I thought that it would be fun to take a walk down memory lane through this last DECADE (😱). I love looking through photos, so this was an afternoon well spent sorting through all the photos. I have hundreds of photos from like age seven and younger, and again from age 14 on, but it's like I didn't exist between those ages or didn't know what a camera was because I could barely find pictures during those years. Nor can I remember much of what happened 😂 So needless to say, I'm happy that I'm writing this now to keep these memories intact as I can only imagine how much I'll forget in the years to come! *cries a little inside*
"You take pictures to stop time. To turn moments into eternity."
2010
Here she is, Julia Lee at the beginning of the decade. I actually ate spaghetti tonight for dinner, and I would switch out that coke for a Dr. Pepper, but other than that, I'm still same ole me.
In 2010, my whole family went on a Disney Cruise, which sounds super awesome, right? Well yes, it was super awesome, but you know what wasn't super awesome? My attitude 😂I did NOT want to get on that ship because I thought it was going to go down like the Titanic. And I had a fit on the beach when we went to feed the stingrays because I was scared of them...so long story short: Julia was a drama queen!!! But she has grown and is now grateful for opportunities to explore the world, so who's gonna take me on vacation next?! 😉
Christmas 2012. I wore that blue shirt every day of my life hahaha I thought it was the best shirt, and ooooo did the blue make my eyes pop!! 😂
2011
We road-tripped to North Dakota in 2011 to visit Teddy Roosevelt National Park which entailed a lot of hiking and mud and clearly some serious photoshoots in my bug-eye sunglasses. It's called fashion, look it up.
2012
Volleyball was my LIFE.
~Volleyball is my passion and spandex are my fashion~
I actually posted that as my status on Facebook once, so I guess you could say I was #dedicated.
This was my go-to pose. It's a pretty good pose, I mean I'd give it two thumbs up 😏
And we road-tripped to California that summer! I actually vlogged this whole trip because I was obsessed with YouTube, but I had no clue how to edit. I learned how to edit videos my freshman year of college and decided to put it all together, so if you're curious and think you can handle my 12 year old voice, here is the link to the vlog!
2013
My very first Instagram post! Shoutout to my bestie girl, Kara, for helping me set up my account in sixth grade. Honestly, I stalk my own Instagram account on the regular - It's like an online photo album that I get to look through and reminisce whenever I want.
First day of 8th grade. Man, I was so obsessed with this outfit. I had planned it weeks before the first day and even painted my nails to match the color of my shirt. I thought the neon pink and the wash of my blue jeans were legit the cutest combo in the world.
And keeping up with the Instagram theme, ya girl LOVED to take her selfies in 2013.
2014
This makes my heart melt!! Trying out for the dance team! I had quit basketball my 8th grade year and spent my time watching the Danz Team's videos on Facebook trying to learn their routines to train for tryouts. This was the first time that I was doing something "alone" and not just doing whatever my friends were doing. I can still picture driving up to the high school to look at the paper posted on the door and nervously glancing through all the names until I found mine. I was so proud of myself.
First day of HIGH SCHOOL. I wore jean shorts because I always saw the upperclass girls wearing them, so I thought that it was okay...wrong. The principal called my grade into the auditorium on that first day to say he was disappointed in the way my class dressed 😅😂No more jean shorts for that year LOL.
This was the first time that I wore anything Danz Team related, and I did not want to take my jersey off! I had been home for like two hours at this point and still had my jersey on, so I decided to take a picture to document that I, Julia Evertson, was on the Danz Team 😍🤩😆🎉
Still very into selfies.
2015
My sweet 16 was truly very sweet. I suited up for the varsity volleyball game for the first time my sophomore year, and my sweet friends made a sign and had the student section sing happy birthday to me during the warm-ups. I grew up watching High School Musical and this was seriously High School Musical level cool in my head.
And another proud Julia moment, I made it to state track! At the beginning of the season, I was running random sprints like the 100 and 200 because hello who wants to run long distance. Well, apparently me because I ended up running in the 4x800 relay which I thought would be the death of me, BUT it turned out to be the biggest blessing that brought me so close to my teammmates and allowed me to prove to myself that I can do hard things and do them well! I hated track while I was in it, but looking back I can see the lessons it taught me, and for that, I am grateful.
My sweet 4x8 team ❤️
2016
I got braces :')
I tried quitting track my sophomore year, and long story short no one let me BUT good news, we made it to state again :) And then I didn't go out my junior year haha. In this picture, I knew that I didn't want to go out again next season, so I was trying to soak up every single moment of my last state experience. Walking up to the track with these girls by my side truly made my heart so happy.
And I also qualified to run the open 800, another proud-I-can-do-anything-and-I-am-capable moment.
This life-changer walked into my life in 2016. I spent years crushing on him from afar, and let me tell ya, he's just as dreamy as I had imagined.
I started my first summer as a lifeguard in 2016 and spent the next three summers there. Honestly the best job ever.
AND I MET MY BESTEST FRIEND EVER - Jaxon aka Jaxbutt aka Puppy Bear
2017
My dance team placed 2nd in state kick which was basically the same feeling as winning in our eyes 🤩 All throughout high school, I thought this trophy was glass...it's acrylic 🙄🤦🏼♀️
Got my wisdom teeth out.
Went on my first college visit!
Stood beside my beautiful besties at the Homecoming football game.
Danced away the night at my first prom 💃🏼 (Junior Year).
And I went to EUROPE 😍
Caught Thomas Rhett's drumstick at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Best day of my life (until the following year when I SHAKE HIS HAND!!!)
2018 - Senior Year
Last dance season with the "Sexy Seven".
Senior prom! 💃🏼✨Still obsessed with this dress and how perfectly Alex matched his tie 😍
Oh, AND I GRADUATED!! 👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓👩🏼🎓
My high school sponsored a trip to New York and Boston - so fun to travel with my besties 🗺💗
Put on my big girl pants and headed to college at the University of Nebraska Lincoln! Honestly the hardest transition (I blogged/posted on Instagram alllllllll about it if you're going through it and need some support ❤️) but I did love my dorm room. And I miss this bed haha.
And the sweet girls who filled that room with love and laughter ❤️
Took my besties to college with me 💕
AND SHOOK THIS MAN'S HAND
2019
Wrapped up my first year at college and headed west for one more summer at home.
Celebrated the lives of both of my grandpas in the summer.
Grampie's cairn on his farm.
I took this picture of my grandpa resting his hand on my knee a few summers back. Never knew how much it would mean to me!
I moved into my very first apartment with my best friends from high school! I often catch myself sitting on the couch with them thinking "how is this my life right now?!" It's the weirdest feeling thinking I'm an adult and have my own apartment, yet it feels like I'm just a kid having an endless sleepover with my friends.
One last thing: Just Julia came to be on March 3, 2019 ✨
I just turned 20 last November, so this last decade has been half of my life. It's crazy to see how much has changed and how much I have grown. And how much I have done in this short life of mine! It makes me so excited to see what I can accomplish in the next decade. It was so fun to look back through these years, and I highly recommend that you take a second to look back at all you've grown through and all you've accomplished throughout this last decade. And give yourself a high five because you made it! ✋🏼
Thank you for reading along 💕
Just Julia ✨