most likely end with a 4.0! 

2) You'll notice that I've taken a hiatus from blogging. That was so I could get my feet under me at school and figure out what in the world is going on (I've yet to do that). I'm hopeful that next semester I can keep the content coming as often as possible (but don't count on it). 

3) You will also notice that things are looking a little differently here on DC. I've polished the formatting up a bit and moved some things around. I am not a computer genius, so if you have any helpful hints about how to make this better that will be greatly appreciated. You can leave those hints in the comments or email me at Gayle's email address

4) Keep an eye out for new content coming here soon. I've got several posts in the works (including a book review!). 

5) I'M GOING TO GERMANY!! That's right, y'all. I am going to Germany over the summer. I'll be there for ten days studying renewable energy with my classmates. It is going to be a wonderful experience but a very expensive one. If you want to help me out, you can by donating at Gayle's Germany Fund . Any and all donations are helpful. 

6) I'm so glad to be back! We're going to have a lot of fun through this Holiday Season and the New Year. 

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle 

xoxo 

Orientation Week Festivities

Well folks, week one of Craft is just about in the bag. It's been a whirlwind of a week. Everyday has been crammed full of things to do, places to be, and people to meet. We've been so busy that even Dr. Christian admitted that once we start classes we will probably have more free time than what we had this past week. Even so, this week has not been without memorable moments. I apologize if this post is a bit rambling, but it's hard to organize this week into a blog post. Also, I haven't taken many photos so this post is going to be mostly text.

Move in day was crazy, probably just because it was move in day. As the volunteers brought Rebekah's and my stuff up to the room, I could just feel my blood pressure rising. All of our crates, and boxes, and family just filled the room to the complete maximum. Somehow, by the combined wisdom of my mother and Rebekah's we got everything put away and organized. I'm still not entirely sure how we did it, but we did.

Before all the parents left that evening there was an induction ceremony. A video had been prepared with pictures of all the students and their favorite quotes. After that, Dr. Ratliff called us each by name. We walked across the stage in Button Auditorium to Dr. Christian and President Andrews. They presented us with a beautiful Morehead State pin and certificate of induction. Every student hand their photo taken with them, and I think standing between Dr. Christian and President Andrews with my Craft Academy Certificate in my hand was one of the proudest moments of my life. 

After the induction ceremony there was a reception and then it was time for the parents to leave. It definitely wasn't easy seeing my parents walk back across campus, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Honestly, I haven't really been homesick at all this past week. I know the homesickness will hit me at some point, probably when classes start getting tough, but I know that this is where I'm supposed to be. If I work hard, I can make it.

We didn't do much the following two days, except sit in handbook sessions. We had a couple dance parties, which no one danced at. They put on a laser show at the Space Science Center, and then we got to take a tour of the facility. It was really cool because the tour was led by a former Gatton Academy student who now studies and works here at Morehead.

They opened up the high ropes course for us at the Recreation Center; unfortunately, the group that I was with wasn't able to do the course because we ran out of time.

The Craft Academy staff also put on a scavenger hunt for us where we went all over campus. The picture above, is the view of my dorm from Claypool-Young Art Building.

 We also got to take a tour of some on the more cultural aspects of downtown Morehead, including The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music.

I think my favorite day this week has been Friday. Rebekah and I got up early to take advantage of the activities they have going on for incoming freshman. We're really not freshman, but we are, but we aren't, but we are. I don't know what we are. It's confusing sometimes. Anyways, we got up early to go see the magician and speaker Curtis Zimmerman. It was a fabulous show. We played Simon Says, he taught us to draw a circle and a square at the same time, and we learned to juggle. We even got a free set of juggling balls. Not only did we have a great time, but he also gave us some really great advice on how to survive college.

There was also a student organization fair that evening. We were able to get a lot of information about the BCM, the MSC, and FFA, but Rebekah and I may or may not have joined the College Republicans Society. We're still not sure if we did, but we do know that there's now a Republican sign hanging on our dorm door. So that's success, I guess.

That same evening, we went to see a hypnotist. The Student Events Council had set this up, and it was one of the funniest shows I ever saw. I'm not sure I still believe in hypnotism or not, but it was definitely interesting.

Today, all the student ministries on campus came together to put on a non-denominational service. From what I understand, this happens every year on move in weekend. It was really neat to see all the different student ministries come together to worship God. There were Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, and who knows what else that came together to praise God.

After that, my friends and I all walked over to the BCM for the picnic. The BCM here is so welcoming. There were several people that came up to us to introduce themselves and make sure that we felt welcomed. Unfortunately, because of study hour requirements and curfew, it's going to be hard for me to be a part of really any campus ministry. I'm still hopeful, though, that I'll be able to make it to a few events.

Overall, I've had an amazing week here at Morehead. The campus is beautiful, the people are friendly, the food is good. I guess you couldn't really ask for more in a college. Classes start tomorrow, and I'm a little (read a lot) nervous. Even so, I'm excited to get down to work. This week has been fun, but it's going to be so much better when I feel like I'm actually accomplishing something.

I guess I'm just feeling very thankful. I'm thankful that Mr. Joe Craft was willing to donate his money, that Senate Adkins was willing to back it politically, that President Andrews is so supportive, and that Dr. Christian has worked so hard. Sure all these people have made it possible for there to be a program on campus like this, but I think the people who've made it possible for me to be in this program are my parents. I am extremely thankful for them. They have always supported me. Even when I thought I wasn't smart enough, they kept assuring me that I am. They have loved me, and driven me, and told me that I can be anything I want to be. Even though I'm an hour away at school, I know that they love me very dearly and I love them.

Craft Move-In Day

As many of you know, yesterday I moved into my dorm room. That's part of the reason that I haven't posted anything here lately because I've been busy preparing to move. Once I get settled down here and in the swing of things blog posts will become more regular.

The Craft kids are really, really lucky because we get to live in a newly-renovated dorm. Thompson Hall is one of the more historic dorms on Morehead's campus, and they just renovated it specifically for us. We have an amazing facility that I feel very blessed to live in.

They have pretty much rolled the red carpet out for us. When arrived there were cameras and volunteers to help us move our stuff into the building. They opened the bookstore specifically for us, and we have been given special meal cards until our meal plan kicks in. Overall, everything has been wonderful, and I really think I'm going to like it here.

I'm settled into my room. Rebekah and I have really made our room quite homey. When we were moving in, I was really concerned we weren't going to be able to turn our sterile, white room into a home, but we did it! We still have a little bit of decorating to do, but for the most part we're finished. She and I have really created a sumptuous, quiet, wonderfully smelling place to live. Unfortunately, you couldn't see anything in the pictures without the ugly overhead lights on. Still, you can see our pretty decorations.

I made almost all my dorm decorations myself, so if you have any questions about how I made anything feel free to comment. 

Love and Happy Reading, 

Gayle