Birthday Week :)

I cannot believe my first year of college has already come to an end! It seems like yesterday that I was at dance team practice in the summer asking all of the seniors a million questions about college and my classes because I was so nervous for my first day! This year has gone by so fast, but it been the best year of my life. I absolutely love the University of Akron! The campus is beautiful, the academic department is excellent, and the people I have met are so inspiring. I have had the time of my life meeting new people and experiencing this new venture in my life. My last week was by far one of the best! I was recruited while walking on campus to be participate in a photo shoot for the University of Akron's publications. The photos would appear in the program books, pamphlets, posters, and other recruitment books for the University. Of course I agreed to be a part of this exciting event! We shot the photos throughout the duration of finals week. I had a blast with it and I can't wait to see what the publications look like!

Enjoying free Starbucks samples with two of my
new friends, Courtney & Jordan before the shoot!

Another exciting part of the week was the fact that it wasn't only my last week of classes and finals, but it was what I like to call my BIRTHDAY WEEK! I don't like to celebrate my birthday for just a day, so my friends, family, and myself make a fun week out of it! The first event of the week was spent with one of my best friends, Brenna who attends Miami University. I hate not getting to see her all the time so it's always exciting to see her! We went out to dinner, shopping, and then had a fun girls night with some close friends! The next event was spent with some other close friends of mine, Liz and Jessa! Liz and Jessa live on campus and I am at their house ALL the time with them! It is so nice to walk over to their house and visit after class or practice. We have grown to become really good friends with their neighbors across the street too! They are so nice and an absolute blast to hang out with! We even created a "game night" where we all get together and play a different game once a week. It gets pretty intense, but is always so funny! We made this week's game night special for my birthday! We played my favorite game, Catch Phrase all night! We had so much fun! The following birthday festivity was a delicious sushi dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, House of Hunan. It is located in downtown Akron and they are known for their amazing sushi! A group of my best friends got together and enjoyed a delightful dinner there! The following day was my REAL birthday! Unfortunately, I had to wake up at at 7:30 to take not just one, but three final exams!! Figures most of my finals would fall on my birthday :( I was all finished with them by noon so I kept looking at that as the bright side of it! After my finals were over, I enjoyed a delicious lunch and then a fun filled day shopping and getting my nails done with my wonderful mother! It was so relaxing and of course so much fun! My family then took me to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Mariachi Locos for dinner! They put a huge sombrero on my head and sang to me! It was hilarious! My friends met me there and then we all went out to celebrate! I am so lucky to have the best friends in the world and they made my birthday so special. Wait, it wasn't over yet! The day after my birthday, Liz and Jessa threw a birthday party for me! There were so many of my friends there from my high school friends, to dance team friends, to the neighbors, to different sports teams, and much more! It was such a fun night and I'm so happy I got to celebrate it with so many people that I love!

Haha! Looking so funny in my sombrero after
my friends & family sang to me!

My friend Leann did my hair & make up for me
before my birthday celebration :)
My friend Erin is AMAZING & baked me this
giant cupcake along with small cupcakes with leopard
cupcake wrappers! She knows me too well! Don't worry,
I didn't really eat this huge cupcake haha :)

Just when I thought my birthday week had finally come to an end, I received the best gift of all the following day. My older sister, Tara called to share the good news that she was in labor!! My family traveled to Columbus and my baby nephew, Jack Thomas Hageman was born! It was an incredible day and I am proud to say that I am an Aunt! I love little Jack and he is just the cutest baby in the world! I am looking forward to watching him grow up and being there for him every step of the way.

Baby Jack! Words can't describe how much
I love him <3