It's Sunday..what?

OK, to start, apologies for seriously slacking on the blog this week. I've had so much going on I feel like I was rarely at my computer.

My classes have all been going so well. I'm really interested in my marketing class, and on Thursday morning we did a fun in-class activity where we went through newspapers and magazines to look at advertisements and see what concepts we've been talking about and how they actually do exist and work. I've spent some serious quality time with my new financial calculator to help me work out problems for my finance and microeconomics class.

As for outside the classroom and the lib, I had lots of extra-curriculars going on. I met with my Leadership Lehigh group project team to discuss our upcoming event involving student awareness of sexual health. I also had an interview for being an Orientation Leader again next year- I hope it went well! Also, and this was my favorite part of this week, my sorority and I had a first meeting with a local Girl Scout troop. 7 of us went over to their meeting site and helped them do activities, group discussions, and play some games, and the best part is that by the end of the night, we helped them earn their leadership badge! They were a lot of fun and had so many questions about attending college, greek life, and pretty much anything else you can think of. I'm pumped that we're meeting up with them again next week to help them earn their women's health badge.

And then finalllyyy, it was the weekend and I had an awesome one :) My friend from high school came to visit on Friday, and he had an awesome time going out with me and my friends. Last night, my sorority had our semesterly date party and we had a BLAST getting all dressed up with our dates and dancing the night away at a banquet hall nearby. I was stubborn and kept my heels on the entire night, and now I'm paying for that this morning- my feet are killing me!

I'll be spending the rest of the afternoon cleaning my room (I swear, I don't know how it gets so messy every day..) doing some homework and then relaxing with a good movie. Whyyy do the weekends go so fast?!

Baby Its Cold Outside..

Brrrrrr! The past few days have reminded me how much I hate the winter and lovee the summer. It snowed a few inches over the weekend, but two impromptu snowball fights and one speedy sled-ride made up for the low temperature. Over the weekend I spent more than enough time lounging in bed and watching movies, and also spent a lot of time with my friends, doing some shopping and I even cleaned my room. The only thing I did NOT do was make much progress on my daunting to-do list, which I then had to hustle through Sunday and Monday night. Eventually I'll learn to stay on top of those things..

Have you ever had that really happy, confident feeling you get when you know you've been purposeful and accomplished during the day? I'm not sure if I can put that to words any better, but it's the feeling I've had all day Monday and so far today. I've been wide-awake for all of my classes, did well on my homework assignments, got back on track with my reading, and signed up for a tutor for my finance class. The icing on the cake is I finally got off my lazy butt and made it to the gym TWO DAYS IN A ROW (yes, this really is that monumentous of an occassion.) I'm signed up for group exercise for the classes, and have since been suffering at the hands of my core stability and pilates instructors. It feels good to know I'm making the most out of my day, but explains why I was soundly asleep by 11 last night. The early bird catches the worm, right? I guess I'll see if that holds true tomorrow when I try to get up at 8 am..

TGIF

Woooooohoooooo! One week of class down...sixteen left (i think?)! Regardless, I'm so glad it's the weekend and I have some time off to just hang out, get some serious sleep and (maybe) get ahead on my work for the next week..

Today was a rough start though..didn't get the memo that it's 16 degrees out (not even joking about that) and I think I almost froze my toes off walking down to class. I was supposed to go snow-tubing at one of the mountains not far from here tonight, but we decided to reschedule since it's way too chilly to be outside. I'm thinking about going to see that new 3D horror movie that comes out tonight at the Promenade Shops nearby..I've already warned my friends that I don't do scary movies very well, but I really want to see a movie in 3D.

And I almost forgot to mention before that I promised an update on the accounting homework- it took me awhile to get into the groove, but once I got going I finished the problem set in about two hours. When we went over the problems in class the next day, I only had a few small errors..great success! Then I kind of started to daydream and realized how much I miss my dog (I have a little white Havanese named Zoe) and had my mom picture-message me a picture of her later that night...Note to all: don't teach your parents how to text- you'll never escape!

But that's all for now, it's time to start to enjoy my weekend! Have a good one everyone =]

Anddd we're back!

It feels sooo good to be getting back into the swing of things at school. I know I just had a month off, but it feels like I didn't miss a beat from last semester.

I came back a little after New Years to start to get ready for formal sorority recruitment. Although it was great seeing my friends from home over the winter break, I was beyond excited to get back to my house and see what my sisters have been up to for the past month. Sorority recruitment is a one-week long process before classes start in the spring semester. Any female wishing to rush can come back to participate in the process (the earliest you can rush is between 1st n 2nd semester freshman year). All the rushees go to all eight sororities to meet the sisters, watch skits, do a philanthropic project, and eventually decide where they'd like to become a member. My house has 28 lovely ladies in our new pledge class and I'm so excited to get to know them better!

Then I did have a little reality check when classes started Monday morning. I'm taking 5 classes (16 credits), most of which are business related. I'm a morning person, so I have classes scheduled for bright and early, but its great that all my professors seem really energetic, so that'll help keep me awake too. I unfortunately already have homework in some classes, and lots of reading as well, but you gotta do what you gotta do...

I have a busy afternoon today with meetings for some of the clubs I am in but I think I'm going to schedule in some time to take a nap before getting to that homework :) I'll give updates on how my first Accounting 152 problem set goes, but wish me luck!

Where has fall semester gone?!

I don’t want start off my first blog with a cliché, but I truly can’t help it- time flies fast when you’re having fun, and now that I’m at the end of my first semester of sophomore year, I can’t help but wonder where the time has gone.

This semester has been a whirlwind of activity and I’ve loved every minute of it- the ups, the downs, and all the things in between. I started the semester by serving as an Orientation Leader for the incoming Class of 2012, and it was INCREDIBLE to be on the front-line of the Lehigh welcome committee. Between the icebreaker games, the campus tours, and the discussions of anything and everything that’s Lehigh, I feel that the new class of freshmen is starting their year off on the right foot, and it was great to be a part of that experience.

Once classes kicked in, the things started to get a little hectic- I took 17 credits (5 courses) that included three business classes, a social science course, and an advanced language class. Some classes came more easily to me than others, and despite being as stubborn as I am about asking for help, I got a tutor for my stat class and visited my Spanish professor’s office hours at least once a week. It paid off- I’m happy with the grades I received this semester and have set a goal to make Dean’s List next semester.

One of the highlights of the first semester was having an unbelievable Lehigh-Lafayette week. As the longest continuously played college football rivalry in the country, it’s needless to say that the 144th matchup was an epic event. To start the week, my friends and I formed a team in the Annual Bed Race competition and gave it our all pushing a bed on wheels down Library Drive. Although we went 1-1 overall, it was a blast to see the creative costumes and efforts of all the teams involved. The Thursday before the game was the first-ever Lehigh-Laf-A-Palooza, a giant pep rally involving our band, cheerleaders, our newly named Mountain Hawk mascot (Clutch!) and a headliner performance by State Radio! All this (and more) had the entire campus fired up for the big game on Saturday, and despite the freezing temperatures, the crowds stayed the entire game to cheer on our team to our 31-15 victory! I have countless pictures from this week to add to my scrapbook..

I was also able to work in some community service this semester, and organized the 4th Annual Strykes for Tykes Bowling tournament. Various organizations from campus sent teams, and all proceeds benefited a research center for Juvenile Diabetes. Eventually, I want to find the time to go a SERVE trip, which is an opportunity to travel to an area in need of help during a school break.

To wrap up my semester, I worked with Lehigh’s Career Services and landed three business externships. An externship is a one-day or multiple-day event with a company where you enter the work field, interact with professionals, and get some hands-on experience in the areas of your interest. I travelled into Roseland, NJ and NYC, NY to mix and mingle with some of the most prominent firms in the accounting industry. Although I was at first nervous to meet such accomplished individuals (lots of whom were Lehigh alumni!), I realized they were just as excited to meet current Lehigh students and shared their knowledge of their firms and the accounting industry as a whole. I’m planning to use some of the connections I have made this winter break to work on obtaining an internship at an accounting firm this summer.

Overall, this semester has been busy yet enjoyable, challenging yet manageable, exciting yet relaxing, and so many other positive things. As a sophomore, I still have my fair share of time left at Lehigh, and as odd as my parents may find it, I can’t WAIT to get back and begin my spring semester!