Finals are such a DRAG!

4 down, 1 to go. I've been filling out and studying psychology study guides all freakin' day. Gross. Today I woke up at 7:50am for my 8am final across campus. I mean, that's just awesome. I flew off of my bunk bed, in the dark, probably put some god-awful outfit on (I don't even remember), and ran to class. I got there just in time, completed the shortest final of my life, returned to the dorm, and crawled back in bed. I then woke up at noon and met Liz for lunch. Ever since lunch I've been in psychology land learning out mentality, emotions and sex drives. Yeah, quite the combo, I know. Liz and I took a break, looking like complete bums, and ventured to the C-Store across the street to grocery shop with her ridiculous amount of leftover meal points. It's safe to say we're stocked up for rush week when we come back early and all of the cafeterias are closed. We could survive for a few weeks, actually.

I can't believe I'll be on my way home tomorrow night, officially ending my first semester of college. Where did the time go?
I remember showing up here back in August, moving in when only the RAs were in the building, and knowing absolutely no one. Now I have an entire group and family I'll miss while back at home. I wish I had another "free week" like I did when I first moved in; the time would be so much better spent now than what it was then. Tonight is my last night in my room during 2010...pretty epic, I know. What will I be doing? Studying psychology and eating Mother Bear's with the floor...maybe even coloring a few "signs" for the girls, since apparently that's my god-given talent now :P

But now it's back to psychology land; maybe I'll pack later tonight. Robin's coming to pick me up tomorrow after my final and I am completely stoked. Should be an epic drive home. :D

Harper 9, Rush, and Finals...OH MY.

Finals week has officially started and I'm quickly realizing my High School did NOT prepare me for this.

At the time, I thought I was soooo lucky I didn't have those big, scary, difficult finals other schools talked about, but now I'm wishing I did. Walking into this week with no prior experience is definitely a disadvantage; my stress level can gladly tell ya a thing about that. Today I took my very first final and I'm happy to say that it will be my LAST MATH EXAM EVER. I went to eight hours of tutoring this weekend along with 5 additional hours of practice exams. Finite is my definition of death. I'm glad that it was my first final though, because now it is out of the way completely. I have two finals tomorrow, one Wednesday, and my last final on Thursday. Phew!

Right now, I'm on study break from business and health. I figured it'd be a great time to update the blog on my ever-so-busy college life. Since I last updated about IUDM, I have finished (nearly) my first semester of college classes, completed the first round of rush (sorority recruitment), been home briefly for Thanksgiving Break, met a great new friend, and had some amazing nights with my Harper 9 girls. Now for the details...

Rush. Where do I even begin? If you aren't familiar with Indiana University, let alone the greek life here on campus, I don't know how I could ever explain it. While only 18% of our campus is "greek," it's definitely a large portion of campus involvement. Sorority rush here is said to be one of the more difficult recruitments in the nation. With over 40,000 undergrads on campus, nearly 2,000 girls each year go through recruitment in hopes of finding and joining their perfect sorority. The way that recruitment works here, as I can't speak for other campuses, is through a mutual selection process. This means that not only do the sororities narrow down girls at each "level," but the girls also narrow down sororities. This assures the girls select the right house for them. (I sound so knowledgeable so far; I'm slightly impressed.) Anyways, because we have 19 sorority houses here on campus, there are multiple rounds in recruitment. The first round is called 19 party, where all the girls going through recruitment are split up in large groups and tour house to house over the course of two days. 19 houses, 30 minutes inside each house...20 minutes outside waiting for each house. Yeah, it was extremely tiring. Not only was it a LONG two days, but Indiana decided to hit campus with full on winter that weekend for the first time all year. Awesome. I had nearly 10 layers on at any given moment and still felt like a human ice cube. The frat boys certainly got a kick out of the groups of girls parading around like frozen idiots. Some gave hot chocolate (which we were advised not to take based on previous year's experience of adding laxatives,) others gave hand warmers, and some simply provided pure entertainment. Once we finished 19 party, we had to choose 14 we wish to return to for the next round, and then we ranked our bottom 5 from "best to worst" or "liked-the-most to not-so-much." This assures that if we don't get all of our top 14 back, which is extremely rare to in the first place, our ranked 5 will be bumped up to fill positions in the first place.

Now we are completely done with recruitment until January, when the real games begin. While we are all gone on break, our final grades are sent to the Panhellenic council, where we will be cut from houses based on their specific GPA requirements. Oh, boy. I don't feel that I did poorly first semester, but you would be surprised by some of the requirements. Whoever decided to start the "dumb sorority girl" cliche obviously didn't make the GPA requirements in the first place! :P Anyways, those who make it through move back into the dorms a week before classes start in order to finish one of the craziest weeks of their lives. The next round is 14 party. This round is a little longer, each house does a skit to show off their house "personality," and we all get to dress up a little bit more...like business casual. I think that's my favorite part about it all, the dress code. It's so much fun to have functions like this where we have to be dressed up a certain amount :] After 14 party, which is two days, comes 8 party...also two days. This round works the same way, where we eliminate houses just as they do to us, and we get to spend an even longer amount of time in each house. I'm extremely excited for this round, as I'll get to wear a cute new skirt I have. After 8 party is 3 party, the last round of them all. This round is the longest, spending nearly an hour and a half in each house, dressed up to the max in adorable cocktail dress fashion. After this round we rank our top three houses in order and wait impatiently for Monday night to come. That is when our RhoGamma, or "greek advisor/counselor/solve-all" will deliver either a bid card or upsetting news. Here's hoping I even make it that far! I don't know what will happen, or where this whole adventure will take me, but all I know is it has been a blast so far.

The first round was worth it, even if that's all I get to complete, just because I got to see the insides of all of the beautiful greek houses. There are no words to explain some of them, which makes it completely unbelievable that the girls get to LIVE there! Aside from that, I met a truly great new friend, Liz...who, embarrassingly enough, has lived on my floor all year. Crazy right? She lives on the short side of my hall and is actually not too far from my hometown. Because our last names are so close alphabetically, we ended up in the same group as we toured the 19 houses. We struck up a conversation and then I embarrassed myself when she told me we lived on the same floor. Woops! We've been hanging out as close to nonstop as possible lately. If I had chosen not to rush, who knows if we ever really would have crossed paths. Crazy how that happens, right?

While it's been extremely crazy being away from home these past few months, and while it seems like I've been living on my own forever, Thanksgiving break was a quick reminder of where I was before college. Living back at home for just a few days made me miss Bloomington immensely. It's not that I don't enjoy being with family, or back home...I just love my life here. Along with seeing my sisters and family, I also got to hang out with my amazing "extended family clan." Being glued to Robin's hip all of break was absolutely amazing, but made the following week extremely hard without her. It's crazy how we've been so close since 6th grade and now I'm a freshman in college and she's nearing graduation from her University. Ahhh, how time flies! Her siblings have taken me in with open arms, and over Thanksgiving break, I was definitely thankful. Just writing about them now is making me excited for Christmas/Winter break!

Hmmm...what's left on my list? Harper 9 adventures, I suppose. As I've mentioned in a few previous posts, these Harper 9 girls have become my family. Now that we are in our last week of the first semester, I'm starting to realize that we're halfway through, halfway finished, and in one more semester we'll be moving out and onto another great chapter here at IU. Some (probably most) will move into sorority houses, others will move across campus into apartments and houses, and above all, we will no longer be the babies on campus. That is absolutely crazy. While all the Harper 9 girls are amazing, my little, direct niche of girls go without words. I have the best neighbors around, to be quite honest. So many of the other floors here, just in our building alone, keep their doors shut and are completely unsocial. If I even tried to say that about our floor, I would laugh...definitely not the case. Since day one, we've all seemed to hit it off with at least one other room really well. I'll have to just devote an entire blog to my girls...and one probably here soon, too. Until then, I'll just leave it at this: these girls have been an absolute blast.

Well, there you go. I've officially avoided studying health for an hour, and now you (if anyone even reads this), are updated. As I finish finals week, I'll attempt to come up with things to write about while I'm at home on break. Any ideas?

Much love always and until next time,
Sophie

I survived!

Just a quick update until I'm fully functioning and back on a normal schedule...

We raised $1,602,713.20 FTK. (for the kids, just in case you didn't know) That number is truly amaaaaazing...the most ever raised by IUDM, let alone the most raised among the nation. I can't even begin to express how proud I am for being a part of that. I not only helped raise over $500 of that, but I was a dancer, a true participant, and stayed awake a loooong 36 hours straight. Unlike most of the people there, I made it to the 28th hour before sitting down. Yepp, 28 straight hours standing before I reached my breaking point. By that time, they were "allowing" people to lay down for alloted periods of time upstairs for massages or just to put feet up against the wall. I have never laid on a hard gym floor with my feet up against a cement wall and felt SO great.

I'll post more later, but that's all for now :]

IUDM Live Webcast

IUDM is a little less than 7 hours away but I'll be leaving in about 5.5 hours. Ahhhhh! Insane. Sadly, my body chose to sleep through both classes today. It must know that I need as much sleep as possible :P Anyways, be sure to stay posted and check out the live webcast on the IUDM.org website.

Here's a timeline of important events you shouldn't miss :]
Friday:
8pm - Opening Ceremonies
9:30pm - Introduction of Hoosier Theme Hour with IU Athletes

Saturday:
11:30am - CEO of the Riley Children's Foundation speaks
12:55pm - Ryan White's mother (Jeanne White Ginder), doctor (Martin Kleiman), and High School Principal (Tony Cook) speak
2:50pm - IUDM Alumni Board President (Matt Sowder) and IUDM founder Jill Waibel speak
4:30pm - Riley kid talent show - highlight of the Marathon for many!

Sunday:
6:30am - Closing Ceremonies - final Riley families speak, awards presentation, and Presidential Address
8am - 2010 IUDM fundraising total is raised!!

Uhm, if you don't tune in at 12:55 on Saturday, you're insane. I'm beyond excited for that part...and just found out today it was an actual confirmed event. Ahhh! So this will probably be the last post before I leave...keep me in mind for the next 36 hours. I'll be sure to update as soon as I finish recuperating.

Preparation for IUDM

"Tonight marks what many consider the beginning of IUDM. Every committee will be meeting tonight at 8pm to start preparing the HPER for the best IUDM to ever grace IU. Prepare yourselves my friends. We have a long few days in front of us but together we will culminate 20 years of work, sweat, tears, and happiness into something beyond what anyone thought was possible. Ryan, Ashley, and all the others who unfortunately passed will be watching down on us and keeping us full of their passion and guidance as we venture together through the hours. Believe in yourself and believe in one another. We owe every ounce of our energy to the children at Riley and we will not stop. Cheer on the dancers and each other to keep their heads up. There is no reason to stop. If you ever get to a point where it seems like too much, visit a committee member for guidance, or look to one of the many Riley kids that will be there. I promise you the feeling will disappear. Our time has come DMers. It is time to dance and time to believe. We will make this the best IUDM ever, and we will do it with pride. Don’t hesitate to say thank you to anyone participating, because just one small word of appreciation can make someone turn around and start giving 110%. Eric Davis, our president, has a mission, and that is to have every person step out of that old building this weekend with nothing but the positive feelings about their experience — to want to be involved with IUDM as they continue through their college career. Do you part everyone, and together we will achieve the impossible. Thank you for your time, work, and effort ladies and gentlemen, you all are the definition of inspiration."

That blog post gave me the biggest smile today; I cannot wait. In case you're absolutely clueless, (I feel as though I use that phrase a lot in this blog. I promise I'm not insulting your intelligence.) I will be participating in one of the greatest events IU has to offer, the Indiana University Dance Marathon. This organization directly supports Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis, which really hits close to home since I was a Riley kid due to being a premie baby. I'm not going to type up a big long spiel about the organization because it would be an absolute waste of space, breath, and time. Their website, IUDM.org, sums it all up and then some, explaining just how amazing this group is. IUDM is the largest organization here on campus, let alone one of the largest of its kind in the nation, So make sure you check the site out; read up!

Anyways, IUDM itself is a 36 hour long marathon. Yes, you read that right, THIRTY SIX STRAIGHT HOURS. Are you staring at the screen thinking I'm crazy yet? That I've completely lost my mind in college? Well, you may be right, but I think it will be a remarkable, life-changing 36 hours. I couldn't be more excited! In order to participate as a dancer, I had to fundraise $500. With a busy college schedule, and only having a month or so to do so, it was a challenge. I received some VERY generous donations luckily, and was able to raise just enough. The organization doesn't reveal the total amount raised until the actual marathon. Ahh, just typing this I'm getting excited. I figured it'd be a good idea to get this part out of the way so my update will be a lot quicker.

The event starts tomorrow night at 8pm and ends Sunday morning at 8am. Intense right? We have a packing list and everything. When I received it in the email I was blown away; I'm so thankful they sent that otherwise I would have definitely been ill-prepared. The packing list is as follows:

Things to know for the marathon:
PUT YOUR NAME ON EVERYTHING: IN PLAIN SIGHT

To bring in a large duffel bag (size of a Vera Bradley duffel or Nike duffel)
o 3-5 different types of shoes (tennis shoes, flip flops, crocs, slippers, Uggs, etc.)
o 4-5 T-shirts/Comfy shirts
o 3-4 Bottoms (athletic shorts, sweatpants, yoga pants, maybe 1 pair of jeans)
o Socks, Underwear (5-6 pairs), bras
o Toothbrush, toothpaste, DEODORANT, maybe perfume or cologne
o Bring eye drops/contact solution
o Female products if needed, Advil/Tylenol in case, IcyHot is awesome
o Bring your phone and camera chargers
o For men: being gold baun (ew)

To bring in a medium sized bag (size of Vera Bradley tote) to be kept with “checked” bags (I would suggest having a way to attach it to your bigger one somehow)
You will only be able to bring this bag down to the bathrooms, the bigger one stays
o Shampoo, Conditioner, Body wash/louffa (sp?), shower shoes
o Towel (not a huge one to take up space)
o Blow drier/straightener
o Make up bag

To bring in a backpack or other medium bag:
o Bring tennis balls or golf balls to roll your feet
o Bring a few little snack in your bag
o Bring mad libs, apples to apples, board game, catch phrase
o Bring matching funny stuff, preferably yellow (CAUTION TAPE)
o Bring Gatorade, Powerade, Crystal light
o Bring singles for the vending machines
o Game face and face paint
o Bring a water bottle (with your name on it)

Things NOT TO BRING
o Computer, iPod (there will always be music), anything you would die without
o Adderall, energy drinks/five hour energy, caffeine of any sort
o Weapons…haha I mean don’t, but…I didn’t think you would

Things to do before:
o Ease off of caffeine
o Schedule friends/family to visit you every few hours
o Start collecting color war outfits
o Keep fundraising like it’s your job
o Talk to your donors about the online webcast during the marathon on iudm.org
o Exercise, eat right, get plenty of vitamin C, get GOOD SLEEP, don’t go out the whole week before (mon-fri)…
o GET EXCITED FOR THE MOST AMAZING TIME OF YOUR LIFE

Intense right?! Well, I'm going to go get some sleep and prepare for tomorrow. I'll try to post as soon after the marathon as possible...probably Monday or Tuesday. Sunday I plan on coming back and PASSING OUT. Say a short prayer for the person who attempts to wake me up; if they succeed, they might just die. I'm just saying.

But on a brighter note, be sure to tune in to the live broadcast of the marathon this weekend! I'll be on the yellow team (mostly consisting of freshmen/newbies) in case that's any indication to finding me. The broadcast will be on the IUDM website :]

I should be...

...at the tailgates and homecoming game, but I'm not. I just got back from my first college midterm. I'm currently running on 4 hours of sleep thanks to the amount of stress I was feeling last night. Woops! So I've decided that I'm going to catch up on sleep while it's quiet on Harper 9, shower and eat lunch, then celebrate tonight :] I feel pretty confident about the midterm, here's hoping my confidence is accurate! I just need to keep this class in perspective. Nearly everyone has to take it, it's just a small requirement, and I won't be doing this for the rest of my life. I'm going to just do my job, pass it with a decent grade, and move on. I'm thankful for my prof, who is a complete hippie...curly grey ponytail, solid color tee with jeans or jean shorts, suspenders occasionally, and chalk covered hands. He has a relaxed way of teaching and explaining things. Everyone else seems to be having problems with their professors, I'm glad that's one thing I don't have to worry about. Ugh, I need sleep. I'm now rambling on about my hippie prof? Awesome. Main point to the blog: I merked that Finite midterm like a champ...meaning I feel great.

Goodniiiiight!

It's Official!

Today I declared my major in Tourism Management along with minors in Ecotourism, Recreation and Park Administration, and Fundraising and Resource Management. PHEW!! I cannot even begin to explain how exciting this is. Most of you are probably staring at the screen wondering what the heck Tourism Management is...haha, that's quite alright.

Tourism and commercial recreation is over an 800 billion industry in the United States. It is estimated that by the year 2020, more than half of all employed people in the world will be involved directly or indirectly with the tourism industry. In the United States, travel-related tourism is the first, second or third largest employer in 32 states. The Department of Recreation and Park Administration at IU is one of the largest in the country.

Help any? I'll post more as I begin to take introductory classes and whatnot. I could go on and on about my ideas of what I want to do or where I want to intern. I'm excited that I've finally taken this first step. It only gets better from here! It also helps that one of my newfound friends is an RA in the building I live and majors in Tourism Management as well. A huuuge help for sure. I love Franquie :]

Welp, off to psychology. Just thought I'd update the world for a bit.

Nearly Naked Mile

Yepp, you read that correctly. As part of Homecoming week, IU hosts the Nearly Naked Mile. It isn’t exactly a mile and you shouldn’t really be naked! Students, alumni, and friends of IU participate in this new tradition and get nearly naked (or not!) and run through campus in the spirit of old IU. All runners must finish the race with at least as much on as a bathing suit would cover...some guys were definitely pushing that rule. :P



Participants "streak" past such famous IU landmarks as the Indiana Memorial Union, Showalter Fountain, and the Student Building, finishing in Hoosier style at the Sample Gates. I have never experienced anything like this. Thousands of students showed up; most girls wearing a sports bra and spandex (or even less, such as a bathing suit. BRR!) while guys were seen in boxers, swim trunks, speedos, girl's underwear?, and even Borat-type costumes. I, however, chose to go in an IU tee and shorts. (close enough, right?)

I will participate in this event every year it is hosted, which will hopefully be for the rest of my time here at IU. By the time the mass student mob reached Showalter Fountain, instead of simply circling around it and continuing on with the run, many stopped and bombarded the fountain, jumping in and climbing up. If it weren't as dark and crowded as it was, I definitely would have taken a picture. The fountain was not even visible due to the number of kids in, around, and on top of it. Absolute insanity, but in true Hoosier Spirit.

In light of it all, my favorite part was the actual run. Being of a...smaller size...I was never a fan of lifting weights or doing intense conditioning. Taking "human development," a weight lifting class in high school, was a poor decision on my behalf. The three days of weight training were a struggle and definitely made me aware of how small I really am. When it came to completing the two-mile in spring however, I finally found my strength in that class. While the big football and basketball players could lift multiple times my body weight, let alone what I was so proudly lifting, I found that I could easily outrun many. Not that I'm a speedy runner, or planning on racing anytime soon, but I found that running was my "thing." The other girls could only run a few laps at a time before taking a walking break, meanwhile I found I could power through and push myself to not stop. I haven't been much of a consistent runner, but instances like last night remind me of how much I enjoy it. Running in a hyped up crowd of hoosiers through the beautiful Bloomington campus is incredible beyond belief. I'm pretty sure I smiled from start to finish. I think I'll take advantage of my surroundings (and this crazy still-summer weather) and run a few days a week. Why not right?

We'll see how that goes...or how long that lasts.

Other than running nearly naked, and preparing for a great first homecoming week here at IU, I'm absolutely loving life. College is amazing beyond words and I can't imagine being anywhere else but here.

Freshman Family Weekend

This blog quickly turned into a two day entry as I found myself easily distracted yesterday. Woops!

(Sept. 24) Ohhhhhh, joy. More and more Moms keep appearing on the floors, medicine, food, and other essentials in hand for their college babies. My family is not coming this weekend, and to be honest, I don't mind. I won't go as far to say campus will be in a flurry of madness..but I know our dorm will. Foster seems to house a lot of freshman, at least from what I can tell. I certainly wouldn't mind being taken out to dinner on repeat all weekend, but my family will be here soon enough.

Next weekend IU football plays Michigan. In case you're completely out of the big 10 loop, or not from around here, that's a HUGE game. Madness won't even begin to describe next weekend...especially around the northwest dorms near the football stadium. My mom and sister are driving down to visit and I'm pretty stoked. Mom will be staying with her friend in town so I'll have Abbie for the night. It's been crazy not being around her this month; we're basically twins. Only 13 months apart, we've grown up doing nearly everything together. This is the first time we've really been separated. Sadly, it has probably been easier on me than it has on her just because I'm in a completely different environment and not stuck at home. Either way, next weekend is going to be a BLAST. I bought tickets for the two of us to go, should be exciting :]
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(Sept. 25) Tonight we play Akron in football; I'm going to help Michelle and the bowling team sell programs...should be interesting. I slept in today and it was wonderful. Last night was interesting to say the least. I owe a big thanks to JenBunny across the hall, we teamed up to help out. ;] Gotta love taking care of girls on Friday nights. We had a few laughs in there, though.

On a different note, I had two exams this week. Business X100 on Wednesday and Finite yesterday. What a week! For now only having three college exams under my belt, I'm feeling decently confident. I studied hard for my business exam, and along with the in class review we had, I feel I was extremely prepared. We'll see how that reflects on my grade posted tonight. My finite exam is an entirely different story. I don't feel that I bombed it, but due to the matter of the material, it's nearly impossible to feel confident. Probability, Combinations, and Permutations..how the heck can you feel confident at all? I could be slightly off and completely miss a problem. Here's hoping it turns out for the best.

Now that I've pretty much covered my entire week, I'm going to put on my B-Town shirt, curl my hair a bit, and get ready for the game. Hopefully I'll get pictures up soon. I'm finding that it's crazy hard to carry my camera around with me and actually take pictures. Having anything besides my Vera Bradley carry-all wristlet has turned out to be an inconvenience :P I will try though; I need freshman year pictures eventually right?

One Month Down

Exactly one month ago today I was nervously, excitedly, and anxiously moving in to Foster Harper 9. Ohhhhhh..Foster Harper 9, what a month it's been! I've witnessed many drunken nights, thirsty thursdays, and frat party after affects; my hall certainly knows how to have a good time. At times, I've felt very alone in this hall...left out almost, but as I sit here a month after moving in, I've come to love the girls and realize how many true friendships I'll have after this year.

Moving in early as a CM was definitely great. I didn't have to mess with the rush and frantic waits for the elevators, I met some of the great RAs that work in my building, and I got to just settle in by myself before the chaos of welcome week set in. There were a few downfalls, however. Just yesterday I discovered a lot of the girls on my floor took caution in talking to be because of my title. How crazy is that?! I mean, I understand...they wanted to have fun and thought I would turn them in or something crazy. Definitely not the case though... I'm not an RA, I have no power whatsoever. I'm glad I've cleared that up with a few of the girls, though.

Harper 9. Where do I even begin? This month has been a roller coaster with this floor, but it's proving to turn the corner in a better direction as time moves on. When the floor first moved in, it was exciting, and I could tell I was going to love this place immediately. My neighbors across the hall are absolute sweethearts. Allie and Jenny always greet me as I come in and out, check in on my day, and ask about what's new and going on. I can't tell you how much this has meant to me. Molly and Meghan, my neighbors, are the life of the party. I always hear them joking around, laughing, beating each other up, or just jamming out to loud music. More on those four later. The other girls on my floor are nice too, but haven't been as personal. Let's just put it this way, my floor is hot. ;] We have lots of girls who know how to dress up and rock a pair of heels for a great night out. For those of you who know me, you'd say it sounds like I'd fit right in, right? Heel obsessed, love to dress up...hello? Not quite the case. For the first couple weeks I sat in my room and watched all the girls dress up together, rock out and dance together, take pictures, and head out on the town. I sat here. Not because I didn't want to go, or that I was too shy to join in, but because I really didn't have a group like that. My roommate is extremely close with her high school friends, so she normally goes out with them. I have high school friends here too, but I certainly don't dress up and hit the town with them. I don't know, the first couple weeks I tried to get my footing here on campus, but I also feel I missed out on some nighttime fun. That could be for the better or worse. Where I stand now is that I need to find a group to go out with; I want to find a "crew" while still branching out and making new friends. This time next month, I'll have stories to tell and pictures to post. Time to have fun :]

After being on campus and living the college life for one month, I already feel that I'm learning more about myself. My career exploratory class has played a large role in that, but so has living on my own, out of Anderson and away from my family. There truly is something about college. Being on your own, fending for yourself, deciding when to eat and sleep and taking total responsibility is completely empowering. I feel as though I've been here forever; I'm so comfortable in my surroundings and routine. IU is beyond huge and I love it. Sure my 15-20 minute walk to my first class isn't always fun, but as the seasons change, it's proving to be a peaceful and beautiful highlight of my day. Being on a campus this big is definitely not for everyone, but I feel it's the perfect fit. There's always somewhere to go and something to do, constant entertainment when I find myself bored and sitting in my room. My classes are a great mix of large and small. What else can you expect from a big ten school? To some, it may be scary, overwhelming, or just too much altogether, but I can't say it enough...I love IU.

Happy one month-iversary to me. This month has been one of the greatest of my life, and it's only going to get better. Here's hoping the months to come will outdo the previous, making it harder to leave Bloomington with each second I stay here. I love my family, and I love spending time with them, but there truly is something about this place that makes it my new home. Harper 9 is my new home, and these girls are my new family. Awhh...how storybook is that? ;]

Oh College..

So, what if I told you there was this one time, where my roommate, who weighs all of 110 pounds, bumped into one of our window panels and completely busted and cracked it? Yeah..good times. More to come soon! :]

I'm Alive, I Promise.

Sitting in my dorm, decked out in IU sweats and a tee, I realize I have become so comfortable with this college lifestyle that I have forgotten to blog all about it! Slap on the wrist, I get it, so now I'll attempt to catch you guys up. To be honest though, there is NO way I could fill you in on all that has happened since I've been here. I'll attempt to brief you in this blog and then will go into more detail in the next few blogs. Deal?

So last you heard from me, I was here in the dorm alone for the most part because of CM duties and training. That quickly changed Sunday, August 22nd as people began to move in early. A large portion of my floor moved in that day, probably in anticipation of moving to the highest floor in Foster. Although I enjoyed having the place to myself the first couple days, I can't begin to express how comforting it was to have floormates and neighbors. The hall was no longer eerily silent at night, other people were playing music and walking the halls, and people began popping in my door to say hi. Sunday alone, Foster moved in over 350 people, nearly a third of all of Foster. Insane, right? By the time "official" move-in day rolled around, Wednesday, nearly all of Harper 9 was moved in. Exciting!

I really love my floor for the most part. The girls have proven to be extremely nice, always giving a kind smile or "hello" as I walk by. Along with the friendliness, Harper 9 has also offered quite a bit of entertainment in the last week or so. During Welcome Week a few girls definitely enjoyed the frat parties more than others..but that's college, right? We'll just leave that part of the blog at that... ;]

Uhmmm...what else should I even say?! There's so much to cover it's almost overwhelming. Classes started Monday, August 30th and so far I am absolutely loving my schedule. Not only do I NOT have 8am or early morning classes, but I also seemed to have timed my classes out perfectly. All of my professors seem to be great so far, I don't think I'll be having any problems with them in that sense. My only complaint really is all the hiking I have on Monday/Wednesday. My first class right off the bat is in Wilkie, which, if you're unfamiliar with the IU campus, is about a 20 minute walk from my dorm. From Wilkie I have roughly an hour until my next class in Ballentine, so I've tried to catch lunch on the way to make things easier on myself. Those two classes require the most walking and exercise, I'd say. After that I head back to the dorm and have a business class right across the street at 4. The Tuesday/Thursday combo is my favorite :] I have two classes and they're completely spaced out. Yesterday I did my first load of college laundry! That sounds completely dorky, but I feel it was a huge check off of my freshman experience checklist.

Pizza X deserves it's own paragraph right now. Especially since I'm currently starving, it's across campus, and I would love love love some breadsticks at the moment. I can't say I've tried their pizza yet..when in the pizza mood it's more likely I'll hit up Mother Bear's over Pizza X. I love their breadsticks, though. They're strangely similar to scampi's back home, especially the cheese sauce. Definite plus! Man, I'm hungry and I just ate dinner. Welcome to college, huh?

Well, I'm at a loss as to what else I should mention right now...I'll think of more later and post again. Sorry for the wait and then failure of a post :P

My New Beginning Starts....NOW!

In case you're from some other planet or have been secluded in the Sahara desert for the past few days, the first part of this blog should catch you up on my life. For starters, I GOT THE POSITION! I am one of seven Community Mentors in the Foster Quad. Here's a fun fact; we are the ONLY Community Mentors on all of Indiana University's campus. None of the other residence halls have a program even similar to ours. How cool is that?! In my previous post, I didn't have a clear idea of exactly what the position was, but now I believe I have a pretty good idea, at least in the general sense for now.

Community Mentor...what the heck is that?!
As previously mentioned, we're first year students taking on leadership roles both on our floors and within the residence center. But what exactly are we doing? What type of leadership roles? Kinda like an RA? Well we work with the RAs and other staff members in Foster..but we aren't in charge of students. We plan "programs" within the residence hall. Over the past couple days, our group of CMs has decided that's a super lame name for it. Programs sound boring and well, just lame. We like to think of it as event planning or something :] We are required to plan a certain number each semester, all with the assistance of other staff members of course. Some examples of what I'm blabbing about include working with an RA to plan a floor program (movie night, tye-dye party, game of dodgeball..all kinds of stuff), working with the entire quad to plan a program for all of Foster, designing and decorating various bulletin boards, pairing up with our CM buddy to design a building-wide program, and designing, organizing, and implementing a Foster program as a group with all seven of the CMs. We have to attend a weekly staff meeting along with a one-on-one meeting with our supervisor every other week. I'm sure this sounds like a ridiculous amount of work and you're currently wondering what the hell I was thinking signing up for this, but really it isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. It is entirely what I hoped it would be and I'm excited to start getting involved.

So since I accepted the CM position, I moved in Friday, August 20th. I would say yesterday, but by the time I finish typing this, I'm sure it will be officially Sunday. I'm sure you, as a reader, really care, though. Anyways..I received the confirmation phone call Wednesday, and let me tell you, I sounded like a complete idiot on the phone due to my excitement. Hahaha, I wish I was joking. I actually met a few people on Facebook who also applied for the position, so we teamed up and agreed to post as SOON as one of us heard anything. This was extremely nerve-wracking. I was up early anyways because I was getting ready to go last minute errand shopping with Amanda Laflamme. I brought my laptop in the bathroom as I was straightening my hair, and I heard my computer make a sound that I had a notification. Greg posted on my wall that they just called him and he got it! With only 7 phone calls to make, I knew I had to have one coming soon if I was accepted. I stared at my phone anxiously, stomach in knots. I tried to continue straightening my hair and put it out of mind, hahah..yeah right. Suddenly my phone went off. Damn, just a text message. Then it started ringing and the number calling was from an 812 area code. That's Bloomington's area code! I just about dropped the straightener on my foot. I ran into my room and excitedly answered the phone, "Hellloooo?" The man on the phone asked for Sophie...that's me! I was shaking and trying not to jump up and down. After confirming it was, indeed, me on the phone..he told me his name and that he understood I applied for the position of Community Mentor in the Foster Quad. "Yes, yes I did... (already sounding like a complete, giddy idiot)" "Well, I am calling because I would like to extend the offer." (HELL YEAHHHH! my external thoughts exclaimed) "Ahhhh, really? I'm so excited!" "So I'm assuming you'll accept the position?" "Oh, definitely! Thank you sooo much. Sorry, I'm not even thinking straight right now, you have no idea how excited I am." Complete idiot, right? Hahhah, yepp, pretty much. From there I immediately went into packing frenzy for the next day and a half. Thaaaat, my friends, was absolute insanity. We later found out that in past years the CMs had about three weeks notice, but due to different systems this year and technical difficulties, we were granted about two days notice. I think we go down in history of awesome CMs.

Move in day. I thought all along this would be, by far, the longest and most detailed paragraph to date. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have any crazy horror stories at all. I am a complete move-in champ. I got all of my stuff up the elevator to the 9th floor in 2 trips and in about 20 minutes flat...minus the futon. Impressive, right? I know, I know :] It's totally awkward being the only one on the 9th floor besides my RA, but that will quickly change. Tomorrow is the first day people can pay to move in early. While official move-in day is Wednesday, students can pay 30 dollars a day to move in early. From what it sounds like, a good portion of my floor is paying to move in early. I don't blame them one bit; we're on the 9th floor, after all! My roommate moves in Tuesday, and I couldn't be more excited. I'm currently working on organizing my closet and getting settled so her move in is a breeze. Ahhhhh, I'm an official college student at the best University ever! :D

Pictures will be uploaded as soon as I find more time/Mariah and I get settled. Keep reading, I promise to update frequently this week. Welcome week should be very exciting, and I'll be extra involved as a CM!

Countdown to College

Currently I have roughly 13 days to pack all of my belongings and make the big move to Btown. That number could quickly jump down to 9 however because yesterday I was offered an application for some new position titled "Community Mentor." From the sounds of it, it appears this is a somewhat new position, despite the "previous CM's future success." All of my IU friends seem to be absolutely clueless. Assuming you, as well, have no clue what a Community Mentor is, I'll quote the email that was sent to me.


"Each year the Foster Center selects promising residents to serve as Community Mentors. The Community Mentors (CMs) are first year students who take on various leadership roles on their floor and within the residence center to gain experience as a student leader and valuable knowledge of the university. CMs from Foster have gone on to be resident assistants, student government representatives, leaders in Greek life, leaders in the business school, and many other roles.

The CM program works to balance learning with experience. CMs go through a year-long programming model of leadership and development, and learn about themselves and what it takes to be a great leader. With guidance and support from the Foster staff, the Community Mentors are also responsible for Welcome Week Events as well as being part of Community Council and Foster’s Little 500 week events.

In addition to all the great skills you’ll learn as a CM, you’ll also receive a $1500 scholarship that will go towards your housing fees and you will move into the center on Friday, August 20th and start leading right away!"


Well for starters, the $1500 and early move in date sound excellent! Besides that, I think I'm pretty cut out for it. I've been thinking about being an orientation leader next year, so this would definitely be a good "in" for that and for the disney college program down the road. I'm such a college student already, thinking ahead about every little aspect. Goodness. The only bad news is I won't find out if I get the position until the 18th..two days before move-in in that case. Hmph, just a tad challenging. I'm finishing my application today and will obviously keep you posted once I find out for sure. Fingers Crossed! :]

On a much brighter and absolutely positive note, I received an email the other day informing me I have been awarded an additional scholarship through IU. The email explained that I was awarded because of positive academic standing and financial need and instructed me on how to sign into OneStart to accept the given amount. I was extremely excited but was expecting a smaller award, $500 or so maybe? I signed onto OneStart, clicked on the financial aid link only to discover the Scholarship is an additional $2500! Whaaaaaat?! HOLLA, HOLLA! It just goes to show that hard work and good grades actually DO pay off. :D


This post is ridiculously long. If you're still reading, a pat on the back is well deserved! I'm off to pack up even MORE stuff in my newly bought plastic storage. I'm quickly learning to cram stuff in places it shouldn't fit...all preparation for college life. :P

Never Ending Stairs.

I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share. I stayed up until midnight tonight hoping that RPS actually sent out the room assignments as promised. They did. I'm on the 9th floor of Foster-Harper..the highest floor in the building. OH BOY. Move-in will definitely be interesting to say the least. Futon, fridges, microwaves, and two girls complete wardrobes. Here's hoping we meet a few cute, strong boys to help out. 9th floor...yuck.

Towels, and Linens, and Storage! Oh, my!

My summer is dwindling down more and more each day. I'll be moving into Foster in 24 days, absolute insanity to think about. I, of course, am BEYOND excited, as any freshman should be. I also keep staring at the large pile of stuff growing in my parents room, and I find it to be a tad overwhelming. I have written multiple lists at this point... most of which I have lost or rewritten. Lots more to buy, lots more to sort through, and lots more to do in general. BLEHH!



Tomorrow I'll find out if I will be hiking up 9 floors to my room, or only a few. Here's hoping it's the second one. Unlike all of the other freshman awaiting their roommate assignments, I already know mine. She's not a friend from home, but she's also not a complete stranger. We actually met through a facebook group for incoming IU freshman...crazy right? Random add, a few small convos, and BAM! Found a roomie. :] I'm pretty confident that we'll be getting along great come time for move in. We met up intentionally at orientation so that we could room overnight together. We're almost the exact same except for she's slightly taller and has blonde hair. We seem to get along great and have a ton in common. Knowing who my roommate is prior to August first has proven to be a huge stress relief. We've been coordinating dorm deco all summer. We even picked out the same bedding without knowing! Weird..I know. I just can't believe that in less than a month I'll be an official college student, out of the house, living in bloomington, and meeting some of my best friends for the rest of my life.

Yesterday I went "school shopping" with my grandparents and sisters. Uniforms have ruined my brain. While the girls were limited to solid colored, non-logo polos and sweaters..I was allowed to go hog wild for the first time in three years. Because of having those nasty uniforms, my closet has sadly suffered. I've outgrown the "normal" clothes that I used to wear, and instead have replaced them all with a ridiculous amount of polos, sweaters, and khakis. As I started to sort through my closet this summer, I realized I have virtually no wardrobe. SCARY! Let's just say yesterday I definitely made up for the uniform section in my closet :] Two hundred and seventy some odd dollars later, I feel confident of the clothes I'll start out with in Bloomington ;]

That's enough rambling for now. I'll be sure to update as my countdown continues. Cross your fingers and keep me in your thoughts tomorrow as I should be finding out my exact location of residency. :P

First post down, many more to come.

Today I'm starting a blog. As I prepare to venture into the land of College (Indiana University specifically!) I figure this will be a great way of keeping tags along the way. I can't promise to update nonstop, or on a regular schedule, but I will update whenever convenient in my busy, college student life. Friends, family, and (I suppose) random strangers, get ready...Sophie's headed to college! :]

To catch everyone up, for starters, I will be attending Indiana University in Bloomington this fall. Technically, my declared major at this moment is titled "exploratory." That's fine with me, I'll probably end up changing my mind a few times along the way anyways; I might as well start with a clean slate. Although I'm officially an "exploratory" student, I'm currently leaning towards the idea of some type of dual degree in Tourism Management and Business. I have looked into the Disney College Program for the past couple years and have placed that pretty high on my I-really-want-to-do-this list. It would be a great opportunity as well as a possible internship later on.

I am extremely excited to head off to Bloomington in August! Orientation in June fueled the fire; now the days can't seem to go by fast enough. I'm trying to constantly slow myself down so that I can thoroughly enjoy my summer before freshman year. Hanging out with friends constantly has helped a lot ;]

I suppose the last part of this first post could be my First Semester Schedule...

Monday/Wednesday:
11:15am-12:30pm
ASCS Q294
Basic Career Development

1:25pm-2:15pm
MATH M118
Finite

4:00pm-5:15pm
BUS X100
Intro to Business Administration


Tuesday/Thursday:
1:00pm-2:15pm
HPER H170
Health & Surviving College Lecture

5:45pm-7:15pm
PSY P101
Intro to Psychology


Friday
1:25pm-2:15pm
MATH M118
Finite