Tuesday, August 30, 2011

live for the little things


It is so easy to get caught up in "me mode", as I like to call it, as the school year starts to pick up. You get stuck in this rut of carrying out the same routine, walking with your head down, eating meals with the same people, and constantly worrying about your own meetings and schoolwork to attend to.

This year I am making it a point to save myself from falling into "me mode" within the next few weeks. I am learning to cherish "the little things". Like going to a Zumba class with some sisters and friends, donating school supplies to the local elementary school, keeping in touch with my freshmen and friends from home, watching Bachelor Pad with the house girls on a Monday night, saying hi to as many people I can on campus, and just being there to hold Carly's hand when she gives blood for the first time today.

It's not the tests you take, the amount of studying you do, or the time spent in class that you will remember when you think back to your college experience. It's the friends you made, the organizations you became a part of that eventually became a part of you, and the small day-to-day gestures that will stick with you forever.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

gobble gobble gobble


After months of promoting Gobblerfest to all the freshmen at Orientation and Hokie Camp, the big day finally arrived yesterday! I worked at the Class of 2013 booth giving away goodies with our new class logo on them, promoting the Kickoff Concert that night, and then working the concert until about midnight.


I also got to get away from my booth to check out the other organizations' tents along Squires at random points throughout the day. I went to the Relay For Life booth to see Anna and Wynkoop, the New Student Programs tent to see J.Jo and Rick, the Alpha Phi booth to visit the suitemates and my sisters, and many more! I even got 2 free t-shirts, just what I need.



I remember my freshman year Gobblerfest like it was yesterday. I went with my suitemates and people on my hall in PY. We got there a little too late, so most organizations were already out of their giveaways and the outdoor carnival was closing down. 


So this year, I made it a point to inform all my freshmen to come EARLY to get free t-shirts, food, concert tickets, goodies, etc. before it all ran out. And I got to see a lot of them there! 

Last year, my sophomore year, I didn't even go to Gobblerfest. So I loved spending all day and night outside of Squires and at the concert yesterday...even though it was a lot of hard work. Now that Gobblerfest and the Kickoff Concert are over, Ring Premiere Marketing is about to kick into full swing!


Cheers to OUR year. Let's do this 2013!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

first day of school


Tomorrow marks the first day of classes for Virginia Tech students. Meaning this is the official start of my junior year. When did we get so old? I have been spending the evening getting my school supplies together, printing class materials and resources, organizing my Lilly planner, and just being silly in the house with my lovely roommate, KJ.

Earlier today OLXI and SAA welcomed the incoming class of freshmen, along with many other Tech students, to the Hokie Hi Welcome Picnic. This is an annual event held at Lane Stadium to get everyone pumped for the school year both academically and athletically.



Personally, I cannot think of a better way to kick off the year. I hope everyone has a GREAT first day of classes tomorrow. LET'S GO HOKIES!

Friday, August 19, 2011

dude, we're at dudes


Today for lunch KJ, her parents, and I went out to Christiansburg for lunch (and to run some errands for room essentials). We stopped at this adorable drive-in...DUDES. We all sat in the car while some lovely ladies came and took our order and brought it right to our car in the lot.


I've never been to a drive-in, and this was definitely a great first time experience. I ordered a corn dog and tots...DELICIOUS!


Oh, there's no place like Blacksburg/Christiansburg. So far, it's been a great start to my junior year! Pictures and a post of our room in the Alpha Phi house are coming soon...

Sunday, August 14, 2011

turn this hokie camp YELLOW


From Wednesday until late last night, I was at Smith Mountain Lake for HOKIE CAMP. I flew down to Roanoke (yes, it's a 30 minute flight), and then we were bused to the 4-H camp at SML for a few days.

Wednesday was training day, so it was just the counselors at camp. We did a walk-through of camp, played a little dodge ball, decorated our color rooms, and had a pool party at night! But the fun didn't really start until the campers got there the next day...



On Thursday morning we all woke up at the crack of dawn, and some of us went back to Blacksburg to pick up the freshmen while others stayed behind to get the camp ready for them to arrive. I stayed behind to decorate the WigWam for the freshmen, make up our intros and rules skit, and bond with the other yellow counselors!


I will never forget how LOUD all of the counselors were screaming as those buses pulled up to camp. Seeing the freshmen's faces as they came off the buses was PRICELESS. They easily had no idea what they were getting themselves into.


We spent the next 3 days and 2 nights doing all sorts of team building activities and icebreakers, making up and screaming cheers for yellow tribe, playing dodge ball and ultimate frisbee, dancing our butts off at the dance party and in the WigWam when we would have our flash raves, going canoeing and kayaking on the lake, eating lots of meals and snacks, learning about VT traditions and service, doing the awkward indian, and holding campfires at night.





Although the Yellow Tribe did not win the Hokie Cup (congrats Gray!), we accomplished what we were really loved...FRIENDSHIP and BONDING! I love you Torgies, Yellow Tribe, and Hokie Camp.


My favorite memory of Hokie Camp was the campfire on the final night. All day the counselors were pumping up this "guest speaker" that was coming to talk. Turns out that super special guest speaker was them, the Class of 2015! At first they did seem pretty disappointed, but after awhile campers were dying to get up and talk. 

The 3rd speaker was one of my freshmen from Orientation, Tim. The first thing he talked about was how Orientation had changed his life, and he even mentioned my name as his OL. I was absolutely blown away! I was so happy that I was crying tears of joy (of course) on Sandy's shoulder, and he whispered in my ear "You did it, Christine. You made an impact on your freshmen." It was an Orientation Leader and Hokie Camp Counselor's dream come true.

I can't wait for you to get to Blacksburg, Class of 2015 Hokies!

Monday, August 8, 2011

the birthday blog

I have been waiting to write this birthday blog post until now, because it wasn't until tonight that the celebrations have officially come to a close. Here is a look into how my birthday celebrations went about this year...

ORIENTATION BIRTHDAY

On July 26 (my actual birthday), I was in Blacksburg for Orientation. At first I was hesitant as to how an "Orientation birthday" would be. It was on a Tuesday, so I still had a group of freshmen and a full day as an OL. But the others OLs, especially Team Juicebox, made it feel like MUCH more than just a typical day at Orientation.


It all started at midnight on the 26th, after we had a collective OL and OA meeting, Team Juicebox decided we should have our own "team meeting". So we met outside at our meeting tree a little after midnight. But this meeting wasn't strictly business, it was a celebration! Jen brought me a cake and candles and they sang me Happy Birthday, and each of my team members (plus Sean and John/Mabeus) brought me gifts. I was in shock, and the day hadn't even really begun!


My Mom was also in town for my birthday, so when I got back to my room she had a few surprises for me as well (even though I told her I wanted to wait until I got home to celebrate). She's the best!


The next morning I woke up (early) since it was an Orientation day, and met my team for breakfast where Carly crowned me as "Party Princess". I wore that crown all morning and through intros where Tiffany introduced me by saying "Leading Group 28, from Oak Hill, Va, it's Christine 'today is her 20th birthday' Terminello". What a great start to my day!


During the day I was put onto the stage and sung to by the 400+ freshmen and all the OLs...TWICE! I don't think I have ever been told "Happy Birthday" by that many people, ever. I wish every birthday could be an Orientation Birthday.

FAMILY CELEBRATION

Now I don't have any pictures of my birthday celebration with the family because we celebrated literally the minute I walked through the door on July 31 (the day I came home from Blacksburg). We had a nice family dinner and opened my presents and cards from the family and extended family. It was so great to be back home and to finally celebrate my 20th, just the 5 of us!

DEEBZ AND STEAN

As soon as Deebz picked me up from the airport on Wednesday night, she had my birthday treats in the passenger seat waiting for me. I was definitely not expecting that! She insisted that I opened them right then and there while she drove us back to USF. 

Deebz is always the best gift giver. She got me the most perfect pink and green Lilly shorts!! I love them so much. And a birthday wouldn't be complete without Cubez to munch on, so she got those too. 

DINNER WITH MY NOVA GIRLS

Tonight I planned a small dinner for me and some of my closest girlfriends from home. It was literally the only day I had between Orientation, Florida, and Hokie Camp (I leave for Blacksburg again tomorrow). So obviously not everyone I invited could come, but that's just part of having a summer birthday. 



The girls and I went to Red Hot and Blue for dinner, and we sat out on their porch. It was the perfect summer night to eat a nice bbq meal outside! After dinner we came back to my place to eat cupcakes and ice cream, watch The Bachelor Pad, and open presents. I am so blessed to have such great friends from home that I have kept in touch with, even though we are all at different schools during the year.

Overall, my 20th birthday has been nothing short of outstanding! Here's to a great year, and to officially being my in my "twenties".

thank you blogfrogs


Recently, I acquired 50 lovely followers to the CAT's meow. I honestly never would've thought this blog would come of anything, I simply started it to record my life's adventures.

So I would like to dedicate this brief post to my amazing followers, friends, and family who (hopefully) enjoy reading my day-to-day life story. Keep reading!

Saturday, August 6, 2011

florida getaway


On Wednesday night I spontaneously decided to hop on a plane to Tampa to visit my best friend, Deebz at University of South Florida. She always comes up to NOVA to visit and we already spent a few weeks together up here this summer, but I really was dying to get down to FL to visit her for once.

So I arrived in Tampa around midnight on Wednesday (or I guess Thursday, technically). Deebz picked me up from the airport and we headed back to USF to enjoy a few short days in the Florida sun together.

On Thursday, we went to Clearwater beach for the afternoon. It was a gorgeous beach! And I was so happy just to see the beach for the first time this summer. We attempted to lay out, but it was so hot that we played in the water pretty much the whole time. I don't think either of us have played in the ocean as much as we did that afternoon!



Once we got back from the beach, we met up with Deebz' big (or diamond) for dinner. We drove out to the Shops at Wiregrass and ate at a nice Mexican restaurant called Cantina Laredo. I had chicken enchiladas! Still regretting that I didn't suck it up and order the $10 guacamole too.



The next day, Friday, was move-out/move-in day for Deebz. We moved out of Magnolia (the on-campus apartment she lived in for the summer) and into the ADPi house which had been going through renovations all summer.


In the early afternoon, I met up with Steph to lay out at the pool for a few hours. Then we went to lunch at Gators with Deebz and another one of her sisters before the moving began. Luckily the weather was a little overcast, so spending the day moving wasn't really the end of the world. Plus, I was so happy I got to see her new house! It was beautiful, and made me SO excited to move into the Alpha Phi house in a few weeks.

Although the visit was short, it was exactly what I needed. A mini-vaca with my best friend in the beautiful state of Florida. Thanks for having me Deebz! Can't wait for your next visit over winter break.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

week 3 is bittersweet (mostly bitter)


I apologize for being SUPER behind on blogging about week 3 and the conclusion of OLXI. Part of me just didn't want to admit it was actually over. But now that I have been home for 2 days, I am coming to that realization, unfortunately.

First off, I would just like to thank all of my week 3 sessions for being SO awesome. Each session was very engaged, asked lots of great questions, and was really loud for our Group 28 cheer. I couldn't ask for better groups of freshmen to end my OLXI experience. So thank you for that sessions 9-12.

Session 9

Session 10

Session 11

Session 12

During week 3, I celebrated my 20th birthday (on July 26th)...but I will post a separate blog about that later. All I'm going to say is that Orientation birthdays are the BEST birthdays. Stay tuned for more on my birthday celebration(s).

I guess now is that time where I sum up my summer as an Orientation Leader for VT. Where do I even begin? I have been blogging about the application process, spring training, summer training, and the month of Orientation for almost a full year now...and this is the "end" to it all. 

To put it simply, being a part of OLXI was everything I ever imagined it would be, and about 1,000 times more! I will say it time and time again, I knew I wanted to be an Orientation Leader from the minute the 2009 OLs made their introductions at my Freshman Orientation. I went through the application and interview process in the Fall knowing how badly I wanted to be a part of this program, but I had NO idea how much of an impact this experience would have on me. 

Thanks to OLXI, I pushed and challenged myself in ways I never had before, I learned so much more about myself and my wonderful university, I have gotten to know the most amazing group of student leaders at VT and made friendships with them that I know will last a lifetime, and as Rick Sparks (Assistant Dean of Students) put it at the end of summer banquet, "You 24 OLs have made an impact not only on the incoming class of Hokies and the university this summer, but you set the tone for the rest of their time here at Virginia Tech. And that is something that will never be forgotten."