Its Alright

Ever heard any of those college horror stories about staying up all night to read a book and then write a paper on it...all in one night. It happens. Trust me, as much as I hate procrasinaters its impossible to not be guilty of it once in your life. I was guilty of procrasinating last night because this paper was only a 1-2 page paper over a 500 page book. Now honestly, isn't it a little bit ridiculous to read that much and only write 1-2 pages.

Between reading 500 pages and writing my paper I got approximately 2 hours of sleep last night. Its amazing though the thoughts and ideas that flow through your mind at 4 in the morning. I enjoyed reading the book, but the assignment was too short to put all one's thoughts together. That's part of college though...writing papers on things you may not want to, but in the end you feel smarter by some of the key concepts you remembered from reading.

Needless to say I took a nap today for about an hour. It was greatly appreciated. Perhaps there was other things I should have been doing, but sometimes you just have to relax and take some time for yourself. Set priorities and take care of yourself once in awhile.

Recruitment

Greek Life...often times people want to stereotype Greeks as soon as they heard the word. To be honest I also had negative view about Greek life as a freshman in college. I was unsure of what sororities or fraternities had to offer. Did my hair have to be blonde to become a member? Did I have to participate in some crazy midnight activity to become a member? So I went through Greek formal recruitment at Simpson to find out.

Soon enough I realized the girls in the sororities were real. They weren't a fake mold of girls you see in most sororities. These were the girls who were very involved on campus, and the girls I could look to for advice throughout my college years. Joining a sorority was something I never could have imagined, but now I couldn't live without it.

Joining a sorority has given me opportunities to be a leader and hold office, along with participate in the perks of Greek Life. Perks such as Greek Week (similiar to Homecoming style events), fall parties, spring formals, and national conventions for my sorority. The networking through a sorority is also amazing. I can be wearing my letters almost anywhere in the United States, and I'll meet an alum of my sorority.

This past week has been formal recruitment here at Simpson (yes folks that's why I haven't written...sad day in the world of blogging). I loved being on the other side of formal recruitment this year. This year I got the chance to meet all the first years and encourage them to go through recruitment. I got to meet the awesome new students and see what these girls can add to my house. It was probably one of the best weeks, and I can't wait to get to know my new sisters.

"From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it"

Its Back in Full Swing

The school year seems to be back in full swing. Its only the third week of school and the homework already seems to be endless. That's what we do as college students though. I suppose its our job to read and write papers, before we enter the 'real world' in a few short years. Somehow we all seem to manage though.

Besides class in full swing, all the campus organizations seem to be getting excited for upcoming events. I am on the executive board for Up 'Til Dawn, and we are busy finalizing plans for our big event. What is Up 'Til Dawn you ask?

Up 'Til Dawn is an annual letter writing event on campus. Students form teams and write letters to friends and family to help raise money for St. Jude Children's Hospital. Last year we raised $38,000 for St. Jude's. That means we saved the lives of many kids facing childhood cancer. It costs over $1.2 million a day to keep St. Judes open, so we are opening to raise even more this year. We'll stay up 'til dawn writing letters because cancer doesn't sleep and neither do we. And did you know that the survival rate for kids with acute lymphoblastic leukemia was only 4% in 1962 when St. Judes opened, but the survival rate is now 94%. Now you can't say that isn't amazing!

After all the letters are written to raise money for St. Judes there is a huge finale party to say thanks for everyone who participated. The word on the street is we have a radio station sponsoring our Up 'Til Dawn program, and the radio station will host a free concert here at Simpson for the finale party. I'll keep you posted on the details.

Another amazing thing going on with some of our campus organizations is the Harkin Steak Fry this Sunday. The Simpson College Democrats are helping out with the annual event. Tom Harkin, our democratic senator, is hosting a steak fry where all the 2008 presidential candidates will be present. I'm pumped to help with the set up and registrations, and even more for the opportunity to meet the candidates. If I get a picture with any of them, I'll be sure to post it.

One last thing, tonight the Simpson College Democrats are showing the movie 'United 93' in remembrance of September 11th. So lets pay tribute to those involved with September 11th, and remember them during this week. God bless.

New Major...Activities Involvement?

Ok so I came to a conclusion tonight that we should have a new major at Simpson. This would be called Activities Involvement. Now what would this entail you may ask? Well this would be a great major for all those high school students transitioning into college life. Yes, those high school students that were overly involved and just don't know what to do with their free time. Trust me from my first hand experience, there is always some activity to be a part of here. Just yesterday I had 4 meetings...yes that's right. Don't get me wrong, I love being so busy, but honestly sometimes its hard to find time for that thing called homework. Such a major as Activities Involvement would give students class credit for participating in more than say five activities.
haha...Ok so I'm not serious about this, but sometimes I do feel pretty involved here at Simpson. Almost enough to say I'm majoring in...Simpson. But as we all know from Iowa Private College Week...Adrian Jackson is already doing that. :)

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

There are some good people left in the world! :)

Labor Day weekend....ah yes, that really long weekend to finalize everything from the summer and get back to reality. The reality of classes and the school year back in full swing. I stayed here at Simpson for part of Labor Day weekend, but I also made my way back home to Humboldt for a few days too.

I saw "The Nanny Diaries" which was absolutely adorable. Wish I could meet a guy like 'Harvard Hottie.' For all the ladies that have seen the movie, come on you have to agree. I rented the movie "Perfect Stranger," and really enjoyed that. The ending was definitely creative and something I didn't see coming. So for as many bad reviews as it got, just rent it and see for yourself.

Let's see...the rest of my Labor Day weekend was filled with fun things like the Dayton Rodeo and seeing some friends back home. Also, my weekend was filled with minor irritations...

1. While sitting in "The Nanny Diaries" about five kids left the movie theater entirely.
Apparently spending $8 for a movie wasn't enough to keep them in their seats.

2. Turning the radio on to my absolute favorite song, just when it happens to be in the last repeat of the chorus. Don't you hate when that happens?

3. I-80 East being under construction...needless to say I missed my exit. Grrr.

4. People who can't seem to understand that the interstate has two lanes. The left one if designed for drivers traveling at higher speeds, while the right lane is for slower drivers. Some people really should pay attention to such things.

5. As I was driving back to Simpson, my car suddenly starts making a funny noise. Sounded kinda like something dragging on the ground.

With my car (sounding like it was going to fall apart), I pulled off the interstate and onto the shoulder. I call my dad and tell him my car was literally falling apart but I couldn't see what was the matter with it. (Dad's are always great to complain to when something is broken). My parents were just about on the way to help with my car troubles, when an old man pulls up behind me. He pulls up in his old Buick Lesabre and gets out to lend a hand. That's when he points out there was a rusty piece of metal hanging under my car. Luckily he manages to tear off the piece of metal, and my car is miracously fixed! What would we do without kind people in the world watching out for us.

So over this long Labor Day weekend I learned that perhaps not all people are bad...lol. In fact, there still are good citizens watching out for the good of mankind.