See you soon prima! For my non spanish speaking followers, prima means; cousin in spanish. And let’s just say that I have one special cousin that is so dear to my heart. She was here for her summer vacation from college. Yesterday she left sunny South Florida back for another semester in North Carolina. She is one of my best friends aside from being my cousin. No questions about it. Her name is Natalie. Natalie is 19 years old, going on 35. haha. I really don’t mean that in a bad way. You see..the point that I am trying to make is that she’s not your average 19-year-old. I have watched Natalie grow over the years and the change is remarkable. Remarkable in such an amazing way. I think what bonded us over the years, with me being some years older than her, is her sense of maturity. Watching her grow up from this little spunky girl to such a mature lady has been an honor of mine as her older cousin. I may be older, but I admire her in so many ways.
Natalie is one of the most DETERMINED individuals I have personally met and have had the chance to see the determination in full effect! When she put’s her mind into doing something, anything at all.. you better believe that she will deliver! I have been able to see her work hard for what she has and its honestly inspiring. When she was in high school she came up to me one day and said she was trying out for the “lacrosse club.” I remember looking at her and thinking “Since when does she even know what lacrosse is?!” Well, needless to say, she joined the “club” and taught herself and learned from those who were willing to teach her and soaked up all things lacrosse. That lacrosse “club” soon turned into a “team.” Soon after, we were headed out to her high school lacrosse games and watching her kick some lacrosse butt! Turns out the girl was good! SO good that she managed to be the first in our family to get a full ride scholarship to a University in North Carolina playing lacrosse. Her determination is so great that it never seems to fail her. And I pray that it never does =)
You see, besides being so determined..Natalie is such a loving individual. If and when you meet her, she seems a little straight forward and a bit standoffish. But once you get to know her and draws you in to her fun and laid back personality, you see all the love she has in her. She is so humble at heart, something I hope she never looses. Because Humility is a precious gift to have when you really possess it. She’s also a little jokester at heart and I love that about her because I think its something we both have in common. Laughing is always great, but when we laugh together its even better! I’m so glad that her and I will have so many memories to last us a lifetime. But I’m especially excited for all the future memories we will make!
So the day before she left, we did something we never get tired of doing in this family! Kayaking! Xavier and I packed our little bags and took her to our favorite park to kayak! It was such a beautiful day! The water was amazingly calm and clear, so we took advantage and kayaked out to this amazing sandbar in the Miami bay. It was like being on a little island surrounded by the clear waters. The view is always pretty awesome with the Miami skyline and the palm trees from a far. Breathtaking! I wish that we would’ve spent more time while she was here for the summer. But being a grown up sometimes limits our time. But at the same time, the time we did spend together was great and memorable and full of good laughs!
Were hoping that we can pay her a visit soon to her School and add to the memory book we already have. So dear prima, you will be missed while away at school but I couldn’t be more proud of all your accomplishments thus far. I already cannot wait to see you the next time. Never forget that your favorite cousin is just a phone call away and will always be here for you! Keep your head up at all times and never lose your humility and that happiness you carry on a daily basis. Keep grounded always and always remember to keep God in your heart! It’s so great to be the audience of your life as of now. I am so proud of the woman you have become and all that you have left to be. I hope you have an amazing season and a great semester! Love you Prima!
❤ Jen
Here is our amazing shots from our day kayaking with the Prima!
SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR! =)
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