You've got every right, To a beautiful life. Come on!

Here we go, my last real Lehigh post for this blog.  For the sake of full disclosure, I should mentioned that I am writing this on a plane the day after graduation with the intention of posting this online when I get back to Los Angeles later this afternoon. 

So picking up where I think I left off last time.  We went to Ocean City, MD for Senior Week the week before graduation and reunion weekend so Thursday to Thursday.  It was nice to have friends in the car with me for a drive like that because I normally have to do drives of similar distance alone and it was nice to have someone to talk to.  Anyone who has a chance to get to go on a senior trip should take all advantage.  It was nice to have a week off to just spend time with the friends who I am about to leave since everything will be different now.  We met new people, got lucky with far better weather than was forecasted and had a lot of fun.  We were supposed to have a lot of rain and clouds but we had a fair amount of nice weather, which meant good things for getting tan for gradation. 

The weekend before graduation is reunion weekend meaning that all of the classes celebrating significant reunions (ie 70 years) come back to campus and celebrate with their classes and essentially welcome the new class into the alumni world.  There is a parade of classes, which starts with the current graduating class and then goes from oldest to youngest (so we started with 70^th reunion) and leaves the 50^th reunion for last since they are the class that adopted us.  It’s strange to think that in 2057, I can go back and be a part of the group that adopts the class of 2061.  There are all sorts of activities to do but my weekend included a LOT of packing.  I never thought I would have accumulated so much stuff over only four years!

On Sunday, I had the unique opportunity of watching my best friend become a commissioned officer in the United States Army.  She and eleven other graduations were commissioned as second Lieutenants who will handle a variety of things from infantry to personnel all over the country.  It was cool to watch because her dad was the one to issue her oath to her since he is a retired naval officer and the requirement is to be an officer in the US Military.  He did stand out a bit in the midst of all of the other Army officers in his dress whites.  My best friend is an amazing person and I am so proud of her for taking on this commitment.  It was really nice to be able to share in her special day with her.

Monday morning, my housemates and I were up really early (well, like 7ish) in order to get up to the stadium for graduation.  Our robes were rentals that we were told might run if they got wet so it was a risk since it looked like rain and the forecast was for thunderstorms all day and the ceremony was outdoors.  We all graduate by college (meaning CBE versus Arts and Sciences etc) and then the split us up by half of the alphabet so I realized that I have very few friends in my business school in my half of the alphabet so I almost decided to just graduate with the other half of the alphabet in Arts and Sciences. 

Having been to graduations in the past, I was worried at how long it would take since there were over 1,700 people graduating and we all had to walk across the stage.  Most other schools do main processionals with a speaker or two and then departmental or college graduations but we have the entire university graduate together which I like because I got to watch my friends graduate even if it meant that the process was a little long.  I think our class president stole the show with his speech about how everything was changing but also addressing the question of how we are going to be defined as people and as a generation.  Our keynote speaker only spoke for about ten minutes, which was great because she got her point across but also realized that we were being rained on at this point.  There was enough rain that it started to drip off my cap onto my gown but luckily, they were wrong and the gown didn’t bleed and stain. 

HOODS ARE CONFUSING!  We have an entire group of collegiate graduates (or candidates for graduation as we were called then) and none of us could figure out how to correctly put on these hoods!  They came with instructions but the instructions only defined how to put them on by the basics, not how they were supposed to look when we were finished.  We improvised a fair amount but I think we all looked pretty good in the end; well as good as you can look in giant brown robes and silly hats.  Part of me wants a PhD just for the crazy plushy hat. 

I never considered myself the type of student that was really close to my professors but it was interesting listening to my parents recounting watching me graduate.  Our ushers are faculty members so they are all in their academic regalia and one of the ushers right next the podium which are names were read was one of the professors who joined us on our freshman GC trip to India and he smiled at me, told me I would do well in life and gave me a huge hug.  Two seconds later, I handed my card to one of my professors from this past semester, she had been just taking cards and reading them but she took mine, read it and then looked up and smiled at me.  It might be weird, but I felt really good in that moment like despite all of the uncertainty in my life, if these people thought I would be successful then it must be possible.  It got even better when I ran into one of my favorite professors, Jill Brown (seriously, take every class possible with her, she’s AWESOME) and she had nice things to say in front of my parents about me but she is such a genuine person and I know she expects great things of me and for her, I want to accomplish great things. 

So that brings me to this moment, flying somewhere between Philadelphia and Nashville on my way back to the land of Menchies, In-N-Out and Coffee Bean with no definite idea of what comes next.  Maybe I will post on this one again about what did end up coming next but I have a feeling Lehigh will unlink my blog before I find out. 

On that note, if you have read my blog, try those of the other student bloggers.  Everyone has a different Lehigh experience, it’s not an education factory but so much more than that and just as no two people are exactly the same, neither are two Lehigh experiences.  Maybe I will give one more final recap of my four years when I have a little more space from the experience but again, I have no idea what the future looks like so we shall see.

Spread the word in stereo At the speed of sound

The last week has been insane!  There has been so much going on but it was nice because I didn't have very many academic obligations.

I guess the most interesting things were all this past weekend with sorority activities, Candidate's Day and Sundaze, plus a visit from a friend who graduated last year.

Saying that I just had my FINAL sorority formal is really strange, we only have them once a year, meaning that I have only been to three but it still seems like such a giant ending.  It was nice to get some time to just spend with friends and dance, having a good time because we won't have very much time together to do that.

This year, the nearest alumnae chapter of my sorority was also kind enough to have a senior service for us which welcomed us into the alumnae community which also had everyone in my pledge class announcing where they were going next year and it was kind of reassuring that there are still a fair number of people who don't know what comes next.  These woman all have very different life experiences and it was really nice being able to meet all of them and get some great breakfast :).  I hope they choose to continue this service in the future.

Candidate's Day is one of those events that seems so much the same every year even though there are always new people here.  There are the kids who have no desire to be here for whatever reason who let their parents run everything and then there are the other kids who are super excited the entire time.  I bet the bookstore makes bank those days, their bags are everywhere!  I did get to talk to a lot of potential Economics majors which was really interesting.  When I started at Lehigh, I thought I was going to be a marketing major or maybe even a dual degree but four years later, I don't think I would have been able to do as much outside the classroom if I had followed through with those plans.  Some people have a defined course they want to take, others think they do but then college gives you the time to figure out exactly what you want and then you find a completely different path.  It was cool meeting the future of Lehigh since for the first time, I won't be here when they are.

Sundaze is one of those experiences that I cannot figure out why I did not have previously.  Seriously, I have been wracking my brain for weeks trying to figure out why I didn't go freshman or sophomore year.  Although it was not sunny out, the weather was okay so it was fun.  I got to spend the afternoon hanging out on Sayre Field with my friends and getting a lot of free stuff.  What college kid turns down free stuff?

Okay now I have updated you all a bit but I have  more things that I must be off to do, like find a grown-up job.

It's a Brand New Day

School starts again tomorrow.  I got to spend a week in glorious weather to come back to cloudy blah.  It was shockingly rocky on the boat which was different than what I was expecting.  I am not one to get super motion sick but even I thought it was bad.  The weather was fantastic minus the first day and the last day but the worst weather was the first day so it just got better.  A whole day at sea down south meant everyone spent the whole day at the pool which was great.

Spring break was nice to hang out with friends, some I see a bunch and others who I haven't seen in ages but also meet some new people.  There were a ton of other spring break kids on the boat so it was a lot of fun since there were a ton of other college kids around rather than only a ton of families.

Second semester is rough when we only have the one week off but it was glorious to have the time to relax We spent multiple days doing nothing but laying in the sun and reading.  I love to read so I actually got a chance to kick back and read for fun.  It was a chance I haven't gotten very often with other breaks because there were places to go and people to see.  I didn't have to worry about anything this week other than sunscreen, there were a lot of very sunburned people on this cruise and it looked very painful.  I currently have to catch up on a lot of TV shows from this week.  Of course all my shows were on a mini hiatus the week before spring break and then I missed them all while I was gone.  I have some work to do but it's not as much as past breaks.

I should apologize now for the spelling mistakes and other mistakes because I am still exhausted.  The time change today was also a little rough knowing how much stuff I had to get done today but so far, I got some food, went grocery shopping and then started getting work done.  There are so many things to do!

With that, I have to get some real homework done now.

Keep on moving through all this hustle

Today I fell in love with a new album.  It is Katie Costello's Lamplight and although I am a little behind on the times, her EP Cityscape.  There are very few albums I can listen to from beginning to end without skipping any tracks partway through even on the first listen but hers has been the perfect soundtrack to my day from start to finish.  I haven't flipped past a song yet which is mostly due to the amazing music and partly due to the desire to protect my hands from the freezing temperatures outside.  I have heard Katie perform in person at a benefit my sister put on when Katie was a Junior in high school at my alma mater.   It's hard to find artists these day who sound just as good in person as they do in their recorded music but she is one of those hard to find artists.  From Facebook, it's obvious that her growing fame has not caused her to forget who she is as an artist and a person and she has kept her friends close even though she splits her time between two very distant cities.  While I cannot claim to be a friend by any means, it's still pretty cool that we went to the same high school and I did have the pleasure of passing her in the halls during the two years we overlapped.

On to my life.  I am finished with classes until after Spring Break which would normally be a liberating feeling but I have soooo much laundry to do (I have been pushing it off for a while...) that I won't have a chance to enjoy the freedom until all that and the packing gets done.  Along with what seems to be half the school, my best friend and I are headed off on a cruise to get some sun.  The dilemma with second semester is that we only get spring break meaning that we have to wait through seven weeks of class to get a break which is not a natural break in the semester to then come back and go back to full steam ahead for the next seven weeks before finals.  I am convinced that this is a good portion of the reason second semester drags far more than first semester.  The other reason is of course the weather but I will get to that in a minute.  First semester, we get pacing break at the beginning of October and Thanksgiving at the end of November which splits the semester into three roughly equal parts which works with the testing system most teachers utilize.  I got lucky and had no tests this week and none the week we get back so I sort of get away with not doing anything over the break.  I will admit to having some classwork to finish but the likelihood of it getting done while I am on the boat is minimal.

Spring break seems to split students into two groups, the ones who head south with friends for what they hope to be a crazy week and the other who head home or to a friends with the intent of re-cooperating and refreshing for the rest of the semester, some of the latter group tries to get ahead or catch up on more independent work.  I am happy to say that I think I fall in between the groups, I am going to get some sun but also get some rest.

Okay back to the weather.  It has been a very tricky thing of late.  Today, it was freezing, last week it was nice and sunny.  I would like it to sort itself out.  Almost all of the snow and ice has melted from the warmth of last week but it's time for winter to be over and for spring to come.  It would be nice not to have to pile on a million layers to walk to class.  I have shorts that I would really like to wear when I get back from spring break.

I think I have made up for the lag in posts with this monster post.  Be back after spring break!

2AM and she calls me

I know it has been forever since I have written anything but to be honest, nothing substantial has happened lately. I turned 22 on Tuesday, and it was a good day. I got to spend time with a number of my favorite people.

This has been the most exhausting first week of classes ever. The weather has not been my best friend lately. There is so much snow and ice! It is not fun to slip up the street but campus has been pretty easy to navigate which has been really nice.

I am still working at Academic Outreach which is a lot of fun and despite the insane scheduling issues I seem to be having, I refuse to give up any of my time in that office.

I know it's really late but I have been trying to get some work done since I hung out with friends last night, had all sorts of welcome back retreats this morning and have a full day of VM things tomorrow. We are about to start our hardcore fund-raising efforts for the cause soon. We are starting t-shirt sales and tickets and it's all coming together, now we just need money :)

My parents are coming in less than a month although my mother will also be on the east coast next weekend to hang out with Reagan and Campbell, (I am soooo jealous)but I am starting to plan all of the places that we are going to eat while they are here.

I am very all over the place right now because I am exhausted but I hope that I can update later on more of life.

Yesterday it started to flurry. This brings out very mixed feelings because as much as I like the snow, it means that it will keep getting colder which I am not a fan of. The good thing about fall semester though is that the cold keeps me inside which means that I am slightly more productive during finals time because it was far more comfortable to be curled up in the library with some hot chocolate or other warm drink and a book or laptop than in the spring when it is so much nicer to be sprawled outside getting tan and then trying to get work done.

This is the start of the last week of classes which is probably the most difficult week of the semester because while some classes end in finals, others end in projects or papers which are almost always due at the end of the semester. This coming week, I have a group paper, an individual paper and two group presentations which is really hard because as a result of all the groups, that means that we have meetings on top of everything else. The nice thing is that after Friday, I have a fairly chill week in comparison since I just have a final paper and a final.

I am looking forward to having a break from school to recharge and spend some time with my family and friends from home. I get to be here for just under two more weeks before it is back to the slightly warmer weather. I have all sorts of sweaters to look forward to using.

The first four weeks of next semester are going to be really rough but I can look forward to spending my final undergraduate semester with my friends and having a very chill second half of the semester, which will be a nice departure from right now. Well, back to work on my paper!

I Wanna Jump in the Cold Water

I have not been good about updating this and for that, I apologize but I have had a lot going on and no real time to sit down and write about it. This might also have been the most literal title I have ever used. So, things I have to say about life right now:
1. This weather is insane. It goes from pouring rain to really hot within hours. I don't want it to be fall yet because then it gets too close to the real cold but this heat is a little ridiculous. It's back to be being too hot to sleep! Maybe that's just me though... Also, my room tends to be warmer than the rest of my house and we can't really figure out why.

2. I now live in the Women's Center. I really wish I had discovered it earlier! Today I got to make buttons, like turn them from paper circles into full pins. It's surprisingly awesome despite how lame it sounds. The people who work there (because you don't have to be a woman to work in the Women's Center) are fantastic. They are funny and silly and just great people to be around.

3.I feel like I might be falling behind on Vagina Monologues things but I don't know what I could be doing differently. We got our scripts this week and started pushing people to sign up for auditions and getting forms which is all super exciting. We are really looking for support and ways to get people to donates something! Whether that something is time or items or monetary support, we just know that we have a lot of options to help us fund-raise. Our goal seems reachable but it's still daunting.

4. I love my roommates. Or I guess housemates would be a better term for them since that is what they are. We have been hanging out playing video games, watching TV together (especially crazy wedding shows) and then just getting "stuck" downstairs. By stuck I mean going downstairs on a mission and then taking forever to make it back upstairs because we get distracted by spending time with each other.

5. Classes are going pretty well, they are not that different from other semesters. I don't have one class that I am in love with like I usually do that but I don't know if that is because I am lacking classes that I truly dislike also so on a relative basis, they are all good.

I guess that is all I really have to say tonight. The heat is making me distracted because all I want to do is jump in the shower and then try to get some sleep before I overheat again. Well, for tonight, I shall be going.