A Gamecock by Nature

Can you imagine a day without a phone?  Well, let me tell you about one straight week without a cell phone in college.  I was at the gym last Wednesday morning and somehow my phone disappeared into thin air.  I thought I left it in a locker, but it never turned up unfortunately. 

So from Wednesday morning until Tuesday afternoon I was phoneless.  Everyone thought I was ignoring their calls or had gone MIA so I decided to change my status on facebook to let people know I had to survive without a phone.  Facebook and AIM became my main means of communication.  It was also weird to tell people to call my "land line".  Fortunately though since I'm a Resident Mentor I have an old school phone in my room.  I was also lucky because my best friend Joanne (USC '09) and I have share a lot of the same friends so we started referring to her pink razor phone as "our phone".  It was quite amusing. 

I highly recommend that ya'll take good care of your phones.  I'm still trying to figure out how to work the new phone I got yesterday.  First of all, it doesn't flip, my friend had to figure out how to put it on T9 typing capabilities and the ring tones are similar to the sounds on PacMan.  As for the look of the phone, it's a little black brick that looks like a Gigapet from back in the day.  Hopefully this summer I'll get an upgrade.  I guess I really don't have room to complain though since it is my fault I lost my phone and any phone is better than none. 

Since my SIM card was obviously in my lost phone, I also lost everyone's number that was in my phone.  I had pretty much maxed out my memory with people from back home, USC friends (including fraternity, RAs, basketball, etc) and other random people I've met over time such as my friend Vincent in France!  It's so hard to go about collecting numbers again, but I guess at the same time it's an easy way to weed out numbers I haven't used in a long time. 

Life's good again with my new phone and I'm so thankful I can text message again!  Text messaging is definitely something you use a lot more in college than probably ever before so make sure you plan accordingly. 

Enjoy the gorgeous weather and let me know if you have questions about absolutely anything!

Posted by Lydia at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I saw snow, real snow this past weekend for the second time in my ENTIRE life.  I went to Franklin, Tennessee (near Nashville) for a Provincial LEAD Conference for Delta Sigma Pi (Professional fraternity).  I woke up Saturday morning in the hotel to my friend Elyse (USC '10) chanting "it's snowing, it's snowing" to Brittany (USC '10) and I.  I almost didn't get out of bed because when I was younger my brother had pulled that line on me as a ploy to get me out of bed early one morning.  I slowly opened my eyes and I was completely fascinated by the white stuff falling from the sky and slowly covering the ground.  I almost felt like chicken little yelling "the sky is falling". 

Saturday was the actual conference part of the weekend.  We woke up early and had an opening session followed by four workshops and a closing ceremony.  There was also lunch and dinner provided during the day.  The chicken and rice pilaf along with loaded cheesecake was incredibly delicious.  I learned a lot at the conference about my fraternity's history and ways to better my chapter.  I also was able to make a lot of connections with national officers.  While at this conference I was constantly promoting Spring Fling which is my chapter's huge national event in April.  I had flyers to pass out to everyone and I was really busy meeting people and learning their names in order to stay in contact with everyone.  It was definitely a networking weekend. 

The weekend was very productive.  I was able to better myself professionally, fraternally, and I had fun at the same time!  (That is actually part of the purpose of my fraternity.)  Saturday night there was a DJ and some great music.  We danced to some popular rap, the electric slide and a few other popular tunes.  After hitting the sack around 4 am, it was already time to be waking up and head back to USC. 

In total, it was one of the greatest weekends of the semester so far.  I am so excited about talking with my fraternity brothers about my new found knowledge. 

Posted by Lydia at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It seems to me, that about once a month in college, everyone (no matter what their major) experiences a week full of tests, projects, and the like.  Well, this past week was mine.  It included a presentation, an Economics test, an Accounting Test, an Accounting quiz, and a French test.  After learning all of that material, my brain feels like porridge, at least figuratively. 

From this week, I have come to realize that the library exists year-round!! It's not just open during exam week at the end of each semester.  I have definitely utilized it to the fullest.  I've used the individual study rooms, the main floor study tables, the computer lab, and I've even ordered a drink from the mini food place tucked in the back corner. 

In case you didn't know, I'm kind of an impatient person when it comes to grades in school.  I'm really hoping that all my grades get posted this weekend or at least by classes on Monday and Tuesday!! I can't handle waiting.  At least without the grades though I can continue enjoying my day without fretting over anything. 

I am also so thankful for the Starbucks on campus.  I tend to spend my money there quite frequently, especially since it's just a hop away from the library.  I think just this past week I spent $30!  For a college kid (and probably most people in general), that's a nice chunk of change. 

Well, I'm looking forward to this weekend and spending some time at the gym next week!  Sunday night is my next intramural co-ed basketball game!!  Feel free to send me your thoughts, questions, etc!

Posted by Lydia at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Monday I made my debut in my MGMT 250 class on live television.  I finalized my individual presentation about my future career and presented it to the class while at the same time being recorded.  I discussed my desire to go abroad and teach English.  This is something that genuinely interests me and I believe it will also boost my résumé.  I discussed my yearning to return to France and stay with a host family to teach them English much like my host family this past summer taught me French.  I am hoping to be able to participate in this program during and after college more than once in a variety of countries!  

The rest of my class is full of business majors, but I found it interesting the variety of careers that my peers were looking to pursue.  There was a guy in my class that wants business skills to further his music career, a few future accountants, a future lawyer, and a future businessman who refuses to wear a suit another day in his life. 

These presentations were all about five minutes long and we were expected to ask the presenter questions at the end, read their memo about an article they read related to their career, and write down comments to give them a peer grade on the project.  The peer grading is in effect a large portion of everyone’s grade.  

After class, I watched the video of myself.  It was really interesting to watch my subconscious habits that I did not know I had.  I was very happy with my performance, but by watching myself on video I was able to see that I glanced down at my note cards more than necessary.  However, I was thankful to find that I’m not an “umm” person, a swaying person, or a person who tends to play with jewelry.  

Well, I’m relieved to be finished with one major project and now I can enjoy the rest of the presentations Wednesday and study for my tests in the meanwhile!  

Posted by Lydia at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have never been in such a giddy mood all day long as I was today.  I started off the morning with some comfortable sweat clothes and headed over the BA for my MGSC 291 class.  I got my first quiz back and I was thrilled to see 10/10 on the top of the paper with “great job” written beside it.  This put me in a great mood and I felt eager to learn and participate in class.  

Then I headed over to Humanities for my French class and completely embarrassed myself.  Instead of tripping on a brick like most students on campus, I tripped up the stairs inside the building, twice!  I normally walk in high heels, but today I had sneakers on!  I couldn’t even climb stairs.  I was so embarrassed to because after I slightly tripped the first time I proceeded to get up and fall again and spill my water in my cup everywhere!  Luckily for me there were only three girls behind me.  I’m enjoying some nice blue bruises on my knee to remind me of the incident.  

French 309 ended early today so I was able to eat lunch with my friend Megan (’09 Int’l Bus).  We were able to catch up on fraternity matters and life in general.  We ate at the Carolina Colloquium which is by far my favorite dining facility on campus.  

We then walked to Accounting 226 where I got my other great news of the day.  I got 3/3 on our first bonus quiz of the semester.  Since I’d completed all of the homework ahead of time, I volunteered answers and was engaged the entire time.  I realized this made the class time fly by! 

Well, tonight is RA interviews for prospective students for the Fall 2007-Spring 2008 school year.  I’m so excited about meeting new people because everyone I meet could potentially become my fellow staff member for next year!

Posted by Lydia at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past Saturday I woke up at 6:40 am!  Most college students rarely see this time on their alarm clock, but I saw it flashing and beeping on a weekend morning!  Saturday was the Student Leadership and Diversity Conference (SLDC) presented by the Gamecock Leadership Society (GLS).  I am a member of GLS which is a leadership organization on campus that invites schools in the southeast mostly to come and enjoy a variety of workshops to enhance individual skills and organizations.  

I arrived at the Russell House a few minutes after 7 am and helped set up each of the rooms before students from USC and other universities began to arrive for registration.  After setting up, I was a moderator for three separate workshops.  After introducing each speaker I was able to enjoy the session like everyone else.  

The first speaker was Rebecca Cody from USC’s Career Center.  She was great because she spoke to students about ways to make your skills marketable and ways to improve your résumé.  The second speaker was Dennis Rahiem Watson.  He was absolutely hilarious and he spoke about the types of things that face black students in college.  He was very interactive and engaged the audience throughout his entire speech.  He is a motivational speaker and I wish more students had come to enjoy his conversation.  The last session was with Dr. Tim Elmore.  He spoke with campus leaders in a small session.  He talked about his series of books called "Habitudes" and explained their meanings in relation to leadership.  This is the second time I was able to enjoy Dr. Elmore speak and he was just as motivational this time as the last. 

At 4 pm when the conference was over I was exhausted but so glad to have been a part of the main event!  I had an amazing Saturday and I look forward to planning and attending SLDC again next year! 

Posted by Lydia at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For those of you who may not already know, I am from Lutz, Florida.  Lutz is a suburb of Tampa.  From about 6th grade until my senior year of high school, my family and I took American history summer vacations and we loved to look at college campuses while we had the chance. 

I looked at universities from Florida, to Virginia, all the way up to about Massachusettes.  I loved a lot of schools for a variety of reasons, but my favorite amongst the schools was the University of South Carolina, which was actually the last school I ever looked at. 

When I first arrived in Columbia and went to the welcome center on USC's historic horseshoe I knew it was a perfect match for me.  My tour guide for the gorgeous summer day was amazing.  She answered a variety of my questions about class sizes, people, and the International Business major.  After completing the tour and seeing all of the brick buildings and learning the history behind a lot of the school, I did not want to look anywhere else.  Even before I saw Strom Thurmond (the Wellness and Fitness Center, which is currently my favorite place on campus) I was impressed by everything I saw and learned. 

I was not accepted into the honors college, which for me was at first hard to accept since I've been in honors classes my entire life.  However, after I was not admitted to the honors program I was offered the Capstone Scholars' Program and the McKissick scholarship (in-state tuition for out-of-state students).  Capstone Scholars is a wonderful program full of bright students from across America.  I felt right at home.  I'd say the majority of my floor was from out-of-state and eager to meet knew people. 

I am an outgoing person, but being surrounded by a lot of other people excited about college definitely made the experience amazing.  As a freshmen, everyone kept their doors open and loved to pop their heads in to introduce themselves and start making new acquaintances from the very beginning. 

I am still happy to this day with my decision to be a Gamecock and part of USC.  No matter what college you choose it is definitely what you make of the experience!  Get involved because I guarantee that will lead to a successful college experience. 

For Kristen, I hope this answered some of your prior questions.  Feel free to send me another comment!  Good luck with your decisions!

Posted by Lydia at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)