Hi everybody! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well, I’ve been up to a lot of cool things lately. Last weekend was my 19th birthday, and it was AMAZING! Let me show you some of the awesome things I did for my birthday.

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This year, my birthday just so happened to land exactly on the day of the Daytona 500. It was incredible luck, and I couldn’t believe it. I knew I had to go to the 500 for my birthday.

This is me at the race! I’ve never seen so many people at the speedway before, and it was really cool to meet new people. I met a dad and his son who were from a little town in Illinois where I grew up. It was definitely eye-opening to see how many people traveled far and wide to come to Daytona Beach for the famous Daytona 500. And to think that this is my amazing backyard here at Embry-Riddle?

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Through the Avion, I was able to take a camera and practice my photography skills! Here are some of the pictures I took while I was there.

Pretty neat, right?

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After the Daytona 500, my best friend Annie (I went with her to the lacrosse game in my previous blog!) took me out to dinner. I let her surprise me with the restaurant, but I gave her one condition: it has to have burgers. Burgers are my all-time favorite, and I eat one at pretty much every restaurant I go to. We ended up going to Landshark Grill & Bar, and after a long day at the speedway, that was a really good burger!

After dinner, I went to sleepover at Grace’s apartment (yup, the one and only Grace Hamilton! She also writes blogs for this page too), where she and Emilee (our Editor-In-Chief at the Avion) surprised me with BURGER-themed birthday decorations! I was not expecting that at all, and it absolutely made my night. Not to mention my fabulous burger cake, which was the cutest thing I have ever seen!

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My 19th birthday was one for the history books, and it’ll be a birthday I’ll never forget. Thank you to all my friends and family for making my day so special. Here’s to my last year in my teens!

It’s time to stop waiting for your life to be perfect. Be in the moment and enjoy it.

Catch you on the flip side,

Noelle 🌪️