initiation

is tonight! i’m really excited…i’ve worked really hard as the new member educator for this pledge class, and can’t wait until they are sisters!

on a sidenote, the rest of my weekend will be filled with homework, and perhaps sneaking out on sunday to watch nick’s lax game.

long day

Today is going to be so longgggg [[and I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm already tired]].

Here’s my day:

Class 9-950am

Class 10-1050am

Work 11-430pm

Meeting with Paula (an SGA member) 430-5pm

Short break (possibly food?) 5-5:30pm

SGA Senate Meeting 5:30-8pm

Library for Phi Sig Study Hours 8-10pm

Study more for my two exams tomorrow 10-???

BED!

and then wake up at 730 for an exam at 830….followed by another exam at 4.

 

ARGHLKDSFJDSLHEWLKJ.

K i feel better now

race for autism

The Race for Autism is something my sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma, does every spring. Our local philanthropy is autism awareness, so we put on this race to collect money for that cause. It was $10 to register for the race, and you could also contribute additional donations if you wanted.

The race itself started at 10am and was a little over 2 miles (it was around what we call “the loop”- which is the main road on campus that happens to be a giant circle). We, as sisters, had to be there at 8am to set up, get stationed, etc. We finished set up pretty quickly, so we hung out & took pictures and chatted until the race was ready to start.

All of the participants were finished in about 45 minutes (you could walk or run). We had about 50 people come out, and made over $600 to donate to a charity in Howard County that deals with autism awareness and fundraising! It was a really good event, and I’m really proud of my sorority for doing such a good job!

weekend recap

This weekend was actually pretty fab.

Thursday night I didn’t go out [[yay me!]] but instead watched grey’s anatomy with my little. We also made crafts for one of my sorority’s new members, Revathi. She was finding out that Julia was her big (and that she is therefore in my lineage!!) on Friday, and my little & I wanted to give her presents

Friday night I also stayed in- I ended up watching a movie with my boyfriend, Nick & going to bed around midnight. (We watched Quarantine, which is probably the worst movie I’ve ever seen).

Because I went to bed so early Friday, I was able to get up earlyish on Saturday (around 10). I was actually really productive- I got completely caught up on reading/studying for one of my classes & was able to work on my research. I still have some schoolwork to catch up on throughout this week, but getting that big chunk of it out of the way made me feel a lot better!

Saturday night, my sorority had a social with the Mama’s Boys (the all-male acapella group on campus). It was actually really fun- there were way more of us then there were of them, but they played great music & serenaded us a few times.

Sunday, I had some new girls over to decorate their pots (they were exchanging them with their bigs that evening at our weekly sorority meeting). They stayed until around 3, then I headed out to hang with Nick for a couple hours before going to meeting at 6. Meeting was long, but productive, and I did some more homework before getting to sleep at around 1am.

1am is a bit late for me, and so I’m quite tired today, but I got a lot accomplished so it’s okay. Today I woke up at 8, headed to class at 9 & 10, and then went to work at 12 (which is where I am right now). I get off at 430, and then am heading to the library until 630 when I have an SGA meeting. I should be out of the meeting between 8 and 9, and then will head back to my place for some Nick time & relaxation.

Getting back to work now!

at work

I’m at work and wanted to blog

So I work for the Office of Information Technology (basically our technology center on campus) helping to transition faculty/staff/students into the new campus-wide database.

In basic terms- I edit websites, make training programs, and whatever else they ask me to do. I work here 3 days a week (MWF) from 12-4:30. It’s actually pretty cool- I’m learning a lot about techincal stuff, and the university as a whole. Plus they let me keep my lunch in their fridge (warm yogurt = gross).

Right now I’m supposed to be reformatting the website (umbc.edu/sa) to make it less cluttered…but all I can think about is all the other work I have to do I have a bunch of projects for work, but also have to:

-Read for all 5 of my classes (some of which I have yet to buy the book for…I’m kind of broke right now ahh)

-Generally review my notes, so that I do better in class (doing this also makes you have to study less for exams)

-Create the lesson plans for the new girls in my sorority (I’m the new member educator), as well as fill out forms for the events I’ve held so far this semester

-RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH. I really need to crack down on this. Fo reals.

 

And a bunch of other little tasks. Basically I’m pretty overwhelmed right now. I went out this weekend, and didn’t get any work done as I had planned. Going out was fun, but I’m definitely regretting that now. I think that this week & weekend (minus Saturday- my sorority has a social) I’m going to lock myself in my room//the library and catch myself up.

Back to work!

VDay

Happy Valentine’s Day!

What are your plans? Some of my friends are having an all-day cookout, so I’m going to be heading there soon. It should be fun- they have one every semester, and it’s always a good time.

Anyways, last night my sorority Phi Sigma Sigma had a social (get-together) with one of the fraternities, TKE (Tau Kappa Epsilon). It was really fun, and it was the first social since the new girls got their bids- so it was a great time for all. 

Speaking of Phi Sig, I’ve been doing nothing but sorority stuff for the past 2.5 weeks. I love my sisters, and my sorority, so it’s been fine, but that means that I really need to spend this week focusing on my classes & research. I’m sure I will be in the library quite a bit, so expect some frequent study-break updates 

Heading to the cookout- ttyl!

Recruitment

So right now my sorority Phi Sigma Sigma and the other sororities in our council are going through recruitment. Recruitment is way stressful and time-consuming, but it’s also really fun and exciting. I’m the new member educator for my sorority, so I will be working directly with our new members to teach them everything they need to know & get them ready for intiation.

I went to Phi Sig Leadership Conference this past weekend, and got some great ideas for education programs. I also got some craft ideas- in fact, Sunday after we got back on campus, one of my sisters (Hannah) and I built 4-foot greek letters that were covered in photos- they look AMAZING.

Anywho, I’m off to study (I’m taking the LSATs this weekend). Bye!

First day of classes!

So yesterday was the first day of classes for this semester. I got up extra early to get to my 9am class on time, and to get a good seat. The professor didn’t, however- he never showed. He later sent an email explaining that he thought the first day was Wednesday. I was kind of upset because I would’ve love to have slept in, but it was kind of funny.

I went to my 10am philosophy class about moral issues (like abortion and capital punishment), and it went fine. The professor for that seems cool- he’s really funny and smart.

After a long break (during which I napped and did some work), i headed to the first SGA meeting of the semester. It went long, but well, and I’m excited for what this semester has to offer.

I’m taking 15 credits (5 classes), plus a 3-credit research independent study. I’ll be working with a professor to study how the deregulation of banks has affected them since 1990. I’ll also be studying how those effects spread to other financial institutions (i.e. credit unions, thrifts, etc). Sound exciting? Not so much, I know…but doing this will be good for my financial economics major, and will also help me discover if I want to pursue economic law…

…which brings me to my most exciting update: I’ve decided to go to law school. I’m not sure what kind of law yet (hence the research), but I’m sure I want to go. I’m taking the LSATs on Feb 7, and I’m actually not too worried about them. I’m most worried about getting into the schools I want to- I want to go to school out of state (probably Boston or Chicago), and will be applying to about 10 schools in the fall/winter including Harvard, UC Berkeley, Boston University, and University of Chicago.

I’m trying to get a 4.0 this semester, over the summer, and in the fall just to ensure that my GPA is high enough to get into the schools (it would be around a 3.7 if I can do all of that).

I’m also the new member educator for my sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma. I’m pretty much responsible for teaching the new class all of the information they need to know, and helping them get adjusted and prepared for initation. That, along with working 15 hours a week for OIT, being Assistant Speaker of the Senate for the SGA, playing intramural flag football, and committing 10-20 hours/week for my research definitely means that I will have a super busy semester- and a ton of updates!

-jen

Initiation

So tonight is initiation for my sorority [[phi sigma sigma]]! Our new girls have spent the last six weeks preparing for this day- learning information about our chapter and it’s history, getting to know the sisters better, and participating in events to better the sorority. My little, Tasha, is one of the girls who will be initiated tonight. As her big, I have been mentoring her and helping her through this process. I’ve helped her study, and was someone who she could [[and still can]] come to about anything. I’m so excited for tonight, I know she’s going to do great, and I’m pumped to be able to give her her initiation gifts!!!

♥Jen

Rock-A-Thon

Each semester, my sorority [[Phi Sigma Sigma]] holds an event called Rock-a-thon. Basically, we rock in rocking chairs for 25 hours outside of the Commons [[our student union]] in order to collect donations for the National Kidney Foundation. This semester, we started at noon on this past Tuesday and ended at 1pm on Wednesday. Rock-a-thon is on of my favorite events- even though it was FREEZING cold outside, we had a ton of people visit. The all-male acapella group on campus came to sing for us, one of the fraternities came and taught us some of their dances, and a lot of the other fraternity guys brought food/hot chocolate all night long. My shift was only from midnight to 2am, but I stayed out until 4am because I was having so much fun! I was really tired the next day, but it was totally worth it!

 

♥Jen