I left L.A. early Friday morning and landed at JFK airport in New York that same afternoon.

Saying so long to the Pacific Ocean and hello to the Atlantic all in one weekend doesn’t even begin to describe my whirlwind of a break -- not to mention dropping from 65 degrees to 16 in five hours.

One of my best friends from high school is a sophomore at West Point who invited me to attend a banquet for the sophomore class.  A little nervous over whether my arthritis would hold up between the temperature change, high heels, and the constant walking of The City, it ended up being an amazing weekend.

Friday night, the group of six went ice skating in Rockefeller Center and hit up the town.  Saturday, the group of six army football players and three dates took a tour of the Military Academy and got ready for the banquet.

It was a beautifully prepared meal and the speaker was amazing.  After dinner, we had lots of fun at the dance. Making it back into the city around one in the morning, someone had the brilliant idea of getting New York City hot dogs in Times Square.  At 3 a.m.

The adventures of pulling nearly two all-nighters in the row left me sleeping the whole way back to L.A.

My parents' reaction to my weekend of craziness:  You are nuts.

My response?  Well, you only live once, right?

To send Taylor your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail her by clicking here
  
  

I left Nashville last Sunday when it was 11 degrees.

Two checked bags, a seat in 12A, and four hours later, I landed at LAX where it was 70 degrees.  It can’t get much better than that.

I quickly learned back in Nashville that cold weather and arthritis really do not mix well for me (something about which I had forgotten here in warm California).  I can already tell a difference being back -- and my joints are much happier for it.

Although I'm enjoying the sun and warm weather, being at Pepperdine has brought a major challenge:  getting back into the swing of things (read: studying) when ... I can see the beach from my dorm room.

At the end of the month I will be heading to New York to visit a good friend of mine at West Point.  From warm weather to the extreme cold?  I am not eager about that part.

To send Taylor your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail her by clicking here
  
  

My first semester of college is officially over.

It is safe to say that this semester flew by -- and I am  still pinching myself that I made it through in one piece.  I have many things for which to be thankful over the holidays and am excited, looking forward to next semester.

I will continue giving Pepperdine campus tours and being involved in several student activities on campus.  One, in particular, lies close to my heart.

A new fraternity on campus -- Delta Tau Delta (DTD) -- has been in the process of choosing their philanthropy.  (Each Greek chapter puts on a fundraising event annually, raising awareness of and funds for their chosen beneficiary.)  I am thrilled to announce that DTD has chosen the organization I founded -- KARDed, Kids Aware of Rheumatoid Diseases and Educated -- as their philanthropy!

When DTD hosts their fundraiser next semester, all of the proceeds will go to help find a cure for Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA).  I could not be more thankful that this group of guys will be taking this program under their wing.  It will really help make a difference and create awareness of JRA on Pepperdine's campus!

To send Taylor your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail her by clicking here
  
  

It is officially 18 days until Christmas break.  As students jet off home for Thanksgiving break, students anticipate the much needed break and start buckling down for finals.

As excited as I am to get back home to Nashville, I must reminisce on how fast this semester has gone.  Overall, with the exception of a couple days with my arthritis acting up, my disease could not be better (knock-on-wood!).  Maybe there is something to being in a more stable weather environment that makes arthritic hands feel a little bit better?

Last week, while giving a tour to a group of prospective students on Pepperdine's campus, one of my friends came up and asked me to his fraternity formal in front of about thirty people.  Embarrassing?  A little.  Cute and well planned?  Absolutely.

This past Saturday was ATO's fraternity formal.  Being naturally apprehensive wearing 2-inch heels and dancing the night away, I prayed my arthritis wouldn't come back with a vengeance.  Amazingly, even after being on my feet for over five hours straight, I was up and rolling just like any other day!  This definitely was one of the best weekends so far in school.

I looked at weather.com today and it said there will be expected snow flurries this week.   Please remind me again why I am leaving the sunny, 75-degree weather for some cold dreariness ...

To send Taylor your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail her by clicking here
  
  

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving break is just two weeks away.  Before going to college, I thought I was the type of person that would never want to go home.  The mere thought of leaving my new friends and college life made me never want to leave.

However now -- after living in the dorm for almost three months, eating cafeteria food for every meal, and never finding downtime for myself -- I cannot wait to get back to Nashville.  Just the thought of sleeping in my own bed, having home cooked meals, and having a shower that will stay warm the whole 15 minutes makes me want to jump on a plane right now!

I have some exciting news regarding next year:  I am going to be living and studying in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2010-2011!  Pepperdine University does study abroad a little differently than other schools.  At Pepperdine, students typically go abroad their sophomore year in order to focus on their major courses afterward.

Switzerland was my first choice and, after being accepted, I can hardly wait.  Between exploring a new city, studying, and traveling all over Europe, I will get to experience all of these new adventures with 60 other Pepperdine students.

I will have to file a lot of paperwork and insurance forms regarding my arthritis.  (I’m sure the insurance company will love getting the memo that I am living in a foreign country next year!)  While other students are figuring out flight arrangements, the first thing on my To-Do list is to figure out how to get my Enbrel shipped overseas and to make sure my insurance will still cover me.  I know everything will work out -- having arthritis just makes things such a pain sometimes.

And class registration is tomorrow -- I better be sure to sign up for French 101!

To send Taylor your thoughts:

• add a comment below
• or e-mail her by clicking here