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!