FISH & Family

This weekend was a MSC-FISH and family filled weekend! On Thursday night, I was able to go back to Sugar Land and have dinner with my family. I had barely been home at all since I moved out here, and to be honest it felt bizarre going back. There is nothing that compares to the comfort of your own home, sitting on your own couch, and talking to the people you love the most. We ate dinner at Lupe Tortilla and I was finally able to go to sleep at a decent hour. The next day we had a Girl’s Day! My Mom took the day off from work and Shannon and I skipped our classes. We went shopping, ran errands, and had lunch at my favorite spot with my Dad. I purchased my first business suit set and felt all grown up. The day passed by way too quickly and I headed back to College Station that night. No matter how short-lived my Sugar Land visit seemed, any time I am able to spend with my family is priceless. However, saying goodbye never gets easier. Saturday morning at 5:20 AM was the start of Fall Project with MSC FISH! This was an all-day service project with approximately 40 of our freshmen and several of our AD’s and Exec’s. The project was located in Lufkin, Texas, which was about a 2 hour road trip from College Station. Once we arrived, we divided into groups that were assigned to distinct projects within the facility. My group consisted of 8 people (Grace, Jessica, Sarah, Ellie, Christian, Tyler, Drew, and myself), and we were instructed to paint ‘Benches at the Ballpark’! We named ourselves the ‘Teal Team’, since we painted virtually EVERYTHING at the ballpark teal. We painted several benches, swing seats, doors, bleachers, and a few other little things. The facility provided a full breakfast and lunch for us, and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. The hours passed by too quickly and before we knew it the day was over. I had a ton of fun serving all morning, all while I was getting to know my FISH friends much better. Fall Project was our first big service activity in MSC FISH and it was a total success! We arrived back in College Station around 4 PM and had a quick turnaround time for our Camp-Out at Lake Bryan. Everyone arrived at Lake Bryan around 7 PM for the festivities to begin. We set up our tents in the complete darkness, paid unnecessary parking fees, and hung out around the lake. The guys played football and participated in a ‘Male’s Talent Contest’. Needless to say, that was highly entertaining to watch. Even though we couldn’t see anyone’s faces due to the darkness, the camp-out allowed us to get to know each other much better. My favorite parts were the back-rub train, star gazing, and having pillow talk inside the tents. After our adventure at Lake Bryan, we concluded that at the next camp-out we should get a hotel. The idea of camping is great and all; however, the sleeping situation is rough. I am so thankful that I was able to spend countless hours with my friends in MSC-FISH this weekend. They are all much fun to be around, and even at an all-night camp out the energy never faded out. Between visiting my family, serving at Fall Project, and star gazing at Lake Bryan, I had an incredibly busy and fun weekend.  

Delta Week

Life has been crazy lately. College may be relaxing for some, but my schedule has yet to slow down. I am constantly hopping from one thing to the next, and the past couple of days have been no exception. This past week was “Delta Week,” or the week leading up to our initiation. We each received letters in our boxes that pieced together the word Delta. On Monday, we had a profit share at Rosa’s Café for St. Jude leading up to our big philanthropy event called Game Day. Every other day of the week, we had a mixer with each of the pledge classes. They consisted of a poolside hangout with the ladies of PC ’09, arts and crafts with the senior gals of PC ’08, and a pumpkin carving party in the park with PC ’10. The Mixers gave us an opportunity to bond with girls in our own pledge class as well as get to know the older Tri-Delts. On Thursday, I also attended FLO-DOWN. This was an all-FLO country western dancin’ social. I was able to hang out with my new friends in MSC FISH, as well as people in the other FLOs. We watched the Aggie Wranglers perform and two-stepped out on the dance floor. Our New Member Retreat was on Friday at the Tri-Delt house. We participated in plenty of bonding activities, ate lots of sweets, and had pillow talk with our fellow sisters. It was a rather uncomfortable sleeping arrangement for 56 girls, but it was quality bonding time. It allowed me to get to know girls that I had yet to meet, and I continued to learn everyone’s name (it's a work in progress)! Saturday morning, we woke up to BTHO Baylor. The big game was at eleven in the morning and we pulled with an enormous group of people. This was by far the best game to date and I actually stayed the entire time! The ending score was Texas A&M-55 to Baylor-28. It was a great day to be an Aggie, so S-E-Ceeeee ya later Baylor!!! The rest of the day was spent Tailgating with the Muller family and hanging out with some of my other Sugar Land friends. That blog post was quite a mouth full, and I didn’t even mention anything about my schoolwork, studying, or tests. Texas A&M is the best place to attend college… I promise. I have met so many incredible people in College Station! Our Initiation is on Tuesday, and I couldn’t be more excited to officially be a member of Delta Delta Delta. That’s the latest update from Aggieland and I can’t wait to see what’s yet to come.

Quote for the Week:

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you have imagined."

-Henry David Thoreau

The Singleton's Arrive!

On Thursday, the Singleton’s made a quick afternoon trip to visit me in College Station! It is amazing how hectic life can be in college with midterms, test cycles, and meetings. Knowing the Singleton's were arriving on Thursday gave me the drive to get through this busy week! We went to lunch at Koppe Bridge, one of Maggie's favorite restaurants when she was a student at Texas A&M. They toured my dorm room and explored the college campus. Caroline claimed her favorite part of my room were the fuzzy rugs, Grayson initiated a game of Hide-N-Go-Seek (within the tiny dorm room), and Ellie took a snooze throughout the entire campus tour. I am telling you... college life wears ya out! There are never any children around campus, so they were easily catching everyone's attention. We took pictures by the Aggie ring, saw the massive Kyle Field, and walked through Evans library. They were highly disappointed in the book selection and wondered where all of the kid’s books were. Lastly, we went to Yogurtland and had a yummy College Station treat. The kids were wiped out from the afternoon activities, but I embraced each and every moment I spent with them. I've missed Maggie and the whole clan so much since I've been up here. Maggie and I finally had the opportunity to catch up on the past seven weeks of our lives. It meant so much to me that they made the long trip up here just to say hi in the midst of their busy schedule!! It makes me really sad that I can’t be their regular babysitter anymore, but I know they'll always be my babies!

Up, Up, and Away

Tri-Delta had it's first date party of the year last night! The theme was Up, Up, and Away and I asked my friend, D.J. Cieply, to come as my date. Above is a picture of the sign that I made for him and below is the poem that I wrote to him. 

I still can’t believe that we met at Convocation

You told me your name, and I ranted on and on about graduation.

You lent me a piece of gum,

While we sat through the bird presentation that was very dumb.

We talked about our future in Mays

I never imagined we’d be friends in the coming days.

The next morning was the start of our college years.

New classes, new faces, and so many fears

Luckily, I heard you holler my name.

Who would have guessed our geology class would be the same?

We sat together in the front row and our friendship officially began.

It seemed like us meeting was a part of a bigger plan.

Your favorite book was Crazy Love,

And all growing up I could have found you wearing a baseball glove.

Every day in Geology we get so bored,

But at the end of the day we both love the Lord.

You are one of the most genuine guys that I know,

And to my first Tri-Delta date party I want you to go.

The theme is Up, Up, and Away

Unfortunately, it falls on your birthday.

It’s Tuesday, September 27^th from ten until two,

If you don’t want to go, that’ll have to do.

It’s totally up to you to determine your fate,

But, D.J. Cieply, I think you’d be the most fun date!

And so there it is folks, D.J. Cieply was the first guy I ever took to a date party and it was his birthday! We went to dinner with a large group of Tri-Delts and their dates at Koppe Bridge. Afterwards, we ate a cookie cake complete with candles, a birthday hat, and the birthday song. I tried my best to make his day as special as possible considering he agreed to come to my sorority event. The theme was Up, Up, and Away, so we dressed up as Superwoman and Clark Kent. Other people were dressed as skydivers, planets, angels, travelers, flight attendants, "Up" characters, flying pigs, rollercoasters, Santa & the reindeer, the cloud and silver lining, Peter Pan & Wendy, Harry Potter, and plenty more. Tri-Delta rented out Hurricane Harry's and we had a massive dance party. I was the first one to step on the dance floor and I don't think I ever came off of it. We all were dancing crazy and having a blast! I am so thankful that D.J. was able to come, celebrate his birthday, and get his dancin' on. He really was the most fun date! Tri-Delta's Up, Up, and Away Victory Party was a total success and I am looking forward to many more events.  There was so much Delta Lovin' in one place!

 

 

It's Party Time!

 

This weekend was by far the best weekend to date in college. Jason and Lauren came into town on Thursday Night. They brought me several birthday presents and a ton of energy. We met up with some people for dinner and went out on the town. This was Jason’s first time to return to College Station since he graduated in December. We hung out with several of his friends on Northgate and had the time of our life. The conversations in the car ride are simply unforgettable and the memories created were absolutely priceless. I spent the day with Lauren and Jason walking through campus, eating lunch at Wehner, and shopping at the Aggie tent sales. Friday night, the rest of the family came into town. I was only able to see them for a half an hour because I had my mandatory MSC FISH meeting. After the meeting, I met up with the entire gang. I was definitely afraid of having a FOMO- Fear Of Missing Out. Friday night was a blast! I absolutely love all of Jason’s friends from college. On Saturday, we had the A&M vs. OSU Tailgate. It was a party all day long! I got to see Michelle Roche for the first time since I have become a member of Tri-Delta. This girl was the reason that I became a Tri-Delt, so this was beyond exciting! Keep in mind… I had ZERO voice by this point. I didn’t feel well while I was in the hot sun at the game and I knew I was on the verge of illness. Taking my ability to speak away was almost worse than taking my eye sight away. I left the game early and went to the hotel with my precious baby sister, Shannon. We put on our pajamas and watched OSU defeat the Aggies 30-29. It was a sad, sad day in Aggieland. In the midst of our grief for the Ags, we popped in the new movie Bridesmaids and laughed at that instead. This weekend was filled with family, tailgating, football, food, and too much fun. I couldn’t be more thankful for my amazing family and time I got to spend with them in College Station. I am exhausted, sick, and slightly overwhelmed, but I wouldn’t take a single moment back. It was party time this weekend… every last minute of it!