Otavalo, Ecuador

Okay, I don't even know where to start with this post but it's going to be a long one so I hope that you all are patient (or bored) enough to read through it all; I promise, I'll make it worth it.

I don't even remember what I posted last time, so let me just start here.

I successfully completed my first FULL week (by full week, I mean two days worth..) of classes at USFQ!  What an experience.  All of my classes are in Spanish, but I think I will be able to do well in every single one of them.  I really enjoy all of my teachers at the university. Lídice is the coolest--she's from Cuba and I LOVE listening to her speak Spanish, it's just perfect.  The other two professors that I have (I have Lídice for two courses) are great too, but not as relaxed.  

AFTER CLASSES ENDED THIS WEEK:

I had my last day of courses on Thursday.  Thursday was pretty rough, to be honest.  I was exhausted (speaking Spanish all day, every day isn't exactly easy) and tired and just wanted to crawl into bed while my mom held me.  Nothing seemed to be going my way except for what I had for lunch and well...actually, yeah, that's all.  The Ecovía was PACKED when I left classes. I actually had to launch myself forward and through a crowd of people in order to get out of the doors.  The only decent part of Oklahoma is that public transportation is NOT a must.  Nonetheless, Thursday was my last day with my favorite American prof that I've met, Ariel.  I am so sad that she's left already, but she definitely helped me with my first week here--she's a Spanish professor who was doing homestay for a month during her winter-mester in Ecuador.  Lunch wasn't actually the only thing that went well on Thursday, Mama Gladys made a lemon cake and gave me some at dinner (MY FAVE!!!).

This blog post is already inappropriately long.  Bear with me.

FRIDAY FINALLY CAME THOUGH!  Wow, Friday.  

I woke up late, go figure after having close to 6 hours worth of classes on Thursday.  But I was able to pack my things up, get into a taxi with Laura, pick up Rose, and head to the bus station where we would begin our Otavalo adventure.  Nervous is an understatement; the station was packed but bus tickets run around only $2.  Once we were on our way, everything seemed to be going okay.  Then we actually arrived in Otavalo...the bus stop was a hectic mess, only for us to get into a taxi that didn't know where we were actually going.  ALAS!  We made it to our destination.  Cabañas del Balcón del Lago.  This is the name of the hostel we stayed at, where there were little cabins built by the family who runs the hostel, in the middle of the Cachimuel indigenous community, on top of a mountain.  Yeah, quite the trek.  Nonetheless, we ended up LOVING our cabin but did not expect it to be so cold on the first night.  We bundled up in pullovers and leggings because it was pouring rain outside, so they couldn't light the chiminea.  Jessica, the wonderful lady who runs the hostel, made us dinner before we turned in for the night.

Then Saturday.  Wow, Saturday.  

We rolled out of bed, got bundled up, and headed to the main cabin for breakfast.  Jessica once again, had a breakfast prepared for us before we left for the market in Otavalo.  A friend of hers came and got us to take us to the market, where we started our day around 9 AM.  Surprisingly, it wasn't even busy.  I got a number of new things to take home with me, mostly consisting of things that have alpaca fur but also gifts for the fam.  Following the market, we struggled around downtown Otavalo to find somewhere to eat.  Most restaurants here don't open until WAY late--as in 12:30 but it was probably 11:15 and we were starving.  We finally got into a cab and asked the driver to take us anywhere that he would recommend for lunch; we ended up at Inty Huasi--the food was delicious and the people were super friendly, plus a giant Pilsener for less than $2.  Talk about a bargain.  Following lunch, we wandered around to try to find the Shenandoah Pie Shop (literally in English).  TALK ABOUT AMAZING!  I recommend the mora pie.  With chocolate ice cream.  After trying to put ourselves into a food coma, we returned to the cabins to take a nice little break and unload all of our things from the market.  We took a very long break, so we ended up having to walk to the bottom of the mountain to catch a taxi--which is fine, but cobblestone is hard.  I'll just throw that out there.  We finally were able to catch a taxi from the middle of the highway to head to la Cascada de Peguche--an infamous waterfall in Otavalo.  It was beautiful!  There was a thermal spring and a rope bridge too, which rocked.  Afterwards, a taxi picked us up and took us back.  Let me tell you, sometimes the language here can be a little scary.  We were still in a smaller indigenous community close to the falls when the car in front of us stopped in the middle of the road; the car on the opposite side of the road (by road, I mean very VERY uneven cobblestone) stopped as well, only for a passenger from the car in front of us to hand the other car's driver A BEER.  While she was driving; when we asked our driver what was going on, he said "son las dueñas de la cartel".  You know how scary that is for an American!?  We figured out, after asking, that basically there are just a lot of troublemakers in those small communities because of the lack of police.  Nonetheless, he told them he was calling the cops and we got out FAST.  We returned to the cabin, I took a nap, and then we went and ate more dinner.  After dinner (prepared by Jessica's 13 year old son, Sebastian) Jessica had returned from her long day with her husband and they sat down to chat for a while.  It hadn't rained much at all that afternoon or night, so they decided to light the chiminea for us.  The five of us packed into our cabin while Jessica's husband prepared the fire.  After he had the fire going, he began telling us stories and history of the indigenous community, Otavalo, and even about how pure the water is at the top of the mountain, in the waterfalls.  He also told us a story about a hidden paradise and about a man by the name of Pedro Villamar, who we would later figure out lived VERY close to them.  It felt so homey that I actually teared up for a bit; it's pretty cool to be introduce to a new culture like that.  After they left, we packed up our things to prepare for this morning and went to bed, happy to actually be warm.

SUNDAY!  Lolz, talk about crazy.

We were woken up by a banging on the door.  By banging, I mean we thought that either we had slept in way too late or that our cabin had caught fire from the chiminea.  I actually thought I was dreaming, but when I heard Rose open up the door, I knew something wasn't right.  There was a very small woman at our door without shoes on, trying to talk to Rose.  We figured out that we had seen her herding sheep and cows the day before, so Laura and I stayed in bed while Rose attempted to talk to her.  Well, her voice only got louder as Rose tried to explain "NO ENTIENDO" multiple times.  The poor woman was Cachimuel and was speaking in Quichua, their native language.  Although a little rattled, we went back to sleep and were fine.  Just a weird accident.  Jessica prepared breakfast for us and we got another early start; her and her husband's son took us all the way to el Parque del Cóndor where we watched a show of all the rescued birds, including a bald eagle and enjoyed some ice cream.  Following that, we went to El Lechero, a tree that seems similar to the lonely tree you see in the Lion King, took our pictures, and left.  We thought we were headed back up to the cabins, only for Jessica to take us to the studio of Pedro Villamar.  After looking through a number of his BEAUTIFUL paintings, we figured out that the botanical garden that Jessica's husband had described the night before was RIGHT in his backyard.  Here, I actually got to try fresh maracuya and fresh taxo.  I provided links to pictures because we don't have these wonderful things in America.  I enjoyed Señor Villamar's humor and insane amount of hospitality as he showed us around his humble abode.  Sad to leave, we headed back up, packed our bags, and hitched a ride back to the bus station.

So needless to say, the weekend was eventful and I almost cried leaving Jessica and her family today. It was a beautiful experience and I have taken so much away from it.  Even my host mom told me today at dinner that she was happy to see me with so much confidence in my language skills and improving so quickly with my Spanish!  What a wonderful surprise.  When people tell you that you learn ~soooo much~ in a new country, they aren't always exaggerating.  But roughing it and living in a literal cabin in the middle of nowhere with a local family for a few days?  That's the priceless kind of thing you get from being abroad.

Nonetheless, my friends and I will probably take it easy this weekend and do something here in Quito.  Obviously, I'll keep y'all updated but hang tight for the next adventure.

Peace and blessings and enjoy the pictures!  I promise there will be more up on Facebook, very soon.

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

-Saint Augustine

Wednesday.

Today is Wednesday and although it has been productive, it has been pretty boring.  However, traveling on a Wednesday is pretty much impossible because of classes--even though I have class on Tuesday and Thursday, Wednesday I have decided to set aside as a day for homework.  I have a lot of reading to do along with other assignments.

Ah, I didn't even mention that I started classes yesterday!  My teachers are really great and the school is the most relaxed place that I have ever been.  The buildings feel a little like high school because I am back go being in normal classrooms, not lecture halls that are meant to fit nearly 300 students every class period.  Someone told me there are around 7,000 students total at my university.  That's practically one undergrad class at OU, but it's cool.  All of my classes are taught in Spanish, so at the end of the day and being in class for over five hours, my brain is practically mush.  I took public transportation yesterday with a new friend I made that lives down the street from me; she's an exchange student from Virginia Tech!  Taking public transportation with a friend is a lot less scary than taking it alone.  In the mornings, the buses are overpopulated and the traffic is low key SCARY.  The afternoons aren't so bad to take the bus and I took the bus home with another new friend I made from class.  I feel like a freshman again.

Speaking of feeling like a freshman, I luckily made a friend named Rose from Michigan State who I have my first 3 of 4 classes with on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  She rocks, along with Laura from Virginia Tech.  They're going adventuring with me this weekend and I'm so pumped.

On another note, working against the typical chronological order of my posts, I went to a birthday party for my host sister in Cumbayá on Saturday.  Ecuadoreans sure do know how to party.  It was 80's themed and so cute, with over 80 people packed into a small downstairs area of a condo where EVERYONE was dancing.  Although it was supposed to begin at 8, people began arriving around 9:30 and it went on until 4 in the morning!  I took a cab home around 12:30 because I was completely wiped out, but my host mom didn't return home until around 4.  It was a blast, but I definitely couldn't keep up with the dancing and drinking and carrying on--for the first time in my life, I felt old.  

The day before, I went to Centro Histórico with Grace and it was a blast.  We explored, ate new foods, wandered around the Plaza, and hiked to the top of the spire in la Basílica del Voto Nacional.  Afterwards, we went and ate some sort of pancake-like food that had eggs in it with a mora (blackberry) sort of topping.  Talk about delicious.  Afterwards, we tried finding a cab to bring us back and ended up getting poured on.  Followed by hail.  So as you can tell, I am nothing short of Oklahoma weather here.

It's warm during the days, unless it's clouded over or raining.  At night, it gets chilly and a jacket is necessary.  I've been to the mall Quicentro at least five times just to get miscellaneous things, including an ice cream cone from Crepes & Waffles...on multiple occasions.  The weirdest things here are expensive, others cheap.  Clothes are not among the cheap and Burts Bees hand lotion runs around $22 a bottle.  I guess paying the $100 overweight fee for my toiletries wasn't such a bad idea.

Among the many things that have happened in my first 8 days in Quito?

I've been hailed on. Twice.

I've eaten pizza...and liked it. (For anyone who knows me, THIS IS BIG)

I attended an Ecuadorean birthday party and learned that even the men here absolutely love to dance.

I've gotten lost on the Ecovía, which is the public transit bus.  Just when I thought public transit couldn't get more confusing than the MetroBus in D.C...life got me again.

I've been to MEGAMAXI!  These are comparable to a Super Target or Sam's Club.

I've been called a gringita on multiple occasions, most of the time by someone on the street that I don't even know.

Finally, I have suffered the side effects from altitude sickness.  From migraines, to exhaustion, and the feeling of not being able to catch my breath...even when I'm just sitting down and minding my own business.

Despite my many new challenges, learning the Spanish hasn't been hard but getting used to "Ecuadorean time" is definitely a change.  By that, I mean if you make plans to go somewhere at 1, I hope you're okay with going around 3.  It's just how things are here.  

That's about all I have time for because of the amount of homework I have, but hopefully there will be another post up this weekend about my trip to Otavalo!  I'll leave y'all with some pictures to entertain you.

Suerte.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

-Albert Einstein

  

Bienvenidos a Ecuador!

BIENVENIDOS A ECUADOR!

Where the bus/metro system is crazier than Washington, D.C. and you can't put toilet paper down 99.9% of the toilets.  Don't carry your iPhone in plain sight and you should expect to eat lots of fresh fruit, drink plenty of fruit juices, and consume a diet that consists solely of soup and rice with the occasional meat (usually pork, which I love anyway).

Yes people, I am learning to try new things and eat better so be proud.

My host family is so cool.  My host mom is older and has two daughters in their late twenties; one of them has kids and the other has been helping me a ton with my Spanish so I couldn't be happier where I am.  My most mom only speaks Spanish, with a LITTTTTLE bit of English so I am being fully immersed--nonetheless, it's been great but kind of tough.  I'm slowly realizing that trying to speak Spanish has been comparable to test-taking.  You know, where you study all week and know every inch of the test  but then you get to the test and open up the test booklet and all you can think is "HOLY SHIT"...yeah, that's me.  I live in the middle of Quito where there is lots of city traffic and the sun shines in my room at six AM, but the mall (Quicentro) and MegaMaxi (like Sam's or Costco) are both super close.  The sun shining in my window hasn't been bad because it will force me to get up on a schedule.  When I look out my window in the mornings, I see a super busy street with lots of street vendors & people wandering around & mountains.  I have never lived anywhere where you can see mountains, so it's pretty cool.

Side note: someone from back home told me yesterday that I am "as subtle as a shotgun", so there's that.  I suppose subtlety has never been my strong suit, but I try.

Anyways, we had orientation today and I LOVE USFQ already.  Oh my gosh, Cumbaya, the town that USFQ is in, is beautiful.  Everyone dresses pretty decent to class so that will be an adjustment, but that's fine too.  Learning to ride the buses was the hardest thing I've done so far and many people only carry change.  By change, I mean quarters or less--cash is inconvenient and a rarity here.  This morning, I had my first ever papaya and first fresh mango.  It was wonderful.

Other than that, I have been adjusting to the altitude, which isn't as easy as you think.  You're constantly out of breath and I've been getting headaches like crazy, but luckily I have not been nauseous.  My host mom cooks every day--breakfast, lunch, and dinner and it rocks.  Last night, we stopped by a street vendor and bought Colombian arepas.  Seriously y'all, that's the best thing that I have ever tried.  It's comparable to a corn tortilla, except it's thick like Texas toast.  It's smothered in butter and the corn tortilla part is also mixed with a little bit of cheese.  Talk about heaven in a snack! Ay dios mio.  Anyway, I haven't done much sightseeing but I think I am off to start an adventure tomorrow.  I only have classes scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday so that will leave a lot of room for exploring and whatnot.  

To those of you who have reached out to me since I've been here, thanks a ton!  It's appreciated.  Being in a foreign country where there is even just a very small language barrier is super tough, but I'm loving it so far.  

I know most of you don't check Facebook, so I'll attach a few pictures from my trip onto here for now!  I should have some more interesting stuff to add as the trip continues; I think we are going to explore Old Town Quito tomorrow!  

Good night & good luck to all.

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."

-Confucius

End of Semester 5

Okay people, I know.  Those of you that actually read these so that you can keep up with me are a little bitter that I haven't posted in a long while, but it has been a BUSY semester.  I just wanted to share a number of moments this semester (in no particular order) that have been sufficiently awesome or made an impact.

1. After tirelessly planning our annual philanthropy event, Anchorsplash, with Delta Gamma, Veronica and I finished the event and managed to raise a sum of around $25,000 for Service for Sight.  It was easily one of the most stressful things I've ever done, but so worth it.

2. Kyleigh Hanes planned an awesome Lectureship and thanks to her, I was able to meet (and take a selfie) with Misty May-Treanor and let me tell you, she is one inspirational lady.

3. I accepted an internship with a political consulting firm this semester and absolutely loved it.  I met a number of awesome Oklahoma politicians, but the best part is that I enjoyed going to work because of the people I worked with.  Working with a bunch of liberals was refreshing because it made me feel like I was in DC again.  But seriously, what an incredible group.

4. I got to keep up with the Miracle Child that Delta Gamma sponsored in Soonerthon last year as well as keep up with her family and goodness, I can't help but absolutely adore the Rogers family.

5. I got even closer to my roommate of the last three years and she got to see me not only cry, but ugly cry for the first time ever; luckily, she accepted the fact that I hit my breaking point this semester between school and life and how busy I was and we'll be living together (FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW!!!) again next year. (Sorry for the picture Kristen, it's the only one I have...)

6. There's a bunch of other sub-lessons and half-important things that happened this semester so I'll just put them below in some bullet points because I don't have pictures of them..

• My favorite class all semester was Politics of Russia and I have a new found interest in the region.
• Studying abroad in Ecuador is a month away and I'm getting more and more excited as the time comes.
• I'm still obsessed with what I'm studying in school, but the best part is that I have loved every single one of my professors.
• French is hard, don't take it.
• Business cards or a LinkedIn connection are the best compliment you can get in the professional world.
• People have come and gone into and out of my life all semester.  You think you can't live without someone, but time passes and here you are, still kickin'.  Then the most unexpected people wander in and have another large impact.
• I have one incredible mother and a couple sets of incredible grandparents who look out for me and are the most supportive people around.  Despite pushing me to my limits, they do it because they care.
• 17 hours down, a position as philanthropy director within Delta Gamma, and an internship all completed through an incredible semester.

As you can tell, it was quite a semester.  I'm anxious to see what next semester has in store, as well as what next summer holds for me.  I read something kind of funny today that I thought was applicable to going to Ecuador next semester, it said:

"I'm in love with cities I've never been to and people I've never met."

On a lighter note, I'm hoping that this whole Life of Clegg blog is going to be a thing next semester in Ecuador so that you all can feel just as culture-shocked and confused as me; it's probably going to be pretty raw because I'll be panicking the first few weeks as I settle in.

OH!  Best part of the semester is that I've been able to keep up with so many people that I met in DC and have been continuously told that they can't wait to see me back.  Maybe I'll get paid this time around...

Until next time, y'all.

Great things never come from comfort zones.

The Greek System

It's been a while since I've had something that I felt like I could address in this that would connect with a large audience, so I haven't posted.

Not to mention, 17 hours is kicking my butt and I don't even have a social life anymore thanks to school.  That's okay, right?  I mean, I have the rest of my life to be social so maybe it'll be worth it in the long run.  NONETHELESS!  I have something exciting to address tonight.

THE GREEK SYSTEM.

I could compare the Greek system to that of Hillary Clinton.  Many believe that there are two extreme opinions about it--you love it or you hate it.  In my case, you love both of them but others have QUITE the different views.

The stereotypes of the Greek system is false--yes, there are a number of ignorant and sub-par brains that dwell inside of many of the fraternity and sorority houses, don't get me wrong.  But isn't that how it is everywhere?  I'd venture to say that the number of Greek students who are complete and total brainiacs severely outweighs those who are not.  

The stereotype that Greeks only care about other Greeks is also false--I have a number of friends who were never Greek, do not plan to go Greek, or just do not find the Greek system to be attractive at all. And you know what?  That's fine, I get it.

The stereotype that all Greek members are rich--you got it, false.  You would be surprised at how many students have taken out loans so that they can pay for their way through their fraternity/sorority.

The stereotype that in four years, the Greek system won't matter--COMPLETELY, UTTERLY, AND FULLY FALSE.  And I'm going to fill you in on why.

First of all, I have met most of my girl friends IN Delta Gamma.  It's pretty neat to be a part of a family with 300 chapter members, not to mention the number of members across the nation.  It comes in handy when you least expect it.  For instance, I had an internship in DC this summer and after I got the notification email, my first thought was "HOW ON EARTH AM I GOING TO FIND ANYWHERE TO LIVE?!"  Wanna know where I lived?  The DG house at GWU.  Wanna know how far I had to walk to work everyday in the "blistering DC humidity"?  Roughly a tenth of a mile.  That's pretty cool if you ask me.  I've seen recent graduates move to a completely new city or town and get in touch with DG alum so that they have a roommate or recommendations on doctors and schools in the districts.  

But so far, the coolest thing that I've gotten to do is network.  Yeah, nerdy, I'll take it.  I recently (September...but still recent, right?) accepted an internship with a political consulting firm and let me tell you, I have absolutely loved it.  Fun fact: all of the women that I work with were members of a Panhellenic chapter at their university.  But that's not even the coolest part--the coolest part is that I met a recent DG graduate who is interested in partially the same career path as me.  Do you know how hard it is to find a female that wants to work with international security efforts, diplomacy, or politics?  I'll let you in on a little something: VERY VERY VERY TOUGH.  We figured out that we are both DG's midway through these last few months and hit it off immediately; thanks to Alyssa, I have felt SO welcomed into my new internship, I have gotten to have conversations with a liberal inside the state of Oklahoma (a rarity, I tell ya), and I have gotten some of the best advice that I could possibly ask for regarding anything from college to future career goals--all because she realized I was a DG and asked me about it.  Although she is moving to China and I will be studying abroad next semester, I already told her that I will be creeping through her Facebook during her China adventures and yes, we even took a gamma picture.  

All in all, I never thought that I would love being Greek as much as I do, but here I am.  I never thought that I would fit in, be able to compete, or even be able to keep up with any of the girls but once again, here I am.

Delta Gamma really is for a lifetime and I cannot thank the organization enough for presenting me with so many opportunities, so I thought I'd put that out in the open for all of you to ponder upon.

Thanks to my sisters for loving me and supporting me and being my warrior in times of trouble.

For now, wish me luck as I continue to try to conquer school. 

1/2

There we go, counting down our time again.  Halfway through the semester, midterms, which means over halfway through my college career.  Life hits so hard and fast sometimes.

There hasn't been much going on at school.  Lots of applications, lots of tests and quizzes, papers and midterms, on top of interning.  I was sick all week though so I'm just recovering.  Dallas was a blast but I obviously came back exhausted and sick so I'm glad midterms were last week for me.  Luckily, I was able to eat a full meal today with my one of my favorite and busiest friends, Blessing.  We got to chatting and there are two things that were really weighing on my mind.

First: What do you want to do after college?

Okay, honestly, I've known for a long time and it's no secret to anyone who knows me where I want to be after I graduate.  So when someone looks at me and tells me that they are enrolled in college courses but don't know what they want to do, I am always a little more than confused.  But as a freshman or a sophomore, you're kind of allowed to not know--you have "time".  As a junior, I don't know about y'all, but for me I'm like okay time for you to pull your head out of your hiney and figure out where you're supposed to be.

Is it really that hard?  To decide where you're going to be after college?  It's really not even a decision, it's just wherever your little heart tells you to go; college isn't even on the radar for some of us and that's relatable--college isn't for everyone.  But quit wasting your time and money on something that you aren't even sure of or passionate about, you know?

Better yet, is it worth it to go through four years of college, studying something that's going to make you money but that you don't enjoy?  I don't get it.  Maybe that's just me though.

Second: Why do the nice ones always finish last?

I ask myself all the time, WHY DO I GET TRAMPLED ON ALL THE TIME?  WHY DOESN'T ANYONE APPRECIATE WHAT I DO?

^ but that's selfish.  I don't need anything in return except some acknowledgement and the occasional TLC.  YEAH, there, I said it.  Me, Rachele Clegg.  I need some TLC; I have all this love to give (probably not obviously, and surprisingly to a lot of you) but when I need it reciprocated, I find myself in the middle of Area 51 or something.  But you know what?  That's a lot to ask for out of people anymore.  Common decency used to be a thing, but it's not anymore.  It's not a thing at all.  I catch myself getting jealous of other people's materialistic things, but then I recognize how miserable they are.  I'll take happiness over misery any day but sometimes, if I got a little lucky, I wouldn't mind a single bit.  The good news though?

Good people, bring out the good in people.      

You know what other excuse really grinds my gears?  Maybe I've mentioned it before, but the excuse of "I'm busy".  No, you're not busy.  You either just don't care or you have really crappy time management.  Yeah, I said that too.  If you're too "busy", you're probably one of those people that doesn't have to use a planner to even get your life organized.     

Bottom line: Figure your future out & be nicer because you never know what tomorrow's gonna bring. 

So I'll leave y'all with a quote that's kept me pushing through lately and maybe even a picture.

You were born with the ability to change someone's life, don't ever waste it.

-Lilly Pulitzer

In a month's time..

Sorry y'all.  It's been a month since I've posted so if you actually try to keep up with me...well, I have been posting pictures here and there on Facebook so that has to count for something.  In case you were wanting a small update and some food for thought though, I decided I needed a study break so buckle up.  We have 4 or 5 weeks worth of catching up to do, but I'll try to keep it concise.

I finished my application for the State Department for the summer so I'm pulling for something good to fall my way again.

I just finished a couple of other applications for the DoD and the DoJ. 

I'm currently trying to finish my application for the CLS program.

I got approved to study abroad in Quito, Ecuador.  Don't ask me about Quito because I don't know a single thing.  I'm thinking I might go in completely blind just so the trip is full of surprises.

ANCHORSPLASH IS OVER.  Veronica and I set a record--over $25,000 raised for Service for Sight.  I could not be more excited about it either.

Aside from that, I started my new internship with Tilley & Nichols consulting firm and I absolutely love it.  I've gotten to work with Joe Dorman a little bit and I have to say, the thought of the political world does still spark my interest.  We'll see though, I really enjoy the track I'm on so far.  Which leads me into my next topic.

Do you ever feel like you're in the wrong profession?  Or that you're studying the wrong profession?  It's not necessarily wrong because you don't love it--I love what I'm studying and both of my majors.  Sometimes though, I catch myself wondering if I'm in the wrong thing because I'm so good with people.  I know what most of you are thinking--Rachele...good with people?  Loud, obnoxious Rachele???  Yeah, me.  I have realized lately that I don't meet a stranger, and even when I do, I bet you I could have them telling me their life story in our first fifteen minutes of meeting.  I'm just that comfortable and trustworthy.  I'm good at my major because I bust my rear end to be good at it, but working with people is just natural to me.  

But over here in the real world (by real world, I mean everything within the confines of the University of Oklahoma) things have been rough.  When they tell you 17 hours might be kind of tough...boy they weren't kidding you.  It's the hardest thing I've ever done!  I really enjoy my classes, but each one is full of a TON of information.  I absolutely adore my professors but all of them know so much about their topic that sometimes it's hard for me to keep up with my notes in class.  I'm enjoying four midterms this week and it's the hardest thing I've ever had to try to keep up with.  Thankfully, my friend Troy has kept me on track with my studying by basically being my accountability partner and studying with me whenever I need him to.  What a wonderful thing, huh?  

Nonetheless, as good as I usually am at juggling a full schedule, this whole 17 hours, an internship, and a directorship with DG thing (which is basically over now that Anchorsplash is done) is NOT EASY.  I hit my breaking point last week.  Yeah...yeah it was pretty ugly.  It was like a ton of panic and anxiety hit me all at once--school work is hard to keep up with, I never have the energy to do anything "fun" or to even be that social anymore, and for the first time since I got to college, I got REALLY homesick.  So appreciate your parents, boys and girls, because I sure do miss my mom.  I'm lucky to be surrounded by a pretty great group of people here though.  Sunday dinners with my best friend Brandon give me a sense of routine and normalcy; Aves, Bake, and David provide the comic relief and when I need a listener, I bug Austin until he's free.  Not to mention, I always have Mel way out in Arkansas to listen to me too.  

As unemotional as I used to be, I feel like this semester has turned me into a basket case.  I constantly catch myself being more and more irritable, losing my temper, and wanting to just tear up at the drop of a hat.  Sometimes keeping it together is harder than you think.  BUT THAT'S OKAY.  It is okay to have an off day every now and then.  Feelings are acceptable, they are not meant to be an embarrassing thing.  They are what makes us human--it is not a weakness.

Sigh.  That was a mouthful.  OU-saxeT is this weekend and I'm pumped.  But until then, I'll be studying my brains out.  

Until next time, y'all.

The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.

-Abraham Lincoln