4 Months and 14 Schools Later

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber
The above quote sums up my travels. Yes, I love my job, and I thoroughly enjoy the work I’m doing for Alpha Delts everywhere. I’m growing as a person and becoming more and more independent not to mention learning a lot about my country in the meantime. I didn’t, however, anticipate the adventures that I would encounter during my travels, ie. the unplanned fun.

Here I am on my last visit on the semester. Who knew time flew this quickly (yes, yes. You all told me it would, but again, I have to learn things for myself). I have had a wonderful semester, and I look forward to an equally (if not more) exciting 2nd semester starting in January. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I have decided to make a top ten list. First a recap of the schools I have visited:

1. Zeta Iota chapter, Georgia College and State University -Milledgeville, GA

2. Zeta Omega chapter, University of Central Florida-Orlando, FL

3. Delta Delta chapter, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, AR

4. Theta Alpha chapter, Northwest Missouri State University-Maryville, MO

5. Gamma Chi chapter, Texas Christian University-Ft. Worth, TX

6. Theta Kappa chapter, Florida Atlantic University-Boca Raton, FL

7. Eta chapter, University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, AL

8. Theta Delta chapter, University of Delaware-Newark, DE

9. Zeta Chi chapter, Baylor University-Waco, TX

10. Gamma Upsilon chapter, North Texas University-Denton, TX

11. Eta Phi chapter, Furman University-Greenville, SC

12. Theta Zeta chapter, Washington and Lee University-Lexington, VA

13. Alpha Eta chapter, Kansas State University-Manhattan, KS

14. Tau chapter, University of Kansas-Lawrence, KS

15. Gamma Upsilon chapter, North Texas University-Denton, TX

Top Ten Unplanned Fun

10. Having my first marshmallow fluff and PB sandwich- Gamma Upsilon

9. Going to my first college pep rally-Delta Delta

8. Running across Baylor’s football field in the pouring rain-Zeta Chi

7. Going to the beach with Jenni and trying to have a conference call on the beach to make the other consultants jealous. Too bad that didn’t work. We were told no one could hear us from all of the wind, but hey, we were on the beach for 30 minutes.-Theta Kappa

6. Watching Beauty and the Beast on the big screen-Theta Delta

5. Going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter-Zeta Omega

4. Learning to “frat lap”-Zeta Iota

3. Going to football & basketball games-Gamma Chi (go FROGS!), Alpha Eta (go WILDCATS!), Tau (go JAYHAWKS!)

2. Started training for the Disney Half Marathon which means I have logged several miles running through all of the beautiful campuses. Favorite so far: the beautiful W&L

1. I have met so many amazing peopl this past year: chapter women, my consultant sisters, a pretty sweet boss, International officers, and more. I can’t wait to see what adventures lay ahead for me next semester.

Thank you for supporting me through this little adventure!

 Visual Aids:





Me and the TCU Horned Frog




Me and Jenni at Theta Kappa-Dream Team




Go Wildcats! K-State Basketball




Don't tell Alpha Eta that I went to a KU game. That was there only stipulation about me leaving.




In front of Tau's house all decorated for Christmas. I'll ignore the fact that this picture was taken before Thanksgiving.



The Art of Letter Writing

Have you ever been surprised  finding an unexpected letter in the mail addressed to you?

As a young girl, my brothers and I always raced to the mailbox after school to get the mail. Looking back, it’s quite funny that that’s what we decided to fight about, who was getting the mail. Now, I don’t want to get the mail as much because of the possibility of bills and the dreaded junk mail.

Every now and again, I open the mailbox to find a letter, not in a stiff white envelope, and I get quite giddy with excitement. I love getting mail no, this is not a PSA trying to get y’all to send me mail, but I love the unexpected card or note that is address to me and only me. Not some letter that 35,000 other people also got that same day. It means so much to me to think that someone sat down and thought about me long enough to write a note.

I also love to send mail because I like to sit and just for a few minutes think solely about one person and tell them why I’m thankful they are in my life. I just don’t think we’re telling each other that enough these days. We get so caught up in our every day lives, but we forget to let others know how much they mean to us. Yes, it could be in the form of a phone call, but don’t you ever want to just say something without a response? I do. An e-mail might work, but really, that is instantaneous and easy to do and often times the sincerity is lost in cyber space. Also, though my handwriting isn’t the greatest in the world, it’s mine and unique to me. By sending a letter, I am also sending apart of me. I write letters when I need an outlet. Especially with traveling, it helps me to feel closer to the person to whom I am writing. That’s why I write.

Call me old fashion, but I like sending and receiving mail that doesn’t require a repayment and isn’t sent pre-paid sorted. I think that sending letters is becoming a lost art, and I would hate to see that happen. Take 5 minute or longer, right now, and write a letter to someone who has meant a lot to you. I tell you this, it will brighten their day when they, too, race or slightly drag themselves, let's be honest to the mailbox hoping to find something special address to them.

The beautiful bell tower at Furman University.
Since my last post, I've been to Furman University (Greenville, SC), Washington & Lee University (Lexington, VA), and am now at Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS). I only have one more stop (Kansas University) until I'm home for Thanksgiving!!