What an IMPACT!!!

The last post I did NOT want to write at all, but this one I've been looking forward to all week!!! It's funny how the past few times I've been en route to Warrensburg, I've been excited but extremely nervous, but once I'm there I never want to leave! Even in March when I was there for interviews I couldn't get over the "homey" feeling the campus evokes.

These past 4 days I got to help make sure the IMPACT retreat--which is a leadership retreat for incoming freshmen--ran smoothly. Everyone kept telling us newbie GA's that we were being "thrown to the wolves" having to help work this event with little training, but I absolutely LOVED it!! Thanks to my obsession with personality tests/quizzes, I've discovered in the past that I work best when I just jump right into something and figure it out as I go, and this event was the perfect time to test that. And even though the week wore me out pretty good, I can't wait to do it again. It felt so good just to be working again, especially with some pretty wonderful people! The retreat definitely made an impact on me, and now I know the next time I go back to Warrensburg the nerves will be left at home :).

Here are a few of the highlights and lessons that I didn't expect to learn from the first few days on the job:

• You get to learn campus real quick when you're driving a golf cart back and forth across
• ALWAYS check the toilet for unnamed cockroach/beetle/crustacean/even-the-"I have no problem with bugs"-girl-gets-freaked-out-by bugs
• Keep it simple when building a boat out of cardboard and duct tape
• Patience is key, especially when your 2 BR apt goes to a 1 BR for 3 people at the crack of midnight (no glass slippers were lost in the move)
• If you want to see the President, you better be able to stand for 5 hours
• 4 grad students and an engineer got stumped by a sound speaker 
• Never turn down drinks when the waitress gives a low "ish" price
• Talking in a megaphone is a once in a lifetime experience 
• Don't doubt a girl's capability or seriousness in finishing a 1/3 of a gallon of ice cream
• AND long days end best when you can talk it out with other GA's 

Now, in all seriousness, there were a lot of important lessons I learned that I plan to incorporate into these next two years at UCM, and in life. The big ones are: patience, being ready for anything, an endless positive attitude, and perseverance.

In other news, I now have a few days to wind down before I get to fly out to Illinois and see Austin and meet his family! Then it's back to the Burg for good! :) Below are a few pictures though of my new office and apartment!

Best part of the apartment: I get two closets!!! Roll your eyes all you want, but this is exciting people!

He insisted on being in the pictures, but thanks to him and Nate I got all set up really well :)

And now I'm home with this beautiful face, in her typical attention-getting position of course.

"This isn't goodbye..."

I can't decide which task I don't want to do more: pack..or write this post. My belongings lie completely untouched on the floor, and I've been staring at this blinking cursor for the past 10 minutes.

In the words of one of the most influential people in my life, I have been nothing but an emotional basket case all week. Some of you (myself included) are probably thinking..."When aren't you an emotional basket case??". Well my friends, the pre-moving Erica can hereby be referred to as impassive, calm, and collected. I will miss her dearly.

I thought leaving Ames would be similar to how I felt leaving Sioux City, and I was so very wrong. Leaving Sioux City, I was beyond excited and ready to get out of there. And while I'm still excited to leave Ames and move on with the next adventure in my life, I'm finding that leaving here is much much harder. Ames has been my home for the past 5 years. It has been my comfort zone. But I guess the only time you really see how much you can be and grow is when you go out of your comfort zone, right? Am I scared and nervous? Most definitely. Am I ready though? Most definitely.

I'm going to have to keep this very short and sweet, because the more times I delete a sentence or paragraph, the more I realize I truly can't say any of this the way I'm trying to or want to. So I'll keep it simple.

Thank you to everyone who has spent these past few years, weeks, and days with me. Thank you for the endless support and encouragement you provided that helped lead me to this path. Thank you for helping me say goodbye. I will miss all of you very much.