Spotted: Trio at Alpha Gamma Rho

Spotted: Trio at Alpha Gamma Rho

Well, it may not have been the best party ever, but it was pretty great in my opinion! Last night my roommate ("Rebecca"), another of my sorority sisters ("Allie"), and I all went out partying (the "trio"). We started at AgRho and ended there too! Everyone agrees that if you are able to stay at the same party the whole night it must be at least decent (or you are very very drunk and don't care!).

Personally, I think what makes a good party is the size. That doesn't mean I think the party has to be huge and, in fact, to a point I mean the opposite. A good party is one during which you can actually socialize and get to meet new people. To some, the idea of a party is to find the biggest, wildest rave they can and that is their idea of a good party. The difference lies in the end goal of your partying endeavor: new friends and a good time, or getting blacked out drunk with your current friends. I have a blast getting intoxicated, sure, but the fun part is trying to converse with strangers (hot ones!) while I'm at it. Not to mention all the memories that I make with the friend group I choose to go with that night which I suppose you can make equal but different memories at a crazy party, too.

For my taste their is a formula: loud crowded dance rooms+small, more private side rooms=fun, socializing, and new friends. The dance rooms are where the rave feeling happens (minus the hard drugs), and once you run into someone worthwhile and talking gets too difficult with the noise, you move into a smaller room where you can hang out and get to know each other. Some may worry that by moving into the privacy of a smaller room a woman could be taken advantage of, and I won't say it isn't true. But as with all aspects of a night out you have to use your head: don't get so intoxicated that you can't make your own decisions and say no. Not to mention that it isn't very likely that you will be the only couple in the room. I don't mean to sound as if the men I meet are always for romantic involvement, a lot of times it is just to meet a new greek friend who also has info on when the parties are. I've met quite a few of my male friends just by saying hey. Of course I did begin the friendships many times with a makeout sesh....but that is just a fun drunk thing to do.

Judge my partying preferences and habits if you want, but to me going out is a way of socializing with both old and new friends in a familiar and enjoyable setting. Take last night for example, the party started just a little on the small side, but within thirty minutes it was a pretty good size. They managed the rooms nicely since there are multiple rooms and they don't have them all open at the same time, As the visitors grew they opened more rooms. People had fun bonging beer and playing beer pong (bongs and pongs...hmm that should be the theme of a party one of these days), and there was a large supply of alcohol that never ran out. I would say the biggest thing these frat boys did right is that they actually approach their guests and strike conversation. There's nothing weirder than just dancing around with your girlfriends and not even getting to talk to the brothers of the house you're visiting! After all, if I wanted to just get drunk with my girls I could chill in one of our rooms with alcohol from the grocery store. Alpha Gamma Rho aren't the only partiers I deem quality either. Delta Chi is equally fun for the same reasons. Of course I fully understand that with the layout of some frat houses parties are held in an open basement because that is what they have to work with. You can always take a girl to a private room upstairs but then you really will be private and secluded because the chances of other people being there too is slim. However, one thing party throwers can do is strike up conversation and say hey; actually socialize! I revert back to one of my original statements: if I stay at the same party all night long, it's probably because it's actually a good one and for me that is how you do it. Party safe, people! TGIF:)

Shopping SPREE

Shopping SPREE

Wow what a day, and it's been a great one! Shopping will make any girl feel great (until she glances at her credit card bill...) and today I got so much new stuff! My friend Lorie and I hit up Marshalls first because I don't have enough warm party clothes. Most of what I have is short sleeve or thin fabrics that needed a jacket! We looked around Marshalls and didn't find a leather jacket but I DID happen to find two new shirts to go out in. One of them is a steel grey, completely lace, see-through, crop top with spaghetti straps. Definitely a cold shirt! I plan to wear this navy bandeau bra I own under it. Needless to say, that jacket was really needed now! The other shirt I bought was a little warmer; a plain navy blue, off shoulder, TIGHT spandex, quarter sleeve shirt. I'm hoping it is going to be a little warmer to wear out in the frigid night air. We were about to leave since I didn't see any jacket options, but as we made our way to checkout I found just the warm winter hat I have been looking for this whole season! It has one of those big, fluffy balls on top made of faux fur hairs and it is bulky, cream knit with little gold studs on it. On the very front is the Steve Madden gold metal label and, get this, it was only $7.00. I left very pleased but still very much in need of a jacket:)

Round two was at Columbia Mall. I still really needed that jacket, so we tried H&M first. They had some leather jackets, but the more I looked at them or tried them on the more I realized I don't really fit the part for the edginess of leather. I looked around and found some jean jackets but I didn't like the wash of them. Lorie ended up buying a dress for the sorority since she just began Spring Informal Recruitment! (Remember her name is changed, Ladies).

Leaving empty-handed we headed on to Maurice's where I finally found a jean jacket with a wash I like that I can even wear year round. Thank God! It was $40.00, but seriously that's not bad at all. I also bought the first (and not last) item of the day that was not needed: a pair of 75% off printed leggings for only $7.00; that must be my magic price. 

Satisfied, we headed on to Icing so Lorie could look at an earring for her cartilage piercing, and while we were there I noticed all the belly rings and bought two...whoops:). 

Before we left, though, I wanted to find some cute booties to finish off my looks for any upcoming parties, and it took a few stops before we ended up at this weird shoe place whose name escapes me. It worked out, though, because I found these cute, black, suede, lace-up, heeled booties for like $40.00. I didn't even know that Fergie was designing now, but I guess she is because they're "Fergalicious" brand. 

We left the mall after that, and you would think I'd be done right? Well I came home to the sorority house and made some buffalo chicken dip for a snack (mix shredded chicken from a can, 1/2 cup Frank's Buffalo Wings sauce, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, 1/2 cup ranch dressing and put it all in the microwave until cheese is melted. Eat on crackers), and went shopping again! My sister who lives upstairs from me was selling a bunch of her clothes so I decided to take a look. Great brands and great style so I grabbed two cardigans, a sweater, a blouse and a sundress and when I asked her how much it would all be she said just $20.00! They are all new with tags, too.

Back in my room later I was doing some homework right here in bed on my laptop just like I'm sitting now, and I realized that I could sure use a lap desk! Soooooo I got online and bought a lap desk...and a ton of other stuff! I ordered BB cream foundation, lipstick, contour sponges and a contour cream palette, a concealer palette, a little two step stair to get up to my bed more easily, and some adhesive boobies (a bra) for all my cute and slightly scandalous new party clothes. Nothing feels better than a whole day of shopping! WHAT A SPREE.

School is Nuts

School is Nuts

Where do I start? School is back in session! I moved into the sorority house and have a four person room that I only share with one other sister (two closets each is AWESOME!). I already feel so much closer to many of my sisters just by being in the house around them and doing daily activities with them.

Classes so far seem interesting. A few aren't about what I thought they were, but I still think I can interest and engage myself. I am an idiot and left my planner back in St.Louis so I had to improvise and print off some calendars. I have way too much going on not to keep organized! I am taking a creative writing course to learn to write more fiction since currently the only other pieces I write consistently are freeform poetry. I love how small the class size is; only around thirteen students. I got to know the girl next to me who seemed really nice. I am one of only two freshman in the class, though, which is weird but I suppose with the class size it isn't unheard of.

Of course, it is syllabus week and that means frat parties!!! Last night I went out with my new roommate Rebecca and one of the girls I went skiing with over break who also attends (we'll call her Lorie). We hit up multiple frats, and surprisingly I thought the parties we went to were extremely small in comparison to other parties I have been to at frats, even in comparison to last semester's syllabus week. The last one we went to had run out of all their alcohol except for some unflavored plain vodka, so the three of us all took shots of it! We asked if they had chasers and all they had was a single bottle of water that we passed around. I feel really bad because I was so drunk last night that I spilled multiple of Lorie's drinks on her!! I kept thinking I was standing farther from her than I was. I am excited to say that last night I convinced Lorie to sign up for our informal recruitment, and there is a chance she will be a sister!!! I wish her the best, and I am nervous for her!

It is always just a tad stressful to find the time to write, but once I start I find the words come pretty easily. With school starting again I can't promise a daily post, but I can promise that I'll do my absolute best to not let three consecutive days go by without a word. It's great to see my readership increase, so thank you all, and the only thing I can ask is that sometime someone leave me a comment! I would love to know what you all think of my posts, my subjects, and future ideas of things you'd like to see. Your feedback, positive or negative as long as it is constructive, is greatly appreciated and wanted. Ask me questions about myself or anything you want to know more about for me to expand on!

If you just returned to college, too, I wish you all the best this semester!

Back at It

Back at It

(Sorry there is no funny photo here, I promise I will update it later! I'm posting from a different computer and I don't know how to work Apple computers!!:)

Whelp, I'm back at Mizzou! I feel bad that I haven't posted in two days, but I have been pretty busy packing or sleeping! Yesterday I drove to Lambert Airport to pick up my man friend (we'll call him Josh, I'm changing names) and it was SO good to see him again! We drove back the two or so hours back to campus and dropped him off at his apartment before I went to move in at the sorority house! Last semester I was in a dorm since I am a freshman, but this semester I decided to move in-house! So far I would say I will get along with this roommate WAY better than the random dorm one.

The day was not perfect, however. I went to get my bike from the dorm where I had left it, planning to take it over to the sorority house. To my disdain, someone stole my bike basket. It was a nice, big, sturdy one. I am less upset about having to purchase another one than I am about having to take an hour or two to reinstall it. But hey, thinking optimistically, at least they didn't steal my whole bike (although it has a good lock so they didn't have the option).

The other thing that happened that was less than desirable is that when I got into my new room in the house it appeared that my sisters who had been in the room last semester had never. moved. out. All their things were still out as if someone were still inhabiting it. Nothing was in boxes. So when I came home to Columbia all prepared to set up my new room and get unpacked and comfortable, I couldn't because there was barely enough room to even set my luggage. Even more frustrating is that I waited and waited for the girls to come move their things, and two of them did within a few hours. The third girl still hadn't come by 9pm, so luckily I went over to Josh's and spent the night. Otherwise I would have had to sleep on the floor of my own room because her bed was still made! I did hear from my roommate this morning that the girl had come late last night and moved.

Still, I am so excited to be home even though it is bone cold! I have so much to do, though. Today I am spending the day with Josh and we are going to the grocery store so I can cook him a great dinner:) I also have to pick up my books and later tonight attempt again to settle into my room. Hopefully late tonight my roommate (we'll call her Rebecca) and I will go shopping for some things for our room. I forgot that the house rooms don't come with any furniture besides a bed! As of now I have nowhere to put my clothes and books for school! We plan to get a rug and curtains to spice it up, too. Anyway, busy busy!! Good luck any Mizzou students on our first day back tomorrow!

Salvaging My Wrecked Car

Salvaging My Wrecked Car

Two months ago I was in a car wreck. I was the only car involved, and while I was of course held liable because it was a one car accident I was not written any citations or told there was anything I could do. Here is what happened and how.

At Mizzou in October racial threats and discord were everywhere. Riots and disrespect from both sides, really. So much was happening it was hard to know what was true or false. One night things got really bad when a student from Rolla (Missouri S&T) posted threats on Mizzou's yik yak app (an anonymous app based on location). The first threat said something to the effect of "Some of you are fine to come to school tomorrow. Others probably shouldn't". In the end the guy was trying to be funny, but I know someone who says he went to high school with him (my friend went to Wentzville Holt, although I haven't verified his story) who said he was charged with terrorist threats. 

Rumors and yik yaks (maybe by the same person I don't know) were going around from all sides. I read a few saying the Greeks would be targeted since we are supposedly the white privileged group of the university. A few posts were threats naming specific sororities and saying they would be the first to go, next to go, etc. It bothers me that we were targeted because really, if you are blessed enough to attend college you are privileged whether you pay it all or you have grants. Unfortunately in our country higher education is a privilege not a guarantee. As far as being Greek, it is rude stereotyping to assume that all PHA and IFC members are rich and white. Personally I know many diverse backgrounds in the Greek system, and I also know that many of us pay for our membership out of our own pockets with little or no help from our parents.

I probably would have been fine, no one got hurt. But it is nerve racking not only to think there a person or persons are out there blood thirsty, but also because by that point there was so much information as o what was going on outside our dorms (which we were told it was in our best interests not to leave). In my dorm we all gathered in the common areas with our hall staff and tried to keep up to date with Twitter from our authoritative figures and Mizzou mass notifications. But when it got really confusing and scary was when our student body president, Peyton Head, posted on his Twitter saying that the KKK had been confirmed sighted on campus by a "reliable source" and he was in contact with the feds. Around 30 to 40 minutes later he posted a sincere apology saying that his source was misinformed and he was sorry for causing any fear. From now on we were to receive information only from Mizzou Police. 

Many teachers individually sent emails cancelling their classes, although Mizzou did not officially cancel classes. Even the ones who did hold class didn't enforce attendance policies, it seemed. So instead of staying in my dorm and looking over my shoulder all the time I decided that with my classes cancelled I would drive the two hours back home and return when it had passed.

 I slept for 4 hours. My (now ex-) boyfriend at the time and I fought late into the night passionately over the current events. I would not have been able to sleep much anyway because I kept checking for updates. It turns out he was a pretty strong racist, no matter how \he tried to deny it, he made it clear in the way he phrased things and how he treated blacks. And that is not okay to me. Besides some abuse and the fact that he cheated (which I learned later), that is one of the main reasons I dumped him. I am not saying the actions of anyone, white or black, were right. But I am saying that disrespect from one human to another is rude and uncalled for. 

So I went home. How do these events relate to my accident? Well, I stayed one night at home and got 9 hours of quality sleep the night before I drove back to Mizzou in hopes the worst of it was over. I did not feel tired. But the lack of sleep from two nights before must've caught up with me because they say I must have fallen asleep for no longer than a minute. Just long enough for my left set of tires to go off the road into the grass. I quickly realized where I was, and I got scared because I didn't remember falling asleep or how I had gotten off the road. I over-corrected with a sharp turn right. I spun out. At around 8:30pm I went left back off the side of the road, this time under the median cable and across opposing traffic on I-70. I was going 75 miles an hour. My windshield shattered when my car, by some miracle, squeezed under the median cables. It all happened in a minute or so. My car stopped on the right shoulder of the other direction of traffic, facing the direction of traffic even. If you hadn't seen me come across or the oil leaking from my punctured oil pan you might have thought I just pulled over. The police came very quickly thanks to whatever Samaritan saw it and called.  

I declined medical attention. I had not hit any other cars which is a blessing because I would not be able to live with myself if I had hurt someone else. After a long ordeal and having my car towed back to my house I got a ride back to Mizzou. I did not attend my classes the next day because I was still in shock. Afraid to leave my room, even. I should've died in that wreck; even the tow truck driver told my parents in private that he had never seen someone walk away from a wreck like mine. My car was totaled and will be going to salvage in the next week or two. I am getting a new one, which is good because the remains of car in my garage scare me everytime I see them, and I emotionally can never handle sitting in the driver's seat where it all happened again. 

I drove home to be safe. And by some irony I returned very unsafely. All things considered it could have been so much worse for me. Now every time I pass that mile marker I look and see the remnants of the wreck fading away. At first there were tire ruts where my car squished into the grass to fit under the cables. And there was half of my front end....sitting right under the now-loose cables right there in the median. Black skid marks on the other side of the road. The mile number will always be branded in my memory. So yes, I am glad my car is being replaced, because after those two days of fear ending with that, the car holds nothing but bad memories.

Mizzou Family

Mizzou Family



Today I just feel really off. I'm bored but nothing seems interesting. I think it's because I miss my friends since I'm still on Winter Break, and nothing sounds as exciting unless I'm doing it with them. I don't go back until the 17th! My hometown friends here are all going back to their respective colleges before me, and of course my (more numerous) friends from college are scattered all over the country (and actually the world!).

It just has me thinking about friends and distance. It never occurred to me that, unlike in high school where my friends were mostly within the school district lines, I would have friends from absolutely everywhere. I mean it used to be hard to maintain friendships even just a few school districts away, or heck, even in the other high school in MY school district! But now my friends' locations are so various, and it offers me a new perspective. I like meeting people from so many different places. I travel a ton but I've lived in the same suburb my whole life, almost. It's so interesting to hear peoples' stories of their life or experiences in a big city or in a rural town or in a faraway country. Whether they live there or just are traveling over the break, I have friends and sorority sisters in probably ten or twelve different states and also one in Korea, Brussels, London, Spain and France!

It is just a wonder to me that wherever we come from, we all belong to our beloved University. We leave for the summer or the Christmas Break or what have you to rejoin our families or to travel and gain new and lasting memories. But then soon on the 17th we will return to what many of us refer to as "home"; Columbia, Missouri. (Yes, I am a Mizzou student! I have debated how many specific details to give. But since I have shared my college I will not share what sorority I belong to, I have decided.)

I have always felt close to Mizzou since both parents, my older sister, and my uncle all have attended. But once I got there myself of course my love grew more!! I just think it is so amazing how close I am to everyone there. Just thinking of how scattered we are, but then we come home to be with our second family: our Mizzou friends. So yeah I feel weird, because even though I am enjoying the break and spending time with my family, I miss my Mizzou family and I don't feel the same not being close to them! I look forward to returning and attempting my second semester!

Actual Viewers? And Job Attempt

Actual Viewers? And Job Attempt



I have been curious to see if anyone actually viewed my post from last night. Apparently it seems I have 3 people that have visited my page. Which is super cool. If any of you are reading this one thanks!

Well today I am continuing my search for a summer job. I am tired of the usual fast food cashier thing. Because really, who wants to be stuck in a job like that? The problem is finding someone who is accepting of my lack of experience in anything besides food service. I know pretty much everyone has said it, but um how am I supposed to have "required previous experience in (insert cool summer job here)" when everyone expects you to have experience? I ended up applying for many jobs that probably won't hire me. I'm too young or I don't have the experience, but I'm hoping someone might take a shot at me. I'm spending the summer in Las Vegas with some family out there so I only have three months to make a lot of money to fund my school year! Although I am lucky enough to have parents paying for my college for me, I have to fund my choice to be in a sorority. It is a part of college life that I knew I would only be able to join at this exact time. So I jumped in and so far I absolutely love it! Would it be cool if I wrote about my greek life experience so far? There are so many false stereotypes about it. Being part of my sisterhood is nothing like the movies:)