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.

Dangling with Recruitment

For the last four years, the first two weeks of August have been devoted to sorority recruitment.

Freshman Year: Round 2

My freshman year it was probably one of the most difficult weeks of my life because it was all about finding out where I fit in on such a large campus like UGA. I knew very little about Delta Gamma when I joined but I am so grateful for that now because it has allowed me to be completely immersed in the values of this organization.

My sophomore and junior year there were many ups and downs during the two weeks of recruitment. My sophomore year I made the decision to go home to be with my family and even though I was glad to be with them, it killed me to miss out on my first recruitment with my sisters. My junior year I was stuck in this position of trying to figure out why I truly loved being a Delta Gamma and relating to all of the underclassman that were coming through recruitment. If I had to go back and redo junior year recruitment, I would definitely try to make it more worthwhile and take the opportunity to get closer to my sisters.

This year, the goal was to have a positive attitude and take in every moment because it was the last year that I would experience something like sorority recruitment. At what other time in your life will you spend five days straight talking to girls that you don't know very well and selling them on why your sorority has been the highlight of your college experience? Never, so I wanted to make this year one for the record books. I think my member class and I achieved our goal because this year we saw three years of long days and nights come full circle when we welcomed 74 new members into an organization that has weaved itself into all of our lives. There were smiles and laughs and tears but I wouldn't expect anything different from my sisters.

PC '09

My three years in Delta Gamma have proven so much to me. Every girl goes through recruitment for a number of reasons but what I have found is that those reasons are magnified and broadened throughout your college experience. Most of my good friends will be my sisters and I met my two soul mate best friends by spending most of my free time with them in Deeg Room 306. These 200 women are the people who will forever call me "Dang" and the girls who don't even realized how much of an impact they have made on bringing me out of my shell. Delta Gamma has taught me about selflessness and its impact on being a leader. I have gotten the opportunity to make my own story because of my lack of knowledge going through recruitment. My decisions make an impact on Delta Gamma and I will be able to walk out of college knowing that we both have changed for good. I am continuously impressed by the bond that ties us all together and how it impacts my life every day. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to join such a rewarding organization and that is why recruitment is worthwhile to me because I get to pass this idea on to the next generation of Delta Gammas.

Switching Gears: I went in to the first week of classes completely exhausted from the previous two weeks but knowing that it was worth it. The first week was really about realizing that I am entering what could potentially be my last year in Athens. There are so many items to check off my bucket list and so many options to consider for my future. I am determined to return to my star student glory of freshman year while also dealing with so many emotions and decisions. College has been a time of growth and change for me and this year might be on a whole another level completely but I think that is what makes life so interesting. Stay tuned for more dangling through life!

Dangling with Enough Lessons to Last a Lifetime

Okay, so maybe the title of this post is a little daunting but this summer really has been all about my growth into a young adult who has a job and is expected to take care of herself. I am really happy that I have had the option to smoothly transition into adulthood. I get to go back to Athens and have one or two more years of fun and then I won't be as blindsided when I actually hit the real world.

Lesson #1: Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to find...

I took this internship in the fall of 2011 without knowing where I would end up in the summer. I was ready to have an adventure and it definitely has been everything I expected. It has truly made me want to travel more and not overlook any opportunity that comes my way. It has given me the opportunity to try out one aspect of business and make judgments based on my work. I really feel like I made a difference in my role this summer and I can't wait to continue that feeling when I do decide to enter the working world.

Because I have spent so much time by myself this summer, I have gotten the opportunity to think about my own self management. I want to make sure that going into senior year I remember that the best I can do is be the best version of myself because if I am focused on myself then I will portray my best self to others. The more time I spend worrying about everyone else's opinions of my life, the less time I am spending on supporting myself. If the only lesson I took away from this summer was the idea of supporting my own decisions then I would be a pretty happy camper. I can decide what is going to make my life move forward in the direction that I want to take it and all of the people in my life who really matter are going to be standing behind me when I get to the next fork in the road because like I said, "life is like a box of chocolates...".

Lesson #2: All's fair in love and "business"...

I am still working on my extraversion skills since those tend to be on the complete opposite end of the spectrum for me. Well, there is no better lesson then throwing a small fish into a really big pond and saying sink or swim. I decided to "swim" this summer and after going over my final evaluation I realized there were even more opportunities for me to become stronger both professionally and personally. I need to learn the value of the simple question, "do you have 30 minutes to tell me about your job?" I think if I had realized that lesson earlier than I would of gotten a much better understanding of all the opportunities at a mill location. Also related to this lesson, there is always room to grow in business. A corporation is not going to get better unless there are people within the organization trying to push the envelope.

Personally, there were only so many weekends that I could spend looking at the four walls of my apartment. My mom and sister came into town a few times which made it easier to adjust and I made a few trips to Atlanta and New Orleans. When one of those events wasn't happening then I had time to spend by myself and, believe me, there were some weekends when I craved that time. Those were the weekends when I went sightseeing by myself or ran errands and realized that big girls have things they have to get done and sometimes those things just don't happen during the week. Another big part of this life was that I had to make friends. I had to reach out to sorority sisters or the controller's daughter in order to learn more about Baton Rouge and I wanted to get to know people. I didn't want to spend the whole summer longing to get back to Athens because I didn't know anyone. Tying back into this lesson, if I hadn't been pushing myself to get out of my shell then I would of missed the opportunity to meet some really great people.

The best part about this summer was the opportunity for me to evaluate some of my own relationships. I got the opportunity to talk to one person almost every day the whole summer, but I realized I was falling back into my old ways of fantasizing about something that was more likely not to come true. I got to make the decision about how I wanted to move forward which is a very powerful feeling. This last semester was one of hardest of my life and part of the reason why was because I couldn't seem to let go of another person who is in my life on a pretty consistent basis. By the end of the semester, my roommates were tired of hearing about this person and I was determined to forget about it this summer. My summer didn't start off along that path because I couldn't seem to get this person out of my head and I really thought that it was a lost cause. I was talking with my supervisor today and she finally looked at me and said "speak up, you only live once." If I don't take the chance, then I might regret it later and this year is definitely about not leaving anything behind which should make for an interesting conclusion. Also, I really got to see how my relationships with my friends are going to play out when we are in our own corners of the world. There are people that I know I will always be able to pick up the phone and call no matter the length of time. There are other people who I am really interested to see how the next year plays out and there are other people who I just have to realize were in my life for a reason and we have both moved on for a reason. Even though I really like getting to know people, relationships are one of the things that have no rules, so I will always be trying to define the next step.

Lesson #3: Each part of the world has it's own set of quirks...

Baton Rouge is no exception to this rule. I learned that "Cajun Spice" (don't even ask me where you buy this spice because I don't even know the actual name) could be considered a vegetable within the state lines of Louisiana. Anything and everything that I ordered this summer, undoubtedly, had some sprinkle of this ingredient and let me tell you, my tongue definitely has a higher spice tolerance.

Jersey Shore is not the only place where you can find guidos! There are also some located within East Baton Rouge Parish at the pool of my apartment complex. I do not know why people from New York/New Jersey like to move down below the Mason Dixon Line but these people at the pool are probably some of the most interesting sights of the summer.

The accent is like nothing else you will hear in your entire life and it is even harder to describe to someone who has never been to these parts of the United States. Need a lesson, go watch an episode of Swamp People and turn back their accent about three notches. That's what you hear on a regular basis in Baton Rouge.

Lesson #4: All good things come to an end...

I spent the last week moving back home and finishing up my internship in Atlanta. My presentations went really well and I got to hang out with all the other interns. One of the relationships that I described above came to a conclusion and it really helped me realize how much I have grown this summer. I also realized that my work really paid off this summer and I have the option to continue to make a difference in this company. I am so glad that I spent the summer the way that I did. I do not regret anything and I am ready to apply these lessons the next few years of my life. The next few months are probably going to be the most hectic of my life but I am ready to take them on and continue to dangle through life!

Swamp Tour Time

New Orleans!

Corporate!

Apartment in Baton Rouge!