A Lot Has Changed, But a Lot Hasn't

I’m back.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written… like a whole year.. Life got busy. Really, really busy. Between classes, sorority exec, planning MoveMINT’s first recital, and then starting a full-time internship this summer, it really didn’t feel like I had time to do anything that wasn’t on my immediate to do list.

And to be honest, I wasn’t really making this blog a priority. I had school and work to focus on, of course, but I also was a little burnt out and uninspired. When I was last posting on the blog, they were these posts I was making myself write because it felt like ‘the right thing to do’. They definitely weren’t like some of my favorite posts that felt real, vulnerable, and important.

Last time I was posting, I was trying to turn the blog into something like a lifestyle blog, whatever that means. However, the change in the blog was a lot harder than expected. First of all, my life is so hectic and crazy, it is insanely challenging and stressful to post blog posts every week. Not only did I not have the time to write a post every week, but I just don’t always have things to write about. A lot of the content I put out lacked genuineness, which was never what I wanted for the blog. It was really hard. And I could tell by the responses and interactions I was getting on social media, that my readers and supporters weren’t connecting with my content, which was the whole point of this blog.

So, I was feeling kind of lost when it came to the direction of Oh, Hailey. I decided to take a break from the blog to pray and to focus on other important stuff. I prayed almost daily about the blog. In my general life, lately I’ve been feeling a pull on my heart to trust God more. A lot of sermons I’ve heard and people I look up to in my faith have been talking a lot about their reliance on God. The talked about how they don’t always have resources or plans or people, but they take what they have and trust in God to sustain and lead them. Just as Gungor sings, “You make beautiful things out of dust.” God can do anything, with anything.

When God is trying to tell me something, it often comes in repetition. My head needs to hear a message a few times before I can really notice it. And so, after hearing this message again and again, I realized that that’s what God was trying to tell me.

And as silly as it sounds, I realized that this blog is something that I can put completely in God’s hands. I have a hard time giving up control and this blog is something (I think) I can keep completely in my own control. But, my eyes have been opened to the opportunity to give this blog up to God.

But, I kept praying and was still feeling really unsure about where to go with Oh, Hailey. I kept praying but didn’t feel pulled any way by God.

A while ago I was talking briefly to a girl I’ve known since going through sorority recruitment together two years ago. This girl is a really sweet woman of God and someone I look up to. We were at a Live Salted event together and I was catching up with her for the first time in a while, when she complimented me on my blog. That meant so much to me. But then immediately after that, it became so clear to me—this blog is for God. I think I strayed from this for a while, but it became clear that this is what Oh, Hailey is supposed to be about. My blog is to share the gospel, and how I see Jesus working so clearly in my life.

So, Oh, Hailey is back. I’m gonna trust the Lord on this one, because I have no idea what the path for this blog is. And, yes, there will still be posts about my life and dorm and working out, but I want this blog to go back to its purpose—Jesus.

With that said, it’s been almost an entire a year since I last posted, and wow, can things change in a year. I feel it necessary to provide an update on my life in the last year:

I finished sophomore year… barely. JK. Kind of. This semester definitely kicked my ass, but I absolutely adored my classes. I began my classes in my design minor, and although I realized I know nothing about design, I’m so excited to begin learning! I also took an honors class called “Making Sense of God” with the same professor I took for my Bible class. I was just so blown away by the class, and my professor, Dr. Grant. His insight into religious texts and the history of religion is so refreshing and insightful. The class was hard, but it was engaging and interesting, which is really all that matters.

I also have been serving on my sorority’s exec team and it has been so crazy fun. While I love my position, I really wouldn’t care what my position was as long as I got to work with the women on that exec team. We laugh a lot and push each other to be better. As cheesy as it sounds, those girls have become my truest “sisters” and why I am an Alpha Chi Omega.

At MoveMINT, we had our very first spring concert. And holy moly, what an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. It was a few of the fastest, most surreal hours of my life. I was filled with love and emotion the entire time, constantly on the verge of tears. I felt so much pride watching my little ones on that stage, most of them for their very first time. That experience is something not everyone will get to experience in their lives. I feel beyond blessed that I got to be such a large part of that experience and that these parents trusted me with their beautiful children. Some of those kiddos will go on to love dance the way I do, and I’m humbled I got to help them start that path.

Then I moved back home, and I started my first big girl internship! I served on the content team for Spreetail in Lincoln. It’s a HUUUUGE adjustment to work a 7:30-5:30 job. But I love getting a paycheck and I loved the team I’m working with. It was really exciting to have an internship in a field I love doing real grown up work.

Let me tell you, the summer after sophomore year is such a weird time. My first batch of friends graduated and moved to new states and starting jobs or grad school. Everyone starts getting really serious about internships and futures. It just feels like we’re no longer underclassmen who get to enjoy college, but rather we are just a few years away from the real world.

Now, I’m back in Fort Worth, unsure how it’s already fall break—I’m pretty sure my first week of classes were, like, last week. I’m just as busy as ever, between the studio, exec, school, Launch, studying, and squeezing in devotional, sleeping in, and working out. I’m living with my best friends again, and it really is the best thing in the world. I won’t lie, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed often, but it’s pushed me to be considerate and intentional with how I spend my time.

So that’s a quick update on my crazy life. I know people like this blog because it helps my friends back home know what’s going on in my life, so there it is.

I’m excited to be back. I’m excited to have a platform again that lets me connect with others and share my experiences that will hopefully resonate with one other person. I’ve learned so much about myself and others in the past year, and I have so many posts that are just waiting to be written! Stay tuned—Oh, Hailey has turned a page and this is just the beginning.