Living by Faith

When I decided to join ADPi my freshman year, I told my parents, and they were, let’s say, a little skeptical. I think they, like others, had only heard what the media had to say about Greek life, not too stellar unfortunately. What kind of news channel wants to air a story about wonderful student leadership, proper Risk Management, Conversational skills, Philanthropy success, or developing effective marketing strategies? None that I know of. Of course Greek life has received a bad rep for a reason, but please, don’t make generalizations based on specific occurances (peep peeve #1)? Needless to say, I had to convince my parents that joining ADPi would benefit me as a young woman. Well, luckily it didn’t take too long. I had them at the wonderful women that cared for me and guided me through my freshman year. Then I was given the opportunity to be a Financial Vice President, and what parent wouldn’t love for their daughter to learn how to manage her finances. They were able to participate in family events with the chapter and, mom’s favorite, Mother Daughter Tea. They also reunited with my sisters’ parents with whom they went to school. Maybe they still don’t understand the relationships I have made with the women from my chapter (minus the fact that at any chance I get, I drive near and far to see my best friends), but they can see that joining a Greek organization has changed my life for the better.


Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.


-Martin Luther King, Jr.

 When I got the call offering me this job, I accepted without a moment’s hesitation. Thinking back to that exchange, I wonder what made me do that. Not really what one, who generally is quite practical, would do. I knew little of what the job actually entailed. Why did I do it? I did it because Alpha Delta Pi gave me so much during college that I would never have had if I had not been apart of this organization. Like MLK Jr. said, sometimes you just have to know and believe something with your heart in order to live. Yes, my Faith drives most of the decisions in my life. I may not have a reason for what I do, but I have faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.” If I had reasoned out every bit of the opportunity I had been given, I might not have accepted, but then I would not have met 6 amazing women in addition to all of the other women who, like me, are so passionate about an organization that they too give so much of their time.



Even though these past 10 days have been packed full with training, learning new skills, and possible “this COULD happen” s, I know that I have been given an opportunity of a lifetime. I still wake up sometimes thinking that I am living in a dream. It’s not just A dream that I am living. It’s MY dream, and for that, I am very thankful..

The LCs at Wesleyan College (Alpha Chapter)

The Simple Things

I just found this, and I wanted to share it! I am a big believe in remembering of the simple things. This is perfect.
PS-I've formatted my most favorites!

Natural Highs:
1. Falling in love.

2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.

3. A hot shower.

4. No lines at the supermarket.

5. A special glance.

6. Getting mail. (absolute fave!)

7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.

8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.

9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.

10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.

11. Vanilla milkshake (chocolate or strawberry).

12. A bubble bath.

13. Giggling.

14. A good conversation.

15. The beach.

16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.

17. Laughing at yourself.

18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they love you.

19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.

20. Running through sprinklers.

21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.

22. Having someone tell you that you’re beautiful.

23. Laughing at an inside joke with friends.

25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.

26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.

27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).

28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.

29. Playing with a new puppy or kitten.

30. Having someone play with your hair.

31. Sweet dreams.

32. Hot chocolate.

33. Road trips with friends.

34. Swinging on swings.

35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.

36. Making chocolate chip cookies. (And eating the chocolate chips while doing it.)

37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.


38. Holding hands with someone you care about.

39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.

40. Watching the expression on someone’s face as they open a much desired present from you.

41. Watching the sunrise.

42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.

43. Knowing that somebody misses you.

44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.

45. Knowing you’ve done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
amen.

As I am going about my travels, I am going to do my best to remember the simple things in life and to be thankful for everything that I have been given. I encourage everyone to think about what makes you feel good inside and to remember to be thankful for even the small things in life.

Dreaming in Blue and White

Just finished a long day of training 9-6.  Laying in bed in the bunk room in Memorial Headquarter (the oldest house on Ponce de Leon Ave.).


We have spent 2 days learning all about Recruitment. I feel like we could tackle the recruiting world head on. Watch out!

We began Total Membership Education today. It’s basically all the fun things a chapter gets to do, ie. learning all about the chapter (such as history-we have a rockin history-ps), and we learned how to fill out ALL the paperwork. ADPi promises to do a better job in protecting our trees in the coming year. I greatly appreciate it, Alphie.

BIG NEWS! I also have received my first chapter assignments, which I know you’ve all been patiently waiting for! First I will be visiting Zeta Iota chapter at Georgia College and State University, right in my own backyard. Little did you know that I was once torn between GCSU and PC, so I’m super excited to have an opportunity to visit Zeta Iota. I’ll head there on August 9th and help out with Formal Recruitment. I’ll then travel to Orlando to the University of Central Florida, Zeta Omega. While I am there, I will have my first two days off, so I plan to hopefully visit THE Harry Potter theme park! If anyone is going to be in the Orlando area near the 22nd or 23rd of August, you are more than welcome to join me! Ok, after my Hogwarts adventure, it’s off to cheer on the Razorbacks at the University of Arkansas, Delta Delta chapter.  Fancy a look at Arkansas’s state flag?

Coincidence? I think not.

After visiting Arkansas, I'll head north to Northwest Missouri State University, Theta Alpha. Never been to Missouri either, but I hear Maryville, Missouri is just as hoppin as Clinton, SC, so I should fit right in. Let the travels begin...well in 16 days that is. Until then, I will continue learning and dreaming about all things blue and white.

It's go time!

DISCLAIMER: I've been forced to switch over to a "cough, cough" dreaded PC, and there isn't a spell check. If you happen to know me, this is a problem, so beware!

To set the stage, I would just like to share with you what I am doing right now (well, minus blogging). I am sitting in the kitchen at the Executive Office of ADPi (aka my home for the next 3 weeks) drinking a Diet Coke AND watching Friends. Life couldn't be better!

Yep, this is where I'll be living for the next 3 weeks!

How'd I get here? Well we arrived yesterday afternoon. My sweet mommy brought me down here. Bless her heart, I think the Atlanta traffic was a little much for the small town gal! I gave my mom a mini tour of the house before sending her on her way to battle the outgoing traffic. So thankful for that lady! Anywhoo, we settled into our bunkroom, which by the way, I was expecting college-style dorm room. Wrong. These are legit bunkbeds, and yes, I am on the bottom for my own safety. Hopefully I won't wake up running around the room looking for white out while I'm here. Yes, that has happened.
We had our first real meeting last night with Annie (our fearless leader slash boss). We received our computers, Blackberries (or for the sake of ADPi, Blueberries), and sweet notes from our Violet Sisters! We then ventured out into Atlanta where Annie took us to dinner at Twist! I had a lovely steak salad, just in case you were dying to know!  It was so good and just happened to be at Phipps, so of course, we went shopping (Window shopping that is...we just started said job. Apparently you have to work for sometime before they pay you the big bucks!)

This morning was absolutely FABULOUS! Team LC went for a run!! No, not kidding. Five (of seven) woke up at 6 and went for a jog. Imagine my delight! Hopefully this will become a daily routine, and we'll recruit the other two, too. We then got ready, back to college style. Seven girls getting ready all at the same time...ahhh the things I miss from my college days! You can imagine the fun we had. It was seven in the morning, and we had music going and there were a few dances moves thrown in too. Ok, now that I think about it maybe I was the only one dancing, but hey, I LOVE mornings!

Our first day of training was a success! We now know the ins and outs of the Omega Financial System and can answer all your questions about it....ehh well, we at least know the "big guys" at OmegaFi who can answer those questions. We also found out that we are getting paid! Always good. No, no. I knew I was getting paid, but it was explained to us today just how that will be happening. Talking about the pay check is almost as wonderful as getting it!

Tomorrow we start recruitment training!!! I have a love/hate relationship with Recruitment, as you might imagine, but hopefully the next fews days will stregthen the love side of that relationship.

Just wanted to let y'alll know that I made it and life couldn't be better right now!

Preparing for my journey: The 10 days before

How does one prepare for such a year as I am about to have? Well, I have done several things. One includes working on my tan. I learned that image is very important, so I been doing my best to avoid tan lines and spend as much time as possible laying by the pool lost in a great book. I have done a swell job at that if I might say so myself.

Next, I have been trying to see or talk to as many of my friends and family as possible. For some reason, I have this vision that once July 20th comes around I'll be cut off from all things non-ADP; however, I also have a feeling that that's not how it will work, but in my little mind right now, I'm scared that I'll never see or talk to anyone again. So how have I been doing that, you might ask? Well I planned to have a wedding of my very good friends from home, Cabray Rauschenberg, ten days before I leave. Perfect time to see and catch up with my friends from home. Ok, so I clearly didn't plan that but am super pumped that it fell when it did. See picture below!

Here are my close girl friends from high school: Molly, Lucy, Cabray (the BEAUTIFUL bride), Elizabeth, Katie, and me!

We all had an absolutely fabulous time catching up in between dances. It definitely will be a party for the books!

What about those dear old college friends of mine? Good news! Lee Kiser decided to propose to my best friend, Katie, on Sunday and asked us to come to surprise her, so after the fabulous wedding on Saturday night, I woke up bright and early Sunday morning and drove to meet Caroline and Sam in Greenville. The three of use rode to Pawley's Island, South Carolina to meet Tricia and Ellen (all of the previously mentioned are best friends from school). We waited for the ok, and then went to the beach condo where Lee's family and Katie's family were staying. Lee took Katie to the beach and asked her to marry him. She said yes, after dropping to her knees too (see facebook album for a complete retelling of the story). After the proposal, they came up to the condo to see us. Katie and Lee both smiled the entire night, and all of the girls and family got to catch up. Everyone was/still is so excited!! 

Lee and Katie: newly engaged!!

Best friends (minus a few) throwing up the Diamond*

The newly engaged and me...so much love!

*I want to go ahead and introduce the term "throwing up the diamond". The diamond is the symbol of Alpha Delta Pi, and its members tend to express membership by making a diamond like in the previous picture. That's all!

Ok, so caught up with high school friends and the college gals, now on to packing. Here's the deal: I'm allowed to check TWO suitcases (under 50 pounds) and carry on one plus a "personal item". Well how am I suppose to fit my life into two maybe three suitcases? My life (or all that is coming with me, at least):

Lots 'o stuff!

After an hour of agonizing over this mess:

  

Two suitcases with all that stuff in them. Success! ehh, not quite yet. See that big one? Well I'm pretty certain it weighs over 50 pounds. I put it on the Hello Kitty scale, but the whole thing didn't even fit and already weighed 45 lbs. What am I going to do??? I'll tackle that tomorrow. I have exactly one week from today to figure out this predicament. Until then...

The countdown has begun!

Greetings from the Carpet Capital! Here it is! The much awaited blog. I have been thinking long and hard about creating this, but I have decided that I want to officially document my travels! If you are curious about the title, I shall explain. In ADPi, it is a tradition to give a sister "violets" when she has made an accomplishment or has had something wonderful happen. The Woodland Violet is also the official flower of our sorority, fancy that. Anywhoo, I have decided that during my time traveling, I want to help chapters and their members see the great things that they are doing, hence the title "Spreading Violets Across the Country".
Yesterday was the two week mark. That's right! Two weeks until I become a professional sorority girl! For those of you who may not have heard, I am going to be one of seven Leadership Consultants for Alpha Delta Pi for the 2010-2011 school year. After training for three weeks at Executive Office in Atlanta, I will head off to an unknown destination (yes, I will know before I leave Atlanta what that destination will be). We have chapters all over the country and two in Canada, so all are open to me except the chapters in my District (the one in which I went to school), District 2. I will take a moment to explain these "districts" to you because I will often refer to them. Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi from here on out) has broken the country (and Canada) into 6 Districts which are further broken down into Provinces. We're so organized, one reason why I love this!
Ok, so what exactly does this job entail? Well, I will be making visits to chapters to 1) help with Recruitment (Rush for those of you familiar with the old school term) 2) Check-in on chapters, see how they're doing 3) boost moral (aka.  be a CHEERLEADER! whoo HOoo). At least, this is what I have understood so far. I could be wrong, but it's probably very close to accurate.
How about the other six women (plus 2 SENIOR LCs) that I will be working with? Good news! I love them all already! We all met a week and a half ago at the Leadership Seminar for Collegians in Atlanta, and we immediately bonded! Even though we were together only 5 days, I can tell we have a great group, and we're going to be life long friends (sappy? It's what I do).

2010-2011 Leadership Consultants

From left: Jenni, Emily, Lori, Ashlyn, ME, Megan, and Regan

Also at the Conference, we got to know the outgoing LCs. They are filled with a wealth of knowledge of the LC ins and outs, and they were so sweet to share a little bit of their experiences with us. I know we'll be able to count on those girls when we get into a rut! The outgoing LCs paired with the incoming LCs, and I now have a Big Violet Sister, Laura! She has promised to help me through this year and give me encouragement when I need it. Awesome!

Now, I must spend the next 13 days figuring out how to fit my life into 2 suitcases and a carry-on. Any suggestions will be gladly welcomed!