One Week From Now

- It will be the day before my comprehensive final. (pray for me on April 8th from 12:45 p.m.- 2p.m. central time)

- Most of my cohort will have gotten their Aggie Rings (I get mine on 5/9)

- My Mom will be in Texas! She's coming for a conference in Houston. I get to see her for part of her time here, and she keeps mentioning "shopping" :)

- My best friend will FINALLY be back in the same country as me!!! She will reenter the world of sweet tea, talking in english, and non-international phone calls. :) I'm excited about being able to call her and talk to her much more often!

There's not much going on this week, but SO much anticipation for next week!

My life. . . (just this week)

The following example sums up how I feel about this week:

In 12 hours I will be sitting in a meeting with one of the associate directors of my department. I am very nervous about this meeting, and have no idea what to expect. I don't really know what it's about (I kinda do, but we've talked through this issue like crazy, so I can't imagine what is left to discuss. And I kind of feel like I might be in trouble and that I might be about to get my butt bit. But I'm not the one to do anything wrong. It's a long crazy story. 44 days is all I have left to deal with it. Praise Jesus!)

Anyway, between now and then I have to complete my LAST practice case study (already 14 pages), meet with a student at 8 a.m. to do a room change, meet another hall director at 8;30 to grab coffee before the meeting above. OH- I can't forget, sleep, shower, and get dressed.

Tomorrow's agenda looks like this:
8-830- Meeting with student
8:30-9- Pick up coffee
9-10ish- Meeting with director
10-11ish- Student Leader Learning Outcomes Committee Meeting
11-12ish- Order my Aggie Ring, pick up lunch from somewhere on campus
12-3ish- Class
3-7ish- Start research paper due Thursday
7-715ish- Fire Drill
8-9ish- Staff meeting
9ish til whenever- Finish paper due in class on Thursday.

YIKES!!!! I don't think I'm going to get my full 8 hours tonight! :(

BUT, on the bright side, after comps (April 8th for me) I only have three assignments left- and they are all at the end of April! :) I'll sleep April 9th.

Being Reminded

Lately I've been reminded of a few things. I thought I'd share:

1. I enjoy cooking especially for other people.
   
2. I LOVE springtime.
   
3. One of the reasons that I love Texas is the long spring season and the ability to go jogging in March wearing only a tank top and shorts.
4. I enjoy jogging.
5. I remember why I quit jogging as my knee THROBBED the entire way around the track.
6. I'm graduating really soon- I got my case study prompt today!
7. My RA staff is phenomenal and I'm really going to miss them.
   

So much pride

I have always been proud to be a Belmont Bruin. I had wanted to go to this "music school" since I was a freshman or sophomore in high school. I remember my senior year how distant the dream seemed. The tuition was way out of my price range, and I was one of those students who coasted through high school with at 3.3.- hardly worthy of a scholarship to an academically based institution.

But, things worked out. God stepped in and one change of my parents hearts, on leadership scholarship and $50000 in student loans later, I graduated from Belmont. With two degrees- neither one the Music Business major that initially attracted me to the small gem hidden within the music city. I could have gone to a cheaper school and gotten my degrees after realizing the music industry wasn't for me. But my pride and love the Belmont, kept me there. Tuition raise after tuition raise.

There is so much pride in my heart for that little school on a hilltop- the school that was/is often overshadowed by the school across the street- Vandy. (I can't imagine how poor little David Lipscomb feels at the other end of the blvd.). I was blessed to be a part of a class that got to see a lot of changes take place that have really boosted our little school into the national spot light.

I survived living in Wright Hall when it was surrounded by construction- The Beaman Student Life and Curb Event Centers on one side, and Kennedy Hall (known only as The New Hall then) on the other. I lived in Hillside when they started tearing down portions of Bruin Hills to build Thrailkill Hall. I remember when Homecoming consisted of Fall Follies and Soccer Games, and students didn't have that much buy in. I remember rushing to get to Showcases early because the Massey Performing Arts Center couldn't hold as many people who would be there. And volunteering to help with set up for The Best of the Best at the Ryman so I could attend. I remember when Belmont was completely a baptist school, and the debate over trustees hadn't yet made its way into the student spectrum. I was there the first year the CMT awards were on campus, I remember how irritated I was about being hassled on my way to work and having to wear "credentials" in my own student center.

I went to the first games in the Curb Events Center- when there weren't a lot more people than Vince Gill and his family. I remember watching with pride as we played and lost to Vandy in the days before Justin Hare. I watched the enthusiasm for Belmont Sports grow and with it, the enthusiasm for the school increase. I was so proud to graduate knowing that I had received a stellar education and that as I moved on to graduate school I was much better prepared than many of my peers from other institutions. To top it off, I had relationships with faculty and administrators that I relied on then, and have been blessed to be able to depend upon now. I had given back to my school by being an RA and a class officer. I was able to be a part of the beginning of the senior class scholarship (a tradition I pray continues and grows). I was sad to leave, but couldn't wait to frame and hang my diplomas on my wall. I wore my Belmont Ring with pride, and still do.

Now, almost two complete years later, the pride I had for my institution then seems so minuscule when compared with the pride I feel now. My alma mater has been in the top of similar institutions, and opened beauitful new health science and theater buildings. An alumna rocked the country on American Idol, and a girl who I sang with in a gospel choir and knew as one of her RAs was crowned Miss USA. Bring grace, pose, integrity and humility to the disgraced program.

As if that weren't enough, the school is hosting a presidential debate this year. The students and alumni are constantly being recognized for their work and contributions. One of my favorite faculty members received a state wide teaching award (so deserved!). And our basketball team has steadily, and consistently forced its name into the living rooms of America. My little Belmont lost to Duke by one point, in the last seconds of the game. People who gave me a hard time about my faith in my school, are finally starting to realize Belmont is more than just a music school with famous alumni. They are starting to take note.

All the great things going on are not a surprise to me. I've known there is something special about that school on a hilltop for nearly a decade now. I had no idea what that might come to look like, and never would have imagined that my little Belmont would be in the place it is now. I cannot wait to see what is in store in the future. I am sure that the institutions motto "from here to anywhere" is true not only for its students, but for Belmont as well.


Go Belmont. . . .

I'm in love...

. . . with an outstanding book. I have recently been reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat Pray Love. I find myself needing to keep a pen with me when reading because I want to remember lines or paragraphs from the book. I want to share one that is especially powerful to me:

There's a power struggle going on across Europe these days. A few cities are competing against each other to see who shall emerge as the great twenty-first-century European metropolis. Will it be London? Paris? Berlin? Zurich? Maybe Brussels, center of the young union? They all strive to out do one another culturally, architecturally, politically, fiscally. But Rome, it should be said, has not bothered to join the race for status. Rome doesn't compete. Rome just watches all the fussing and striving, completely unfazed, exuding an air like: 'Hey- do whatever you want, but I'm still Rome.' I am inspired by the regal self-assurance of this town, so grounded and rounded, so amused and monumental, knowing that she is held securely in the palm of history. I would like to be like Rome when I am an old lady. (p. 72)

While reading that, before I got to the last line, all I could think is how I want to be like that. When I read the last line, I literally exclaimed "Amen!" alone in my apartment.

I've been thinking about the ideas of self-assurance, classiness, and stability a lot lately.

Recently I went to the JFK Presidential Museum in Boston. I found myself drawn to Jackie Kennedy Onassis. She was such a symbol of classic beauty and elegance. She went through a lot of crazy, chaotic, and traumatic things in her life but remained steady, grounded and timeless.

I have found myself surrounded by a lot of competition, striving and chaos this semester. I've never been one to get caught up in things like that going on around me. Truth is, I know that I have a different purpose and calling. I hope that when it's all said and done, I have been like Rome and Jackie O. I believe that I'm called to have a different approach to life and specifically the job search than those around me. I hope that I am doing that calling justice. That I am allowing God to show Himself through me by remaining grounded and confident, not giving into the chaos around me. I also hope that this is preparation for the rest of life, and that I may remain that way no matter what phase of life I am in. I pray there may never be any doubt who I am, and Whose I am.

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Now playing: CASCADA - Truly Madly Deeply (UK Radio Edit)
via FoxyTunes

Boston

I feel like I've moved to Boston! We've been here a week now, and I won't be heading back until tomorrow evening. With the conference being over, today is going to be filled with traveling and visiting the city.

I have never been so excited to go back to College Station, and sleep in my own bed!!

Knocking States off the list. . .

As of right now I have 17 states I've never been to. When I head to Boston that will be 16. I just reserved a rental car to drive to New Hampshire to see my Godparents, which will make that list dwindle to 15. I'm so excited!!

And, I might side step to Vermont and Maine so that I can say it's only 13. . . who knows!

New England here I come!

Excitement!

I leave in just a little more than two days for Boston and the NASPA Conference. NASPA is one of the main student affairs conferences, and one of the biggest places for job searching. While the actual conference starts on Sunday, The Placement Exchange (a.k.a. job searching) starts on Thursday morning. I can't believe that the time has finally come! It seems like we've been talking and planning for this trip forever (I did order my plane ticket in September!). I don't have a lot of job interviews set up yet, only two to be exact. However, there are a few more that I need to apply for and hopefully will have at least 2 more set up before Thursday.

I have reached a good point in my job search. There are people around me who are searching and who are truly desperate. They apply for every job that opens which sounds remotely interesting, even if it is at an institution they wouldn't like to work in, or a place they wouldn't want to live. There are also the people (sometimes they are the same people) who say that the first job is just a job. It's just roughly a two year commitment to gain the experience to get a better job. The goal is just to get one and keep it until a better one comes along. It is truly challenging to watch that and not start to feel a small amount of desperation creeping in. It's also hard not to develop a spirit of pity towards their lack of confidence in their purpose.

I have not grown desperate, and I won't either. My job search comes out of a place of deep calling and passion. I refuse to live my life half-heartedly or to apply for a position just to say that I have. God has called me for a specific purpose, and His time line is much different than the time line of those around me. I have developed a since of pride and confidence in God's hand and calling on my job search. I know that He has an amazing first job lined up for me, and it will be at a place where he has truly called me to serve. The Lord has been truly faithful to me, and I have no doubt that he will continue to be. He has blessed me with a strong sense of discernment, and I know that he will reveal things to me in the right time. I am truly excited to see what and where it is! I pray that I will be able to keep my eyes and my heart focused on Him through this time. I believe I'm called to be an example of peace around chaos. When I have tried to live that on my own, I have failed. I need to remain focused and allow God to work and talk through me. I pray that he uses me to plant some seeds that might grow some day.

On an unrelated note- Safe Spring Break Week started on Thursday. This has demanded a lot of my time as a member of the planning committee and I love seing things come to fruition. Part of the events included two nights of passing out water at bars. Thursday night we passed out water at one of the big dance halls that has a popular college night. Last night we passed it out behind Northgate (the bar district across from campus). The free water was a big hit and we had a great time in the process! Both were long nights (2:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. respectfully), where around 700 bottles of water were distributed. I also was able to see a fist fight and report it to the police, which was a first!

The next couple of days means ironing, packing, finishing up some school work that's due on Thursday and getting work stuff ready for me to be out for a week. My NASPA roommates and I drive to Houston on Tuesday evening to stay in a seedy hotel. Our flight to Boston (non-stop, thankfully) is at 7:30 a.m. An early flight is good because it means I can sleep the whole time- which is a blessing for someone who hates flying. Because we have to be at the airport so early (between 6 and 6:30) we decided to drive down the night before. We get into Boston around lunch time, and interviewing starts on Thursday. Sunday the conference starts and finishes next Wednesday. We fly out on Thursday evening. We thought it'd be fun to have an extra night in Boston to sight see and have fun, since it is our spring break!