Leave a little sparkle wherever you go. Shoot for the stars. Don’t let your light fade. Be brilliant. Have a blast. Go out with a BANG!!!! (c) Leslie Kelley, 2023.
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Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday. For one thing, it’s become so commercial, with its orange plastic turkeys and pumpkins, not to mention the tinsel of Christmas that started way back at Hallowe’en, that you can hardly remember to offer thanks. It’s ugly. I want beauty, kindness, thoughtful stillness,...
In late January of this year, I embarked on my biggest journey yet: studying abroad for a semester in Scotland. After months and months of planning, filling out paperwork, and making sure every little detail was taken care of, I was more than ready to hop on a plane...
It’s no secret that Montreat, North Carolina is one of my favorite places that I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. For the past six years, I’ve looked forward to that glorious week in July in which I’d travel with my youth group to visit our house in the...
After being shown around the great state of Kentucky for the past year, I only thought it would only be fair to share Alabama with my new friends. I quickly found out, however, that it can be really hard to show people one’s hometown in just one week. Of...
“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.”—Laura Ingalls Wilder On my campus, you know it’s springtime when you hear singing from all corners of the quad. Each April, Murray hosts its annual “All Campus Sing” event, where organizations from all over campus create a...
A few weeks ago, I decided to do something I never thought I’d do in college: I joined a sorority. After being at home for a month with my own family, I was hit pretty hard with the patented “second semester homesickness.” I felt that I was really missing...
My best friend and I don’t have a cookie-cutter friendship story; we didn’t meet in elementary school or spend our years growing up together. In fact, thinking about it now, we’ve only really known each other for a little over two years. In those two years, though, we’ve become...
One definite thing about college is that cooking is pretty challenging when you’re limited to a microwave, a coffee maker, and a mini-fridge. Many Pinterest boards boast solutions to this problem: microwaveable “cakes-in-a-mug,” microwaveable omelets, homemade granola bars. My roommate and I, however, found out very quickly that we...
“So when do you leave for college?” was a question I heard more times than I could count a few weeks ago. As I answered this question—over and over and over—I realized I was trying to mentally prepare myself for the biggest change in my life so far. As...
Just South of the Mainland God has provided me with many opportunities to travel both near and far. He even has allowed me to work with several mission groups. However, it was my recent trip “just south of the mainland” that afforded an experience I hope to never forget....
Over the last six months, I’ve seen 24 countries, packed and unpacked my bag over 70 times, and come in contact with people and places that have left me speechless, humbled, and inspired. And now I’m home. Throughout my trip, I feared that my re-entry into “normal” American life would...
When Suzanne Berman began her world travels, she was unprepared for the reaction her appearance would cause in places like South Africa and India. In places like Johannesburg, she found her skin “color made a target.” Even though she was staying in the suburbs, she was advised to...