True Colors 2.0

When people in your life let you down, especially those who you believed were some of your most trusted and greatest friends, sometimes it's best to remember others in your life who NEVER let you down:

we always got each other's backs. no matter what. 

blood runs thicker than water.

and listen to a song like this:

#truth.

life is a journey...and there will always be bad situations, let downs and mistakes so you can learn from them.

Engaged to Virginia Tech

There are certain moments in your life that you will never, as long as you live, ever forget: The day you got accepted into the college of your dreams. Your first kiss. Your wedding day. The day you graduate from said dream College. The day you become a parent. These are all defining moments in our lives, things that are special to us that we hold most dear in our hearts. Not only are they important, but they help define who we are.

I may not have accomplished quite a few things on that list above (particularly the parent and wedding part) but I know that there is one moment that needs to be added, a moment that I will always, always remember for the rest of my life.

The day I got engaged.

Whoah, wait what? Engaged? No, it's not what you think. I wasn't engaged to a particular person, that's not what I mean. I became engaged to something much more meaningful, much bigger than any one guy.

I became engaged to Virginia Tech.

October 4th, 2011. 7pm. It's the evening myself and my Leadership Team have been planning, preparing and anticipating for one year since we worked at 2012's Ring Premiere the previous October. We have been marketing like crazy, biting our nails about the speeches we had to make and counting down the hours until we would finally, finally get to unveil all our hard work to our fellow classmates and receive that amazing token of our accomplishment- our class ring. The months, days and weeks seem to slip by and before we know it- the big evening has finally arrived! We assembled at 5:45 in front of Burruss Hall in the most beautiful spot on campus in beautiful Blacksburg fall weather. The beginning of the happiest night of my life:

our fearless leader! Clayton, you did an incredible job and there are just no words that I can use to accurately describe how much I admire you and your amazing leadership skills. You are truly wonderful and you deserved every minute in the spotlight! I know I speak for the entire Ring Design team as well as LTEAM when I say we LOVE YOU!

the boys- don't their white tuxes look super fly?

Kappa Delta does Leadership. Kappa delta does Tradition. Kappa Delta does Virginia Tech.

Leaders since freshman year, Leaders for life. 

I can't believe it is finally time to pass the torch...our amazing "littles" we expect nothing but great things from 2014 Ring Design! 

It felt a little odd to be here on the steps of one of my favorite buildings in the world, one year later...but this time in the place of honor, and not those in charge of cleaning up all the confetti after the show. (we love you 2014) I couldn't really believe 365 days had gone by, and yet here we were- celebrating one whole year of Leadership Team love:

Happy One Year Anniversary! To great friends, and amazing memories we will never forget! Oh how the time really does fly!

It felt like Prom as we posed for picture after picture, and eventually we were ushered inside to begin the ceremony. I was jittery, nervous, happy and nostalgic all at the same time- talk about emotional sensory overload! I couldn't wait for the moment when I would slip that ring on my finger, and yet I didn't want it to end. But it is the funny way of the world that just when you want to freeze time and savor every second- it seems to speed up and fly by...

the big moment...did we say yes?

WE DID! :)

I will never forget the surge of emotions I felt when I opened that little black box and saw my class ring sparkling up at me, nestled in the folds of black velvet. I knew a piece of me had fallen into place right then- and I felt more complete and sure of myself than I ever have in my entire life. I finally knew what it felt like to become engaged- to commit yourself completely and wholly to something that truly means the world to you. 

Of course I said yes to Virginia Tech's proposal. 

The rest of the night passed in a haze of pride, happiness and honor. There are truly no words to describe it. But they say that pictures are worth 1,000 words...so maybe these can fill in the blank spots that words simply can't fill:

And to my fellow Leadership Team members...Ring Premiere is over, but Ring Dance is just around the corner! And in the words of Dr. Seuss:

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened" 

you all have changed my life forever. 

xoxo.

Defying Gravity

Sometimes in life, we really have to stop and think- wow, what am I doing? Am I where I need to be? Where I should be? And is this who I want to be? After all, we are only given one life, one chance... shouldn't we make the best of it, live it to the absolute fullest and soak up every moment, every breath of fresh air while we have the chance? And before it's just too late? 

Of course, along the way there are bumps in the road, mistakes made, and choices we sometimes wish we hadn't acted on. This is the inevitable truth of living that is sometimes just so hard to grasp. Life is hard, from time to time. If it wasn't, what fun would that be? There would be no challenges, no hurtles to overcome and no satisfaction to feel at the end of a tough day when you just sit back and think...wow, I made it. It would be downright boring. 

There will be hard days and easy days. Sad days and happy days. Funny days and infuriating days. Exciting days and boring days. If every day was the same, life would just be like one grey, monotonous silent film- with no plot, no sound, no laughter, no climax, nothing. Just a blur of pictures flashing past us. Where's the fun in that?

And yet, there are some things in life that we can't change. Like the past. Or a bad grade you just got on your super hard accounting exam. If we could change it, we would obviously go back and change all the bad things that have happened in our lives- but when we finally finished, what kind of people would we be? With no trials or struggles, no challenges to overcome or mountains to climb, we wouldn't be the people we are today. I believe it is true what the say: Mistakes are part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. 

I feel as though sometimes the combination of regret, all the bad choices and mistakes we have made over the years, and gravity threaten to drag us down, until we are feeling quite awful about ourselves. But if that above quotation is true, that mistakes really are precious life lessons, perhaps we can find the strength within ourselves to close our eyes, let go of all that regret, take a giant leap of faith and just...

defy gravity.

somewhere only we know

and if you have a minute, why don't we talk about it somewhere only we know...

Reconnecting with old friends from your past is perhaps one of the most unique experiences we can encounter in our lives. There are memories that only the two of you share that seem millions of years away from where you are today, but when you recall them together it feels as though those times had only happened yesterday. It's amazing how we can recall the details of times past with incredible and startling detail. I love catching up with someone you used to spend so much time with, and realize you can still laugh with them about the "good old days" and appreciate how much the two of you have changed at the same time. It's an interesting type of experience. 

This was a very busy weekend! My weekend started on Thursday evening, with our "Around the World" themed social with PIKE. Needless to say, my sisters and I took the theme to the extreme (obviously)

around the world with Kappa Delta! Can you guess which countries we are from??

my favorite picture of the evening.

Kate Middleton was there! I was SO EXCITED to meet her! :) 

Friday was a hectic day- I helped Christine and Kelly with the marketing for RING PREMIERE (OCT 4TH!! EEK) I helped with the lamination of posters and painted the banners we are going to hang in Squires. The closer we get to Premiere, the more excited I become. I can hardly believe all of our hard work is about to be showcased to our class. I am so honored and overcome with hokie pride I can hardly contain it! 

getting my banner painting on! 

Saturday was GAME DAY! It was the white out game (a little chilly, but still so fun as usual) and we tailgated with a few girls I lived with in PY Freshman year, so that was great to spend time with old fellow RLC Leaders! Here are some of a few good shots from the game:

we love virginia tech!

good friends, good tailgates, good food, the BEST time!

schmollz and i helped michael win the prize as the most programs sales for the day! you're welcome :) 

All in all, time is flying by for me. Sometimes I feel like I blink and a weekend has already ended and I'm staring at studying for three exams I have this week. Oh well. Let the crunch time begin!

Here's a classic little line I just love to start your week out in the right mentality: 

My Role Model

My inspiration for tonight: (and just for life in general)

Live like Kate.

Green Eggs & Ham

"I do not like Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like them Sam I am!" 

One of the greatest lines from my childhood. I remember my mom reading that book to my siblings and I often when we were much younger, it was one of my favorites. So needless to say, I was thrilled when I went into my classroom today and my teacher told me I was doing Dr. Seuss with the kids today. After I would read two books of my choice, and discuss them we would read Green Eggs and Ham and then I would get to help the children make scrambled eggs with a bit of parsley- to make them green! I knew it was going to be an exciting day in Ms. Stone's kindergarten class! 

The two Dr. Seuss books I chose to read to my kindergarteners were "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", and "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?" First I read "The Grinch", which is another one of my favorite childhood stories (I love the original cartoon movie, classic!) After I finished, I asked the students what did they think was the meaning, or message that Dr. Seuss was trying to send. Leighton, one of my little buddies (although I'm not technically supposed to have favorites, but if I did...he would definitely be one of them) raised his hand and promptly piped up: "That we can have a Merry Christmas, even without all the presents!" 

Something tugged at my heartstrings and for a moment I was at a loss for words. I gulped a little, still wrestling with this sudden upswelling of emotion, and replied that yes, Leighton that was exactly what Dr. Seuss wanted us to know...but I knew why I was suddenly overcome with all that emotion. I knew this was the reason I wanted to be a teacher, to experience moments like this, when my students would speak far beyond their years and grasp a mature and meaningful message like the one I was trying to convey to them. I felt proud inside.

Making scrambled green eggs was so much fun with the kiddies! The kids all got to crack an egg each and were so enthralled with the way they turned from a sunshine yellow liquid to scrambled eggs- just like magic! We added parsley to make them "green" and I dished out the plates to my students and they happily gobbled them up. It was such a good Dr. Seuss Day!

"Say! I like green eggs and ham, I do! I like them, Sam I am!" 

Here's a funny little video version if you want to relive your childhood (I know I loved doing it today with my kindergarteners!)

Happy Thursday, Ya'll! :) 

Choose Your Attitude

This particular post goes out to my inspiration for blogging, smiling, and always trying to uphold a positive outlook on life: Christine Terminello. Running into you today really put a spring in my step and lifted my stressful spirits substantially! 

The title of this post is not only the words of Miss Terminello herself, but they also got me thinking as I trekked along to my 2:30 psychology of learning class. The attitude that you have every day can obviously be influenced by outside events and things that may be out of your control, but ultimately how you react to the things that happen to you is your choice, and nobody else's. You are in control of how you react to the not-so-great or stressful situations that go along with leading a busy life. In short, you have the power to choose your attitude. 

So why do we feel like sometimes our attitudes and our reactions to certain things that happen to us are beyond our control? Are we naturally just passive creatures? I would like to think, no we definitely are not. Part of the challenge of undertaking stressful endeavors is the end result- the satisfaction and pride that can only be felt when you step back and look at what you have accomplished and see the people you have inspired, influenced and helped. And maybe, just maybe, if you choose the right outlook to have and the right attitude, the journey will be that much more enjoyable, no matter how bumpy the ride may get. 

some happy things to make you smile:

we're off to see the wizard...

honk honk!

it really is.

half the fun is discovering what your "bliss" is! #adventurous 

and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Wednesday!

and remember...