Fish Banquet

Tonight I had Banquet for MSC Fish! I cannot begin to explain how incredibly blessed I feel to be a part of this organization. It all started only three short months ago and we have created thousands of memories every step of the way. I can honestly say I’ve met some of my best friends through this organization and I can’t wait to continue to grow in my friendships with each of them. We literally spend every second of every day together and have over a thousand inside jokes and pictures together. Any member in MSC Fish could walk through the Commons and instantly feel like a celebrity since there are fellow Fish friends on every corner rockin’ their neon yellow hat. My friends are fun, spontaneous, and down-to-earth and I love everything about them! This semester I documented throughout several blog posts what was just the beginning of my experience in MSC Fish. I cannot believe it is already halfway over… Where in the world did this semester go?! With that said, I will continue to embrace each and every moment I have with my FLO since we only have one semester remaining. You can bet there will be many more unforgettable memories, countless hours of service, unproductive nights in Evans, school road trips, spontaneous bonding, and root beer float parties. As for tonight, we all ate dinner with our schools, and my school, Toates Angsty Platypi, had Pei Wei! I still don’t really understand our school name, but it’s growing on me. We arrived at Banquet and walked (what felt like) over a mile in our high heels to the “glass building” diagonal from Reed Arena. Our AD’s had little Christmas presents waiting for us and Laura painted our school the cutest picture frames. I already have mine up in my dorm! We watched a slideshow from our entire semester. It included pictures from every event, memories from each school, and a special tribute to every staff member and exec that make this organization possible. They gave out awards to a few select people. Ms. Fish was given to my good friend and fellow dorm neighbor, Grace Nowstrup. Mr. Fish was given to that crazy and sweet man, Steven Baker. I couldn’t have picked two better people to receive these awards! MSC FISH is my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Just thinking about all of the people I’ve met through it makes me smile and I simply can’t wait to see what else this organization has in store for us!

 

The Engle Family

Family love is never-ending,

and ever-growing.

Never give up on that love.

I couldn't be more thankful to be a part of such a crazy, fun-loving, and supportive family.

Thanksgiving Break

 

I couldn’t have been more thankful for Thanksgiving Break! It was unbelievable how quickly this college break arrived this semester and how brief these past few days have passed with my family. It all began on Tuesday night, when I drove in from College Station and Jason flew into Houston. He wrote our weekly plan in “Egyptian Code” and it was hilarious attempting to decipher the message. His flight arrived super late, but it couldn’t have been sweeter to be reunited with my best friend. He brought Christmas home with him from North Carolina and we ripped open all of the countless gifts; ring pops, holiday cups, pizookie makers, and a dollar-tree microphone. Between pillow talk across the hallway and all the silly gifts, Jason always found a way to keep us laughing! The next day, we ate lunch at our favorite Sugar Land spot, Thai Cottage, and did some shopping. That night I went out with several of Jason’s best friends, my parents, Katy Lowery, and the Colborne girls. We had a good ol’ time hopping from one place to the next in Town Center and checking out the newest bar, Flying Saucer. They started awfully early in the afternoon, and with that said… they finished awfully early as well. We were back at the house before eleven, and Lauren, our little registered nurse, finally arrived home from Austin! The next morning was the start of Thanksgiving Day! The entire Engle gang headed up to College Station to tailgate and watch the infamous Thanksgiving Day Showdown for the last time: Texas A&M vs. Texas. With A&M heading to the SEC next season, this was the end to the greatest rivalry. This game meant a lot to everyone in the state of Texas. Several families from Sugar Land came into town with their best Thanksgiving recipes and we feasted together at the tailgate. I was able to catch up with several familiar faces and spend the entire day surrounded by friends, family, food, and football. I loved that I was already back in my favorite place in the world for the day. We were literally outside tailgating the entire day before the game finally started at 7 pm. I pulled with some of the older Tri-Delt girls— Sarah Hosea, Ellie Spears, Stephanie Denton, and several others. We were seated on the third deck, 50 yard line, and second row. They were great seats!!! We had turkey for lunch and we were ready to have some Bevo for dinner. Despite the outcome of the game, it was amazing hearing 88,000+ fans cheering from the pits of their stomachs. When it comes to football, the Ag’s always find a way to break my heart. That night I was beyond thankful to be a part of the Aggie family, and I always will be.  Jason and I drove home after the game to make it home for Black Friday. It was a long, painful drive back to Sugar Land. Despite arriving home at 2 AM, we woke up and participated in Black Friday with the rest of the family. I am still not sure why I continually go out into the madness the day after Thanksgiving. I have been doing so for years and years, and I can’t break the tradition now. We were able to snag some deals at various stores and successfully shuffle through the chaos of the mall without dying. We were very productive bargain shoppers, but not without some frustrations and a few massive headaches. Since we celebrated Thanksgiving with over one hundred other people, we decided to have our own feast the day after Thanksgiving. My Mom made all of our favorite dishes; we grabbed our paper plates and ate together as a family in our backyard. It was by far my favorite Thanksgiving meal to date. We grubbed on our favorite “Thanksgiving Sandwiches” and were thankful for each other’s company. I was able to reunite with my favorite people from high school and visit the Tea House. However, they were out of Tapioca which was awfully depressing. Despite that minor setback, we were all reunited and it felt so good. You know you have true friends when you can grow separately, but not a part. I am beyond thankful for the time I was given to spend with my entire family this break and wouldn’t take back a single second. Now that we are growing older, the times we do get to spend all together are cherished that much more. I am so thankful for the support of my family, the love from my friends from back home, the liveliness of my new friends in College Station, and the never ending grace from Jesus Christ.

Forever Thankful

A friend is a person of great understanding
Who shares all our hopes and our schemes,
A companion who listens with infinite patience
To all of our plans and dreams.
A true friend can make all our cares melt away
With the touch of a hand or a smile,
And with calm reassurance make everything brighter,
And life always seem more worthwhile.
A friend shares so many bright moments of laughter
At even the tiniest thing--
What memorable hours of light-hearted gladness
And pleasure this sharing can bring!
A friend is a cherished and precious possession
Who knows all our hopes and fears,
And someone to treasure deep down in our hearts
With a closeness that grows through the years.

I am forever thankful for friendship.

Powder Puff Tournament

Today MSC Fish competed in the infamous FLO-BOWL Powder Puff Tournament. We have been practicing consistently three nights a week for the past five weeks leading up to this moment. We had ten dedicated coaches and fourteen driven girls to compete in the tournament. Today was finally our day to show ‘em what we’ve got! It started bright and early in Bryan and lasted the entire day. It was exhausting and demanding, but without a doubt the best time I’ve had in a while. It has been so long since I’ve been a part of an actual athletic team and today I realized how much I’ve missed it. The girls on my team are the most fun, athletic, and dedicated girls I know. I am obsessed with all of them and every single one of our coaches. Throughout the process, I never took practices seriously… whoopsie. I tended to make everyone laugh by making “whale” noises, displaying crazy facial expressions, and falling on the floor in an attempt to catch a pass. Needless to say, this team wasn’t expecting much from me. They kept me around for entertainment value. However, I am one of the most competitive people around and today my game face came out. I made TWO interceptions-- one of which won us the game in overtime. Every single FISH member, coach, cheerleader, and player came and swarmed me on the field. It was the proudest moment of my life. I don’t know where these Powder-Puff abilities came from, but I am glad they decided to come out today! We had an AMAZING defense. No team scored on us all day long. In fact, we were +2 points for a safety. We ended up tying for 3^rd in the tournament, which wasn’t as well as we were hoping for. However, we had the best team out there by far. Our motto all day was “Play with class. Kick their ass.”—And we did just that! Our MVP goes to my girl, Christa Ingle. Not only does she have the same last name as me and is my sister in our FOF, but she successfully played offense and defense the entire day. She kicked the other FLO’s butts today! A HUGE shoutout to our MSC Fish cheerleaders... They were AWESOME and came in 2nd place. They made me super proud to be a part of their organization. Here were some final words from our wonderful head coach, Patrick, “Girls, honestly I couldn't have been more blessed to coach you! AFC didn't beat us; we were simply behind when time ran out. There is no doubt in my mind that y’all would have won if it was on the actual fields that we practiced on. But, regardless of the outcome… it was about having fun and I know that I had a blast! It was fun to see how far y’all came in such a short time. Anyways, thanks again to everyone- coaches and players!” And a final quote from my favorite inspirational coach, Nick Venzin, "The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way." He followed by saying... “Being perfect is not about the score on the scoreboard. It’s about the relationships you have with your family and friends. And quite frankly, I think these past few weeks have created perfect friendships and that’s something that nothing else could have provided. So as far as I'm concerned, this team is perfect. I love y’all. Now let’s go and live up the rest of this year ma fellow FISHIES!”