Dangling in Port Hudson, Louisiana

So I just got my location assignment for the summer. I will be working for 10 weeks in Port Hudson, Louisiana. I took this internship because of the possibility of being away from home for a short amount of time. It was kind of scary to see where I would officially be working but the more I research the more excited I am becoming about discovering this small town and the bigger cities surrounding it.

Info:
Port Hudson, LA

As you can see on the map, it really is in the middle of the lower portion of Louisiana.

Time to Baton Rouge: approximately 30 minutes

Time to New Orleans: approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes

So it's not too far out in the middle of nowhere. I haven't spent any time in either Baton Rouge or in New Orleans, so I will definitely be taking a trip or two.

Distance from Atlanta to Port Hudson: approximately 10 hours; haven't decided yet if I am going to try to drive by myself

Price of a Plane Ticket: approximately $300; going to spend once because I am coming back to Atlanta to see Jimmy Buffett at the beginning of June

Plant Information: Make consumer products and communication papers. The main brands that are housed in the plant are Brawny paper towel, Quilted Northern/Angel Soft bath tissue as well as paper used in printing. Maybe, I will come back with a lifetime supply of bath tissue haha!

I contacted my former advisor for my sorority because she lives in Baton Rouge and she told me that she thought I would probably be living in Zachary or Baton Rouge because there aren't very many places to live in Port Hudson. A lot of my research is based on that fact since I can't find that much information on Port Hudson. The biggest fact that I keep finding is that there was a Civil War battle named after this city. I guess I will have to check out the reenactment.

Some restaurants that I found in Baton Rouge: The Chimes, Fleur de Lis Pizza, and Chelsea's Cafe. It looks like I will be eating a lot of seafood this summer and I might just have to try alligator.

Attractions:

• I am looking forward to getting the opportunity to tour LSU. My former advisor already told me that she will introduce me to some of the Gamma Zetas, so I will be able to hang out with girls my own age.  
• Rural Life Museum
• Shaw Center for the Arts
• Baton Rouge Zoo
• Downtown Area, etc.

Plus, there is the time that I want to spend in New Orleans. I plan to make every minute that I am not working worth it. I am waiting to hear back on my housing arrangement for the summer and hopefully I will have a better idea about what is going to be near me. This blog is going to be a great resource for me this summer, so that I can share with the rest of the world about my adventure.

So here goes nothing. Port Hudson, I hope you are ready for a 21 year old who is ready to be on her own and looking to have one of the best summers of her life, learning as much as she can about accounting and even more about the world around her. Wish me good luck!

Dangling through Easter

This blog post actually starts with a story that happened about a year and a half ago. My freshman year of college I would constantly get asked by my mom if I had gotten up on Sunday morning and made my way to the local church. Each and every Sunday the answer to that question was a no. I didn't feel comfortable at the on campus church and the idea of walking into a church by myself freaked me out.

The fall of my sophomore year I moved into the sorority house and I quickly realized that there were a lot of other DGs who I could go to church with. I would make plans to go with these girls and then on Sunday morning they would bail. Well instead of getting out of my nice clothes, I decided to brave the hallow halls on my own. I realized that making the decision to go to church in Athens was probably one of my first adult decisions. I was making the decision to follow in my parents guidance even though it wasn't required. In the spring semester of my sophomore year, everything kind of fell apart and I didn't make it to church between Christmas and Easter.

Fast forward one year later and I only missed one service during the season of Lent. It feels absolutely wonderful to know that going to church and having a relationship with God is something that I want for myself. As I child, I felt like church was something that was required and more times than not I didn't know what I was getting out of it. Now, I arrange my Sunday schedule around getting up and going to church. I long for the Sunday sermon because I can't wait for the next lesson I am going to learn about the week's readings. My church in Athens isn't even as nice as my church at home. I am used to getting everything printed in the pamphlet, but in Athens they expect you to follow along and read the readings ahead of coming to service...probably has been beneficial to me.

It has been a completely different experience for me but it has also taught me so much about myself. My two goals for Lent were to limit my Facebook time to once a day and to work out more often. I can say that I did the best I could with both objectives. I have realized that our society places too much emphasis on the information that we get online rather than the information we actually learn from other people. This Lent season also made me realize how important it is to spend a small time on yourself. Milledge Avenue became the best gym in town and I started to look forward to taking 30 minutes just to run down to Five Points and back.

Each week when I would take my seat in the pew and listen to the sermon, I felt like God knew exactly what I needed to hear. I became so much closer to God over the past 40 days because I allowed myself to trust in his plan and realized more fully that there is a reason my life is progressing the way that it is.

Today, that idea was fully cemented in my head when Father Tripp started talking about resurrection. It became clear to me that I cannot live without faith in my life. God loves each of us. He strengthens us and forgives us for our sins. I want to have him guiding me in my life because I know there are times when I don't know who to turn to.

I can say that this Easter season has been one of great learning for me. I have learned about myself in a lot of different ways and I have grown closer to God. In my 21 years of life, I trust God more now than any other time I can remember. It also doesn't hurt that this weekend was probably one of the best in recent memory. I got to hang out with my dad on Friday, study/catch up all day Saturday and then see my extended family today for a Cascarone filled celebration.

God is great, God is good, let me thank him for this life!