Tour de Dorm (:

     I've occupied this room for just under three weeks, and I really like the way my dorm is shaping up. After a week of being showered in gifts (they warned me; but I was still not prepared for the degree of personalized and hand-crafted presents rained down upon my pledge class! So thankful and boggled by the amount of work put into this process.), there is an alarming, but hopefully endearing, amount of Tri Delta paraphernalia around my room. Especially my windowsill. I think maybe if one took a look without any context, I would look like a fanatic sorority girl who is IN YOUR FACE ABOUT HOW EXCITED I AM TO BE IN TRI DELTA DID YOU KNOW THAT I AM IN TRI DELTA?? DID YOU NOTICE??! DID YOU SEE??

Take a look ;)  

(85% of the things in this photo were given to me by my Big Sis. The one exception in the Red Velvet Cupcake candle, a lovely birthday present from one of my friends from high school. It keeps my bed smelling strangely delicious, and reminds me of my friends back home. Also, the pumpkin was a gift from my Big Sis, but not as a part of Big-Little Week. My Big just knows how much I love Halloween decorations, and I got this present before I knew I was officially her Little! <3)

     For the first and probably last time, the vase my best friend Coral gave me is housing real flowers! When My Big Sister came to greet me as my official Big, she gave me a beautiful bouquet. (Fun and useless fact about me: Sunflowers are my favorite) 

Just going to casually mention that the cup, second from the right, is one I stole from the Commons (where everyone in my dorm goes to take advantage of our Meal Plans) so I could drink Simply Apple Juice. Thanks to my big, I now have a mug and cute, plastic Halloween cups, but I'm not quite ready to return it-- So here it is, holding my 99 cent fake flowers from Ikea. 

The crate I received yesterday, filled with lovely gifts! 

     I am over the moon to have all of this Tri Delta madness in my dorm room. It's like being surrounded by love... because I know how much time and effort was put into making my Big-Little Week truly special. How much work was put into making it special for every single girl in my pledge class. And I couldn't be happier with who I got as my Big Sis. Her name is Serena; I met her on the very first day of recruitment, and apparently she loved me from the start! Everyday I would come back to the house to people saying, "Oh-- you're Sabrina! Serena's told me so much about you!" There's more to this story, but for now I'll just leave it at that. The point is: I am so happy!

As far as the wall-sized bulletin board next to my bed, it's been in-the-making since Day 1. The evening of move-in, I sat on my bed and cut out pictures, then pinned them up. And the collection's been growing since. There are posters given as birthday gifts, tokens from the Big-Little Hurricane, endearing little notes I've received over time. Here's the progress as of today:

So here it is for now... I really want to make reviews for both Ellie Goulding and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's new albums, but my life is crazy right now! Between school and being in a sorority and being absolutely madly in love with the people in my hall, my time's spread pretty thin. But I'll do my best! Just gotta write little bits at a time. See ya!

Long Time, No See!

     Wow! It's been rather tough to keep up to date on websites while in college. I rarely go on Tumblr anymore (though I try!!), I haven't written in my journal once since my arrival, and this is the first time I've logged onto Blogspot in ages. But, to be honest, it's okay. As much as I wish I had time for everything, right now... I'm the happiest I've been in my entire life. My life has never been difficult, not by any stretch of the imagination. But I think I described it best when talking to my friend, Andrew: it's like I've been in the waiting room for the last 18 years. I've been in the waiting room, just wishing for my name to be called. And now... I feel like I'm finally out of it. I'm free. 

     Being here has been the best for me. The hall (i.e. dorm) I live in has already gotten extremely close. We all agree: it's been two weeks, and it already feels like we've been friends for years. Such an incredible feeling. Because we are the Mass Media and Communications hall, we sit around and watch films together. We eat together, we attend class together, we stay up later than we reasonably should together. I also have guy friends for the first time in my life, which I really love. I've always wanted male friends. But I've always found guys intimidating... now it's the opposite; I adore the boys that I meet, and am scared as all hell of the girls, even those in my sorority. I have one unbelievable sister in the sorority, and every time I come to the house to see her, I slip pass the rest of the group feeling extremely nervous and awkward. But it's only been a week... Wishing I could just skip forward to the time where we are all extremely close and the best of friends. Someday, I tell you!

     I never thought I would join a sorority, mostly because of social interaction. And the girliness. Really though, you can find the chillest sororities to join, and the ones here, at least, are so diverse that you will be able to find SOMEONE that you relate to. It isn't all appearances and frat parties, if you chose wisely. Just find your fit, regardless of reputations. But I'm taking a chance. Trying the new. And I've already been introduced to a party scene that I didn't know existed, and am looking forward to volunteering in the future. I really am. And actually, despite my recent slip-ups, I've become a much more confident person just by attending university for two weeks. Where this time last month I would spend all of my free time alone in my bedroom, I now long to be in the common room to talk to my friends. Where this time last month, I would be afraid of strangers, particularly boys, I now feel more comfortable with the unfamiliar than I ever have. I feel happier in my own skin than I ever have. And I feel prettier than I ever could have dreamed for myself (True story: I told my guy friend that I don't wear makeup unless going to a sorority event, and he was just like, "Wait, you're not wearing makeup right now?!" When I shook my head and laughed, he told me that I "still look good." People here have been a lot more accepting of the way I look than in high school. And I accept myself more too, which is the most important of all). And I feel much more loved by people, despite my craziness, than I ever have in the past.

     I'm just happy. There's no better way to put it.

     But I am going to work on being on this blog more often! My friends in my hall that have already seen Perks (some even twice... sigh...) promised to take me soon, plus I've got Shocktoberfest on Friday, and I'm taking a really interesting philosophy course at the moment that I'm considering constructing a post about. Stay tuned!