Happy Anniversary!

It has officially been 1 year since I started this blog! A YEAR!! I can't believe it has been that long. This year has been crazy, stressful, rewarding, and generally pretty darn good. 

I can't believe how far I have come in a year. Looking back on posts, I am completely different than I was a year ago. I am more true to myself. I am more confident in myself. I have a better understanding of who I am. This year has been so important to me. I have had so many wonderful opportunities. I know I wouldn't be where I am now without the support and love from my incredible family and friends. I feel like I have come so far since I started this blog and I only want to keep looking forward. 

Every day I am reminded of the wonderful opportunities I have had over the year from my internship, to starting school again, to preparing for graduate school, to the new puppy we're getting next month (HOLLA!). I am so thankful to have been able to share these wonderful moments with my family and friends. 

This year has been a roller coaster and not a very fun one at times, but all in all this year was exactly what I needed. I needed to figure myself out. I don't think I would have been able to do that had I not had such a devastating blow one year ago. I'm weirdly grateful for the trials and tribulations I went through this past year because it made me stronger. I'm happy and I feel like I am in a great place in my life right now. 

Thank you for sticking with me, and this cheesy post, for a year! Hopefully this one will be even better than the last. 

Until next time!

Where Were You?

Today is one of the most somber and infamous days in American history. Today marks the twelve year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. I was in the 4th grade. 

We were sitting in Mrs Ilgenfritz's science/math class getting a lecture about a test that we were supposed to explain our mathematical answers, but none of us had really done it. She was telling us about the meaning of explaining our answers on tests. All of the sudden Mr. Elmore comes into the room, I remember his face looked very pale, and he told Mrs. Ilgenfritz to turn on the TV right now. His voice was very stern, more so than usual, and I got an immediate pit in my stomach. I didn't know what was happening yet, but the look on his face told me something wasn't right. What we saw when our teacher turned on the TV was something that no person should ever have to see in their lifetime. All we could see was the first tower burning. Mrs. Ilgenfritz said something under her breath, I don't remember what, and we all just sat there in silence trying to comprehend what we were seeing. We watched as the second plane hit the World Trade Center. We just sat in silence. Eerie, haunting silence. All of us trying inside our young minds to grasp what was happening. I don't think any of us really could. We were so young and, up until that point, we had lived our entire lives in a world where terrorism didn't exist. Shortly after the second plane hit, our principal came on the intercom and told the teachers to turn the TVs off. He understood that we didn't need to have this image in our young heads. He understood that this was a very scary situation to not understand, as many of us at Riverside Elementary didn't. Our teachers ignored it. We watched the towers come down. After that our teachers decided to listen and turn off the TV. We didn't need any more information. 

I remember the rest of the day, as we tried to carry on with school and when we got home, there was just this eerie, unsettled feeling. I didn't understand what terrorism was. I didn't know what was going to happen next. I didn't know if we were safe because we lived, and still do live, very close to an Air Force base and I knew that this would probably involve the Air Force. I remember my parents tried to explain to me what had happened and why. I remember my dad coming into my room and explaining that we will be safe and those who were responsible will be sent to justice. It was in that moment, for the first time since we turned on the TV that morning, that I felt like things were going to be safe. 

Recently, I was reading another blog, I don't know how I stumbled upon it. Maybe Pinterest? And the blog talked about how her children will read about 9/11 in their history books in school and how she'll tell them the story of what she was doing when she was a senior in high school on 9/11. She talked about how she remembered her dad telling her what he was doing as a senior in high school when JFK was assassinated. While I was reading, I realized this was such a huge parallel to my life. Not only will I also tell my children about what I was doing in the 4th grade on that day, but also my dad was just about my age when he experienced the Kennedy assassination along with the rest of the world. He too can recall that day just as vividly as if it happened a week ago. When I realized this, like the woman whose blog I was reading, I realized that both these moments taught us and our fathers just how big our nation's pride can be, and, like her, I hope that my children don't have to go through something as devastating as the assassination of our country's leader or a terrorist attack to feel that.

The attacks on 9/11 did many things for this country. It opened up a new sense of patriotism and a collective pride to be American. It changed the world that we lived in forever. It changed the way America runs. I will never forget what happened that day. As we remember the fallen and honor the heroes of 9/11, I am forever thankful for them. I am thankful for the men and women of the Armed Forces who continue to protect our well being and the freedom that we, as Americans, hold so dear. We will never forget.

Back to School!

The first week of school has been completed, so I feel like now is the time for a proper assessment of my classes and how I think the semester will go. 

French: As always, this ever present demon looms large over my shoulder. I will never enjoy this class. I will never enjoy the subject matter. It is hard, and I do not take to it easily which frustrates me to no end. However, I think my professor is a thousand times better than the one I had last semester, so I think that will at least make it more enjoyable. This is a core requirement that I am really getting tired of but must keep pushing through it. 

How I feel about French

Emergence of Modern America: So far this class seems pretty interesting. I've never studied very much about this time period in America so I am excited to learn more about it. My professor has a rich speaking voice which makes the sometimes boring subject matter seem a lot less boring and a lot more like a story. If I let myself get too enthralled with how he is telling the story of America's past it is a little hard to follow his outline that he has at the beginning of the lecture. All in all I think this will be an interesting class at the very least. I can't tell if it will be very difficult or not yet, but I do think I'm going to enjoy it.

Choir: Choir goes without saying. I love this class. I love the people in it. I love our director. I feel like we are constantly being pushed to be better and it is so exciting. The repertoire we have this semester is challenging but wonderful. We have a ton of new opportunities that as a choir we haven't had in many, many years. I'm definitely looking forward to this semester and next in Schola, and I'm sure I will do some shameless advertising on here later. 

History of Health and Disease: I'm very wary about this class. I love this professor, I feel like she is one of the best history professors on campus, but I also am pretty extremely squeamish and I know this class is going to get graphic. That being said, I am so far enjoying it. The subject matter and the readings are interesting. I think that the reward for this class will be greater than the risk of seeing something probably super disgusting at 8:00 AM. I think this class will be challenging but in a good way. Maybe it will help me be less squeamish... but I doubt it. I do think I will enjoy being in this class regardless of how gross it will get.

Intro to Criminology: This class seems very easy. We have a series of quizzes with each chapter which don't seem like they will be very hard. The professor seems like a fair grader and gives us many opportunities for bonus points which is always appreciated. I think this class will be fun but a little tedious with all the quizzes. It is hard to get a sense of this class because we haven't done a lot of work or note taking in this class, but we shall see. 

Biological Anthropology and Lab: I think these will also be interesting but tedious classes. Anthropology will be interesting because it is science with a little bit of history thrown in there. What I like most about it is I am getting my university core credit for science without doing hardly any math. My professor for both the lecture and the lab seem like they are both pretty good teachers and fair graders. I can't say I'm looking forward to these classes, but at this point I don't think they will be completely awful. 

For all of these classes, I think it will be important for me to stay on top of things. Most of them are pretty work heavy, and I will have a lot of papers and projects due this semester, but it all seems manageable. Over all, I have a very good feeling about this semester.

Walking on Maple

Packed up my high heeled shoes and I loaded the car. Drove down to the land of the Razorbacks, ready for what's in store. 

Photo Cred: Kirsten Mckinney

Work week has started this week and rush is next week. Already I have seen a bazillion tweets about it and it makes me think about my years as an AOII and when I went through rush three years ago. I can't believe it's been THREE YEARS since I was an intimidated, nervous, chattering freshman standing in line outside the enormous houses on Maple Street dreaming that at the end of the week I would be in the perfect house for me. 

What's funny is, I never thought that house would be AOII. The whole week every day I went to AOII. It was nice, the girls were nice, the house was beautiful, but I was never just FLOORED by AOII. I never really was over the top obsessed with any house. Sure I fell in love with houses, but only briefly. Girls in my Gamma Chi group would come back from the day and just be head over heels for houses, but I was never like that. I would have my favorite of the day but every day it would change. What didn't change was AOII. It was always there waiting for me. I didn't realize how much I had loved AOII until Bid Day when I opened my card and got my bid. *Okay it may have had a little to do with the fact that their theme for Bid Day that year was Fiesta and if you know me, you know my family's running joke is I'm a Mexican. I took that as a sign that AOII was where I needed to be. It was where I HAD to be.* I don't know what I would have done if my Bid Card didn't say AOII. 

AOII has truly changed my life. I remember sitting in the kitchen of my two houses on pref night. The girls were crying, everyone was saying all of these things, and I didn't really understand any of it. I didn't understand why these girls were crying about things that, up until then, I only understood as t shirts, parties, and guaranteed friends. I still didn't really understand the crying until I was the fool sobbing uncontrollably (I'm looking at you, Emily).  Now I realize it is SO MUCH more than that. I have found through AOII so many things and people that I would never have come into contact with. People always say, "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it." And it seriously is so true. I can't find the words to adequately explain the experience that I have had with AOII. It just wouldn't be enough, or we would be here until next Tuesday. The love that I have for the friends I have made in AOII is like the love that I have for my own family. Even though sometimes these girls drive me up the wall, I would still go to the moon and back for them. They truly are a home away from home. 

I am so thankful that I am a part of AOII. I am so proud to continue the AOII legacy for my family. I wouldn't change the experiences that I've had through AOII for the world. I can't believe this is my last year as a collegiate member, but I know I will carry it with me forever. 

Until next time! Alpha love and mine!

Oh Hey...

So, again, it's been forever, BUT I've been working my tail off with my internship and a few travels here and there. 

Let's get started with my internship. As some of you may or may not know, I was an intern at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum here in Shreveport this summer. Going into it I really didn't know what to expect. I thought I might be doing a little research, writing a few reports, but mainly just doing the grunt work that everyone expects when they hear the word "intern." Boy was I wrong! I did SO many different things. I did do A LOT of research and made many a spreadsheet, but in between those I got to work with things invented by Thomas Edison, swords from the Civil War, help with exhibit planning, and so many other things. It was wonderful! My main project was doing the research for an upcoming exhibit on prominent artists from Shreveport including my great grandfather. This was both rewarding and challenging, but I definitely learned SO MUCH from it. This internship gave me so many great experiences and lessons that I don't think I would have gotten from any other internship. It pushed me to keep going even though I didn't think I could find anything else, I am now a master at Microsoft Excel, I learned new things about my family history, I have better research skills, and I was pushed in a direction towards a future career. 

I had been on the fence about what to do for grad school for a very long time. I couldn't decide if I wanted to get a masters in History, Library Science, or God only knows what else. Through doing research for the museum, I went to several different archives and LOVED it in there. By figuring out that I would like to be in the library for a career, I now feel like my life has some kind of direction. I know what I'm doing for grad school and where I'm going and it's very comforting. It's definitely one of the great benefits from the internship. 

This summer definitely FLEW by, but I'm excited to get back to Fayetteville. I can't believe it's my SENIOR YEAR already! I'm looking forward to my last bid day (wah!) and to the new challenges that are ahead. Hopefully it won't be so long until my next post!

Until next time!

She's SO Married!!

Taylor Tate is MARRIED!!!!

I was truly honored to be a guest at her special day. And what a BEAUTIFUL day it was!!! The church where her ceremony was PACKED full of people who love and support Taylor and Corey. Their ceremony was very sweet. One thing about their ceremony that was very unique was their assembly of their Unity Cross. Now usually I am not a big fan of the Unity candle, sand, picture frame thing, but this was something I had never seen before and I thought it was AMAZING. I liked it because the cross symbolizes many things that are important to them: their faith, their families coming together, the base of their relationship, etc and it is something that will remain beautiful for many years to come and will be a wonderful accent in their home. The Unity Cross was just another perfect moment in their ceremony. This was my first Air Force wedding and I thought it was adorable how they wouldn't let Taylor and Corey through until they kissed. 

The reception was equally as gorgeous as the ceremony. The venue was incredible! There are few other words to describe it besides perfect and beautiful, so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves. We danced the night away, in true AOII fashion, and the evening ended with a fantastic fireworks show. 

Her GORGEOUS cake! 

Corey's cake

first dance!

Pics don't do her dress justice. Look at that lace!!

We love you Taylor!!

PS Guess who caught the bouquet! Me!!

This wedding was SO Taylor. It was classic and elegant but sweet and relaxed at the same time. It was very Oklahoma Princess. Just like Taylor. Everything had a touch of their Air Force future with the subtle red, white, and blue flowers. Taylor and Corey were beaming with joy the entire night. It was definitely a night filled with love, happiness, laughter, fun, and everything else you could ever hope for at a wedding. I am BEYOND happy for Taylor and Corey and am honored that I got to share their day with them. 

Sew Now What

Growing up my grandmother would always be sewing something. Every time we went to her house she would always have a new project and would be cross stitching away. We have tons of pillow cases with things that she embroidered onto them. I love them. Not only are they beautiful, but they remind me so much of her. I always wanted to learn how to do it, but never quite had the patience for it as a kid so I just admired her from afar. When I look at the things she made for us, I can see how much she loved doing it.

Now I know why!

I decided that I would no longer wish that I could do it and decided to try it out for myself. My mom knows how to cross stitch as well but with 3 kids, 2 dogs, a job, a house, and a husband who has time for that? (SIDE NOTE: thanks for everything, Mom!) But this week we had some free time and one rainy day I decided that it was high time I learned how to do this.

I LOVE IT!!!

Seriously it's so much fun. It's very relaxing and it keeps me busy which I like. It's weirdly soothing just going through everything and finding the right colors (or not HA). It's definitely just a good way to unwind from the day. I can see why my grandmother liked it so much. I think she would be very happy that I've taken this up. Although I know she wouldn't be so happy that I've substituted some colors here and there, She was very particular about that. But I think she would be proud of me for trying. I wish that I could show her what I've done, but I know she's been watching me the whole time.

I love that I can share this with my mom and grandmother now. I love being able to do something that is productive but pretty at the same time. I love my new hobby and can't wait to get started on my next project!

Getting Started!

Keep going!

TA DA!!! The finished product!

Until Next Time!

So... It's Been a While...

So it's been a while... Okay, okay it's been forever. I'm sorry! I don't know what happened. I guess I thought that once I got out of school and back home I would have more time to keep up with this. Well that sure was wrong.

So here's a little update!

After finals were over was my best history major friend, Taylor's birthday. It was the big 21 so of course we had to go out on Dickson St. and have a good time. I know Taylor really loves dinosaurs so I got her a Siposaurus dinosaur cup, which she LOVED, and a very pretty wine glass. We went out to Dickson the night before her birthday so we could get her first legal shot right at midnight. Meanwhile Dickson was PACKED. I guess everyone was still letting off steam from the semester. Regardless, it was a great night and a really fun way to spend my last night in Fayetteville. Happy Birthday Taylor!

A couple days after I got back to Shreveport, I was on the road again! My mom and I went to this little, well huge, ranch outside of Cat Spring, Texas for a mini relaxing vacation before I started my internship. My sister met us out there for the first couple of days. Michelle and I went horse back riding throughout the property and it was wonderful. It had been a while since I went riding so I was very happy to be back doing it again. The next day we went into Brenham, Texas to tour the Blue Bell ice cream factory. My mom and I love a good factory and it was very interesting to see the process and learn the history of Blue Bell. We went to a winery and a lavender farm outside of Brenham which were both beautiful. We ended up getting lost on our way back from the winery which worked to our advantage because we found the Antique Rose Emporium which was SO PRETTY. There were gazillions of different types of flowers and herbs and the grounds that they were on were gorgeous. On our way home, we stopped at the George H. W. Bush Memorial Library and Museum. I had been there before while my brother was in college at Texas A&M, but they had added an exhibit about the human genome project which Bush helped start that they didn't have the first time I was there so that was definitely worth the stop. Our mini vacation was great fun and very informative!

First delivery truck for Blue Bell

Antique Rose Emporium

Lavender Farm

Loved this arch at the emporium! It's made of pots!

About a week after we got back from Texas, I started my new internship! I'm the summer intern at the State Exhibit Museum of Louisiana here in Shreveport and I LOVE it! It is really cool and I've learned so much in just the week I've been there. At the risk of this post getting any longer, I'll give more details of my job on a later date. But I am enjoying myself at my new job, most definitely. 

Until next time! Hopefully sooner rather than later!

It's The End!

I legitimately CAN NOT believe I am done with my junior year of college. I can't believe I'm going to be a senior next year. I don't feel like I'm old enough to be a senior!! This is going to be a long one, so grab a dachshund and a diet coke and get ready!

This has definitely been a whirlwind of a year to say the least. I've had a lot of ups and downs from one of the worst days of my life, to academic triumph, to functions with my best friends, it has definitely been a wonderful year. 

I learned a lot this year, not only about the topics I studied in school, but also about myself. I know I've said that a lot in other blogs I've written, but I really do feel like I've grown up SO MUCH during this year. Even though I was so incredibly hurt by what happened to me and Nick, I can see now that I needed that. He wasn't right for me. I needed to learn about myself and what I want in my life, and I think that breaking up with Nick, though really hard, was exactly what I needed to do that. I've learned how resilient I am and I've learned that I can get over anything. I am climbing my way back to the top and definitely never looking back. 

At the beginning of the semester, I wrote a post about the courses I took this semester and what I was expecting out of them and how I felt about taking them. I want to go back to that but give a ending feeling on the class and give the class a grade since the professor gave me a grade.

French: I still hate this class. I ended up dropping because my professor was TERRIBLE. She did not explain material thoroughly, would give us new material 5 minutes before class and expect us to have it down perfectly, and was not available for help at all. I knew I wouldn't do well, so instead of getting a poor grade, I dropped and will start again next semester. It sucks, but I would rather do this than have that professor.  GRADE: W (withdrawn)

Ethics: This class was SUPER easy, which is always nice when the rest of your classes are pretty hard. I didn't necessarily care for my professors teaching style, but he was definitely a good teacher and always was concerned with what was going on in our lives, which is kind of rare for college professors. We had to debate an ethical topic at the end of the semester which I was NOT looking forward to, but we ended up winning our debate, so that was pretty cool. All in all I liked this class. GRADE: A-

History of the Modern Middle East: I still hate this class. This area of the world in history still does not interest me. I still think the professor is awful, but he was a pretty easy grader for most of the time so that was helpful because I just DID NOT care about this class. I worked very hard for my grade in this class because I didn't care about it, so I knew I wouldn't try very hard, so I definitely pushed myself to pay attention and actually do well in this class. GRADE: D

Russian History from 1861: I LOVED this class! I still love Russian history and I always will. We discussed some of my favorite parts of Russian history in this semester, and it was just so cool. My teacher was very tough, but I managed to pull off a good grade in the class which was awesome since I didn't get off to the best start in the class. I'm certainly going to miss being in a Russian class next semester, but I think I will survive. GRADE: A+

Schola: I love Schola. I will always love Schola. I love singing and going to Schola is definitely a release during my day. I love the people that are in Schola with me and I love the opportunities it has brought me. Dr. Caldwell has done AMAZING things for us this year and I can't wait to see what the next year brings. GRADE: A+

Antebellum American History: I was so disappointed by this class. I really like this time period in American history and, as most of you know, I was really looking forward to this class. Unfortunately my professor ruined this class for me. She just had an absolutely terrible teaching style and was very condescending, and just treated us like we were in a 9th grade general history class. She would make us do the most ridiculous projects that were almost insulting to our intelligence and to the level of education we've all had at this point. GRADE: F

With everything that happened at the beginning this year, I could have easily gotten defeated and just given up. However, I chose to rise above and chose to become a better version of myself than I was before. I am so thankful for all the learning opportunities I had this year. I am thankful for my friends and family who brought me up when I was down and who were always there for me no matter what. I can't believe that soon we will all be on separate journeys, but in the mean time I will enjoy every moment I have with them. I can honestly say that this year has been rough but it has been so wonderful and I wouldn't change a thing. 

Thanks for sticking with me through this incredibly long post!

Until next time!

We're Pretty Formal, but We're Here to Party

So Thursday was formal. Our last function of the year and usually our best function of the year. This year was, of course, no exception

However, no night can be completely perfect. Nick was there with a girl from the pledge class below me. Since she is my sister, I will not say anything against her. I'm still just in shock that he didn't think that it would upset me that he came. I can't understand how he wouldn't think that it might hurt me by being there. Seeing him definitely felt like just ripping off the bandaid of a still healing wound. While I have accepted what happened, and while I have moved on I don't want him at MY formal, for MY sorority. I would NEVER have gone to a date function at Sig Ep or to Sig Ep's formal, and IF I did, I certainly would have had the decency to at least ask if it was okay that I was there. I know that that is his place and wouldn't want to overstep. It definitely was an eye opening situation. It was a lesson in how far I've come and in both of our maturity levels. The situation definitely showed me the love that my other sisters have for me here. 

That drama aside, the night was wonderful. My amazing little, Emily, set me up with one of her friends from high school and he was perfect. Cole was so much fun to be with and a great date. When we finally got to formal we had an awesome time. I can't believe that this was my last function with my little, but it certainly was the best way to go out. Emily; her boyfriend, Alex; Cole and I danced the night away with our other friends. I haven't had that much fun in a very long time. The band Backroad Anthem played for us, which was so cool. I learned how to two step thanks to Cole. I don't think I was very good at it, but it was fun to learn, and probably more funny to watch me. Thank you so much, Emily for getting the boys down here. It seriously was the best formal I've been to yet. 

Formal was definitely a night of lessons: a lesson on my ability to rise above, a lesson on the strength of my friendships, a lesson on maturity levels, and a lesson on the strength of my sisters who surrounded me when they knew I would be hurting. I am thankful for that. I am thankful for the friendships I have. I am thankful that I had a wonderful, and super cute, date. Mostly, I am thankful that my last function with my little was absolutely incredible. 

My little and our dates

Cole and I

If you would like to see more pictures you can visit my Facebook page!

Until next time!

End of School Update

I realized it has been FOREVER since I’ve blogged so I just wanted to do a quick update.

Finals are coming up which is never fun. This semester’s load of finals is not near as bad as last semester’s so that is nice. We’re in the final stretch now so everyone is trying to scramble and get all the last minute projects turned in.

Tuesday is our last concert of the year, so if you haven’t gotten to hear us yet you should definitely come out to the Walton Art Center! We’re performing with Concert Choir and Master Choral and it is sure to be a wonderful night.

Formal is next Thursday, which is super exciting. It’s our last function of the year and I CAN NOT wait. It’s always a little bitter sweet though because it is our last function before sending off the seniors. This year it is exceptionally bitter sweet because it’s my last function with my little so I’m also sending her onto bigger and better things at KU. I’m still very excited about it and will be sure to write and take lots of pictures.

Well that’s all for this short update. Wish me luck for finals!

Until next time!

Wait, What? Is This Happening?

WHERE DID THE TIME GO?! Friday I signed up for my SENIOR year of classes. SENIOR that’s right SENIOR! Oy vey. I just don’t feel like im ready. I don’t feel like its really happening. But it is. In one year I’ll be preparing for graduate school, and graduating from college. GRADUATING.

I’m not ready for the real world. I have NO IDEA what I’m doing with my life. I have no idea where it's going. I have no idea what’s going to happen. Not to mention I'm terrified. Is this normal? Do most people feel like this when they're my age?

I can’t be the only one who feels this way, right?

I don’t feel like I’m old enough to be done with college. But I guess I’m not really done. I do have three more years of graduate school. But graduate school is COMPLETELY different than undergrad. Do you even get to have fun in grad school? Is it all just working? What do you do there? Its just this mysterious place that I haven’t even gotten into yet which is a totally different story in itself.

I’ve really come to love this place after three years and I’m JUST NOW starting to feel 100% comfortable being up here… and now I have to leave. Is that what life is like though? You get used to something and then life throws you a curve ball that you have to get used to? I guess this isn’t really a curve ball though. I mean you can’t stay in college forever.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m SUPER excited for the next chapter. It’s just one of those moments when you’re like, “whoa that snuck up on me now didn’t it?”  Does anybody else have those moments? I’m sure I cant be alone in this.

Well thank you all for bearing with me on my small, little, baby freak out about graduation. Mom, I know you’re reading and I’m fine I promise.

Until next time!

My Birthday!

It FINALLY happened!! I FINALLY TURNED 21!!! 

I want to start out with a big fat THANK YOU to everyone who made my birthday special! This may get cheesy, so bear with me. I am seriously in awe of the love that people showed to me on Thursday and Friday. It was so great to see so many nice things written about me and said about me on Friday, and I am truly so humbled and so thankful for everything. Some of the pictures put up on Facebook and Instagram were slightly, okay very, embarrassing but where would the world be if I weren't so silly? That being said, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the pictures, kind words, birthday wishes, drinks, and gifts from everyone!! My birthday was AMAZING and it couldn't have been without you to help me celebrate. 

My birthday started on Thursday night with one of my oldest and best friends, Leigh, taking me out for just a few drinks. We both needed to function on Friday in class, so it was a very relaxed night which was nice. Her friend Blair met up with us and bought me a drink which was so nice of her. Friday night started with dinner at Grubs with many of my close friends. Tyler Wilson just happened to be sitting at the table next to us so, naturally, we triple dog dared somebody to go talk to him like third graders. The lucky lady dared to go talk to Tyler Wilson was my good friend Taryn. She ended up talking to him for a while as we all sat in jealousy and awe of her confidence and bravery. I then got Taryn to ask Tyler if, since he stole our friend away on my birthday, he would buy me a drink WHICH HE DID! So Tyler Wilson, his friend that he was eating with, Taryn, and I toasted to my birthday and it probably was the most amazing moment of my life. After dinner, a myriad of shots, and lovely gifts from my friends it was time to hit up Dickson Street which was SO much fun and a little overwhelming at times. Thank you so much to everyone who bought me drinks and wished me a happy birthday while out on Dickson! After Dickson it was time to go home and head to bed after a wonderful night.

Just want to do a little shout out to my best friend Elizabeth Hood. She was so gracious to drive me Thursday and Friday night and to deal with me in a state that can only be described as celebratory. She brought up all of my things from my car, took me to get food, and helped me in to bed all without complaint. Thank you SO MUCH Hood for everything Thursday and Friday.

All in all my birthday was a GRAND success! It was so much fun and I loved every second of it. 

Leigh and I 

Hood, Mary and I at AOII before heading out

My best history major friend

Thank Y'all SO MUCH for taking me on Dickson

THANKS FOR THE DRINK TYLER WILSON

Cheers!

An Overview of March

As you may or may not have read, I planned on making a blog with one word describing every day of March. Well. Somehow it got deleted and I can't even find it to try and get it back. SO that's, clearly, not going to happen. But really there is only one word that is needed to sum up March.

BUSY

This past month seriously kept me on my toes. There was never a dull moment between our Schola concert series, Greek Sing, Spring Break, and school. It felt like I never stopped moving but I loved it all. Okay well maybe not school, but everything else was a lot of fun. Our Spring Concerts for Schola were amazing. We improved every time, which is something that you always want, and we sounded excellent. If you happened to miss out on our concerts you can have a little listen here! And while I'm at it, I'm going to do some shameless promoting and be sure to go on Facebook and like the University of Arkansas Schola Cantorum page! I've already written about Greek Sing so we'll move on, and midterms... well they happened.

Spring Break was very relaxing and JUST what I needed. I never have been one to want to do one of those crazy spring breaks in Destin or Panama City. It would be nice to go to the beach, but I do so much work during the semester that I really just want to sleep. So that's pretty much exactly what I did with one small exception. Sarah, Mary, and I went to her lake house on Lake Hamilton. It was the perfect little break between school and going home. We went to Oaklawn track to watch horse races which was SO much fun! I came out about even which was nice. I'm a BIG horse racing fan and go to the races in Shreveport at Louisiana Downs a lot, but Oaklawn is a thousand times better than Louisiana Downs and it makes the experience that much better. After that I went home and spent time with my parents and my puppies which was much needed and always appreciated.

That brings us to this lovely Easter weekend! I met my family in Broken Bow, Oklahoma at Beaver's Bend State Park. It was so great to FINALLY be with everyone. I hadn't seen Brad and Robley since Thanksgiving and Michelle Since Christmas so I was definitely very happy to see my siblings again. Of course, it rained or was drippy most of the time we were there, but what would a Sicard family Easter be without rain? We still had a ton of fun and lots of laughs and just enjoyed being together. I may not get to see them very often, but whenever I do it's like we just saw each other yesterday. I'm so thankful every time I get to see them and look forward to the next time. We also celebrated my birthday all together for the first time in I don't know how long so that was really exciting. They got me some hilarious and very appropriate 21st birthday presents. I am so thankful for all of them and for getting to spend time with them. I hope everyone else had a great Easter as well!

 
 


Next weekend is my 21st birthday and I CAN. NOT. WAIT.

Until Next Time!!

Take Me Down to the Paradise City

Hello all! I feel like it has been forever (AGAIN) since I last posted in here but finally my life has calmed down a little bit so I can give a little update as to what's been happening.

Basically what was keeping me so busy was GREEK SING! Greek sing is a competition between all the Greek houses here at Arkansas. A fraternity is paired with a sorority, they’re given a theme and a musical artist to work with and then the sky is the limit. This year the theme was “Totally Tubular 80s,”  and our band was Guns and Roses.

I had a lot of reservations about doing Greek Sing this year. I knew I wanted to do it because that sort of thing is kind of my jam, but I knew it would remind me of Nick. Nick and I met doing Greek Sing and I knew it would bring a lot of that back. It did. Of course it did. There were many nights when I would come back to my apartment and think, “WHY on EARTH am I doing this?!” But finally in the last two weeks I just decided I can’t let this affect me anymore. I need to get my head in the game and do as best as humanly possible.

This year we were paired with Sigma Nu and it was FANTASTIC! Seriously these guys were awesome! They were super excited about everything the entire time and we actually probably had the most guys participating. We put SO MUCH hard work into our number, and while we didn’t place, we know how hard we worked and we know what should have happened.

I am so thankful that I got to do Greek Sing again this year and I honestly can’t wait to do it again next year. Thank you to Alexa and Selina for making us work so hard and being awesome leaders and thank you to Sigma Nu for being so great and so willing to work with us. Thank you to my parents and friends who came to watch!

Until next time!!