The Post-Thanksgiving Blur
Well, it didn’t take exactly a month since my last post. Things have (as usual) been hectic since I last gave a peek into my life. One of the things that never ceases to amaze me about college, is how quickly the last couple of weeks before the semester lets out just zoom by, lost between the mounds of schoolwork and the preparation for the quickly approaching finals. It happened again this semester, and now that I’ve flown home and the semester is over, I’m still trying to recover on sleep and regain my bearings as I look forward to the spring.
A few interesting things happened after Thanksgiving:
First off, my efforts in conjunction with the co-chairs of the newly created Centenary Fencing club paid off, as we brought the resolution to charter their organization before SGA and had it approved. Congratulations to the Centenary Fencing club! I really hope they will do well and thrive.
December 1st was the date of ZTA Winter Formal. Several of my friends attended, and we had a blast. The food was delicious, the place looked amazing, and there where people walking around in fancy dresses and elegant suits. It was quite a memorable evening. ZTA announced their new chapter leaders and handed out awards to outstanding Sisters. Good times.
That's me and a few of my friends before we took the bus to the Party. Laila Al-Dubais was nice enough to invite me to the Formal, and I thank her for it because we had a blast. My grand-little Brother Clay Mills also attended, escorting the beautifully dressed Ms. Dana McGee.
On December 8th, one of my senior Brothers, Cory Olson, held a show that he put together just for fun. It was a basically him and a bunch of his musically talented friends singing some of Cory’s favorite humorous songs and acting them out accordingly. It was by far the most hilarious thing I’ve seen in a while. Cory’s father drove in just to sing beside his son, a very touching moment for all who attended. From the conversations I’ve had with Cory before and after his concert, he had wanted to do a show like this for quite some time now. We reflected on how students so rarely get to do an event as big as this just for the fun of it, and that made it all the more special. I tried snapping a few pictures of this with my cell phone camera, but none of them really turned out well, sorry. You'll just have to take my word about how great it was.
Later on that same day, Theta Chi had its annual Christmas Party at Brother Charles Eddy’s house. We enjoyed some amazing grilled meats and apple cider as prepared by our own Grill Master, Brother Richard Davis. Many gifts where exchanged, laughs shared and a good time was had by all who attended. Here's a picture I like from that night. It was originally intended to be a family picture, but JR was there too, so we just took him in.
One of my little Brothers, Thomas Skrmetti, decided to craft a throne for me using a fold-up lawn chair and some crafty paint work. It turned out amazing, it says Theta on one arm rest and Chi on the other, the letters are painted on the back and it says El Presidente right above it.
That's me sitting on my Presidential Throne. I also got a scarf from by Big Brother, Brett Martin, which you can see me wearing, and the movie Superbad and a T-shirt from my Little Brother, Matt Blanchard.
Which brings me to my last bit of good news. Theta Chi had it’s elections on December 2nd, and a whole new Executive Council (EC for short) was voted in and installed. I was elected President of my Fraternity, which is really quite overwhelming, not to mention a huge honor. I have faith in my Brothers to assist me in moving our Chapter forward as we usher in a new year. I think it will be fun. For those of you who are curious and still don’t know, the newly elected officers are as follows:
- President-Myself
- Vice President-Thomas Skrmetti
- Secretary-Vincent Turregano
- Treasurer-Mark Moehle
- Marshall-Carl Newton
I think it’s funny that the VP is my little Brother/Room mate/Close friend. I fully expect to be holding EC meetings from the comfort of my own bed, since Thomas and I are both really really lazy. Or at least we like to say we are. Either way, it’s a really young set of officers, with brand new ideas and the fire of Brotherhood still burning strong. It should be a really interesting year. We’ve held a few meetings already, and they’ve gone splendidly. I’m really hoping for the best. We’re going to try really hard to re-establish contact with our local alumni, since we’ve heard some complain that we don’t keep them in the loop enough, and I agree.
Well, that’s pretty much it for the non-school related stuff. Finals happened, they where challenging as usual, but they are over now, and what’s done is done. I wasn’t able to keep my 4.0 GPA, and I still think I could have done better in a few of my classes, but hey, what can you do? That’s life, and we’ve all got to learn how to roll with the punches. All I can do now is buckle down and work towards bringing my GPA up over the next two and a half years. It’s challenging, but I’ve always liked a good challenge.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I just turned 20 like a week ago, on December 16th. It was a bittersweet occasion for me, because it’s the first birthday ever that I spend away from my family, but my friends still made a great effort to show me a good time, despite the fact that it was right in the middle of finals. It doesn’t really matter much. I’ve never been a big birthday person. Besides, turning 20 brings nothing new or interesting, and what people get really excited about at their 21st birthday in the US, I’ve been legally able to do since I turned 18 in my country, so yeah.
I flew back home on December the 19th and was greeted at the airport by select family members and by my gorgeous girlfriend. Since then, my mother has been dragging me around town doing Christmas shopping and we’re setting to leave town for the holidays. We’re heading to Copan, a rural area of the country where my father is from. This is the place where you find the Mayan ruins that people often comment upon. It’s really quite beautiful. We’re visiting my grandparents who live in a small town in the mountains that has retained is colonial architecture, from the dirt roads to the cathedrals and all. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll make sure to snap a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.
We have a few interesting traditions in my country that I will discuss after my return. For now, I will bid you all adieu, for I still need to finish packing and we’re leaving tomorrow morning.
Happy Holidays!
Marco
