Dangling through Graduation

So this semester has been pretty lazy with the blog but my excuse is that I have been living out my final undergraduate moments in Athens! It is so hard to believe that four years have already passed but I have so many memories to look back on and I know that I will have very few, if any, regrets. 

Graduation was a whirlwind of activities! I was fortunate to be done with my harder exams on the first two days of finals, so I had a full week to enjoy Athens! I got to have dinner with one of my littles, yogurt with one of my grand littles and breakfast with an old friend. Delta Gamma had a morning full of taking seniors pictures and then a lunch with a bunch of us just catching up. To round out the week of activities, I went on a food tour on Prince Avenue. This week of activities helped me to remember how important it is to just take in each moment. There was so much time this week to just sit back and relax and really cherish the time with some of my great friends.

The day of graduation was awesome and full of everything that I have enjoyed so much in Athens! It started with a roommate breakfast that we dubbed "Happy Graduation Morning"! We opened presents and had donuts, all in the style of a Christmas morning surprise. I will always cherish that time with Allie and Katie because it is the pinnacle of all our memories in the 306. 

Then we headed to the Graduation Brunch for the Leonard Class of 2013. It was a time for my family to sit and chat as well as see all the Leonard's before the rest of the day swept us off our feet. I was honored to receive not only my Certificate in Leadership but also the Journery Award voted on by my peers. This award is given to the person who the class believes has improved the most in leadership development. My receiving of this award just continues to prove to me that Leonard was the best decision that I made in college and its experiences and connections will continue to make an impact on my life for years to come. 

Terry Graduation was a moment for me to reflect on my accounting career and walk across the stage in recognition of completing my BBA degree. Although it was a long ceremony, it was more intimate and I got to see so many people accomplish their own goals.

The pinnacle of the day was UGA Graduation in Sanford Stadium. It is why I walked in spring graduation with my class instead of waiting until next year when I finish my masters. It definitely lived up to my expectation and I got to spend the evening with all of the DGs. Our graduation speaker gave this great metaphor about how "a ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for." All of the words were inspiring and just reminded me that I have so much to look forward to in life. 

These last four years have been everything that I have hoped for in college. I will look back on these years fondly and I am so glad that I got to celebrate with these ceremonies. I will never be able to put into words everything I have been feeling the last few weeks but I know that it's special and I will cherish it. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this journey! 

Stay tuned: on to the next adventure in Austria and Germany! 

Dangling with Questions

There are so many questions that you can ask the world or yourself. You can be inquistive or thoughtful, funny or serious, and a whole host of other adjectives. Questions are what lead us to some of the best conversations with others as well as to the best reflections of ourselves. If you follow the blog regularly then you know that I reflect on my own actions with tremendous detail and sometimes to the extent that I just want to turn my brain off.

It's funny how my brain works because it goes through stages of thinking about different situations. I will consider how I feel about the situation for a few days and then move on to trying to understand the situation. I probably should just let everything slide off my back but I realize that I learn the most life lessons by digging deeper into certain situations.

So as the cycle would predict, I am currently dissecting January. I have thought that maybe January just needs to be a black hole on the calendar of this year, maybe January was a huge mistake. But I also realize that I have changed over the past 30 days and I would not have made that progress without the events of January.

Over the past year I have tried to take notice when I feel like I am going to regret something. I know we don't have time for everything in our lives but if we realize when we are giving something up, maybe we can turn it around and make a difference, lessening our regret about past situations.

Regret is the major question of January- how will this month effect me going forward? Did I really give up on something that could of been awesome, for something that will probably only be a bullet point on my list of college memories? Am I the only one that feels this way or are their two sides to every story? These questions can really only be answered by me and it kills me that the questions I keep asking myself all lead me to believe that January was a mistake.

All I can focus on now is that every situation in life leads to a lesson and I have definitely learned from January. For the first time in my life, I realize that the grass is definitely not greener on the other side of the pasture. Like my roommate said last night, you had to go over there to see but from this point forward I will choose to stick with what I have instead of putting myself in a position of uncertainty. It taught me to have more faith in people and that relationships are based on trust and honesty, so if you are not willing to give them then don't expect for the relationship to move forward. January definitely helped my trust in God and my patience for his plan, but I still have to work on the questioning of my actions that will lead me to his plan.

I am glad that I can apply this year's mottos to the situation and learn from my actions. As of right now, January is over but it is still in the works of being resolved in my head. It will effect me in the coming months but I can't begin to predict how it will manifest itself. All I can do is live in the moment and live for my own happiness because my life is headed in a great direction right now, so I don't have anything to worry about except maybe the questions. :)

Dangling with the Start of Another Year

Well, the goal was to have both my 2012 reflection post and my 2013 ambition post before the New Year but seeing as how that didn't happen, all I can say is better late than never!

If you haven't noticed, the blog got a little bit of an update for 2013. I have changed up the design a bit as well as added some pages of things that I want to accomplish. I am hoping this change will reignite my love of the blogging world as well as encourage me to knock stuff off my multiple list.

This year, I saw that one of my DG sisters had decided to pick watchwords to define her year. I thought that was a great idea because it is something simple that can remind me of what I want to focus on.

So this year my words are:

• Patience: I can be stuborrn at times and expect things to happen sooner then they are suppose to. I want to take this year to focus on the fact that life works out how it is suppose to in the end and if I practice a little bit of patience I will probably be happier with the results.
• Spiritual: This idea has been part of my life since my sophomore year of college but I have come to the realization that it is definitely something I need to keep in the forefront of my mind this year. I know that God is watching out for me at all times but I need to figure out how I want to best acknowledge his presence in my life. By the end of 2013, I want to be more secure in my faith and understand my own spirituality better.
• Trust: This word was not my initial reaction when thinking about 2013 but I think it ties in nicely with both of my other watchwords and it is also one of my core values, so I think it could use some attention. I want to increase my ability to trust this year. I don't want to worry about every detail of my life. I want to trust myself, others and God that as long as I practice patience and stay true to myself, my life is going to be amazing!

I am sure these words will take on more meaning as I continue to think about them throughout the year but I know these short descriptions have already started to make an impact on my year.

Some great things that have already happened this year:

• Spent New Year's in Orlando and got to see the Dawgs play in the Capital One Bowl.
• Spent a weekend in Savannah participating in service with the Leonards as well as having our last weekend of good, ole fashioned fun
• Started my last semester as an undergrad and really looking forward to my classes
• Worked out 6/6 days the first week of class and feel great about continuing to get stronger to run in another 5K in a few weeks
• Continue to realize the importance of relationships in helping me grow as a person

If this week is an indication of my year then I can't wait to write my reflection blog at the end of the year because I know I am going to have so many new and challenging experiences. Here's to the followers who are going to join me on this journey!!

Dangling through 2012

Better late than never, I guess I have to say since we are now 11 days into 2013! Once again it's the end of the year and I am reflecting on everything that went on the past 12 months! My goals for this year was to take life one day at a time and live each day to the fullest! I feel like I have kept this mantra for the year but there are definitely times when I could have pushed myself harder. So, here is the recap of the year and how I want to improve in 2013!

January started off my sixth semester in college! And I went in with my new attitude about living life to the fullest. The major event of the month was the Leonard Retreat! It was probably the most rewarding weekend of my life. I forced myself to be honest with this group of 29 people who have become some of the most important people in my life. I also challenged myself to the high ropes course which was a new and sometimes terrifying experience for me! This weekend made me realize that life is full of rewarding experiences and I just need to make sure that I take full advantage of them.

In February, I planned the annual Sisterhood Retreat for our chapter! It was filled with goal setting and defining ourselves as well as a ton of bonding activities. I realized that planning events is a lot harder than it seems and even after a full year of it as vp: programming, I probably still need to work on it as a skill when I get into a real job. Even though there were some struggles, this event was meaningful for our chapter and I always look forward to it. We also got an extra day in February which just reinforced the idea that I need to live each day to the fullest.

In March, I spent spring break at home just focusing on rejuvenating. I got to spend a few days with my best friend in Savannah and it made me realize that I need to start focusing on me. I have heard that advice for the past few years but I never processed it until now. I also went to my first Delta Gamma Formal and had a great night with my sisters and all of our dates. It made me realize the importance to getting to know people while in college and taking advantage of these opportunities to have a good time.

In April, I found out that I was going to be spending my summer in a little place called Port Hudson, Louisiana. It is the location of a consumer products plant for Georgia Pacific and it was my assignment for my summer internship. I was so excited about this opportunity and it really helped to push me through the end of the semester. We also had Josh Gracin come play for us as our Spring Philanthropy event. It was cool getting to meet a former American Idol contestant and pretty popular country singer these days.

In May, I finished my finals and headed to the beach with one of my Leonard friends. We had a blast catching up on some much needed relaxation and getting burned to a crisp. I spent about a week at home attending some accounting recruiting events and trying to decide how I was going to move myself to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I decided to make the drive all by myself which was not as bad as I was expecting.

The whole summer was definitely a crash course in adult life. I lived in a one bedroom apartment in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was responsible for getting myself to work each day and making friends since I didn't know anyone when I moved down there. I loved being able to immerse myself in the culture of Baton Rouge and visit all of the historical plantations. I also got to spend two weekends in New Orleans and really see what it's like to live in a port city. The whole summer was about growth and I spent a lot of time by myself so I had an opportunity to think about me, my life and my surroundings. I learned that I would not be opposed to going other places to work and that being challenged in my job is probably one of my top priorities.

We had our final presentations in Atlanta the last week of July and it was great getting to hang out with all of the interns who I hadn't seen all summer. I started to understand what a work environment is going to be like and how your co-workers will become your good friends. It was a great way to end the summer but it was also a busy time getting ready to come back to Athens for recruitment.

The first two weeks of August were filled with recruitment and it felt completely different being a senior this year. I know what I love about Delta Gamma and I am much better equipped to sell my experience to new girls walking through our doors. It was a great time to bond with my sisters and it will probably be one of the experiences that I miss when I leave. I started my last fall semester as an undergrad and it still feels weird to think that my college experience is coming to an end.

In September, it was back to the routine of going to class, studying, keeping up with commitments and trying to remember that there are still a lot of things that I want to do with my time in Athens. I met a group of guys who would come to define my semester as I spent most of DG's date nights with them and almost every home game. Once again, I added a new member to my DG family with a shared little. This month was truly about relationships and getting to know people.

October is always a sprint. I went to my last Greek Grind as an undergrad. I had numerous accounting recruiting events and office visits as it came down to the wire to decide where I wanted to spend my summer. I went on DG's Hayride as well as run my first 5K for Habitat for Humanity. It was my last Low Country Boil as an undergrad and the whole family came to visit as well as help cook! And to end the month, we went to Jacksonville and kicked some Gator butt in a weekend to remember!

November started with DG's Semiformal which ended up probably being my favorite date night of the semester. My birthday was the next week and my family surprised me with a party in Athens. I was sick the whole week of my birthday but grateful that I have wonderful parents. My best friend from high school came to town for the Georgia Southern game and we had a great time partying in Athens! My little sister also found out that she will be spending the next four years of her life in Athens as a Bulldawg and I couldn't be prouder of her. I went to my first Georgia Tech game of my collegiate career and ended my two year run as an officer in Delta Gamma. November was definitely one of those months that pushed me to get everything done but I enjoyed it because I always felt like I had something going on.

December was filled with lots of relaxing. I made it through all of the holiday parties and finals! I was really excited to see my grades at the end of the semester as well. I was happy to be home and spend the holidays with my family. I got caught up on lots of new movies and just took some time to think about me and the year that I had.

I realize reflecting on this year that I am so glad I made such an effort to remember everything that happened. Yes, some of this stuff is probably just everyday things but I think it's so important to focus on all of the wonderful memories I have been making. Yeah, I probably could of learned a little bit more in school or my position in DG but in the end I am going to remember all of the stuff that is in this post and reflect on it in the future. I can't wait to continue this trend in 2013 because I know this year is going to be even more hectic and fun filled than 2012.

I achieved my goal! I lived life to the fullest and took way less days for granted! And I am so thankful that I have opened my eyes to all of the opportunities that 24 hours has to offer.

Dangling with Drive

Every time I start to think about a blog post, I consider how much has happened in my life since the last time I reflected on it. Each day I try to have a worthwhile experience and really live a purpose driven life because within the last year that has been instilled in me as a great way to drive yourself towards your goals.

As I was thinking about this post, it became clear to me how monotonous life can become. I think a whole lot about my future goals in life but I have no clear direction on how to reach the desired outcome. So instead of driving myself every day to learn something new or challenge myself to become a more purpose driven individual, I get into this routine that seems pointless.

I guess it could be a side effect of this transition period of my life. But since I don’t have a direction right now, I have started to consider that I might walk off this campus with a few more regrets that I was expecting. Was I involved enough? Did I really experience everything this town has to offer? Did I invest enough time in this campus that I will forever call my home? These questions arise from my feelings of disconnect with major parts of this university. Of course, I have checked the box on many of the typical experiences that UGA students are supposed to have but have I really driven myself to think outside of the box with my own college education?

I have a short four and half months left in a place that I am not sure I ever want to leave and to be honest, that scares me. It scares me enough to change my attitude. I want to feel that constant drive to work towards my goal. I want to be able to say that I sucked all of the life out of my education and the opportunities it afforded to me. I want to be able to say that even though there were weeks when I didn’t feel that deep down motivation to live life to the fullest, when the pendulum started to swing in the other direction I didn’t want to look back at the monotony.

My goal of 2012 was to live life to the fullest and even though it’s not time for my reflection, I think I succeeded until the tides turned in a different direction. This transition period in my life is going to make for a very interesting 2013 because in a matter of 12 months my life is probably going to change multiple times and each time I am going to have to reflect on my purpose and continue to feed my inner passion.

In my leadership program, we had a speaker come talk about his career at Chick-fil-A and he mentioned that my generation is so different from his because we talk about passion constantly and his main focus in college was to get a job. So what if you didn’t enjoy it? My generation is going to be the group of people who either leave an organization if our values don’t align or build up this inner drive to influence the organization significantly in our favor. I want to make sure that I have that inner drive and that I am making sure my activities are aligning with the passions that make my come alive inside.

I guess the point of this post is that times of transition lead to great opportunities to experience everything that life has to offer. In terms of one door closing and another one opening, I want that closed door to be the exit of an empty room and I want to be stepping into a room full of possibilities. And I guess thinking about my how I haven’t been taking advantage of life recently, I want to reignite my drive to live life to the fullest and not let my laziness lead to regrets and unfulfilled opportunities.

Dangling through Thanksgiving

The holiday season is upon us again and this year I am really trying to focus on the reason for the season rather than the commercialized aspects of the time between Thanksgiving and New Years.

I think one of the most interesting parts of this time of year is learning about everyone else's traditions. My extended family is always together for both holidays. We usually have about 25-30 people attend our Thanksgiving dinner but this year that number was about half. I think due to the smaller crowd around our table, it made me realize that many people celebrate with just their families or groups of friends that they are not related to. I have been fortunate to have all of those people around me at one Thanksgiving meal. I am realizing that as my life changes over the next few years, my traditions will have to adjust.

That is why I would like to take a moment to reflect on all of the aspects of my life that I am thankful for because I don't want to lose sight of what is really important during this holiday season.

• Family: without any of these people I would not be the person that I am and I know that no matter what happens they will always be beside me
• Friends: I have been fortunate to cross paths with so many different people in my life and I am just now realizing how much of an impact each of these people can make. I want to continue to make sure that I am investing in worthwhile relationships and make sure that moving forward I take opportunities to meet new people.
• Education: I feel fortunate to be able to attend an outstanding university that has afforded me with too many opportunities to count. I am grateful that someone identified me as a student who wants to change the world and gave me the chance to start learning about how I can. I know there are people who do not have this chance and I do not want to take for granted this opportunity.
• Job: I am so grateful that I have accepted an offer for an internship for next summer. I was so worried that I wasn't going to have this type of opportunity and I am excited to learn so much in this role. I know this job is going to lead me in an amazing direction and I can't wait to see how much I grow.
• Worries: I know this one is strange but I see these worries as a positive aspect of my life. I am naturally a worry wart and tend to stress about things I can't control or things that are not worth stressing over. I am grateful for these worries because it means that I am so blessed. If I stopped worrying, life would go on and be blissful but these worries just signal to me that I can push myself to achieve more and help the greater good, and for that I am grateful.
• Culture: probably another strange one. I am grateful for the way I was raised and the values that my parents have instilled in me. I am grateful for the fact that I can have my own tastes in XYZ and even though people might disagree with me, I am still allowed to have an opinion. I am grateful that every person I meet has their own views of culture and it creates a better society as a whole.
• God: I am so grateful that God has given me such a wonderful life and given me the chance to be grateful for so many things. My religion has been a constant struggle in college because I know I have become closer to God but I am not necessarily showing it on a daily/weekly basis. I feel fortunate to believe that someone is always watching out for me and hope that my actions can start to reflect this attitude.

Obviously, these are a lot of the basic aspects of life that everyone is thankful for but I wanted to write them down in my own terms. I hope everyone had a glorious Thanksgiving and takes a moment to reflect on why they are thankful!

Dangling with "Let Life Happen"

So it's been a month and a half since I have blogged but it is seriously because life as a senior is nothing like I was expecting it to be! My life is always running at full speed ahead but now I am balancing it with a slight case of seniorities and just thinking about life outside of Athens, Georgia.

First, living in the house has been a whole new challenge. I find myself living with girls who are two years younger than me and realizing what a difference those two years make. I am worrying about my internship opportunities for next summer and if I am going to come back for graduate school. Both of those worries could take up the majority of my time, but I add on the fact that most of the girls that are around me are worrying about who-likes-who and I feel like I need to have those worries as well.

Second, like I said I am trying to find an internship and figure out how I want to spend my first few years in the work force. Ever since I became a part of the Leonard program, I feel like I think about how I want to impact the world a lot. I know that I am suppose to use my skills and abilities to do something out of the ordinary. Coming out of school, I have to decide if I want to take the path that is laid down for me or try to define my own path. Part of that decision is if I want to come back for my masters degree. These last few weeks I have been taking every opportunity to learn from the professionals around me in order to make a better decision on what I want to do. I am starting to understand how valuable my masters degree would be but I still have to make sure that it is what I want to do rather than what I feel like I have to do. I am also trying to decide which firm is the best for me. I have to attend lots of different events and ask lots of questions to find out where I will fit in. It is very much out of my comfort zone to go to so many events and throw myself into a group of people but I am learning that it is a way of life in Accounting. There are so many factors that come into play when making this decision about my future and I have really had to learn how to digest all the information and make the best decision for me.

The third area of my life that has been on the rocks recently is my interactions with others. I am learning what it means to be a good friend and be accountable to the people who are good to me. I am realizing that having a quality conversation with someone is so much more satisfying then worrying about what others are saying behind my back. Also, the less I worry about what someone else is thinking of me, the more likely I am going to be able to relax and be myself. It is also so important to understand what you are saying to the people around you. I have a lot going on in my life, but there are some things that I need to process on my own and other things that I want to chat with others about. By making that distinction, I have proven to myself that when you know what you want you don't have to get wrapped up in drama. I can make decisions and be happy even when others are trying to convince me otherwise.

So, to wrap it up. The title of this post has been the phrase that has been running through my head for the last month and half. I need to be motivated and working towards all of my goals but I also have to realize that there are aspects of my life that I can't control so I might as well enjoy them. I am reflecting on my post from the beginning of this year and I am amazed at how much my life has changed. I love the fact that my attitude has turned around and I am perfectly content with living my life to the fullest. I have faith in whatever plan has been set out for me, so why not "let life happen" and be open to whatever comes my way.