Promises I Intend To Keep

In the spirit of following in the footsteps of nearly everyone on my Facebook Feed, I decided yesterday to share my 2013 year in review. Now, looking forward, there are a few things I'd like to share with whoever reads this blog about my goals for 2014. That way, I have them in writing, and I have people to hold me accountable.

1. Write more. The last few "starts of seasons," I've said I was going to finish a book, or a story, but looking back I know that's super unrealistic. With work (more about my new job to come), school starting back up and just normal life, I think writing this blog and working some here and there on my writing will be enough to keep the creative juices flowing.

2. Have more life experiences. I recently read somewhere that it's hard to write when you have nothing to write about. This, I'm coming to realize, is incredibly true. I had a ton of life experiences last year, but a lot of them were DECA related, which is hard to work into a novel. In 2014, I want to explore more places, do more things, and experience the world around me - maybe a little bit more than the world of my computer.

3. Actually use my planner. I have a $35 planner from Lilly that I NEVER use. Literally, the only things I put in it are big dates on my monthly. This year, I want to start using it more for classes, planning this blog, and keeping track of commitments with friends.

4. Interact with more online content creators. There was a time, long ago, when I followed 40 different blogs and interacted with their writers on a near daily basis. Today, I only keep in touch with one, Micaela, via Facebook. I would LOVE to find more friends online, and actually interact with them as the year goes on.

5. Get involved on campus. Last semester, it was virtually impossible to do much more than the 2 successful DECA meetings we held. I went straight from my 8-12 classes to 1-6 work half an hour away, missing pretty much all university sponsored events. The upside to having a more flexible employer and taking my classes online? A ton more chances to get involved on campus, and possibly spread the word about UNT Collegiate DECA in the process.

And on that note...Congrats to UNT on their Heart of Texas Bowl win this afternoon! I may not have a ton of school spirit, but I am incredibly proud of my Mean Green players.

What are YOUR New Year's resolutions? How do you intend on making sure they happen? And leave your blog in your comment if you have one! Let's make #4 happen.

Lucky Number 13

It's very rare that I ever say "I don't remember," mostly due to the fact that I seem to have an uncanny sense for remembering the minute details in nearly every event in my life. But, to me, it feels like the beginning of 2013 went by in a blur, faster than light and leaving not a single memory leading up to, at the most vague points, the first weekend of rehearsals for Scarborough in March.

Nothing. I remember nothing. But the events after that...I'll never forget. 2013 has been one of the most amazing years of my life. From running for National Office (and finishing my term as a State Officer), to graduating from Birdville, to my first day in school, the friendships I made (and even the ones I lost), I burned some pretty intense memories into my head for what I hope to be the rest of my years.

The first and ONLY time I will ever rep Burnt Orange (GO TROJANS!)

Working with my DECA best friend Caleb for the last time as a State Officer.

I got to bond with my Faire Brother, Topher

I worked with an amazing group of student leaders I'm proud to call my friends.

I went to prom with this Silly Panda.

At orientation, I made so many friends (including Morgan the crazy girl in front of me, who got engaged tonight. Congrats, girl, love ya!) 

I joined the fabulous Texas Collegiate DECA State Officer Team

Celebrated my one year anniversary with my best man.

and gained about 20 psuedo kids at my job in Justin.

Lastly, I made some pretty fantastic friends.

I am so grateful for the opportunities I was presented with in 2013. This has been such a fantastic year for me, despite its ups and downs, and I wouldn't have traded it for the world. I only hope that this year has been as kind to you, dear readers, how ever many or few of you there are, as it has been to me.

Mean Green Icepocalypse

So, it's been a while. I know. But this was something I felt needed to be discussed.

Last Thursday, North Texas was blanketed in freezing rain, resulting in inches of solid ice on pretty much everything in sight. It was deemed #Icepocalypse2013, and it went VIRAL. School, roads, stores, pretty much everything was closed because no one could get anywhere. UNT, my school, closed the entire campus (with the exception of dorms and a few cafeterias) starting Thursday at 1 (leading to my last class before finals being cut down to 30 minutes).

View of the Library Mall/Admin Building on Friday AM.

I went home to NRH Thursday night with an upper respiratory infection. All weekend, we waited to hear whether the school would be closed, whilst cramming for exams just in case. Finally, Sunday afternoon, the University announced we would be closed Monday, with our exams being rescheduled for later in the week. This would be when the complaining started. I don't know how they handle snow/ice during Finals week in other states, but in Texas, most cities/counties aren't prepared to deal with large amounts for an extended period of time. Up to Monday, the temperatures had continued to stay low, and there was a solid layer of ice on the ground EVERYWHERE. I don't know if you're aware, but this doesn't normally happen in Texas. We don't carry around snow chains for our tires.

Students were playing hockey in the faculty parking lot on Sunday shortly before the closing announcement.

Our finals were originally spread out amongst six days - starting Saturday the 7th, and then Monday-Friday of this week. With the University being closed all weekend through Monday, finals were being scheduled for odd times in the afternoon and evening. Then, Monday night, we were told the school would open at noon Tuesday, with the morning finals further rescheduled. More evenings, more 8 AMs, and now some 9PM starting times. So students dedicated all their studying to their later finals, while I was still at home in bed coughing my lungs out. For those of you who know me, I rarely get actually sick, but I was literally completely without a voice for 3 days.

At 10 AM on Tuesday, we were told the University would be closed for the rest of the day. Not the night before. Not early in the morning. Literally two hours before we were all supposed to be back up at school, as I was packing up to head back to campus. It wasn't until Tuesday night at nearly 11PM that we were told school would be canceled today (Wednesday) until noon.

While they were making all these cancelations, it took hours for them to get the changed schedules up for exams, and when they finally did, most conflicted with each other, or were at such odd hours that it left commuter students stuck at campus from 8AM until 11PM after the last final.

This caused SO many problems for students. For me, it was just knowing when to finally go back up to campus, and spare a few hours coughing in my cramped dorm. In addition, one of my finals was rescheduled for 8AM Saturday morning. My parents are coming back up on Friday to help me pack up and move out of my dorm, and I would have to commute back up from home Saturday morning (in the dark) to attend my final. For other students, not only do they also face moving their things out of the dorm for break, but in addition they have thousands invested in travel plans that they can't change, that were made when the schedules were announced months ago.

While our President and Provost have both sent us "assuring" emails, and spoken about communication with faculty being our best bet, the accommodations being made are meager at best. My only option to spare my 8 AM Saturday final is to go to an 8 AM Friday, where I was told I would have to sit on the floor because it would be too crowded with other students from my class facing the same problem.

Yesterday, someone decided to do something. A student began a petition on change.com to ask our new President to put all finals online, as some teachers had begun doing. My Journalism Major friends and I tweeted and shared it - of course, we knew it wouldn't really cause a great change, but the more teachers that began to see we were having problems, the more likely they were to be accommodating.

In hours, over 7,000 students signed the petition. Now, I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but in a school of 36,000 students, more people signed that petition than turned in their teacher evaluations this semester. It was a true sign that these changes were frustrating LOTS of people, not just the few people speaking out on Twitter or Facebook.

Soon, other people caught on. Our shares, tweets, were seen by local news and both WFAA and FOX DFW did stories on the finals, with interviews of students sharing their personal concerns.


Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

The reason I'm sharing this, though, isn't to vent about the problems I'm having. It's about the negative viewpoint this entire situation is putting on my generation, and the students at UNT.

As I've been reading other people's perspectives on this story, I'm realizing that from the outside, people think it is just students whining because we don't want to take our finals. They're telling us not to complain because we have another few days to study, that this is life, we need to suck it up. Some are going as far to call us "entitled brats" because we can't have finals exactly when we want them.

Most of us aren't upset because we can't take our finals. We're upset because the University spent money cleaning out the stadium Monday for high school playoffs, but couldn't clear off the streets and open up campus. We're upset because our parking lots and sidewalks are ice, but the University is open and assuring us that the conditions are "acceptable" for finals.

The Clark Hall parking lot (outside my dorm).

Yes. That is someone skiing in Denton.

We're upset because teachers are telling us we have to choose between finals when they're double booked. We're upset because some of us have to pay hundreds of dollars to change travel plans multiple times because the University can't make up its mind. We're upset because the conditions we're in are unsafe. We're upset because those of us with children or dependents have to schedule and reschedule caregivers. We're upset because those of us who work have to keep changing our schedules, frustrating employers. We're upset because our exams were condensed into three days and we're expected to be able to study for all of them at the last minute and still pass.

But mostly, we're upset because we spend THOUSANDS on tuition for these classes, and when we complain about how we're being treated as students and customers, we get chastised and called entitled and whiney.

I completely understand the viewpoint of the people who have this opinion of us. From the outside, it does look like one giant mess around a bunch of loud mouthed students. However, if people actually took the time to understand the other side of the story before telling us to stop complaining and accept things how they are, some solutions might be reached.

After all, isn't that how most major conflicts resolved?

A little something to think about, my friends.

Until next time,
Holly

The Freshman 15

Starting college, everyone warned me that I needed to beware of the "Freshman 15" - the inevitable idea that I would gain weight from endless eating at the buffet style dining halls, combined with lounging in my dorm doing absolutely nothing when I wasn't in class.

Well, I have news for whoever came up with that concept: clearly, they lived on a very small college campus. With my schedule, my classes are spread across our over 3-mile wide campus, and for fear of loosing my parking space in resident parking, I don't dare move my car. Therefore, I'm forced to walk everywhere.

I really am not complaining though. In my first week at UNT, I've lost almost 10 lbs, eating 3 full meals pretty much every day.

So, my Freshman 15 to share is a little more...metaphorical? In my first week, I've also noticed a TON of things that can go really well, or completely wrong. Being the Nosy Nancy that I am, I have inevitably become everyone's go to for advice, despite the fact that I'm as fresh faced to all of this as the next struggling freshman. But, all in all, I think this advice pretty much sums up my first week of college.

Holly's Freshman 15 - Tips to surviving your first week of college.

1. Reconnect with your orientation friends before move in day. Facebook, Twitter, school app, whatever you need to do. If you're like me, or even if you're not, you want to have a good base of friends to start the year off with.

2. You don't need to take your entire room to college. Most dorm residents will tell you that you do not need every playoffs tee shirt and stuffed animal you've collected over the years. But really. I will be the first person to admit I have a LOT of stuff. But I left most of it at home because I know I'll be going home, at least once a month, and frankly, I'd like to feel at home in my house. And I want to have something to wear besides yoga pants and tanks.

My first dorm!

3. Go out to lunch/dinner with your parents/friends that help you move in. I know it seems like an obvious idea, but I'm so glad I did because it wasn't until then that I realized how freaked out I was about being ditched at a campus of 36,000 students.

4. Silence is not your friend. My first night in the dorm, my Orientation BFF Morgan and I started a game of charades with some people in our lounge (only because the TV was taken by a single girl watching NASCAR, but still). This was, inevitably, the best decision I have made thus far. That night, I made SO many friends in my hall, and met people from other halls who had HEARD about the charades game and came over just to play.

5. Don't be afraid to start something new. The second day in our dorm, none of my friends had any idea what to do. We'd gone to Walmart that morning, and I'd purchased a 6-pack of "college classics" DVDs, so, being the creative soul that I am, I suggested we watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off in our lounge. Sure enough, more people joined in, and even an RA congratulated me on being able to bring people together for something so simple.

6. Compare schedules. It may seem a little middle school, but this will be your saving grace come the first day of classes and you're scrambling to find someone to sit next to you. It also saves you the cliche "OMG, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE TAKING *insert basic freshman class here.*"

7. Find your classes before the first day. Really. Do this. I am telling you right now, if you don't do this, you will be that awkward kid that walks in 30 mins late and makes the professor go over his spiel about the syllabus all over again.

A little discovery made while trying to find my classes in the Environmental Science Building. 

8. Participate in orientation week activities. UNT had some pretty awesome "First Flight Week" events, including a movie night on the library mall. But be warned, get to these events early. Often times, the events offering free food and tee shirts have lines around the block before most people have a chance to make their way across campus. (Also on this note - take advantage of the resources you're paying for with your tuition; rec center, free library printing, and tutoring.)

9. Listen to your professors the first day. Often times, they will flat out tell you their teaching style, and what you can do to pass the class or even get an A. My history professor basically told me if I didn't write down everything he said, I would fail. Which is why I am currently blogging before his class starts, with Evernote up and ready.

10. Get in cars and go places. Or on busses, trains, trolleys, etc. Someone's going to the local mall? Go. 3 AM trip to IHOP? Go. Heard there's a good coffee shop on the square? GO. Literally. Just go. I have had so many random people in my car this last week, just by saying I'm going somewhere and they ask to tag along. These people have become some really good friends of mine, purely because we share the experience of a 9 AM venture to Walmart.

11. It's okay if you don't look like a supermodel every day of class. It's college. Most people consider yoga pants and a workout shirt the height of 8 AM class fashion. My roommate doesn't have classes on the days I have my 8 AM's, so I've been trying to be as low maintenance as possible those mornings, with minimal blow drying. Also, if it comes down to eating a good meal or being good looking for the day, go with the food. Trust me, your classmates will be thanking you when your not that kid with the stomach heard around the world.

12. Call your mom. Or your dad. Seriously. I didn't realize until probably Saturday, when I finally went home for Le Boyfriend's birthday, how much my mom and dad actually missed me. They will appreciate your call. I promise.

Funny little pic my mom sent me the day before moving.

13. Now is the time to be yourself. In high school, I was always one of those kids that adapted to their surroundings by changing my style, attitude and dialect based on who I was hanging out with. My Mad Men dresses went untouched, my attitude was very "unless it's DECA, I don't care," and I dumbed down my vocabulary because, frankly, I took on level classes because I REALLY didn't want to think about chemistry while running for national office. Now, I'm taking classes that are challenging, I actually care about what's going on at school, and I'm definitely channeling my inner Joan Holloway/Betty Draper.

14. Invest in recording software/a recorder. There are going to be days where you don't feel like paying attention in class. I've already had one, and I'm so grateful for Evernote's recording software. If you're having a super ADD day, turn on the software and zone out. Just make sure you go back and take notes when you're a little more focused.

15. Come prepared to work. I spent the majority of my senior year focused on DECA, so I took it SUPER easy on my classes, with very minimal out of class work. I came to college with the assumption that I was going to work hella harder, and I'm already realizing I was right. Pack 10 spirals, pre-purchase all your textbooks, do whatever you need to do to feel over-prepared, because the first day of class, you will STILL feel underprepared.

My first week of freshman year was crazy, fun, stressful, hurried, but overall college has been and continues to be one of the best experiences of my life so far. With some of my best friends entering college shortly behind me, I hope that some of this advice helps them, and others, in the beginning of their journey through college.

Love,
Holly

The Crafty Couple

In the few days it's been since I've last posted, Le Boyfriend and I have realized that when paired together and forced to craft, we actually make a pretty good team.

Before my birthday, I felt so overwhelmed by all of the material items overflowing in my house, all of which we had to organize before my party. I felt drowned in my families collective possessions, recently moved from our storage cubicle down the street and straight into our living room. So when Le Boyfriend asked what I wanted from him and his family, I asked if his Grams, the sewing extraordinaire, could take the 30-something t-shirts I had laying about and make them into a snazzy T-Shirt Quilt ala Pinterest (and this post here).

Adam outlining our cardboard template.

Adam was outlining our cardboard template (after some trial and error) and I was cutting the squares out. Grams is currently sewing together the shirts, and tomorrow we will venture to a fabric store (my Kryptonite!) to get the stuffing and fleece backing material.

In more recent events, we traveled to the Rangers game last night with our friend Paul and watched them play the Angels. I wasn't sure who to cheer for, because being a California girl at heart I have a love for the Angels and Dodgers, but I came to the conclusion that if I cheered Hamilton in any way, shape or form, I might get shanked.

Paul, Adam (I know, his hair!) and myself.

Of course, my favorite part about Rangers games (besides finally pulling out my $60 pink Rangers Jersey) is the food. More specifically, the Garlic Fries. Eight dollars worth of deep fried, cheesy goodness that made my breath smell like the inside of an Italian restaurant. I worked out twice today to burn off the calories, but oh god it was worth it.

This was after a good dent was decimated...

We also ran into Bobbie, one of my lovely ladies from Celtic Troupe at faire, as she got prepared to volunteer with Rangers Go Green, the recycling program at the stadium. It's very rare to see people from Faire outside of the grounds, so we had to document it with a picture.

(My jersey is pink and white, so the pink dress felt appropriate.)

Overall, it's been a good few days. Time for some shuteye, talk to you all soon!

Love,
Holly

Fifteen Minutes of Fame (and none for Holly Norris)

So on day two of my new fitness routine, I'm pretty much dying. My thighs, abs and back are killing me, but I feel...stronger. If that's possible, already. I noticed today that I could run a little longer, hold the wall squat on my new ab routine better, just a few small improvements that put a smile on my face.

Today was quite an important day for me, because the Travel Channel aired a episode of their new show, Fandemonium, hosted by Adam Richman from Man v. Food, titled "Midieval Madness." It was filmed at, you guessed it, Scarborough Renaissance Festival, my home away from home.

Shenanigans with fellow UNT girl and troupe member, Kristen.

I was - of course - out of town the weekend they filmed at faire, which was the weekend I left for ICDC in California (to read about that crazy week, click here). But in watching it, I could name at least one person in almost every frame/scene, and promptly did so, much to Le Boyfriend and his father's annoyance.



Celtic Troupe, my lovely, award winning group, is featured in the video above, and one of our two troupe directors, David, is featured in the episode, as well as the Pirate Crew I'm a part of and the reason I got involved in faire, the Seahawk Society. It was super surreal seeing all of my friends on TV, but it was such a great feeling knowing that this show would bring more tourism to the faire and hopefully more publicity to our troupe! (The faire website totally crashed after the episode aired, so you know it did it's job!)

One of the highlights of the season - the Scarborough Celtic Troupe Scavenger Hunt for children on Celtic Weekend. They had to find the 10 of us listed on the page and get our John Hancock - I mean Henry Tudor....

Welp, that's all for now, folks. Time to go get some shut eye before an early run to beat the heat tomorrow!

Love,
Holly

PS: Did you like my little Mean Girls reference in the title? I thought it was clever (:

A Fresh Start

When I lost weight freshman year, it wasn't because I was exercising or eating healthy, it was simply because I wasn't eating. I spent so much time running back and forth from Augora Hills to Burbank with a mother who could survive on Diet Coke and gum (and you wonder where my caffeine addiction comes from?) for days that I didn't even think about where my next stop for food was.

Four years later, and if I don't eat every 6 or so hours my stomach feels like it's going to eat itself. But despite my attempts to eat better the last few months or so, leading up to ICDC and after, I still managed to get a Kidney Infection following my recent trip to Galveston due to dehydration and poor nutrition.

So for me, it's time for a change. I mentioned in my "Summer Girl" post that I wanted to spend the time before school starts bettering myself, so here's my chance. I started Day 1 of my new adventure with a run (well...walk/run - I'm not that active!) from my house to our local water park, a good 40 minute workout, followed by a small ab-blaster routine I found on Pinterest.

I found so many pretty spots I've never seen before on the trails behind my neighborhood, including the bridge area to the left. And some of the houses I didn't even know existed!

Of course, the second part of a good weight loss plan is diet. Three balanced meals of cereal, a large salad, and chicken with veggies left me full and enough calories for some no sugar added Vanilla FroYo from Braums (100 calories a serving and my weakness!)

On the mention of food, for lunch we stopped at one of my new favorite places, Snappy Salads in Southlake. It's very similar to a Chipotle, but salads instead of burritos. You can do a half salad, which is still sizable and fills me up, and comes with your choice of lettuce 8 toppings like bacon, carrots, tomatoes, etc. The full salad is only a few dollars more, and comes with 16 toppings. I'm stuffed off a half salad, so I don't even want to know what I'll feel like after a full salad.

The first time I went I got steak with a lime chipotle dressing (pictured right) but today I filled up on less carbs and more white meat with a red pepper vinaigrette that is totally addicting. My favorite part? The $.69 warm, fresh baked bread. I split it today with my lunch companions, Le Best Friend and Le Boyfriend, but nomnomnom it's good.

So now I'm heading to sleep, ready to wake up tomorrow and tackle day two of this challenge. All I know is by the time I get to UNT, I want to be able to walk to my classes without dying. Time to finish this episode of Firefly and hit the hay!

Love,
Holly








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