In just three days I will be 21 years old! It's hard to believe that another birthday just around the corner! The older I get the more I begin to realize how quickly time passes by. I find myself wanting to make each moment more and more special. The last thing I want to do is rush through life and not take the time to enjoy the special times.
Year twenty was fabulous. I just can't express how blessed I have been the past 363 days. There were so many amazing opportunities and special things to be a part of!
To start off my year as 20 I was given the chance to compete in Miss Arkansas 2011! If you've read my last posts then you know how amazing this experience was! Not everyone can say that they've had the experience of performing on the Miss Arkansas stage and I am truly honored to have been one of the few that have!
Soon after the pageant my parents, Michael, and I took a trip to Fort Walton Beach, FL! We had a blast! After spending most of the summer preparing for and competing in MA a week of relaxation was needed for everyone. I will never forget the amazing time I had on this trip! We ate way too much, spent a magnificent amount of time on the beach, and made a lot of great memories!
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| Michael and I on the balcony of our condo! We had a BEAUTIFUL view! |
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| Me and my two best friends! Always and forever! |
Not too long after we left the beach it was time for school to start. Little did I know that it would be my last year at Tech, but boy was it an amazing year! One of the most exciting things I got to do was be a part of undergraduate research with Dr. Ivan Still. For the fall semester I went into a research lab almost every day for 2 hours and worked. This was such a learning experience for me! Dr. Still taught me a lot about detail and how important every move made in the lab was important. I believe that having done this work with Dr. Still will make me a better pharmacist in the future! I was also able to put this research on my application to Pharmacy School!
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| My first day of Undergraduate Research under Dr. Ivan Still at Arkansas Tech University. (Fall 2011) |
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The final poster explaining what we discovered through our research.
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My sophomore year of college I made a really wonderful friend. AC Brown III was one of the most amazing people I ever had the pleasure of meeting. He really helped me out when I was trying to bring my idea of doing a fundraiser to life. Although we couldn't get the fundraiser to happen, he did everything in his power to help. After working on that together we remained friends and would eat lunch together from time to time. I will never forget his encouraging words, wild sense of humor, and dashing smile. On November 18th, 2011 he passed away in a car accident that was caused by a drunk driver. AC, I will never forget you. You inspired me to live my life differently.. to love everyone, strive to be my best, and to leave my mark.
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| AC Brown III and I at a SigEp tailgate Fall 2011. |
It was a year of firsts for Michael and I. We spent our first Thanksgiving, One Year Anniversary, and Christmas together. Having two wonderful and supportive families makes our lives with one another just that much more special. We are beyond blessed with amazing people in our lives. I don't know where we would be without their love!
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| Our first Halloween together! We were the Black Eyed Peas. This photo was obviously taken in front of a mirror! |
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| Our First Thanksgiving Season Together! |
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| At Garvin Gardens to see the Christmas Decorations on our One Year Anniversary. November 29, 2011 |
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| Our first Christmas together with my family! We are so blessed! |
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| First Christmas! So special! |
We also celebrated Michael's 23rd Birthday! We met up with Michael's brother Jonathan, his girlfriend Rachel, and his sister Jennifer in Fayettville. We had a fun filled night with dinner and playing games on the Wii!
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| Michael's 23rd Birthday! Which is also New Year's Eve! We brought in 2012 together! |
Christmas break went by way too fast and I had to go back to school at ATU. Even though going back to school stunk, I actually got to go on a trip to NASA! My undergraduate research done in the fall of 2011 was funded by NASA, so they also sponsored a trip for us to visit their facilities in Huntsville, AL! It was just too cool!
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| The group from ATU at the National Space and Science Technology Center in Huntsville, AL. |
After going to NASA it was back to the grinding stone for me. I spent all of December and January preparing to apply to Pharmacy school. I took the PCAT for the second time and raised my score 19 points! A few weeks after my application was submitted I was invited for an interview at UAMS. After three hard years of work at ATU, I felt like this interview was one of the single most important interviews in my life! Believe it or not I came out of my interview at UAMS excited! Having been in Miss Arkansas twice I felt very prepared for whatever UAMS could throw at me! Praise the Lord for the opportunities that prepared me!
Earlier in this post I mentioned Michael's brother Jonathan and his girlfriend Rachel. Well....at the very beginning of March they got engaged!!! Jonathan and Rachel are perfect for each other! Their relationship is founded on the Lord and I just know God will bless their marriage! They are getting married July 6th!
Sadly I had to give my crown as Miss Ozark Highlands 2011 away in March of 2012. It was such an honor to serve as MOH and I had an amazing time with the people involved along the way. Thank you to all who supported me during my time as a Miss America local title holder!
On March 27th my mom text me while I was in class to let me know my letter from UAMS had come in the mail. Anxious as ever, I pleaded for her to bring it to campus once I was out of class. My professor even let me out a tad early to go grab my letter just outside the building. My parents had parked in the wrong place so I ran at least the length of a football field to get to them! My mom handed me the letter and I ripped it open to find that I was ACCEPTED! In that moment I thought all of my dreams had come true! Thank you mom and dad for always being there for the life-changing moments!
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| Right after I opened my letter of acceptance to UAMS College of Pharmacy for Fall 2012! Class of 2016! |
Like I said, I thought all of my dreams had come true, but there's more. The Friday after I got my acceptance letter, Michael came into town to take me to a celebratory dinner. We ate at Colton's where we had our first date. It was a nice relaxing dinner, and because Michael is a sneaky booger I had no idea what was about to happen. We went back to my dorm room to watch a movie and I refused to leave to go to my parents until the movie was over. It was almost 10 o' clock by the time we had gotten home and I got ready for bed. Michael came in my room with a gift and said it was for getting into pharmacy school. He had made me a scrapbook.
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It ended up being his proposal! | <><><><><><>
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| And then ALL my dreams came true! We were engaged March 30, 2012! |
Here are a few of our engagment photos that were taken recently!
Since the engagement we have been wedding planning away! I can't wait to marry the man of my dreams! Praise the Lord for answering my prayers!
Michael's sister Jennifer graduated from Massage Therapy school in March also! It was such a big month for the McCrary family! Jennifer is such a hard worker and she has such a huge heart! I'm so excited she is going to be my sister!
I was honored to sing in my cousin Shannon's wedding April 14th, 2012 and be a bridesmaid in my friend Jessica's wedding June 9th, 2012. They are two very precious people that I wouldn't trade for the world! I wish them both the most happiness in the world a person can have!
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| Me with Shannon at her wedding reception! Such a beautiful bride! |
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| Me with Jessica before she walked down the isle! She is such an amazing friend and was such a pretty bride! |
At the end of April I accepted a Pharmacy Tech position at Saline Memorial Hospital! This job will supplement me through Pharmacy school and will also give me more experience in the field! God has definitely blessed me and allowed everything to fall into place in His perfect timing!
My last year at Arkansas Tech was definitely one to remember. I will miss my professors and friends that I made there. I pray that those friendships never fade! To top off my last year at ATU I made a 4.0 the entire year! This was such a proud accomplishment for me, because I worked so hard to maintain a good GPA to apply to Pharmacy school!
There were so many memories made...I just can't put them all on here. These were just a few of the highlights. I CAN'T WAIT to see what year 21 has in store! I can only pray that it is as amazing and just as blessed as year 20!
~Lindsey Danielle~
