Hello, World.

I finished my junior year of undergrad about a week ago, but I was on campus until Sunday. Then I moved home, and since, I’ve spent time with family, slept, and read for pleasure! It’s so great to have less stress for a week. However, now that I’m rested and have some down time, I wanted to share a wrap up of my junior year. This year was by far my hardest. I struggled a lot. I questioned myself, my leadership choices, and a lot about my plan for senior year. With that being said, this year was so rewarding. I was able to cleanse my life of negative energy, make decisions that were best for me, and grow into a person I am proud of. So, with that, here is my junior year:

Junior year started when I returned to SMC to begin training for my Resident Advisor position. Training was long, tiring, funny, and rewarding! It was super helpful for the job, and helped me get mentally ready for the responsibilities I had.

During training, I spent time playing capture the flag on the RA team against the Weekend of Welcome leaders, and making hall decorations for the incoming residents!

Once moved in, my hall participated in the first year Olympics, which was super fun! If I remember correctly, we got third place!
Since I got to be the RA for the hall  I lived in as a first year student, I got to host Tea and Cookies, a weekly event in the hall. I loved this event my first year on campus, and I was thrilled to continue the tradition.
In September, my best friend left America for a semester abroad in London, England! I was so sad to see her go, but she had an absolutely wonderful time!
One of my close friends, Kate, celebrated the big 2-1! I drove her to her family home to celebrate, and then we stopped by the store on the way home so she could buy some alcohol.
My mom visited for her birthday! Isn’t she lovely?
The thing about being an RA is it changes your entire life. No more are the nights of going to bed only worrying about waking up stressing about school. Residents knock at 3am, and you have to answer the door. This leads to a more tired demeanor, which means an increase in your coffee intake. I can say: I drank way too much coffee this year. Way too much.
I read a lot of books this year. A lot. In the spring semester alone I had 37 books. Anyway, I spent time in the sun, soaking up nice weather and getting school work done.
My sister got engaged!!! This was SO exciting. She asked me to be her maid of honor, and of course I accepted. I’m so so excited for her wedding, which is in October.
This is a terrible photo, but I got to meet the woman who inspired the film, Freedom Writers with Hilary Swank. Erin Gruwell is such a sweetheart in person! She’s truly inspiring, and gave a great talk.
One of my residents gave me a sweet little gift to kick off midterm break and Halloween season! Seriously, so sweet!
Kate went home with my for midterm break, and we had a blast carving pumpkins and exploring Chico a bit.
Over the break, I met my cousin’s baby Carter, who is a beautiful baby girl (and is now huge and even cuter).
Kate, my mom and I went to see The Best of Me, which was so much sadder than I thought it would be! Other movies I saw this year? The Duff (which I highly recommend), and The Imitation Game (SO good)!
Following midterm break, I basically did my job as an RA and studied off campus 24-7 leading up to Thanksgiving!
This year Kate, Erica, and I hosted our first ever Friendsgiving, which is a tradition I hope we continue! It was so much fun! We made Gluten Free options, and had the whole Thanksgiving spread.
Over Thanksgiving break, our family gained a new member named Sophie, this sweet little pup. She’s now four, almost five, pounds!
I had a very simple Thanksgiving with the family, which was nice! It may seem like most of fall semester was spent with family, but it’s more that most of my great memories of fall involve my family. As I said, I was going through some hard things, and I greatly appreciated the time I had with my family. Once I got back to school, I had about two weeks until Christmas vacation. This time was spent finishing up my first honors contract. This was a 15-page paper analyzing poverty, patriarchy, and the transition to matriarchy in The Grapes of Wrath and Winter’s Bone. In the spring, I completed my second honors contract. A 17 page paper on Invisible Man and Passing.
Christmas break was a bit of a blur, and went by too fast, but I had a great time meeting up with friends, spending time with family, and relaxing at home.
One of my oldest friends also turned 21! I’m kind of the baby of my friend group, but I had fun drinking non-alcoholic mojitos in Chico with her to celebrate her day! Kate and I did yoga for the month of January because a local studio was having a special. It was so relaxing and fun; we’re hoping to join full-time in the fall.
For Holly’s 21st birthday, she had a 1940s themed party, which was way too much fun! Dressing up was great, and we all had a fabulous time. During January, I went with my school’s law club to tour UC Davis Law School. It was so much fun because as I was looking at the school, I realized that my career path is perfect, and that the law school track is ideal for me. Here’s to praying that I get a high LSAT score and into the best school for me. I also registered for the LSAT… YIKES.In March, I facilitated a leadership retreat called the Developing Leaders Retreat that is for sophomore and junior students. I led a workshop on personal leadership style, and had a blast! The group of students was so engaged, I definitely learned from them!I drove home for a weekend about a month before school ended! I had a great little road trip with my friend, Erica. I also started taking some stuff home for summer. Spring semester was super busy, but I loved it! I got named Co-Chair of Academic Honor Council for next year, I attended the English Department Banquet, I met with professors, got really into my schoolwork, and prepared to come home. Overall, spring was a great semester.

Junior year, in retrospect, felt like a lifetime and also like a month. It dragged in places, but overall it flew by. I learned so much about so many aspects of life. I made some major decisions, like moving building as an RA for next year, and confirming that law school is in my near future. I cannot believe I’m 3/4 of the way done with my undergraduate career, and while this scares me a little, I feel so ready and capable for all that is ahead because of the experiences I’ve had thus far. Cheers to summer!

Truly,
Callie leigh