Hey, guys!! Long time, no speak.. or so it seems :o) This past week, fortunately, has been AMAZING!! Let’s recap.

On Monday, we had no school due to HuRrRiCaNe WiLMa!! So, I went to the beach with my friends Beth and Marcus. Then, we went back to Marcus’ house and ate breakfast. Around 5:15, I get a phone call from a random guy named Phillip who is a member of the AHP frat. He said to be in my room between 6 and 7. So, you’d better believe I was there. At about 6:05, there’s a knock on my door. I open it to find five pledges with TONS of presents from my BIG sister. For those of you who aren’t so familiar with Greek life, a big sister is someone in the sorority who has more experience. Big/Lil week is when we, the lil, are showered with presents.

Anyway, I’m really excited for the remainder of that day. So, I go to sleep and wake-up for class on Tuesday. I have three classes, but nothing due. It was one of those show up and look pretty days. Then, that night, I have a meteorology club meeting. They had a local meteorologist come in and talk to us about his career. Then, afterwards, the president of the meteorology honors society got up to speak. After he’s done with his talk, he calls me to the front of the room. In front of EVERYONE, he gives me my BIG sister present. It was awesome!! After the meeting, my friend Rachel and I go with Marcus to the store to get some Halloween costumes. Then, we call it a night.

Wednesday was awesome, too. We went to the CaReeR eXPo with University 101. So, class got out earlier than expected. Not feeling so well, I go to bed around 8. At about 11, I hear this pounding on the door. My big sister sent our Xi Man from last year (that’s what we call our sorority’s sweetheart) to deliver me some presents. It was so cute!! I was so excited. She baked me a cake that said: I love my lil Maria.. is that not the cutest thing you’ve EVER heard?! After this, I’m feeling slightly better. So, I eat some of the cake with some friends and go to bed, again.

Thursday morning, I wake up pretty excited because it’s the last day of classes for the week. It was homecoming weekend!! So, I make it through the day. Then, I start getting ready for the first Halloween party of my life. I never used to celebrate this occasion. While I’m getting ready, I get a phone call from a guy named Paul. He’s in the Pike frat. So, no less than 10 minutes later, he shows up at my door with a TON of presents from my BIG sister. I’m so excited, too, because the men she sends me get cuter and cuter each day. Later on, I go to the Pike party with some of the sisters and pledges. We have a great night and close down Cancun Lagoon. I have pictures.. at the end!!

On Friday, I have to wake up to go shopping around 9. Then, I start making a shirt that has to be done by 1 for the parade. When I get it on without ruining the paint job, I grab some food with the girls at Propellers. It was great.. I love hamburgers!! Then, we head over and work on the float until the parade starts at 3. Before the parade starts, an SAE brother came over and said his pledges were going to sing to me. They sang the sweetest song about how I’m a rose or a violet or something. Then, they gave me tons of presents!! After the parade, we go back to take a nap until the basketball game. Two of our sisters were up for HoMeCoMiNG QueeN, but didn’t quite make it. I was bummed, but such is life. After the game, we got ready for the Sigma Chi party. It was a GREAT time. I’m not one for partying.. I don’t drink. I just love people!!

On Saturday, I get to sleep in. I’m very happy about this, too. Went to see Carlos Mencia at the ICI around 8. He was HILARIOUS. Never seen his show, but will be watching it, now. After that, I hung out with my friend Derek. We watched a movie and fell asleep. I was all partied out.

Sunday, was fun. I went to a BBQ for my sorority at Ponce Inlet. I saw dolphins swimming SoOo close you could almost touch them!! It was fantastic. Then, we had our new member meeting. After that, I called a Pike brother to ask for some help with Calculus 1. Now, I’m writing this.

I had a great weekend. This week shouldn’t be horrible, but I have a bit of homework due. So, I’ll be a little stressed. I have some pictures, now. Hope ya’ll enjoy them. If you ever have any questions, feel free to e-mail me: olivab46@erau.edu

Well, today is Friday, Oct. 14.. tomorrow is my 18th birthday!! That’s right, I’m a young one, here on campus. Actually, I’ve met another person or two who are even younger than LiL me. So, I’d say there are a fair share of younger students at Riddle.

Anyway, things are going alright. They sure have been better. I’ve had some CRaZzZie things going on, but.. despite them.. I’m doing just fine. I had a mini-breakdown, last night. I had this HUGE project due, this morning, in my IT 109 (Intro. to Computers) class. I started it MUCH earlier than I usually begin projects, but it wasn’t quite early enough. Luckily, I found some awesome friends who could help me out with it. So, I got it turned in on time. However, I was a wreck in the process. Procrastination is NOT the key to being a successful student, here. Trust me!!

As far as the birthday is coming along, my boyfriend is here!! He flew in on Wed. He’s staying until next Tuesday. So, I’ve still got him for a few more days!! This weekend, we’re going with my best friend from Riddle, Beth, to her place in Clearwater. She misses her friends, and I could use a break from the dorms for a bit. I got a HUGE package in the mail, yesterday. I got a TON of gifts from the family and from Monty. It was great 🙂 I love presents.. especially the opening them part.

As far as my other classes, things aren’t going too bad. I’m feeling MUCH more confident in CaLC.. AS 120 should be getting better.. and World History isn’t ToOo bad despite the teacher.

I hate to write this early, but I figured I’ll be busy, this weekend. If I can, I’ll write another entry within the next two weeks and post the birthday pictures.. and maybe a picture or two from my experiences with the Alpha Xi Delta sorority 🙂 Have a great one, guys!!

WoW!! If no one has done so, yet, let me be the first to inform you that college is ROUGH. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m loving every single minute of this awesome RiDdDLe experience, but it is NOT easy by any stretch of the imagination.

So, it’s been about two weeks, I’m assuming, since my first journal entry. At that point in time, things were going pretty well in all of my classes. I was slightly struggling in MA 241 (Calculus 1), but that was the worst of it. Things, now, have started to get MUCH harder. I took a test in my World History class, last Thursday. Let’s just say that this class has been a challenge to get through since day one — the teacher is EXTREMELY boring, and she will admit to this. Well, the test was IMPOSSIBLE. I don’t know where she got ANY of the information that was on the exam. Needless to say, I (along with every other person I talk to in that class) don’t think we did so well.

On Wednesday, I had my first Calculus exam. We’d already taken one quiz which was worth about nothing. So, this was pretty huge. How I did on the exam is still up in the air, but there is about a 50/50 chance I passed. YIPES!!

Anyway, looking back at last week, my best friend, Beth, and I have come up with a new way of going about studying for classes. We’re now buckling down, reviewing both before and after each class to prepare ourselves for what’s to come. I hate having to set extra time aside to do things that aren’t really of much interest to me in the first place, but I’d hate it even more to get a bad grade in any of my classes. By the way, my other classes are going very well!!

As far as things on the homefront in Ohio, things are going well. Monty, my boyfriend, is planning on coming down to Daytona Beach for my birthday which is in exactly 13 days. I’m young, though, so will only be turning 18. However, that is a definite reason to party. My family is supposed to be sending down presents!! I cannot wait for that. And my friends Beth, Herbie, and Greg are going to make me a cake. They’re also taking Monty and I to Disney World for the weekend!! HoOoRaY 🙂

Things are going really well, here (minus being pretty sick to my stomach — YUCK!!). I’m liking this place more and more each day. This past weekend, I went to Orlando with the crew. We went shopping, saw fireworks, and just had a good time. Oh, and on Friday night, we went ice skating. It was awesome.

The previous weekend, I spent with the sorority girls on campus with preference parties and such. And, I got my bid card on Sunday.. I’m pledging ALPHA XI DELTA!! Tomorrow night is our big coming in event. We all have to wear white dresses. And I’m really excited!! If I get the chance to talk with Jill, I may start posting pictures up, here. The girls and I are really big into pictures, and I thought it’d be fun to share them with you so you can do more than just read about life here at ERAU.. you can see it, too!

Anyway, I could go on and on forever about how things are going, here. However, homework is definitely calling my name. I should’ve written a few days earlier. As you’ll realize, though, things tend to slip your mind while you’re at school. Have a great next week or two. I cannot wait until the next post!!

Wow! It’s so hard to believe the third week of school is almost over. I feel like I just got here. At the same time, though, I feel like I’ve been here forever. I’ve already made so many new friends, and they’re amazing. I absolutely love it here. I can’t imagine what it’d be like anywhere else. Embry-Riddle is my home 🙂

Before I get into my experiences here, I should introduce myself. My name is Maria. I am a 17-year-old Applied Meteorology major, here, at the Daytona Beach campus of Embry-Riddle. I’m from Ohio, born and raised, about 14 hours away from here by car. I am the oldest of four. I have two great sisters, Alexa and Phillipa, and a brother, Nicholas. I also have the best parents (don’t we all?!) who have been there for me through everything. Without them, this college experience would be IMPOSSIBLE. Oh.. can’t forget to talk about my BoYFRieND. His name is Monty.. well, it’s Eric, but we won’t be calling him that anytime in the near future. He’s 21-years-old and living back in the OH. I miss him a lot, but we’re doing great. We don’t really have a date on which we became an “official” couple as most other long-term/long-distance couples do. We’ve been hanging out for a little over a year, now.. and things started to get serious around SeNioR PRoM. So, that’s the scoop on the Monty.

My favorite color is pink.. in fact, my entire side of the dorm room (as well as a bit of my roomie’s) is a B-e-a-uTiFuL shade of pink. And I LOVE to eat. I have a lovely stash of junk food in my closet, and it’s getting lower by the day.

Other than that, I’m just your average 17-year-old female.. living in DAYTONA BEACH, FLoRiDa!! Gosh.. I still can’t believe that I can say that. I know I’m here.. trust me, you can feel it when you walk outside (HOT!!).. but it doesn’t seem real. I’m seriously living like four miles away from the Atlantic Ocean. How lucky did I get?!

Anyway, back to the school bit. I got here a week before the first day of orientation. I stayed with my family and boyfriend in a hotel on the beach. The Wednesday of orientation, we got to the school around 10. The students and faculty who took charge of the ordeal were so great. They were full of information and more than ready to do anything they could to help you out. The entire soccer team helped me move into my room 🙂

With my family still being in town, I didn’t spend too much time at school the first few days. When they left, Friday, though, I got my first real taste of what college life was all about. After crying for about 10 minutes (gotta miss the crew!!), I went back to my room and spent some time getting to know my roomie and suitemates. My roomie is from Korea. She already had a few friends, here, since she’d been here an additional day. So, I got to spend some quality time with them before going to the PoOoL PaRTie with my suitemates. It was so much fun. I got to meet a TON of other people, including upperclassmen. And the games were so much fun.

That Saturday or Sunday, I went to the beach with a few people I met around campus. We had dinner and just watched the waves for a bit. It was nice and relaxing.

On Sunday morning, I went to the 11-am church service. It was a good time. I didn’t really know anyone as I walked in, but that changed in a matter of seconds. And, now, we’re all great friends. I haven’t been back yet, because I spent the following weekend with my boyfriend and was sick with a NaSTy cold this past weekend. But.. I do plan on going back. I wish I could make it, this Sunday, but I’m leaving for a wedding in Tennessee, tomorrow.

Sometime over the weekend, I went to the mall. I met a cool upperclassman who gave me a lift because I don’t have my license, right now. Do not speed in Ohio!!

When classes started, Monday, I was so nervous. Most of my teachers were great, though. The same is true for Tuesday.. since classes aren’t the same each day, anymore!

Now, three weeks into the school year, I feel as though I’ve been here forever. I love it. My classes are going well.. I’m struggling a bit with Calculus 1, but my friend, Beth, who is in all but two of my classes with me, has been helping me. She’s already taken the course. So, the material isn’t as new to her. I’m considering a tutor, actually. I’m still undecided.

Yesterday was the Activities Fair. I found EVERYTHING I could ever imagine wanting to do. I found the Meteorology club.. which I’d already attended a meeting for, Young-life, Surf club.. another one I’d already attended a meeting for, Swimming & Diving, and OOO so much more. I cannot wait to get involved.

Last night, Beth and I went to her friends’ pool to try scuba diving at night. It was so much fun, but still being a little sick from that cold I’m getting over, I didn’t stay in long. Her friend, Herbie, made me some chicken and noodle soup, though. It was so sweet. The people here are just perfect. I couldn’t imagine having any better friends.

Well, it’s going on 7:00. I have to get started on an English paper. I look forward to the next time I get to share with ya’ll.