Blessings!

I am overwhelmed. And this time, it isn't caused by students, school or work items. I am overwhelmed by people. I am overwhelmed by how blessed I am by people I have known for just two months. People who do not owe me a thing and have already given me more than I could ever ask for. Some of the people that I have met here, I can already tell you for sure that they will be very important people to me for the rest of my life. Everyday I am blown away by their kindness and generous spirits. They are the people I strive to be more like. I can only hope that someday I can be as much of a blessing to them as they have been to me. So to James, Andrew, Leigh, Adam, all my RA's and the other RD's...thank you! I cannot put into words how thankful I am to have you now apart of my life!

Roll Tide Roll

Last weekend, I had the awesome opportunity to drive down to Alabama with another grad student, Courtney, to watch an Alabama football game. Let me tell you, that type of experience can and should make anyone love football! Campus is crazy.
Everyone is happy because football is officially starting. You are among a sea of red. Roll Tide takes over as the formal greeting in the state. Tailgating begins bright and early in the morning and goes all night long. Free food. Lots of entertainment. You can dance with random strangers to the Cupid Shuffle. Oh and the football isn't that bad too! All in all, the game was well worth the 16 hours in a car. Plus I got to go to target and eat chipotle, so really it was a very valuable and life-giving trip for me. But from now on, I may be a little bias towards the crimson tide! Once a Bama fan, always a Bama fan! ROLL TIDE ROLL!!

Back to the Books

Well I am now officially a grad student. It's a little odd being back in a classroom setting and attempting homework again for the first time in four years is kind of a joke! But here I am, over a week into my first semester at Appalachian State University where I am going to get my MA in College Student Development. For those of you who have zero idea on what that is or why there is even a Masters Program for it. The program is training me to be a Student Affairs Professional. On any college campus there are certain students needs outside of the classroom that need to be met, people in my field take care of these things. We can hold many different jobs on campus, whether it is working in the Residence Halls like I am currently, putting on campus events, advising student groups such as athletic clubs, Greek life or musical groups.You can also work in financial aid or admissions and all the way up to being the Dean of Students on campus. So while all these things have very different job functions, they all are focusing on developing students and engaging them in their college experience. That is what I'm wanting to do. Ok, so now you got the background on things. Let me tell you how nervous I was to go to my first day of class. I was asking my friends ridiculous questions like "do grad students carry a backpack?" "what kind of things do I need to bring?" and most importantly "what should I wear?" Well I've made it through the first week and I am starting to feel a little more comfortable, at least attire wise. However, I am finding that in grad school...they make you read a ton. And reading takes a lot of time. And time is something that I don't really have. I have to schedule time to see friends. Even when I do that, I will have to go deal with a weed incident in my building which takes up an hour of my time that was supposed to be dedicated to something else! But even with the craziness of my life and the constant feeling of being overwhelmed and 5 steps behind, I really love being back at school. I love the college setting so much! I feel at home here and I think that's a great feeling to have, especially since home is 20 hours away! Well I have spent enough time here. Must get back to the books!