Why not me, why not now?

Hey folks!

Well, I had pictures, but my phone decided to eat the SD card so now it won't work -- yay.

So, this week has been quite ridiculous. While it has been a blast, this week was spent preparing the school for the incoming freshmen, transfer students, etc. It's a lot of hard work, but also fun. We spent the week making posters, banners, making props, running around campus finding supplies, and getting to know other students. It was on my college bucket list to be on the Orientation Crew. When I moved in, there were girls right at the front of the school cheering their brains out when I arrived -- I knew I wanted to do it too. I wasn't able to do it in the past because of other obligations, but I finally got to do it this year and it was amazing!

The biggest day of the week is Saturday when the freshmen move in. The O.C. meet at school at 5:30 to make a balloon rainbow: here is the one from my freshman year...



After we do this, we meet in the circle to cheer for the freshmen as they pull through the front gates and truly enter as a student. It was a great time to cheer with my fellow seniors. It is crazy to think that this is my last year. It is gradually sinking in.

Well, this week begins the home stretch. August 18 is the first day of the last year! Woo!!!

In a nutshell

I was hoping to have some sort of pictures for y'all to gander at, but I have a pretty boring life at this point in time! It's all work work work!

What have I been doing this summer, you ask? Besides work? Well, there isn't a whole lot. I got to go see my Meredith Lil Sis for her birthday. It was a lot of fun. We got to go to the beach and eat super delicious pizza. I got crispy fried though. That was a bit of a disappointment. I'm still living with it today!

I think that's about the only vacation time I've had a away from Raleigh. I've had the chance to catch up with some friends this summer, and that has been nice since I don't really know what next year holds in store for me.

The best thing about this summer has probably been FroYo. Tim and I discovered this place in Wilmington that sells self-serve froyo, and LOVED it. So I found a place in Cary that serves it too. YUM! That, or cherry limeade from Sonic, is my "After the gym" reinforcement (psychology nerd). It's worked so far!!!

I move back on campus in a week, and I couldn't be more excited. I love being around friends all the time. I love being able to wake up minutes before class. I love having a packed schedule (although you'll hear differently in a few weeks). I just hope I get to stay there! I'm still $5k short of being able to stay on campus, but they said I could live there until they figure out if there's a way to help me or not -- figures crossed.

Well, there is a lot in store this year. I am president of MEA (Meredith Entertainment Association). I am really excited/nervous about this. I want to bring MEA back from the depths. It's an awesome organization that puts on dances and picnics and whatnot. It's so MUCH fun! There's painting the senior tunnel, SENIOR Cornhuksin' (peace, love, corn), 11th night, and graduation itself which is May 8 for any who would like to attend.

Probably the thing I am most excited for is Class Day. I am a Co-chair for the event, along with my best friend Beth. It truly is amazing. It's the day before graduation. It's a day for our Lil Sis class to say goodbye, and also a day to remember the last four years that have flown by. It's really emotional and gorgeous. I am honored to be planning it! All the girls wear white sundresses. The Lil Sis class makes an ivy/daisy chain that they form the roman numerals 11 (for the graduating class) with later in the day -- here's a picture from when I was the Lil.



Well, I guess that's about it for now -- I'm tired and am ready for sleep!

Happy reading!

The calm before the storm...

It's hard to believe that summer has come and almost gone. What's even harder to believe is that I am going into my final year at Meredith College. I can't believe where I am today. It is going to be a great year. I have so much to look forward to, and, yet, so much to start saying goodbye to.

My intention for this newly edited blog is to keep everyone updated on the happenings as I journey through this final chapter of my undergraduate education. You'll learn about my stresses, my adventures, my successes and failures, and everything and anything else you could ever want to know!

I hope that you'll hop on board and follow along with me as I journey to May 8, 2011 when the class of 2011 will take their final steps across the Meredith College Amphitheater.

Stay tuned ....

What goes around, comes around again....

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have finished out my junior year at Meredith College. Hard to believe, I know. I cannot believe the direction my life has taken since June 2007 when I graduated high school. There are some things I miss, and others I do not. It has been a long, bumpy, and crazy road, but I would not change one bit of it. I am about to enter my second senior year of my life, and it is quite frightening. While the course-load itself is intimidating, it is the life after May 8, 2011 that scares me the most. While I have ample time to figure this out, there are so many options and I just do not know what will suit me best.

The biggest candidate is graduate school. I do not know where I would want to go. Part of me wants to stay here, in good ol' Raleigh, North Carolina. My two options here would be to go to NCSU (preference) or UNC. NCSU only has a PhD program, which would mean I would be in school for at least another 4-5 years. UNC has Masters degrees, but not as wide of a selection. There are other options like the University of Maryland at College Park, Colorado State University, UNC-Charlotte, etc. It's finding the right fit.Anyway, I'll start talking about what has been going on with me instead of what will happen. Since the last time I posted about my life, and not school, I have done SO many things. I had my first Disney trip. I LOVED IT. I wish I could go back. I got to stay at Saratoga Springs, which was beautiful. We were there for four days and four nights. It was a great trip that I will never forget. Here are some pictures from the trip:
I got my Onyx! For those of you that don't know what that is -- it is the Meredith College class ring. Every Meredith graduate (who is willing or able to buy one) has this ring. It is our signature! I finally got in November of last year after much saving and a few donations (Thank you!). Here is a picture of my ring :)


The other exciting thing I got to do was go to New York City! I went for New Years. This wasn't just the normal NYC trip. We left at 3am on the 31st, drove to Trenton, NJ (catching every bit of snow along the way), caught a train at 10:30am, arrive in NYC at 12:00pm, roamed around for two hours, got lunch/dinner at 2:30/3, and then camped out on 7th Street until 12am. The ball drops, we're all frozen to death, we hit up a McDs to use the restroom, and then it's back to PennStation to catch the train back to Trenton. We get back home at 8am in the morning. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we took a 29 hour trip to NYC. It was stupid, it was fun, but we will never do it again! Haha. I don't have any pictures right now, because there are toooo many and they are too big to load on here. Sad!

Well, I think that's about all the excitement that has happened in the last year. I have two exams before it's time to hit the beach (or, rather, work). I am looking forward to this summer! I have lots of potential plans that I am super stoked about. I am hopefully going to Busch Gardens!!! I haven't been since I went with Puebar during my Sophomore or Junior year in high school. That's a long time! It's my favorite theme park. There are ideas to go to Texas with Tim's family, which would be fun! I might get to see my aunt there! A few of us crazy kids are considering a wild and crazy road trip. I've always wanted to go on one! My friend is working in DC this summer, and I've not been since fifth grade. I really want to go there and to Baltimore to check out the University of Maryland to see if it is where I want to go!

I'm going to try getting better at this! Let me know you're reading! It'll be easier to remember :)

See ya folks!

What have I learned?

EDU 241 has come to an end. I've learned to use so many programs in class. Before I took this class, I only ever thought about using powerpoint or similar programs in the classroom. Now that I've finished the class, I've learned that there are so many programs and methods to use. I think my favorite was the WebQuest. It is really interesting to pull together research and a lesson plan to create an internet scavenger hunt for students to do. I also think the database information is really useful. Databases can be used for everything and anything, not just teaching. This class has been very useful in my knowledge of technology and educational methods.

Powerpoints and Webquests?!

During the last week, and for the duration of the semester, we have worked on creating effective powerpoints and making webquests for our "students." This is actually a lot of fun. It's basically a scavenger hunt about a specific topic, but the students end up creating a final product to reflect on what they learned.

The crazy thing about powerpoints is that there is a "right" way to do it. It is not just piling stuff onto a page to present. It actually need to be thought through. Color schemes and choice of words are important for these kinds of documents

It is very interesting to learn about the different methods of learning, especially regarding technology.

Digital Story Telling Cont.

I mentioned last week that we learned to make digital stories. Well, I just turned in my assignment the other night. Let me tell you -- writing stories an portraying them through images is not as easy as it sounds! You have to make sure that you convey the right emotion and idea! It was really interesting to see the final work. After seeing the final product, I really think that it would be a fun project to assign students. Not only does it teach them another method through which to present and use technology, but it also gives them a way to take their ideas and thoughts and put them into a movie.