It's officially sweet summertime!

It's finally really feeling like summer!! This is after all basically the last summer that I can act like I am a student of some sort...because after this Summer breaks will most likely not be taking place wherever I work. I will not be in any form of education as far as I'm aware so there goes that dream of Summer breaks the rest of my life! Oh well, here's to making this one an extra good one! : ) I spent the whole first week of Summer back home unpacking (or at least attempting to) and applying for more jobs. The weekend was nice because I got to spend it with Tim and some good friends! We went to the baseball game Saturday (I'm obsessed with the STL Cardinals!). It was a pretty hot day, but it was still a lot of fun. After the game we went Patty O's, one of the outdoor bars located right next to the stadium, then we all went out to dinner at TGIFridays. We roamed around downtown STL for quite a while taking pictures of/in front of everything imaginable acting like tourists in our own hometown, and I loved everything about it : ) That's why I love spending time with my friends. I feel like we can always be so random like that and not care about what other people think. Aside from that I did a lot of playing with Bentley and Daytona! They have both been worn out the past couple of days from all of their play time and the intense heat...seeing as it's only May (not even officially Summer by season yet might I add), and we've had record highs the past couple of days in the mid-90s! Perfect pool weather!! Only I unfortunately don't have one. So I do the next best thing and fill up the baby pool we have for Daytona and act like I have a legit pool in the back yard. Ha. The random life I live. Reasons why I love it. We spent a lot of family time BBQing and sitting in the driveway eating peanuts. One of my favorite things about home and this time of the year : ) The start of week 2 of sweet Summer began today, and it's looking like more of the same, aside from a fun trip planned at the end of the week...Tim and I are going to CHICAGO on Wednesday!!! Chicago is one of my absolute favorite cities in the entire world! I have approximately 3 favorite cities (St. Louis/St. Charles or course, Destin because I LOVE beaches and the beaches in Destin are amazing, and Chicago!). These are just favorite cities of which I have visited...Trust me I have a fairly long list of places that I really want to see. I've been to Chicago many times and have loved it more and more each time I've been. I've been with friends a couple of times, and Tim and I have had another trip there a few years ago (goodness we've been together for so long now!! Just celebrated our 5 year anniversary by the way if I haven't already mentioned that in an earlier post!!) during Christmastime. We actually planned this trip for our 5 year anniversary/graduation (POSTGRAD). This will be my first Chicago visit ever in the Summertime, and I am beyond excited! The Magnificent Mile is really, truly magnificent. I am sure I will take 10,000 pictures of the same things I have already taken pictures of, but I love it that much. Better charge my camera battery up now! We of course plan to go to the Shedd Aquarium (Tim's absolute favorite), Navy Pier, and Willis Tower (previously known as the Sears Tower). We went up the John Hancock Building during our last visit. We are also going to the ESPN Zone...this will be our first time there so that should be a lot of fun!! I also want to check out some of the lake beaches that I've never gotten to experience since it's always been freezing cold and of course a little shopping on the Magnificent Mile! All things tourists should do and that I've done every time I've visited, but I love everything about the city and that's the way I love to experience it : ) OH, and I forgot to mention that we also have tickets to the CARDS/CUBS game on Friday at Wrigley Field!!! This is going to be a great trip!! I've always thought that I would grow up and live in a big city like Chicago (because I've yet to get to NY or LA...I dream big), and I don't truly know why I'm not honestly living there yet at this point in my life. Here I am. POSTGRAD. Technically "grown up" I guess you could say. I love everything about the city. I want to live and work in a big city. I just need the job and the $$$ to go along with it, and I'm good to go. I've just got to keep focused and keep working toward my dreams : ) See you real soon, windy city!

So this is it...huh!?

Well the day has come and I am finally, officially, truly a college grad! Postgrad maybe!? I think yes! So this is what I have had to look forward to...the never ending search for a job! haha I knew this would be the case, but I guess since it's what you see on TV and all the movies, I didn't really expect it. I'm not quite sure what I expected though to be quite honest. I've been home for less than a week and feel like I've already been home for months. Right now, I think it just feels more like a typical Summer than anything. Come home, take a week or two off from work and such to unpack, then get to working every day and doing some fun things in between, including visits to Cape which will be few and far between now that I am no longer a temporary resident of the town. St. Charles is officially my real home again. For now anyway. That's what leads me to the job search! I have been applying at a variety of places since the beginning of my senior year of college, but I have been SO busy that I have hardly even had time to follow up! Luckily I no longer have school to focus on and my parents are understanding enough to allow me to take time this Summer to devote to searching for a job. This way I can put in my full effort which is how it should be and every bit how I would want it to be because I want to be doing something that I really want to be doing, and I am determined to find that! I am very open to all types of experience though, and want to gain as much knowledge and experience as I can while I am still young!

I guess this is the official start to that POSTGRAD life I've been dreaming of. For now I will continue the search for a job and in the meantime, enjoy this Summer because it will likely be the last that I will still feel/can still act like a college kid (sort of). And it's nice to have the perks of home for a while longer too : ) I have some fun adventures planned this Summer so there is lots to look forward to! I will post more about all of these fun activities later. For now, I will think about all things Summer and jobs in between while realizing that I think I will finally, officially, truly feel like a college graduate once everyone is moving back to Cape in August...and I'm still here. I'm sure something great will come up in the meantime with my devotion, motivation, and determination, and I am beyond exited to see what that may be!! Now despite the fact that it is almost 1 in the morning on a Friday night...I'm going back to the job search for a bit. That's how determined I truly am : )

Mixed Emotions

The time is finally coming...graduation is officially close! And I am definitely starting to have mixed emotions about this whole thing! I haven't been able to write anything in the past couple of weeks because I have been so busy preparing for graduation and trying to finish out all of my classes. This past week was Senior Week for ADPi. I have absolutely loved all of the experiences I have had throughout the past four years of college, especially when it comes to ADPi, but this past year I have felt myself starting to separate and realizing that I am ready to start growing up...sort of. I am so excited for so many things to come and to see what I will be doing in my future, even six months or a year from now. I have been counting down the day to graduation because I have been so busy with school and my internship this semester I have gotten to the point where I have wanted nothing more but to be done and on to the next thing. But this week, it has definitely hit me. I am still beyond excited, don't get me wrong, but I am far more sad about leaving than I thought I would be that's for sure. Now I'm at the point where I am not wanting to say I graduate next week, because that's almost too soon now! During one night of Senior Week, we read our senior wills and give away a lot of our old sorority and fraternity stuff that we have accumulated throughout the past four years. I was excited about this, until it came down to the point where I had to actually start writing my wills. At first I couldn't even start because I didn't know where to start, but then I just kept writing...and ended up with 12 pages of my senior wills when most people only have about 2 or 3. In Senior Wills we write about our experience in ADPi and usually give shout outs to girls in the chapter remembering stories and other fun times we've had. I'll attach mine in my next post.

Being an ADPi the past four years has taught me so much more than I ever could have imagined, and that's one of the biggest things I will be so sad to leave. I am ready and excited to experience it in a different light, as an alumna member and maybe even as an advisor someday, but for now, I like remembering all of the fun times I've had, the friends I have made, and the things that I have learned. Of course now is when I think of all of those little things I really will miss...like walking in Capaha Park and driving down Kingshighway and Broadway and even going to class (sometimes) ... as odd as that sounds. I feel like these past few weeks are dragging on now and making me think more and more about the fact that I'm about to graduate. Last weekend was AMAZING for one of my last weekends in college...Thursday night out with my class for our PR pub crawl, spending Friday night out with all of the ADPi seniors, the winery yesterday with my friends and all of our Mom's, celebrating my friend's 21st birthday last night, and BBQ at 701 Perry today. Now despite the few things I need to accomplish this last week and the need to pack up my room...I hope it's as fun as last. I'm not a fan of saying goodbye, I have come to realize...so I'm going to go with the "see ya later" that I never truly understood, but now I do. I can't wait for my family and Tim's family to be here Saturday to celebrate our graduation...then it's finally time to say See Ya Later to good old Cape Girardeau. Even just the thought is bittersweet.