Dance Marathon was a huge success. I was the Family Relations Chair and it was so rewarding! Dance Marathon is a program that is used to raise money for Children's Miracle Network. All of the money we raised went directly to the Children's Center at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA. There were over 100 students dancing (and 3 faculty/staff members) for 16 HOURS! Everyone was positive and upbeat throughout the night and I was so happy that everyone had a good time. I don't think I've ever been more tired than that though. I was absolutely exhausted...I slept for 17 hours the next day. :)

Other than that, it's been the same old stuff. Homecoming went really well--as usual! I had an interview for a job yesterday and I'm hoping it went well. It's pretty much the only job I want when I graduate and I really hope that I have impressed them! I can't wait to hear from them again!

I graduate in just under 3 months. I really can't believe that. I'm glad I can look back on my collegiate career and say with pride that I did it all! I'm glad I'm not one of those students that can look back and only say "I went to class and studied." Yeah, that stuff is important, but nothing can replace the education I've gotten outside of the classroom at USCA!

Being comfortable definitley plays a role in my not wanting to leave, but more than that, I think I want to stay because this place has changed me. USC Aiken is the best thing that ever happened to me. I've met the best freinds anyone could ever ask for and I have experienced so much and I've gotten an awesome education with awesome faculty and I'm so scared that wherever I end up next, won't live up to the standard USC Aiken has set in my life. I can't believe that I have as many friends as I do. Yeah, I had friends in high school, but honestly, I only talk to 2 of my high school friends regularly now. The people I've met here are my family. I can't picture my life without them. I guess that's the one thing that really sucks about college--you're only here for a little while.

It's funny because I always planned to go to college, but I never really planned to graduate. Does that make sense? I guess what I'm saying is that I always knew I'd end up in college, but I never really stopped to think about what in the world I was going to do after college. And now that it's only 5 months away, I'm freaking out a little. I heard in Orientation (just like everyone else) to start career planning and I thought I had. Up until about 4 months ago, I was set on going straight to Grad School to get my Masters in Student Affairs. Ultimately, I still want to do that, but I think I want to get some real life, hands on experience before I do that. But what kind of experience do I want? Do I want to travel with a fraternity or sorority for a while? Yes! Do I want to work with a different department within a University--like being a recruiter for a school? Sure! I honestly want to do it all! I've prayed a lot about it, and I know that God has it all figured out, I just wish he'd share his plan with me! :)

Being a Senior is really bittersweet. I went to Graduation in December and two of my best friends were there too. And all three of us said that we wanted to cry because that's us in 5 months...and because that's US in ONLY 5 MONTHS! I don't want to leave Aiken behind but I'm ready to go. I know that there is more to life than the Southeastern United States--and I want to see and experience EVERYTHING! I want to go somewhere and see snow--REAL SNOW! I want to go somewhere and meet someone unlike anyone I've ever met before. I want to see it all! Do you think that I could just be paid to travel around and see the world??? Man, that would be sweet...

I can't believe it's 2008. I can remember sitting around with my two childhood best friends, Katey and Lauren, and talking about when all of us would graduate high school..and college. I used to think 2008 was so far away, and it was snuck up on me! I'm glad it's here, but I wish I would have known how quickly it would come. I don't know if I'm prepared for the real world...we'll see. It's sink or swim time! :)

Anywho! I'm headed back to Aiken today. It's back to work for me tomorrow! :) I hope everyone's 2008 is as awesome as mine is going to be! :)

Life was kind of dull for a while after that. My sorority had a few socials like a Toga Party with the guys in Lambda Chi Alpha and a Halloween Party with the boys in Tau Kappa Epsilon. I really do like having socials with other Greek organizations because they are fun and we get to know new people! Earlier this week, I went to the Kicks 99 Guitar Pull with one of my really good friends! I had so much fun and I really am glad he asked me to go with him!

Thats really all for now. Leave some comments! :)

That's all for me for now...have a great weekend guys!

Ashley asked me what NACA is because I forgot to explain it before. NACA is the National Association of Campus Activities. I will be attending the NACA South Conference held in Charleston, SC. The Conferences are an opportunity for delegates from campuses in the South Region (that's me!) to come together and meet different acts and other people that work with programming boards. We will be doing stuff from about 9 am until about midnight every night. We will have Educational Sessions in the morning on topics ranging from "How to get a job in Student Affairs" to "How to get people to come to your event" and "How to run a programming board on a small budget." In the afternoon and in the evenings, we will be sitting through showcases. A showcase is an opportunity for acts to come out and do short snipets from their stage acts...it's about 20 minutes each. They break the showcases up into music, comedians/stage acts, and lectures. Everyone going from USCA will sit down after we get back and go through the acts we liked and didn't like. On top of that, there is a Marketplace. In the marketplace, agencies and performers are EVERYWHERE! They give us videos and t-shirts and stickers and all kinds of nonsense. When we get back to USCA, we'll go through the videos and try to find the best acts for our campus while still keeping in mind the acts we saw in showcases. Also, in the Marketplace, there are different Novelty Acts (aquamassagers, oxygen bars, make your own keychains, etc) that you can bring to your campus.

Hope that answered your question, Ashley! :)

Anywho...life for me is pretty great right now. It's busy as always, but I'm enjoying it. I'm getting pumped up about Fall Break. I'm going back to New Orleans this year...

Class is going well. Things aren't too stressful yet. I've got 2 tests on Thursday, so I need to get on that studying thing, but other than that, it's pretty much smooth sailing!

SGA is going well too. At the retreat last Saturday, I had a moment where the lightbulb came on and it all just made sense to me. I realized at that point that I'm moving in the right direction right now and it's so nice to finally feel settled in my position.

My sorority is going to have Big/Lil week soon. This is the week where our new members find out who their Big sister is. I'm excited about it because it's always a good time...and who knows...maybe I am going to have a new little this year....maybe not! :) We'll see!

Well that's about all I have for right now. Ya'll have a good day!

PS Leave me some comments or questions or something.... :)

It's not so much that I'm a "slacker" I guess. I just let other things distract me, but tonight...I did it! I finally sat down and finished my Rising Junior Writing Portfolio. Granted, I'm no longer a rising Junior...or a rising anything really. I'm a senior, getting ready to get out of here.

I found out today that I get to go to NACA South again this year. I went last year to Birmingham, AL, and this year, I'll be travelling with 6 other students and an advisor to Charleston for almost four exciting jam-packed days of campus activities! I can't wait!!!!!! :)

I'm going home this weekend, and I'm really excited about seeing the family! Anywho....That's about all I have to say about that!

Send me some comments or some questions! I'll answer just about anything! :)

Have a safe weekend! :)

My life is crazy! I really hope that things calm down soon because I'm not sure how much crazier I can get! :)

Spring Break was so much fun! I had an awesome time and I made some great friends. Last year for Spring Break we went to Florida to work on a Habitat for Humanity house, but we didn't actually work on a house. We did landscaping. This year, though, we started from a foundation and when we left we had a roof, we had put siding up on most of the house, it was insulated, it had windows and doors and walls, and a porch. It was so incredible to see what a group of students that had really never worked together could do. I highly recommend that everyone work on a Habitat house at least once! It's an experience that has changed me and something I will never forget.

I found out shortly before the end of the school year that I am the Vice-Chairperson for Aiken Unplugged. I am very excited about this because the exec of AU is really committed to bringing music to campus that students want to hear. I am also very excited to still be working with the Pacer Union Board next year! I found out that I will, again, be the treasurer for the Student Alumni Association! I'm very excited about continuing in this role. I also applied to be on the first Dance Marathon committee, and I was recently notified that I will be the Family Relations Committee Chairperson! I'm so excited. Dane Marathon will be supporting CMN which is my sororities national philanthropy, so this is a cause that is definitely near and dear to my heart! Speaking of my sorority, I can happily report that we were named Organization of the Year and Greek Organization of the Year and Female Intramural champions. Members of my chapter were also named Outstanding Chapter President and Greek Woman of the Year. There were also several women from my chapter that have been invited to join the Order of Omega (including me). The Order of Omega is a national Greek Honor Society! A few of us were also inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, a student activities honor society. It's definitley wonderful to be in such a great chapter and I wouldn't trade these women for the world!

I went to the Southeastern Panhellenic Conference in April with the Vice President for Recruiment for the USCA College Panhellenic Assocation. Our advisor went too, and being there made us all realize how lucky we are to get to work with the Panhellenic women at USCA! Our girls are truly wonderful and our Panhellenic is outstanding!

This semester has also been very exciting for our campus. We finally opened the USCA Convocation Center. This is a building that has been talked about since before I even got to USCA! It's so amazing to walk into this building and think about all of my friends and classmates that will get to play in this outstanding facility. We held our first-ever Commencement ceremony in this building and it was so incredible! I sat on the platform as the new Student Body President and, I must admit, it made me so much more excited to be graduating next year! I can't wait!!!! :)

I applied for classes earlier this semester too, and I LOVE MY SCHEDULE! I only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will be in class from 9:25 am until 4:20 pm. It's going to make for a long day but I HAVE A 4 DAY WEEKEND! :) I love my life!

Now for the really exciting stuff...

On May 12th, I left to go on the USCA School of Business Administration Study Abroad trip to Slovakia (Stara Lubovna and Bratislava) and Austria (Vienna). Our trip started out kind of rough. We had a 3 hour delay in Atlanta, and did not leave until 11:30. We landed in Paris on the 13th, but we had missed our connecting flight to Vienna. At this time, Air France split our group of 30 into 4 smaller groups. The first group got on a direct flight to Vienna...well most of them. One of our students left her passport on the plane and had to wait with another student for a different flight Vienna. We didn't know when these two girls would get to Vienna, but the other three groups were sure we would beat them there! The other three groups were then given boarding passes to go to Dusseldorf, Germany and then to be connected to Vienna. We didn't realize it initially but we were all on the same flight! It made us feel much better! We got to Germany and realized that we had been scheduled for a flight that we couldn't make. We stood in line for almost an hour, just for them to tell us we missed our plane. We went to the Air France desk to get scheduled on a new flight. At this time, we asked them to check on the girl that left her passport in the airplane in Paris, and, surprise, surprise, she had gotten on a direct flight to Vienna...looks like she was going to beat us there! At this point, we were starting to question whether or not our luggage was following us. We asked Air France to check, and we were told that our luggage (all 15 of us!) was still in PARIS! We were told we probably wouldn't get it until the next day but we needed to check on it when we got to Vienna. We finally got on a plane to Vienna, and landed at 11:00. With no luggage, and the rest of our group waiting on us for the last several hours, we were all EXHAUSTED...and we weren't done yet. We filled out the necessary paperwork in the Vienna airport to have our luggage delivered to us and they said it would be sometime the next day.

We then went outside and got on a charter bus that had been waiting on us for almost 10 hours. We started our 6 hour bus ride to the other side of Slovakia. In Slovakia, the sun comes up between 4:30 and 5:00 in the morning. It was around this time that the 15 of us with no luggage realized that we had been travelling for 2 sunrises in the same clothes. WOW! All we could do was laugh, really. We checked in to our hotel in Stara Lubovna at 5:30 and slept until 12. We then went rafting. We FINALLY got our luggage that night around 9 pm. The next day we started business visits. We went to US Steel in Kosice and then we went to Whirlpool in Poprad the next day. We left Stara Lubovna for Bratislava the next day. Bratislava was AMAZING! We stayed in the Carlton right in the middle of everything. Every restaurant, club, and store, was within walking distance of our hotel. We continued our business visits, and had an AMAZING time. There was a group of girls on our trip that kinda stuck together. The eight of us met 3 different bachelor party groups! Apparently, in Europe, it's really cool to make outrageous t-shirts for bachelor parties and make a weekend of it! It was fun! We definitley got spoiled in Bratislava!

We then went to Vienna, and we were all really excited...until we got there. Our hotel was several minutes outside of town and there was not really anything within walking distance. There were only 3 restaurants to choose from. We did find a really cool restaurant that had a waiter that had studied in England for a few years. He sounded just like Stewie on Family Guy! It was awesome. It was really funny because there was a group of 8 or either 10 of us and when our food came out we played "pass the plate" so we could all try what everyone else had ordered! Other than this, we were all very frustrated. If we wanted to go in to town to do anything, we had to get on a bus (16A) go to a tram stop and get on the Tram (67 to Reumanplatz) then we got off the tram at Reumannplatz and got on the subway (U1) and then we went from Reumannplatz to Stephansplatz. SO CONFUSING and it took us an hour to get anywhere! Needless to say, we usually got a big group together to hang out in the hotel (we went on the roof)! We were in Vienna for a week. We had fun, but it was really exhausting to have to ride so much public transportation and I swear we walked 3 miles a day to get to business visits from our public transportation stops. Vienna is a beautiful city, but please stay in downtown if you ever go! You'll have much more fun!

We left Vienna on Monday, May 28th (YAY MEMORIAL DAY!) We flew from Vienna to Paris, and encountered a short layover in Paris. We then flew from Paris to Atlanta. I was lucky enough to be seated upstairs. A group of us had a small gathering upstairs and it was so much fun! We met an awesome flight attendant named Bruno that I hope we wil be able to keep in touch with!

We landed in Atlanta around 6:30 and I was so excited to be back in America. Europe is really fun and something that I think everyone should experience, but it really makes you appreciate things like ice, sweet tea, free ketchup, free refills and the english language! :) My mom, my best friend and my brother picked me up from the airport and then we went home!

The next day was pretty uneventful...I slept most of the day! I was woken up around 1:30 Wednesday morning though. My parents woke me up to tell me that I was on a flight with a guy that had a rare strain of TB. WHAT ARE THE ODDS! To be honest, I was surprised it happend, but not surprised that it happened to us! After all the bumps in the road, this was just icing on the cake. The next day I went to the health department and got tested for TB. I found out then that the guy was sitting on Row 51...so was I! We found out later that he was actually on Row 30, but that was not until after I had panicked! Wednesday night, my friend Beth got a phone call from CNN saying they wanted her to be on the air the next morning to be interviewed about being on the flight with the guy with TB. Beth called me and Jason to see if we would go with her, but Jason and I were not expecting to be on the air at all. We got to CNN the next morning and were sitting in the make-up room with Beth and then a producer came in and said "Which one of ya'll was sitting next to the guy?" Jason and I looked around and then told her that we were. At this point, we still thought the guy was seated on row 51, because we had not heard differently. One anchor said "I want them" and then away we went! We were interviewed by CNN, then Fox news called...then CBS, then NBC/MSNBC, then the Associated Press, we did phone interview after phone interview for radio stations and newspapers. It was a rollercoaster and we were exhausted. Jason and I stayed in Atlanta for 2 days doing interviews. We finally came back to South Carolina on Friday and got our TB tests back, and luckily we were both negative on our skin tests! I went to work to see everyone and it was so nice to see familiar faces and hear familiar voices. This whole thing was stressful, but it doesn't at all change how lucky and blessed I feel to have had such an awesome experience in Europe with so many amazing people that I can now truly call my friends.

I slept a lot Friday evening/Saturday morning, and I'm really glad this whole thing is over! I was really tired. Now, I'm just working and enjoying my summer! In June, I'll be a Pacesetter for the first orientation group, and I'll do that again in July and August. I'll be a recruitment counselor again for sorority recruitment and I'm very excited! I move back to Aiken into an apartment with Mel and Heather in a few months and I CANNOT WAIT! The three of us are going to have so much fun and I'm so excited!

This may be my last post here....sorry they've been so spread out, but I hope you've enjoyed reading what I have to say! I guess what I most wanted the readers to get out of this is that I love USCA, and it is an amazing place to be a student!! Hope that some of you decide to come here because I promise that will be one decision you won't regret!

LOTS OF LOVE! HAVE A GOOD SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!

For Thanksgiving, things were kind of quiet. I had family at my house, but other than that we didn’t do much. I came back to school to finish out the semester. My classes turned out really well. I did pretty well and I was really excited about my grades! For Christmas my cousin from Seattle came down with her whole crew. We took pictures and had a great time.

When I got back to school, things immediately got busy again. Between working and school, I’m busy all of the time. I’m taking classes and working two jobs, but I’m loving every moment of it. I love working with student government. Being Vice-President has really opened my eyes to a lot of different things and I’m so thankful that I’ve been given this opportunity. I’m also currently serving as the President of the College Panhellenic Association and I love it! I love working with everyone from different Greek organizations! Phi Mu is of course going well! I love my sisters! We just got 3 new girls and they are great! Congrats to Mandy, Becca, and Kristen! PUB is going really well too! I love it! Last week, Jen Kober came and it was tons of fun to meet her and go to dinner with her! Aiken Unplugged is getting geared up too, and I’m really looking forward to the events! In March, Dave Coleman is coming to USCA. Dave is the real-life Hitch—yes, his life is what the movie Hitch is based on. He’s amazing! He came to the leadership retreat last summer and he’s just awesome! He is so smart and I love hearing him speak!

This semester is getting hectic! My birthday is tomorrow and I’m very excited about it! I plan to start celebrating TONIGHT! Life is good for me! The Convocation Center is getting ready to open and that means that a lot of exciting things are going to happening on the campus! I’m really excited about where USCA is going and I’m looking forward to seeing what USCA has in store for the student body in the next few years!

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted! I hope that things slow down a little so that I can post on here more often!

LATER GUYS!

Haha! So anyway! I hope this post finds everyone out there alive and well. Sorry it's been so long since I've made a post on here! Things have been going pretty well for me the past few weeks. My classes are going fairly well...but we all know that the hardest part is yet to come. That's right, Finals are quickly approaching. I keep trying to remember what I've done with my whole semester. It honestly seems like just yesterday that I was hanging out with the *Gold* group at Orientation and helping them get their classes lined up. I'm kind of sad because it seems like college is quickly slipping away from me...and there's no way for me to stop it.

On the flip side of that, they say that time flies when you're having fun, and this semester has been an absolute blast!

It may have been the fountain that initially attracted me to USCA, but it's the people that have kept me here. The people I work with on a daily basis (both in and out of the classroom) have impacted me so much and have changed my life. I feel like I owe my degree (future) to them, because without their support along the way, I wouldn't have made it this far.

I know this post may seem corny and hokey, but I just wanted to let everyone know that this week, as we all reflect on things we're thankful for...USCA is one of the things I'm most thankful for.

Hope everyone enjoys Turkey day....WATCH SOME AWESOME FOOTBALL (and avoid all the crowds at Wal-Mart)! I promise football is more fun!

Love you all! Have a blessed holiday season!

LOVE YOU ALL! : )

I went to New Orleans for Fall Break...SO MUCH FUN! Aside from the fact that I had a regular ol' blast in the French Quarter, I came back to Aiken with a changed outlook on the whole Katrina thing.

I think I'm also angry because it didn't even feel like I was in America. I could have very easily been in a third world country. What is going on in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is not what hundreds of thousands of Americans have fought and died to protect. I'm not saying that the national government could have stopped the destruction. It's not at all George Bush's fault that this happened and I stand firmly by that opinion. I do, however, believe that the governments of both Louisiana and New Orleans could have and should have done more. The levee that broke had been tested every year since it was built and every year passed the inspection. The people inspecting the levee's said that it could withstand a category 5 hurricane. I'm also frustrated that the Army Corps of Engineers is no longer going to pick up debris from the houses that are being cleaned out after December 31st of this year. How are these houses ever going to get cleaned out? Are these families ever going to be able to return to New Orleans? The fact that you can walk around the Lower 9th ward and see only the foundations of homes that were 3rd and 4th generation homes that are no longer there is sad enough...and then you find out that the New Orleans City Government is talking about re-zoning that to be commercial land so they can put casinos and resorts there. It is absolutely infuriating. Then to find out that residents in the Lower 9th ward just got certified running water a few weeks ago is even more infuriating. We are in America. Running water is one of those things that we take for granted, and for the last fourteen months, the residents of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward have not been able to drink the water that comes from their faucets, or bathe in the water. That is possibly the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my life. Again, I say, that is not America...that is not what so many men and women have fought and died to protect.

If New Orleans residents have as much pride in their home as I do...I know they are angry. I can't imagine someone taking South Carolina away from me and telling me they wouldn't help me get it back.

I'm also furious because at this point in time, the governments of New Orleans and Louisiana are still trying to point the finger at someone else instead of helping people. They are not concerned with helping thier displaced residents come back....all they care about is making sure the rest of the world knows its not their fault. Who cares who's fault it is? America needs to suck it up and fix it.

I hope that if you read this, you get a sense of how much help is needed in New Orleans. Even if you just donate a few dollars...do it...every little bit helps. We need to help our own people before we worry about the rest of the world...it's time for America to wake up and take responsibility for the well-being of our own country.

Well that's all for now! Leave me some comments!!!