G'BYE SOPHoMORE YEAR

I am still in disbelief that I am halfway finished with college... like what! Sophomore was more than I could have ever imagined, in the best way. I met some of my best friends and just some people that left lasting impacts on my life. The year was spent living in my sorority house, which was quite the time! As annoying as it got living with 35 or so girls and sharing a bathroom with 5 other girls, I will miss waking up to my best friends and be having so many closets to swap with. The biggest kicker of the year was my older sister GRADUATING! I cannot imagine Carolina without her, but also cannot wait to see what her future holds.

Some could say I took on too much this year, but I would not have had it any other way. This year challenged and pushed me to my edge, but in the absolute best way. Being on exec for your sorority is a lot and can be super difficult sometimes, but it really has bettered different skills and forced me to be more open and engaging with all those around me. Exec has also specifically taught me patience and bettered my teamwork skills since I am very used to taking on all my tasks myself without ever asking for help. My best friend Natalie and I were also on the executive team for a club called Fashion Board at USC, where we helped put on a final fashion show featuring local boutiques in Columbia! It was very stressful, but a total blast and such cool real-world fashion experience. 

The biggest struggle of sophomore year was definitely the most unexpected one...  I randomly decided to rush a co-ed professional business fraternity, because my best friend, Emily, nagged me enough to convince me. I had watched Emily go through pledging in the fall but did not think much of it. Once I went through rush, I was hooked. Everyone in AKPsi is passionate and has that drive to conquer their dreams, which was very attractive. So, I decided to hop on the wild ride of pledging. I had no idea what I was getting myself into though. Little did I know, I basically would not have a life, as we had to interview every brother in the fraternity that came with quotas to meet each week, on top of memorizing (verbatim) information about AKPsi for weekly quizzes. May not seem that bad, but it was bad, in a good way? Pledging is so hard to explain because, during it, you hate everything and are challenged to manage your time like no tomorrow, but oddly enough, when it is all over and you have too much free time on your hands and kind of miss it. I personally had a tough time during pledging, but am so proud of myself/my pledge brothers for finishing so strong. Regardless, AKPsi is one of the best decisions I made during this year, and I cannot wait for all the opportunities and memories to come. 

One of my favorite parts of this year was being able to see/reconnect with my friends I met throughout my travels to Greece/Cyprus! I was able to go and visit some of them, and the others came to Columbia. It was such a joy to be surrounded by some of my absolute favorite people who I do not always get to see. This was also the year of Australians. My friends and I befriended some of the Australian exchange students, took them to our functions, and I even housed a few of them in Atlanta as they made their travels around the US. I would have never guessed how much I loved Australians, but I got close with a lot of them. It was so refreshing to have different takes on life and sharing the American culture. It was quite depressing when they all left to head back to Aus though, still not over it lol.

I briefly mentioned in my last post how I worked The Masters! Yep, the most prestigious sporting event in Augusta, GA. They recruited us at school and if you were hired, you would take a class through USC to prepare you for working The Masters. The class was beyond helpful and super interesting. We were able to listen to and interact with high up, important workers at Augusta National, it was an incredible networking and learning opportunity. I personally did not have the best experience working the tournament. It is not an easy job, it's long hours and very exhausting. I worked in the Main Golf Shop in the Children's department, so it was a lot of talking to Dads or grandparents about sizing and which color polo is the cutest for a 9-year-old boy! It was a lot of fun getting to talk to so many different people, and on the last day, I was able to walk the course. That place is stunning. It's reviving for no one to be able to allowed to have their phones on the property, definitely one of those times you feel completely emersed in the moment. As well as getting to watch golf, that was neat for someone who thought it was a boring sport, it was way more riveting in person, trust me. 

I officially decided to end this year by changing my major! It is extremely stressful, and I am still trying to get everything finalized and official. However, I came to the realization that I do not want to be restricted to just the Retail field, so I am changing it to Visual Communications. I always said this is what I wanted to do, but for a fashion company, which allowed me to come to the realization, this is what I should be getting a degree in. I am super excited to kind of have a 180 switch my junior and senior year, although it is a little frightening as well. It also worked out that I now basically have a Fashion Merchandising minor completed, so my other classes were not put to waste! I am still a little unsure of exactly what I want "to do", but who really knows at this point in their lives. All I do know is I found this passion inside me and I am going to run with it. 

I can't wait to start next year off by being a Pi-Chi! A Pi-Chi is a recruitment counselor who disassociates from their sorority so they can offer Potential New Members (PNMs) unbias guidance as they go through Sorority Recruitment. When I was a PNM, my Pi-Chi ended up being one of the most influential people at USC and one of my closest friends, I hope to make her proud and find a little baby to take under my wing! 

As the year concluded, I was looking back and realized I wouldn't have had it any other way. So, here's to all the people who made this year so wonderful, to all the breakfast places in Cola, apparently, a lot of doors slammed, my roommate finally painting her boyfriend's cooler, and countless crazy stupid memories. Excited to see what next year will hold, but cheers to Sophomore year!

I am now currently working an internship back home in Atlanta and headed to Greece and Cyprus soon. More details for all to come, eeeep! Hope you enjoyed this little recap since I struggled to post more often this past year, but get ready for some killer summer posts. Thanks for reading!