Being: Me by Madisen Hill

Enjoy a guest blog entry from my dear friend, Hannah Emerson :  A little bit of my story: I grew up in the faith and accepted Christ as a small child. I always loved the Lord, but I never knew how to make my faith my own. I saw a genuine faith in my parents throughout my childhood, especially my father, and always knew that being a Christian carried a lot more weight than just salvation. But throughout high school, I had some negative experiences with youth group that began to sour my impression of the church and took some college level courses that caused me to question a lot of what I believed. Was there really a God? Did He really create everything? Could there be only one road to heaven? I have always been an optimist with an analytical side, and it scared me to question everything I had grown up knowing. Fast forward a bit, and I ended up foregoing the college I had committed to study musical theatre at in Nashville to move to Lo...

After the launch of “Being: Me”, I felt stuck. I had worked so hard on getting everything done that I hadn’t thought much about what I would do next. I knew the topics I wanted to eventually write about and share with you all through my blog, but I didn’t feel as if any of those ideas fit where I am at right now in my journey. I took a few steps back and thought about the situations and conversations I am going through in my day-to-day life, and one topic kept coming to mind. Most people in my life know that I have always chosen to be a follower of Christ. It is not something I hide or stay quiet about. I do my best to live a Christ-centered life in all that I do, and even if we have spent minimal time together, you know this about me. However, when “Being: Me” came to life, I had multiple people say to me, “I didn’t know you were THAT Christian.” Or, “I knew you were religious, but I didn’t realize it was THAT important to you.”         ...

As a part of the Being: Me blog series, I wanted to bring in friends of mine whose stories have inspired not only me, but so many other people. They are the definition of what Being: Me is, but they have had one incredible journey to get to where they are today. These are my peers, my role models, my sisters in Christ. First up, we have my best friend Madison Wheat. I could talk about her for days, but to sum up our friendship, we met 12 years ago, had a long distance friendship, then quickly became roommates for a few months. We’ve been through one car accident, two stolen debit cards, a few heartbreaks, a couple crushes, multiple church services, lots of hikes, an insane amount of sushi, and a never ending adventure of conquering our dreams. There’s so much more to tell you about us, but for now, I want you to meet my girl, Madison. Madison’s story is complex. She’s been through more than most people have in life at just 23 years ol...