Travel day!

Today I traveled from Augusta, GA to Charlotte, to Fayeteville, NC!!! I sat in row 1 during my first flight and the seats faced the back of the plane. It was kind of crazy! I felt like I was on a rollercoaster during the taking off and landing.

My first flight was running a bit late which allowed me to get into Charlotte 15 minutes prior to my connecting flights departure time. Luckily they were at the same section just a different number so I didn't miss my flight although they were waiting on me:( During my connecting flight I also had to walk from the plane to the airport and it was FREEZING. It was a chili 68 degrees in Charlotte and guess what? I was wearing my little yellow dress. Maybe now that summer is ending, I should start checking the weather forecasts of where I'm headed!!

I'm getting nervous about my visits in Pennsylvania because I'm worried it is going to be freezing. I don't do well in the cold and hope that I'm not miserable! hah

That's my day thus far!

Tonight is Methodists greek info night and recruitment begins tomorrow!!!

I love ADPi recruitment!!!!!!
hah, 5 days until I'm home!!

Is it bad that i don't want to leave?

So this was the best visit ever! I know I've said it a billion times, but I have fallen in love with them. Today was one of the best days ever for me. It was bid day, and all of the alphas looked so excited! They made quota which was 13... and it was a long week and their first formal recruitment.

My favorite part of the day was after the alpha ceremony. I have been asking for positives of the day, every day, all week long! Tonight we went around the cirlce and everyone gave a positive of the week or the day. It was an amazing moment because people shared how they've grown closer with each other, how they've enjoyed this last week, how they love the alphas, their diamonds, etc.... Idk. Laura, the RVP expressed her appreciation to the girls for working so hard, Maggie spoke about the importance of keeping it going and her appreciation, and i was just so sad to have to leave these girls. I tried to tell them how proud I was of them.. and was a giant mess of tears. Marcy was crying.. it just was awful!

The girls have been so sweet to me, telling me how much they appreciated me, and how much I've helped. They said I should miss my flight, that the Chapter would pay for me to stay and chip in for food. It was just really sweet the way they accepted me into their Chapter. I literally didn't feel like an outsider this week. I was one of them. I feel like I've been a part of the Chapter for years.. and I've been here for 10 days.

The bond of sisterhood in Alpha Delta Pi is something truly undeniable and remarkable. It's something a lot of people don't truly get and I feel so fortunate to be apart of this amazing organization. Our motto, "We live for each other" is something that truly does define my experience on the road.

PREF day!!

Today was pref day for Zeta zeta! I am so proud of them!! I feel like I'm part of the Chapter and I'm super excited to see who walks through our doors tomorrow afternoon! I am anxious and nervous .....AHHHHH!!!!!!!!! lol

Anyway, I really do feel at home here. Everyone keeps telling me that I should stay and that Monday will be a sad day. I completely agree. It's going to be hard for me to leave them. I started thinking about it tonight and I could feel myself getting more upset than I thought so of course I just made myself go run around and do a million things to preoccupy myself. There are girls in this Chapter that i have just fallen in love with. :(

ANYWAY!!!!

This week has been crazy and long hours just like recruitment at Epsilon Lambda! It has been such an experience helping these girls do it for the very first time! I have gained a lot from my experience here and am trying to look forward to my journey ahead.

I will always cherish the sisters at zeta zeta and the love they have shown me. I still have tomorrow so my time is not over yet!! I am excited about bid day and will let you all know how it turned out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHH!! It's 230 am btw, and Mrs. Matthews (member of Grand Council) is picking me up at 9. PeRfeCt!!!!!

Round 2!!!

Today was skit day!! They did a wizard of oz skit and it was precious!! There's no place like ADPI!!!!!! The girls did a great job!! They had two parties (full parties) and it was just awesome! I have grown to love these girls. This experience reminds me of exactly why I wanted to take this job!
These girls are awesome and are working so hard to be the best Chapter possible! They have been so sweet to me and I'm going to miss them. Ive been working with them for like a week and a half... Monday will be a sad day. Luckily I'm going back to Methodist so I will be greeted with happy familiar faces! After Methodist I'm going home and then to bucknell which will be a nice transition I think.

One week til I'm home!! Yay!

Heres my upcoming sched:

29Tomorrow: Pref Day parties start at 7pm
30Sunday: Bid Day starts at 3
31Monday: fly to Methodist, Info night
1Tuesday: Philanthropy Night
2Wednesday: Entertainment Night
3Thursday: Preference Night
4Friday: Bid Day
5Saturday: Bid Day cook out, HOME!!

Round 1 of recruitment!

I was super impressed by the girls of Zeta Zeta! Yesterday was their first day of formal recruitment EVER! I was soooo excited for them.. kind of silly! Anyway, it was a great day! They had a lot of alumnae support which was nice to see! I got home around 1130 or so. It was a long day but take a look at fb... the room looked precious!

Today is round 2! I'll keep you posted! We get the list at 4 of who will be returning!

What a fabulous day (w/ZZ)... REALLY!!!!

Today was SO fun! I don't know why, nothing special happened... I just love these girls! We set up the room tonight and it's coming together! The last people there were Maggie(the pres), Aleesha(my roomie!), Lexi (love her!), Kristin (my sista!), and Marci (Advisor!) and we just had so much fun. Maybe it was just me! lol Afterwards Lexi, Aleesha, Maggie and I went to waffle house! Yes, it was like 1030pm.. not the healthiest choice but DeLIcioUS!

Tomorrow is the big day!! Recruitment begins! Lexi is picking me up at 930 and we're going to be running around doing errands all day! I'm soo excited, I love her lol! Mrs. Maisch comes into town tomorrow afternoon. I'm also looking forward to that!

Something great happened to me today: I needed a suggestion of ideas so I texted the lovely ladies of the lhs and everyone responded back to me with an idea! how sweet, right!! They really did live for me, and its just amazing to know that there are women out there that I can truly always count on!

ALSO: big news!!

James and I are dating on facebook!! It's official now! lol

I am going to bed with a smile.. which is a nice change from how I've been feeling!!

Hm...Coming home was interesting...

I don't even know where to start....lets just say I wish I had more time?!

Lets see! First of all I was able to see JAMES!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! It was great--everything I was hoping and more!! We went to the clam which was the one thing I really wanted to do while I was in town! Jill, Amber, Nick, Jamie, Tally, Erin and Wes all came and it was really fun to see them!

I was able to eat lunch with Jenn and Tara on Sunday which was fabulous as always! I found out that I am going to be a BRIDESMAID!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHAHAHAHAH!! lol I'm super excited about that.

My mom--I wish I would have seen her more!

This visit was a very stressful one. I guess I didn't think about how crazy and stressful dividing my time up would be.. it's way harder than one may think. I literally had 2 full days and 2 travel days. I got in on Saturday at 5 which gave me time to eat, time to get settled and then going out (which was the one thing I planned for my weekend).

Sunday I had a great lunch followed by some family time at James' parents house! It was our traditional Sunday dinner and I had a great time!

Monday I went to the movies with bonni, erica, Sunny and Tate!! It was great seeing the kids---I have missed them soooo much! We saw bandslam and tate got really bored! It was priceless.

Basically that was my weekend. Sorry to those who I didn't get to see or get to spend as much time with you. As you can see--there isn't that many hours during my "time off". I think I spent more time worrying about hurting peoples feelings than I needed to.

I really ended this trip feeling as though I don't want to come back. I got hastled more than I needed to. All I want is a little understanding.

Anyway, I am back in Augusta and will be home in September. My flight is already booked so i'll be there. i'm not making any promises of who i will see...

If you see me, great---if you don't, please understand it's not personal. PRomISE.




From now on, I may just not tell anyone when I'm coming home. It will be way easier.

I leave in 12 hours!!

My trip at Augusta has flown by. I'm quite surprised... I was expecting it to be slow because of going home but it didn't! The girls are super sweet and it has just been nice and easy. I don't really have a ton to say. They are a great group--and everything is going well.

Now, I leave at 1247 from Augusta, stop in Atlanta and I am suppose to be home at 419pm. Hopefully everything goes according to plan. I haven't had any delays thus far--so hopefully my streak continues!

I am super excited to see everyone!!

Welcome to Augusta State!!!!!!

Today I traveled from Fayetteville, NC to Augusta, Georgia! Jessalyn took me to the airport this morning where both of my bags were over 50 lbs yet again! The lady let me go with both bags being over. (One at 52 and one at 54 lbs.!!!! GOD BLESS HER!)

I took two planes to get here; my connecting flight being in Charlotte. The plane from Charlotte to here was 9 rows. I literally was seated under the wing. Yes, under! Pics will be posted on facebook to show you what I mean!

I arrived in Augusta and was taken to the apartment where I'll be staying!! It feels like a palace... I have my own room. The place is beautiful and it's a 4 bedroom place that only 2 girls live in. (I will be roomie # 3!) It's funny the daily things that we take for granted. This apartment to most wouldn't be anything special... but the fact that I have my own room, my own desk, a nice and clean bathroom, feels like I'm a celebrity staying in a 5-star hotel! CRAZINESS!

Today I arrived SO tired. I don't know why.. but I almost feel like I'm being a bad LC. I apologized for being "anti-social" but I just felt like I didn't have a ton of energy to give. I finalized a few flights today with Kim, I talked to their CPD and DTD; I responded to emails, and unpacked.

I went for a run on this cute little trail behind their apartment. It was really nice, and definitely needed. I haven't done anything physical in quite some time, so it was nice that it's just right there.

Tonight is their Panhellenic Installation dinner!! They are the second sorority on this campus which officially starts their Panhellenic! Crazy, right? I'm excited that I'm able to attend!!

Anyway, that's it for now!!

Love you all, and guess what?!?!?!


3 more days!!

Methodist :)

So, I love it here, but at the same time....there is SO much drama! It's not crazy or weird drama...it's high schoolish drama! GRRRRR!!!

We're in college ladies! Get over the small stuff! Learn how to communicate like adults and let it all go!

Anyway, I really do love all of the girls. I love walking around campus and waiving hello to so many people! Everyone is so friendly. I not only say hello to the ADPi girls, but the boys on campus too. There is 70/30 guy to girl ration at Methodist. CRAZY. They have all been so nice and welcoming to me.

It's funny because Cliff, the Greek Advisor, is moving soon and his job will be available in about a year--which coincidentally is when I'll be done as an LC. The girls all want me to move here and take that position! It's cute! I am really glad that both Chapters I've gone to like me. (Hopefully that continues!)

I got my first charm today for the charm bracelet that I'm going to be making! I'm super excited about that! I had dinner tonight with 2 of the girls and an advisor. It was SO much fun! I really like that I can go up to a good number of girls here and totally jump into a conversation as if I've known them forever!!

ADPi really is a sisterhood that goes beyond my Chapter... that goes beyond my collegiate years! I have really enjoyed my first two visits more than I could have thought possible!

Yesterday, Jessalyn (the Chapter Pres) and I drove around campus blasting the music and driving through Fayetville just for fun! There isn't much to do here, but we have been making the best of it! I've been eating in the caf (cafeteria) a lot! James tried to teach me proper diet... I'm getting a lesson when I come home because it's so hard when you have NO CONTROL of what you're eating most of the time!

Anyway, I love Epsilon Omicron and Theta Epsilon Chapters!! They have made my first visits so enjoyable!!

4 more days until I get home!

CELEBRATION TIME!

Methodist... Theta Epsilon

I have enjoyed my stay at Methodist... the girls are super sweet and I've loved getting to know them! Last night the school had this event, Monarch Madness, with games, a dj and food. It was so much fun! They had this guy called "the mentalist" perform in the theater last night. It was so neat! I don't know how he did the tricks he did, but it was really crazy! Everyone in the audience loved it! The music was so good outside. It was probably the closest I will get to going out ever! ha

Anyway, I am getting super excited about going home soon! 6 days until I am with all of you! HA!!

Here is what my sched is lookin like:

Saturday: land at TIA
go home and see the madre!
dinner with James
Drunkin Clam: Everyone is invited!!


Sunday: Church
Lunch with cube fam


Monday: Dr. Appt at 11
hopefully hang with sunny, tate, bonni

Tuesday: Leave home and head back to Augusta

Anyway, I look forward to seeing you dear! You too mommy!

Love you,
Ash

Methodist Day 1

so yesterday was fun!! I left Murray State at around 10 to head to Paducah airport! I flew from Paducah to Memphis, Memphis to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Fayetville North Carolina! Yes, that is 3 flights!! I continued my flying record of talking to everyone that has sat beside me in the plane! So fun! Everyone has been so nice!! The flights were really easy and didn't last that long!! I arrived in Fayetvile at around 645 and headed back to Methodist!

Jessalyn (the pres) and Cecelia picked me up from the airport! We went and dropped off my luggage at the dorm that I am staying at and then we left and went to make tshirts with some of the other girls. The tshirts were made because they helped the freshman girls move in this morning! Such a good idea, right?! Anyway, I met with their Greek Advisor today and he was amazing. He had a lot of great ideas and really had the girls best interests. We talked about how I wanted to be a GA and he gave me a lot of good advice!! The girls are lucky to have such a supportive person on their campus.

I've been hanging out with the girls all day. It has been a lot of fun!! The girls are so funny and just remind me of friends from the olden days. They are so sarcastic and jam out to music just like I do! ha

Anyway, I just wanted to keep you all updated! I'm going to get running.

James, I love you!

Mommy--hope you are doing great!!

TT--soooo great talking with you tonight!!

Murray3

Today was such a great day! This was Murray's first day of recruitment! I was a little curious to see how it would go, but they did such a fabulous job! They looked cute and their room turned out really well.

The girls in this Chapter are amazing. They are so sweet and have been so welcoming to me! I love them.. They have just made me feel at home here making sure that I'm never sitting alone, or being bored or anything. Tonight Jessica thanked me for being there in front of the Chapter and everyone cheered and stuff and they gave me a present... so unexpected and thoughful of them! Girls came up to me after the meeting and hugged me and thanked me for being there!

Such a great way to end my visit in Murray!

Murray2

Today was fun... different but fun! It's interesting to see how the girls do recruitment and the whole attitude/mood of how it's perceived here. The girls have been super sweet and just nice girls. They have a very mixed group which definitely influences the dynamic of the Chapter but I have loved getting to know them. Hopefully I've been helpful. I went to breakfast with the Finance Team, lunch with the Standards team, and dinner with the Panhellenic girls. I had a really good meeting with the Pan girls. It seemed as though we made a connection and that I influenced them and gave them some useful ideas. It's so hard to tell if you really help them or not. I mean, I know the appreciate any help..but my goal is to really impact someone in a big way... who knows!!

lol.

Fun fact about Murray--I have yet to go to a meal with the girls, where some older person (a stranger) from their community has come up to them and talk to them about one thing or another! Isn't that sooo intersting?

Tomorrow is the big day. Day 1 of recruitment for the murray girls. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it goes! They have worked hard, so I am really hoping it pays off!

I'll let you know how it goes! I am going to hit the sack!

LOVE YOU,
Ash

Day 1...Murray State (EO)

So this was my first official day on the job as an actual consultant!!!!!

Let's start with this morning. I woke up at 7am to get finished packing. We had decided to take 2 cars to take Brittany, Tara, Laura and Stef to the airport. My flight left later so I wasn't getting dropped off yet, and Jackie and Lauren were getting picked up later. So we split up in to two cars and did our first round of goodbyes. Let's just say I kind of freaked out!! Tears were pouring... it was AWFUL. Jackie and I went in the van to take Tara and Brittany to the airport. (Annie took Laura and Stef.) That was sucky too. Then Jackie and I drove back to Executive Office to meet Annie to go back to the aiport to drop me off:( On the way we called ReGe for a motivational pep talk.. which was definitely needed! We also called Julia to wish her a happy graduation! YAY

Anyway---then I went to the airport. I lugged my bags in (2 huge suitcases, laptop bag, and puma carryon) and went to the bag drop. I threw my bag on the scale.. 52 lbs. So I proceed to take stuff out. I get it down to 50. Bag #2, 52 lbs. I proceeded to take 2 lbs out and put it in my laptop bag which was already overflowing. Mind you, the puma bag wouldn't zipper shut and probably weighed 30lbs. O ya, and I had a sephora shopping bag that probably weighed 15 lbs. Needless to say, after walking from the baggage drop off to the security entrance, I was already exhausted! I got through security and walked to my gate and was literally dead tired. I actually didn't even make it all the way to my gate before I sat down because my bags were so heavy. Pathetic, right?

Basically, today I realized that I need to get rid of some of my stuff because I won't make it through the month at this rate! I had to buy a suitcase today (from Irene, super sweet lady!) in Memphis during my connecting flight because I couldn't hold it any longer.

O, I forgot: let me tell you about the 2 planes I road in today!

They were tiny little planes that I had to walk outside and climb up tiny stairs to get into the plane. I went from Atlanta to Memphis, Memphis to Paducah. The Paducah airport is one tiny building with 1 baggage claim. Look on facebook for pics. I took a ton!

I left my new bag of makeup and my wallet at this aiport. Luckily I was 1 of maybe 10 people that went through the aiport today. Lol. There were like 3 people that worked in the airport. They were super nice though! Great customer service for sure!


Anyway, I made it to Murray just in time to eat dinner with the recruitment team! They are all super sweet. We went to their suite after dinner to meet the rest of the Chapter and they sang and practiced pref etc. I'm still hanging out in the suite--it's 2 am eastern time.. which is 1 am central--the time zone i'm currently in. I went to bed last night at 2 and woke up at 7 so I'm not running on much gas. I am a bit tired..but I'm pushin through! I have a 9am breakfast meeting with the finance team! Gotta love my new life!!

Good bye Atlanta..

So I was just looking for a good quote since we are all leaving tomorrow, and look at the one I found.

"Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven."

How perfect, right? lol


I don't even have enough energy to write everything that's going through my mind right now. I'm not nervous or anything... just sad about leaving the girls. I know we're all going to be fine. Everything always works out and stuff.. it's just I've become so accustomed to being with these girls for the past 3 weeks. I have loved every second of it... and it's coming to an end.

I am almost done packing. I still have to get my stuff out of the training room (which is locked right now). I also need to weigh my suitcase.. because if I'm over 50 lbs in either suitcase, I'm screwed! lol

Anyway, we talked to ReGe tonight which was really fun. She gave some good advice and it was just nice to sit together and just think about the next few weeks.

.. it's 2:04 and I need to get up sooo soon lol. I will update soon!

LOVE YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!

What a night!!!!!

OMG, funniest night.

First of all, we went shopping ALL day at the lenox mall in the ATL. I spent WAY to much money.. but got a lot of great stuff!! I went to the limited, the loft, and sephora and spent a few hundred in each... OUCh, right! I got a suit and a skirt at the limited (saved $100), 2 shirts and a skirt at the loft, and tons of makeup at sephora. Needless to say, I WILL be lookin good!! ;)

I also got my hair cut for $25 by a junior stylist and this cute salon. She was awesome and did such a great job! We finished the night by eating at the California Pizza Kitchen. It was delicious!

We got home around ten and saw an extra car in the parking lot and a cop coming out of the church next store... All the lights in the house were on.. it was just all such a big coincidence and we freaked ourselves out. Needless to say.. we called EVERYONE we could think of.. including but not limited to the following.. annie (our boss), tiffany (EO staff), jocelyn (EO staff), re ge (RD), amanda g (old LC), stacey mauney (EO staff), ms. charnock (grand council), mrs. matthews (grand council), mrs. gwaltney (ADPi National President).... it was rediculous but at the same time, we were legitimately scared for our lives. There are only 6 of us here tonight, which is such a weird feeling. Generallly the house is full of staff and we people staying with us. Tonight it's just us.. and Julia is back at Auburn getting ready for graduation and Laura is back at home for another wedding!

Tiffany and her dad ended up coming to our rescue inspecting the outside of the house, turning on the alarm, and locking us in safely! It was very nice and made us all feel better about the situation. Years from now we'll still be laughing about this night... but truthfully, at first it was no joke.

I think that's all for today...

Tomorrow is our final day here for a while.. I already cried when Julia left today.. so I'm sure tomorrow and Monday will be no picnic.

Love you all,
Ash

Last day of training

Today is our last day of training. We train until noon and then we have off the rest of the day and tomorrow off. It's a weird feeling. It's almost feels like the last day of camp... except the only difference is I'm not coming home.



I have loved every second of my experience here. I'm super excited about Monday but I'm also very sad about leaving the girls. The girls I have spoken with who I will be visiting soon, are super sweet!

Feeling much better!

Yesterday was quite the day! I woke up feeling a little under the weather; a headache that hurt my eyes and neck. The girls were so sweet... taking care of me, getting me medicine, wrapping the blanket around me, etc. It was nice to know they cared enough about me to take care of me, when basically I was just not with it all day. They even said they missed me while I was gone, and that it wasn't the same without me. How sweet!

GC and Tiffany made me go to the doctor.. and by doctor I mean the CVS 1-minute clinic. I got some ibuprofen and that was that. I have been sleeping a lot better so hopefully I will feel 100% soon. I still feel a little tired today, but much better than before!

Everyone keeps saying they don't want me to be sick on the road.

Training with Grand Council has been a breath of fresh air. After fearing everything while meeting with the DTD's, I think our confidence in ourselves has been boosted by Grand Council. Mrs. Matthews, Mrs. Gwaltney and Ms. Charnock are all really nice and definitely approachable! It's been fun getting to know them and working with them this week.

I have been getting upset about us all leaving on Monday. It's weird.. my eyes tear up almost immediately at the mere mention of us leaving. I don't like thinking about it.. but at the same time, I know this training is coming to an end.

One week and counting...

Today it hit me that we have one week left before going our seperate ways...

When it was mentioned today.. I started tearing up. I'm talking instant tears. Everyone probably thought I was a little rediculous but in the short time we've been here, we've all established this unexplainable bond. All 8 of us are part of the group.. all as equals which apparently isn't the way it usually happens. We do everything together! We are supportive and encouraging, silly and playful. We stick up for each other and are just amazing!! ha

Anyway, it was such a fun day!! We had training on what to talk about during a greek advisor visit, ethics with Mrs. Ablard and philanthropy with Mrs. Todd.

We also did a photoshoot for ADPi gift mart!!! I don't know what the pictures will be used for ... but either way it was a legit photoshoot.

I love you mommy!

p.s. I bought 2 sweatshirts and a luggage tag today!!

Glad that's over!

So, the past two days our lovely District Team Directors gave us some very intersting training. They were a little overwhelming, and some very interesting personalities!! Mrs. Kunkel may be my favorite because she's hilarious! She's definitely a realist.. and we have some really fun memories from her!

Some of the others ... not so much fun! But I still love my traveling sisters! We actually got to go out for dinner last night!! We went to this Mexican restaurant down on highland and it was fantastic! It was a great way to end a crazy two days. We laughed a lot.. I feel like I mention how much we laugh but it's only because during the day.. we are training the whole time and have to be in "serious mode" so whenever we have free time, we laugh and joke around.. which is just nice!

We went out to a local bar.. and guess what? It turned out to be a gay bar.. it was quite funny because we clearly didn't realize so we walked in (all 8 of us still wearing our pin attire) and we got some interesting looks. This man looked at Lauren and was like, "I love your dress!" lol.. needless to say, we didn't stay very long.

We came home and laughed some more and then all went to bed!

What a great end to a not so fabulous day!