Positivity

Hey Y'all! I finished my first week at camp and woooboy it was a long few days of reading stacks and stacks of paper and transitioning into my group. It has been a little difficult b/c of my co-cheif not being here all week! It was defineately a week of flexability. My co-councelor was in Jamaca for some business at home and when she tried to get back into this country they wouldn't let her and problems just kept holding her up and then the weather delayed her flights many times. I finally got to pick her up yesterday evening and took her to camp and then left for my time off (TO). This week was a little difficult for all of us in group. There wasn't much stability b/c we were getting different Chiefs everyday and night since I haven't had training and can't be left alone in group. And that was difficult having me transition in with the some of the boys staying on track and others pushing the boundries, schedule changes that made some upset, and we had a new boy come in this week. It was a full loaded week and I am looking forward to having Cheif Colleen back so we can start working together! :)

The theme of this week is being positive! I have become aware of the simple fact of staying positive. I have always felt that way but because I have to say it and keep these boys on track with their goals I realize how vital positivity is. What good is going to come about if you put up a stink and get down and out when things don't go your way? All it will do is put you and possibly others in bad moods and nothing productive will get done.

Some of the boys have started challenging my authority and testing boundries as I knew they would but I didn't expect them to pout and whine as much as they do.. goodness how much they pout! One thing changes.. THE WORLD IS OVER B/C I DIDN'T GET MY WAY!!! Oh I am just heart broken. Others in the group are great motivators. You can tell the differences in the ages and the way they act. I only have 5 boys right now... we were suppose to get another one but he just didn't want to come so he didn't. As each day passes I'm getting more comfortable and more familiar with the way things are run at camp. Everyone has welcomed me in warmly and I'm glad I'm here. It's hard sometimes not to be able to just go and get things done but I'm sure my TO will be full of that! I have started to be able to know my way around Lowgap, Mt. Airy and Dobson... small towns, very country roads and takes about 30 mintues to get anywhere. Not to far differnt from home. (side note: there is a family worker here that is from Norwich! how crazy is that?)

I must be off to do some "grown up" things and get my errans done. I love and miss you all!!

Until next time...

"OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO"

I sit at a computer alone in a huge house (which won't seem huge when there are more than just me here) after my first day of work at Camp E-Mun-Talee. It was a long day of paper work, reading and more reading and reading is not my strong point. I made it through with plenty of smiles, hugs and words of encouragement and now I wait for my laundry to be done and reflect.

Since I last wrote in April, a lot has happened. I graduated from Meredith College and with bittersweet tears I shut my dorm door and left my home of four years. It was only 3 days after graduation that I went off and had my camp visit here at E-Mun-Talee and found my new home. Something just seems to lead me to these places where I am most comfortable, almost as if to say... you're making a HUGE change so I thought this would help. Everyone is really welcoming and excited for me to be here.

After my camp visit, I went home for 3 weeks. I accepted the job, got all my doctors appointments done before I was no longer on my parents insurance, bought a car, got a loan, got my own car insurance and health insurance, caught up with friends and at the end of all of that, I moved down to NC to start my new adventure. Mom and I drove down on Saturday to Raleigh and the morning of Sunday I dropped her off at the airport and made my way to my new home, through many tears. The fear of the unknown mixed with the fear of no longer being an independent was overwhelming my excitement. I arrived mid-afternoon on Sunday and set up camp (pun intended) at the Time Off House. There was another chief here and we hung out and went out for some great Mexican food. This house is a frat house to best describe it...a little more dirty than I like to live but I have been doing a lot of cleaning this evening... Anyways my day started well, I got up and went to camp today for my first day full of paperwork as I said before and at lunch I met my group. I'm going into a new group so there are only 5 boys so far in the group. It will get up to no more than 10 once my co-counselor and I are together more. They seemed excited to meet me and I as well with them. I am looking forward to getting to know them all individually and helping them grow. After hours of paperwork I was able to come home where I cleaned, ate some food and just have been relaxing. Tomorrow I get my drug test done in the morning and finish the rest of the paper work. I should be in group by lunch or soon after and will stay with them until my next days off. Once I got there this morning, my fears and insecurities just melted away and my excitement which was buried has come out and am ready to get going.

Well, I'm tired and I have a full day a head of me so I am going to hit the sack. I will try to update as often as I get a chance... keep checking in! One never knows what will happen with me and the life I live! :)

Until next time friends...

Me gustan las manzanas.

I've gotten really bad about posting and letting you read what my life is about. I don't really go online much anymore because I've realized how much I can get done if my computer is off. Anyway... it has been a crazy 4 months since I last wrote. Really, I can't beleive that my senior year is going to be over in a month and 10 days!! (but who's counting?) My life has seemed as though it has been in fast forward but I have actually had time to sit back and enjoy it, which is really nice.

Let's start with the semester break... that was a wirlwind of a time. Catching up with friends, working at Edible Arrangements, spending time with family, making cookies with friends and so much more. It was SOO cold and my body was in shock for a little bit. One of my best friends from Meredith came up for New Years, which without her I would have done nothing. Lanee' and I went to Watch Hill with the top down (on my moms advice) which was a great time... she got to see where I live during the summers and when I just need time to think. I also took her to THE SUN for the count down, which was totally crazy but being us, we had tons of fun. The next day Lanee' and I went to Newport to see some of those mansions which were no less than amazing, even in the rain. Once Lanee' left it was time for me to start packing up for my last semester and reality started setting in... last time I was leaving the house and getting taken care of by my parents....

I came back to school and within the first month we celebrated 107 days until we graduate!! OH MY GOSH!!! The count down started and how we went from 107 to 40 is unknown to me. I started off my semester with 18 credits to finish my minor and gen-ed but I now have 12. BIG difference... but I am still finishing my minor and gen-ed so it's all good. For the first time I enjoy my classes and want to learn instead of having to learn. I am pritty much the only senior in all of my classes, there is one that there are about 4 of us and then another which is basically all seniors but it's a strange yet powerful feeling... I'm a senior, they are freshman... I didn't every think that I was old enough to be 21 almost 22 and graduating college, but then I see some of these girls in my classes and think... wow, I used to be like that... I have grown so much, I hope they do as well.

It feels as though not a lot has happened yet, so much has... I do have to say that this semester I have realized how special all my friends are. Without them, I wouldn't be able to get up in the morning or get on with my life. They have been my life support where I've always had my parents to do that for me... I cannot say thank you enough for everything they have done for me. And for the most part, life has been good. I am getting excited to graduate, although it is going to be really hard to leave the dorms and just going down the hall to see my sisters.

Oh this is exciting! So, for the longest time I have had an idea of what I wanted to do, but had no idea where I could go.... well, I went to the non-profit fair the other day and found a spot in life for me! :) I have an interveiw with Methodist Home for Children on April 10th for the residential councelor. I also have looked at Eckerd Youth Alternative and Cameron Boys Camp. They all are similar and work with a group of kids helping them with life skills. :) I hope everything works out. Anyway... It has been yet another super long post... Have a wonderful day!!

Hasta luego amigos

Where did the Semester go?

How all of a sudden is it December 3rd? I have 3 more days of class and 3 finals until I come home to CT on the 14th. WHAT? Where did the semester go? It has been a crazy one for sure... It really feels like I just wrote that previous blog about being scared of first day of Senior year. Now it seems that I can't wait to get out. If it wasn't for all of this homework... like papers and tests, I would love my classes. I enjoy what I am taking, I just seem to be bad at the whole homework, paper and test thing.
Okay, well let me fill you in on my semester at a glance. Cornhuskin'... the MOST IMPORTANT event at Meredith College. This is our Homecoming. It is a time of 3 months with no sleep, dances, skits, meeting new friends and of course competition. Really, it is something I can't explain to it's credit but I love it and this year class of '007 took the crown!! :) HOLLA!!
After that was over, I thought I could get back to my normal life. Well, that consisted of 3 service learning projects, papers, and so much more. Although I didnt really know what to do with my time I was able to get a small handle on things I needed to get done. One of my service learning projects is to work in a preschool to help with bettering the environment... well EXCITING yet strange thing happened to Builidng Together Preschool.. ABC's EXTREME MAKEOVER came the other week!!! So, as excited as I am for them, because they really deserve this, it makes finishing our project difficult.
Thanksgiving came and went. My best friends, Moriah and Katie, came down from Connecticut to have Thanksgiving at Kimbie's (Katie's sister) house. That was fun because I wasn't going home and to have part of home with me was nice. I wish that break was longer though. I was so exhausted with everything I had to get done before the break that all I wanted to do is sleep and I still had stuff to get done for after break!
The work load never ends!! I actually sat down last week and wrote out everything that I have to do before the end of the semester and it is almost done... It is so satisfying to cross something off your list... expessally a whole class!! Ahh!! FREEDOM!!!
Well, that is about it folks. My semester at a glance. That is literally how fast it seemed to fly too. One day I blinked at it was Decemeber 3. I can only imagine next semester. MY LAST ONE!!! AHH!!! Oh Job Searches. Okay, well, I'm going to stop procrastinating and get to work.
Until Next Time Friends...

When did it become September?

I sit at my desk in my dorm surrounded with the usual,[bookshelf,crafts, homework, random chaos, you know the workings of a dorm room], wondering when did it become September? It seemed like I was just on the beach yesterday... well, no it didn't... I just wish it did. One month of my senior year has already flown by... I guess it's true what my sister said,'time changes when your whole world does'.

So my year started off quite nicely... Freshman Orientation Training is always fun and our theme this year "NO ORDINARY TIME, NO ORDINARY WOMEN", focusing on WWII and the homefront with ER and FDR. LOVE IT! So, being as thoughtful as I am when it comes to posters, I made mine into propaganda posters... not sure if ANY of them got it.. I know, and that's all that matters. Well, orientation came, and went... no big things there. My girls are a good group... I like 'em. And then it all happened... Wednesday August 23, my life changed... I offically became a SR.

It was like my first day of freshman year all over again. I didn't have class until 11am so when everyone was off doing their own thing I was trying to get the nerves out of my stomach. My frist class, ENG- Victorian Lit. OH MAN! WHAT A DOOZIE! I was sure I was going to die. I walk nervously into Joyner Hall, one of which I am NOT to familiar with because I am usually living in Martin Hall across the way, causously find room 128 and walk in, look for a seat and sit there and only talk when Dr. Colby, the HEAD of the department, calls my name for role. This class, FULL of english majors, is going to be a killer. The knotts in my stomach were worse than before. I am in a daze as I walk out and somehow find my way to Belk for some lunch where I have NO idea who I will sit with for lunch...and find my suitemates, where I then proceed to tell them how I feel like a freshman. The day got better, my second class is Clothing Construction in the most familiar hall of Martin. Home Sweet Home. Never did I realize how much time I spend in that hall until I don't have a class there. Weird. My Tuesday, Thursdays are all in Martin, so really, I shouldn't feel nervous about leaving my building at all... alas, I feel as though I am a traitor.

Here I am 3 weeks into my senior year with a paper and a quiz looming in the coming week. My classes are exciting! I am in 2, no 3 classes that are service learning, which takes what we learn in the classroom and applies it to life. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well, it is but then again it isn't. I guess it depends on the class. One of my child development classes, we have to come up with an activity for kids while mothers at Passage Home have their monthly meeting. My other child development class, we have to some up with some sort of 'lesson plan' for women living at the summit house as well as an activity for the kids while the other group is presenting. My first thing to do is Sept. 21... that's like next week and we haven't met as a group yet. YIKES! In my core class we have to take a U.N.Milienium Goal, raise awareness around campus about it and spend at least 10 hours volunteering for a cooperative organization. Everytime I leave these classes, I get really excited. This is what I want to do. I love it. One of my classes is from 6-9pm but it goes quick and I am super interested so, once I get there, it doesn't bother me.

So my suitey, Ashley, turns 21 on tuesday. HOLLA! We have a class meeting but we are def going to a bar after the mtg to celebrate for a little while... even if it means just one drink and an hour of fun!! We went home with her this weekend, by we I mean the suite, GRACE, FRAN and myself as well as KATIE, Grace's little. It was a good time. Cake, ice cream, pictures, dancing, home videos and a little story about how she was born... what more could you ask for? It was a good time.

Well, it's about 1:30am, do you know where your children are? I am beat, so I will sign off... and I'm sure you are bored of reading...

...Until Next Time Friend.

Your drivin me nuts.....rrrrrr

Aaron called me a pirate yesterday... sweet.

Life in Ledyard....

Not much has happened since I last wrote a post... Other than work on the weekend selling people things that they don't need and dealing with their up scale attitudes life has been less than exciting. I'm not going to lie, I do feel like I'm a slacker just a little bit... the whole not working during the week when responsible people work is fun because no one is at the beach or where ever I want to go but I do get comments that make me feel that maybe I should work more than I do. Oh well.. the whole 40 dollars ever other day to fill up my gas tank really wares on me....

On the upside...I am really excited about this next weekend though!!! My friend Hay is coming into town with DAVE MATHEWS and ONE and we get to hang out for a whole weekend!! YAY! After the show on Friday, I think we will hang out up in the H-town then Saturday day we will come home and I will show her around the loverly town of Ledyard/Gales Ferry then go back up to see the show again. Man, two things that I love... Dave and Hay... yay!! :)

Well, I'm hangin' out with Katie (no surprize there) and some other cool chicks so I am going to get going.... Hasta Luego