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.

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

Summer Girl

I never in a million years thought the summer before college would come this quickly. I guess it's because I've literally spent the last year counting down the days until ICDC, instead of graduation, that I didn't realize how soon everything would come. But here we are.

Prom has come and gone. It was a crazy, fun filled night. A little bit overhyped (I spent WAY too much on my dress...which, by the way, is for sale here), but I had a ton of fun at Project Celebration, the after prom, no drugs/alcohol school-sanctioned event. But hey, I won a laundry basket full of basics for college, and spent the night with some of my best friends and people I hadn't really seen all year. Over all, it was a night well spent.

Pictured with Le Boyfriend, Le Best friend, and Le Best friend's Date

Flashing the DECA Diamond with my DECA Little Sister, Jamie!

It didn't really hit me that I was graduating until I was literally walking on stage and being bombarded with hugs from my Vice Principles, Principle and even superintendent (yes, Dr. Brown hugged me - I am as shocked as you, Birdville ISD readers). As I got my diploma from my counselor, I started tearing up and barely made it back to my seat, surrounded by the same people I'd known since 5th grade - some even longer.

Taking a moment to have a small flashback...here's a pic of me at my Kindergarten Graduation.

Me on graduation day. More excited about the DECA Diamond on my tassel than anything else.

But now that everything is over, I'm starting to make my plans for the summer, and even for the fall. At this moment, I'm focusing more on what I can accomplish before I move into Maple Hall as part of the Emerald Eagle Scholar's Program at UNT this August.

Summer To Do:

• Camp NaNoWriMo - I've been a participant in National Novel Writing Month and CampNaNoWriMo for a few years now. I've never been able to finish a complete novel in the time allotted, mostly because I have the attention span of a small puppy, but also because my life has been so crazy as of late. This July, I plan on (attempting) to finish one of the many novels I have started on my harddrive.

•    Do Some DIYin'  - The level of crafty stuff my house has in it is probably five times the average most super crafty moms have. My mother has always been really into art and things like that, but due to things like my senior scrapbook, and our recent cash crunch experienced in my household, I've been forced to DIY a lot of things. I have realized, most shockingly to me, that I actually LIKE crafting. So here's to a summer of glitter, glue and my little Dirt Devil to pick up the aftermath.

•    Become a Literary Ingenue Again - I used to spend all day reading in middle school, but since I started high schoolI haven't really had time to actually sit down and finish anything really. This summer, I want to finish a lot of books. That will most likely happen, because Le Boyfriend will spend the majority of summer smashing his keyboard and killing dragons (IE: WOW).

•    Spend Time with my Friends - Because of all the crazyness this year, I have spent very little time with both my best friends, and those I am not that close to but would still like to spend time with. My goal this summer is to make more time for my friends in this mess I call my life, in between my summer class and orientation and getting ready for UNT.

•    Explore my Home - One of the things I am finding is that the more and more I explore Texas the more I realize I haven't seen. I still want to find my way around Austin, San Antonio, even Dallas or Fort Worth, which seem so far away but are so close. I want to go to more museums, take more walks downtown, eat at more dives and find more places that no one has heard of.

•    Better Myself - If there is anything I've forgotten this year, it's that sometimes I need to take a moment to relax and take care of myself. Because of previous medical issues, when I get stressed my body literally goes into meltdown mode and tries to make me sleep the majority of the day. If I don't sleep, I get physically sick. So this summer, I want to take the time to relax. Have self spa days, give myself a manicure, maybe a scalp massage or two. Sometimes, I just have to remember that I need a little pampering too.

Check out my summer to do list on Pinterest:

This summer is going to be (hopefully) one to remember; one more step on the unevenly paved road to my future.

Let's see where this ride takes us.

The Rest is Still Unwritten

I never really understood what Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten" meant until this week. After a year of dedicating myself 24/7 to a single entity known as DECA, I realized this week that I'm staring at the back end of only a few chapters of my life, with so many more blank pages to go.

Last October, I attended the Texas DECA State Board meeting to gain approval to run for National DECA President. Over the summer, after watching our former State President, Jordan, serve members in his title of Southern Region Vice President, I decided I wanted to give back to an organization that has given me so many opportunities over the last 3 years. And, by the grace of God, I was approved.

National DECA is presided over by five national officers - President, and four regional Vice Presidents - as well as DECA Inc., the adult staff in Reston, Virginia. Originally, I considered running for SRVP, like Jordan. But then I realized something - I had the strengths it took to be National President. As a Chapter and State Officer, I was already advocating to law makers, speaking publicly about what amazing work DECA does, and working with Association Officers from all around the world, so why shouldn't I apply those skills to help the National level of an organization that has given me so much?

Fast forward a few months, and my platform, "Create Connections" was coined. I had my basic outline, my plans, and I knew what I wanted to giveaway. As a delegate at ICDC 2012, I knew how much useless stuff I got that gave me absolutely no information about the candidates other than that they could smile for a camera. Around Christmas break, I really began to examine my motives as to why I wanted to run for National Office. What could I do for the organization? Why should delegates vote for me, as opposed to the other (6, I discovered) candidates? All of the answers to these questions raced through my head as myself and my team prepared for State in February. 

Myself and my team (VP Scott, President Kate, Sgt. Caleb) with CEO of Tri Leadership Resources and one of my heroes, Ryan Underwood.

One of my favorite pictures from state - with our former State President and Southern Region Vice President (National Officer) Jordan (Jay) Robinson, who also happens to be one of my best friends.

State was the kick off point. My time as a State Officer was coming to an end, and I bawled with my team backstage as we said our final farewells to an association that has pretty much been our lives for the last year. Before then, it didn't feel real. Telling people "Oh, yeah, I'm running for National Office" didn't seem signifigant until there were meer weeks left. Then, I went into panic mode. It didn't really hit me until the week after SCDC, when I was taking my officer exam and sending off my application, that this was it. This is what I'd been preparing for since last summer.

I flew out to Orange County a few days before my team with my mom, and we stayed in Huntington Beach, right on the water.

I firmly believe in always traveling looking presentable. The better you look, the better you get treated.

The Saturday I left was also my 6 month-aversary with The Boy, Adam.

We were able to do all the things that everyone else wanted to do on the trip, before my teammates and chapter members got out to LA.

Chillin with my homegirl Merida at Disneyland

I got the weirdest looks for wearing these around the park. I mean the glasses. Not the pants.

After spending the morning at Disney, we spend the afternoon at the beach!

But when my team got in town, the real work started. Wednesday, I went in for my candidate interview with the nominating committee. I could not schedule caucus (meetings with the voting delegates from each state) appointments until I was announced as an "official candidate" that afternoon, following my interview. As soon as 3 PM hit and I was official, we were scheduling caucuses and driving from hotel to hotel to meet with each delegation.

Three days, ten hours of combined sleep and 48 (yes, 48, a record I tied for with another candidate, Ryan Mayfield) caucuses later, I finally sat down with the rest of my running mates for the voting session Saturday morning.

If there is one thing I can say about DECA members, it's that no matter whether we're competing against each other, trying to win something, or just hanging out, we are all incredibly supportive of each other. So when we exited the voting session so the delegates could cast their votes, it was one more reassurance that I was in the right organization when every candidate, for every office, all huddled up and repeatedly screamed "DECA LOVE" at the top of our lungs. I kid you not.

If those delegates had seen the amount of love the 20 of us had for each other, they would have cried.

The one piece of advice Morgan Thompson, the 2012-2013 National DECA President, offered us at orientation was that once the voting session was over, we needed to begin mentally preparing ourselves to loose. However morbid this may sound, I think in the end it better prepared me for the final outcome of the election. I started thinking of what I would do if I loose - what my plans would be for the summer, for next year. Florida with The Boy. Getting a part time job. Finishing my novel. UNT in the fall with SRVP Jordan. Didn't sound to bad for me. So when I sat down at the Grande Awards Session Saturday night, I was prepared for whatever the outcome - whether they called my name or not, I knew what I was going to do.

When the end of the awards session came, and the current National Officers began to give their farewell speeches, I literally thought my heart was going to rip out of my chest. With my mom sitting on one side, and Caleb, my campaign manager, sitting on the other, I felt surrounded by people I cared about, but I was still totally nervous.

Let's just take a moment to appreciate this friendship. Sgt. Caleb and Reporter Holly, best duo DECA has ever seen!

One by one, the positions were announced. Western Region, Trevor Dickerson. Southern Region, Lexy Parsons. Central Region, Connor Brashear. North Atlantic Region, Jack Fenton (whom, I might add, makes this the first International Officer Team, as he is from Ontario). Finally, it was president. My heart pounding, hands shaking, I stood up, ready for anything. "And the leader you have chosen as your next National DECA President is....

Carter Christensen." 

I literally felt my heart drop. I looked at my team, and they were all shocked. I looked back at my chapter, and they were near tears. So I did the only thing I could. I clapped. I clapped, and screamed, grabbed my backpack and walked towards the throng of people in the front and hugged the new National Officers, my friends, as they filed off stage, on their way to take pictures. Looking back, I feel really bad for the voting delegates, because there were 7 incredibly qualified candidates running for National President this year, and to choose just one to lead the organization must have been a heart wrenching decision. 

I'd made the final four in a run off. I'd set records, made so many friends, and decided I was going to move in with Wisconsin DECA (who was, I have to say, one of my favorite caucuses). Sure, going back to the hotel, I cried. A lot. I'd spent the last year or so preparing for this one moment, and I'd lost. But I'd lost to someone worthy. I'd lost to someone I know, I have no doubts, will lead the organization into a more connected, more public future. 

The 2013-2014 National Officer Team

At the state meeting, I was asked to give a speech in front of the Texas Delegation in attendance. And through my sobs, I managed to tell them my DECA journey was far from being over. No one is getting rid of me that easily. In the fall, I fully intend on helping Texas DECA expand their collegiate membership, as well as continuing their efforts to build a strong Alumni sector. At UNT, if he's not to burned out on DECA, I'll work with Jordan and a few chapter members to start a new collegiate chapter.

I may have lost this round, but I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, even if we don't understand it. To me, this loss means that there are bigger and better things waiting around the corner for me. So it's time to take the next step, start a new chapter, and see what else this book that I call life has in store for me.