Wow, you went to Panama City Beach in Florida? You got totally wasted on spring break? I bet it was totally radical. I am sure your blurry, scantily clad memories completely changed your life for the better.
Personally, I chose to do something a little different this year, and it was the best spring break I have ever experienced.
But let's start at the beginning.
Meet Rachel Nalepa:
Rachel Nalepa in all of her glory.
God knew what He was doing when He placed Rachel and I on the same street growing up. We have been partners-in-crime since we were only one year olds. (Rachel is six months older than me and a grade above me... so she may have been two.) We had only been on this planet for approximately 12 measly months, and we already knew we were going to be stuck with each other for life.
Well, I'm sure if we could both talk at that age then that is what we would have said.
We lived on the same street for 18 years, until I moved a couple neighborhoods away during high school. Despite the fact that it would no longer take me approximately 1.4 minutes to run down to her house, nothing really seemed to change. Late night slumber parties, her mother's midnight quesadillas, laughing until our stomachs hurt during Will Ferrell movies, watching "The Proposal" more times than I could possibly count, making up weird dance moves and song lyrics on a Friday night... these things continued to frequent our daily lives despite the new distance between our houses.
However some good things do come to an end, as sad as that may be, and with Rachel and I both in colleges that are very far apart, our opportunities to spend time together have grown slimmer and slimmer. But this chick-a-dee has been in my life far too long for me to let her quietly slip through the cracks unnoticed. I couldn't imagine a life without her: she's my best friend.
So what did I do? I texted her mom and her sister and together we planned...
A SURPRISE TRIP TO NASHVILLE TO VISIT RACHEL!
Apparently I don't take normal pictures anymore.
Rachel's older sister told her that she was coming to visit for the week. So, when I arrived at the Nashville airport instead, Rachel stared at my face for a good five seconds before finally realizing it was me. *insert moments of freaking out here*
And thus, adventures began.
One of my favorite things that I did with Rachel was sit in on one of her classes at Belmont University. It was cool to take a college class with my best friend, and since she is graduating soon I know that it will never happen again. However, I was also on my spring break and didn't really feeling like learning, so I chose to opt out of sitting with her during her second class and instead gave myself a self-guided tour of the campus. Here are some highlights:
Belmont University's Prayer Chapel.
McWhorter Hall. The class I took with Rachel was in a building behind this one.
Cool, artsy statue. Working that headpiece.
Belmont Mansion, located on the university grounds.
A little bit about Belmont Mansion (Fun fact: Rachel has never visited Belmont Mansion).
Winter Spring is coming.
Potter Hall.
I also ended up walking down Music Row by myself, all while creating some crazy fantasy in my head that I was going to get discovered, and decided that if someone wanted me to sing a country song on the spot then I would choose "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood. Sometimes I wonder why I'm so strange.
I also took a trip over to Vanderbilt University, and fell in love with their beautiful campus. I wish I took photos while I was perusing the green lawns and stone buildings, but for some reason I got really nervous and so this is the only photo I ended up with:
Vanderbilt University on 21st Street.
Hey, at least I have something.
A lot of the time that we spent together in Nashville was in coffee shops, in her apartment watching "The Proposal" (yes, we really did watch it again), or in the movie theater to see "Frozen: The Sing-Along." Seeing the sing-along version of "Frozen" has truly changed my life forever and has transformed me as a person. I now know all of the lyrics to "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" and can annoy anyone on a given notice.
One of my favorite cafes/restaurants that we visited during the week was Loveless Cafe. Their biscuits were to die for. Our waitress was so nice that she let us take home an entire box of eight biscuits. The next day, when Rachel was at her morning class, I ate four biscuits. I didn't have the guts to admit to Rachel that I had consumed half of the box of biscuits.
While at the cafe, I brought my DSLR camera with me but of course my phone was dead, so we were awkwardly trying to take selfies in front of the sign with a DSLR...
...they were not working out at all. Do I know how to look normal? Clearly not. However, some kind man came over and offered to take our picture after witnessing our struggle.
Rachel and I standing in front of the sign at Loveless Cafe. Apparently it is also a motel...?
Loveless Cafe is not complete without Cornhole, obviously.
We also found a "face in the hole" next to the cafe, so of course we had to partake in attempting to capture selfies with a DSLR there as well.
Just no.
So, after a second brutal failure, we both decided that the smartest decision would be to take each other's picture one at a time. To be honest, the results were just as bad as the selfies. I look like I don't have friends.
Hey, Mom! Look at all of my friends!
Rachel's family truly loves her. Their faces say it all.
Spring Break 2014 was a #blessed and memorable week. Instead of acting like every other college student and drinking my life away, I was able to create hysterical memories with my best friend.
And seriously, who could pass up on "face in the hole" selfie opportunities?
With that said, I now leave you with a video of Rachel's musical talent.
Until next time,
Leah