All Good Things Come to an End

Everyone knows the common saying that "time flies when you're having fun". Heck, where did the past three years of my college life go!?!? I am kind of freaking out because I am in the last few days of being a junior...soon enough I am going to be married carrying a baby stroller around! I do not want to be a senior, that is just depressing!

This year has truly been one filled with so many amazing memories that have made the time continue to speed up! I had my 21st birthday, which I guess I don't technically remember, I lived in my first apartment ever and had a complete blast, I traveled to San Francisco and Colorado three times, and I have met so many amazing friends that have had a very good impact on my life. Is it normal that I am becoming nostalgic over my past few college years when I am still in college?

Another huge part of my life that is coming to an end is the show "Lost". After six amazing years of dedicating a whole night each week to watching the show, I have found myself so immersed in these characters' lives and their whereabouts. Why can't I be lost on an Island and not have to deal with the dilemmas of finding a job, not living with my parents, dealing with the gratitude of growing up, and having to find a husband? When this show comes to an end May 23rd, a whole chapter of my life will also be coming to an end. No more drooling over Desmond each week imagining him as my future husband. No more hoping Kate and Jack will finally elope after flirtations all these years. And no more continuously wishing that these characters will never make it off the island, in hopes that I can have a show for next year.

But I must realize that I need to move on. Just like all these fake characters move on from their parts, I need to embrace the life thats ahead of me and work towards having an optimistic view of things. Even though college is supposed to be your best years, who says you can't have fun afterwards? I just hope that the cruise to what it is I want to do is easy and will come to me eventually. But as of now, I must end this year with a smile and look back on it knowing that I made it out alive, and still have one more year to go!

The Importance of Teamwork in a Crucial Time

For those of you who have never been involved in the sorority life, Rush exists as a time when each sorority displays their house in hopes of gaining new members in the beginning of a school year. Over a thousand girls each year will go to all the 17 sorority houses at the University of Georgia and pick the house they admire the most.

Being in a predominately Jewish sorority (Sigma Delta Tau), we are completely lax when it comes to rush, always carrying the idea that if you are Jewish, you will join...so why work countless hours on cheers, songs, dances, chants and such when we can be laying out at the pool? Rush workshop is a brutal time period where we must learn every potential girls name over and over, practice beyond what anyone can imagine, and make ourselves as fake as we possibly can be, in order to seem appealing to all the freshman that come in.

When I went through Rush and traveled to each house, I was pretty appalled at the fakeness that each girl presented. They would smile tremendously and giggle at every little thing I had to say. Moreover, they would compliment me with the same compliments at each and every house: "I love your shoes", "Your dress is so cute", "You are just adorable! We would love to have you here!". I was SO over it. The only house that gave me a true real perspective and told me how it was was SDT.

A year later, it came time for me to be on the other side of things and be the one to be cheery and happy to all these girls. Needless to say, it was a miserable experience. We would spent 12 hour days a week before Rush chanting, memorizing, talking, dancing. As much as I wanted to skip it, I knew it was a $150 fine each day that I would miss. I trucked through the process, knowing that the next year I would have to get out of it some way.

And so I did. I got put as head of food committee, meaning that all I was responsible for was preparing/buying the food. No cheers, bubblyness, phonyness, nothing. While this seemed like a much better opportunity than the previous one, I still struggled with the whole Rush process and the artificial act that was given off to incoming Freshman.

So this year, I have planned to escape the Rush process by "getting my tonsils out". My other roommate has "an internship that lasts til the day school starts" and my third friend "is going on a family vacation that was planned a year ago". Needless to say, 30 out of the 40 girls in my pledge class have gotten out of Rush somehow.

At rush workshop this past Sunday, only eight girls showed up in my grade. While this number is quite shockingly low, it also pinpointed to the fact that all of us were denying a commitment that we needed to have; participating in Rush and gaining new members is the only way to have a future for SDT. Even though the Rush process truly sucks, I love the sorority and I would not want to jeopardize us not gaining any more members because none of the older girls failed to show up.

As upcoming seniors, we have the responsibility to be leaders and provide a good example of teamwork, and trucking through a time together that no one enjoys. I have decided to move my tonsil appointment up a few days and attend Rush, because through the thick and thin, I can't just think of myself when it comes to something I feel passionately about (the sorority). I hope that others will follow in my footsteps so we can show the next incoming freshman how truly awesome their senior girls are.

You Gotta Get Over Your Fears

Spring break always presents an exciting time for me; it is the one chance a year I get to go skiing with my family and get a break from the turmoil of school life. Every year me, my two sisters and my parents spend a week at our house in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. This year was especially beautiful; predicted whether of low 40's...what more can you ask for!
As the week approached, i was burdened by the news that my oldest sister Rachel would not be attending. She has been in and out of rehab for the past three years and once again had relapsed, so my parents felt it best to not have her come. However this news did not put me down. I was still persistent on having a fantastic time on the slopes and totally letting loose everything that I have been holding in.
The first two slopes we did were beautiful; the sun was shining, I was wearing only two layers of clothes, and everyone was in high spirits...until my dad tricked me into going on a side trail to a different slope. As I approached, I saw a double black diamond sign with the title "Hurricane" under it glaring right at me. Don't get me wrong, I have done Blacks before; But as I had not skied in a year, I was very rusty and unprepared for such a challenge. Even worse, the slope was ungroomed, meaning that it was extremely bumpy with moguls all over it.
I took a deep breath, nodded my head and went on my way, taking my sweet time and trying my best to have fun and not be scared. This was followed my an immediate fall on my butt. My sister Andrea laughed at me, my dad stopped to help me, and I got up still in semi-high spirits. I continued on for a little bit, trying to maintain control. It was then that my skis were falling in front of me and I could not gain any balance what so ever. I fell forward on my head, and instead of stopping like the first time, I toppled and summersaulted 20 feet down the mountain, unable to stop myself because the slope was so steep.
Upon stopping, my immediate reaction was to cry. I had snow built up all inside of my clothes, in my hair, my poles were missing up the mountain, and I felt completely at a loss and out of control. I was truly scared.
The rest of the trip proved more unsuccessful than I had hoped. After my traumatizing fall, I could not gain back the fluidity and carelessness that had always led me to be such a good free-spirited skier. I was constantly cautious, I avoided all blacks, and I truly felt myself holding back from what I knew I could do. Even up to the last slope on my last day, I was not skiing nearly to my potential.
Frustrated with myself on my travels home, I realized that you cannot keep in your fears and let them take control over you. A part of life is getting over the things that scare you and letting yourself move on. I wish I had this realization earlier so I could have enjoyed skiing much more. In all aspects of my life that I hold back, I am going to try my hardest to let myself go and not worry about what could be if I do happen to fall.

Being Prez Aint all fun and games!

This week I learned that through all my efforts and frustrations, being the President of an organization does not always yield to positive results. I took on this position in hopes that it would give me better insight into my leadership skills as well as my ability to manage an organization. My first step as co-president with my best friend Lauren was to gain as many new members as possible and grow the organization, DAWGS for Israel, into something it has never been. We performed these steps by conducting elections and doubling our executive board to a total of 13 members. Additionally, we formed positions for Recruitment and Development liaisons that are in charge of gaining new members. We then created a whole semester of events, budgeting and putting in countless hours into making DAWGS for Israel a well-known respected organization on campus.
Unfortunately, all this work has not fully paid off…at least just not yet. Every board meeting we have, a little over half the board will actually show up. The only times they do come is when we tempt them with free food or other rewards. The past speaker we had, only the board plus ten other students showed up. How is it possible to gain more student support over something that we feel so passionate about? I feel that all students who have some connection to Israel, whether they have visited, are Jewish, or have relatives there, should feel an obligation to stay on top of the current events that are occurring.
One other downfall we have experienced this semester is a complete denial of a grant I spent relentless hours applying for. This has made it quite difficult to conduct programs and events that we typically have annually. AIPAC and the ICC, two groups giving out separate grants, due to the competitive nature of grants and the recession, were unable to provide us with any funds.
While many of these issues may seem frustrating, especially to me, there are a lot of exciting opportunities the position of President has brought. Not only have I met so many cool new people I never would have interacted with, I have networked with many individuals across the country, even landing me an exciting internship opportunity at the Israeli Consulate of the Southeast in Atlanta for part of this summer. I have gained a much greater experience in planning and coordinating events, and even with all the downfalls, I look forward to the rest of the semester as a learning experience, because nobody or nothing is perfect.

Valentine's Day is Overrated!

I have been anticipating this day for a few months now; I love holidays, especially Valentine's Day, when love fills the air and everything that is around you is romantically themed, as cheesy and cliché as that sounds. Having a boyfriend for almost two years now (we were celebrating our anniversary on Valentine's Day), I really was excited in what Jeremy had in store for us. Was he going to surprise me with tickets for a cruise? Was he going to get me a new necklace that I had been hinting at for three months now?
All of these questions filled my mind as I excitedly drove to Atlanta this past weekend to see him. As my drive progressed, snowflakes began to fall and the ground was slowly turning a lovely shade of white. Yet when I arrived to my parent’s house, the snow continued to fall until it was very thick and according to my parents, essentially “unsafe to drive in”. I could handle staying in one night with the rents. We watched Taking Woodstock, a very pleasant movie may I add, then I went to bed early in hopes that I’d be able to leave the next morning to see my boyfriend just 15 minutes away.
Yet as luck had it my driveway was completely iced over the next morning, and I was unable to leave until six p.m. that night. Jeremy and I tried three different restaurants for dinner, yet all three were closed due to weather. What a dreary weekend I was having so far! I still had the actual Valentine’s dinner on Sunday to look forward to where I would hopefully be surprised with a night full of splendor. As dinner the next night approached, I finished the scrapbook that I had spent hours upon hours working on for Jeremy and excitedly got ready, wearing my new shirt from Loehmanns and a scarf I had recently purchased.
I got in the car when Jeremy picked me up, expecting a bouquet of roses thrusted in my face. Nothing. We then drove toward downtown Atlanta to Maggianos, a delicious Italian restaurant. Upon entering, we were informed of a 45 minute wait. That was doable. When we finally got seated, the waitress took 15 minutes just to even take our drink orders. But I still felt optimistic at that point, knowing I had a present from Jeremy ahead of me. Desert eventually came and I chowed down a marshmallow graham cracker delight.
Then the moment came. Jeremy looked up at me, smiled and said “time for your present”. I anxiously awaited my new earrings and perfume, until my vision was ruined with a Target bag in front of me. “For real?” I thought. It got worse! He then pulled out a heart shaped box…of chocolates. “Here’s your present”. My heart sunk and I faked an enthusiasm as I rambled on about how much I love milk chocolate and “thank you!” But inside I was fuming.
The wonderful night ended as we drove back to his house, where his parents, aunt, uncle, ten year old cousin, and grandmother all settled on the couch waiting to hear about our night. We then spent the next few hours conversing with them until it was time for me to leave.
So was it the idea of Valentine’s Day that I built up in my head that made the holiday seem too good to be true? Or was it the fact that everything did happen to go wrong! Either way, I came to understand that Valentine’s Day was and is truly overrated. Having expectations about it, or really any event in general, can ruin the fun and make something that has the potential to be a great experience end up being one spoiled. We need to enter into situations with an open mind, and not form prior expectations and ideas of what it is we will be doing.

My First Taco Bell Experience

Some people will never believe me when I tell them I have never been or experienced Taco Bell. My views on it were never the best; I always pictured Taco Bell in my head to be dirty, greasy, and just containing unappetizing food. But most of all, I was never in the position to go to Taco Bell throughout the years, and personally never held an interest to do so.
Yet this past week, after being convinced by my friend Lauren over and over that Taco Bell was in fact an incredible experience, I decided to give it a shot. We pulled up to the drive through, as I was informed that it was a common rule that you don't actually go inside Taco Bell. I scanned the menu, eagerly looking for something that might satisfy my food interests...
...And there it was. A delicious and mouth-watering Cheesy Gordilla Crunch. Now for those of you who were always like me and never had the Taco Bell experience, a Cheesy Gordilla Crunch is a soft Taco shell with a hard shell in it. Now imagine inside the hard shell a cheesy flatbread surrounding the taco. Then comes the meat, the lettuce on top of that, the cheddar cheese, and lastly a zesty mayonnaise sauce. Who would have known that such an enticing combination could be only $1.50?
Needless to say, I have been back to Taco Bell twice since. It is a wonderful late night treat. This week I truly learned that you cannot judge a book by its cover before experiencing it for yourself. For those who are unwilling to try restaurants based on the assumptions they form as I once did, they should take a leap of faith and put themselves out there for some potentially scrumptious food.

Stores Likely to Close in 2010

I learned this week that Abercrombie and Fitch is going to close most of its retail stores in 2010. On top of that, Barnes and Nobles is likely to close a lot of its stores, Dillard's, Steinmart, Payless Shoe Store, RiteAid and Zales, according to "CEOWORLD Magazine". I am saddened by this fact, not only because I go to Dillard's and Barnes and Nobles on a frequent basis, but because the recession is hitting so hard these stores that people consider so useful and popular. Abercrombie and Fitch was the ultimate highschool shopping hangout for me and my girlfriends, so it is almost a chapter of my life that is coming to a close.
Unfortunately from 2008 to 2009, there was little or no improvement with the recession. This past December, retail sales were down .3%, when the concensus forecast was for an increase of .5%.
While this recession hasn't really hit close to home for me yet and I haven't personally experienced any of its negative facets, I am in for a change once I graduate. My dad called me a few days ago and said that he saw that Public Relations is now one of the hardest areas to get a job in. With this recession, am I going to be able to find a job? Will I have to live with my parents again? Or am I going to have to continue to graduate school due to being unable to find a job...All of these questions are being pondered by me and many of my other classmates, as we are all stuck in this same boat with the recession. I am truly hoping for an improvement so that more opportunities are created.

Israel is making robots.....for COMBAT?

As technological advancements are being made each day, I am consistently surprised at the new unique little gadgets that arrive. Even being able to touch the screen on my iPod to switch from song to song truly seems pretty outrageous. How about the fact that I can now drive from place to place with a male English accent telling me exactly where to go, while coming from a small little box hanging on my banister? Yet the one technological development that I learned of this week that caught me by surprise was a robot being developed by Israel- not to be sent in space or as a toy- but for combat!
According to MSNBC.com, “a robot snake with a camera and microphone in its head is the Israeli military's latest battlefield weapon”. This so called snake appears to be six feet long, covered by fabric in military colors and having joins that can go in different directions. The snake can even go over rocks and along the ground.
Another shocking report claimed that the “snake” may be used to carry a bomb to blow up militants or a building. So in that case, it could be considered a “suicide snake”. While this new advancement may seem quite fascinating and exciting, are we taking things too far? Is it really necessary to take the time and money to design a fake snake just for warfare and consequently possibly ending some lives?
I am nervous as what the future holds. Twenty years from now, whole entire wars can be fought out just between robots…can you imagine? We are just at the beginning of what could be a completely new revolution of technology that may in fact have detrimental effects that no one expected. For this society to really be successful, we need to lower the technology and reverse back to the way things were before our whole lives revolved around the Blackberry in front of us. As exciting as these new inventions may seem, who really knows what the future may hold.