Big Sister, Little Sister

 Quite a bit has happened since Toga Party.
I have a feeling that this blog will be a lot of pictures with captions telling you about the activity in my life over the last two weeks, rather than the paragraphs you usually read and enjoy.
Alright...commence picture parade:

We got two new members, Cristina and Lexi. They raised our total of pledges to 19!

We all get initiated on November 16th, but first we have to pass the test next Sunday!

After pinning, we had a new member only sisterhood event: a mustache party in which we watched Hocus Pocus and "carved pumpkins" (you will understand the quotations in two pictures time)

My pumpkin ^^

Then, the next week was Big/Little Week! We got our first present (a letter) from our Big Sister after our Sunday meeting. I was very excited and I was hoping that Rena would be my Big. We had connected so perfectly (she's pretty much me) and we had spent a lot of time together. Of all the sisters, I thought she would be the best big sis for me, because any advice she could give me would most likely be something that I could follow, since it was probably going to be the same kind of advice I would give someone else.

 After I got this letter, in which she bullies me about giving her my lunch money, I wrote a little note telling her how excited I was to find out who my Big Sis could be (though, I had a hunch) and that "my lunch money is on my Bronco ID hahahahahaha" and therefore she couldn't have it. 

It was very difficult to focus on anything else. There was lots of Pi Phi doodles going on in class. o^-^o

I finally got a chance to spend some quality time with Lindsey and Erica. It was college night at Mongolian: that means unlimited food for 9.99! Yaaaay! 

Tuesday night Lidia, our president brought my presents from my Big. My lovely Big Sis made me a pretty bulletin board, got me The Notebook, a Disney Princess friendship fiber optic lamp, a bag of Lays Barbecue chips, an elephant pillow pet, Pi Phi buttons, a Pi Phi notepad, and a TON of Reese's and Starburst!

Wednesday Kristine brought me my presents. I got a pink Snuggie, the Grimm fairy tales, a pretty pin box, a cute clutch full of Pure Seduction perfume, body wash, and lotion, and a Pi Phi lanyard--and of course a ridiculous amount of candy.

On Thursday I finally got to find out that my Big was indeed Rena! That means Kristine in my grandbig. Yaaaay!

The Tiara Family. 

Now my family.

From left: Monica, Carmen, Iris, Kim, Emily, Kristine, Rena, Me

The picture frame I made at Big/Little Retreat

Shawn and I matched for the Halloween party at Sig Ep.

My Big as Bane.

Taryn as Minnie Mouse

Shawn was here for the weekend because our 3 year anniversary was this past Monday. We had a wonderful weekend, though it went by way too fast. He felt horrible because in his excitement to get here, he forgot my presents. So, while I was in class, he ran to Meijer and bought me roses and some candles to decorate the room with. What a sweetheart. I love him to death.

Shawn made this :)

Well, I think that's everything.

It just occurred to me that you're all probably wondering about how SCHOOL is going. Hahahaha.
My classes are pretty easy, but I think they're pretty interesting. At least, half of them are. :P
English is meh, which sucks because I love English. But we don't write papers or anything, really. I wrote one. But we DO read a lot, which I like because they're all pretty cool books. But we've been reading Hero Tales lately and I think they're very boring, actually. Oh well, we're almost done. Then we're going to read Eragon!!! We usually just take a quiz on the books we read and then spend the rest of the class period talking about the elements of the book and what they mean.
Holistics is so easy it's sick. It's online, so I can use my notes/the textbook for all the quizzes and tests. To be honest, I've barely read anything, because the questions are so easy and obvious (to me). Why do I need to read chapter 4 to know that "getting at least 8 hours of sleep is the healthiest" is true, not false. -_- Or that
In order to disrupt a self-defeating behavior it is important to:

		Recognize and challenge negative self-talk
		Get mad, sad or glad
		Name your feelings and be a witness
		Both A and C

Ugh. It's almost a waste of time. But...easy A!

Human Development is nice, because it's slightly challenging to remember all the material (although all our tests/quizzes are online and therefore I can use my notes) but it's also extremely interesting. This is the basis for the rest of my education as a Speech Path working in an Elementary school. It's good to know that I like learning this stuff, because if I was already bored, I would know I was in the wrong Major. :P

My Gender and Women Studies class is also interesting, because it's entirely discussion. It's cool to hear what everyone else thinks about the readings and society. Being that it's an Honors class, most everyone is actually competent, so it's not annoying when people give their opinions, because they're usually educated ones. However, there is one girl (I won't name names) who always seems to say something that entirely goes against the point of the class.

For example, we were talking about the legal issues of Professors and students dating, and on the same note R.A.s dating their residents. The girl in question happens to be an R.A. and she said most of the people she worked with was dating a resident from the building they worked in. She said her boss was fine with it as long as they kept it kinda of the D.L. When our Professor said that was dangerous, being that it's against policy, this girl argued that the R.A.s were not dating people from their own floor (the one in which they are the "boss") because where she works the dorms are sectioned by gender. So the girl's floor will generally always have a female R.A.

This entire class is about removing the labels of gender! Whose to say that  female R.A. doesn't want to date one of the girls on her floor! DUHHH!H!!H!H!H!HH!H!H!HH!

Sorry, I'm just still shocked and irritated by such an ignorant statement. PAY ATTENTION TO THE MATERIAL! *insert swears here*

I just began my Pre-Prac on Monday. It seems like it will be fun, because I'll get to work with children (with autism) and all that, but I'm nervous about the practice before we do that. We have to practice with people in the class, and let's be honest, it's more difficult to tell your neighbor, who you know is competent enough to match a frog with a frog and not a truck, to match the frog with the correct item, than it will be to tell a child who DOESN'T have that capacity yet, hence why you're working with them.

I think I may actually be done now. All in all, I'm pretty sure I'm dominating this semester. I've made new friends/sisters, and I'm doing well in all my classes. I may not get a 4.0, but I'll be pretty darn close.

Toga Toga Toga!

As the title suggests, I ventured forth into the realm of real college experiences and did something I thought I would never do.
I always thought Toga parties were a movie/T.V. portrayal of all the fun times to be had by young adults trying to make their way into the world. Turns out, Sigma Phi Epsilon (which happens to be the fraternity our friend, Derek, is in) has a toga party every year! Naturally, my Pi Phi sisters had plans to all go together. Yaaaay!

I was there for a couple hours, did some dancing, did some watching of my sisters to make sure they were safe from drunks, creeps, and drunk creeps, and then headed back to 1517 and spent the night there, after chatting with Kim, Emily, Quiche, Carmen, Taryn, and Rena.
We had a good time, but of course the drunk people were slightly annoying. That's why we didn't stay longer, I think. Well, some of the girls stayed, but the ones mentioned above (with the exception of Carmen) came back to 1517 around 1:30.

So...all around it was a safe, fun night. I was always with my Pi Phi sisters, so I never felt worried.

I know it's been awhile since a tip, but...

Tip #14: It's definitely not a good idea to walk around by yourself. Even if you haven't been drinking, other people surely have and you could get hurt. Make sure you have at least two other people with you, even if you just go to the bathroom at the party.

Well, that's all. Here's some pics!

Kim and I

Kristine and I

Kim and Rena (they actually both went to school and are friends with my cousins, Jocelyn and Justin)

RENA AND I!

<3 p="p">

Taryn and I at the party :)

Yes, I did make that headband. :)

One Month Cake with Pi Phi Filling, please

As I said before, I've been downright busy!

I may have said it before, but Kitty Kat got a tattoo.

Already October has been super busy and it 's not slowing down. We've been doing open bidding, where we have non-Greek girls over at the house and we see if they're a good fit for Pi Phi. If they are, we give them a bid and they can join our new pledge class, if they so desire. That's going on in the coming week, also.
We had a new member retreat on Friday, where the girls in my pledge class (and our P.E.) got together and played games and talked and really got to know each other much better. It was supposed to be only a couple hours, but it ended up being about three and a half and then we went to The Roadhouse for a late dinner and we invited some actives along with us. Rena had just eaten with her parents, but I talked her into going with us and we sat together and finally really connected!
Saturday, yesterday, was Homecoming, and we had an Alum event at Pi Phi, then Rena, Heaven, and I went to the football game, then we went to Dani's and watched Supernatural. After that I came back to the dorm for a bit to hang with Kat and Derek and we heard about an awesome sale at Old Navy so we went. Then I went back to the Lodge to hang with my Pi Phi sisters some more, because we had plans to get FroYo (that's frozen yogurt, because it turns out not everyone knows what that is) and go see Frankenweenie!
The movie was good, but kinda sad.

Getting FroYo!

Also, Kat and I took a little trip to Plainwell, where she lives, on Friday. She needed to do laundry and I didn't want to be alone, since Erica was home for her birthday. We went to the salvation army there and she found a ton of cute stuff and I found, like, two things, haha. But it's all good. We had fun trying all the stuff on and hanging out, since I'd been so busy with Pi Phi.

Flight of the Busy Bumblebee

So, I finally just decided I would sit down late tonight and type up a blog because apparently doing it during the day is impossible. The hours just keep getting away from me.
Okay, so it's been so long since I posted on here that I'm not sure what I said last post. Therefore, I apologize if I repeat myself, but I'm too lazy to go back and read the old one. ;p
Anyway, onto the spoils:

I am still volunteering at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, which is super fun. However, it turns out that the only time I'm available this semester to volunteer there is November 10. This is due to all the other cool stuff I am doing:

I am volunteering at Heritage Community, which a Senior Living center in Kalamazoo. I go to Amber Place, which is an assisted living center in the community, every other Tuesday (I used to go every Tuesday, but with everything else, I had to ask my supervisor Rebecca to cut back :/) and read to a group of residents. Last week, there was a line dancing activity during my reading block, but one of the residents, Dick, didn't want to go, so I had a one-on-one session with him. I read the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which I had begun to read the week prior. Of course, since most of the assisted living residents are memory care patients, he did not recall this. He asked me to recap the story up to the point I was reading (he thoroughly enjoyed hearing it at the time, but was glad to hear it again--to him, for the first time). As I had hoped, he loved my reading to him once again. He laughed at all the right parts and was actively listening to me and looking at me as I was reading. He's such a sweet man! It made me feel really good to make his day, even if he won't remember it once I'm gone.

Also, doing Bronco Buddies again. I have yet to hear back from her, as I recently sent my first letter. But she seems like a sassy little thing and I hope she's fun! She's very "grown up" for a fourth grader. Near the end of her note, she told me "My best friend is Emma, she's in my class. We hang out (not play) together. And by the way, my picture is not updated." xD
I still email KK, but apparently she's an extremely busy fifth grader and can only email me once a month or so.

And the biggest news, I think: I joined a sorority!
Pi Beta Phi. Our philanthropy is Child Literacy (hi, I wanna be a literacy coach!) and we do some regular ol' literacy on the side. My sisters are super cool, and super sweet. A lot of them are just as geeky as me, they dig Harry Potter and appreciate my dry humor. We always get some good laughs in at sisterhood events. Can't wait to get my big and become initiated!!!

This is Leeann, a friend of Kat's, and now my sister!

This is Dani, or pledge educator. Love her!

We had our first sisterhood event soon after, where we all decorated a puzzle piece. Then, Lidia, our president, put them all together to make the puzzle of Pi Phi, with each piece representing the members. So cute, right!?

The ATO Fraternity boys came by to welcome us new members and give us carnations (or sorority flower)!

My puzzle piece

Some of the other puzzle pieces, drying :)

I'm sworn to secrecy on some things that have to do with Pi Beta Phi and what we do within it, but I CAN tell you that it's already been a wonderful experience and while we have sisterhoods every Tuesday and meetings every Sunday, it's lovely to know that I have people I can turn to and that I can call my sisters. <3 p="p">

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Lately, I've been feeling very burnt out. Between all the cool extra curriculars that I'm doing and my academics, I've got a lot on my plate. While I don't want to give anything up, I feel like I'm not doing anything for myself, even though I'm doing things that are worthwhile.

I hadn't seen Lindsey in ages, but today, we had plans and those plans became a spontaneous explosion of events:

We went to Mongolian for dinner, ate too much, like always. Then, as we're sitting there waiting for the checks, Lindsey goes "I really want my cartilage pierced. Can we go to the mall?" So, of course, we went to the mall. But she didn't want to do it alone and it seemed like the perfect way for me to do something for myself, which coincidentally I had been searching for, and I got to do it with a great friend of mine. In fact, she'd said earlier that day "It's like I never left you, Sam." <3 gee="gee" her.="her." i="i" love="love" p="p">

                                               

Anyhow, so then we went shopping a little and maybe spent a bit too much money, but it was a good time and we can't regret that. Plus, there were some awesome deals we just couldn't pass up!

We'd had plans to meet my Pi Pal (one of my Pi Phi sisters), Carmen, at Pinz to go bowling. Ladies night, $1 games, $2 shoes! WHAT WHAT! So we had to hurry over to the alley to meet her on time, but then it turned out she was late too because another of our sisters, Emily, and her Pi Pal, Sam (haha) wanted to come too! So we all played 3 games together, spent only $5 and had a great time together, even though we're all awful at bowling!

Lindsey's lovely (notice the ball is already in the gutter) technique.

She got a strike!

The final score of game 3.

But we weren't done yet! We both needed to go to Meijer, so we scooted on over there and bought some stuff. Then, around eleven, she finally brought me back to my dorm. We learned that she has a good chunk of time between classes on Wednesday, so she's going to come hang out in the dorm with me until her class, instead of the boring ol' library, since I'm right here by both her classes. :) That means we'll see each other at least once a week!! The best end to a not go greatly started day. <3 p="p">

A New Home

Once again, I find myself moving in with a couple of girls I don't know.
And once again, I had roommate trouble.
The very moment the information became available, I was looking at the contract.
The next day, I texted her. No response.
I searched for her on Facebook. No correct results.
Eventually, I looked at the contract online again and. No roommate.

Kat and Erica are my quad mates, as I'm living in this big quad now. They are both freshman. Kat and I hit off immediately, texting almost everyday and having the space basic interests and lifestyles. She's gorgeous, too.
Erica and I spoke a little, but we didn't seem to really click. There was nothing wrong, we just weren't really chatting.

So yesterday, I met them in person and moved all my stuff in. The walls are now covered with pretty pictures and cute wall clings.

It's still not finished, though, and all the totes are driving me insane! It's so cluttered right now and it makes me anxious. Can't wait for mom to come pick me up on Thursday, so I can take all this crap home. Not to mention that I'll get to see my family, also. :) I miss them already.

Erica has had her boyfriend here since late last night and Kat and I are unsure if Erica will be trouble in paradise or if it's just weird because we just moved in. It remains to be seen.
So far, she doesn't seem like the type of girl I would hang out with, but we're getting along alright and I don't hate her. Haha.

I can only hope my roommate, whenever I get one, will agree with our set-up and be like us, so that we don't have to live with someone awful. I would hate to have to worry about my stuff when I'm in class. I wish there was a lock on the armoires, Erica's friend already took one of Kat's belts to wear without asking. :/

I've only been back a day, but it feels like I never left. I already hung out with Karlie, Kallyn, and Brittany, I have the room looking good, and I'm ready to start classes.

This weekend is gunna fly by.

Two More Weeks, my foot is in the door

Ten days before I come home. Twelve lectures and four finals.

It can't possibly go by fast enough.

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On the bright side, I went to meet my Bronco Buddy on Friday!

After a four hour drive to Illinois, we walked in the front door to this wonderful sign.

Then two young men showed up to escort us to the classroom. Just outside the door, was our school flag! These kids were so excited, me and Elise were the first Bronco Buddies around the corner and all the kids were looking toward the door and there was a stage-whispered chorus of "They're here!"

They gave us a tour of their school and then we did a Q & A with them. After that we had pizza, played kickball, and gave the kids some gifts! I got Kayla a Western shirt that matched one of mine, as well as a Scooby Doo shirt. She also got a scrapbook and some of my paper and stickers, because had spoken about scrapbooking our letters and meeting.

She loved it all. She surprised me with a present too! She got me some stickers for MY scrapbook and a pretty purple ribbon that said "love" with hearts all over it. I'll be sure to use it in my scrapbook of our letters!

The day was over way too fast and we had to start the FIVE hour drive back (time change).

I won't post the pics of me and Kayla, since she's 9 and I'm sure her parents don't want her face all over the internet. :) But for the family--I'll show you guys when I get home!

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That's really all the news I have.

I went to Copper Beech this weekend and hung out with the girls and some of their friends.

It was nice to hang with them before I go home for the summer. Especially since I can't hang with them next weekend. It's my last weekend for the year and Linds, her mom, her grandma, and I are going to see Hairspray here. Then, hopefully, we'll hang out. We'll probably have a Greek/Study marathon. By that I mean, we'll watch a ton of Greek, take a break and study for finals, and then watch more Greek, and then study...blah blah. It'll be great. :)

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One thing I'm worried about, other than finals of course, is that the deadline for applying to be a junior counselor is fast approaching and the a question I need answered has not been replied to by the guy I'm supposed to email with questions! I'm concerned I won't be able to apply. And the question I asked could determine if I can or not too. I think I may be lacking a requirement. :/ Guess we'll find out if he EVER emails me back.

Let's hope!

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Be home soon! <3