What's wrong with being a sorority girl?

My first few months of traveling as a Leadership Consultant for Alpha Delta Pi have been primarily filled with recruitment visits. In preparation for the recruitment period, many chapters talk about what their sorority means to them and what they are looking for in their new members. A common theme I have found among the schools I've visited is that the women do not think of themselves as "sorority girls." In fact, they pride themselves on not being "sorority girls." To this, I have two reactions:

1. Most obviously: A) You are a woman. B) You are in a sorority. Therefore, you are a "sorority girl" (or, as I prefer to say, sorority woman).

2. More importantly: When people say they're not a "sorority girl," what are they really saying? They're probably saying they are not Elle Woods, right? (Although, Elle did graduate with honors from Harvard Law, so I'm not sure what's so wrong with being her....)

Source: justanothersouthernbelle.tumblr.com via Alice on Pinterest

I understand why people think of sorority girls as blonde bimbos; that's how we are portrayed in the media. However, I always like to remind the women in the chapters I visit to look at our creed, and then tell me why they don't want to be "sorority girls."

What is wrong with wanting to serve mankind selflessly?

     What is wrong with being a courageous and confident leader?

          What is wrong with focusing on scholarship and relationships?

               What is wrong with striving to do your best in everything you undertake?

If being in a sorority were about clothes and make-up, I never would have joined. Luckily, that is not what being in a sorority is about ... at all. It's about forming lasting friendships with women who share the same values I do. It's about developing my own personality and character into a strong, independent woman. It's about philanthropy and community service and learning to value the needs of others. It's about realizing my own true potential and finding the motivation and support to live up to that potential. I firmly believe that if sorority women everywhere realize this is what sorority life is about—not all the superficial stuff that is shown on television—that understanding will lead them to achieve rich and useful lives.

Image via the Alpha Delta Pi Pinterest account

Edited to add: I'm linking up this old post for the "Greek is Greek" link-up (hosted Wednesday, August 7, 2013). Click the button below to meet fellow Greek bloggers and read about their sorority experiences! And if you haven't yet, be sure to check out Being Greek: A Sisterhood of Bloggers.

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 26

Day 26 – A book that changed my opinion about something

Image via Amazon

Applying Ethics. It wasn't really the book itself that changed my opinion on something but rather an assignment associated with the book. This was my primary textbook for a philosophy class I took in my second semester of college. (It was one of my top five favorite classes I ever took at Mizzou, btw.) Each chapter in the book deals with a major ethical dilemma (war, abortion, euthanasia, etc.) and presents different philosophical viewpoints on each issue. Occasionally, my professor asked the class to write "reaction" essays to an issue and defend one viewpoint. Our papers didn't necessarily have to reflect what we really believed, and there were times I defended the position I didn't personally side with just because I felt like it.

When I got to the essay about capital punishment, things got interesting. I had never had strong feelings one way or the other, but I did tend to lean toward one side of the debate. While writing my paper, however, I learned that I most definitely was on one side of the fence, and it was not the side I had previously imagined myself to agree with. Now isn't that the ideal academic assignment: something that shows you a part of yourself you had never known before? No wonder I loved that class so much. (Thanks Dr. Melanie Johnson-Moxley!)

P.S. - I admit this post is a little bit of a cop-out because I picked a book about ethics, but I honestly couldn't think of any novels that had changed my mind about something.

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 17

Day 17 - Favorite quote from my favorite book series

Source: thereadables.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

I was actually going to pick a different Harry Potter quote (see below), but I couldn't find a cool illustrated quote like the one above. :) So, I'm picking both of them, and here's why:

Dumbledore's quote: Wow, talk about truth. Some people are born smarter than others. Some are born with more athletic talents. Some are born with more money or nicer parents or a job lined up for them in daddy's company. But really, though I firmly believe the circumstances of your birth do have an impact on your opportunities in life, it really is your choices that define who you are. Everyone has a 50/50 chance of being born into money or a stable family. But at some point, you have to stop blaming your parents for how you turned out, and start living your own life. Go Dumbledore! Such wisdom.

Image via I Solemnly Swear that I am Up to No Good

Hermione's quote: This is the quote I originally was going to pick, just because it's one I always remembered from the book. I always imagined Hermione and I were kindred spirits, as I, too, was always known as "the brain" in my circle of (mostly male) friends growing up. Although I definitely don't take for granted that school has always come easy to me, I acknowledge there are far more important things, and I love that Hermione put that into clear terms. I think I also like this quote so much because it echoes a little of Dumbledore's words above: There is a certain degree to which you can be born intelligent. Of course, anyone can do well in school if they work hard enough, but I believe there is a part of logic and intelligence that is simply innate. Friendship and loyalty, however, are choices that anyone can make. (And they should.)

P.S. - I could have also easily used one of my favorite Sirius Black quotes (which also follows the theme discussed above) but I already shared that one.

This one was hard because I've read so many great books, and there have been so many quotes that have made me stop and say, "hmm." What are some of your favorite book quotes?

Are you having a bad day?

I love Pinterest. As my friend Caroline likes to say, "All I do is pin, pin, pin no matter what...." One of my boards is called Just to See You Smile, and it mostly consists of cute baby animal pictures that I like to repin to save for a rainy day. If this is one of your rainy days, take a look below. I hope it makes your day a little better. :)

Source: thebedlamofbeefy.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: prepfromthemidwest.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Does this mean Missouri is Southern?

I woke up this morning to a text telling me the event I was supposed to attend at 4 p.m. had to be rescheduled "due to the press conference at 4:30."

What press conference? I thought. I assumed it probably had something to do with Mizzou's much-anticipated move to the Southeastern Conference, but why hadn't I heard anything about it before now?

Well, within 30 minutes, I had four different emails conveying the same message:

MU Chancellor Brady J. Deaton

invites you to join

Athletic Director Mike Alden,

University of Florida President Bernie Machen

and

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive

For a celebration and news conference

on the occasion of the

University of Missouri’s

admission to the

Southeastern Conference

Sunday, November 6, 4:30 p.m.

MU Student Center

One was from the chancellor himself, one from Greek Life, one from the Student Recreation Complex where I work and one from the Mizzou Alumni Association.

11.11.11

I've been grading International Exams for over an hour straight now (it's an ADPi thing), and I needed a little break. So naturally, I visited Facebook to help distract me, and I found this:

I'm pretty sure I've been "attending" this event since about 2008, so it's weird to think it's actually happening next week. (Also, why is it happening at 11:10? Does Facebook not allow events to start on odd minutes? Hmm....)

I'm a little bit of an 11:11 nut, I'll admit it. My boyfriend and I frequently text each other smiley faces at 11:11 (which is especially fun because we're in different time zones), and any time I see a clock at 11:11, I'm that girl who stops and yells out, "It's 11:11! Everyone make a wish!"

So let's just say I'll be making some pretty epic wishes next Friday. Happy early 11.11.11, everyone! :)

Maybe that's why she left.

I don't know what it is about my sorority house, but country music was on in the bathroom at 4:45 a.m. again this morning. This time, it made me think about my previous post that posed the question, Would you rather date someone horribly vain or wildly insecure? I picked horribly vain, and my thoughts when I heard this song confirmed that decision.

Photo via Pinterest.

Do you remember

the day I turned to you and said

I didn't like the way he was lookin' at you?

yeah

How he made you laugh

you just couldn't get what I was sayin'

it was my imagination

So do you believe me now?

I guess I really wasn't that crazy

and I knew what I was talkin' about

Everytime the sun goes down

he's the one that's holdin' you baby

yeah me I'm missin' you way 'cross town

so do you believe me now?

After listening to these first two verses, I just couldn't help but think if he hadn't been so concerned about the other man in the first place, she might not have ever left. She might not have even noticed this other man fancied her, or she might not have been pushed over the edge by his insecure tendencies, or maybe they never would have had problems if he didn't focus on potential problems that weren't even tangible yet.

So yeah, I think I'd rather date someone horribly vain. At least I could fight fire with fire and brag on myself all the time, instead of needing to constantly reassure him and go out of my way to make sure I didn't do anything to make him question our relationship.

If you didn't answer last time, what's your answer now? Who would you rather date?

Love like crazy.

So, I usually don't post things that have no other purpose than to inspire (do I?), but this song came on the radio this morning around 4:43 when I was getting dressed for work, and it's been stuck in my head all morning now. I'm not a huge country fan, but sometimes you do have to appreciate the lyrics.

Photo via Pinterest

Be a best friend, tell the truth
And overuse "I love you."
Go to work, do your best,
Don't outsmart your common sense.
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy.

- Lee Brice

"Love Like Crazy"

72 Days at Mizzou.

Photo via Pinterest

1. It's been a while since I've written a post about my
impending graduation and subsequent limited time at Mizzou.

2. I bought my cap and gown for graduation today. Eek!

3. With only 72 days left, I don't anticipate I'll accomplish

much more during my undergraduate experience.

Due to these three items, I decided it was time to write a nostalgic piece about my time at the University of Missouri. I don't know if you can be nostalgic about something that isn't actually over yet, but I'm going to do it. So there. This will be mostly photos that represent my most memorable and/or proudest moments here at Mizzou. Enjoy!

Speak with conviction.

I anticipate I will be sharing many things from my Advanced Writing capstone in the Missouri School of Journalism this semester because my professor shares the most amazing things with us, including this little gem about a cultural language tic. Enjoy!

I personally like the typographical version better, but here is the live performance if you're interested:

May the odds be ever in your favor.

I've been meaning to write a review of The Hunger Games for a while now, but this week seems especially perfect. I finished the third book of the trilogy, Mockingjay, on Tuesday, and it also happens to be Banned Book Week. In some places, The Hunger Games trilogy has been banned for these reasons:

"sexually explicit, violence, unsuited to age group"

Source: google.com.ph via Tippi on Pinterest

Well, after reading all of them, I don't see how they are sexually explicit. Unless of course, kissing at the age of 16 is considered sexually explicit, but I don't really see that holding up against some of the other "young adult" books that are published today. As for violence, I can understand. When my friend first told me they were banned for violence, this particular line from Mockingjay came to mind:

"Weapons fall from their hands, fingers clutch their faces, as blood sprays from all visible orifices - eyes, noses, mouths, ears.... I grit my teeth and run, leaping over the bodies, feet slipping in the gore." Mmm, yummy.

In light of passages such as that, I can see why some people might think the books are "unsuited to age group." After all, when I encourage my peers to take time out of their busy college schedules to read the series, I always tell them: "It's a really fast read. I read the first book in two days during recruitment! [And if they're Greek, they understand how impossible it is to do anything except recruitment during recruitment.] Think Twilight, but better. Much better." I only compare The Hunger Games to Twilight because they are both written at a very low reading level but enjoyed by an older age group. It is there that the differences end.

These are their stories.

Anybody recognize the title of this post? Would you recognize it with the all-too-familiar "dun dun" immediately following?


That's right, it's the end of the introduction to "Law & Order" and its numerous spinoffs, including my personal favorite, the Special Victims Unit. Season 13 started last week, but I just got the chance to watch the newest episode today. Here are my thoughts. (Warning: Might contain spoilers, but I'll try not to ruin the episode for y'all.)

As a devoted fan (I have seen every single episode since 1999), I was nervous to watch the new season without Christopher Meloni (a.k.a. Elliot Stabler, a.k.a. a hot-but-loses-his-temper-too-easily sex crimes detective). I like how they embedded his story and reason for not returning throughout the episode, however, instead of just announcing he was gone at some point during the show. Of course, the average watcher might not even know Stabler wasn't returning to this season, and in that case, they definitely need the storyline to explain why. I do wish they could have at least included him a final goodbye scene or something. I'll miss him.

The new detective, Amanda Rollins (played by Kelli Giddish), doesn't seem too bad. I loved her go-get-'em attitude when she handed off her box to a passerby so she could get in the elevator with Cragen. But from my preliminary research on Season 13, I've learned Olivia Benson/Mariska Hargitay will be moving to a smaller role to allow the producers to wean her character out of the series. Wahh. So I was a little too judgemental of Rollins during the episode. She tried too hard, had a forced accent and could have seriously screwed over the case. But I'll keep an open mind. After Benson leaves, I'll need someone new to cheer for.

Things I loved about this episode: It was classic SVU. Money, power, credibility issues, twists in stories and a surprise witness at the end. And they brought back A.D.A. Alex Cabot to fight the bad guys; I absolutely love her character. So let's just say that though I miss Stabler's tantrums and volatile personality, I'll definitely be tuning in next week for episode 2. Who knows, maybe I'll even get to watch it on television for once instead of streaming on my computer!

Source: tv.com via Coldilox on Pinterest

Goodbye, Elliot. It was a good 12 years!

Fall into autumn.

Source: prepfromthemidwest.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

I just love fall. It is undoubtedly my favorite season of the year.

The weather is perfect for jeans and a cardigan, but it's not yet necessary to bundle up in gloves and a hat every time I want to leave the house. It's cool enough for a hot drink at Starbucks but warm enough to sit outside and enjoy a good book. It's acceptable to wear a scarf with shorts or boots with a sundress.

Source: prepfromthemidwest.tumblr.com via Megan on Pinterest

Fall is also the perfect time for adorable day dates, like visiting a pumpkin patch, apple orchard or a corn maze. Which reminds me, the food of autumn is wonderful! Apple cider, pumpkin spice lattes, other various pumpkin-flavored noms, sweet potato casserole, Thanksgiving dinner ... the list goes on.

And then, of course, there's the football. College football, professional football, tailgating, exorbitant amounts of barbequed food and clothing with school logos.

Source: llstudents.org via Megan on Pinterest

So get me some apple cider in the morning, take me to a tailgate with BBQ pork and hot chocolate, cover me in black and gold to watch the Mizzou Tigers take Faurot Field, and send me home to an oversized sweater, a good book and cuddling on the couch. That's my idea of heaven.

What's your favorite part about fall?

Would You Rather?

This morning at work, my coworkers and I began a fun game of "Would You Rather?" It started with a question a friend (quite randomly) asked me at a tailgate this weekend:

"Would you rather only eat cheese for the rest of your life, or only eat hot dogs?"

(Obviously, I chose cheese.)

This continued with more silly questions (i.e. "Would you rather murder your significant other or win $20,000?" Yeah, think about that one for a minute), until one girl finally asked a question I really had to think about:

"Would you rather date someone horribly vain or wildly insecure?"

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?"

I know my answer, but I want to hear yours, first. Please comment with your answer (and reasoning, of course).

Talk about an overachiever.

Wow.

Seriously, that's all I could think when I finished reading what I'm about to share with you. I found this amazing piece by Outside magazine online last week, which I'm sure will be influencing my bucket list shortly. The piece (if you didn't click the link ... but you should!) is titled "You're Going to Need a Bigger Bucket" and includes 51 "dream trips, daring quests, essential skills, and exalted states of body and mind" that Outside thinks everyone should experience in his or her lifetime.

Photo via Pinterest.

After reading this article, I'm confident this could be me one day. What great motivational advice!

Although I'm sure the piece as a whole will be the inspiration for many more blog posts to come, today I wanted to share with you No. 9: "Overachieve." I really can't say it any better than Outside already has, so I'm just going to include the text below. (All font modifications are of my doing and do not reflect the opinions or design choices of the Outside online staff.)

Outside's chief inspiration officer, 36-year-old ERIC GREITENS, is a master of getting things done. Like becoming a Navy SEAL commander with four tours, earning a Rhodes scholarship and a Ph.D., running 12 marathons and three ultramarathons, and now juggling operations for his own philanthropic organization with public speaking engagements, media interviews, writing books, and consulting—while still finding time to run, climb, and practice taekwondo. Here's how he does it: "It's all about energy. Whether you're leading a nonprofit organization, running a private company, doing something outdoors, or conducting military operations—you have to build habits that keep your energy high. This is my formula: (1) Vigorous exercise: Six days a week, I walk out of a gym, a dojo, or off a track pouring with sweat. When I have a great workout, I rarely have a bad day. (2) Good fuel: When I eat clean, quality food during the day, my energy never sags. (3) Good partners: Working with a team of positive people keeps your spirits up. (4) Balance: I pray every day, and I also laugh, a lot. You won't have focus without balance. (5) A goal: A worthy challenge will take care of your motivation for you."

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. It sure makes me feel like I could achieve a little more in my life!

100 Days at Mizzou.

Source: fashionandmodeling.tumblr.com via Keith on Pinterest 

Well, maybe the boys in this post don't look quite like this. But a girl can dream!

So, I was walking past a particular fraternity house on my way home from work today and was inspired to write a new post. See, this fraternity really likes to play music on its lawn when the weather is nice, which is usually accompanied by several men playing sports in the front yard or lying out on lawn chairs, sometimes sans clothing. Some days, I find this irritating, but today I really appreciated the music because the fabulous almost-fall weather we've been having put me in a good mood.

As I was walking by the house (singing along in my head, of course), I realized it is probably the trivial things like this that I will miss about Mizzou when I graduate in December. I've lived in my Greek house for the past two years, so I've become accustomed to the surrounding atmosphere. This realization came only a few hours before I looked at my phone and noticed my graduation countdown app, which now says:

"Graduation! 12/16/2011. 100 Days Left."

Of course, I took this as a sign that I needed to somehow commemorate my last 100 days of my undergraduate eduction. So this is the first post of (probably) many, to record the good times and the bad before I leave Mizzou at the end of the semester.

Source: bakerella.com via Laura on Pinterest

Someone, please feel free to make these for me.

They will make the fact that I'm graduating so much easier to stomach.

P.S. - As I was writing this post, the above-mentioned fraternity house began playing Justin Bieber ("One Less Lonely Girl"). Yes, I can hear it from my room.

Owning my experience.

At our first lecture at the Interdisciplinary Genocide Studies Center, Professor Eddah told us:

“We don't learn about Rwanda to be sad. We learn so when we are future leaders, we can make sure it never happens again."

During my first few days in Kigali without Internet access, I kept a journal to remind myself of what I wanted to include in my blog. However, I struggled with what should stay in the journal and what should be posted online.

Being in Rwanda is wonderful, and I appreciate each and every experience. But that doesn’t mean all the experiences are pleasant. I don’t want to offend or depress anyone with my blog, and I certainly don’t want to trivialize anything that I see and learn here if my writing is inadequate. I shared these concerns with a fellow student on the trip, who told me:

“This is your experience. Own it.”

So that’s what I’m going to do. I am going to own my experience, and I am going to share this experience on my blog. I will write about various topics, from the people to the traffic to the food and even to the difficult experiences of visiting memorial sites and learning about the genocide. Of course, there are things I will keep private, such as when I have the opportunity to speak with survivors; those are their stories to tell, not mine. But there are other difficult things that I will share.

So I hope you are not offended or saddened by my blog. This is simply a way for me to share my experiences if you are interested in learning about them. And I will own those experiences.

Murakoze. (Thank you.)

And this is why I don't check bags....

So, I'm usually not a complainer. (Or at least, that's what I like to think.) But despite all the amazingness that Grand Convention was (more on that tomorrow), there were quite a few things that went wrong this weekend (namely, today). So if you don't like to read complaints (and who does?) please skip this blog and wait for my much more positive report tomorrow. I don't want to lessen your opinion of me.

(Also, as a journalism major, I have to apologize for the irritating amount of parenthetical phrases in the last paragraph. And for this one.)

All photos courtesy of Pinterest

1. I don't like to check bags. There are several reasons for this, but primarily I (a) don't want to pay for checked bags and (b) don't like waiting around for them at the baggage claim. Because sometimes they never come around the carousel. Like tonight.

The story: I packed my carry-on like normal and arrived at the gate in Phoenix, where I was told the flight would be very full, so the airline would be happy to check my bag for free. Because I was the only one in our group who was carrying on, I figured I would have to wait for their bags at the baggage claim anyway and should just check my bag. Bad decision.

Long story short: The carousel for my flight stopped without producing my bag, so after visiting both AirTran luggage offices multiple times and waiting around for approximately an hour, an attendant finally brought my bag over. I guess it got left behind at the gate and was put on the wrong luggage cart, so I had to wait for the next flight to land at that gate before they would bring my bag up. Or something like that. Yay.


2. Sketchy cab driver. Like, really. Of course, I had told the other interns to head home because I didn't want them to have to wait with me for my bag (and of course, my bag showed up about five minutes later), but the rest of the interns were arriving a few hours later so I knew I could catch a cab with them. And this driver was sketchy. He wanted us to sign our charge voucher before we even left the airport. Excuse me? So you can write $200 on there and stick EO with the bill? No thank you. So I was distrustful from the beginning. Also, the child lock on my window was activated, which prevented me from protecting my face as we drove 70 mph down the freeway. My left ear was freezing.


3. Small disappointment. Looking back to Convention, my chapter didn't win the award we were hoping for (whomp, whomp), which put a little damper on the weekend. But speaking of awards, I have to remember that everything has a silver lining. And for all the things I've been complaining about, there are a lot worse things that could have happened....


1. My bag could have not come in at all, and then I would have been in a little pickle before leaving the country on Friday. Or, I could have been on an international flight and stuck in a foreign country without any familiar clothes (eek!).

2. The cab driver could have actually overcharged us. Or kidnapped us and made lampshades out of our skin. Ew.

3. We could have not won any awards at all (and win awards, we did). And we're still up for the TOP LION of Alpha Delta Pi, the Golden Lion, at the next Convention!

So in retrospect, all the little things that went wrong really don't mean anything when I think about all the great things that I have in my life. What if I didn't have the chance to go to Phoenix this weekend? Or what if Alpha Delta Pi hadn't given me a bid? Or what if I couldn't even go to college in the first place?

I'll stop now before I get too mushy, but basically, I am thankful for a lot! Despite the negativity that began this blog. And now I shall sleep.

Good night!

The life of a Southern belle.

Wow. I was doing so well at first: I blogged five times during the first week I created this site. Yet, it has now been nine days since I've written again.

Tonight, I draw inspiration from this blog by fellow Alpha Delta Pi sister Emily Snowden. The Southern belle posted this humorous piece when she visited California as a traveling Leadership Consultant for our sorority. Now, I will comment on things I have found unfamiliar in the South as a California girl (for 11 years of my life).

1. Oversized tees. Fellow intern Haley swears this fashion is all the rage at Samford University, so when the lovely ladies of Executive Office offered us some extra T-shirts from Grand Convention 2009, Haley and I picked out shirts that were two to three sizes too big for all of us. The result:

Haley is the super-excited one second from left. She was so proud of us Westerners/Yankees (except Brittney - this Alabama native knows what's goin' on).

2. ...

Well, that's all I can think of right now, actually. (The fact that is 1:30 a.m. might be contributing to my lack of ideas. I'm actually very elderly in spirit; my ideal bedtime is around 10 p.m.)

However, I can think of a few things that have not surprised me about the South.

1. Sweet tea. Luckily, this is something I was introduced to long ago. My grandmother (who lives in Charlotte) used to put two cups of sugar in every pitcher of sweet tea she made. Yum yum. She has since lessened that amount slightly in the interest of health, but I continue to follow her recipe when I make iced tea at home in California. Last summer, I lived alone in Missouri while I was working, and I literally consumed a pitcher of sweet tea every day. Sometimes I had to make two. Oops. I'm also one of McDonald's best customers, solely from the amount of $1 sweet teas that I order. (I usually ask for no ice so when I get home, I can pour it into my own glass and have twice as much.) I am getting spoiled by the availability of sweet tea at Southern restaurants, however. It will be a sad day when I have to return to putting four packets of Equal in every glass of iced tea in Columbia. :(

2. Y'all. As you might remember from the previous paragraph, my grandmother is from Charlotte. Therefore, my dad lived in North Carolina from birth through his college graduation, so I am used to the Southern accent. He also says "cain't" (because he cain't say can't).

3. Yes, ma'am. On a similar note, I love the typically good manners of Southerners. After hearing Haley and Brittney "yes ma'am" so politely around the office, I want to cringe every time a "yup" or a "for sure" comes out of my mouth. It wasn't unexpected, however. After all, I grew up around my cousins calling their parents "sir" and "ma'am." (They also tried to call my mom "ma'am," but she insisted on "Aunt Patty." What a Yankee.)

Finally, here are my thoughts on Emily's blog (referred to earlier in this post):

1. Avocados: Yes, they are wonderful and ubiquitous. In Missouri, it especially amuses me that anything with avocado as a topping is automatically "California" (such as a California Burger or a California BLT).

2. Terminology: As a NorCal girl, I agree that "hella" is prime slang. However, I prefer the less offensive adjective, "hecka." As in, "Yo Emily, that girl is hecka sick." :)

3. Croakies: Excuse me? I didn't even know what these were until I read your blog. And then I had to ask my roommate, who spent a summer down under doing this same internship. She explained it, but I still don't understand. Sorry.

4. College football: I'm sorry you had a less than desirable football situation. I, for one, love college football. But I understand that aside from Cal Berkeley and USC (in their good years), we don't have quite the athletic fervor of the SEC or Big 12. (Which is actually a big reason I chose a Big 12 school, and why I pressured my little brother to choose Georgia over UCLA for his upcoming college experience.)

5. Lilly: Again, who? I hadn't heard of Lilly Pulitzer until I saw your planner in my room. Now that ADPi has a Lilly print, I'm surprised I hadn't heard of her earlier. She is much more popular than I had imagined (even in Columbia). I did vote for ADPi about 15 million times, though. You're welcome.

And that's all for tonight, folks! Sorry for the astronomically long post; I'll try to update more frequently in the future to save you from these novels.

Ciao!

My Little Obsessions: Milk

My Sims game is currently updating on my computer. And it is taking forever. So, while I wait for it to finish so I can make all the interns and build us a beautiful house, I decided to start a new series within this blog: My Little Obsessions.


If you haven't noticed, I have a list of my little obsessions on the right side of my blog. The section was originally called, "These are a few of my favorite things..." but I soon decided I'm more Ali Larter than Julie Andrews. See, I have a very addictive personality. My ridiculous affinity for the Sims is only one example of this shortcoming.


I would like to take this opportunity to explain some of my little obsessions and why I love them so much. First, milk.

Milk is an excellent source of calcium, Vitamin D, potassium and other nutrients (not just calcium). It's also delicious. As a former Alternate Dairy Princess (District 6, California Milk Advisory Board), I can tell you all about the positive things milk can contribute to your diet and overall health!

But really, I drink a lot of milk. Exhibit A: Last week, I bought a gallon of milk at the local Publix. After about six days, my gallon was completely gone ... before the other five girls combined could finish their gallon of milk. A little ridiculous? Maybe. But I like milk with my breakfast, with my sandwiches, with my pasta, with my pizza ... with pretty much anything I eat throughout the day.

A final point to justify my obsession with milk: It's the prime ingredient in many other delicious products (see below). Got milk?