^^That chick right there? That was me this past spring semester, February to be exact! And still is me too, nothing has changed in that regard. Except maybe my hair is shorter...
As people look at pictures, people can admire the outward qualities that are displayed in the photos and tend to not see what is beneath the surface. The reason that I held back on updating this blog was for many reasons, mainly lack of time, but I felt the weight of a ton of boulders upon my very shoulders to a point where I could taste the ground. The amount of activities I did my last year of college was unbearable, but somehow I made it through all the way to graduation and beyond.
How fancy do I look?
Well, that was also minus 4 cords...but you get the picture. I was a machine in college, and frankly I am proud of all of my accomplishments! 5 honor societies, 4 jobs, 3 presidential positions, 2 internships and 1 sorority. And my just-as-busy boyfriend on top of that. Despite this however, I neglected my personal moments with certain people, friends, family and even myself.
Not anymore. I want to appreciate the good people and things I have in life, and work harder to pursue a better me. On this new journey that I am on, I want to acknowledge my past and make sure my present self sets me on a path to success for the future.
So how am I going to do that? Well I just mentioned 3 things: past, present and future. Let's start with the past! Month-by-month, I'm going to do a mini update on how my year went when I wasn't blogging:
(NOTE: The following events took place in between the months of January 2015 - August 2015, so if needed, go use the bathroom or grab a snack. It's a lengthy memory.)
January: Study Abroad
So starting where I left off, I was just about to leave for Ecuador on a Study Abroad Winter Session. From January 2nd to January 22nd, I traveled to this INCREDIBLE country to take a class, live with a host family, and indulge in the Spanish culture in an actual Spanish-speaking country. I had tried to start a blog to record my adventures in Ecuador, but I failed to be consistent and therefore gave up. Ah well, at least I tried! Either way, this was an amazing experience that I couldn't have traded for the world. I worked my butt off for this trip, but a HUGE thank you to those of you who donated for me to experience this. You have no clue how much this impacted my life. To those of you who came with, I believe the words I said at the farewell dinner summed up everything as I tried to hold tears back.
Once I got back, I started up my last semester with 16 credits, 4 of them being an internship with the Salisbury news station, WBOC-TV (check out my website of my experience here!). Additionally, I was in the midst of Go Greek, which means because I was a recruitment counselor (Rho Delta) for the upcoming recruitment, I was not affiliated with my sorority. It was a little tough I'll admit, but it wouldn't be long before recruitment rolled around...
February: Coming HΦΜE
Early February, Formal Recruitment was upon each and every potential new member as well as all of the sisters. It was a blast being on a new side, the National Panhellenic Counsel as a disaffiliated sister aka Recruitment Counselor aka Rho Delta, escorting PNMs to their sessions to see which sorority would be the one at the end of the week they would join. After the culmination of recruitment on Bid Day, each woman joined their respective new chapters, and I was revealed to be in the one chapter I belong: Phi Mu! It was a warm welcome and I was so happy to be with my sisters again.
Throughout the month, I still continued to work a lot. My jobs included working at Applebee's, teaching Zumba at two gyms, renting out camera equipment at Media Services (aka THE CAGE for you CMAT peeps), and being a Tour Guide representing Salisbury University. I missed out on many social activities, but essentially I was enjoying myself and throwing my all into making money. Frankly, it was working!
Additionally, I was thinking a lot about my future post-graduation. Was I to return to Gaithersburg and work in either D.C. or Baltimore, for a media corporation? Or was I to travel somewhere else in pursuit of an excellent media career? The questions and the pressure started to rise.
At this time, I thought about applying to do the Disney College Program, for reasons which I could not honestly remember. This internship is designed for students still in college to take a semester off to work at either Walt Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort, but the catch is that you have to be enrolled at an accredited college or university. Luckily I could still apply since I was still a student at SU, so I went ahead and applied then didn't think twice of it. After teaching a Zumba class, I returned home to find an email with a link to a web-based interview from Disney. Something had to have stood out on my resume, since it was a generic internship. Regardless, I did the interview online and then received another email a few days later to complete a phone interview for the DCP. At last, I finally got excited. Finally in late February, I gathered up all of my research and knowledge and accepted the call for the phone interview. Of course it had to have gone well, because the next month was a big burst of...
March: Disney!!!
Early March was a blast, because after being promised from my interviewer that I would hear back 4-5 weeks after the interview, not even 5 days went by and I ALREADY received my acceptance email into the program! I was ecstatic, and even though I had no idea what the role they offered me was(Vacation Planner), I was still pumped. The fact that I was going to go to Disney World (for the FIRST TIME) on Spring Break with Evan was even better because I could see where I could be potentially working! Such a great turning point in my perspective of the future.
Not long after, I celebrated a special occasion held in every chapter: Big Little Reveal! I was on the fence about possibly taking another little, but there are times in life when certain people make you feel special therefore, you have to make them an important part of your life...
Everyone, please welcome Julia!!! She is the perfect addition to my family line, and even though I had only a few months at SU with her, I wanted her to be with the very person she reminded me of, me! To this day, I am so thankful for making that decision easy for me, because I rediscover who I am and who I want to be when I'm with her. She already is getting involved with the chapter too, such a proud big!!!
Also, March happens to be the BEST month. An Ides of March baby, they warned you about Caesar but no one ever told you I was coming too!
As I said earlier, I was going to Disney World on Spring Break regardless of if I was to work there or not. I had an amazing time seeing all of the parks, and it was wonderful being able to spend it with my boyfriend! Checked out all four parks, and even checked out Universal too! Such a great way to spend my week off!
April: A Work in Progress
April was a busy yet important month for me. Another honor society, Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish Honor Society, extended me an invitation to to join their organization. Of course I had to, more opportunities to flourish! Another cool event that took place in April was a trip to NYC that I took my honor society, the National Broadcasting Society on. We took a tour of Radio City Music Hall and it was such a great time learning about the wonderful stage that held performances from thousands of entertainers! The trip, although hard to plan, was well worth it in the end result.
April had me doing a lot of cool things at my internship too, filming commercials, doing voiceovers and much more! It was definitely something I felt that I could do if I was in the Salisbury area longer.
Speaking of filming, my New Media I class had me making really cool projects, including GIFs, montages and music videos! Below is a clip from my favorite (and by far most ridiculous) piece from the class. I had an absolute BLAST making this complex drug-deal complication with my pal, (other) Evan!
I also had my last Relay for Life this month, teaching Zumba one last time for the crowd and raising money for the American Cancer Society. Oh, and I donated 8 inches of my hair to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths too!
All in all, a very exciting week for activities!
May: Time to Fly Away
Of course, this month was all about looking forward to Graduation! I had many "lasts" of various activities, and they were all nothing short of bittersweet.
My last Phi Mu Spring Formal was definitely a night to remember (...or not). I was happy I spent it with all the lovely people of my chapter as I said goodbye the next day in our 3D installation ceremony.
Going to double formals was not new to me either. The third time going to Evan's Sigma Tau Gamma White Rose Formal was the best night to top all of the formals we went to together in our college career!
Ah, my last Zumba class. I could not be happier of the 3 years I put into teaching classes for all my favorite students! It was a great last class and I can't wait to teach again!
The bar crawl for seniors really felt awesome to be a part of. We came, we saw, and we definitely crawled. It wasn't a goodbye, but just a see you later!
Saying goodbye to my presidency in my 3 honor societies was relieving but also sad knowing that I won't be able to help bring members closer together. Lambda Pi Eta's Honor Cord Ceremony was a reminder of that, and a celebration of a great accomplishment in my journey to success in media.
Finally, graduation!!! At the time it hadn't hit me that I was closing a chapter of fun and exciting opportunities, but nevertheless I walked across that stage wearing every part of my experience across my gown. As a friend quoted, Evan and I "literally won graduation". No explanation needed!
June/July: Work Hard, Play Harder
This past summer was a busy yet exciting one! I became a Hooters Girl and commuted from Salisbury to OC a few days a week (yikes!) while still working at Applebee's. That is the very reason I meshed June and July together: I did not get to have a bunch of outings with friends because of work and therefore, my summer flew by super fast!
The pictures don't even do its justice:
Bestie came to visit! So happy she got to experience Salz for the first time!
Out with my fellow Hootie's!
With one of my OL students, Mauriccio!
Happy 4th of July!
Happy birthday Courtney!
The HoCo gang plus me!
As I moved out of Salisbury, I cried almost halfway home of the two and a half hour drive. It was a memorable four years.
Out with the seeester!
One of my bests Courtney!
Closing out the month with a Rise Against concert!
August: The Big Move!
As I accepted the invitation to participate in the Disney College Program back in March, I knew the date was coming. I was leaving everything I knew in Maryland to start a potential career with The Walt Disney Company, and I couldn't be more excited and nervous. Evan was also coming with me, since he got a job with the Tom James company, selling expensive suits. We took one last time to say goodbye to friends and family, then we would leave the nest.
Definitely going to miss everyone!!
The Present Day and Beyond
On August 17th, Evan started his big boy job and I checked into the Disney College Program. Since then, we have been very busy with our own jobs, making friends and I am about halfway done with training to be a Vacation Planner at Epcot!
This has been an exciting experience for me, as I hope to eventually work up to working for Disney in some way in their media department, be it Disney Studios, ABC, Pixar etc. All I know is that I am so pumped to be working for the mouse.
So with that being said, that is what I had been up to in the past nine months! It took me hours to compile this post, so I am happy that you got to this point. I will be making more regular posts, I promise! Otherwise my life would be hell trying to recap events from years past...
As always, I am looking forward to hearing about everyone's up and coming events and activities, so tell me what you've been up to! Lets catch up and be cool friends!
Ta ta for now!
