Well I’m sure back in January no one was prepared for what is currently happening in the world. I for one, was setting goals for myself with the mindset that it was going to be a normal year. I was hoping to do so many things that have unfortunately been put on hold BUT I’m still working through a few of my goals, hoping to still achieve some of them this year.

“2020 is going to be filled with a lot of great things.” Boy was I off on that one. But not 100% off. There were and hopefully still will be a few greats this year.

It’s hard to believe we are over half way through 2020 (I meant to write this post back at the end of June, but “I’ve been busy” is sort of an understatement). It seems like it was forever ago that I was volunteering with the high school ski team which ended up being another great season. The only down side was that our end-of-year banquet was cancelled just days before it was planned because of COVID-19. The banquet is usually one of my favorite parts about being a part of the team because we get to show all the athletes how much they’ve done throughout the year and show how proud we are as their coaches. Volunteering has been so much fun the last two years but I’ve decided I won’t be volunteering next year. It’s a large time commitment for a volunteer position and I don’t intend on being in the area so the end of this year was even more upsetting considering I didn’t get to properly say goodbye.

Of course there are many more things to be upset about, like my work travel plans. I got one trip in before my company put all travel on hold. I was able to go to Park City with my boss and I had an absolute blast, which you can read more about here.

Traveling and generally going on adventures has been challenging in some aspects. I wanted to do weekend trips to some of my favorite places near by but the thought of traveling anywhere besides into nature is frightening. So on the other end, camping is still an option. Albeit with some challenges of its own. Because travelling somewhere far away via plane and staying in hotels isn’t as popular as it usually is for the summer months, camping is booming in the mountains. It is a great way to socially distance, but sometimes I want to enjoy my own little oasis up here without worrying about someone taking my favorite dispersed camping spot.

But besides being a little frustrated with the amount of people flocking to my hometown to enjoy the outdoors, I am trying my best to accomplish my goal of being outdoors at least one hour once a week. In the winter months I was skiing a few hours each week, either downhill or cross country, until resorts were closed down. After the resorts closed and spring began, it was harder to get motivated to go outside for any reason. The weather was certainly not ideal and everyone had begun the stay-at-home, don’t leave except for essential business only practices, so for a few weeks this spring I didn’t uphold the goal of getting outside.

With regulations being lifted and getting back into the office I was able to get out more. A coworker of mine asked me to join him for his daily walks which I was eager to say yes to. So, I get out for 45 minutes, three times a week just for our walks which is helping me keep sane while in the office as well. In addition to the walks, I’ve been trying to get out on the weekends for your typical summer activities. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as I was hoping it would be. I’ve been working a second job as well as working a few Saturdays for my full-time job so my free time has not been as abundant as I wanted it to be. I’m hoping as summer dwindles and people begin to stay home again, I’ll be able to enjoy a few of my favorite hiking trails without running into a million tourists.

As for some of my other goals, I’m making progress on some and accepting that others most likely won’t be achieved this year.

Blogging hasn’t been something I’m able to do as much just because of the lack of free time but I’m still on the way to achieving 20 posts. Excluding book reviews, I have been able to write 12 posts, 13 if you include this one. I really enjoy writing and expressing my creativity through this blog and I hope to write more as the year goes on. Reading 20 books has also been a goal I’m proud to say is well on track. I’ve read 18 already so I’m increasing my Goodreads goal to 25 books and will be writing reviews for some soon, so stay tuned.

The goal of taking more photos has unfortunately been one that isn’t going well. I love taking pictures and hope to get out to take some before the year is over. I had hoped to take more photos on my work trips and a bunch during my family’s cruise vacation, which has been cancelled of course. Thankfully, we will still be doing some sort of vacation, whether it’s a staycation at home together or camping nearby.

An upside to these past few months being far from normal is that we have been able to spend a lot of time as a family. I have my mom and her partner watching Game of Thrones and we’ve done a lot of work around the house. Even though I love spending time with them, it has been a bit challenging as well. I would really enjoy having a space all my own to furnish and decorate however I want but with the current climate, I’m not getting my hopes up. I am saving a lot which will help tremendously when the time is right which is the goal I’m the most happy about.

If I learn anything from this whole experience I hope that it is to find the light in dark situations. With many things in life being uncertain at the moment, I can only hope to work through my current goals and create more as I grow. Even though this year is more than halfway over, I’m happy with the progress I’ve made thus far and look forward to telling you all about the achievement of these goals when 2021 is rung in.

I hope you all are working towards and accomplishing your 2020 goals and staying positive.

If you follow me on other social channels, you might already know that I have finally moved into a career that I can use my expensive degree for.

That career is with The Alderwood Group whose main focus is resort management. The company has properties across the United States, one in Canada and even one in Costa Rica. I have been thrown headfirst into this newly constructed position that was created to help maintain social channels for all properties.

As the Marketing and Communications Coordinator I send out email-blasts and newsletters, post on Facebook and respond to reviews. This is just the basis of my position and as time goes on more of my job description will be tweaked.

I’m extremely excited to now officially be full-time and beginning my career so close to home and with a growing company. I will be posting updates as my career progress as well as pieces or projects that I have worked on. I hope to create more and more for the company and eventually progress to elaborate projects.

As always stay tuned for more about my new expedition.

With my move back home after graduation came many opportunities. One of which being a chance to go back to high school to volunteer with various programs.

Now my high school is kind of unique with a very special program called Adventure Education. It gets students out and in nature with a variety of trips. As a student myself I participated in a week long river trip when I was a junior, and then later that same year I backpacked with the Canyoneering Leadership program. The following year, my senior year, I was able to lead the Canyoneering Leadership trip.

The trips that Adventure Ed put on require a lot of planning and a lot of help from the community. Because I enjoyed the programs so much as a student, I volunteered to help with the sophomore river trip this past fall.

From a student’s perspective, it seems like the Adventure Ed trips are an easy excuse to get out of class, but in reality its an experience that changes perspectives and allows you to step out of your comfort zone.

I, personally, had amazing experiences on the trips and I learned a lot about myself. (Now I know that sounds super cheesy, but it’s the truth.) A large lesson that I learned  was that sometimes it’s okay to not know what you’re doing or where you’re going because there’s someone right next to you feeling the same way and sharing your fears with another person made everything feel real and more comforting.

I am and will forever be grateful to have experienced the Adventure Education trips and I’m even more grateful to now be a part of the volunteer staff.

In addition to volunteering for the Adventure Ed trips, I’m also a volunteer coach for the high school’s Alpine Ski Team. I was a part of the team all four years of high school and I’m delighted to be back on the hill as a coach.

The same two coaches I had as a student are still dealing with the ever-changing group of rowdy high-schoolers. Scott and Peter are saints to say the least and I’m excited to be a part of the team again beside them as a mentor and leader now.

Being a part of a high school sports team was vital to my sanity in high school and I know its an opportunity some kids never get. Thankfully the alpine ski team is one that welcomes everyone, no matter their ability. Equipment is handed out if necessary and it gives students an opportunity to enjoy winter sports. Grand County alone has two ski areas and miles upon miles of trails for snowshoeing and cross country skiing, so why not give students the opportunity to ski twice a week?

I’m excited to be a coach this year and learn more about the sport I loved when I was in school but from a different perspective.

Stay tuned for more updates about my involvement at the high school. Ski season is just beginning and in the spring, Adventure Ed trips will begin again.

A lot has happened in the past three months: I’ve graduated college, I’ve moved home and now I’m trying to find my way and prepare for my future.

The weeks leading up to my college graduation were confusing, exciting and scary. I wasn’t sure how to feel about finishing my college career and moving on to the next chapter in my life. I did a lot in those last couple of weeks to top off the three years I spent at the University of Oregon. All were wonderful memories that I thought I would share.

To start the final stretch to graduation, I volunteered at the Prefontaine Classic as part of the media team and got to see the little bits and pieces that go into the media and press aspects of such a large sporting event.

It was great to see the precise planning that goes into an event that occurs annually and brings together the worlds best athletes. Every event had to be timed perfectly and with that, the interviews that followed.

Every news outlet that attended had questions prepared and their laptops out and ready to submit the final story as soon as the event was over. It was an amazing experience that I owe to the event planning class and the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.

(I also got to meet a pretty cool duck)

The same weekend (Memorial Day weekend), I got to spend quality time with my best friend and big Gabriella in her hometown Hood River, Oregon. Our girls weekend with her mom and family friend was fun and exciting and full of funny moments.

It started with a picnic that overlooked Hood River and everything was peaceful and enjoyable until the park’s sprinklers pushed us out of our little spot. You may be able to see this hilarious moment online as there was a Japanese family filming the entire endeavor.

We hiked, we ate delicious food, enjoyed frosés and just relaxed for the weekend which was what both of us needed to push through the last couple weeks of our senior year.

The following weekend Gabriella and I both had to say our goodbyes to our service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.  The weekend included our alumni potluck, a large service event and our end-of-year banquet.

It was sad to say goodbye to all the wonderful people I met through the organization, but it was even harder to say goodbye to my family. We all became so close over the school year that it was sad to imagine myself and Gabriella graduating and moving on from the UO.

The banquet was emotional and memorable and I’m thankful I was able to spend time with my service group reflecting on the year. I’m also grateful to have recieved the Triathalon Award. It made me remember the great things that I did through the organization and how volunteering makes a large impact on a community.

I owe a lot to Alpha Phi Omega and the Zeta Psi chapter. It’s a wonderful organization that teaches the importance and value of service, but also exercises leadership skills and helps develop friendships. I met my best friend there and I’ll never take that for granted.

In addition to APO’s banquet and goodbyes, I also had to say goodbye to my call center family. I worked at the University’s Annual Giving Program call center my entire college career and I finalized that experience with our end-of-year picnic.

The group of goofy friends I made over the years continue to amaze me in their accomplishments either at school or now as graduates like myself.

My experience cold calling and raising money for university academics is also an experience that I will forever cherish. The skills I’ve learned will help me wherever I go in my career and the relationships I created will stay with me even if I’m a couple states away. I can assure you I’ll never forget that “my name is Kelsey and I’m a student calling on behalf of the University of Oregon.”

To finalize my last week of school, I presented my public relations portfolio to a panel of professionals. I traveled to the Portland campus to sit down with two gentlemen who gave me wonderful advice and constructive criticism on the printed portfolio that I had worked on during spring term. 

After I thanked the panel and left the room, I had completed my college career. It was a bittersweet moment, but boy was I thankful to be done.

Though I was done with my classwork, I had one final task left, graduation.

What a weekend that was. It was amazing and again very emotional. My mother and I had a blast celebrating my graduation and I loved the feeling of accomplishment that came from crossing that stage and accepting my diploma (or diploma cover really).

I was thankful to have many people present for the weekend. Of course, all my friends that were also graduating were celebrating as much as I was. But also my close friend Samantha who still has one more year. The best part was that she bonded with my mom and you can be sure that I, and possibly my mother too, will be there for her graduation next year.

Since graduation, I’ve traveled back to Colorado and I’m currently living at home. The trip back to Colorado was a road trip with Gabriella as my copilot and my mom in a very packed car behind us. That in itself was an adventure, but a fun one at that.

Stay tuned for more about what I’m doing in colorful Colorado and what my plans for the future are.

Well, I haven’t exactly been updating this website very often, with portfolio pieces or blog posts. So it seems fit that my first post of the year is about New Year’s Resolutions and the first one, to post on here more often.

I have never set New Year’s Resolutions because I honestly felt they were cheesy and usually easy to push aside. This year, I came up with a couple resolutions that I hope I can stick to.

1. Post on my blog more often (post suggestions welcome).
2. Spend less on pointless things. I’m addicted to Hobby Lobby, Target, dollar stores, you name it, and always buy things that I don’t need and then wonder why I have no money in my bank account.
3. Eat less sugar. This is going to be the hardest, damn Oreos.
4. Workout more. Ha. Ain’t I unique?
5. More yoga. I thought that this could be included in working out, but I feel like yoga is more relaxing than working out. It’s basically meditating and you can do it whenever.
6. Volunteer more. I already volunteer with the national service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega that I am apart of (see my APO Media Work page) but I want to try to help even more organizations this year, even after I graduate.
7. Spend more time with family and friends. Graduation is just six months away and getting to spend time with friends and family is going to be very important.
8. Clean out the old. The most basic, but most important. It’s time to get rid of old clothes, old grudges, old feelings and thoughts and move on to the future where everything could be just a bit brighter.

Stay tuned for how these resolutions pan out as the year goes by!