I can’t believe it. April 29, 2011

Yep, today is my last day at USF. Honestly, it doesn’t seem possible. Last night, I began taking the final boxes out to my car and this morning, I took my computer, sheets, and shower items to put in my trunk. Then…the cleaning began. In order to check out, each student must remove all of their belongings from their room and mop, dust, and scrub everything. Since my roommate hasn’t left yet, I only had to do half of the room…but it still took quite a while! After a couple hours of packing and cleaning, I started my check out process. Thankfully, everything passed inspection! 🙂

Now, I’m here at my last day of work. 😦 Hopefully, I’ll still be able to keep up with my blog though. I’ve really loved working in the Admissions Office and there’s no doubt I will be back to visit!

While I feel like I’m saying goodbye to Fort Wayne today, I will actually be here quite a bit within the next few weeks. Thursday, I am getting together for dinner with some of my closest friends, then I will having a slumber party that night because I have to be here bright and early Friday morning for the Social Work pinning ceremony. Then obviously I will be in Fort Wayne on Saturday for graduation.

Yeah! Graduation! Crazy! I have my cap and gown, my cords, and my dress. I just need shoes. I’d love to wear heels, buuuut I really don’t want to fall or have super sore feet. So…I’m still waiting to decide on what to wear. Hopefully I will find something. After graduation, my dad offered to take me out to eat. I’m really excited to spend time with my family on this day. With my brother and I living away from home, we don’t get to spend many days together. My mom is a picture-taking machine, so I will make sure to post some pictures from graduation. It takes place at the Coliseum, which is pretty cool.

The week after graduation, I will be getting together for lunch with a classmate and a friend we met through our internships. I’m looking forward to trying out the new restaurant and keeping in touch with the awesome people I’ve met here. I’ll have to post about how it goes!

On May 24, I will be returning to Fort Wayne once again to participate in the MDA’s Lock Up. I think I posted about that once before though. A classmate of mine is being locked up with me, so that will be fun! I’m sure it’ll be great to catch up and grab some lunch together.

In between all those dates I need to unpack my belongings and go to the dentist. Ehhh. I will also be babysitting for my cousin’s son. He is absolutely adorable and I cannot wait to spend some time with him. Other than that, I will be hanging out with my friends and relaxing until I start grad school in June.

Yeah, that’s right! June! I am one busy girl! I am excited to be starting fresh at Toledo and furthering my education. I’ve got big plans, so hopefully everything works out…it always does. 🙂 I’ve promised myself I will keep in touch with all my friends in Fort Wayne, so instead of goodbye, it’s just see you soon! 🙂

I didn’t forget! April 25, 2011

The new furniture arrived last week! Take a look at these pictures!

Other than that excitement, I have been getting ready for graduation. I can’t believe it’s almost here! Only 12 days left. On one hand, I am really excited…but the closer it gets, the more I realize how much I’m going to miss it here in Fort Wayne. I’ve really grown to like this place and all my friends here. I suppose if I’m supposed to be here, I’ll be back. 🙂

Until then, I’ll be attending the University of Toledo to earn my MSW…and that will be a whole new adventure!

Random Thoughts April 11, 2011

1. My case presentation is done! 🙂

2. The new furniture for the Admissions Office will be here in the morning!

3. I love Pandora. Have you ever listened? Try it…http://www.pandora.com

4. The Social Work Club hosted the Walk Around the World event. 94 people walked! Awesome!

5. This week is Spring Fling Week! Later (if no one else beats me to it) I’ll post about the activities going on around campus.

6. It’s almost time to start packing my things up to move home. I usually try to do this in small trips over the few weeks before school’s out.

7.  Umm, I think that’s about it.

What’s on everyone else’s minds? 🙂

Here are the pictures I promised to share! April 7, 2011

Quite a few days ago I mentioned how the Admissions Office was getting a make over. Well, apparently they decided to make over the entire Trinity building! So we now have a fresh paint job! 🙂 Since our new furniture has not yet arrived, here is a picture of our halfway progress.

You can’t really tell, but the walls are green now. Also, look at the new wall addition! 🙂

Here is a picture of my friend from Japan and I. Remember? She came to visit me over Spring Break.

my best friends

I asked you to cross your fingers for me…and it worked! March 31, 2011

That’s right! I met Hanson last Friday night! Seriously, it was the best night of my life. My friend Kristin and I left work at 4:00 to arrive at the concert extra early. As we were waiting in line outside of the venue, we got our first glimpse of the boys. The picture was taken while I was outside and they were practicing inside. I’m sure I looked like a total creeper, with my camera up to the window, but I just had to take it!

 

Around 5:30, we were finally allowed to go inside. To pass the time, we made friends with all the girls around us and ordered some food. Chicken tenders and french fries! Beware, if any of you ever go to Duty’s, the portions are huge! You’ll probably want to share your plate with another person. It was quite delicious food though!

At 9:00, the concert started. Because it was a radio tour, we had a mini-acoustic concert. Hanson never fails to amaze me. The concert was awesome! I was in the second row, probably about 5 feet away from the band. Here are some pictures…

Hanson

After the concert, we headed next door for the meet and greet. I got to talk to each one of them. I told them about the walk coming up at USF and they thanked me for hosting. I got each of their autographs and then moved on for the group picture.

Taylor

Zac

IsaacTaylor

Autographs — I am looking pretty rough!

                                               Here is the group picture. Yep, that’s me right next to Taylor! 🙂

Meet and Greet

Take the Walk March 24, 2011

So for the past seven months, I’ve been going through the process of hosting a walk on campus. My favorite band (in the entire world) HANSON sponsors mile-long barefoot walks. For each person who walks, they donate one dollar to benefit children in Africa who have AIDS. Seeing as my Macro Social Work class (last semester) worked closely with the AIDS Task Force, I thought it would be quite appropriate for the Social Work Club to host a walk.

I want to raise as much money as possible, so I’m inviting everyone to attend. It’s Sunday April 10 at the University of Saint Francis North Campus parking lot. (That’s the building with the green roof.) Registration begins at 1:30 and the walk will start at 2:00.  Here is the link on Facebook, so check it out.

To top off all of my excitement revolving around the walk, HANSON is going to be in Fort Wayne tomorrow night. I have been trying like crazy to win meet and greet tickets. If I’ve counted correctly, I still have thirteen chances to win. Please cross your fingers for me. 🙂 It would be my dream come true. Either way (meeting them or not) I am happy to be going to see their concert. I’ve been to two before, but never an acoustic one. I’m excited!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with HANSON, remember Mmmbop? Yep, that’s them! They just put out a new record this past summer. It’s called Shout It Out and it’s definitely worth listening to. And for all of you who loved HANSON back in the day, here’s a picture of what they look like now.

But let’s not forget the reason for this post! The walk! Remember, Sunday April 10. Registration begins at 1:30. The walk begins at 2:00. Water will be provided. Pets are welcome and if you must wear your shoes, that’s okay. Please come out and support the USF Social Work Club and help the children. Click here to read more information on the Take the Walk organization.

Back to Reality March 21, 2011

Hello everyone! Spring Break is over…and I need just a few more days of break. My Spring Break was pretty great. The weather was amazing. I saw tons of friends and I had no responsibilities for an entire week! What more could I want? As promised, I will post a photo of my friend and I. It was so great seeing her. It had been three years and we talked and hung out like it was yesterday. While she was here, we ate at Taco Bell (her favorite), went to the Botanical Gardens, did lots of shopping, and visited old friends. I learned an interesting fact about Japanese pizza! All pizza in Japan has mini corn cobs and no pepperonis. Because of this, we also ate pizza, too. Actually, all of our outings consisted of eating. Hehe. Yuki had never had “real” Mexican food before, so we took her out. She thought Taco Bell was authentic food. 🙂 She liked the food, but said Taco Bell was still her favorite. (Mine too!) While she was here, we made some tentative plans for me to visit her. I haven’t done much travelling before, so I am really excited that I may (some day) go to Japan.

This is the city guide to where Yuki lives.

Muscular Dystrophy Association Fundraiser March 11, 2011

I’ve decided to be a part of the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Lock Up. On May 24, I will be put in “jail” at Parkview Field. I will raise my bail by collecting money so children can attend a summer camp. I’ve never done anything like this before and I am really excited about it.

Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder. To put it simply, muscle tissue becomes weaker and weaker over time and eventually muscle tissue is lost. The happens as a result of the body’s incapability to create protein properly.

If you’re interested in learning more about Fort Wayne’s fundraiser, click on the link at the top of the page. 🙂

Click here to learn more about muscular dystrophy.

Career Goals

I just got my cap and gown earlier this week. Crazy! It’s less than two months until I graduate. Also crazy! It’s made me think of my career goals and what I want to do with the rest of my life. I’ve applied to graduate school. I’m hoping for the best regarding my acceptance. Finishing graduate school is definitely one of my top career goals. Aside from that, I’d like to learn to communicate in a language other than English. By this, I mean another verbal language or possibly even sign language. In the social work field, knowing another language could be very beneficial. Eventually I’d like to become an LCSW, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. That means I could open up my own business, if I wanted to! Currently, I am a member of the National Association for Social Workers. I plan on continuing that membership and would eventually like to become more involved in the programs it offers. Check out the NASW’s website. http://www.naswdc.org/ I also thought it would be neat to look at the American sign Language symbols.

I have a lot to look forward to! March 7, 2011

So it’s finally March. I’ve been waiting for this month for a LONG time! First, I will graduate in exactly two months from today. That is crazy! I know that doesn’t exactly pertain to this month, but I had to tell you all! This Thursday, one of my best friends in the entire world is coming back to Ohio! The first picture is of us six years ago when we went to school together. The second picture is of us three years ago when she came back to visit the first time. I’ll be sure to post a picture of us together this year! 🙂 My sophomore year of high school she was an exchange student from Japan. She’s been back to visit once (my first year of college) and now she’s coming back again! I’m lucky enough to be able to pick her up at the airport. I absolutely cannot wait! Not only is she back home, but she’ll be there over my Spring Break, so I will be able to see her! That brings up the next thing I have to look forward to…Spring Break! I need a break and that’s for sure!  Not only is my friend from Japan going to be home, but my friend who’s been in Iraq will also be home! He got home today and will be there for the next couple weeks. I am also very excited to see him! Like I said, I have so much to look forward to this month!