Sounds Like Hallelujah

Whew. Sure has been a long time since I wrote to you all. First of all, let me apologize for the long and unnecessary hiatus. Several times I have wanted to stop whatever I was doing to write, but I wanted to wait until my mind was clear of a lot of things before doing that...hence the almost two month break from the blog. There is so much to catch you up on so I will start from the beginning--

Last semester I took office as a Junior Senator on SGA as the result of a special election. It was something new, exciting, and very different from anything else I was involved in. To be quite honest, my first few senates were not what I thought they'd be, but I was determined to give it a shot. I came back from Christmas break and was still in office. I was approached at the beginning of the new year by one of my oldest friends here at Mercer--literally I met him the day I started college--about running for Vice-President on his ticket. I gave it a week's thought. I prayed about it. Talked about it. Almost cried about it. But eventually came to the conclusion that I should not run for VP. Much to my friend's dismay, my answer wasn't the one he had anticipated. He bought me a coffee (first step in bribing me) and we talked it over. We decided the pros outweighed the cons--one of the pros being that we are both bad*** (lolz). But in all reality and honesty, we realized that our passions intersected and that our ideas really were for the best of the university. So there on a Sunday afternoon outside Jittery Joe's, I committed to run for VP of the student body. It seemed pretty appropriate considering JJ has hosted most of the important decisions of my life while in college. 

From there everything was a complete whirlwind. We cranked it out over spring break-- painting a banner in my best friend's garage and having an upstairs "office" in her parent's house. Which brings me to a very good side point. Thank you little Ellen. You are forever my legacy and I am forever yours. I love you very much and I am forever indebted to you for your friendship (there you go, your first explicit shout-out on the blog). 

We came back to school and hit the ground running. For two weeks I planned to shake 478 hands--check the complete story here, I made a lot of promises, and I conquered my fear of public speaking with a debate.  It was absolutely crazy. I remember towards the end, I was literally walking to class, and could barely even see in front of me I was so tired. I could not recall any conversations I had with people and I definitely was never prepared for class. The campaign was my life. It was a ton of fun, but it all had to end. It did on a Wednesday evening as I learned I was not voted Vice-President for the upcoming year.

The feeling best to describe it now--almost a month later--is one of no regrets. I felt numb immediately afterwards and still do at times. But not for a second have I regretted putting my name, my heart, and my self on the line. The experience had great dividends, and it is one I will never forget.

So that is part I of Junior Year second semester updates...stay tuned!

Yours,
Kels