As many of you all know I started my junior year this past fall at the University of Georgia. It was a big change from the three other colleges that I had attended up to that point, it was bigger than any school I had ever experienced before and, I knew absolutely no one going into the first day of classes. That was except for my three roommates that took me under their wings and exposed me to everything UGA! I don't think I could have gotten through those first few weeks without their help, and I love them for that. I still found myself going to them for things late into the spring semester. Love you guys!!
The month of August went as smoothly as one could how for being thrown into a new, huge, university. Things quickly looked up when my friend Rebekah asked me to rush a sorority with her. I was very skeptical at first, but she convinced me that this was not like any of th
e other sororities. Sigma Alpha is a professional agricultural sorority. And is NOT a member of the Panhellenic Council, which in cliff notes means that we are not a party –hardy-let’s have raging keggers, sorority. Now while this may sound lame and boring, trust me, it is not! Sigma Alpha is a great organization that promotes women in the field of agriculture and provides countless opportunities for its members. So, I proceeded to rush along with twenty-something other girls. The nights of rush were fun and got us mingling with the active girls and as a bonus it was Grease- themed! I do not ever regret rushing for Sigma Alpha as it has changed my life in so many ways. I think about what my semester would have been like if I had not rushed. It would not have been near as much fun as it turned out to be. Sigma Alpha is also the place where I met my best friend, Melissa. I think that Melissa is one of the most amazing friends I have ever had, and will ever have. She is always there for me and always knows just what to say or do if I am having a bad day. There have been so many times she has gone out of her way to make me feel better. She has been there for me through so much this year and I don’t think I could have gotten through a lot of things without her. Love yah Melissa!
As the month of August brought new friends and experiences, I think September had it out for me. I got a call from my mom one night telling me about the latest tests they had done on my dad. He had been having the same symptoms for awhile and the doctors had still not figured out what was wrong with him. That night my mom told me that he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, in other words, cancer of the blood. I was not really sure how to feel with what she was telling me and it took me a good while to accept it. I guess with me not being home all the time and not seeing how he was every day, I overlooked it. When I was home on the weekends it hit me hard. I felt so guilty, just as I had moved to Athens my daddy had gotten cancer. He went through several treatments of radiation and chemotherapy, but that just seemed to make him worse. He has since stopped receiving the treatments and is doing great. He gets sick here and there but it is not near as bad as it was in the fall. I am thankful for every day that I get with him. He celebrated his 75th birthday in February and is still going strong!
Towards the end of the semester things started looking better. I was making tons of new friends in my classes and through Sigma Alpha, and I was starting to get a great feel for Athens. In late November I as well as the other sixteen girls in my pledge class became official sisters/members of Sigma Alpha. It was exciting to imagine what the future semester held for me as an active sister and I was very excited to get involved with things. November is also when “Twilight” came out, what an amazing day that was. I think I saw it in theaters like three times, which I guess is not that big of a deal compared to the “super fans” who saw it like ten times. Just after the release of “Twilight”, it was time for Thanksgiving break – thank goodness, because I sure needed the break. Over the break my family and I went to NYC. It was a good trip and I had a great time, but I do not think I will be going back anytime soon. I did have a pretty amazing hot dog while I was there, and it was NOT from a street vendor. We went to the taping of Good Morning America, and the morning we were there so was Lance Bass. Now being a N'SYNC fan growing up, this was very exciting for me; I even got my picture with him!!!! We also went to the parade on Thanksgiving morning, it was nice, but it was so cold. I was glad to get back to “warm” Georgia.
In December I celebrated my 21st birthday. It was a very exciting birthday that I will remember for the rest of my life. It would not have been as special as it was without my amazing friends. It was such a relief to finally be 21 and be “legal”. It was nice to be able to go out with my older friends and be able to enjoy myself. It was also an excuse for my roommates to buy me a huge Edward and Bella painting. I could not tell you in words how much I love that thing and how much I love them for getting it for me! Soon after my birthday, exam time began. I was just glad when the semester was over; I was ready to spend some time at home with my parents and puppies. Over Christmas break I walked in the graduation ceremony at the school where I received my Associates degree in Florida. Since I had taken most all of the classes online, I did not really know anyone else that was graduating. It was weird to be graduating without any friends, let’s just say that I was not the most enthusiastic graduate to walk across that stage.
When classes started back up in January I was really gung-ho about the semester that faced me. I was taking mostly Animal Science classes and I was excited about that. The class that I thought I was going to dread the most turned out to be my favorite. This class was Animal Practicum, and man did I love it. It was a very “hands on” class, as we spent most of our class time in labs. We did all sorts of crazy things to those poor animals, that none of us had done before. Over the course of the semester we did things like; branding, castrating, milking, dehorning, ear notching, hoof trimming, palpating (aka: sticking your hand up the butt of a cow), and other little random things here and there. It was a great class and I learned a lot. Plus I made so many new friends in that class that I now consider to be besties! Also, with the start of a new semester came a new group of pledges for Sigma Alpha. The class that rushed this spring was not nearly as big as the class I rushed with, but it is about quality not quantity. Love the Sigmas! It was also a chance for me to finally get involved with Sigma Alpha as an active sister. I really enjoyed getting to be on the other side of things, and watching the Sigma class learn to love Sigma Alpha too.
And then there was the blizzard of 09. Out of no where the little town of Athens, GA got 6 inches of snow over a days time. It was a kind of snow that I never had experienced in GA. It was perfect snow; the flakes were big and soft, and just right for making snowmen. We got that Monday off from school because the storm had caused so much damage and confusion! It was exciting seeing Athens like I had never seen it before, like so many other people. Everyone was so excited and we played in the snow for hours, I took part in what I think had to have been the biggest snow ball fight in the history of snow ball fights. It was a great day.
With spring came warmer weather, which meant trips to the lake, (Melissa’s lake). We spent our reading day and so many weekends on that lake. I enjoyed laying out on the dock, cruising in the boat (even if the died half the time), and going canoeing. Canoeing – hah, every time I think about that day that Melissa, Anna, and I capsized that thing in the middle of Lake Jackson I laugh. There were not many breaks or trips in the spring. I spent my spring break working and staying at home. There was nothing special about it and I plan to spend my senior spring break doing something much more exciting and memorable.
In April when it looked like the semester was getting ready to wind down until exams, I got some really bad news. My black lab, Clay, had been hit by a truck. Now this is a rare occurrence where I live, as I live on a one-way in one-way out dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The people that drive on my road are the people that live there, and they are always cautious while driving as they know that everyone lets their dogs run around free. Well the man that hit Clay has no reason to have a driver’s license, as he is very old and can not see well at all. Clay was standing in the base of our driveway and was hit. He was then caught under the wheel of the man’s truck and drug down the road. When my dad found Clay he had already lost a lot of blood and was not sure if he had time to get him to the vet. Well he did, and the vet determined that he had no internal injuries, which was a miracle. I guess having that extra fat helped him out some. The vet did decide that his front left leg, which got the worst of the injuries, was not reparable and said that they would have to amputate it. I was devastated. Well it has now been almost two months and you would never know that Clay is missing a leg. He runs and jumps and plays like he did before, plus he has a little added energy because we had to put him on a diet! I was glad that they were able to save his life because I don’t know what I would have done without my little boy.
Finals came and went without any other disasters or setbacks. It was then time for me to move out of my apartment and come home for the summer. It was bittersweet to be packing up everything I had accumulated from the past two semesters: pictures, memorabilia from concerts and events I went to, books, clothes, shoes, and most importantly my Edward and Bella painting. It was hard leaving my roommates as we had become so close in the last few months, but it was time and I knew that we would see each other all the time over the summer.
Since leaving Athens for the summer, things have been slow. I have been working on the weekdays and visiting Athens as much as possible on the weekends. This past weekend, I went and stayed with one of my close friends Anne. Her lil sister through Sigma Alpha was getting married, and Anne asked me to be her +1. Although it rained the entire night of the outdoor wedding, Lauren could not have looked more beautiful.
I guess I am going to try and keep up with this thing on a regular basis. It will be hard during the month of June as I am taking a chemistry class. Wish me luck!
