I wish I just knew when...

So... I've been thinking I am ready. I've been single now for well over a year and I have really been enjoying it. I've learned to live by my own schedule-- doing what I want when I want. I am taking better care of myself than I ever have-- working out and eating right, getting sleep and doing things for me. I'm focused on what I am most interested in, and instead of taking care of a significant other I am taking care of myself and my wants, needs and desires. I have learned more about myself in the last year and half during grad school than I did in four years of undergrad... more about what I want in a partner, what I want professionally, and how I define myself as an individual. But is any of this worth it if I can't share it with anyone?

I know it is. But I want to share it with someone, and I want to be able to share in someone else's successes along with mine. I feel like I'm ready to open myself up to love again. But I don't want it to just be with anyone. Now that I've been single for this long, I'd rather stay single and wait for the right person, than just date someone to date someone. As they say in Definitely Maybe, I want to be interested in someone who is interested in me. Someone who values me for me and wants to learn more about me. I know I just need to be patient, but I just wonder sometimes how patient I have to be, especially as people around me are finding what they are looking for...

I wish I just knew when it would happen for me too...

Terpness for the summer

Summer is here and I have officially started my summer internship at the University of Maryland - College Park. This summer I will be working as the Parent Program Coordinator for the Orientation program here. So far I really like it. The students who are serving as Orientation Advisors are amazing... a ton of fun and they are going to be such hard workers all summer! My boss is great and the office staff is fun too :) Plus I have Washington DC as my backyard for the entire summer... I'm already planning what museums I want to visit and what other fun things I want to do. Plus I have a week of vacation and am going to go to New York City with my mom for a few days and then tear up the town here in DC with Spring and Chris! So excited... 

Its just nice that it is summer now... The last few weeks of school were pretty hellish... lots of final papers and reading to do and then work was just as insane. I finally finished the project I have been working on all semester... a 500 page Faculty Resource Manual for all of our University 101 instructors. I'm so proud of the final project and am so thankful for all the contributors and the other help I received on the project. It really was a team effort. On top of that we hosted our first U101 conference which was a huge success as well. I am really proud of all the great things my office is doing, but its def. been keeping me busy! I'm so happy to report that, despite the crazy schedule and hard work, I ended the semester with a 4.0! woo-hoo... I'm halfway to finishing my goal to graduate with a perfect GPA. 

Besides that things on campus are going really well... I'm wrapping up projects and getting ready to hand them off at the Career Center and with Mutual Expectations. I've set up a practicum 2 experience for next spring and I'm super pumped about teaching in the fall! So much to look forward to, but I'm excited to take a bit of a "break" and enjoy my summer. 

Orientation starts tomorrow! Hopefully we all survive... Updates throughout the week and lots of pictures to be posted on facebook throughout the summer!

ACUI rocks!

Day 6!! And its been a really, REALLY long six days. But a really GREAT six days. I have been in Anaheim California serving as a graduate intern for the ACUI annual conference. There are six interns here and we have been having a great time! For starters, we haven't really slept much (haha... sounds familiar, right?) but we have been meeting people and networking and just having a really good time with each other. Its been great getting to finally meet and hang out with the ACUI Central Office Staff. Plus I've been able to see some folks from my old Region and have begun to network with those professionals in my new region. I haven't gotten to participate in much but I figure I am "doing my time". It seems like serving on the Conference Management Team is kinda like a right of passage-- so many of the professional staff members here have served in past years... I think its really going to open up some opportunities for me, especially through all of the networking. I really want to be able to go back to the annual conference next year which is going to be in New York City! Overall the conference has been a great experience... I love the staff, the other interns, and in general just the experience of working and meeting all of these fantastic union folks!

Tomorrow is our last day-- we are hoping to get over to DisneyLand for a bit :) Then its home on the Friday RedEye and I plan on sleeping for about 48 hours. So see you after I wake up...

Spring is here!

Spring is finally here and the weather is finally turning around.... This is the part I like about living in the South... the trees are already blossoming and the weather has been a blissful 70 degrees-- perfect dress weather! 

Everything in my life has been pretty blissful lately too. Work is going to fantastically well. I am loving what I am doing right now. Mostly I am working on writing, editing and designing a Faculty Resource Manual for all of our University 101 instructors. Its been a bit of a daunting task (all in all the manual will probably end up being about 500 pages), but it's going to be such a cool thing when I am done and such a good product to leave the end of the year with. Plus I've been working on Transitions stuff with Latino and serving on a subcommittee amongst other small things. The energy in our office has been a little negative and down for a variety of reasons, but I'm really hoping that will turn around by next year. All I keep reminding myself is that all I can control is my attitude and energy level, and I have been trying so very hard to remain upbeat and positive. So hopefully that will start to trickle down to others in our office as well. 

School has been good. I'm a little stressed out right now because I am trying to get all of my work for the next three weeks done in 1 and a half because of my trip to Anaheim. So I need to just power through-- less than two weeks until CA! So excited. 

Personally I am feeling really good about myself lately. This is the first time in my entire life where I can confidently say that I am happy being by myself. I feel really happy with who I am, the friends I have, the work that I am doing, that for once I don't feel the need to define myself by the relationship that I am in. Rather I want to define myself for me! I have been enjoying focusing on me for a change-- eating healthy and working out (I'm the most fit I have been for a while), reading for fun, relaxing with friends, staying on schedule, etc. I don't think I am ready to share that part of my life with anyone else right now. So sorry boys ;) haha Its just going to be me, myself and I for awhile! 

For all of you wonderful peeps back home-- My internship starts late May, but I am going to stay and work for a few weeks in SC. So my plan is to come home for a week or so at the beginning of August. My hope is that I will be home for Laura's bridal shower and birthday which would be fantastic. So... set some dates aside-- August 4-13ish is when I should be home. Lindsay and Laura--- you need to plan a visit for next fall!! 

Back to work work work.... and laying out by the pool ;) I'm never moving back to Central Standard Time.

one week....

The last few weeks have been insane! Assignments have been due like crazy and this weekend was GARP (graduate assistant recruitment process) for our HESA program. So I have had two students staying with me who are interested in coming to South Carolina and our office has been crazy busy preparing to interview our 9 candidates. It has been so interesting seeing the recruitment and selection side from the other side of the interviewer's table. This time last year I was sitting in their shoes trying to make this decision... do I go to Connecticut or IU or South Florida or South Carolina...in the end my decision ended up being really easy. I just felt at home here and I am so thankful everyday that I decided to come here. The incoming cohort seems great.... really energetic and excited about USC. I can't wait to come back next year and really meet everyone and welcome in a new group of students. 

On top of all the craziness of school and work, I am also sick... bronchitis really really sucks. My favorite part is the doctor telling me I might have to deal with a cough and feeling a little under the weather for 3-5 weeks... not 3-5 days... oh god... kill me now. 

All I know is that I need to get better before this weekend ;) I have a special visitor and I don't want to be sick for their visit.... Plus spring break is this upcoming week... and I get to go on my first spring break trip!!! We are going to Destin Florida and I am so pumped... so must get better, make it through the rest of GARP and make it through school work and I am home free for a fun week!! 

Summer Internship news!

Well the wait is finally over! After three weeks of preparing for interviews and spending time on the phone and on written responses... the summer internship search is over! I feel very lucky to have had so many great interviews. I ended up interviewing at 7 of my 8 NODA schools, and then additionally at Brown University for their Summer@Brown Program. There were things I liked about all of the schools I interviewed with (well with a few exceptions), and it was a very hard decision to make, one I took a lot of time preparing for this weekend (and yes, I made a pros and cons sheet)! 

So today was the day that schools could start making offers. All of the first-years in our Student Affairs class this morning were so anxious, especially as noon got closer and closer... After leaving the class I left to walk around the horseshoe, clutching my phone and hoping for some calls. And right at noon the phone started ringing... All in all I got four offers... but I instinctively knew what I wanted. 

When I applied for the University of Maryland position I thought I had no chance. They have such a well-known student affairs program and staff, and the position description sounded amazing... I figured I had wasted one of my NODA slots applying there cause I thought I didn't have a chance... But drumroll.... I WILL BE SPENDING MY SUMMER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND!!! 

Maryland was the first school that called today and my heart totally jumped... I was so pumped. And they were so nice... It seemed like such a great fit... they knew they wanted to offer to me after our first interview together, which I guess proves that this things really do work out! I'm so pumped... I'll be driving up to Maryland for their OA retreat next weekend... already getting started :) 

Anyway, I'm so glad the process is over and I'm so overwhelmed by the offers and my final decision. I can't wait to get to College Park this summer and get started... I know I"m going to have a great experience! 

so sleepy....

I think this week has officially exhausted me. I feel good at what I have accomplished, but I'm literally exhausted... my first paper of the semester is completed and turned in... my two projects for prac are almost finished (I'm so close!).... and I'm hopefully going to meet my first deadline for the faculty resource manual (ah! Monday)... I'm so excited I don't really have to think tomorrow. We are having grad leader training, but its been planned for weeks no so I'm not feeling too much stress about it. But even thinking ahead to this weekend is stressing me out... I have to get ahead with my reading and finish these projects... and i haven't run in two days which is driving me crazy. I want to do something nice for me -- aka a book store run. All I really want to do is sleep though...