For those of you who are not aware, after graduating high school in May 2009, I took a gap year to travel, study nutrition, run my first half marathon, and help my mom out with the house. That gap year came to a close in mid-August of this year and I was all set to attend Kennesaw State University (approximately a 70 minute drive from my home). Alas, it was not to be, KSU wasn't able to get me off off the waiting list fir student classes in time for the fall semester.
I was devistated! I worried that I would have to wait unitil the Spring semester to begin my college education. Fortunately, hope came in the form of Union College, a Seventh-Day Adventist college in Lincon, Nebraska. Union had yet to close my file and graciously allowed me to attend their college this fall. Of course this ment scrambling to get everything I needed together at the last minute. Somehow I still managed to have a lot of fun in the week building up to my time of departure.
How I spent my week. . .
Saturday, August 8th, I turned 19 (woohoo!) and there was a small "dinner party" in the evening whuch my family and my sudo family attended. I prepared Raw Chocolate Sauce, slice Peaches, Strawberries, Banana/Date Ice Cream, Florida Passion Fruit, andcut up watermelon in the shapes of cakes! The meal was a big hit which made me incredibly happy! I'm always glad when I can get people to enjoy eating more fresh fruits.
My B-Day cake. . .yummy!! :-D
On Monday, Mom and I drove up to Whole Foods to meet up with a fellow raw vegan, Taylor Snipes of Taylor's Tropicals! As some of you may know Taylor has sold his business to his former roommate Jourdan (who has since renamed the company Jourdan's Beautiful Fruit) and has moved to the amazing city of Santa Barbara in sunny California.
I was so happy that Taylor's driving route to California went through Atlanta. We spent a good couple of hours just talking and Taylor was kind enough to share his yummy fruit stash with my mom and I for lunch. We ate a scrumptious meal of mangos and figs!
Afterwards, Taylor and I went into Whole Foods to stock up on some amazing varieties of melon. People looked at us so funny, but we didn't care because we were to excited about the awesome melon! We bought Galia, Canary, Crenshaw, Santa Clause, Casaba, and Orange-flesh Honeydew, and Sharyln melons! Taylor and I both agreed that to succeed on this diet you need to enjoy your food. If that means having to reajust your budget to be used mostly on your fruit then so be it.
People on this diet often find that the don't need or want to spend their money on much else other than fruit (e.g. beauty products, jewelry, movies, medical drugs, trendy clothes, ect.) People who eat a raw plant based diet find that they don't need those beauty products or medical drugs anymore because their ailments go away and their skin and hair have a natural healthy glow. They don't want the trendy clothes or flashy cars because they can't wear the clothes to ride the bikes that they much prefer using as transportation whenever they can.
I wish that I could have had more time to get to know Taylor but eventually he did have to hit the road. That's alright though because one day I will move back to my lovely birth state of California of which I miss dearly. I might get to see Taylor more oftne then as we are bound to run into eachother wherever there's a giant fruit sale. LOL.
Tuesday, Mom and I spent a good part of the day at the mall shopping for college dorm necessaties. It was suprisingly a lot of fun and by the end of it we were so hungry we couldn't wait to get home before getting some food. So, we decided to check out the food court and low and behold we found. . .
It was enough hold us over until we could make it back home.
The rest of the week I spent with my mom making plane reservations, making plans to board the dogs, packing up my stuff in boxes to be shipped, selling my truck (I couldn't take it with me) to my brother, and just relaxing by watching movies with my mom and brother.
My last dinner at home the night before the flight.
Raw "Chips" and Salsa
My new Vibrams bought from the Abbadabba store in Little Five Points, GA!
On Friday morning, August 13th, my mom, my brother, and I all boarded a plane bound for Omaha, NE. Ready or not I was off to college! Look out Nebraska!! :-D
My on flight snack.
The only two airpoirts that I can remember seeing in my life are London Heathrow, Las Vegas, San Fransisco, and Atlanta, all of them were huge. Not Omaha though, no way no how. It would be impossible to get lost in Omaha Airport, it is just that small.
After grabbing a taxi, my family and I spent the next few hours car hunting. I would need transportation here in Nebraska since I had to sell my car back home. By 1:00 PM we stepped out of a Ford dealership and I am now the proud honor of a used 2007 White Toyota Camry.
Once we had wheels we could now navigate about the city and begin the 50 minute drive to Lincoln. Before we did that my family and I stopped off at a Whole Foods to refuel.
Lunch at the Whole Foods in Omaha
Once in Lincoln, we settled into our rooms at the Holiday Inn Express and spent the next couple of days relaxing and exploring the general area. On Sunday I moved all my stuff into my dorm room before spending the rest of the day back in Omaha with my family. That evening I had to drop my family off at their hotel outside of Lincon Airport (It is even smaller than Omaha's. Seriousle, blink and you will miss it.).
This year is the first year Union College has put on a week long Orientation for freshmen. I spent the whole of last week in and out of seminars, waiting in line at the various registration check points, meeting with my advisor to set up a class schedule, signing up for various Clubs and Intramural Sports, and attending a mandatory weekend camping trip at a 4-H camp.
I joined the Associated Student Body of Union College.
Some of my Union Market Cafeteria Meals
Camping Trip: Look at me, I climbed a tree!
Tomorrow begins the first day of classes, I can't wait! My first class is at 9:30 AM and I plan on working-out before that, so I'm off to bed. Now that I'm all settled in I will be able to post more often. Check my blog regularly for weekly and bi-weekly updates. I can't wait to see what this year brings to myself personally and to this blog.
