Winter break, best friends :)

Happy belated birthday to my favorites, Jackie and Abbie (unfortunately Abbie was all the way in St. Louis and missed the WA celebration...)

♥

Last first day of classes

It kind of has a catchy ring to it, doesn't it? Last. First day. of classes. Ahhhhhh. And the panic begins... haha. Not really. I've been making the daunting transition quite smoother than anticipated (watch me say this and then have a meltdown tomorrow... ha) BUT all things considered, college is college. I've had 3 1/2 years of it and to say I'm starting to get the "real world" itch would be very accurate...

This morning I had Nature Study, my last general ed class requirement. Hilary and I are taking it together, which makes it less painful. We have it at 9:30am which ended up being our first hurdle. Having come off a previous semester of no morning classes and a break of lazy days, we were walking to breakfast like nocturnal creatures confused by the daylight. A half an hour later, armed with mediocre drip coffees courtesy of the commons, we walked into what we thought was going to be a dismal science class-- surprise surprise, not that bad! The class is discussion/lecture based MINUS exams and no text book. No exams? No midterm? Only papers? That, I assure you, I can handle.

Hilary seemed less than thrilled. I do have to say our 73 year old professor, Dr. Smith, was pretty monotone. But he was intriguing enough for my last science class ever and the added gift of no exams makes my life a lot more pleasant. Other classes on the schedule: Lit Mag, Ceramics! (first art class of college!) and my senior cap stone (which is basically taking the raw material I've written of my novel and going through the never ending editing process. Joy.)

I am all about resumes, cover letters, letters of intent, networking, and editing, editing and more editing these days. Not all bad. Quite the change of pace! It is all exciting, at times anxiety ridden, but for the most part I've been filling my days with the prospect of something so new, so soon. LA, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, San Fran? I feel like Where's Waldo... we will see where I pop up :)

My new years resolution? To BLOG MORE. Goodness gracious, lately it's seemed so daunting to click my "blog" bookmark and type away. But I may have forgotten how good it feels to catch up with myself, unwind, and reflect.

I am back to a January of blue skies... this, a year from now (where ever I am), I will miss.

Essay on nature

I realized all of the post I had made lately were mostly pictures, so I wanted to share a piece I am working on. It is for my 411 Literary Magazine class and I was supposed to write an essay on nature. It is a work in progress, but here it is!

"Nature has been an artist’s inspiration for centuries. It is through nature that we get the truest sense of ourselves. The washed up froth of the raging seas to the virgin snow on a hidden peak—it stirs something inside all of us. Maybe this is because it is unavoidable; there is no escaping the wind or the sight of a fleeting blackbird. Or maybe it is because everything in nature is personal.

A snowy field on a crisp day is a father and child’s winter wonderland. It is Frosty the Snowman and snowball fights. It is hot cocoa and icy fingers. Bird watching from a lake’s shore is time spent between and mother and daughter. The way the bald eagle bobs in and out of the tops of evergreens is the even breath of a moment shared. The tender arch of the moon’s backside is the way her bare back looks beneath the sheets. A stunning morning glow highlights her golden curls.

It has been said that nature is all around us, and although that is no doubt true, it is even closer to our being. Nature is apart us. Instead of being the greedy consumers that we as humans fall victim to, the organic life that pristinely grows without poke or prod is our reminder that life is delicate. Taking the time to pause in admiration allows for this vital shift from superficial big picture to the smaller details. In this issue we are exploring this attention to detail through a series of pieces that all compliment one another, some in more obvious ways than others. Every author holds their own moments of understanding and admiration for the life that we have each been given—one that rests like a hummingbird on the lip of a petal, fragile and fleeting.

I was six when I realized there was more out there than Sesame Street and school recess. We took a field trip to an apple orchard, it was autumn and my family and I had just gone to pick out pumpkins days before. I didn’t know exactly what we would be doing there, our teacher kept calling it an apple squeeze but that just confused me more. Apples were too hard to squeeze, weren’t they? When we got there, an older man in overalls told us to circle up while he explained how they turned the fruit into apple juice. It was a crisp day; my nose was cold and pink from the wind. Huge trees lined the farm, their leaves looked like the bold colors from my Crayola box.

Some kids started out at the big juicer while others, like myself, were taken out deeper into the estate to learn more about apple trees. Up until this point I held onto the notion that fruit came from somewhere, of course, but the “somewhere” part hadn’t been completely worked out. We followed the man in overalls like a row of perfect ducklings, winding in and out of trees and scattered wheelbarrows.

The man led us to a small dirt clearing in the middle of all the trees. He took a seat in the dirt and motioned for us to do the same. The ground felt soft and damp under my palms. The man cleared his throat, ran his dirt-caked hand through his full head of graying hair, and began to tell us a story. Wide-eyed, we listened. I felt the wind stop—I don’t think it wanted any of his words to get lost. He spoke of a man named Johnny Appleseed and I was captivated. I remember the way he spoke, slow and methodically, with purpose.

It all made sense. The life in the dirt below my palms, the tiny seeds that held so much. The man finally gave me a reason to tolerate cloudy days—the seeds needed the rain to grow. So many things came together for me at that moment, on the floor of the apple orchard on a day nearing Halloween. I had this overwhelming appreciation for all the life I couldn’t see but knew was out there. Johnny Appleseed knew it, too. "

Informal in Palm Springs!

Our informal was last night in Palm Springs! I wanted to share some pictures from all the festivities! It was such a fun night and I have the pictures to prove it :) My date is Matt, Hilary took Cameron, and the 4 of us had quite the night out!

Matt and I :)

My 3 favorites♥

Hilary and Cameron!

me with some of my babies!!

Emily and I :)

Chi Sig & Deltas!

Nat and I... love her!

Halloween Pictures!

From geeks to ballerinas to where's waldo to cowgirls.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

En Fuego: 2010. Knock em' DEAD 9♥

Hello Fall!

It's that time of year again... where the air gets a little colder, pumpkins find their places out on front door stoops and costumes are the talk of the town. Halloween is just around the corner!! I was thinking Pochantus or Tinkerbell. Decisions, decisions!

Things have been quite a whirlwind since my last post 3 weeks ago. We welcoming 9 amazing girls into our sisterhood and I couldn't be more excited. The process is 6 weeks, which means we're half way done. It's been classes, Delta, writing, Delta, homework, and more Delta and I am loving every minute of it. Some days I find myself a little low on sleep but I just remember why I am doing this and the girls make everything seem worth while.

It was homecoming this past weekend and we CLEANED UP. Seriously. Football played Occidental and we ended up winning 51-7 or something ridiculous like that and soccer killed, 4-1. Talk about a reason to celebrate! Friday night we went to the bars with all the alumni in town (including my big sis, my pledge mom from HAWAII, and a miss jenna tempkin :) ) Ahhhhh. It was so much fun. They are not used to us being 21 and able to partake in such activities so it was a nice change of pace from campus frat parties.

Saturday morning we had an Alumni Brunch at the Delta house. It was a really nice social hour and we had mimosas and I introduced all the old and washed up graduates to my babies :) They were SO cute and not shy at all. Every fall our alums award a Delta Girl of the Year at the brunch and this year I was chosen. I was so surprised and flattered, it really meant a lot to me. They engraved my name on a plaque with the other recipients that hangs in the house, gave me a silver charm with my name on it, and a check for $200. It was WAY to nice and I am still in shock. Everyone votes on a senior, so the nomination came from my sisters.

This coming Friday we have our annual fundraiser party, En Fuego. Saturday is Greek Presents (and early halloween celebrations) and Sunday is Halloween!

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks; football games, sports functions, a random one night in VEGAS, and more.

Oh the thrill of it all...

It feels like Christmas. I could barely sleep last night, getting to bed somewhere around 230am and waking up at 7. TODAY IS BID DAY!!!! And I am freaking out. In four hours we will be welcoming new babies into Delta. I am terrified, excited, nervous, elated, stoked, and all of the above. You have to be a sophomore or older to rush in the fall so the small fact that I won't be dealing with freshmen is pretty reassuring. Starting today, for the next 6 weeks my life is going to be full of purple. I will have many little ones looking up to me and calling me "mom." Maybe this responsibility is amazing birth control... after week 2 I am told I will just want to rip out all of my hair. BUT I feel like it will be different. I love every one of these girls and I am so excited to be calling them sisters soon.

We will find out who took our bids around noon today. In a half hour we all get to the house and start crafting. While they are waiting for their bids, we are waiting for them at the house. I think it's a cool tradition. 3:30pm they find us at an off campus house, they meet me for the first time, and the day begins!

On another note, I wanted to give a little shout out to my wonderful, amazing, incredible sister, who turned 19!!!!!! on Thursday. 19. God, that makes me feel old! Haha. But seriously, I am so lucky to have a sister as amazing as Megan... with each year you only turn more into the incredible woman I know you are.

Ok, I have to get out of bed and start embarking on the craziest most wonderful most exciting day of MY LIFE..... honestly, I am like school girl giddy. Oh my...

Mom & Dad: I hope you guys have a blast in NY visiting the birthday girl!!! I am there in spirit :)

♥