Coming Soon!

Expect a post on last weeks trip to Utah & Arizona, as well as news on my new job soon!

Conquering My Fears, One Baby Step at a Time

I have always been a bit of a baby when it comes to blood--I am definitely the squeamish type! I will go snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef, absailing in the Blue Mountains, skiing in the Rocky's, and white water rafting in Upstate New York but I will also cry and hyperventilate if you try to take a vile of blood, that is I used to . . .

While I have not yet seen the benefits of a college degree (having been a graduate for all of 4 days) but if graduating from MSU has given me anything, it is the ability to get my blood taken--this morning for the first time in my life I got my blood taken without the flooding the doctors office with tears and sending the nurses running. This is a major life accomplishment, and one that I am way more proud of than graduation! I may even consider giving blood now, well we will see . . .

This Spartan has Graduated!

After 3 years of classes, sleep deprivation, and poor nutrition college has finally come to a close and with it, I am turning the page to find out what lies ahead.

The last few days have been hectic to say the least and I am very happy to be finally sitting down for more than ten minutes at a time, although I unfortunately cannot say that my to-do-list has decreased much in length. (It is going to be a very busy summer, and rest of my life I suppose.) My family arrived on Thursday and the whirlwind of graduation activities began. 

Each night I had a dinner planned with some of my close friends, as my parents were eager to meet some of the people with whom I had surrounded myself for the last 3 years. These were all a lot of fun, but tinged with sadness since they were in a way a punctuation to my time spent at MSU. Friday and Saturday were my graduations, which were quite the surreal experience, as even now the reality of graduation has not fully hit me, and I am not looking forward to when it does. Now if all of this, plus getting the most of my last evenings as an undergrad, resulting in very little sleep, wasn't enough, I was voiceless for the entirety of the weekend, and am still only now starting to regain the ability to speak. So squeaking and croaking, I went through my final days in Michigan as an undergrad, saying my "See You Later's" and getting caught up in all of the excitement. 

Now, having unpacked the last box, and settled back into life in NY all I can do is smile thinking of the last 3 years. I am surprised and pleased to see how much I have changed since I first set foot on MSU’s campus. I have made some amazing friends, had some truly crazy times, experienced things I never would have imagined, and made memories that I will never forget. While I have never been one to have a lot of school pride--I can count the number of MSU sports games I have attended on one hand--I know that MSU and the people that I met during my time in Michigan will be a part of me forever. While I stumbled upon Michigan State purely by accident, it was the place I needed to be and I cannot thank everyone that I have met enough for taking the naive girl from Long Island who walked in Emmons Hall in August 2009 with a very twisted view of the Midwest and turning her into the person that I am today.

Thank you MSU! I am and will be a Spartan for life! GO GREEN!

Graduation, quickly approaches

With just 10 days left until graduation, the countdown has officially begun! As the numbers slowly descend to the single digits I can’t help but feel the reality of the coming 12 months—and really the rest of my life—begin to set in. 

I have been racing to graduation since before I even submitted my first college application. For years I have been racing ahead, with my eye on the next goal, the finish line of the next race in sight before I crossed the previous one. Now, having just left my last class as an undergrad, it is funny how quickly the end has come, and it is quite sad that I didn't realize until now just how much I am going to leave in the Midwest when I head home next Sunday.

College on the whole has been a very different experience than I initially anticipated. I assumed that college would be much like high school (and it was) but there was so much more that I learned and experienced in these last 3 years than I ever imagined that I would. I have met some truly amazing and inspiring people, been involved in some fantastic things, gotten to experience and see so much, as well as open my eyes to so many different ideas and ways of life.

For years people have been telling me "enjoy this time, these are the best days of your life" but I never gave those words much thought. I have always been one to focus. I know how to plan and I know how to get things done. But it has taken 3 years in the Midwest for me to finally learn how to relax and to realize that it’s okay to fail, to be late, to mess up, or to make a fool of myself because how much fun can you really have otherwise? And if your not having fun, what’s the point?

Fun is the theme of this, next, and last week, as well as hopefully all of those following. Though it pains me a bit, I have to admit, the Midwest with its pop and hard "a" may have converted this NY girl, if not only temporarily. 

Join the Adventure

As a soon-to-be graduate with a degree in Professional Writing, Editing, and Publishing from Michigan State University, I am preparing to embark on the next chapter of life. Having never been one to follow the "road most traveled" I will graduate from MSU a year early and will be taking a "gap year" in the coming months. 

I have always been one to seek adventure. From going to an out-of-state university, completing an internship in Sydney, Australia, being a skiing instructor, eating cow stomach, and more, I continually push my own boundaries, go out on a limb, and try new things. 

Starting after graduation on May 5th my Gap Year Adventure will begin. The plan for the summer is still up in the air, as I am waiting to decide between editing and publishing related opportunities. Starting in September I will be working as harvest help at a winery on the eastern end of Long Island. The winter months will be spent up at Gore Mountain, where I have been teaching skiing for the last four years. As it currently stands the spring is a toss up and will most likely involve some time spent back at MSU in combination with a little traveling and possibly another job. As of now I am riding it out and just waiting to see what happens. 

For the next 12 months I will be documenting my one-year adventure. I hope that you take this adventure along with me and if at any time you have a suggestion for ways to add a little more excitement to my journey, please speak up!

Without any more delay . . . let the adventures begin!