2013 in 12 Pictures

January: January was a great month to kick-start the year. First was my 18th birthday, then the Voices' trip to the National Inaugural Choral Competition in Washington, D.C., where we took home 1st place and Most Outstanding Choir. We went sight-seeing to some of the Smithsonian museums, the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, and the Vietnam War memorial. We had a blast celebrating at the awards banquet and danced until they made us leave. We also had the opportunity to go witness the Inauguration, which was a wonderful experience, although the 2 hour walk to the National Mall and the 4 hour walk back to the bus were RIDICULOUS. It was basically the greatest trip ever, and it counted as my Senior trip. I had a blast with my second family.

February: February was very slow and not super eventful. Joe and I celebrated our 3-year anniversary of our first actual date on Valentine's Day, and there was a lot of applying for scholarships.

March: March was a bit more eventful. I had All-State Weekend, where I got to make beautiful music with a bunch of other choir nerds, and there was this huge pep rally for Candice Glover when she was on American Idol. I tripped and fell while running to get in the middle of the massive Harlem Shake (which is what we are all walking away from in the photo above.)

April: April was, again, fairly uneventful. We had French National Honor Society Inductions and this cute little picnic, and I spent much of my time cramming for AP exams. Also, my very last Spring Show with the Voices, in which we had the perfect set, which included a medley from Les Mis.

May: May was a motherload. Senior Prom, AP exams, finals, college applications, graduation preparations, and more. I adored my prom dress, and I plan on keeping this one forever. 

June: June. Graduation rehearsals. Passing of the Mantle. Senior Night. Graduation itself. Enough said.

July: In July, my internship with EatSleepPlay Beaufort was in full swing. I received an email from the person who hired me on that said that he had gotten very good feedback from some of his friends whose pictures I had taken for the site. A+ for Gabby!

August: In August, my grandparents came down to visit and we spent quite a bit of time at the beach. Ethan went back to school around the middle of the month, so I got to have some pretty nice quiet time at home.

September: September was, once again, fairly uneventful, with just college things needing to be finalized. I did get a chance to go to the annual library secondhand book sale, where I got a stack of great books for only $11!

October: Started my online college, and had an easy transition back into routine. It is really nice to have a flexible schedule. I could sleep in and wake up to relax with a cup of coffee before I simply opened my laptop and got to work. I don't know why more people don't do this, honestly.

November: November 16, Joe and I celebrated 3 amazing years together. Thanksgiving was pretty low-key, but still delicious. 

December: Mom broke her ankle and had to get surgery. Joe's dad passed away the week before Christmas. I went to the memorial service and was amazed by the vast amount of people there. I worried about Christmas and our amazing community came through. December was rough, really rough. But in the end, I think that this year was fairly good. I have no real NYE plans this year, other than watching the ball drop on TV and calling Joe at midnight.

Good-bye, 2013
Let's make it a great one, 2014!!

~♥
Gabby