I’m a 20 year old college student named Mary Grace. It sounds so boring, but I’ve got to get the basics out of the way. This blog was originally created for writing of my gap year, which began in the Summer of 2017 and ended when I went to college in Fall 2018. I have not written much since the end of my year long adventure, but now in my Sophomore year I am on a new adventure. I am studying abroad for a semester in Cuenca, Ecuador. For details on that, you’ll have to follow this blog, but for background on me, read on here.
In June of 2017 I graduated from a Catholic high school in Dumfries, Virginia. Northern Virtginia is where I spent the 13 years between age five and when I left home for the first time at age 18. The first five years of my life were spent in Maine. In that time I fell in love with the beautiful state. Still, Virginia is where I was able to have a lot of the opportunities that got me where I am today.
In the scheme of things, 20 years is nothing. Summarizing my life seems daunting, so I’ll tell you about my music tastes. I love Ed Sheeran’s music, even some stuff that doesn’t make it on the radio. I grew up with Taylor Swift. I mix up Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles, but it doesn’t matter too much since I like them both. Jason Mraz (which I pronounced Marz for many long years), Mumford and Sons, P!nk, and George Ezra. The list goes on…
I am the youngest in my family. I grew up with an older sister and even older brother. Then there are also my four awesome half-brothers and one amazing half-sister. I used to think my sister was full of crap, when she said the youngest gets spoiled. Since she moved out and stopped holding my parents accountable, I’ve realized the youngest totally is spoiled. Still, I’ve been told I don’t act much like a youngest child. I have the peace-keeping tendencies of a middle child and the care-taking tendencies of an oldest child.
I like to sing, it’s in my genes. I like learning about cool new ways to be an advocate or activist, so much so that I co-wrote a workbook for teens on just that. I love piecing together a good outfit, though I find myself increasingly putting “practical” above “pretty”. I don’t like spicy food. It’s really bad. I don’t even use pepper with my salt. I write a lot of lists. Grace is my middle name, but I go by my first and middle. For over a year, I have been in a relationship with a guy named Zach and he is the best person I know. I have many aspirations to travel the world, especially Central and South America, and Australia. My dog’s name is Tequila and she loves that my dog sitting business gets her lots of play dates.
In the summer after my Junior year of high school I went on a mission trip to Honduras. After Senior year, I went on a mission trip to Peru. I risk sounding dramatic or cliché but I cannot tell a lie; Honduras changed my life. I explain more about it in the The Gap Year section. I just think you should know, that if I hadn’t gone on that mission trip I would not be doing this gap year.
As for the real identity defining aspects of me: Well, I am a believer in God and Christ and I am a Catholic. I’m also a pro-life feminist who is basically politically undeclared, but passionate about social justice. It’s arguably natural but probably rude for you to have just made a lot of assumptions about me. I could go into how I live my Catholicism and why I think it defines me so. I could explain what I think it means to be a feminist and what I think you have to believe and act on to be truly pro-life. I could describe how political ideologies are more multifaceted than I can wrap my mind around yet. Or how I believe if you aren’t actively working toward a worthy cause you might be a detriment to society. But this blog is about my gap year and my study abroad experience. Those things are somewhat off topic. Still, if you want to know more you can contact me with questions or just follow my blog and see what I reveal.
Year of Uitwaaien 