Thursday, August 15, 2013

On The Verge

I'm on the verge.
I feel like a lot of people can relate to this, especially my peers as we are in this vital part of our lives trying to figure out what the heck we are doing with it.
I started this poem this summer and I have been tinkering with it and revisited it tonight. It still needs work I am sure, but I really like it more and more as I work on it and thought it was the perfect time to post it as we are on the verge of starting a new school year at Emporia State. I'm personally on the verge of my senior year of college. There are a lot of emotions when you are on the verge of something. I like reading through this poem in this fast pace as if I am on the verge of doing some of these things. There is this rush that you get when you are on the verge of something and my goal is to provide a rush with the repetition of words and the speed of the poem. Think about times when you have been on the verge of something great, bittersweet, exciting, risky, etc. The verge is the feeling, the burst of emotion that comes right before something big. It's intense. It's unknowing. It's scary. It's pretty wild, but can still be amazing sometimes.


On The Verge
I'm on the verge of a running sprint.
On the verge of starting my life.
I'm on the verge of ending something sweet.
On the verge of holding on tight.
I'm on the verge;
of trying something new.
On the verge with you.
I'm on the verge.
And on the verge of crying too.
On the verge of looking back.
On the verge of telling you what my heart wants to say.
I'm on the verge of knowing how I feel.
On the verge of something great.
I'm on the verge of writing my best poem.
I'm on the verge of knowing.
On the verge of figuring you out.
I'm on the verge of asking.
On the verge of knowing what to say.
On the verge of a final draft,
of falling asleep,
and on the verge of texting you.
On the verge of yelling and screaming.
I'm on the verge of running.
On the verge of telling you I like you.
I'm on the verge;
hoping you are on the verge too.

Sparkle & Shine.
Rachel



Tuesday, August 13, 2013

BEST. WEEK. EVER. (So Far)

I anticipated August and what was to come with it. I smiled at midnight when August finally came because I knew things were about to get exciting and I was going to be experiencing so many great things in such a short amount of time and I was going to take it in and savor it all.

My baby nephew turned 14! I went home to celebrate his birthday. Then I went from that to my first Sporting KC game! I worked it as an Ambassador for the ESU Alumni Night. So I was able to go for free. It was definitely a neat experience seeing the beautiful stadium finally from the inside after seeing it countless times from the outside. I was also enthralled with the energy of all the fans and their love for the team. It was nice to see that much energy going towards a Kansas City team. I feel like that is something our city has lacked with the Royals and Chiefs always up and down, it was awesome to see something new and exciting. I, of course, found a new crush on the team who is #20, Oriol Rosell. Come to find out he is younger than me and is from Spain. :) This photo is courtesy of my roommate, Anna, who was also at the same game I was at!


After the game, I hung out with one of my good friends from back home and purchased a new pretty purse and some pajamas for my dinosaur. :) That Sunday, I got a new MacBook Pro that I am already in love with and slightly attached to. Still trying to figure it out amongst being busy! I am so excited to see what all of this can do and be able to get really creative!

I had a chiropractor appointment in Kansas City on that Monday and have been battling some tough back problems. I went straight from there back to work to the President's office in Emporia. I had to prepare and get ready for the week to come. I was running around frazzled for sure!

Tuesday, Kirsten and I took a road trip to Wichita, KS to see Taylor Swift in concert! I really lucked out and happened to see a girl's status about wanting to sell some extra tickets she had and was the first to jump on the chance! It was Kirsten's first time seeing Taylor Swift and my second. I was happy to be there and took lots of video! She did a lot of my favorite songs. And I might have been on the verge of tears when she did All Too Well! I was closer than I was when she was at Arrowhead so that was neat! She has definitely been growing up and getting a little more sexy!?

After the concert, we journeyed back home to get a little sleep before we were packed in the van 8am in the morning to ride along for 16 hours all the way to New Orleans, LA! This was going to be my 3rd CASE ASAP national conference. I drove the big van for the first time in parts of Oklahoma and Texas! I was pretty proud of myself. It was close to 11pm when we finally arrived in New Orleans. I was so excited and ecstatic as we pulled into town and saw the Superdome lit up in pretty purple lights as we got off the highway. We stayed at the Sheraton which is the tallest hotel in New Orleans and we were placed on the 35th floor. Needless to say, the view was amazing and we could see the rooftop pool below us!

We decided after being cooped up in the van all day, we would visit Bourbon Street. For a Wednesday night, I thought it was pretty happenin'. I was immediately fascinated with all the lights, people, bars, drinks, etc. I loved walking up and down it and hearing "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke in multiple places. 





Thursday afternoon the conference started, but we visited the French Quarters first! Of course I had to visit the store called Razzle Dazzle. It was filled with all kinds of girly sparkly things! We checked in for the conference and we decorated our float. I was pretty proud of my crafting skills as I decorated the back! We had awesome team work going and ended with a great float!




Thursday night we went to Channing Tatum's restaurant/bar and we tried some gator tail! And it tasted like chicken!



On Thursday night, we got a little taste of Bourbon Street! Tayler, Amanda, and I tried out a Hurricane slushy! There were so many places that you could just walk up to and get a slushy drink! Definitely refreshing on a hot evening out. :)



Friday was the day of the big game! We were able to go to the Saints vs Chiefs game! I was super ecstatic and could barely contain my excitement! I was so excited to have that experience because not only was I getting to watch the Saints in the Super Bowl, they were playing the Chiefs! For it being the first game of the preseason, it was pretty packed. I got goosebumps quite a bit and couldn't believe I was hearing the "WHO DAT" chant and watching Drew Brees live in person! The Superdome is absolutely huge and beautiful.



Saturday was a little rough because I started having back pains again and this time they were worse. I was in so much pain and my energy was low. I laid down a couple times to try to rest up and get motivated because Amanda and I were supposed to do a 45 minute presentation at 2. I laid down in my sea of blankets in the big comfy bed and listened to some music while I got ready. I was able to pull off the presentation and worked through the pain. We really rocked it! I couldn't have been more pleased. I loved our ballroom we presented in and we had a great turn out!


Saturday night was the banquet. We got all dressed up and I'd say our group looked sharp! :)


Afterwards, we went out on Bourbon Street and had a good time! I was anxious to see what it would be like on a Saturday night and man was it interesting! I thought beads were just used for Mardi Gras, but apparently that isn't the case! People were throwing beads from balconies and they littered the streets along with all the other trash that was on the sides of them that night. People told me that Bourbon Street smelled and they weren't lying. It does smell, but luckily it didn't bother me too much. We went to Pat O'Briens and a couple other places and chatted with people from Texas to Michigan.

New Orleans is very different from Kansas. I hadn't been in a city like that before and I am so glad I was able to have that experience. There is a lot of culture and differences. The food, the music, the party. I was floored when I walked out of our hotel Wednesday night to immediately see people sipping on drinks from fish bowls and other tall cups! CVS that was down the street from us had their own liquor section. There were beads galore and I tried beignets for the first time for breakfast. People dance and sing and perform on the streets and it's all normal. And it's hot. There were times I was outside for a short amount of time and then I was ready for a shower!

The conference was great and I was able to snag a couple of the coveted University of Florida shirts and a couple UCLA shirts that I can't wait to wear when I am not in my ESU apparel. I came home with a total of 11 free t-shirts. :) Life of a college student leader I suppose!

We drove the 16 hours ago and I took a shift driving again. It happened to be on Dallas highways that were under construction in the 5 o'clock hour. I was feeling quite frazzled, but courageous and brave at the same time!

I am exhausted still and trying to catch up on sleep again. But it was all worth it and all fabulous. :)








More pictures can be found on my Facebook!

PS. Pretty excited to say I was asked to do an opinion column for the ESU Bulletin newspaper! So what all shall I write about readers?!

Sparkle & Shine.
Rachel