Sophomore Year at a Glance

Hey there! Welcome back to Madison from Madison. I have been absent from blogging these past three weeks as I was moving to Iowa State for my sorority's spirit week and recruitment. Additionally, with last week being the start of the semester, I decided to focus on adjusting to being back at school instead of writing a post. Nonetheless, today I wanted to bring you an update on what I've been up to so far and what my sophomore year is going to look like in terms of commitments and events.

---

SORORITY: Spirit Week and Recruitment

I "moved in" to Iowa State on August 6th (crazy right?) for Spirit Week with my sorority. Although I am living in a campus apartment this year, my apartment was not available/open this early, so I got to crash on my sweet friend's futon in the sorority house for a few nights. After moving in, we immediately jumped into everything Spirit Week. This included prepping for primary recruitment in any and every way. We learned how to hold conversations with the women who would be coming through our doors, what kinds of questions to ask, what to look for, and how to properly conduct ourselves. Despite the busy days filled with learning and tasks, there was also time for us to get to know each other better and bond.

Spirit Week honestly made me fall more in love with my sorority and made me wish a little that I had chosen to live in house this year. However, I was still excited to move into my own space. The scenario was unfortunate though because my apartment opened on the first day of recruitment, when I was only free for less than an hour in the morning and less than an hour at night. My parents are amazing and were willing to drive all of my belongings to Ames, as well as move it all in while I was participating in recruitment. I got to help them get the keys, figure out where I wanted the big pieces, and then I got to see it finished at night. They did a fantastic job and I continue to be obsessed with my room and our apartment. A post all about my room is coming to the blog soon!

Recruitment was a whirlwind, but ended on a high note with welcoming 48 new members into our sisterhood. Bid day was a blast and I have loved every moment of getting to know the new members better. More details and photos will come later on (I am super excited to be a member of CySquad and have the chance to assist with our homecoming this year. However, this position requires me to be disaffiliated from my sorority so I can't share my letters in any way as to remain unbiased.)

---

SALT COMPANY: Kickoffs, Leadership and More!

Perhaps one of the opportunities I am most excited for is the chance to be a Salt Company leader for this coming year. My experience in Salt Company last year was truly life changing and I am so grateful for the amazing influence my leaders had on me. I cannot wait to hopefully impact others in the same way. I lucked out and get to call one of my closest friends my co-leader for the year. Sami is one of the strongest, wisest, and most God-fearing women I have ever met. I am beyond excited to get to learn from her and grow with her this year as we lead a connection group filled with mostly freshman girls. As a Salt Company leader I get to lead and participate in a connection group (a small group that meets weekly in a campus living area) as well as learn from 3 other leaders and a community member in a discipleship group.

For Salt Company we have two kickoffs at the beginning of the year: one for freshman and one for everyone all together. We got to advertise the time and place of our connection group and connect with people who may want to be a part of our group. We got quite a few interest cards and are so excited to see what God does in these coming weeks with our connection group.

I was looking forward to returning to Cornerstone church SO SO much. Last Sunday did not disappoint. Being surrounded by tons of college students who value their faith and want to focus on God is an unbelievable atmosphere to be a part of. I had missed the amazing worship and the messages that I get a ton out of each time. I can't wait to see and experience all that God has planned for me, my connection group, and my discipleship group throughout this year.

---

TREND MAGAZINE: Fashion Editor

After interviewing last year, I was chosen to be the Fashion Editor for Iowa State's major fashion magazine, Trend. As the Fashion Editor for this semester, I will have the chance to write the fashion article that will be included in the print version of the magazine. I will also get to help committee members write pieces for the monthly online versions of the magazine. Article ideas have already been flowing through my head and I am excited to see how they end up.

---

WORK: Writing and Media Center

As I was looking ahead to this year, I realized it would be good to get a job for when I'm at school. I wanted something close to campus, somehow applicable to my journalism major and something that would give me some spending money. I got an email from Iowa State University's Writing and Media Center that said they highly consider journalism majors for their positions. I applied and got a job as a Communication Consultant. Essentially my job is to be a student tutor and help students with written, oral, visual, and electronic forms of communication. Whether it be an upcoming paper or a class presentation, I get to ensure that a student is adhering to grade guidelines and answering questions or prompts in organized and complete ways.

I have started my training and have had my employee orientation. Tomorrow I have my first shift with real tutoring and I am both nervous and excited. Through this opportunity, I will get real-world work experience as well as learn more about the writing process.

---

I've had a couple of other cool experiences since returning to Iowa State.

Last Wednesday Ben Rector came to Ames and had a concert in our Memorial Union. When the concert was announced, my friend from Minnesota was so interested in seeing him play that she asked if she could come to see Ben Rector and me! The concert was absolutely AMAZING! Ben Rector was a wonderful entertainer and was extremely genuine. He played the whole concert with only one other band member, not a full band. They switched off playing piano and guitar and the acoustic sound made the concert very unique. I came away from the concert obsessed with a ton more of his songs! It was a night to remember.

Finally I got to try out a new coffeeshop last week with some great friends in the Greek Community. We got to sit, decompress following recruitment, and drink some delicious coffee. Not to mention, the coffee shop was very quaint and aesthetically pleasing!

Thank you so much for reading! I am eager to get back into a routine with blogging. I hope to continue to bring you posts focused on fashion, faith, lifestyle and many topics in between. Thank you for sharing in this journey with me and allowing me to share my heart and my life through my blog. Stay tuned for a post this Friday from a new series I'm calling "What's New" where I share new things I've discovered in food, fashion, music, decor, motivation, and so much more. Until Then-

#LIFESTYLE