celebrate, remember, fight back

it certainly was a night to celebrate, remember, and fight back

Unfortunately the weather was not in our favor, but thanks to the amazing Hokies who don't let a bit of rain and low temperatures keep them away, my first relay was a memorable experience and I already can't wait for relay for life 2012. 

part of the events committee and our colorful rain coats :)

Maleka made each of us our own clipboards with our color-coded excel spreadsheets with our duties for the whole night. Definitely helped us stay organized throughout the whole night and we never felt too overwhelmed!!

custom clipboards with our official duties!

Our committee is so appreciative of how hard Maleka works to keep us organized and in the know! The least we could do was get her a small gift.

a relay themed gift for our fearless events leader

One of my favorite events of the night was queen of the night. Each team could dress up a guy and make him look as beautiful as they wanted. The guys came to the events tent for their purse and they did NOT break character. They were ready to go downtown and raise some money while flaunting their stuff! One guy made $600!!

the queens checking in at our tent

There were always people walking around the track, and even some were running! My favorite lap was after the Remember Ceremony because it was a lap of silence while pictures were displayed on all the screens of pictures and reasons for why people relay. 

relayers walking around the track (sorry the pic is dark)

It was finally 3am and time to play minute to win it! All of the supplies were ready to go on stage and in order, although as predicted we skipped some games and moved others around to accommodate for the size of the stage. We still had enough games to entertain everyone and overall it was a success. It's hard to believe something we spent so many hours working on was over in 30 minutes!!

Exec vs. Phi Sig in the last round of minute to win it

Around 5 am or so the very important meteorologist told us there were thunderstorms heading our way and then randomly it poured for five minutes and I saw the sky light up. No one was in a real rush to leave (breakfast was being served under the survivor tent) but we slowly started to clean up our tent and pack our things...around 530 am the committee began to break up and head for our beds!!

we made it! 

At 6 am it was official Virginia Tech raised $615,000. WOW. 

I slept until 3:30 pm on saturday and wasn't even concerned about missing out on 1) a beautiful saturday in Blacksburg which is rare or 2) the spring game. I continued to nap throughout the night and was finally rested by sunday morning...

remember those who serve

just a short story i stumbled upon... 
(literally though the link is at bottom of the page)

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "50¢," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "35¢!" she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.


http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2gXR3i/www.globalone.tv/profiles/blogs/how-to-treat-others-5-lessons

relay relay relay

This is my first year participating in Relay For Life and I am beyond excited!! Technically I haven't even participated in the actual event, but after a year of fundraising and planning many events for the night of I feel like I have been doing this forever! 

Over the past year, the events committee has been working on what events to have the night of and we decided on Themed Laps, Queen of the Night, Wing Eating Contest, Minute To Win It, Cake Walk, and Sporting Events (flag football, dodgeball, cornhole, ladder golf, and ultimate frisbee). 

In addition to planning the night of events, we also held several events throughout the school year. Our first was a small cupcake fundraiser on main street on the opening day of Chiptotle. Smart right? We knew we would get a good amount of people at least walking by the booth and get Relay out there since it was only October. In November, we got Brent Knight (up and coming dreamy artist) to play at TOTS and we had such a great turnout that Brent will be playing tomorrow night :). In December, we did more of a low-key event where we made little Birthday cakes (celebrating relay's 10th birthday as well as celebrating more birthdays for more cancer survivors) and put them on the table at Deet's. When we came back from winter break we started to focus more on event details and start mapping out all the details. 

Things really picked up the last month trying to get everyone to sign-up and keep fundraising and most importantly get excited about tomorrow night! We have more than enough teams signed up for our events, which is awesome but also a little intimidating. I will be spending much of the day doing last minute details and then throughout the night I am assigned to help with certain events. 

Tonight Maleka, Emily, Amy, and I practiced the minute to win it games and it was SO fun even without the competition. I really hope everyone else enjoys it I think it will be a great way to get everyone pumped at 3 in the morning!

Well tomorrow is the big day! I will be sure to post more after all the madness :)

I Relay to make a difference

we will prevail, we are virginia tech

The reason I choose to come to Virginia Tech was because of the hokie spirit. I felt it as soon as I stepped on the campus and as I think back on my first year as a hokie, I know that I couldn't have chosen a better school. 4/16 is just one more reason why I love this school so much. Today is a day to remember the 32 lives lost in the shootings only four short years ago and a day where the hokie nation grows across the country. My friend who goes to High Point showed her support for the hokies with a simple facebook status, and #neverforget is trending on twitter. The spirit of the hokies is contagious and together we will prevail. 

  neVer forgeT, today we live for 32.

let it flow

How can a man's life keep its course if he will not let it flow?

Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.

They feel no wear, they feel no tear.

They need no mending, no repair

Three things have been on my mind this week...


First my summer plans. Lately I've been very concerned with how I'm going to make money this summer and how I'm going to spend my free time. Weeks are flying by and days are over before I even realize it. My only plan so far is taking Chemistry for the month of June, Monday-Thursday, joy! Whenever I have the chance I do a little thinking and research and keep notes of jobs I want to look into. This becomes overwhelming when I begin to over-think and wonder what I "should" be doing, so I keep pushing it off.

Then, I'm reminded of the second thing on my mind which is my biology test. The last exam of the semester before the final and all I can think about are the two 78's I got on the last two tests. I'm not use to these low scores but instead of freaking out I've done the opposite and decided to make a schedule for the week giving myself plenty of time to study. I've decided to let go of any preconceptions or misconceptions that I "deserve" an A. Instead I try to focus on actually understanding the concepts and feeling confident that I tried my best.

And third, I can't help but think about my mom's best friend who is currently in the intensive care unit at our local hospital. It's seems so unreal and so sudden that I can't even believe it's true. I don't know how to be there for my mom, who herself is struggling to know how help her helpless friend. Suddenly my worries about summer plans and my grade on my biology test seem insignificant. In two days will be the 4 year anniversary of 4/16. Instead of feeling sad and helpless, I will to strive to be in a place of gratitude, tp be a more loving daughter, sister, friend, and hokie, to appreciate the moments I have, and lastly, to let life flow and to not force it to be one way or another. I encourage you to do the same :)


“be truly glad, there is wonderful joy ahead” I Peter 1:6

tgif and how i met your mother

HALLELUJAH ITS FRIDAY!

i'm gonna make this post short and sweet (hehe) because i finally have time to go to the gym for the first time since LAST friday!

how i met your mother ...

"it was the best night ever"