Let me just start off, I never pictured myself having an internship at my church for 12 weeks. Working in Ministry has stretched me to lengths and pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I would have never pictured myself doing all these things this summer but one of the MOST impactful things was working with this amazing group of people. Some of them I already knew and had close relationships with but others I had not and it was a great opportunity for me to get to know them and be friends with them.

I always pictured my life a certain way and didn't really think it could change as much as it did. The saying I have heard is that "You are going to act like the people you surround yourself" and man oh man is that true! The laughs that were shared, the hugs, the tears also. Don't get me wrong it's not always butterflies and rainbows, there are some days were we were super frustrated with what we had to go on and didn't speak because we just had so much work to do and had meetings, mission trips, events going on that we had to plan for. These people around me though handled it so well but also when one of us were frustrated.

Each person taught me so many things it is so hard to keep track of the impact they had on my life but I am beyond thankful for having them. Justin taught me to continue to smile even in the bad situations, Stone taught me that someone is always there to have your back, Micah taught me that all you might need in life is a hug to make things better, Nick taught me that literally anything can be fixed no matter the damage, and lastly for the boys Tyler taught me that more than one perspective is good for the mind to comprehend. For my wonderful woman Elise showed me that showing emotions and talking through things is better than holding them in, Taylor taught me that even old friends can still learn new things from each other and that we don't have to agree with everything, everyone says, Sarah taught me that you might not even know someone that well but go out on a limb and invite them to something and they can become one of your best friends you could ever have so quickly, Monica taught me that you should say Yes to things more and always to live in the moment and last but not least Chloe taught me to look at the bigger picture and be thankful for who and what you have around you.

I could go on and on about these amazing people and the things they taught and showed me but that is just a little snippet of how they impacted my summer in all the best ways and I will never be able to repay them for that but I know I have life long relationships that I can always go back to.