I did it!! Okay, maybe the title is a little biased, but that's how I feel. GO GATORS!! Our graduation was in The Swamp (football field) for the first time in 44 years, so that was pretty awesome. The weather could not have been more perfect. I was a little worried because Florida in May can be very bipolar - it rained the entire week leading up to graduation! The Gainesville Graduation Gods were watching over.

All of my immediate family drove up for the occasion, including my sister who will be starting at UF this summer!

It was a wonderful graduation and the best way to close out my college career. It still hasn't hit me. I honestly feel like I am moving up to Philadelphia for the summer and coming back to school for fall....I just don't know any other way! It was very sad to say goodbye, but I'm so excited for what's to come.

On to the next one! But I'll always be a Gator.

- Rach

#ItsGreatUF!!!

It's about to get a little personal here. I've been wanting to write/vent/share about this for a while but it just never seemed like the right opportunity. I wrote this about two months ago and want to finally share since I am graduating this week, and well, why not? I figured there must be some other people in the same boat! My boyfriend Michael and I have been together for a long time. He is my best friend. If there's one person that knows me probably better than myself (besides my mother,) it is him. We met when I was a Freshman in high school and he was a sophomore. WOAH. Yeah, I know, a long time ago. We dated for a year in high school, and then things got a little rocky when I became quite selfish and Michael went to college. The stars aligned and we found our way back to each other at a Halloween party during my freshman year of college. So romantic!

But on the real, we've grown up together and it's been absolutely the best.

Michael graduated from UF last year and we both knew things were going to get a little difficult for a while because I still had a year left of school, but we both remained positive. Here's the thing: although we lean on each other a lot, we are both totally individual & determined in our own ways. One of the main reasons I look up to him is his intense crazy drive to be a better person every single day. I think that he sees the same in me. He pushes and challenges me (seriously more than anyone else!) every day to think outside the box and to achieve my goals. I'm such a firm believer that everyone has a "person" out there that is going to make them a better person. For me, that's a huge part of having a healthy relationship.

Anyway, Michael graduated last year and landed an internship in Los Angeles. And then I got my first big internship in New York City. Opposite sides of the country. OY. Yes, it was hard. But I can't even sit here and attempt to complain about it because I realized how lucky we were to be in the situations we were in. We needed that for ourselves to grow personally and professionally. I had some of the absolute best times last summer. It was crazy fun when we visited each other and it made spending time together that much more special. I get a lot of satisfaction out of supporting his career and I know he feels the same about me. If you are in a long distance relationship or have been in one, can you relate?

After his internship he moved back to our hometown for a while for work. This was a nice change because instead of 2,700 miles away from each other we were only a four-hour drive away from each other! This quickly changed when Michael accepted a position in Emmaus, PA. So there we were again, this time about 1,000 miles away.

It felt a lot trickier this past semester because I was in the position of looking for a career and as much as I knew I wanted to live in the same city as Michael, I also needed to find a job that's a great fit for me. I never wanted to settle. I had a very hard time with that because there was this feeling of uncertainty constantly over my head (just like every other college senior!) I knew that as much as I was keeping an open mind, our relationship has become a really important factor. One thing that I highly value is balance in life. Right now, I can't visualize my life in balance without my best friend.

(**I wrote this next paragraph two months ago) So for now, I'm not really sure where I will be in the next six months or maybe even the next year or two, but I know that whatever happens, the big things always work out. That phrase has gotten me through some of my hardest moments in life and I know it will continue to do so. (**This ended up being SO TRUE IT'S SCARY.)

I will be moving to Philadelphia in the next couple weeks to start my career and I feel so thankful that I get to take a big step in my professional life and live in the same state as my best friend again. I feel relieved and very motivated.

Okay enough with my annoying bragging, gushing and blah blah blah!

I'm going to leave you with some tips for long distance relationships if you are in the same boat. I am in no way a relationship expert here (I am 21 people!) However, I know that in the past year even being so far apart, we have shared some really happy times in our relationship so I think that counts for something. Not to mention, I feel like long distance has actually made our relationship stronger.

1. Plan trips together. Save up, budget & scope out places you both have never been before. Traveling together is so important! It keeps your relationship fun and you get to learn new things and explore together. Have an ongoing bucket list of places that you want to go and it always gives you something to look forward to. It doesn't have to be an extravagant vacation in any way. Some of my best memories are from road-tripping and camping together or visiting new places when we visit each other.

2. Plan at least three nights a week to talk on the phone. This probably sounds crazy, but it's necessary. We are both SO busy and most of the time we didn't talk as much as this and it's something I wish I would have been a lot more consistent with. It's fun catching up if you haven't spoken in a couple days. This is so important for keeping a steady line of communication. You shouldn't have to miss out on things on each other's daily lives. It's the little things that matter.

3. Skype dates. Real dates. Over Skype. Cook the same recipe together virtually, crack open the same bottle of wine and just hang out. Trust me it's wacky but it's so much fun! Just don't do this when your roommates are home :)

4. Snail mail. Surprise letters and little gifts go a long way. At least in my book. Michael even told me he was going to miss having a 'pen pal'. I'm happy it's almost over, but I loved opening his clever letters.

5. Trust. That is all. Be true to each other, don't hold things back and say what's on your mind.

Always remember that if it's meant to be, it will be. Oh yeah, and the big things always work out. And props to you if you stuck with me and made it through this lengthy post :)

- Rach

Hi! I am annoyed I haven't posted in a about a week because I made a goal to myself to keep up to about three posts a week, but the past week and a half has just been CRAZY. I've been occupied with trying to finish these last couple classes of undergrad (where the HECK has the time gone?!) and just trying to enjoy the time I have left here because I am only in Gainesville for one more week and a half. And it is so bittersweet.

Today was the last day of classes. I actually didn't have any classes today. Just one yesterday and it was an exam that I probably didn't do so hot on (I KNOW I didn't do so hot on.) Anyway, the past week was awesome and unfortunately I don't even have pictures to share. What kind of blogger am I? I promise I am trying to get better at this. Michael came to visit and stayed for the week! He was here on work because his company (Men's Health Magazine) was able to use locations around UF's campus for an outdoor video shoot. Go Gators! I will be sharing those videos when they're released! Our week was busy and fun as I still had class and work and he had to work, but we fit in a lot! And we were very well fed...

The weekend consisted of a lot of brunches and a lot of beer!! We squeezed in brunch at Mi Apa, Peach Valley Cafe and The Flying Biscuit. Saturday morning we dropped in at Crossfit Lead for yoga with the beautiful YoginiLei (Leila) and a class that nothing but kicked my ass. It's a great gym, great coach and awesome atmosphere but I'm literally still sore. I'm not a crossfitter at all, don't think I ever will be, but it's always fun to try new things.The workout was a super hard partner workout and my least favorite exercise was a run carrying a kettle bell on my shoulder (torture.) Favorite exercise was the overhead walking lunges - those are more my speed ;).

After what felt like burning a million calories, we ate a huge brunch and then went to the Hogtown Craft Beer Fest, which was so much fun. There was 300 beers to sample, food trucks and it was a beautiful day. It was nice to disconnect for a little bit and spend time with Michael and his parents since I've only seen them a handful of times in the past year. Luckily that's all about to change...

As each day goes by it kind of hits me a little more that my time at UF is almost over and as much as I get sad thinking about it, I also get really excited for what's next. I accepted a job at an advertising agency in Philadelphia and could not be more excited and ready for this new adventure. I can't wait to write all about it! I feel so thankful for all of the opportunities that have come my way and it is still so surreal that I am moving and starting a real job up NORTH. Who am I? Why do I still feel 16 years old sometimes?? What is winter even like? Will I survive?

So that's kind of life lately! I hope to have more workouts, recipes and other healthy content up on here shortly when things slow down a little bit in the next week.

What are your post-grad plans? 

Is everyone ready for graduation?