And just like that, Summer’s coming to a close. I’m drowning in projects and study guides, but soon enough the classes will be done. No more going out every night of the week, no more free shots from bar tender friends, no more pool days, no more rope swings. In just two weeks I’ll be reunited with all of my sisters to practice singing and swaying and talking and walking. I’ll welcome my final new member class of baby xis. And then…

My senior year starts

I’m sorry what? It feels like yesterday I was a camp war eaglet. I was a PNM. I was a baby xi. I was a freshman. And now I’m at the top of the totem pole, and I’m not sure I like it. I’m not sure I’m ready to give all this up. These three years at Auburn have been some of my best and worst times, but I’ve learned a helluva a lot and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

If senior year is anything like the last three, it can only be simply amazing. Bring it on!

“People who say life is not worthwhile are really saying that they themselves have no personal goals which are worthwhile. Get yourself a goal worth working for. Better yet, get yourself a project. Always have something ahead of you to look forward to, to work for, and to hope for” - Maxwell Maltz

Sorry this was short and not too meaningful. Just a random “3:30 should be sleeping” thought brought to you by yours truly

XOXi

Brooke

Quite possibly my favorite thing about Summer is how much spare time you have to relax and read. Even though I’m taking 10 hours this summer (what was I thinking?) I don’t have football games, parties, dinners, sorority things, and all that craziness to deal with so I have plenty of time to lay by the pool with my nook and with my nose in a book! I’ve already read FOUR books this month! (wait, what?) 

@SororityGirlProblems - “Sucks to Suck” and “Shit Show”

Alright don’t judge me too much here… If you’re like me you follow 600 variations of “TSM” “Sorority Girl Problems” and “AU Greek Girl” or whatever on Twitter which are occasionally good for a retweet or two. But @SororityGirlProblems is pretty much hilarious and when she wrote her first book “Sorry I’m Not Sorry” I had to check it out. I read that one on the plane ride over to the Dominican Republic for Spring Break. I’ve already read the second and third ones this summer (I think I finished each of them in a day). They are super short but funny, lay by the pool with your friends reads. They might make you feel a little better about yourself… oops?

Tina Fey - Bossypants

This was probably one of the best Autobiographies I’ve read. Tina Fey is hilarious so naturally a book about her life is equally hilarious. She writes about her time at SNL and the making of 30 Rock and impersonating Sarah Palin which was interesting as well. Another good pool book in my opinion. “If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?” 

Andy Cohen - Most Talkative

I’m actually still in the middle of this one, but I’ll probably finish it by this weekend. After Tina Fey’s book I was on an Autobiography kick and I had been hearing about Andy’s book on Bravo. It’s equally hilarious, but a little more serious. He talks about coming out during the AIDS epidemic which was intriguing. What’s probably most cool is how he met all of these super famous people before they were actually super famous (he interned at CBS with Julie Chen!) 

I think next on my list are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books, Water for Elephants, Wife by Wednesday, Beginner’s Greek, and the rest of the Tucker Max books… mostly because I downloaded all of these before Spring Break to read in the DR but didn’t actually ever get to them!

Let me know if you have book suggestions? 

Twas’ the week I was home for Summer, and all through Roswell

Not a party was thrown; I was in an alcohol dry spell

The Taco Mac queso was eaten without a care

In hopes that the weight gain just wouldn’t be there

I snuggled with my puppies in my old giant bed

While visions of sleeping till noon danced in my head

And the J Crew coupons were clipped and stacked neatly

In hopes Don Don felt the need for some retail therapy

My plans were soon shattered at 9AM the next morning

When Don Don awoke me without any warning

I’m not a morning person, so it’s all a bit hazy

Something about a messy room and when I got so lazy

And this dish to wash and that window to clean

It was clear that J Crew was just in my dreams

Forget watching marathons of anything bridal

My parents only wanted to watch American Idol

The junk food from my high school years had all disappeared

As my Adkins dieting father says “no carbs allowed here!”

And every time I lunched with the girls for a catch up session

Don Don prompted me with a thousand and one questions

“Now, who? Now, where? Now, what time and why?

Is she still at Georgia? I heard she went Pi Phi!

I heard she got arrested! Do you think that’s true?

Now don’t forget when you get back we’ve got things to do!”

By this time I was in need of a super strong cocktail

I began sneaking rum from the cabinet without fail

At dinner with friends, downing a glass of wine

Or two, or three, or four… don’t worry it’s fine

And that’s when I had this bright idea!

Throw the party of the month? No the party of the year!

Oh wait, just kidding, my social life is rather barren

I’ll just leave that one up to good ol’ Aaron

So I decided to do what I do best, much to my parents’ dismay

Lie in bed and watch Netflix all day every day!

I quickly ran through Toddlers and Tiaras season 1

Who knew being a bum could be so much fun?

Don Don hated my laziness but gave up the fight

And agreed to pay for a manicure, which was quite all right

She even cooked me dinner, I guess being at home has its pros

But lest we forget, the 30 million other woes

A summer in Auburn is the best there can be!

Drink specials and pool days? Sounds damn good to me!

I can’t remember the last time “War Eagle!” was heard

Over here in Dawg nation, it’s like a curse word

And ATL traffic, now that’s just a pain

I’m ready to go back to the “Loveliest Village on the Plains”

And now that Chipotle has burst on the scene

My needs have been met in terms of Auburn cuisine

Everyone knows summer classes are mostly a joke

I’d rather lay by the Creekside pool with a rum and a coke

So while Roswell will always be close to my heart

I’m thinking it’s about time for us to part

I’ll just pack up my Xterra, and hit 85

And sing Call Me Maybe my whole 2 hour drive

So here’s where my poem ends, so I guess I’ll just say

Happy Summer to all, see you at Sky Bar on Wednesday!

You can watch my hot sistas break it down as robots in Auburn’s greek sing this year here (we come on at 1:15:00 ish)

So proud to be an Alpha Xi!

I’ve been in such a funk lately, but today was the BEST DAY EVER! Here’s why:

• It was sunshiney after a week of rain and I got to wear chacos!
• Alpha Xi Delta got a Lilly print!!!!!!
• Got lunch with some sweet friends
• Got to play a game of Bananagrams in between classes
• Broke 2 Million on Temple Run

• Came back from my night class to a new AXiD sweatshirt and Chocolate!! (Seriously, I have the best sisters ever)

• I finally got the cable in my dorm to work!

#blessed

XOXi

Brooke

Welp. I walked into Target today and it all hit me… but really how could it not hit you? It’s Valentine’s Day time. Throughout my 21 years of living I have done some very extensive research (aka I read my twitter timeline) and have come up with some shocking statistics. 99.9% of Americans hate this day, and .1% enjoy it and ruin it for everyone. 

I know what you are thinking. “Oh she’s just bitter because she’s single now” And by golly you are a little bit right. Who wouldn’t be bitter about Single Awareness Day? Hello! Make that an acronym, you get SAD. Who needs a day where all you can do is be reminded that you are alone? 

But it’s not just the fact that I spend more nights with a tub of cookie dough (I don’t like cats) than a man. It’s mostly the obnoxiousness of Valentines day. You can’t go into a store without being bombarded by red and pink, which by the way is a nauseating color scheme, and little hearts and cupids everywhere. Not to mention, they started decorating Januaray 1st, as if we weren’t all sick of your Christmas obnoxiousness.Can’t you just go back to a nice “Back to School” theme? Or here’s a thought, no theme at all? Woah. Don’t even think about getting on Pinterest until February 15th! Unless of course you want to depress yourself with all the crafts you have no one to make. And maybe this is just me, but the amount of PDA seems to escalade significantlyon this day. Yuck. 

Even if you are dating someone on Valentine’s day, it still blows. It’s just unnecessary money spent on chocolate no girl is going to eat this close to Spring Break! Not to mention you probably used up your good gift idea on Christmas and God help you if his birthday is in January!! 

I’ve hated this day ever since my mom stopped cutting my PB&J into shapes for the holidays and February 14th came and went with another sandwich I had to peel the crust off myself. But ya know what’s funny, every single person I talk to feels this way. (Except for that one girl who has been working on her mrs degree since middle school, always has a boyfriend, and seems to never have a bad hair day. Damn her.) So why do we give in? Why do we all spend our days searching the card aisle for that perfect balance between meaningful and cheesy? Why do we buy overpriced chocolate to toss out a week later? Why do we spend our money on that new romantic comedy/chick flick when we have no date lined up? It’s like we all hate it, but no one is ballsy enough to stand in the middle of times square and declare a boycott or something!

Luckily, I’ll be in class until 9PM and if I’m lucky, a singing boy will give me a flower on the concourse like last year. There wasn’t really a point to this post, other than to share some general distaste for the stupidest holiday alive. If you have the same feelings and are interested in forming a boycott, hit me up in the comments.

XOXi

Brooke

A boy who:

- loves the lord

- will take me to formal in Nola

- will take me ice skating in Centennial Olympic Park

- has a trust fund

-lets me cook/bake at his apt, but doesn’t expect me

-will cuddle with me while I watch Real Housewives, Kardashians, Teen Mom, Dance Moms, and Toddlers and Tiaras

-hates cargo shorts and loves bow ties

-Pre Med or Pre Law

… yeah that’s about it :)

(I feel the need to note that this is a complete joke. I’m just taking time to be single me right now and my list is much longer and not as shallow as this… for the freaking record)

• Chick Fil A Bowl Ticket
• Game Day clothes to wear to the Chick Fil A Bowl
• Curling Iron
• The remote to my tv
• Nook (But I remembered the charger)
• My Project Uplift family’s address

I’m sure I will discover more as the break goes on… I also managed to bring 3 cell phone chargers home? #hotmess

After each semester, I like to look back at the ups, the downs, and everything in between.

I spent a whole week singing, swaying, screaming, making small talk, lovin on Autism Speaks, and sharing Xi Love. We welcomed 62 amazing women home on Bid Day!

Philanthropy Day. Yes we wear aprons. Yes other chapters on campus do it too.

The first day of recruitment! Love these girls.

I watched another awesome season of Auburn football. We were by no means National Champions, but I’ll still always love my Tigers. WDE forever.

The first game of the season!

AU vs. Florida at the Chi Phi tailgate. We took so many funny pictures this game!

I spent Labor Day at the lake with some sisters and swam in the rain. We got to listen to stories from when Mama Moore was an Alpha Xi at Auburn way back when. So cool!

It is 100% raining in this picture if you can’t tell haha

I went through a rough break up, but found love and support in unexpected places, and for that I am thankful.

I became a Grandbig and welcomed my lovely grandlittle to the DaiXi (Daisy) family!

My cute family on the steps of Cater Hall after reveal!

I helped the Zeta Xi chapter of Alpha Xi Delta raise over $44,000 for Autism Speaks at our 2nd Annual Step It Up Auburn walk / run.

I served my final semester on the Executive Committee with 8 other awesome girls. I learned so many lessons here and honestly found why I was meant to be an AXiD.

PR VP, NMOC, and President after the Halloween social

All of us except for President and Membership VP who were off doing something important on the first day of Recruitment.

I celebrated an old friend’s 21st birthday at the Sundial in Atlanta!

I seriously love ATL at night time.

I finally started taking classes I care about since I am done with core classes and into my major classes! I’ve made friends in my major, which makes going to class really fun! Some of my professors weren’t my favorite… but I LOVED one that I had for 2 classes, so it all seemed to even out.

Some of my classmates… not in class haha

I turned 21! And made a weekend’s worth of bad decisions and had multiple shenanigans.

I made a few visits to Athens, GA. Got barked at by an obnoxious fan (still bitter… you are a human! stop that!) Almost ate at a place called Cozy Yum Yums, and explored downtown Athens until I couldn’t handle the hills anymore. Don’t worry I survived.

A bunch of sisters at a bar in Athens for the UGA/Auburn game!

I finally got to attend an Iron Bowl! Cross that off the Bucket List!

Check out the Drunk Mom behind us! LOVE!

I lost my sweet Grandparents right around finals time. I miss them every day but I am happy they are with each other.

I became close to friends I wasn’t close to before and closer to friends I was close to. I am so thankful for the amazing friends and sisters God has blessed me with. I would be lost without them.

Some best friends :)

These four live in the room across the hall from me and let me lay on their floor when I’m having a bad day. Wouldn’t be the same living there without them.

An old HS friend!

Good friends at our Halloween social.

More good friends on my Birthday

Pretty sisters in Athens

My tiny friends at the Iron Bowl

The most wonderful President there ever was. Couldn’t live on the hall without this girl either.

My little in the background… love.

The Roomie

This picture is hilariousness. At the Chi Phi house.

I honestly can’t believe I made it. The beginning of this semester was rough. My classes seemed harder, I lost my support system (BF), and I had some minor friend drama. It seems hard when your a Junior to make new friends and I struggled with that a lot too. But in the end, everything seemed to fall into place. I can’t believe I’m a Junior still. I only have 3 semesters left… what? When did we grow up? But it is exciting looking towards the future! All in all, this semester wasn’t too shabby :)

You’re really kinda just hard to want