GRADUATED. 6 years. It took me 6 years to graduate with my undergraduate in a completely different degree than I started with. Why? Well lots of whys….Military commitments, cross-country moves (x2), health issues, financial issues (lots of them because I paid 100% for my degree)… oh and a global pandemic but that was the least of my hurdles.

As I said before… 21 year old KayLee would not believe me if I told her it would take me this long, this many moves, this many changes, or this many hurdles to overcome. 

But she also would have no idea how much LIFE she got to experience taking the road less travelled. 

Life that you can’t get sitting in a college auditorium... only Life you get by struggling to pay the bills, life you get by struggling to overcome past hurts, life you get by working multiple jobs while taking full time classes… but none of these “struggles” made for a bad life. These life experiences were also joined with life you only get by buying a last minute flight (on left over FAFSA money—oops---don’t come at me) to Europe for 2 weeks to sleep on your best friends dorm room floor. Life you only get by spending 8 weeks straight travelling to Washington D.C, Dominican Republic, Utah, Cali, Florida, Bahamas, Oregon, and Montana.. just to name a FEW. Life you only get by making a decision on your dorm room floor freshman year to pack up and move to Montana. Life you only get by transfer to a University 2,000 miles away (where you meet your life long best friends and grow closer to Jesus than you ever have). Life you only get by taking opportunities when they come and unapologetically chasing your dreams to travel and see the world. 

If you would have told me 6 years ago that it would take me “this long” to graduate, BUT I’D LIVE LIFE SO FULL that I checked off half of my bucket list travel item, have so many miles with United Airlines that I get to fly back to my best friend’s wedding FOR FREE, have an entire military career, my EMT license, Special education experience, sitting for my LPN exam in a few weeks, and a WHOLE THRIVING PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS that is making all my dreams come true, oh and I am buying my FIRST car next week, AND got pre-approved for my first mortgage.... yeah.... I still don't believe it.

I say none of this to brag. BUT TO ENCOURGAGE YOU to CHASE. EVERY. DAMN. DREAM. YOU. HAVE. && do it unapologetically. <3 I say it to remind yourself to freaking celebrate milestone moments in your life when they happen. Because it's easy to get jaded. It's easy to overlook INCREDIBLE moments when they happen because we're always looking forward to the next "big thing."

Instead of passing them off as nothing… take the time to celebrate those moments. 

Here’s the thing. If time travel were somehow a real thing, I would go back to baby freshman KayLee who packed up her life in a Volkswagen Jetta (no backup camera... no bluetooth.. no apple carplay) and moved her self 6 hours away on her own to a town where she knew no one…And I would tell her: You are going to make your own way and pave your own path. Be BIG. Be BOLD. & TAKE UP SPACE. You weren’t created to JUST sit still and look pretty. Go do the dang thing, buy a cute outfit, and look pretty doing it  <3 You got this sister.