Busy Worker Bee

I'm taking a short hiatus from regular updating because this time of year is super hectic in the Residential Life realm of the world :) Training new staff members, nightly hall staff meetings, new residents moving in, etc. etc. = 9am to 9pm days!

Expect a post soon after the 24th!

One Year Ago

One year ago my life changed drastically. Within a matter of months, I moved from Tallahassee back to Windermere then to Burlington, NC then back to Winter Park. In the midst of this, I was starting a new chapter in my life that included working for Rollins and pursuing my masters degree.

Relationships were ending. Well not all of them. Some were just changing. Like those with all of my girlfriends in Tallahassee. We went from seeing and talking to each other every day to communicating mostly over facebook. I may sound like I'm complaining and in a way, I am. I miss being around them and I miss all the fun times we had together. Sometimes I wish I could go back just to have that again. But, all of us have grown so much since then! I'm proud of all my friends and so excited to see where our lives take us.

I've listened to a significantly smaller amount of country music this year compared to years past when I wouldn't listen to anything else. I know that sounds funny and thats not saying that I enjoy it any less, I've just developed a subconscious fear about it. A fear that if I turn the country station on a song charged with memories and emotions will be playing. The memories, I can deal with. However, the emotions associated with the memories are what I'm afraid to face. But its getting better. I'm coming to terms with the fact that some things, like all of my questions and analyzations of the situation, are better left in the past.

In the past year, I've learned what it means to live on my own. I've seen snow falling for the first time. Which means I made my first snowman, had my first snowball fight, and went sledding for the first time. I've become more self aware. I've traveled the world (well, a small portion of it). I've worked in a company that teaches its culture and that culture is actually apparent when I went into work each day. Every employee (or STAR as Gaylord likes to call us) is passionate about what they do. That is very rare so its hard to describe and explain. And now I'm getting ready to start my second year of working for Rollins and pursuing my masters degree. I can't believe I'm already half way through! I have a clearer picture of what I want my future to look like - what my career will be, the type of person I want to be and the type of person I want to be with. Having this picture in clearer focus makes life a little more comfortable.

Through all of this, a few things have remained constant. My relationship with God. Every day, I try to find ways to grow closer to God and have Him be the center of my life. By no means am I perfect, I never will be. But I do know that I will try my hardest to use God's word as my guide. My family. I've realized now more than ever, how lucky I am. My parents and my brother will be there for me no matter what and will always have my best interest in their hearts. I am so grateful for that. Stefano. I met Stefano one year ago today. What started out as a genuine friendship evolved into an amazing relationship. He keeps me grounded and he is my best friend. He's not afraid to be open and honest with me, even if its not exactly what I want to hear. And most of all, he loves me just the way I am. I don't think I could ask for anything more.

The most important thing I've learned this year is that I am truly blessed. Even with all the things I think I want or need, it will never compare to what I already have. I'm enjoying my journey and I know this year will bring just as many changes as the last year. I hope you continue checking up on me!

My Weekend Recap :)

Friday night I went on a date with Lindsay :) We ate at Macaroni Grill and then saw Dan in Real Life. Everyone should see that movie! It was so cute :) Maybe a bit of a girly movie but I think most guys would enjoy it (even if they don't want to admit it lol). Good company, good movie, good night...:)

Halloween Howl was this weekend at Rollins. It is an event that all of Greater Orlando is invited to for kids to come and play games, win prizes and candy, and jump in bounce houses. And for the older kids there are haunted houses in the fraternity houses and other buildings on campus. It just proved to me how much of a scaredy cat I am. We had to do walk-throughs of the haunted houses to make sure everything was okay - which means none of the characters jump out to scare you - and I still had to hold Ingrid's hand for her to pull me through haha.

Although the end of the event got rained out, there were some of the cutest kids there which was the best part of volunteering - getting to see all of the adorable costumes :) Here are two of my favorites!


The cutest pumpkin in the patch :)


Abby, my bosses daughter :)

It was so nice to have a girls day today even though it was short because I had school work :( If any of the HDs are reading this, we have to do it again :)

Tonight, we had our hall-wide Halloween initiative - "Pumpkin Party." We bought all sorts of pumpkin-flavored goodies and watched Saw 3. Lots of our residents came for the food but only a few stayed to watch the movie. Let me just say this - I am going to have nightmares for a very long time. And to top it off, my RAs want our next staff development to be going to see Saw 4...what?! I don't know about all that...

Just thought I would write an update of my weekend since it was overall pretty good. Oh side note: I've also learned this weekend that a woman's intuition is always right. I don't want to say too much - but I know now to always trust my gut instinct. I think I could have saved myself a lot of heartache if I just opened my eyes to what was right in front of me. Although, I feel like I always knew, I just wanted to believe it wasn't true. I wish you luck and happiness...I do...

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend! Keep checking back for more updates :)

Taking a Moment to Breathe...

Wow - I am sitting here on my couch not stressing about school or work for the first time in three weeks. Don't get me wrong...next week I have three quizzes, a presentation, and a ten-page paper due. So there is plenty that I could be doing. But it is my weekend from classes now and I am going to take advantage of these few minutes that I can just sit here (and watch my new 32" LCD HDTV haha).

Graduate school is a lot different than undergraduate school. This is something that I have been told but I don't know if I really believed it. I'm good at school...I may not be great at anything but I know for sure that I'm good at being in school. But my classes, I would say for the first time in my life, are hard. Not necessarily because of the content but because of the amount of work that is required outside of classes. It has caused me to wonder if I made the right decision in going back to school. But I think I did - everything fell into place too easily before I got here. And I know that it will be a great accomplishment when I am done and it will help me achieve what I am put on this earth for. I have an idea of where I want to go with my life but I won't put it on here because I want the flexibility to change my mind ;)

My main goal this weekend is to finish the decorations in my apartment. My mom comes to Florida next week and I am determined to have pictures hung and curtain rods hung and everything. And I'm tired of having all the decorations in my room in a pile (well...a neat pile haha). And if it continues to rain all weekend (which I hope it does - it has been so peaceful sleeping to the sound of the rain), it will be a perfect time to get it done.

This past weekend I went to the beach for the first time in such a long time! It was so nice to be out in the sun - I had kinda secluded myself because of everything that happened back in April. Rollins took a bunch of students to Playa Linda for a beach clean-up and then a group of us went to Jetty Park over by Cape Canaveral. The water was absolutely gorgeous. Usually I'm not a fan of actually swimming in the ocean but that is where we spent most of our time. One of the people in the group had a jet-ski so we got to play around on that too...so much fun!!

Monday is when I'm starting to run again. I've seen all the lacrosse girls around campus and it has made me miss playing and working out so much. I'm thinking about helping out the coach on Saturdays. But I have to decide if I'm that committed because that is my only day to sleep in and I would be taking that away from myself haha. But it will be nice to start my day with an early morning run.

Hmmm....well I guess that's it! It's been nice to share my thoughts again :)

Ugh...

I hope I will be able to update with pictures soon. I planned on posting some tonight but I just don't have much free time anymore. I'm settling into my apartment at Rollins, training for the Graduate Assistant/Hall Director position, and trying to prepare for school.

The good thing about training is that I have met so many great new friends. I find myself laughing all day long which definitely helps make it easier for me to adapt. And it really seems like everyone will be there to support me since I am new to Residential Life. My apartment is coming together. There is a little more decorating to be done. For a select few, you will have the pleasure of watching my "video diary" of the stages of moving in.

I still have some hesitations about everything I have taken on because I really don't want to fail but I am trying to stay positive. It's overwhelming to go into a completely new situation and new surroundings when I've had such a comfort zone for the past four years.

I have decided to retake the GMAT which has opened up a new can of stress. I found out that if I raise my score slightly (only by 40 points) I can receive a minimum of $20,000 in scholarships! How crazy is that?! I would have been so upset if I found out too late. I wish I knew in the beginning of the summer that way I could have studied a lot more. But I can't complain because at least I have the chance and I can't regret not trying. Wish me luck!

I'm sorry for not being witty or funny in this post. I promise I will be back to my old self soon once I get my routine in place. If you know me, you know I like having a routine and a schedule. Thank you to everyone that has been there for me to keep me sane :)

Until next time...

Since I've Been Back

I can't believe it has been so long. Its been about sixteen days since moving back from Tallahassee. I'm still waiting for the day that I have to drive back. It is an unusual feeling knowing that I'm not. I do feel that I have been in Orlando longer than sixteen days though. I feel so unproductive. I didn't do much at my job but at least I was doing something.

I've done a little bit of everything since I've been back. I was able to spend time with my Grandma and Aunt which is always nice. I hadn't been to her house since Christmas - that is way too long!

I discovered a new favorite clothing line. Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker. (My brother is thinking to himself right now - she looks like a witch! haha) But it is cute, comfy and cheap! Check it out :)

Eric took me out for my birthday on Friday the 8th. We went to the Starlight Dinner Theater and had a wonderful dinner and watched Bye Bye Birdie. It was a nice throwback to high school.

I was finally able to hang out with Brittnee! We went to SAK Comedy Club (thanks to her Dad!) and Cowboys. It has been so fun hanging out with her :) It really makes you realize how big Orlando is. It's not as easy as Tallahassee to see everyone you want to spend time with.

My mom took me to the Ritz Carlton Spa on Sunday as a celebration for my birthday. How relaxing :) Well other than the fact that I got to see the fully nude back of a woman who should have been clothed haha!

I turned 22 last Monday! I don't feel any older - thank goodness. Actually this brought up an interesting point while shopping with Brittnee. We are 22 but we feel like children in an adult world. Although I had a full time job working with all adults, I still felt like I was dispensable - which I probably was. But I didn't feel like I was treated like a college graduate. I wish I could say "I am intelligent - I am a woman." I believe it but sometimes I don't think other people do. Maybe after my next degree I will prove myself and people will see it haha.

Guess what? I got the job at Rollins! I will be the Hall Director at Elizabeth Hall on campus at Rollins. I am so excited! Out of the people I have met so far they are all great people and I can't wait to start working with them. They seem fun and outgoing and it will be a good group of people to spend time with since I don't know anyone at Rollins. My apartment is super cute so that makes it a good deal too. Its a one bedroom apartment with a kitchen, living room, dining room, walk in closet! I have a few ideas of how I will decorate. Pictures will come when I move in and get everything situated :)

So now Eric is on a cruise to Cozumel, Belize and somewhere in the Bahamas I think (yes I'm jealous!). So I'm just hanging out with my mom and shopping - which is something I don't need to be doing haha. I need him to come back to keep me occupied :)

In high school, my all-time favorite show was Dawson's Creek. This statement may seem random but lucky for me, Dawsons Creek still comes on every morning. The day I realized that it came on, they were showing the finale. The show was on from when I was in sixth grade until my senior year. And I cried my eyes out when it ended because I felt like I basically grew up with this show. Well there is a scene that will always stick out in my mind when I think of that show. It is was Jen was making a video for her baby daugther because she was close to passing away and knew that she wouldn't be around to watch her grow up. I'll leave it here for a little food for thought:

"Hi, Amy, it's mom. Well, by the time you see this, I won't be here anymore, and I know how much that sucks, for both of us. So seeing as how I won't be around to thoroughly annoy you, I thought I would give you a little list of the things that I wish for you. Well, there's the obvious. An education. Family. Friends. And a life that is full of the unexpected. Be sure to make mistakes. Make a lot of them, because there's no better way to learn and to grow, all right? And, um, I want you to spend a lot of time at the ocean, because the ocean forces you to dream, and I insist that you, my girl, be a dreamer. God. I've never really believed in God. In fact, I've spent a lot of time and energy trying to disprove that God exists. But I hope that you are able to believe in God, because the thing that I've come to realize, sweetheart... is that it just doesn't matter if God exists or not. The important thing is for you to believe in something, because I promise you that that belief will keep you warm at night, and I want you to feel safe always. And then there's love. I want you to love to the tips of your fingers, and when you find that love, wherever you find it, whoever you choose, don't run away from it. But you don't have to chase after it either. You just be patient, and it'll come to you, I promise, and when you least expect it, like you, like spending the best year of my life with the sweetest and the smartest and the most beautiful baby girl in the world. You don't be afraid, sweetheart. And remember, to love is to live."

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and I will try to update more often :)

Oh! Everyone needs to see Blood Diamond - great and informative movie! (And Leonardo DiCaprio is hot!)

Love is to Live :)

I'm On My Way!

Well...i did it! Like promised, I submitted my application last night. My emotions have been up and down about graduate school for the past month when I finally decided that is what I want to do. On one hand, I'm so very excited to continue school and move down to Orlando. I am looking forward to learning more about myself and hopefully figuring out what it is exactly that I want to do. So many of my friends (and of course Eric) will be in Orlando, so that is definitely another plus.

On a side note: I think my parents are relocating to North Carolina. I'm really excited for them because I know all of the positives that will come from this move. But I am sad that they will be so far away, especially when I finally have the chance to move back to Orlando. But I know everything will turn out the way it was meant to. I am just not the best with change so it will definitely take some adapting but this is a life lesson that I am guaranteed to learn a lot from.

I'm hesitant about going to school because what if I go back to school and go through the two years of the program and at the end I still not know what I want to do. That is a big fear of mine. One of the essays I had to write for my application asked me to explain why I wanted to get my MBA now and how it fit into my ultimate career goals. Honestly, that was the hardest essay for me to write. So many people my age know exactly what they want to do and know the steps they have to take in order to get there. But! I also know a lot of people don't know exactly what they want to do - and that makes me feel better. I know that going to school will be a growing experience and I will be a stronger woman for going. But change is always scary, so there is that thought in the back of my mind of wondering if I'm doing the right thing.

I also found out yesterday that I am officially on the roster to play lacrosse for Rollins! There were a lot of hoops to jump through with NCAA but because of all the time the coach put into finding out if I could play, I am clear to definitely play my first year and hopefully my second year as well. I need to start practicing now - it has been over a year since I have even picked up my stick but I don't want to look like it when we start practice in the fall.

I also heard back from the interview I had for a job on campus as a Graduate Assistant (basically a Hall Director of one of the dorms). I have a second phone interview this week! Its for the other GAs to get to know me and let me know more in depth what they do. So I think thats a good thing! woo! :)

So like I said - I'm all applied so I decided to take this day and just do whatever I feel like doing, whenever I feel like doing it. Right now is 12:15 and I'm still in my PJs and I'm loving it! :)