Freshmen year

 Lizzy,

I had mostly forgotten about this blog, until you asked me about it for a class project. I'm thrilled to be reminded, as I hope someday this will be a comforting memory of your life with us. This year you started your first year of high school. You were super nervous and afraid you were going to get lost in the school. Your first day was totally overwhelming. The classes were far apart, and you had to race around to find them all. Thankfully, you felt much more adjusted on your second day. You spent much of your first week crying because your math class was SO hard. You had tests in the first week of school and quickly realized you weren't a fan of math. But you are starting to get in a better rhythm with it. You've been loving biology and are now considering how you can build a future career around this topic as it comes naturally to you. You are thinking about dentistry or Orthodontics. I made you take a business class this year and you are pretty certain business isn't for you. Right now, you are working on a speech about the overconsumption of Americans because of online influencers! 

You are running for stuco president, which I am SO proud of you for. I loved all that stuff, so it's been fun watching you grow into your own leadership. You have a quiet confidence that is probably my favorite thing about you. You don't long to be in the "popular" crowd and you don't judge your self-worth based on whether you are admitted into that group. You just like who you are and move on. It's incredible. You are so LOYAL to your friends and I admire that about you so so much. You are truly a worthwhile friend, even when situations get sticky. 

The last time I posted was second grade and I was talking about what a little fishy you are. Fast-forward to today, and you now swim for a club team and are crazy good. You swim 5-6 times a week for multiple hours. Very soon, you will be swimming for the high school. I can't wait to watch you swim! We'll see what the future holds, as you are burning out a little, but still very committed for the time being. 

Your favorite things:

1. Ice cream -- obsessed.....

2. Fresh summer peaches (we fight over them)

3. a good netflix/Hulu/Amazon chick flick - (summer I turned pretty)

4. Toca Boca (haha...a little kid game you still like playing)

5. Your sweet friends - Hayden, Kinsley and Makena 

6. Your brother (believe it or not, you two get along fairly well)

7. The ocean - you love 30A and going on vacations to warm sunny beaches

8. Consumption - you do love to shop :)

9. Me and daddy - you actually enjoy spending time with us and for that I am VERY grateful. You and daddy have a special bond. 

10. Hawthorne Inn, Chipotle, Chick-fil-a, mexican food, Bishop's Post

We are a couple months away from getting your permit and it scares me to death. At least once a week I cry at the thought of you leaving someday, from small things like not being here when I go to bed at night to missing vacations someday to starting your own life far away from me. It all makes me sad, but it also makes me happy because I want you to go on to have a wonderful life all your own. 

I hope you always know how loved and cherished you are. We couldn't ask for a better daughter and in the meantime before you leave me, I will try to spend as much quality time with you as I can. 

Love,

Mama