Colorado!

I'm on my way to Colorado! I'm part of the delegation (and will lead next years!) to represent KU Student Housing at NACURH, a national housing conference!

We are in the van right now, and there are nine of us total. Robert and Jessica are going too, so it will be fun! I actually think I'm the only one awake right now, except for Chris Sowa. He's driving.

It kind of stinks to be away from the other interns though. Granted, there are three out of seven interns in this van, but I miss the other four! We have all become a really tight knit group in just a week of training. And today was the first day of NSO, which is kind of a bummer to miss, but we'll have all summer to hang out! And we do, a lot. We like to watch the Celtics games, hang out in each others rooms, do room crafts at night and we are almost always together during the day working or eating lunch. It's been a real blessing to become friends with my coworkers because it makes my job just that much better.

And of course, all great jobs start with a fantastic supervisor, and I have tree! Alyssa is from Texas (Dallas actually!) and is just a doll! She will often be hanging out with us until 3 AM, watching the Game Show Network. Laura and Chris are Associate Directors of Student Housing and are just fabulous. Chris is also my AURH advisor (and driving this van down I-70), so of course he's fantastic!

I'll be back Monday with a NACURH post!

<3

Jess sleeping in the van!

Robert and Samy are OUT! Hey Dayona!

Summertime

Summer is finally here! I've spent my week home seeing all my friends and family I haven't seen much of lately. The thing that sucks about summer... Packing back up and going through clothes. I have too many!!!!

Home (:

My freshmen year of college is over. :(

I am horribly, horribly sad.. don't get me wrong. But I am more than ready for a break from difficult academics. My major is hard.. there is no way around it. And if I want into medical school, I need to step my game up, and I mean WAY up. Or, I need to figure out if I can live with doing something else with my life...

I honestly, don't know that I would be able to forgive myself if I gave up on my dream. So, I'm not quite there yet. However, I do have a great summer ahead of me to figure it out!

I have a job! A full time, 40-hour week job! I will be a Student Housing Intern for the Department of Student Housing (a future career in University Student Affairs? I don't think so..). I will be helping with New Student Orientation, giving tours, and I have time to prep for my system government duties (AURH).

I also get to go to NACURH; a national residence hall association conference in Boulder, CO! Four days in Colorado on KU's bill with two of my best friends and I get to do AURH work!? It's heaven for me!

And you know.. I turn 19.. Pretty fun. :)

I am definitely ready for this much needed, and deserved summer break.

<3

Moved out of 407 :(

And into 218 Hash!! :) (this is just my summer room! I'll be back in Mac in the fall, room 1037!)

PS: Happy Mother's Day, Mom!! <3

Broken Mirror

I'm not exactly what you'd call superstitious. I don't believe in the black cat thing, I don't avoid ladders, and I don't throw salt over my left shoulder (often).

However, when it comes to broken mirrors (and Friday the 13th)... I am HIGHLY superstitious.

Well, I broke a mirror on Saturday.

At first I was about to let my superstitions go... I had the best day!!

Claire, Jessica and I went to the Spring Football Game in the morning and ended up getting front row seats! We were right behind the white team, which kind of stunk because we were rooting for the blue team. But thats ok, I still got a ton of amazing pictures. The game was (seemingly) A-team versus B-team and I must say... It showed. The blue team won 45-0 in a swift, 2 hour game. Big Jay even came over to torment us! And there were these two little blonde girls next to us who were just adorable! They let me take their picture while they were trying to get the mascots and cheerleaders/dancers autographs! So cute!!

White Team!

Adorable!

:)

Claire!

My girls <3

Jess!

How fitting!

Later, we went to another hall's spring event: Lewis Luau! It was being run by our close friends in BLT and we wanted to go and support them and get some free sunglasses and a tye-dyed shirt. After, we went and hung out by Potter Lake to soak up some rays!

After we went to a baseball game and picked out the guys we thought were best looking... who doesn't love that!? Ok, half of the population, however, it was fun because it's been so long since I've seen a baseball game and I love it. Claire and I didn't get to bed until about 5 am because we were talking to Robert and catching up and having a really good time... One of the most exciting days ever!

Love these two.. :)

So then there was Sunday. The aftermath....
I woke up to a sunburn, heavy thunderstorms and a headache. So I took a shower after only a few hours of sleep so we could go to the baseball game... It was cancelled. Ok, great. I went back to sleep. I woke up a little while later to get ready for the Stoner Awards where I was up for a few awards... didn't win. However, I'm not too upset since it was my President who won all of the awards, and I'm really proud of him. I love working with him and I know he does amazing work; he deserves every award he won. (:

My 90s Boys! (:

Robert!

My BLT Girls!- they were 50s!

Best friend!

Monday was worse. Went to classes to come back for a night  full of meetings. That in itself sucks... when I arrived, Robert asked me how my interview went.

Um, interview for what?!

The housing internship I wanted. Turns out I was not selected for an interview. I was so upset, I had to get up and leave during one of my meetings and I definitely had a hard time the rest of the night. The upside was that I was super productive that night and got all of my quizzes and homework done for the week.

I called today to find out what happened and I had not changed my spring hours, so HR dismissed my application. Super. So, I'm struggling to still have a chance for this job and not have to go home this summer. Especially since I had turned down the two camp job offers. Well, wish me luck.

I don't know if I actually believe in broken mirrors, however, I am definitely hitting a rough patch. It's been a stressful year, but I  don't think I'm ready for it to be over. Well, I'm definitely not ready to study. I can put it off for a few more hours because I'm being sworn into AURH's Executive Board tonight! This is something I have wanted all year and I am so excited that it's finally here!

So, maybe broken mirrors don't mean seven years of bad luck (or three and a half in my case. Jess broke it with me!). Maybe they are meant for me to recognize the good luck I have instead of just the bad. Because it's easier for me to appreciate the good luck when I believe all thats coming is bad.

Life lesson # 994,694,381,505.99 :)

<3

Engaged!!!

CONGRATS LEVI AND AMANDA!!

Engaged: April 24, 2012 <3

I love you both!

<3 Much love and I can't WAIT for the wedding!

UPDATE: Date set for September 14, 2013!

Impromptu Adventure (:

Sometimes, me and the girls just like to take drives and see where in this world we end up.

Yesterday, Claire and I were on our own since Jess had gone to St. Louis for the weekend. After dinner, we decided to take a drive and before we knew it, we were on our way to Topeka!

Now, Topeka isn't very far from here, so it was a fairly quick drive. Plus, we didn't take the turnpike, so it was super beautiful with the sunset and all the trees...

We originally were lost in the city and just trying to get to the downtown/capital building. Once we finally found it, it was such a beautiful site!! Just, BAM, there it was down the street. I felt like I was in National Treasure. It was such a fun time! We even crashed a prom!!

One the steps of the Capital Building!

Jayhawk Tower!

There was a Prom in this building and we went to ask where they were from and we just said, "We're from Lawrence and saw the Jayhawk on the building and wanted to see what was inside!"

Capital building :)

It's the random surprises life throws at me that are the most special :) I can't wait to see where I am this summer and who I'm with and what crazy adventures we have.

<3

Brought to You By The Letter S

This is going to be a super short blog, but still, a blog!!

I've been super, super sick this week and I probably could've written, but I chose to sleep and catch up on my Avenger movies, Thor and Captain America.

My Boys <3

I have the best friends in the world... no doubt about it. Claire and Jess have been taking great care of me this week and making sure I'm sleeping and waking up and eating and getting out some nights! Last night, we went to the far side of Lawrence to look at Stars. What an adventure. We deliberately got lost on the way out there, and ended up driving by Bill Self's house!! Today, Jess and I went to the other side of L-town and ended up in Leavenworth county. I swear, I could live here the rest of my life and never be done exploring.

Bessst Frannns :) (and yes we were all on top of the car or sticking out the sunroof!)

Star gazing!

Also, I was selected to be National Communications Coordinator for AURH Tuesday night!! That means I get to be on the executive board, travel all across the United States and go to conferences. I love AURH and I'm super excited I get to move up and continue working with them.

Finally, in a little bit of irony, I submitted my Advisor, John, in a nomination for advisor of the year for a few different awards. Well, turns out, he did the same for me. I was nominated for Executive Board Member (for Mac Hall Gov) of the Month for NRHH (National Residence Hall Honorary). Thank you, John!

Best Advisor Ever!