With only a few weeks left until the first leg of my travels is complete, it's hard to believe how time has flown by. In 35 days I have:
- Taken 12 flights
- Traveled over 2,883 miles
- Visited O'Hare 6 times
- Visited 5 completely new cities
- Connected with over 500 SDT Sisters across the country
- Missed BOTH FSU football games because of sorority recruitments!
In my first 35 days on the job, I have learned more than I ever imagined. Here are some of the little life lessons that come to mind when I think about the last 5 weeks, interpreted through pictures so you can all see where I've been!
Being flexible is key. From door holder, to therapist, to water girl (see above!), to ICS specialist- this job requires you to be whatever the chapter needs.
Coffee fixes everything. My caffeine consumption has increased drastically in the last few weeks, but I truly don't know how I would survive without it. In every city I've been to, I visit local coffee shops. Champaign-Urbana is home to Espresso, one of my favorites!
In every chapter and every new city, you will find people you have mutual friends with. It has been so comforting to walk into chapters and meet over women from my hometown (Hi Sydney and Shelby!) or women with friends who met me at other schools. Traveling to new places every day is hard, but these instant connections make the world seem so much smaller.
The life of a sorority consultant is all girls, all the time. This statue of a spartan is the most interaction I've had with a boy in nearly 5 weeks.
You have to laugh and Heads Up is the best game for laughter. Through every challenge you face, staying positive goes such a long way. This night in Wisconsin will probably go down in history as one of the best nights of my year!
Traveling is the ultimate game of patience. I have had more flight troubles than any of the other consultants (this is for an entirely separate blog post), but when you experience missed connections, canceled flights, and emergency landings...you have to keep your cool. Also, 51.9 lbs of a suitcase is really cutting it close.
EVERY COLLEGE TOWN HAS GOOD FOOD. Special shout out to the spring rolls (and cheese curds, and ice cream, and tapas) in Madison, the Coney dogs in East Lansing, the sushi in Athens, and the SDT brunch in Illinois. You have all made the world a better place.
You need to have friends you can lean on. Thank you to everyone who has called, texted, and reached out to me during my travels! I love hearing from my Gamma Lambda sisters and friends who just want to see how I'm doing.
There is no job that I would rather be doing. Through the crazy late nights, the happiness, the disappointments, the conference calls, the endless coffee runs, and the laughs...there is no job like this in the entire world. I couldn't be more grateful to make the transition out of college with a job like this one. It truly does not feel like I am working, and that really says something! Now, I am sitting in a hotel room in State College, PA and in a few days I'm off to Ann Arbor. I think it's safe to say I'm a professional jet setter now.
My first break will be for a few days starting September 24th. I will be in Brooklyn during this time and hope I get to see all of my NY friends!
