Dreams do come true ... with hard work

Some more dreams have come true in my life!!! On Tuesday, I will be leaving for Hawaii to visit my cousins who live in Maui! Last Saturday, I bought a 29-foot camper!
Growing up, I always dreamed of having a camper some day and that day has finally come because I have worked hard enough to be able to afford one all on my own! --- the same goes for the trip to Hawaii as well.
My parents tried to talk me out of buying the camper because they said that I was too young to buy something like that. But the way I look at it is that... I'm at the best years of my life and why not spend money on something that will make those years even more fulfilling??
Over the past few years, I have lost many family members, which has made me realize that no matter what age you are, you have got to live life to the fullest and not let anything hold you back.
With everything I do, I feel like I am living the life that God has given me. Every day, I thank God for everything I have --- wonderful boyfriend, wonderful family, amazing friends, great job and good health.

Lucky lucky girl

The hype over St. Patrick's Day has me thinking about how truly lucky I am.
By the way, I did find a four leaf clover about 10 years ago soooo maybe the legends are true? :p
... so why do I feel so lucky?

Well first of all, I have a great family who supports me in everything I do and I can always tell how much they truly care. And now I am getting more and more close to Dave and his family, which makes me so happy.
I met more of Dave's family yesterday and I truly felt that I belonged there. I felt so relaxed and that I fit right in. Me and Dave have now been together about 4 months, which doesn't seem like a long time, but it didn't take long for us to fall crazy in love with each other. (we both have promise rings that we sport to show our commitment to each other)
Since Dave came into my life, I really feel that I focus more on what's most important in life: family, friends, God and love.

Another reason I'm lucky is that I have several TRUE friends. Many people can't say that they have several friends that would be there for them at any time, but I can say that. They are all so unique and I'm so grateful to have them. (you know who you are :p)

I'm also lucky because a career in songwriting is now a possibility! I signed a contract last month to start writing exclusively for an up-and-coming artist in Nashville.
The recording is supposed to begin in the next few months and I'm so excited to hear my songs professionally produced! And the idea of royalty checks sounds pretty exciting too!
I just feel soooo lucky to have all that i do! I really don't want my luck to fade.... so that it won't, I will just keep thanking God for how he has blessed me and pray that he will continue to do so. :)

Best Christmas

Gosh, life is so great! And dreams just keep coming true!
Last week, Dave sent a dozen roses to my work, which surprised me so much! Also, we spent our first Christmas together which was amazing!
Part of my family met him on Thanksgiving and the other half met him on Christmas ... and they all love him!
I've just really been thinking lately about how everything I've ever dreamed of is coming true. I've always dreamed of having a boyfriend that my family and dad would be proud to know... and that's Dave.
My blogs are usually about how I pursued something and a dream came true, but all of this is just happening on its own.
Even petty dreams come true like Dave playing my grandpa in checkers and my grandpa giving Dave a big hug... it just makes me tear up remembering those moments.
I just can't get over how much God has blessed me.. I'm so grateful!
Some people have told me that it's not fair how I get everything I want... well, it hasn't been by people handing things to me, I've worked hard for everything I've accomplished in my life..... but in this relationship, I can't take any of the credit, it's just all worked out by the Grace of God.
Part of me believes that things work out in my life because I have always believed that anything is possible... and with faith, it is possible.
I've always felt that God has my back and will grant me what I want.... I don't plan on ever losing faith in my Savior because he is doing a great job. :)

Fairytales do exist

Well, well, well... I am a happy girl! Dave and I are officially dating as of today!!
I never thought I'd find someone that just understands me and cares about me as much as he does... it's so amazing.
I prayed for a long time that I'd find a good guy that would treat me right and I stayed frustrated for a long time because I hadn't found that guy..... well, I see now that God still does answer prayers. :)
All of this has given me a new hope on life... my faith is stronger, I feel closer to my friends and my family... I just feel like I now have everything that I've ever wanted.
Now I know not to get too caught up because wonderful things don't always last, but I'm also not the type of person who doesn't embrace a great moment. This is a great moment in my life and I want to really enjoy it.
He is a breath of fresh air for me and I'm so blessed to have him.
The title of my blog is "Chase Your Dreams" and I have always chased my dreams and pursued anything I've ever wanted.... but with relationships, you can't really chase that, it just happens by the grace of God I believe.
Well, God has shown his grace on me with Dave and I will thank God for that every day. :)

Almost was the one that got away

Well, I usually post about my ambitions and my dreams, but occasionally I do post about my love life... well, here's the update!
.... I think I may have finally got it right this time!!
 I have been through a lot dealing with guys who didn't have my best interests at heart, but now things are different... this guy cares about what I have to say and appreciates my talents and my character.... goshhh, what a concept?!
 We are not officially dating, but things are looking pretty hopeful... but I say that a lot and then it blows up in my face so I don't want to JINX it!
We have hung out several times already and we have been on two pretty official dates.. one date was dinner and a movie and the other was to a swanky restaurant/winery in the mountains!
He has been interested in me and has tried talking to me since January, but I never gave him a chance because I was hung up on losers. I can't believe I almost let him get away,  but like he has told me... everything has happened for a reason and the timing was just not right then. :)
I haven't been this happy in a very long time and I haven't felt this comfortable around a guy in a very long time! AND the main thing is that I finally feel like I'm being my true self around him! It's so great!
Hopefully this one turns out better than my past "endeavors"! :)
God has blessed me in sooo many ways... with musical talent, with the ability and opportunity to write for the newspaper, and now with a great guy!
I'm learning more and more about this thing called life... and so far, I don't think it's such a bad thing. :)

I keep pushing, I keep trying

Well, a lot has happened since my last blog post as far as my dreams are concerned!
I recently got a break on my music "career" and some of my original songs may soon be getting published!
I mailed 11 of my songs to Nashville last week in order for them to run through the court system and be copyrighted... once copyrighted, they will be able to then be sent to record labels who will then decide if they want any of their artists to record them!
I have one record label who may be interested in recording at least one of my songs, which is soooo exciting!
When all of this started coming about a few weeks ago, I couldn't have been happier! I actually have taken a break from performing right now due to other obligations during the week, but music is still my ultimate passion.
I am still working at the newspaper, which I do enjoy, and I'm working on advancing my music career at the same time. It has always been a dream of mine to be a songwriter. I love singing and performing, but the money is in songwriting and I love putting words to paper.
If I could still write for the newspaper and get paid to write songs on the side, that would be awesome!! With all of the compliments I get on my newspaper writing and the response that I get on the lyrical content of my songs, it makes me really realize that God has blessed me with the ability to write and also put emotion into words.
My original songs mean the world to me because I wrote them all at turning points or low points in my life.... when people that know me read my songs, they always remember the situation that I am speaking of in the song which is great because then I know that my message was correctly expressed....
I love writing and I also want to have an impact on people's lives and I feel that some of my songs could very well do that.... so I'm hoping and praying that my songs some day make it to the radio!!
God has blessed me and I am starting to see my direction...  :)

God-given talents

Yesterday, as I was driving down the road, I was reflecting on how far I've come with my music.
Several years ago, I wouldn't sing in front of anybody, then in high school, I finally got to where I would sing in front of my friends in private.
Then two years ago, during my first year at Averett, the Christian Students Union (CSU) was hosting a talent show and everyone kept telling me that I should sign up. I hesitated at first, then I finally signed up.
It was going to be my first public debut so I was a little nervous! I had some of my closest friends come to support me which meant a lot!
Not many people were there in attendance but I still considered it my debut. I sang "American Honey" by Lady Antebellum. I was going to sing the song with my guitar but I wasn't comfortable with my guitar skills at that moment.
I sang the song and I received a good response and won the talent show (granted only 3 people performed.. but I still won lol).
I was so excited that I finally had bit the bullet and performed "live."
Another aspect of this story is my guitar playing. Like I mentioned, I was scared to play my guitar in public because I felt that I wasn't good enough at it because I had only been playing since March 2009.
The night that brought both my singing and guitar playing out of the box was when I first participated in an open mic at Buffalo Wild Wings in Danville in February or March 2011 (I can't remember).
That open mic was a success and my guitar playing was decent and my singing was on point I thought.
Since I gained that confidence that night, I have been playing at open mics ever since!
Lastnight's open mic at Kick Back Jacks in Danville (yes! new venue!), I had one of my best crowd reactions ever!
I sang "Anyway" by Martina McBride acapella and I dedicated it to the victims of Hurricane Irene.
I surprised myself when I hit every note perfectly and the crowd gave me a huge applause afterward.
People were coming up to me afterward and telling me how great I did on that song. It felt great!
I realize from all of this that God truly has blessed me with a musical talent and I want to continue spreading it! Especially when I dedicated that song, I felt that God was working through me to deliver the powerful message of that song. :)