Bucket List #32

 I am so excited to say that this summer I get to cross #32 off of my bucket list!

This summer I get to spend 3 months serving the people of Peru! I will be in a city called Piura which is in the northwestern part of the country. I will work every day to help the people live a more sustainable lifestyle. I have always dreamed of volunteering abroad but the timing was never right. It was such an incredible feeling when I was accepted into the program, knowing that now is my time. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity and I intend on making the most of this incredible experience. Having studied Spanish at BYU for the past year and a half, I am looking forward to really being able to connect with the locals and talk to them in their language. I truly believe that I will not only have an impact on their lives, but they will change mine forever. 

Let me tell you a little about Peru and what we I will be doing there. Some of the projects include:

A bakery that volunteers started last year.

• Working in an orphanage
• Organizing an income-generating project, like a bakery
• Teaching English classes
• Business training
• Planting Neem trees for the local community (provides shade and has medical purpose)
• Campaigns for higher education
• Managing a girls' soccer team
• Installing innovative light solutions in slum communities
• Teaching a class on fair trade and small business
• Empowering the community through agriculture

I am especially excited to help organize income-generating projects for families. I know that we have all been in a situation where we have so much we need to do but have no idea where to start. All we need is a little push in the right direction to get us on our feet. I believe this is what the people in Peru need and I plan on helping them get their foot in the right direction. Not only that, but this is something that they can continue to expand on and works towards when my time is up and I head back to the US. Everyone has so much potential in this world, they just need to see it.  

If you want more information, you can visit the programs website.

If you would like to donate towards the projects we will be doing, click here and make sure you designate it to "Support a Volunteer or Intern" and put "Zoe Theobald" in the memo line shown in the picture below. Make sure you view the benefits listed below before you choose how much you want to give!

Also, if you choose to send a check in instead, the address is:   

455 N. University Avenue. Suite 212 

Provo, Utah 84601

Make sure you put "Zoe Theobald" on the memo line.

My goal is to raise $3750 for these projects by April. All donations go straight towards the projects that we will be doing to fight against poverty! Every little bit counts. Even if you are only able to give $5. 31.3% of people in Peru are living below the poverty line. Thats 9.2 million people. Trust me when I say even $5 or $10 makes a difference.

Because I appreciate each and everyone of you that are helping my dream come true, if you donate...

• $25 - You will receive a shout out on my blog (zoetheobald.blogspot.com).
• $50 - You will receive a shout out on my blog and a postcard straight from Peru with details on projects you are supporting.
• $100 - You will receive a shout out on my blog, a postcard, and a bracelet from Peru.

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. - Mahatma Gandhi

                                                  

So its January 21st...

Thinking back to January first, I was sitting at my grandmas house and thought to myself, "You should really post your New Years Resolutions like right now or else its not going to happen." I know myself too well. I ended up falling asleep, and here we are today, January 21st, FINALLY writing about my year. So lets recap in photos first (they're completely out of order):

Chopped my hair off.

Got on TV.

Was a bridesmaid for Erica! 

Helped plan some amazing homecoming dances.

Went to a Boyce Avenue concert with my sisters.

Roadtripped to a friends cabin.

Went to a Neon Trees/Imagine Dragons Concert.

Had shoulder surgery (sling is hidden) and proceeded to party at this wedding the same day.

Was Aliese's Maid of Honor!

Front row tickets at the Football games!

Roadtripped to Vegas to campaign for Mitt.

A night in Vegas.

Got accepted to do an internship in Peru!

Found my sister on the cover of a magazine.

Held a hedgehog.

Spent some quality time with my favorite people.

Before.

15 years later.

Visited my brother in New York.

 Went to Central Park.

Purchased my first iphone snapped some panoramas at True Blue Football.

Skipped class and took a spontaneous road trip to California.

Another best friend got married.

Ended it with my family.

I'd say I had a pretty eventful year. This year I finally decided what I want to study and that is HUGE! I never thought I would be one of those people that would change their major five times, just because I thought that I could pick one and stick with it. When I first came to BYU a year and a half ago, I wanted to study Graphic Design. In fact, that played a big part in me transferring because I knew BYU had a good program. So I came, took all the classes, loved every second of them, then applied and didn't get in. It caught me off guard. I felt so strongly that I was going to get in because I thought that I was supposed to transfer to Provo and study Graphic Design. It made me step back and look at the whole situation. I realized that I loved the idea of graphic design and understanding how it works but I didn't really see myself having a career in it. Then I started thinking about what I wanted to do instead. Photography? Psychology? Human Development? Family Studies? Accounting? Marketing? and then it hit me. Recreation Management. So here I am now, in the Marriott School of Business studying Recreation Management (Event & Venue Management track) and I couldn't be happier. Its unbelievable how much weight was lifted off my shoulders when I realized what I wanted to do and it felt right. 

This year I want to:

1. Lose 10 pounds by March 23rd (my aunts wedding).
2. Prove to myself that I can get A's in hard classes.
3. Get a promotion at my current job or get a job at the Marriott.
4. Run at least a half marathon.
5. Become fluent in Spanish.
6. Work on starting my own small photography business.
7. Take a spontaneous trip to Hawaii.
8. Find a new passion.
9. Read a book and enjoy it.
10. Reach my savings goal.

My little man.

If you love watching dogs do funny things then this is your video. I could watch it all day. He's trying to rip of the string from his monkey thing.

1:30 - 2:30 is THE best part.

Blink of an eye.

WARNING: This is going to be a complete photo bomb of my summer to keep you up to date on my life.

This summer has flown by so fast. I have been on a few adventures that I want to document before I forget everything! While I was still in Phoenix, I traveled up to a friends cabin in Pine, AZ. Here are some photos from the trip!

Poor Boo Boo Bear...lost in the woods.

Later on in the summer I went to New York with my parents! I wrote down what we did so that when I finally got around to writing about it, I could remember what all went down! Here was the agenda and some photos:

Monday:

- Met Mr. Vilcek, the guy that gave Jason his scholarship! 

- Saw part of NYU.

- Walked through the largest public hospital that Jason is working for this summer. They see 40,000 patients every day!

- Walked the High Line

Tuesday:

- Walked through the Intrepid.

- Ate Falaffals!

- Saw Mamma Mia! on Broadway!

Wednesday:

- Went to the Ground Zero Memorial

- Saw the first law office building that my dad worked in.

- Saw the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

- Went to the Seaport and ate in the rain. 

Thursday:

- Went to FAO Schwartz, THE Tiffany's Co, and other big stores. 

- Walked around Saks Fifth Avenue where my mom worked.

- Walked through Central Park.

- Walked around the Upper West Side where my parents used to live.

- Went to the original Ray’s Pizza where my parents ate 3 times a week when they were first married!

- Walked through the Natural History Museum. 

- Walk through Times Square. 

- Saw Memphis on Broadway (AMAZING).

Friday:

- Woke up to Chris Brown in concert outside my window at the Rockefeller Center.

- Went shopping in Times Square.

- Spent the evening with Jason and walked around Washington Square, Madison Square, Union Square, and got ice cream!

Saturday:

- More shopping with mom.

- Toured Columbia with my family for my dads college reunion!

Sunday

- Woke up to a Puerto Rican Day parade outside my window.

- Saw Sister Act on Broadway with Raven Symone as the lead! So good!

- Ran into 2 people from Shadow at the Airport on the plane home...random.

Ground Zero.

Brooklyn Bridge.

The hole in the wall burger place "behind the red curtain" in the 5 star hotel haha.

Mom asked for pickles on her burger...they just have her an enormous pickle instead.

Central Park!

So that was New York! It was so much fun to get away from Phoenix and see Jason and spend time with my parents. I loved seeing where they lived when they were first married. I feel like I know my parents so much more now.

And next...I chopped my hair off...FINALLY!

(Taken right after I got it cut.)

Lastly..I went to California last week for 5 days! I woke up, it was about 8:15, super jealous that my roommate was going to LA, and 30 minute later was in the car with her on our way to California! Here are some pictures from the trip!

Ignore the 'I just made a spontaneous 10 hour drive to California hair' and just look at the pretty temple. 

Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier!

Candid.

Oh! I also went to Yellowstone with BYUSA. I don't have many pictures from that but Im trying to get the rest from the people I went with! Heres what I have:

I added some 4th of July Parade photos on to the end.

Sorry for the photo bomb!