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