Dangling through 2011

I made plans to hang out with my roommate on New Year's Eve and due to certain circumstances, we ended up meeting to get ice cream. She told me how she had written a post reflecting on 2011 and I thought it was a great idea. Well, 6 days into 2012 here are I reflecting on the previous year.

 

When I actually started thinking about this post, I didn't think that 2011 was any different from the other 21 years in my life. Wrong: if I truly reflect on everything that happened this year, I realize that I made 2011 worthwhile and a year to remember.

 

Pulling out all the stops to get bundled up!

It started off with a bang in January with Snowpocalypse. I was already back in Athens when we got more than 8 inches of snow and school was called off for three days. I spent the time counting all the money from the Gift Wrap Fundraiser and hanging out in the Deeg with about 70 other sisters. By the time school started everyone was ready to get back to work!

 

At the end of January, I finally got up the nerve to ask a guy to our Hawks Date Night. It was pretty fun up until the point we had to walk all the way around Philips Arena in the monsoon. In the end, I learned to figure out where the buses are going to be located before getting off. I also learned that in order to live a fulfilling life sometimes you have to step out of your shell and I think that stuck with me for the rest of the year.

 

March was ordinary. I came home for Spring Break and made the decision to drop Tax Accounting. Some of the stress from 2010 had carried over into 2011, so I had to do something to get myself back on track. April is usually a month of stress. There were Delta Gamma events everywhere and I was gearing up for finals after my first semester of Accounting classes. I came home for Easter but it was one of those times where I was just waiting to get back to Athens because I couldn't let myself get out of finals mode.

 

May: I finished the semester off somewhat to my liking and attended my first wedding for a sorority sister. It was a month to rejuvenate before starting my job. I also got to spend a week at the beach with my dad's family. I absolutely love my little cousins and getting to see them grow up.

Throughout June and July, I worked 8 hours a day, five days a week trying to make enough money to live on throughout the semester. I realized that I never wanted to be forced to nanny/babysit again and I also took notes on how I want to raise my own children. I read all the Harry Potter books for the first time.

 

I started off August with Spirit Week and Recruitment for Delta Gamma. It was great knowing what to expect this year and we ended up getting over 70 amazing new Delta Gammas. We started back to classes and I once again was taking Tax Accounting. I also started my first Leonard class. I was accepted into a Scholars program where we learn about personal and organizational leadership. In the end I wrote a book on my leadership style and I how I wanted to contribute to the world.

 

In September, I once again asked a different guy to our Braves Date Night. I am getting pretty good at spur of the moment type stuff...I had a friend cheering me on haha :) My Leonard class also started on our Capstone Service Learning project. We are working with Classic City High School which is a school in Athens for disengaged students. I worked with the team building group to prepare exercises for the school. I definitely saw another side of Athens and it sparked my interest in working with education during my career.

 

October is another one of those months that just blows by because there is so much stuff going on. I met with the namesake of the my leadership program Mr. Leonard and it was one of those days where he said exactly what I needed to hear. His best piece of advice was "the only place you can't get out of is jail, so don't go there, but anywhere else is free game." Delta Gamma also hosted our annual fall philanthropy event, Low Country Boil. We raised over $7,000 for Service for Sight and the Guide Dog Foundation and I got to spend some time with my dad who came to help cook. I went to the mountains with a few girls and celebrated my roommate's 21st birthday. My grandlittles got initiated into the sisterhood I adore so much. And last but not least, I went to my first Georgia Florida game. It was a weekend to remember for sure and we won the game which makes it even better.

November was another fun month. I turned 21 and my roommate and I went out together for the first time. I asked yet another guy to Delta Gamma's Hayride event. Thought that third time was going to be charm and it was...in a way. I had the best time I had ever had at an event but it came with me knowing that this guy was never going to be anything more than a good friend. I studied most of Thanksgiving break because it was getting down to the wire again. I had survived most of the semester in Tax Accounting but I can't say that it made my life fun.

I went back to school for two weeks in December. I participated in Shop with a Bulldawg which is an organization that my freshman year roommate started. I once again saw a truer side of Athens and wanted to continue to explore a career in education. I took my finals and waited anxiously for the results. I passed Tax Accounting with the lowest grade I have ever received in school but I didn't care because it meant that Tax Accounting would be left in 2011 and I could move on to bigger and better things in 2012. I volunteered one day for UGA Habitat for Humanity's Gift Wrap Across Georgia. That was significant to me because the past two years I have given my heart and soul the week before Christmas and I proved to myself that I can take a step back. My mom got sick on Christmas Eve and is still sick, so after Christmas was a lot of laziness. My grandfather visited, so it was fun to have him around.

 

So now I am sitting here thinking about 2011. I didn't even include that I was vice president: finance for Delta Gamma which taught me all sorts of lessons about dealing with people and planning a budget. It's one of the reasons I am still an accounting major because I enjoyed it so much. I also became a member of Order of Omega, a Greek Honor Society. I never realized how many experiences one person can have in the span of 365 days. All of these experiences are going to make me a better person and I truly believe that 2011 is a year that I will never forget.

 

I know this post is already way too long but I want to look ahead, so that a year from now I can look back and reflect on 2012. Hopefully it will be an even better year than 2011.

Here's what I am excited about:

• Taking over the position of vp: programming for Delta Gamma
• Summer Olympics in London
• My Internship with Georgia Pacific
• Delta Gamma Convention
• Leonard Retreat (one week from today wooh) and continuing to work with CCHS
• Continuing to push myself to step out of the box and live life to the fullest

"Well, we have a whole new year ahead of us. And wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be a little more gentle with each other, and a little bit more loving, have a little bit more empathy, and maybe - next year at this time - we'd like each other a little bit more." - Judy Garland