Sisterhood.

I've never had a sister, however, being the oldest of two brother, both with extremely different personalities, I've found myself wanting a sister plenty of times in my life. I'm even pretty positive that I voiced this want to my mom a few times throughout my life...

Needless to say, having a sister was never a reality to me. My mom is the closest thing that I had to a sister growing up, and my friends were always a close second--But now I'm in a sorority. It may sound cliche, but the girls that I have grown to know and love through Sigma Kappa have taught me that sisterhood exists in many ways, even if you are not blood related.

Yesterday we had an all sorority sisterhood where women from all four of Marietta's sororities gathered together for a few hours in the afternoon. I'll admit that at first, I would have rather been outside in my bathing suit soaking up the 85 degree weather...but after the sisterhood was finished, I was happy I went.

The activity that I got the most out of was called "cross the line" where someone would read a statement and you had to cross over to the other side of the line if the statement appealed to you. Feeling the lack of judgment in the room, I crossed the line to the statement "have you ever felt out of place in the Greek Community". Being new to greek life and Marietta College all together, I immediately answered yes.

But today it hit me. Life is what you make of it. It's not that I've been outcasted from the Greek Community, it's that I haven't tried hard enough to become involved.

Creating sisters and brothers in the greek community does not come from having a chapter label. Because we're greek, we have the rare potential to form a bigger bond than friendship. We have the opportunity to become sisters and brothers. We have the opportunity to become family.

This post is dedicated to all of my sisters [and brothers] in Greek Life.

"From the outside looking in you can never understand it.
From the inside looking out you can never explain it."

Give Thanks, Please.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (other than my birthday, of course), and this year, more than ever, I can not wait to celebrate it surrounded by my family.

My family has two Thanksgiving traditions: 1. Around the Thanksgiving table, each guest gives a schpeal about what they have done throughout the last year. 2. Someone in our family types up a questionnaire that each guest must answer about their year (This goes back to when I was 12 years old...you can imagine that the answers from a 12 year old are much different than those of a now 20 year old).

Even through all of the rough times that my family has dealt with, Thanksgiving day has been a constant reminder of how close we are and how we will always support each other.

The other day as I was walking towards my car to go home for Thanksgiving break, I watched an elderly man pick garbage out of a campus trashcan. It broke my heart as I watched this continue and yet it made me feel so gracious that I had a warm house and a loving family to come home to.

This Thanksgiving, I ask you to really consider the change that you have gone through this year, and be thankful for it. Sometimes we forget to acknowledge the things that make us who we are and that make our lives so special. This Thanksgiving, acknowledge those things and enjoy your family.

Back By Popular Demand....

Things Marietta has taught me thus far:

Friends really can be second family: For the first time, in a very very long while, I feel as though I am surrounded by a core group of friends that I have quickly fallen head over heels for. And, for the first time in my life, I actually believe that the people that you meet in college will end up being your life-long friends.

It's okay to be yourself: Going into a whole new school, not to mention living with 7 other girls, I decided that being myself was the only way to survive in Marietta. Well guess what? I'm surviving and loving every minute of it.

The more you grow up, the more you need to handle things the adult way: So many times, the middle schooler in us wants to come out-- especially if you are in a conflict and the other person's middle school self is coming out.... Being the bigger person will always make you come in first. Especially if it smacks the other person in the face ;)

Get involved in your current community: Cliche, but incredible. There are so many things to experience, many of which probably sound stupid. However, the things that sound stupid, and the things that you originally really don't want to be involved in, end up being the funnest times of your life (Thanks for that, Mom!)

You don't need to date your girlfriends: Make sure that you are friends with people that don't constantly need your attention. You waste a lot of time trying to make everybody happy and life is too short for drama. You need to make sure that you are living your life, and that nobody is living their life through you.

"You can retake class but you can't relive a party": Self explanatory. Thanks Roomie Brittney Knellinger & Dan Hartman's FB status.

More to come I'm sure....It's gonna be a long year :)

LeGod?

Though I was born in Pittsburgh, PA, the only time that I call myself a Steelers fan is when I am around my Pittsburgh family, or when I am feeling particularly loyal to my Steel City bloodline.

I am a Cleveland Sports fanatic. I guess that's why I teared up when Lebron James announced that he would be "taking his talents to South Beach" in the fall. Wow. #1, I can't believe that I am publicly admitting that I teared up due the "loss" of a sports figure and #2, I can't believe that LEBRON IS ACTUALLY LEAVING THE CAVS!

(I could go on about the latter for years, but I'll save you the unproductive arguments that would arise...)

Rewind to Thursday Night at approximately 9:28 P.M. Lebron announces his fate and Cleveland breaks out into pure and utter chaos. Surprise, surprise.

As Lebron headed into his free-agency, Cleveland headed into a protest era. Never, in my 14 years of Cleveland residency have I WITNESSed (no pun intended) this city pull together so tightly for one cause.

Billboards were hung everywhere, t-shirts were made and proudly worn, restaurants and businesses switched their promotion signs, the governor of Ohio lead local celebrities in a song and dance YouTube video; and all with one purpose: to remind Lebron of the love that Northeast, Ohio has given him, not just for the past 7 years, but for his entire life, and to convince him to stay and play where he belongs.

When Lebron announced his "decision", Cleveland was silent. It was as if God had come back to Earth and stabbed everyone in the back.

Looking back, that is kind of the shadow that Lebron cast over Cleveland, and I'll be the first to admit that I was under his spell. For the past few months Cleveland has literally worshiped Lebron James (not to mention the love that we gave him in the years that he has played here...oh wait, that was his whole life). Lebron, undoubtedly, turned into Cleveland, Ohio's own personal God.

This made me think. Where is God, and better yet, who is God, in my life? I can tell you one thing, "King" James is out of the running...

The college years and beyond seem to be a time for exploration. It's funny how many times in my life that I have thought that I finally know who I am and who I am meant to be. Is it possible to ever truly and certainly know yourself? Doubtful. You, like the rest of the world, are forever changing.

It's funny to me, that even though I have pretty much morphed out of my "go to church every Sunday, I love church retreats more than anything in the universe" self, I've found God in a different way; a very un-Lebron sort of way.

I've realized that even without going to church and/or without being very "religious" (at the moment), there are other options to fulfill the need in life for belief in a higher power. Praying when convenient for you, or when you need it the most is refreshing (especially because it isn't early on a Sunday morning after your parents have forced you to attend the earliest service that your church conducts). Knowing that there is someone watching over you at all times feels safe. Being spiritual, so to speak, is A-OKAY.

This is not to say that Sunday morning church isn't beautiful and moving. As the granddaughter of an Episcopal priest, and the daughter of an Episcopal Youth Minister, I will forever refer to myself as an Episcopalian, and will forever feel rejuvenated at a church service. What I have come to realize, though, is that it is perfectly okay for me to conduct worship that is between me and God, alone, and in the comfort of my house, my room, and even more conveniently while laying in bed on Sunday morning before I start my day.

What's so special about this is that it is personal. When you are "spiritual", God Time, though always convenient for God, becomes convenient for you, as well. Afterall, unlike Lebron, God will never leave you hangin'.

I Hope You Dance.

A Little Catching Up.

It's amazing how much can happen in the course of a second, minute, or hour. Yet, when I think about all that changes over the course of a month or year, my mind boggles and I can't help but to think about what is yet to come.

Unfortunately, it has never been easy for me to just roll with the punches. I constantly want the answers to every question in my mind. I guess (I'll never admit that I know) that's why change is so stinkin' hard for me.

A little over a month ago I was all set to attend Ashland University in the fall. I had made the dance team, I had a room mate all lined up (I LOVE YOU ERIKA !!! ), and I was going to be 50 minutes away from my mother-- what more could I ask for? Yet, I will never forget opening up the piece of mail that would change my college experience forever.

It's amazing how much money can change plans. Marietta College offered me $10,000 more than Ashland could. And, when I took the financial argument to Ashland's financial aid department, they admitted that they could not compete with the offer.

Did I mention that I HATE change? Did I mention that my boyfriend of 2 1/2 years, and my best friend both go to Marietta? Yeah, there's change for you; Did I mention that I HATE change?

I lingered on the decision for days. Okay, weeks. I kept asking for extensions, for more time to allow my mind to sit on the pro's and con's list that I had formed in my head. The biggest surprise to most people was that my boyfriend/best friend combo actually fell onto my con's list. If you know me, you know that I like to be an individual and have individual life experiences. If you don't know me, you just learned a fun fact.

I was sitting at my desk, financial aid packages scattered out in front of me, phone in hand, texting my mom. I was complaining that I hate decision making. If I remember correctly, she was reassuring me, in the nicest way possible, that money was a humongous factor in this decision. My next text back to her was "I am a Marietta Pioneer!"

WHAT! I made a decision? How? My fingers moved and my mind hadn't caught up to them yet.

...FLASHFORWARD...

I'm alive. No decision that I have made thus far in the whole transferring process has killed me. I still have feeling in all of my limbs and I can still get out of bed in the morning without an ounce of regret. I know that Marietta is the place for me and there is no doubt in my mind that I will thrive there. Sometimes, time tells all. My fingers moved because they knew what my heart wanted.

If I've learned anything from this whole process it's that life goes on. Will it change the way that I make decisions in the future? Probably not--that's just who I am.

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."

People's Choice.

Recently, I set my facebook status to "I need to write a new blog post. What about?" Never did I imagine that I would get 11 answers.

When I think about my life, I often think about the struggles that I've dealt with, the adventures that I've been on, and the love that I've felt. All of these have one common denominator: the people that I've met on my journey thus far.

People often tell me that it amazes them at how many people that I seem to know, or at least be acquaintances with-- it amazes me as well. I find the amount of people that I have gotten to know through my 19 1/2 years of life fantastic. Though impossible to become best friends with everyone that I meet, I often wish that it were possible. Anyone who knows me knows that I love relationships, personalities, and the quirks that people possess.

With that said, it was kind of interesting that most of the responses to my status question were inside jokes, amusing remarks, or just plain out-of-the-blue. All of the answers made me laugh and reminisce-- most explaining my exact relationship with the person that wrote the answer.

Samantha Jones "sunshine and happiness": Although I've never personally met you in person, we've connected over facebook through out love for fashion, the environment, and our pure appreciation for the beautiful side of life. I smiled when I read your comment because it was typical of you. Never forget to love the sunshine and recognize happiness as it appears in life, which, I hope, is everyday.

Austin Buit, Brittany Cook, and Nate Potter "me": You guys would put "me" as an answer. Though I could go on for hours about each one of you, I will save everyone else from boredom ;)

Laura Amari "Wall-e": Wall-e and bio II changed my life-- as did you. I am so happy to know you and I want you to know that I really do look up to you. You know who you are and you won't change for anyone, I wish I could constantly say the same about myself. Stay true to yourself girl. Wall-e taught me, in a round-about way that sometimes you don't have to say anything to get your point across. And Bio II, well, that taught me that I hate training animals to do stupid things.

Daniel Parker "relationships": Funny that if it weren't for relationships, I wouldn't know you. Also, I have to quickly apologize because dating Mehgan is kind of like dating the both of us at once... You're a good guy, and though you, Mehgan, and I have had our rough patches, I know that you are truly worthy of the presence of both of us ;) Relationships will never be easy, but that might just be the best part of them. You need to work everyday for the best things in life. That way, you can see your progress. If you want a longer explanation, read my previous posts.

Michael Bennett "blonde hair superiority": You have, and will forever be, my best friend--since we were blonde bombshells at age 2 to being the less-blonde version now. I have never regretted going back to my blonde roots, just as I will never forget that family is the most important thing in life. Without you, I would never have gotten through the hard times that I have overcome. And, with this major decision of college over my head, at least I know that the superiority of being blonde is on my side ;)

Jillena Arendt "Wallace Lake": Wallace Lake is what brought us together, and I am happy for that. Funny that I never thought that I would actually look forward to going to work until Wallace Lake came into my life. Summer is about kicking back, going to the beach, and making memories--and while Wallace is not as picturesque as the above sentence, it'll do. Here's to summer lovin' and a gross "lake" to call home.

Darren P. Lorenzi (and Danny pt. 2) "waka flacka flame and his influence on the 18-25 culture": Of course I wouldn't understand what this means, but I wouldn't expect anything less. Frankly, I don't have the time to even figure out what this means, but you probably don't expect me to. You were probably just saying it to confuse me and to make my eyes roll. Congrats :) Thanks for the smile, babe. I wouldn't be the same without you.

Eric Luebke "Jose Leonel Canales": Jose deserves his own blog, not just a portion of one. But, with that said, I probably will never ever write him his own blog. So, I'll just thank him here for the laughs, the frequent "what the hell did he just say's?", and the tornado dance.

Mommy dearest "souse!": Only unworthy men use the word Souse. Remember that. Some people aren't worth your time, your attention, or even your annoyed moods when they've pissed you off. Men who use Souse fall into this category...although I will, until the day that I die, give him credit for my realization of this.

Relationships find their way into your life in the strangest ways. Be thankful for the people in your life, and remember that the love and interaction from human to human is the way that the world keeps turning.

P.S. Happy Memorial Day.