2021 graduate Kelsie Tomlinson has lived a life full of adventure since her high school days. She provided the Gazette with her story of how her life has changed in more ways than one since graduation. Read below to hear about all of her recent adventures! 

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My name is Kelsie Tomlinson. I graduated from Milton-Union High School in 2021. Throughout high school, I was very involved in sports, extracurriculars, clubs, events etc. I played varsity softball and ran cross country. Both teams gave me lifelong friendships and memories that I will always remember. I was the treasurer for the class of 2021, a member of the National Honor Society, a freshman focus mentor, involved in the Varsity M Club, Hope Squad, and the reporter for the FFA. 
My time in high school holds some of my favorite memories and relationships; whether that be with friends, staff, or coaches, every single person left a lasting impact on my heart. After I graduated, I attended Miami University to study Studio Art. I was extremely scared and felt unprepared to leave home and start this new chapter of my life. After finishing one semester at Miami University, I was truly struggling with my mental health and felt as though I needed a change. The next semester I transferred to Wright State University (WSU) to study Media Studies.
Transferring to a different college within my first year made me feel like I was a quitter or gave into the temptations of moving closer to home, but that was not the case at all. I quickly became involved at Wright State University, made new friends, and saw my mental health start to feel much better. I attended WSU for the rest of that semester and another full year after that. During my last fall semester of school, I started traveling. My first trip was to the Dominican Republic with some friends I had met in Florida the year previous. This trip sparked my love to explore, adventure, and see the world we live in. 
After that spring semester, I happened to come into contact with a travel videographer. Since I’ve been doing photography since 7th grade, his portfolio interested me so I thought I would reach out. We began chatting and making jokes about how we should travel together. Surprisingly enough, 10 days after I reached out, we were planning our trip to Bali, Indonesia. This trip was absolutely incredible and brought the two of us closer. We started dating after this trip and fast forward to today where we live together in San Diego, CA. What might have seemed like a risky move on my end, traveling with someone I had never met in person, soon became one of the best decisions I ever made.
In the time since we met, we have traveled to Indonesia, Poland, The Netherlands, Greece, Austria, Germany, and Iceland together. I currently work for a jewelry company I have loved since I was in high school, doing their influencer management and continuing my photography on the side. I feel so grateful to have experienced everything I have, and proud of myself for getting to where I am now.
If you’re reading this as someone who is about to graduate and not sure what you want to do for the rest of your life, my words to you are not to be scared or worried. Whatever is meant to happen will happen and everything happens for a reason. If you’re not about to graduate and you feel like you need that spark in your life, I encourage you to travel, explore, learn, and truly go after what you really want! Trust me, it’s possible!