buzzer beater

It's only been two years since I walked the halls of Fort Collins High School. Wow. This really hit me yesterday.

Last night, I went to a YoungLife tailgate and then to the North Central boys basketball game. It was their first game of the playoffs. The boys are ranked top five in the state. They are real good. Real good.

I loved sitting in the NC student section with some of my girls. They taught me all of the cheers, made fun of me for standing out by not wearing red, and laughed at the coaches and refs with me. I loved getting excited when the team was doing great and upset when a bad foul was called. Some of the boys behind us were really into the game and were yelling the funniest things, like "BUCKETS!" whenever someone made a basket.

And, when the last few minutes came, North Central was up. The other team's star player went down with a potential broken wrist. He got back up, shot a three, a pair of free throws, and then...this happened.

It was cray. Everyone around me in the North Central student section was in shock. And, even if I'm a little sad for all my high school friends, I had to admit, that was a great game. No big deal, but it made it onto ESPN highlights yesterday and today. I was there. Yep.

And it made me remember that I love high school sports. And, I really really loved that last night. It was like I was back in high school, throwing on my super fan gear and heading to the front row at the game to cheer on the Lambkins. I missed the atmosphere at a high school sporting event. It's not as crazy and intense and competitive as college and pro sports. But, there are still such great rivalries and people get so invested in their school. And it was great to watch how a simple basketball game can turn into such a matter of pride for their school. Sometimes all I can do is laugh at the ridiculous things that I witness as a YoungLife leader. Ridiculous in part because I was doing the same things two years ago.

But, I can't complain. Everyone loves a good buzzer beater.

welcome welcome

Six weeks may seem like a really long time. But, let me just tell you...it can go by very, very, VERY fast.

Six weeks ago, my sorority welcomed a new pledge class of freshman and sophomore girls. Six weeks ago, we were making them welcome signs, giving them presents, and taking pictures of them, telling them how beautiful they were.

We celebrated by dressing up for a "Fraturday Night Fever" party. Cheesy, I know. But I got to dress the part of a hippie...not too far of a stretch.

One of the best parts of the first few weeks is Family Night. It's where we do a reveal for the new girls of who their "Big Sis" in the house will be. I was lucky enough to get two! I had twins. :)

Jenna and Holly are the cutest things ever and I'm excited to get to know them better over the next few years. We already have had so much fun together.

And of course, I'm part of the Hippie Fam. How does this happen? It's like everyone thinks I'm a dirty, outdoorsy, tie-dye wearing hippie from out west or something.

The new girls' favorite part of the six weeks is called Freshman Skits. All of the sororities and fraternities on campus gather together and compete. Our new girls worked SO hard to create a short skit with dancing, singing, and some talking. And, the rest of the house was really, really proud of what they had worked for and had accomplished. They placed 2nd among all of the Butler sororities this year, which was so great! I loved being able to cheer on all of the younger girls that I had been spending so much time with.

To top off their Freshman Skits hard work, the new pledge class gets to have a sleepover at the house. They kicked out all of the members from their beds and spent the night here. We planned tons of fun activities for them to do and it was really great to relax and have fun with them!

And all of this, for the final day, the one we've all been waiting for: Initiation Day. Our ceremony was in the morning followed by the best thing, our banquet. We got all dressed up and headed to a hotel to eat (we love food!), talk about how much we love each other, and obviously take bunches and bunches of pictures.

After all of the craziness and drama and busyness of the last few weeks, it was a good reminder of what's so great about being a part of a sorority at Butler. These girls are some of the best things about my life. They make me laugh when we run around screaming and playing pranks on each other. They make me cry when real life happens and things don't go the way they were supposed to. And they remind me that people really are the most important thing.

taking a break

Sometimes it's wonderful to take a break. When the test is looming around the corner. And there are twelve billion other places where you should be, where people want you to be, where you time would be better spent.

But, sometimes...every once in awhile...a midweek adventure is in store.

This girl...Meredith Schaar...

and this girl...Kodi Colip...

both peer pressured me for about 3 hours to go to a movie with them. They wouldn't let me leave their sight, held my hand, pushed me around, did nice things to bribe me, and pretty much acted as though the world would end if I didn't come join them in the adventure that is a Wednesday night movie.

It's fine. I gave into peer pressure. Cool, Kodi & Meredith. Not like they would've had it any other way.

The adventure was great. The movie started at 7:25pm not 7:45pm, but that's all part of the adventure. We were flexible and can change plans at the snap of a finger. Boom.

Good times, good times. Kodi gave it 3.5/5 stars, Meredith the same, and I gave it 3/5 stars.

Perfect for a Wednesday night adventure.

two weeks. too much fun.

This first few months of this semester have been overwhelmingly busy. Not in a "I have too many things on my to-do list and have to go study for a long time" way. But more in a "I have too many fun things to do and too many people to invest in" kind of way.

So, the busyness has been good. But, I think that it's time for a few weeks of "Let's sit here and watch episodes of Friends and drink some hot chocolate and maybe go for a run." And be on Pinterest. I haven't done that since Christmas, people. I'm in serious withdrawals.

The best part of this time was my birthday party. And when I mean party, I mean celebration. As in, two weeks long. Bookmarked on either end by a visit from my wonderful father and another long weekend visit from two of my very best friends. And sandwiched in the middle was this giant thing called the Super Bowl. Too much fun.

Either way, I am now a firm believer in celebrating your birthday for at least a week when it comes around once a year. One of my new friends this year told me that she has been doing this forever. She makes it a whole week event where she does fun stuff everyday. It doesn't have to be extravagant. Because even going to get a ice cream cone has special meaning when you're celebrating something.

So, this year was the start of new week-long birthday celebrations. Try it. It's fun. It made me remind myself that I'm kinda cool and should celebrate myself sometimes.

Thanks to all of the people who made my two week birthday celebration the best thing ever. It was fun. So much fun that we should probably do it again next year.

all you need is love

In honor of Valentine's Day this week, and my art project that I'm currently working on...

Here are two really great things that I'm loving right now.

1. The Starbucks Love Project
      This happened this past December where people all around the world sang together simultaneously. Starbucks broadcasted it live on their website. Their message was to remember something other than the consumerism that fills the holidays.

2. The Playing For Change Project
      Also, so so so great. My grandma and aunt showed me this over the past year. One man started this back in 2005 with a recording of a man on Santa Monica Pier. I love their mission and kind of want this to be my life.


I'm just enjoying perusing the internet looking for people and things that encourage staying connected with the ones you love and pursuing things that matter. It's art homework, so I'm still being productive!

watch this now.

If you don't have anything else to do with your day...or if you have three essays, two tests, and twelve meetings...you should watch this video.

NOW. It was the beginning of my birthday celebration. All that confetti and singing...it's for me.

But, really. Late Night With Jimmy Fallon special taping for the Superbowl. I'm there...hear my voice clapping and cheering??? And my friends are in the video before. Props to Butler. I love you.

an ode to a father

Thank you for...

Showing up. Giving me a break from college life. Taking me to see new places. Paying for Target runs. Sitting and waiting when my schedule can't be abandoned. Sharing meals with me. Being patient. Asking "What's new?" multiple times. Giving advice about Superbowl logistics. Bringing me stuff from home that couldn't fit in my suitcase. Driving me around. Being awkward in a sorority house full of girls. Singing along at the concert. Being up for anything.

A great father-daughter weekend.

community

Every month, all of the Greek houses on Butler's campus get together in a sort of....gathering. For lack of a better word. It's put on by Campus Crusades for Christ, or Cru. But, it's people of all different walks. Each month looks completely different.

For our February meeting, we watched short films with discussion afterwards. I came to the revelation that I really like short films. Like YouTube. Or music videos that I made in high school. It's just interesting to see what people can cram into a few minutes; how the message must be compressed and only the most important parts portrayed.

Either way, the four movies we watched were all great. Check them out. They inspired some deep thinking. Perfect for 10pm on a Wednesday night, right?

1. A cool French movie
2. A strange one about toilets, called Flow

My favorite one is not making an appearance as of right now. Who knew it was so hard to find random obscure Christian videos on the internet these days????