OLXI to 2OL2

Yesterday 2OL2 met at Burruss instead of going to New Hall West for a typical Wednesday night of training. We took the picture that will go on the "Welcome to Virginia Tech" posters that hang all over Blacksburg.

Along with the group picture, we took a lot of fun team shots too. I love my team so much! They are just wonderful.

After hours of taking pictures on the steps of Burruss, we headed over to the Pylons to "take more pictures". Little did 2OL2 know, OLXI was coming to pass the torch by giving the new OLs their Omega Lambda tshirts.

We went to the bottom of the Pylons overlooking the Drillfield. I took a picture of 2OL2 while OLXI lined up behind them with their tshirts. After I snapped a few pictures, I had 2OL2 turn around to "take a picture facing the other way" and...SURPRISE!!!

OLXI has officially passed the torch to 2OL2. I feel so lucky to get to be a part of both of these awesome groups of student leaders. I love and miss OLXI so much, but now it's 2OL2's time. GAME ON!

an evening frozen in time

This past weekend, Ring Weekend, was a culmination of years of hard work not only as a member of Leadership Team, but as a Hokie. Our Class of 2013 adviser, Laura Wedin, summarized our accomplishments beautifully in the following passage...

"From the ice sculpture hour-glass to the curvy-truss hung with icicle lights to the giant and ever-awesome 2013 logo, your Dance was so much fun! So many traditions were carried on at your event - the ribbons, the ceremony and ring-figure, a surprise engagement (just like the video!), balloon drop, fireworks, and even the pig. Only at Virginia Tech….and I mean, ONLY at Virginia Tech is there an event like ours! At no other university is there an event to celebrate the ring and your Junior status quite like ours. And even with all the tradition constants, there will never be a dance like your event. Each unique and 'frozen in time'."

On Thursday, the Class of 2013 hosted a hypnotist show in Squires Student Center. It was absolutely hilarious, and a great way to kick-start Ring Weekend!

The next day my parents flew into town for Ring Banquet. We ate a fabulous dinner, watched a Ribbon Through Time, and enjoyed spending time with family and friends of the Leadership Team.

I was so glad my parents were able to come out to see where all of my hard work as Marketing Co-Chair had been going to over the past few months. Now they fully understand the Ring Tradition (my favorite tradition) at Virginia Tech.

Finally, Saturday rolled around. I woke up and started my day by going to Tivon to get my hair done. I brought in two pictures from Pinterest of hairstyles that I wanted to combine. Kendra did exactly what I wanted and it turned out to be perfect! Then I drove out to the New River Valley Mall to get my makeup done at Clinique. I loved seeing other Hokies at the mall getting their hair and makeup done for Ring Dance.

Once I was fully pampered, I headed back to the Alpha Phi house to put on my white dress. I felt like a princess, and continued to feel that way for the entirety of the night. Kyle and I headed over to Squires around 6 for a pre-dance banquet held for Leadership Team. We took lots of pictures and ate some delicious appetizers. 8 o'clock rolled around and before we knew it the Class of 2013 was starting to arrive in the ballroom.

We danced the night away and I know I speak for all juniors when I say our Ring Dance was magical! I could not have asked for a better night, or ending to the night. The last song was "Call Me Maybe" and I had the dance floor pretty much to myself because people were heading to coat check. Running around in a long dress is definitely not my forte. As I ran for the center of the dance floor, I stepped on the end of my dress and wiped out!! I will never forget it. But "Call Me Maybe" was on, so I obviously picked myself right up to continue dancing with my favorite OLs and Leadership Team-ers.

Finally, we walked out to the Pylons to watch the fireworks over the Drillfield. It was the perfect ending to an entirely too perfect weekend! It's moments like these that I know I will never forget. You Only Ring Dance Once. YORDO.

whirlwind of a week

Wow! This week has been a serious reality check coming from last week's agenda consisting of relaxation, family, friends, and suntans. It's hard to believe that Spring Break was only 5 days ago, when it feels like I have been back in Blacksburg for at least a month. This week was the start of the Marketing campaign for Class of 2013 Ring Dance. As Marketing Co-Chairs for our class, Kelly and I have been running around like crazy people making sure all the necessary marketing channels and strategies were upheld. I don't think a took a minute to breathe all day Monday or Tuesday.

On top of Ring Dance duties, throw in an exam, Alpha Phi initiation ceremonies, Relay For Life 10 for 10, about 3 meetings each night, and there you have it. That was my week. I had some good days, and quite a few bad days. But on Tuesday I found this quote on Pinterest that has inspired me this whole week...

spring break vocabulary: YOLO

I can't believe Spring Break is (almost) over. It is always great to be back in Northern Virginia, but I know I speak for everyone when I say it's nice to escape to paradise for a few days. Here is a look inside how I spent me week:

On Tuesday morning around 3:30am, KZ and I left for BWI Airport to start our SB12 adventure. My Mom drove us to the airport, and despite a few setbacks and struggles that typically come with flying on my Mom's passes, we ran to our gate and made it safely on the flight to Newark. Once we arrived in Newark, we literally had 15 minutes to get from gate to gate. We knocked down a few families and couples on the way, but successfully made it onto that flight as well. We were on our way to Naples, Florida!!

We arrived at the Ft. Meyers airport around 10:30am on Tuesday morning, which meant we had our first full day of sun ahead of us! Dad (who flew down the day before) and Grandpa picked us up from the airport and we drove down to Naples. Once we arrived in the Vineyards, we immediately threw on our swimsuits and headed to the country club pool. We layed out, ate lunch on the deck, and even played mermaids with our 4 year-old friend, Sarah Savage. We definitely had to ease into our suntans...

That night we ate one of MeeMaa's home-cooked meals, a roast with mashed potatoes and string beans. And of course, watermelon for dessert! Then KZ and I walked to Publix to get a movie (Footloose) and some muffin mix to make for breakfast. It was the perfect weather for a walk! We were pretty tired from getting about 4 hours of sleep the night before, so we went to bed early in anticipation of our big day to the beach the next day!

On Wednesday, we woke up and went straight to the beach. We grabbed some towels, a cooler, a few beach chairs, and hit the road. The gulf was a little cooler than we anticipated but we splashed around a little bit regardless. We took a nice walk along the coast and explored the beautiful Naples beach.

For dinner, we went to the Vineyards Country Club Dining Room. It was as wonderful as ever! I had crab cakes and KZ had salmon. Delicious! It was so great getting to meet all of my Grandparents' friends and having a nice dinner to dress up for. After dinner, Dad took KZ and I to downtown Naples to walk around and look at the shops.

On Thursday, MeeMaa took KZ and I to the beach for round 2. We decided to go back since Dad and Grandpa were playing golf that afternoon. Plus, you can never get too much beachin' time! Later that night, Dad took KZ and I down to Tin City, which is a little village of crafty shops and restaurants. We explored the area and walked down the wharf to look at the yachts too.

It seems like our trip came and went in the blink of an eye! KZ and I shared lots of laughs in between stories and adventures. Huge shoutout to my Grandparents for letting us crash at their place for a few days.

I know we will always remember SB12. YOLO.

my 10 year-old self

Being home for Spring Break (or any other holiday) always forces me to reminisce on my childhood. Today, Mom and I got carried away talking about our life in Illinois, our neighbors who are now getting married, and everything about the good old days.

I moved to Northern Virginia when I was 10 years-old. That is 10 years ago! I have now lived half of my life in each state. While talking about my 10 year-old self, I remembered I conversation I had in an interview a few weeks ago.

While interviewing for PRISM, Pamplin Re-Inventing Social Media, I was asked the question, "what would your 10-year old self say to you now?" I had never been asked a question like that before. I thought about it for a minute or two, since I was on the spot during the interview, and responded by saying "don't take yourself too seriously."

I honestly don't think my 10 year-old self could have given me better advice. It is so easy to lose sight of the little joys in life that children thrive on every day. I remember leaving my interview, stunned just thinking about that question. I wanted to blog about it, but I guess it somehow slipped my mind. Thanks to Mom for reminding me of my childhood. It doesn't hurt to look back on how you were raised every once in awhile.

What would your 10 year-old self say to you now? Think about it.

2OL2 team reveal

It feels like just yesterday I was an Orientation Leader running around campus trying to find my OA and team! I still can hardly believe I am on the other side of it now. As an Orientation Assistant, one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences is building your team of OLs to become a family.

Yesterday we had 2OL2 team reveal! One by one, the OLs came to my stop of the scavenger hunt in Cassell. I don't know HOW I got so lucky but I ended up with the best team I could ever ask for!! First came Pete, then Kyle Donovan, then Alex, and finally De'Ashley. I love them all so much already!

After uniting and bonding for a little bit, we brainstormed team names, mottos, goals, etc. So far we have our motto "GAME ON!" but are still working on the team name. As far as goals go, we have a lot in store for the rest of training and this summer. With this team, I know it is going to be the best summer yet! Here's to you, Team Christine!