GraceMarie's Adventure Blog

I'm literally so glad that we decided to buy this picture... I love it.  It's no secret. I LOVE roller coasters. Love them. The fact that I got to go to Cedar Point in Ohio this past summer was a dream come true. It was on a total whim, it happened to be on our way, and we went for it! I'm so glad we did. Those were the best roller coasters I've ever ridden in my entire life. It wasn't crowded, it was actually kind of cold that day! It was just my mom and I. We got there late morning and left around 4 or 5pm. It was the perfect day for roller coasters. Man did we have fun. If you guys ever get to go to Sandusky, Ohio.. GO TO CEDAR POINT. But only if you like roller coasters! This is an amusement park I would literally fly to Ohio just to go to again.

To give this post some context, I played collegiate golf for 4 years, at two institutions. I will graduate this upcoming May with my Master's in Criminology. Collegiate golf has provided me an opportunity to not only play the sport that I love but to obtain two degrees (Bachelor's and Master's) with no college debt. While my individual story in unique, there are a lot of tricks I've learned along the way that has helped me get to this point and I want to share this with you. If any of you are thinking about playing athletics in college, this would be the post for you (or if your children are thinking about it). Growing up, I was always involved in sports. From a young age, I was running around chasing a soccer ball, or teeing off on the golf course. When I got to high school I started to take sports more seriously. I wanted to play a sport in college. Sophomore year was around the time that I had decided to make it a goal to get an athletic scholarship to a universi...

So obviously the political climate especially in the US has been incredibly stressful (is that the right word)? Maybe a better word would be polarized? The fact is, many people believe that the country is in shambles. For the most part, people agree on this issue. However, they don't agree about the solution. Now, I will admit that I haven't been politically active all that long. I am 22 years old, and last year was the first time that I was legally old enough to vote for the president. Now, I voted in other elections that did not involve the president, but obviously that was a big election. I feel like I have been forced to involve myself in politics. In fact, I have found that it is nearly impossible to suppress my opinion when politics come up so often. It's funny though, I feel like most of my life I've been told that we shouldn't talk about the big three: money, religion, and politics. I absolutely disagree with this. I think a large problem is that we ...

Thought I'd offer a quick update on my life! I seem to be getting asked a lot about what I'm currently up to! I'm finishing up my degree this May. I will be graduating with a master's degree in criminology with a focus area in human behavior. I decided to take on the focus area of human behavior because I love learning about the minds of criminals and why people choose to do certain things while other people do not. I find it so sad that people do these horrendous things to others, but I find it interesting to study! I hope to contribute to my field someday with proactive policies that could lead to the decrease in victims overall. I think that the criminal justice system is very focused on reactive policies and care, which I think is great but I think a focus should be on proactive action. If we can deter people from committing crimes in the first place, we can reduce the victims. If we can show people what might make them a potential target, we can also reduce victi...

So yesterday I took Uber with some friends. We were getting dropped off at one of their houses after the Women's March in Denver. On our way back we started talking about politics and the death penalty came up. If you didn't already know, I am INCREDIBLY passionate and INFORMED about the death penalty and I think that we should ABOLISH the practice all together! Now, everyone is entitled to their opinions but the fact that our Uber DRIVER thought he knew more than me made me laugh. No offense, but I am getting my master's in criminology and have done numerous research papers on the death penalty so if you come at me with these arbitrary facts or try to correct my facts, that's really not going to go over well. It surprised me that a) he tried to discredit my facts by saying I was over-inflating, and b) was completely misinformed. He tried to convince me that it was cheaper to kill someone than to keep them alive. Now, while maybe people who aren't involved in ...

In order to complete my degree requirements for a focus area in human behavior, I have to take one more psychology class. I am currently taking that class, and it is called Forgiveness and Reconciliation. I really wasn't looking forward to taking this class. It was either this class or human growth and development. I chose forgiveness. Now if you know anythinggg about me, forgiveness is something that I've always struggled with. Yeah--not exactly setting myself up for success here.... I've always had a strong sense of justice, and that people deserve what is coming for them. I am currently one week into this class, and I've already learned so much. Now, that is not enough time to change my long held beliefs on forgiveness and reconciliation, but..... it's allowed me freedom to think and question the topic.  My textbook's authors approach forgiveness as a virtue. Something similar to justice, or kindness. It has to be worked on (constantly) and it...

I visited San Francisco for the first time last May. My best friend Anna and I were going there as kind of a graduation present/fun trip! I'm so thankful that my parents paid for our hotel stay (the hotel rates are completely outrageous!). We stayed in this cute little hotel right in the heart of the city! I absolutely love San Fran! I love how it is small enough that you can take an Uber across town (for a reasonable price) but has so much packed into every little street. And the streets are insane . Kudos to those people that drive/walk everywhere. I cannot imagine driving a car in San Fran.... I would be that person that would come back to their car and find that it has rolled down the hill. Probably something out of Princess Diaries. Also... I love to walk but like the streets in SF!! Holy Crap. It's incredible they created a city on these hills. It's nuts, but gorgeous. I've never seen anything like it. We were in SF for 5 full days. We pretty much saw the ent...

I recently read a book called Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown. In her book, she addressed: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone. This book fell into my lap, and I'm so glad that I stumbled up this! I read a lot, but I normally read fiction books. While I do enjoy some motivational/inspirational books, this is one I normally wouldn't have picked up. However, this book did not disappoint and raised a lot of valid questions for today's society and our place in it. I love the way that she writes, and just ordered two more of her books on amazon. I want to share some quotes from the book that really stood out and spoke to me: "Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self acceptance." This is so important. In order to figure out where you belong (whether that be friend groups, relationships, etc), you have to be c...

A nervous hand Taps a beat repeatedly Creating a growing anger in the Person sitting directly beside them The stale air Imitates the conversations The lack of substance Would make any head turn   The feeling of disappointment Wafts into the room Like a scented cologne Threatening to suffocate The waiting Continues and it seems Like there is no end in sight The clock on the wall Methodically ticks The sound is deafening Thoughts are drowned out The continuous tapping Becomes almost therapeutic The silence is still there But, the room slips away A vegetative state takes over Nothingness, begins to numb And ebb away what is left Of sanity

My roommate and I did a mini road trip to Aspen in October. By far one of my favorite Colorado road trips. It was stunning . I could definitely see myself living in Colorado someday! The middle picture is from hanging lake. That was a bitch to hike up to. It was a short hike but literally straight up the mountain. But the views were great. If you're ever near Glenwood Springs, go to Hanging Lake! It's crazy that such clear water exists up in the middle of nowhere on top a mountain! Our mini road trip took us from Denver to Twin Lakes Via the I-70. Then we drove through Independence Pass (it was snowing!!!). That road closes in the winter because it is incredibly narrow and has a ton of switchbacks (if you're a cautious/nervous driver.. don't volunteer to drive). There are quite a few places to stop while you're driving Independence Pass. We stopped and did a miniature hike to a waterfall! Definitely worth it! It also let us stretch our legs! We fi...