One of my favorite things to do when I'm in need of some time off and relaxation is to put on a good podcast in my headphones and go off on a long walk by myself. This is something that never fails to give me some time to just turn off everything I have on my mind and just focus on my surroundings and on getting some fresh air. I've lived here for 3 years now and just realized that there are some roads around the school and up upon the heights above it where I have never driven or walked before. So today I decided to just walk up one of the hills and keep on walking to see where I'd end up. Since I live in a very small city in South Carolina, there's no real side walk to walk on but as the pictures show, the roads are typical American country side roads. The surroundings are completely different from the ones where I usually go for my walks back home in Sweden but I like the change and find it cool that places can differ so much from each other. Two hours and 1.5 episodes of the ''success pod'' later I am home and my legs are like jell-o haha. It's not too humid outside today so a perfect day for being outside. I'm gonna try to get some homework done now this afternoon, I have a book to read for one of my classes and then tomorrow I'm hoping that the weather will be good enough for me to study outside by the pool. Off weekends are pretty good sometimes.
Ellie
So today I finally (!!!) finished this corner in my new room and it's already my fave spot. As I mentioned earlier I just moved into a new house closer to school and it always takes some time to get settled in. This morning before going to the course I therefore decided to go and print some pictures in order to make the area around my desk a little cozier. I honestly find it amazing how much happier pictures on the wall makes me. You can't see it here but the wall behind my bed is all covered in pictures as well. Before this I have done most of my homework and writing in bed and I think it will be way easier for me to do it at the desk from now on. Also, what could possible be better inspiration than pictures of my favorite people in the whole world? Pictures of my boyfriend, my family and my friends is the only view that I need. Maybe it sounds like I'm exaggerating haha but I'm excited to spend some time writing in that corner in the future. Many good texts to come sitting at my new fave spot.
I'm about to go to bed now and will be setting the alarm early as we lift in the gym tomorrow morning at 6.50am. Following gym I have two classes and then after lunch I'm off to the golf course for my last 'first official golf practice' in college!
Ellie
The weather here in SC has been absolutely amazing since I got back. It's honestly almost too hot during the days with 35 degrees C and some crazy humidity. I'm trying not to complain about it though since I know how depressed I'll get whenever it gets colder outside. Right now the afternoon is the hottest time of the day and obviously that is also the time that we usually go to the golf course. Now, since official practice hasn't started yet I've been able to pick myself when I want to practice but schedule wise the afternoon is the best time for practice anyways. We offically started workouts this week though and were in the gym at 6.50 Tuesday and Thursday for weights and 6.30 Friday for conditioning. Moving forward we will continue to have weights at 6.50 Tuesdays and Thursdays and conditioning at 6.30 Wednesdays and Fridays. Not a lot of time to sleep in during the week but last year we used to lift at 5.50 sooo I actually prefer our workout schedule this year.
Yesterday I celebrated my roommate Pilar's birthday with Sushi and Krispy Kreme in Spartanburg! As you might know by now I'm a huge sushi fan and this place in downtown Spartanburg is my favorite place around here and well worth the 30 min drive. Also, no trip to Spartanburg is complete without a stop at Krispy Kreme which, for those of you who don't know, is the best donut place in like the entire world haha. By far the best donuts I've ever had and the red light just happened to be on whenever we drove by which means that there are hot original glazed donuts in the making. You know it was a good night when you drive home content and with a huge food baby from all the eating you've done haha.
Today started kind of slow since the best thing about Saturday's is that I finally get to sleep in a little. Around lunch time we decided to go to the course for some practice and 9 holes, which would turn out to be quite the mistake. It was crazy hot and humid out and after warm up and 9 holes I felt like I had melted away. The last week I have experienced the craziest sweat ever on a golf course, like it is impossible not to be covered in sweat after the first 5 min of practice. The other day I could seriously feel the sweat dripping down my face while putting haha, sorry if that's a little too much information but I am blown away by this heat.. Anyways, to cool down a little today we decided to pick up some frosted coffee and left over donuts and spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool, which was the best decision I made all day. With a podcast playing in my ears I spent some well needed time in the sun, both in and by the pool. It is quite relaxing to spend some time in the water after many days of working out and practicing. It is so easy to get caught up in a work circle where you just never let yourself rest a hundred percent but today I got reminded of how good it feels and how important it is to actually give yourself some time to relax. That is exactly what this afternoon gave me. When did you let yourself relax the last time? Don't forget that a good rest is just as important for your body and mind as hard work is in order to feel strong and healthy.
Ellie
Today is the 29th. Today is my favorite day of the month, always. Today it's been exactly 2 years and 11 months since my favorite person became mine, for real. I often get the feeling that people in general find couples in long distance relationships annoying or cheesy. People don't seem to get the point in watching a movie over FaceTime or posting pictures in honor of, or maybe even celebrating, a monthiversary. The truth is that when you are apart from someone that you love, the small things suddenly get way more important. It is the small things that you catch yourself missing the most because those are the things that you take for granted whenever you live together with your partner. I find myself missing brushing our teeth together, going grocery shopping together and even just his presence in the room while we do completely different things on our own. Even such a small thing as your special day or the month, becomes more important to you when you're in a long distance relationship. Every day should obviously be a day of appreciation and love of some kind but to me, our day of the month turns into an extra cute reminder of how lucky I am. Distance is never easy but it makes you realize that you are lucky for having something that makes saying goodbye so difficult. That's why the 29th is forever my favorite day. It is a reminder of how lucky I am to call this man mine and that distance means nothing when someone means everything. Maybe I will lose a couple of instagram followers due to my cheesy little post today but who's got time to worry about something like that when they've got a FaceTime date-night watching The Office wth their favorite person in 5 minutes.
Ellie
Promo pics for the 2018-2019 Limestone Women's Golf Season
And I'm back again. The first week of school is coming to an end with tomorrow being Friday. It has been quite a long week with a lot of stuff going on and on top of that I didn't get wifi in the house where I just moved in until last night, which also explains my absence here. Official team golf practice doesn't start until September 4th so I've spent my first week back in the US organizing my room/the house, fixing a few things with my car, working out and playing golf. The first couple of days of school are always very chill, mostly 'syllabus days' just to go over the schedule for the semester and know what material we will need for the class. This semester I am taking 6 classes; 4 in the class room and 2 online. Since I'm a senior I'm already done with all of the general ed classes that all students are required to take so everything I'm taking now is for my majors. This fall I am therefore taking Business Finance, Macroeconomics, Moral Leadership, Ethics Issues, Public Relations and Integrated Marketing Communications. I have a really good schedule where I basically go to school for 2-3 h every day between workouts and practice and then I have a lot of free time where I can organize the work from my online classes. I will let you know more later about the classes but right now I think I'm going to like them. It is always way more interesting when the classes are for your major and therefore usually regarding things that actually interests you. I'm especially looking forward to the last four classes mentioned above since I really like classes where you get to analyze the material and have your own opinion but also want to continue to learn more about public relations and marketing communications for my future career.
The pictures above are by the way from our photoshoot today! At the beginning of every year all athletes take head shots for the athletics website as well as a couple of promo pictures in our new season outfits that can be used for the college's social media for game days and marketing etc. As you know I am really interested in sports communications and I also like photo shoots haha so actually enjoyed doing this one last time. My senior season starts in less than two weeks, which is honestly pretty exciting. I can't believe how fast my three first years went by but now I am definitely ready for one last ride.
Ellie
Mango/Salmon Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, California Roll and Swedish Crayfish & Shrimps
The picture shows the dinner I had together with my parents Thursday night, the night before taking off for the US once again. I absolutely love both sushi and seafood so we decided to enjoy a mix of them both for my last meal at home. It’s a weird thing, home. As time goes by, I question more and more what it means to be home? Since moving to the US in 2015 I feel more and more like home is a feeling and not a special place. I feel like there are different kinds of home, like I have multiple homes. I always felt like I was born in the wrong country because I truly hate the climate that we have in Sweden. At the same time, Gothenburg will always have a place in my heart and always be a home. Wherever my parents live, will always feel like home to me, because where your family is, you have a home. The US is also a place that has given me so much and helped me grow as a person. It is the place where I came to start over and got to stand on my own feet for the first time in life and it is a place where I have come to learn more about myself than what I ever thought I would. Therefore I think that the US will forever feel like a second home to me as well. Wherever I go though I am not truly home without my boyfriend. The places I go with him, they all feel like home. Simply because we are together. Home is wherever I’m with him. So Thursday night I had my last dinner in Sweden. Now, I’m in the US and in the future I really don't know where I'll be. I just know that there are many other places that I’ll come to call home, maybe because of the people I’m with, maybe because of the atmosphere of the cities I’ll live in. What does home mean to you? When do you feel like you’ve come home?
Ellie
Hello and let me now officially say, WELCOME to my blog!
My name is Eleonor but I go by Ellie and I'm a 23 year old from Gothenburg, Sweden. Since the fall of 2015 I live in a small city in South Carolina in the United States, where I play collegiate golf while also getting my bachelors degree in Sport Management and Business Management/Marketing. I have played golf since I was just a little girl and to combine studies with golf competition at a collegiate level in the US is the best decision that I've ever made. I absolutely love sports and writing and I could definitely see myself working with sports relations/communications in the future. Healthy eating/cooking is another passion of mine and whenever I get the chance I enjoy discovering new restaurants wherever I am at that moment. My life also consists of a lot of traveling, both within the US together with my golf team for competition but also for seeing my boyfriend, as we're in a long distance relationship since 1.5 years back. He recently got his bachelors degree in NYC and will continue to play collegiate soccer and get his MBA in Alabama this year.
I am currently in Gothenburg, Sweden, where I just finished my last day of work for this summer. The summer break from college is crazy long and I've spent the past 3 months here in the city where I grew up; working, practicing and catching up with family and friends, whom I mostly spend my time apart from. On Friday I'm off to the US again for my final, senior year at college. It is hard to believe that time has gone by so fast but I am extremely excited for ''the beginning of the end'' as you could call it. All of my friends that have already graduated say that senior year literally flies by, so I'm gonna take this year day by day and really enjoy the last part of this adventure that I started 3 years ago.
I hope that y'all (I've gotten way too American over the years haha) want to follow me and my daily life as a student athlete in the US in pictures and in writing. I will share everything from workouts and golf, to food and texts about my thoughts on love, success and life in general. Come on, it will be fun!
Ellie
Hello and welcome to my blog. A first post and a description of who I am will be up shortly. See you soon!
