Settling In

It's hard to believe the first 3 weeks of the semester have come and gone. All of my five classes have left their respective "review" periods and are in full swing. This (unfortunately) means more than a fair deal of homework. However, it's not unmanageable. In fact, even though my work load has increased significantly and my work schedule at the office of undergraduate admissions just started earlier this week, I feel as if life has calmed down some.

I came back to Chicago 10 days before the official start of classes to participate in clean-up (an intensive, two day, top to bottom scrubbing of the ASA sorority house), the sorority's annual retreat, and sophomore leadership retreat. Those 10 days were an incredible amount of fun. I know clean up sounds dull, but it was a riot. If nothing else, I spent two days with some people I care about. (On a side note, I have no idea how I ended up in a sorority- I definetly never pinned myself as a "sorority girl". When I told my mom I had accepted a bid, she laughed. She thought I was joking. But, I will say this for ASA: some of the most amazing women I have ever met live in that house. I know its cheesy, but they really are inspiring. And in a school that is without a doubt male dominated, its nice to have a female support system. It is a decision that I do not regret.) Anyways, to get back on point, retreat was fun as well. We had planned on going to Indiana dunes, however bad weather in Indiana kept us on the IIT campus. I know there were girls looking forward to the camping trip, but we definetly made the best of it. We did camp out, except we were in the living room. We made s'mores, but over a stove instead of a campfire. I had a lot of fun (and I hope the other girls did too!).

As fun as spending the extra time with my sisters was, the highlight of the 10 day period was Sophmore Leadership Retreat. This retreat is (as you may have guessed) open to all sophmores and it is an intensive 2 days that you spend at Lake Geneva, WI participating in all sorts of cool events. I went kayaking, rock climbing and completed a high ropes course. My roomate went sailing, canoeing, and completed a low ropes course. The motto of the Leadership Academy who hosts the event is "challenge by choice". I can honestly say that those words meant a lot during a period of physical exhaustion. Now, I find that they apply in my course work, organizational activities, and most other aspects of life. It was, in many ways, an educational experience. But, more than anything it was fun. I met people I would have never otherwise come across in my experience at IIT. I challenged myself, and much to my own surprise, rose to the challenge.

Coming back to IIT was like jumping out of the pan and into the fire. Classes started the following morning, and rush week, the recruitment period for all of IIT's fraternities and sororities, had already begun. As a member and chairperson in ASA it was my responsibility to attend all the events we had planned. Life was busy. I had a good time at all of the events and I met lots of wonderful girls. We had planned nights of salsa dancing, mini golf, smoothies and smores, mafia styled mysteries, disney movies, and then some. Fun as it was, it requires a lot of time managment to balance homework and all of the above. I'm thrilled about our new members, but I'm glad that rush is over and life can settle down.

It's Friday (thank goodness!) and I hope that this will be a restful and productive weekend. Then again, I said that last weekend and found that only the "restful" portion was accomplished.

Until next time.