Wind Beneath My Wings

I realize that it's not December yet, but with Thanksgiving just having past it's holiday season. This just happens to be among one of my favorite times of the year, because it's a time where everyone starts to think a little bit more and stop rushing around in life. It can be about the materials, seeing as two of the three holidays during this time (Christmas and Chanukah, sorry Kwanza) involve presents, but for many its about family and love and laughter and happiness.

In light of that, a few days late is my list of things that I'm thankful for. But in pure IWIWK (I Wish I Woulda Known) fashion, it will be in things I wish I was thankful for before this year.

I WISH I WOULDA BEEN THANKFUL EARLIER FOR:

1. My Education - Yes, it seems weird that I haven't been thankful before now for it, but having my last semester of undergrad approaching so soon really has made me value the education I receive. I'm getting a better and more well-rounded one than so many of my friends at other schools (if you're reading this, other non-GW friends, sorry but I think it's true) and I am getting so much out of it. Not only do I love the classes I take but I learn from them and they, for the most part, are going to help me in whatever I end up doing. My classes have taught me not only the content of the course but also what I enjoy and what I don't. My education is so highly rated that it's not just another school - it is The George Washington University.

2. My University - This is different from my education because college isn't just about the learning. It's about the experiences as well. I admit - I complain about GW a lot. The financial aid office is in a deadzone for cell service so when you have to go there and have to ask your parents a question it's a huge process. My heater still hasn't gotten fixed in my bathroom. The security alert system is too slow. And plenty of other complaints. But all in all, GW is the best school for me and I am so happy that I ended up here. I wasn't too happy at first, but let me say GO COLONIALS RAISE HIGH! The students are interesting and sometimes we get a bad rap, but I am one of them and I love being apart of the GWU/Foggy Bottom community (and metro stop). GW lets us take advantage of everything it and the city has to offer, and I am so much better off for the future being here than at another school. And you state school kids can boast all you want about all the raging parties you had and how you're a party school and how you have a great business school and blah blah blah but please, if you really want to debate a GW kid about who's school is better, go ahead. We will win because we are better. And by the way - we don't need to use college sports as an excuse to party. We do it anyway.

3. My Computer - Without going into too much detail, my computer has never failed me, unlike the cell phones I've had, even my car. God Bless you Steve Jobs.

4. Reusable Bags - If you don't know, Washington DC has a $.05 tax on every plastic bag bought. As someone going into the real world soon enough and won't really have that extra 5 cents to spend on a few bags, thanks to all the events/companies that have handed out reusable bags in the past year or so, saving me money in the future.

And 5. Easy Mac, Ramen Noodles, and Campusfood.com - You three have kept me fed over the past 3.5 years and will continue to do so until I have an acceptable income. It's about time that I thanked you for all that you do. Seriously, I'd be dead without you.

These 5 things truly have made my time in college amazing, and with a semester left I'm glad that I could finally publicly thank them for all they do. They truly are the wind beneath my wings/arms.

Always,
Caroline

"Wind Beneath My Wings" is originally written by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley and performed by Gary Morris.

My Life Would Suck Without You

So this blog is for my social media class. It only seems fitting that I then devote a blog to my favorite form of social media - Facebook.

 Now, I don't have an iPhone, but I do have the app on my Blackberry...

I was one of those lucky high schoolers who was invited to join Facebook when they were expanding to us non-college kids. I had a friend who was a techie, and he invited me to join. I created one, and it was cool and all because I was an original high school Facebook user, but I didn't really use it much till the last two years of high school.

Now, Facebook has become a daily activity. It is my homepage. I get upset when there are no new updates because I've been on it so much. It's not only a habit, it's a drug. I think that's why they call people who are registered on the site "users" - because its a drug that people cannot figure out how to stop. I've tried - cold turkey doesn't work. I can't find a good rehab program. There are no "Facebook patches" like nicotine patches.

I wish I woulda know before senior year that there are, however, Facebook blocking apps you can download on your computer.

Do you realize I how much on top of my classes I would have been if I had known about these sooner?! I could've been far more productive, far less obsessed with status updates and new albums. I could have saved the world by now if Facebook didn't exist, or even if I spent less time on it. It's a website that millions, MILLIONS, spend countless hours on, and I am one of the addicted.

These applications are websites, downloadable tools, and more that you can sent to prevent yourself from logging onto Facebook. You can set a time, for example 5 hours, where you are prohibited from using. I've had friends who have asked others to change their passwords for them, but they always hack into it and get on or just cave and beg for their password. However, with these sites, you cannot simply stop them. They work until the end of the set time. There is no way around them that I have heard of. It's amazing! It's a form of controlling the addiction and making sure that it stays manageable. Probably not the best solution for actual drug addicts, but for Facebook addicts, it definitely helps a lot.

*Note - there are a lot of different sites, but I'm only going to list my favorite because the others aren't worth your time. You'll just find yourself back on Facebook. So try this one - www.facebooklimiter.com/

Now, I haven't utilized them as much as I thought because I just found out about them and I've been pretty good at time managing this semester. But I have a feeling that finals and spring semester these helpful tools will be more than what I need to make sure that I succeed.

I'm pretty sure that Mark Zuckerberg doesn't approve of these things, but I sure do. Just wish I woulda known a little earlier...guess we'll never know what else I could have been capable of...

Always,
Caroline

Love

So as you may have noticed, I'm from the South. I was mostly raised there, and although I'm not a Southern girl by birth (and I'm still not really a Southern girl), I consider the South my home sweet home. I miss it a lot when at school, but too be honest who knows if I'll ever really move back.

But this post isn't about that - it's about something the South forced me to do. No, it's not capitalize the "s" in South to make it a proper noun, although that is why it's capitalized because people from the South do think the South is the best place ever. It's about something everyone in the country relates with the South - Greek Life.

If you had known me back before college, I didn't exactly seem like the sorority "type." I just wasn't someone who you would imagine to become Ms. Ra-Ra Sorority in college. But because I grew up around talks of mixers and parties and big Greek-lettered houses and rush and pins and cheers and frat tats and more, I decided to give it a try come college. Hell, I already knew so much about that it! It seemed like something to do, some place to help me adjust to college, and at the very least, some group of people that I could do the typical "college" things. It just seemed like something I would be a part of, nothing special.

I wish I woulda known before senior year how much I'd actually grow to love my sorority, my sisters, and who I've become because I was a part of DC Alpha Pi Beta Phi, because then I could've taken more advantage of my time in the chapter.

It's cliche and sounds stupid when I try to explain it, but this sorority literally means so much to me. The big Southern schools you're probably thinking of are the complete opposite of GW Greek Life. Not to diss my friends at those types of schools, but I'm not quite sure that the 250+ member chapter do even close to what GW Greek Life does - GW actually does most things for charity, and partying is not what Greek Life is known for. We're not the Greek Life seen in the movies, and that's what I like about it.

And my sorority, in my opinion, is the best, especially for me. Not to drone on forever and ever, so I'll briefly explain. My chapter and sisters has given me the courage to do anything and everything. I have no fear, knowing that I have a support system like them. They are always there for me, and I know every single person in my chapter, including the 45 that were initiated yesterday. I love each one because as unique as we are, we come together because of what this organization has given to us. The even more cliche thing is that we do all share the same values.

I've attended formals and date parties as much or less as I've attended philanthropy events and speakers. I've traveled with my sisters, even meeting up with them while abroad. I've laughed and cried at my best and worst times, and none of them have judged me for either. I've served as an executive board member (twice...) and as a regular chapter member. I've lived in our housing and lived away from it. I've done so much and changed for the better and I cannot really describe how its affected my college career.

Honestly, I could go on and on, but its not the same unless you're 1.) in Greek life or 2.) even really know what I'm talking about which is hard in general for anyone not a DC Alpha Pi Phi. All I can say is that I'm proud of the chapter I joined and cannot wait to see what they accomplish in the future. I'll be passing on my position to the next person sooner rather than later, and it's bittersweet to know that come May my status on our electronic system will be moved to "Alumna."

But at the end of the day, we're "friends and leaders for life." I have the courage to face life after graduation because of what Pi Phi has given me, and I have absolutely no fear or doubt that it, and more importantly my sisters, will be there for me when I do and don't need them later.


Thanks for the memories. I'm so glad I did.


Always,
Caroline

Chicken Fried

A few weeks ago I got a (semi) break in my life and got to go home for the weekend. Home, for me, in down below the Mason-Dixon line in Georgia, where Chick-Fil-As are everywhere, people hold open doors for everyone, "ya'll" is said all the time and not made fun of, and sometimes that twang in peoples' voices will break through. I was "raised up beneath the shade of a Georgia pine."

My breakfast meal at Chick-Fil-A: Chicken biscuit, hashbrowns, and a Dr.Pepper.

While I was home, I had to work on a paper and do other homework, and of course had to do sorority stuff because my job is all paperwork for that. It was frustrating that I had to be doing work on what was supposed to be my weekend off. Yes, I procrastinated everything more than I should've, but the work just keeps on coming.

However, at home I was more focused, less tempted to be distracted, and more productive than I've been all semester at school.

I wish I woulda known earlier how home isn't as overrated as they say.

Yes, it can be overrated. Sometimes when I am home for weeks at a time I begin to get bored. My friends from home all migrate back and forth between their state schools, leaving me all alone many times while I am home. They always try to convince me to come visit them, and although sometimes I do because I get that bored, I always wish I was back at GW because GW is better in every single way. But I visit them (although they haven't visited me in the time we've been at college - I hope ALL OF YOU from RHS are reading this and feel guilty and plan trips to come visit me because I've come to see you!) because I'm bored and my couch gets less comfortable the more I sit and the TV shows don't seem to change as the time goes on.

My High School Logo - Go Hornets...

It's overrated. It's boring. It's the whole "I'm in college why should I be at home where there are rules?" attitude. Now, once I started college I didn't really have "rules" like back in high school, but it was still - "I don't usually go out till 11pm butI'm home and in bed already? I usually go to the liquor store at 20th and I and don't even need an ID to buy alcohol but here I can't even have a beer? I usually walk down the hall and chat with my friends about whatever crap college students talk about but now I'm home and my mom won't stop asking me about what I want to do tomorrow and in 5 minutes and for New Years..."

However, that last weekend at home made me really appreciate being there. As much as home is overrated when you've been living the cOlLeGe LiFe for a while, home is a place to relax and to have that break from that lifestyle. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but I realized how much I really do need a break from it every now and then. And I wish I woulda realized that sooner.

I literally got so much done while I was home it was ridiculous. Yes, I still had to finish some things when I got back to DC, but it was sooooo much less than I thought it was going to be. I could wake up at home and do two hours of work that would take me two weeks to do at school.

Also, I was able to eat my meals at normal times! Glorious! I got to have breakfast, lunch, AND dinner! And it was all good not the crap I usually eat. My mom is on some strange diet where she weighs her food and I was worried that I'd be eating pine nuts all weekend, but MJ didn't let me down - and she looks great (YAY MOM!). I had steak and chicken and got to eat at my favorite Chick-Fil-A.

And I got to sleep in - CRAZY I KNOW DON'T FREAK OUT. It was awesome.

I felt rejuvinated after that weekend. Now I don't feel like that because I have been back into my crazy lifestyle that I currently lead, but even just thinking about that weekend at home makes me super happy for a tiny bit. I got to just relax and not have to deal with anyone or anything for just a few days, and those few days were so needed.

I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving in a few weeks - and although I will be home for a week and I will get bored and think about how overrated being at home is, I know that eventually I will realize how awesome it is and how much I love it.
"And my house it's not much to talk about, but it's filled with love that's grown in southern ground." And sometimes I just need that "little bit of chicken fried."
But that still doesn't mean I'm ever moving back home - ever.

Always,
Caroline

Meet Me Halfway

A few posts ago, my friend Alex wrote about how you need 120 hours to graduate, letting all you reading this blog know to be sure you have 120 hours so you can graduate.

Well, I knew that. I thought I knew everything about what I needed to graduate. Freshman year I started an excel spreadsheet of the classes I needed, putting in bold each class upon completion. When I added a double major another tab went on the spreadsheet. When I got into my 5-year BA/MA program, another tab created.

Then I decided that I wanted to take an additional master's class this spring. And this required a petition to take that class.

I wish I woulda known to talk to your adviser/get a graduation check at the beginning of senior year.

If I had not requested this extra class, if I had not been super confused about my master's program, I would not have known that my spreadsheet was somehow off and that I needed a different 3 classes than I thought to graduate. I've been having heart palpitations for a few hours now after finding out this news.

Registration for classes for me is Monday, and its Wednesday. I found out fives days before registering that I needed not what I thought - completely unacceptable. I wish I woulda known to check this against the school records earlier so I would've known this earlier and planned better for this year in general, not just class wise.

GW doesn't require a graduation check before your final semester, and I think that this is stupid. Plain and freaking stupid. There are probably tons of students, like myself, who have kept track of their classes and thought they had everything. I even matched up all my classes against a "balance sheet" they gave us at the end of first semester junior year. So I thought I was right - I was so sure I was right.

But I was wrong, but I never would've known because you don't have to go in and meet with your adviser. Most people do, and I always email with questions, but it was my wanting to get ahead in my master's program that led to me learning what I really need to get my undergraduate degree. I had to go the extra mile - GW doesn't even meet me halfway.

In the end, I'm going to graduate because I still only need 3 classes, just different ones than I thought. My heart attack is slowly subsiding and going back to normal. Which is good.

Always,
Caroline