One Step At a Time

"If you want to win, you've got to start."-John Maxwell.

So I'm getting started. This blog is meant to begin a record of my "great big world" experiences on a personal level, not completely professional.  For that, I do not apologize. If the point is to provide future employers with a glimpse of me and into my life and how I will perform, this is me.

Sunday night was my first wedding planning/coordinating experience. . . .and I absolutely LOVED it. Every second, I felt so useful and loved being a part of each detail in making sure the ceremony, pictures, behind the scenes, and the reception went off the best it could.

I learned...SO much, and am really very excited about the next appointment I have coming up with my friend who is the planner. She is gracious enough to let me shadow her for the summer and fall weddings she is in charge of.

For privacy reasons, I won't give out too many details about the wedding and my friend (we'll just call her J), however I do want to share a few things I learned. She and I will be having our debriefing shortly, and I'm certain I'll learn even more than what we discussed while between moments on Sunday night. My major responsibilities included drying off bouquets, following the bride and bride's maids making sure they were hydrated during pictures, opening doors, carrying things, keeping flower girls and ring-bearers entertained, and then clean up after the event. So...

1. Timeline=your best friend. J had a play-by-play and order of everything. Her system made everything lightyears smoother. It was great. I'm sure most coordinators make a timeline, I'd just never seen one so detailed before.

2. Photographers walk a fine line between keeping things light and getting the job done. Good ones can do both efficiently...the one at this wedding was...too chatty. Borderline inappropriate. Mmm. But he did get the shots. It just took a looong time in the hot sun and bugs of a May Sunday at 3:00 pm.

3. Keeping guests waiting an hour after the ceremony outside without food while the newlyweds take pictures is really not the best option. Guests that are comfortable and fed remember someone's wedding more pleasantly.

4. J says she always likes to have the bride and groom escape before the reception so that they can privately grab a bite to eat while their guests are also eating, then come down later to greet, dance, etc. Works well.

5. Coffee beans and candles in vases and jars make lovely center-pieces...but are awful to have to clean out.

6. Since we're talking about candles, ones that are non-drip work great. We had a few leak on the table at the front of the chapel. I spent the time during speeches gently knocking wax off the wood.

7. Candy favors for guests to take were a BIG hit. Everyone loved the bags that they could fill with the candy we put in big bowls, jars, etc. It was great.

8. From now on, I will not wear a long dress while working at a wedding. It was a maxi, very cute, with a cardigan over it, but it was a) hot, b)in the way, and c)I didn't figure out I could tie it up instead of leaving it strapless until during the reception.

To end, I'd like to share lessons from John Maxwell that I learned today, thanks to J who passed on some of her subscriptions to SUCCESS magazine.

"To get started, know yourself. Settle your family life. Determine your priorities. Develop your life philosophy. Get physically fit. Learn your trade. Pay the price. Develop solid relationships. Prepare for the future, and Find purpose in your life." Sounds like a good list to begin with...and I am so very much a lists person. One step at a time...shadowing is a start, and I'm reading more and more. It's great to be alive in 2011! Last lesson for this entry:

"Never despise meager beginnings."-Janette Oak

Lessons Learned

Dear Upcoming College Students,

Beware:Freshmen have this nasty habit of being arrogant.

 I think it's because we think since we made it through high school and one year of college, we are sOoO grown up. This however is far from true. It would take all my fingers and toes plus a few to count  how many times I have been humbled over the year because of my own faux pas! How silly for us to think we are above those around us simply because we feel a small sense of accomplishment. Granted, it was a great and tough year, and we should be proud of the good things we did; but oh my heavens, how far we have to go!

I decided, for the benefit of future freshmen, the agreement of parents and adults, and to provide some laughter to all, to list some of the lessons I can remember from this past year. 

1. It is possible to not gain 15 pounds and still have healthy eating habits at college.
2. The gym is your friend.
3. Campus safety will give you tickets for what they say they will...don't try to beat the system.
4. There are so many beautiful people on Samford's campus.
5. Walmart is an excellent source of fun as well as supplies for all-things-college life.
6. If you make good guy friends at school, watch out for the micheivous ones...
7. Sometimes those same good guy friends introduce you to your future best girl friends.
8. Shushing in any cafeteria is very uncool...for me...and most everyone else around me, except those doing the shushing.
9. Cable TV and picking favorite shows to watch with your roommate is an excellent conversation starter.
10. Attending 7 different churches before finally deciding where to go is an ok thing.
11. Sonic is the best place for all dates.
12. The view of Birmingham at night from the top of a mountain is pretty awe-inspiring.
13. Dollar movies are the way to go.
14. Not having to do dishes or very many chores is quite nice, however, I personally was glad to do them each time I went home.
15. Having a roomy who is as equally neat-freak-ish as you is a major blessing.
16. Having a boyfriend who was your friend before you got to the same college is another major blessing.
17. Toilet paper disappears rapidly in a suite bath when 4 girls are sharing.
18. Quiet hours are really nice, but not held to...and it's ok.
19. Calling home at least every other day is greatly appreciated.
20. Being home for spring break freshman year is not a bad thing at all...just know that for the next years, it might be good to go somewhere else.
21. For Christians, daily seeking the Lord's face becomes ultra, ultra important at college. It makes a difference in your entire day.
22. Having friends whom you can discuss what Jesus is teaching you with is mucho importante.
23. Grades are means to an end, so do your best, even if the system frustrates the livin' daylights out of you.
24. JellO and whip-cream are a cheap, fun treat, and easy to make in the dorm room.
25. Having a job while balancing school and friends is a good taste of what "the real world" will be like.
26. Time management skills learned in high school DO pay off.
27. MOST skills learned in high school DO pay off.
28. If your campus has a quad (i.e., grassy area in the middle of the buildings) frizbee and guitars, or friends chillin' on blankets are common occurences.
29. Finding a secret place where you can go and think and be still on campus is a treasure.
30. You can learn something from each and every person you come into contact with...even the ones you think you have nothing in common with...or don't like.
31. Watching drunk people is very commical. Therefore, I have decided to never be drunk in order to save my own face. Nothing can be more humiliating than being in a situation where  you had no idea what you were doing, and then afterwards couldn't remember anything that happened.
32. Learning lessons from someone else's mistakes is much better than making the same mistake yourself and having to learn the lesson the hard way.

Oh my goodness, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the things I learned and experienced. You'll notice too that actual classroom lessons weren't really mentioned all that much. Oh, sure I learned all about French, the stars, world geography, cultural perspectives and history of the world, more French, argument and falisies, how to stay healthy in college, how to run a 5k, how to study hard in college and still fail, etc etc etc...the list goes on. And I enjoyed each of those lessons. But learning about life and the people I live it with took up much more time than class. And I loved every minute of all lessons learned...even the ones that were unpleasant.
Jesus said in John 16:33 of the Bible, "I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world, you will have troubles. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
What a good reminder. Be encouraged. No school experience, no job, no circumstance is too hard for my Jesus. To this I cling.

At the End of a Page

"There's something delicious about the first words of a story. You can never quite tell where they'll take you."

Today marks a very important day, although I'm of the mindset that each day is important. Today, however, I finished my freshman year of college. This is a major accomplishment, partially because now I don't really have any plans that are set in stone for my future.

But I'm excited....terribly excited...about life and the future. For now, I know that I have received the priviledge of working at my home-church in the Student Ministries for the summer. I am going to do the best that I can at that job, and pray that the experiences I have and things I learn over this summer can apply to the rest of my life.

My first entry ever in my very first, very own blog is entitled "At the End of a Page." Why? Because I love to read, and based on my experience, when you come to the end of a page...

....you turn it.