Look vaguely familiar? It's been posted before. And I'll post it again.
Sometimes it is so hard between the early morning and late night meetings, packed flights and busy airports, job searching and apartment finding, to remember that I need to breathe. I need to have faith that my Father is going to look out for me and all I can do is the day by day.
I thought second semester would be a breeze. And I suppose to some extent it has been - in that it's flying by like the wind. But if by "breeze" I was thinking easy, I was thinking wrong. So my schedule has slowed. Instead of 23 different visits, this semester I only have 13. But my worries have not. I'm not freaking out about missing flights and sleeping on what are most likely dirty sheets anymore, but I am obsessing over finding an apartment and a means to pay for it once this gig is up in May. So if you're reading this, go ahead and send a prayer up to the Big Guy for me on that one - it is much needed and appreciated!
As far as the visits have gone though - I have been loving it! Here's an account of the first leg:
The University of Tennessee - Knoxville, TN
First visit of the semester, and my favorite all year. Fellow consultant Sarah and I got to do this one together - which I cannot explain how excited that made us! We went to help the chapter implement a body image program Tri Delta is proud of called Reflections. It is the first evidence-based peer-led body image education and eating disorder prevention program that has been repeatedly shown to work, and is the first designed for and in collaboration with an international sorority. Pretty cool right? Since the training was only a day and we were there for 5, it gave Sarah and I a lot of time to explore Knoxville. This is the only time I've actually questioned whether I could handle living farther than two hours from the coast - there is something about those Tennessee mountains. It helps that it is only an hour from Nashville, where I went for the first time over my winter break. Wes and I went to visit his sister the week before I left for my spring travels, and let me tell you I can't wait to go back! It pains me to say it, but I think I could have even overlooked the orange and been a Volunteer if UT had been on my list of college visits. I left a little bit of my heart in Knoxville!
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| Neyland Stadium |
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette - Lafayette, LA
I got to go see my Ragin' Cajuns again! And enjoyed it just as much as last time. It is always so nice going back to a place where they already know your name. The sweet UL girls took me out to eat way too much (again) and I was there just in time for the beginning of crawfish season! It was nice to visit with them some more, and meet with all of their newly slated officers. I stayed with Sara, the member who planned my visit to UL in the fall, at her parents' home which was so fun. I got to sleep in a real bed and we chatted about the fact that she applied to be a Field Consultant next year! I have my fingers crossed for her, I think she'd be amazing at it!
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| Out to eat with the UL ladies |
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| Beginning of crawfish season! |
Louisiana State University - Baton Rouge, LA
The ladies at LSU treated me so, so well - which I'm sure my fellow consultant AnneMarie, a LSU alum, made sure of :) I stayed in their alumni center hotel...the same weekend as the football team was having their end of the year banquet. I got to see the Honey Badger in all of his post National Championship Game glory...er, well, not so much glory, I guess. But you know what I mean. I was taken to a basketball game, got to see Mike the tiger (the real one and the mascot), as well as enjoy some more Cajun food. I probably put on a good 5 pounds between this visit and my time at UL.
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| With Mike the Tiger at the basketball game |
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| Real Mike! |
The University of Southern Mississippi - Hattiesburg, MS
Home of the Golden Eagles...formerly home to General Nat (Nathan Bedford Forrest) - those Mississippi schools and their mascots. My third and final visit to a school in the great state of MS. This is such a welcoming chapter and I loved getting to visit Hattiesburg. I was hoping for a Brett Favre sighting, but no such luck. This visit was a super short one, so we hardly even had time to cram a campus tour in before I had to leave on an earrrrly morning flight back to SC for my first break. I always feel bad for the chapters who have to squeeze so many meetings into such a small amount of time, but they did it with ease!
And this ladies and gentlemen, is my to be continued...
But don't worry, it will be continued sooner rather than later - keep your eyes peeled for a post in the next couple of days!
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