The Good in Greek Life

The best thing about belonging to a group like a sorority is the fact that it makes you feel exactly that way - like you belong. No matter where you are on campus, you know that there is bound to be another member of your same group no more than a block away. She is your sister, and the two of you have been through things together that others will never be able (or allowed) to understand. Other friends are still great, but they do not share the secrets and stories that are exchanged between you and another member of your sorority. Sure, these social clubs have an air-head reputation and are one of the most stereotyped groups that women can belong to. So why do girls in colleges everywhere still try so hard to get in them? Why do young women sob when they don't get the house of their choice at the end of recruitment week? Because everyone wants to feel like they belong somewhere. Wearing the letters of a sorority that match the sister's standing next you you says that you belong to more than something than just your own name- you belong to the name of your chapter too. There is no greater comfort than knowing that you are not alone. You have support, strength, and sisterhood when you have a home in the Greek community, and I am so thankful for the amazing one that I have found here.

Fruit Salad Days

 Some days are big bowls of fruit salad. Some parts are sugary, some parts are bitter. There are pieces that are bright, colorful, and delicious. But you always find morsels that are mushy and make you want to spit them out. I had a fruit salad day today. Lots of different little parts to it and various in sweet and sour experiences. Fruit salad days are so exhausting that by the end of them you just lay there, feeling so full and tired that you can hardly move. But then you realize just how much you actually got done. Suddenly your food coma becomes nourishment and you are thankful for the choppiness of the day. Maybe I am loopy from this crazy 24 hours that has given my emotions whiplash, or maybe other people actually understand what I am talking about. Either way, no matter how much fruit salad I have on my plate, I know that by the end of the day I can always look back and be thankful for the sweet pieces and learn from the sour.

With God as my Strength

"Trust me and don't be afraid for I am your strength. Think what it means to have me as your strength." This is a quote from the Bible (Isaiah 12) that I found to be specifically inspiring. I am often fearful of things that are simply out of my control. Getting a job, being successful, living a happy life. These are my goals that I work towards everyday. The fear of not attaining them is scary, but it's also pointless. God has a plan. That plan is how my life with go, no questions asked. There is nothing I could do or say that would change this plan, so why worry about it? When I really think about what it means to have Him as my strength, I breathe a sign of relief. He is the one I can pour my burdens out to, I can give all my troubles to Him and rely on His help and power to get me through every tiny bump on the road. Knowing this, I can be sure that I will be okay no matter what happens in life. God is my strength and with him, anything is possible.

Summer Countdown

Coming back to school after spring break is a strange time. I feel like I have been gone forever, but it's also like I never left. After being surrounded by amazing friends and family, doing nothing but eating, laughing, and enjoying my incredible hometown, being put back in the atmosphere of classes and studying is a bitter transition. Not that I didn't miss all of my friends at school (swapping stories of our breaks was a highlight of my day today), but it's just a weird feeling to be back after such a free-spirited and carefree ten days. These next five weeks are going to be rough. I will have to force myself to focus on my classes and to actually care how I do in them. When I know I have such an amazing summer ahead of me, focusing on the schoolwork ahead of me is daunting. My spring break was filled of Lakers games and Las Vegas, sunny California skies and the love of my family and boyfriend. To know that all of that and much more lays ahead of me in only five weeks makes it so hard to focus. The countdown has officially begun.

Spring Break Countdown

HOW is it possible to study when we are just days away from spring break!?! This I cannot understand. If I were a professor, I would strategically plan my exams before the week leading up to spring break so that my students wouldn't be as overwhelmed and distracted. I have four midterms and a paper due this week, all before Wednesday. The library and I are becoming extremely close once again as I find my spot in my dark little nook there almost daily. Writing test, Stats test, Media Editing test. All tomorrow, one after another up until the hour of my freedom comes and I walk out of the journalism building with a happiness and excitement unlike any other! Actually, I will probably be in a delirious daze until I have napped. But after that nap, reality of my upcoming break will hit me and I can finally begin to get mentally prepared to do absolutely nothing but relax. Home cooked meals, manicures, the sweet salty beach air of my home town. I am looking so forward to this escape from the college bubble I can hardly stand it. But for now I have to focus. Four good hours of study time tonight and I should be prepared enough for tomorrow's trying times. Deep breaths and strong coffee are my crutches tonight... Three. More. Days.

The Indoor Addiction

My eccentric and witty professor of my Women in Literature and Culture class made a statement that I have never realized about our campus: The only time you actually see anyone outside of an classroom or dorm is when they are walking to class. People don’t just sit outside and read or toss the Frisbee around with friends. Sure, there are the select few that do engage in outdoor activity, but compared to other campuses, TCU is in a state of year-round hibernation. My professor continued his rant, saying that, “TCU doesn’t even feel like a college campus.” Sadly, I realized how true his accusation was. Although he was taking it to a bit of an extreme, he made me wonder, where does everyone go when they’re not in class? Even I am guilty of this indoor addiction at this school. I am currently sitting in the library at 3:30 in the afternoon, when it is 72 degrees and beautiful outside. My professor talked about the covers of college brochures that almost always display exaggerated images of focused students, buried in books as they lie under lush oak trees around there campus, soaking up their knowledge as they soak up the sun. Why don’t we do that? This weekend I will make it a goal to study for my midterms while attempting to get a pre-spring break tan that is very much in need.

Blind Date

 "Y'all ready for some sushi!!!?!?" The voice of the young cowboy wearing brown boots, light blue Wranglers, and a tucked in Polo shirt still remains vivid in mind as if it was just last night that I got picked up on my very first blind date. My friend Ashley had somehow convinced me to be her wingman on a dinner invitation from a new guy she had met who was bringing a friend along. The second I saw the two boys jump out of their huge white truck to pick us up at our freshman dorm last year, I knew that his forced double date was destined to be an interesting one. The two were the definition of southern gentlemen, which, only having been in Texas for a few weeks, this California girl was not used to. But I smiled at the chance to get to know a little more about this strange Texan culture that I was surrounded by, and hopped in their truck, pinching Ashley next to me on the camouflage car interior.  We drove off to the sushi restaurant, the boys shamelessly belting out “Big Green Tractor” and smoking cigarettes out the window, “If my family could see me right now…” I laughed to myself.

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These are the kinds of adventures that we will look back on, years after college, and laugh about. When I feel far from home I just remember all of the times such as this one that has made my years at school so entertaining. Life is a crazy ride. Live it to the fullest and never turn down a chance to make another memory.  

The Sky Line

 A certain hierarchy of the sky is established through an invisible line on airplanes that thinly separates the first class from coach passengers. I temporarily felt the stinging split of the extra foot in space that divides the two cabins as a standby passenger on my flight to Orange Country today. I was assigned seat 4A, the very first row of coach, behind first class. I watched as their flight attendant handed out plush pillows and cozy blankets and orchestrated a pre-takeoff beverage service to the 11 lucky travelers. My fellow 4A friends and I had no choice but to stare at the privileged passengers, only inches in front of us, be granted with special treatment which we all silently envied. The cup of coffee being poured to the large man in seat 3B would have been greatly appreciated considering my morning had begun at 3am to make my first flight. I sat there, dreamily drowning in the cup of caffeine being served when a blonde airline angel from above approached me, and sang, “The last seat in first class is open for you if you would like to move up.” I sleepily smiled, grabbed my purse and left behind my coach comrades to join the chosen ones in front. In my mind, I thanked my dad for his career as a pilot, which can sometimes allow me to have access to this kind of special treatment when I travel. So here I sit, coffee in hand, sinking into my oversized seat, feeling the burn of the stares from the people right behind me. I know how it feels to be the person on the other side of the dividing line of privileged travel service, but today I am blessed and thankful for my first class promotion.