sorority halloween.

Looking at Halloween through the eyes of an adult is an interesting experience.  One of my favorite things to refer to when I think about this strange shift in... let's just say STYLE, is "Mean Girls."

1: she missed it

2: she gets it

Basically, if you haven't seen it... "YOU CAN'T SIT WITH US!"

But if you truly have no idea what I am talking about I will break it down for you... Picture number 1, with the lovely Cady Heron, dressed as an "ex-wife," is representing our childhood.  We aim to be scary, or cute or actually something other than a scandalous bunny. We aim to be masked & show off our hiding skills that we had been practicing all year during hide-and-go-seek.  We aim for candy & lots of it.

Picture number 2 is the epitome of a high school or college student.  We basically follow the (usually innocent) dogma, "less is more!"  & in the words of Cady Heron, "In the regular world, Halloween is when children dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."

But is it really one day a year that we can dress a little scandalous?

Not in Sorority World! In this world it is acceptable every time we hear the word... SOCIAL.  It is always "social"ly acceptable to be scandalous & looking good.  In a way, every night is Halloween if you want it to be & if you don't move the bookmark on your agenda.

So you're gunna ask... does that make Halloween less fun every year if you dress up on the other 364 days of the year?

& the answer is... no, because it's just one more night that dressing up is 100% acceptable, & this night is even better because there is no theme & you can be as creative as you want! No restrictions & the sky is the limit! Express yourself in any dandy or scandy way you feel!

Personally, I'm still in it for the candy... I mean who doesn't love a good Twix Bar or Reese's Cup after a long night?  If only it were still socially acceptable to knock on strangers' doors wearing a costume & get candy as a 21-year-old... can I be 5 again??? I just want to wear my fairy wings & pink sneakers & count the "good candy" & trade off the "bad candy" in peace.  Ya dig?

Disclaimer: this is the only picture of me

Morals of this blog post...

1. Halloween is really really soon, so pick a costume... probably something scandalous (i.e. the classic "Risky Business" attire or the "I'm a mouse... duh" of the genius, Karen Smith)

2. Go to a college social & wear... probably something scandalous (i.e. "trash bash" or "Predator vs. Prey")

3. When you see it every day it becomes the norm... probably something scandalous (i.e. skinny mini high-waisted jorts & a bandeau)

4. Go watch "Mean Girls.." probably something scandalous (i.e. holes in your shirt with a purple bra & army pants & flip flops)

Anyway... HAPPY HALLOWEEN from a kid stuck in a 21-year-old's body!

~ciao~

senioritis.

I thought high school "senioritis" was bad, but let me tell you straight... college senioritis is 3735735 times worse.  & it's not that I am anti-work, rather I am itching to get out & take what I've learned & turn it into something real.  It's a scary thought though... this REAL WORLD enigma.  Most would probably describe it as a love/hate relationship.  You see... we don't want to go, but we don't want to leave.  We are in a state of limbo, caught between the comfort we feel in our (most-likely) paid-for apartments, with our close-by friends, our Nike shorts & big t-shirt combo, our "free" guidance counselors, the proximity we have to "pizza by the slice" & Chipotle, our weekly allowances, our flexibility to do as we please & 24/5 libraries with a Starbucks!

But the real world isn't this comfortable.  There are bills, there are the numbers 9 & 5 that become awfully repetitive, there are real consequences, there are scary (Sigourney Weaver-esque from "Working Girl") bosses, there are new people... & lots of them, there's actual commitment & there's real rejection.

For me, I am in denial.  I am denying the fact that in a few short months I will be turning (or feeling *Shout out to T-Swift) 22, that I will be signing up for my final semester of college, that I will be graduating from the University of Florida with a real college degree, that I will (hopefully) be leaving Florida & starting a career.

Although I am ready & I have stretched my wings in preparation for my flight out of "The Swamp..." I am scared.  Everything I know is here.  It's so scary stepping out of my comfort zone.  I know I'm not the only one who feels that way, but sometimes it just feels like a #personalproblem.  (Yes... I did just hashtag on my blog. "NO RAGRETS").

Anyway... there are a couple things that I feel lucky enough to have as I reach my final months of childhood (& I say child because... let's be honest) & they are:
1. My Mom
2. My Dad

The parents... aka, the rocks.  I know no matter where I go & what I do my parents have my back & will be there for me.  I am so lucky to have them in my life, especially now as I take the biggest leap of all... REALITY.   

Thank you so much for being more than just motivators & figures of respect, but also my friend.  I love you both so much!

Now I just need to get past the "slowness, the procrastination, the... blah blah blah... too lazy to write it all... blah blah blah... apathy" symptoms of sEnIoRiTiS!

~ciao~

charleston.

If you know me, than you know I am not too crazy.  I follow most the rules, I am always on time, I like food, I like photos, I enjoy sports, I like people, I like camp, I like my parents, I like wine nights, I like adventures, I like being outside in the day time & I don't like leaving my apartment after dark.  If you know me at all... I think that pretty much sums me up. 

 
This weekend I almost got to do all my favorite things:
-I followed most rules.
-I made it Charleston at almost exactly 5pm... even though Chloe was with me ;)
-I ATE LOTS OF FOOD!
-I took 7576537 photos & probably annoyed Chloe because I was her personal paparazzi all weekend.
-I watched some (weak) football.
-I spent some time with some new & some old.
-I didn't get camp, but I felt close by.
-I didn't get to see my parents, but I know I walked along the same streets they did from this summer.
-No wine, but something a bit different.
-I had an adventure in the best of places.
-& I spent time outside exploring with my mains.

However, this weekend I even explored my "leaving the apartment after dark" side & ventured into the streets of Charleston for my friend's 22nd birthday (am I really celebrating 22nd birthdays right now? How did I get this old?)!  But yeah, we braved the streets of Charleston! & this homebody had fun! 

Besides the quaint charm the city offers in the day time, the city has some great places to visit with friends at night! The bars are all so classy & cute compared to the clusters found in Gainesville.  As much as I love my second home here in "Gainesvegas" or my personal (more accurate) favorite, "Rainesville," Charleston was just perfect.  The homes were southern with their colorful shutters & side decks to catch the summer breeze off the Ashley River.  The trees were lined down the cobblestone roads, which the horse & carriages bounded along, the people had a pleasant air about them, & the weather was 73563557343 times better than anything you'll find in Florida.

Anyway... I just had the best time wandering with some good friends this weekend.  

I loved road tripinnnn' with my bestie, Chloe. 

I loved seeing Emily & meeting all her fantastic friends.  

I loved spending time with her parents & taking the carriage ride through the city.  

I LOVED the food, going out & my Moscow Mule.  

I loved seeing the beach & feeling like the protagonist of a Nicholas Sparks original. 

I loved (& always do) shopping & taking in the culture.  

    

I loved it all! Thank you so much Emily, Madison, Alli, Emily's parents & anyone else who made this weekend so awesome!

Ciao!

haunted.

13 years ago today, I was sitting in Mr. Carswell's 3rd grade classroom at St. Michael's Independent School with not a worry in my mind.  I can still remember the words he said, as he told us there was something we needed to talk to our parents about when we got home...

I specifically remember walking up the front steps to my house after a friend dropped me off because my mom had jury duty, & seeing the tears streaking down my mom's face as she talked on the phone at the front door.  It didn't take long for me to understand why & see the smoke billowing out of the Twin Towers on the television & start crying too.

I'm not sure I completely understood what was happening, but I saw my mom crying, so the tears were instinctive & almost automatic for me.  For hours we stared at the screen in sobbing silence, listening to Enya's haunting lyrics, watching the bravest of firemen risk their lives in the toppling buildings & seeing fear-stricken faces of the people searching for their loved ones.

There were moments in my life when I felt scared... scared that the monster in my closet would conquer the pillow blockade while I slept, that snakes in my nightmares were actually slithering in my bed, & that each little noise I heard at night was a real a robber in my house, but at this moment, on September 11, 2001, in broad daylight, I was terrified.

It's scary that there are events in our lives that can haunt you for the rest of your life & that you will never forget.  For our grandparents & some of our parents, it was the "duck & cover" tactics, where they would hide under their desks for fear of nuclear attack with the Soviets in the 1940s and 50s.  When the siren went off, everyone would jump under their desks & just wait in deafening silence for the end of the world.  Then there was the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, which our parents will never forget because of Jackie Kennedy's memorable pink dress & JFK Jr. saluting his father's casket at the funeral procession. In 1986, our older siblings probably remember watching the Challenger Space Shuttle take off with Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space, in it & seeing it explode in mid air.  I'm sure our parents can still hear the sound of millions of Americans gasping in unison.  In 2001, the haunting of my generation took place & I know it will be something that resonates strongly with me for the rest of my life.   

I was an ignorant 8 year-old, who believed that nothing bad could truly happen, but the attacks on 9/11 really changed something for me.  I saw innocent people murdered, I learned the words jihad & terrorist, I saw hearts break on national television, & saw how something could affect an entire country.  It was not a personal attack, but an attack on our country & one of the most incredible things I watched through the eyes of a child, was the way our country banded together & supported complete strangers.  Paired with being one of the worst days for our young country, it was also one of the most selfless. 

As I write this short post, I get chills across my entire body.  I don't think a feeling like this will ever go away nor do I have anything to compare it to.

I changed a little that day.  Not only did I gain empathy for human-kind, but a piece of me was lost in the World Trade Center rubble as well... the piece that will always be there because every year on this day, I can still feel it tugging at my heart.

I was not personally affected by September 11th.  No one in my family lost his or her life, no extended family members or family friends were there that day, but my heart goes out to everyone who lost someone.  You are all in my thoughts today.   

I will never never never ever forget.   

perspective.

It's all about perspective.

This summer I decided I needed a bit of a change, and really what I mean by change is I needed to build on my previous experiences.  I needed to grow.  In high school I started to grow through an amazing outdoor organization for young adults called Adventure Treks.  I was fed the dogmas that I attempt to express today, which have been important elements in my life: 

1. Adventure Treks taught me real communication.  Although cell phones weren't quite as prolific as they are today, social media was on the rise, & the "cool factor" stemmed from what kind of phone you had & what song was on your MySpace profile.  Not at AT.  You were cool for being you, which is unfortunately quite rare these days.  I just brought my personality flair & some "reaching out" techniques & I got to truly know people.  Who needs to hide behind a phone anyway when you can just be you at AT?  I think I just put this into perspective for you...

2. Adventure Treks taught me about community & respect.  It may sound cheesy to someone who doesn't have the AT background, but community is an indescribable element of AT that forms fast and forms strong.  It is almost like a large family unit & with that comes respect.  Respect for your friends in the community and respect for yourself.  With group gear & small living quarters, there is no room for negativity & selfishness.  Some of the individuals I met in my years at AT are people I respect & venerate the most.  They are real people with real perspectives.

3. Adventure Treks taught me about pure happiness & being humble.  AT was the first time I truly realized how lucky I was.  How many 14-year-olds get to travel for 16+ days, climb live volcanoes, glissade down snow-covered peaks in mid-summer, & white water raft without parental supervision?  (That is not a rhetorical question... very few!)  I was & still am a lucky kid & with that, I learned that not everyone shares these amazing opportunities & it is important to be sensitive to all sorts of diverse people around me with different perspectives on life.  

Although Adventure Treks taught me way more than that in my 3 years as a student, what it did not teach me was how much background work went into making the "adventure of a lifetime."  As a student you have this perspective that AT is magic.  No I'm not kidding... AT just transpired into this incredible trip that took no effort to plan or organize & was just filled with amazing students from all over the world.  With a wave of the wand, a flick of the wrist & an Abracadabra... boom, a mountain summit & a perfect sunrise to go with it!

But not really.

This summer I definitely experienced a new & unique perspective... I interned in the Adventure Treks office.  It's funny because I remember walking into the "AT barn" on my first day of work, looking around & thinking, "what are all these people doing on computers... I mean what kind of 'work' can they actually be doing?  They are all probably just on Facebook!"  But they were doing work. Real work that takes the whole year to plan.  Trip logistics, permits, regional director plans, travel information, waivers (all 47648653743 of them), outfitter communication, unaccompanied minor details, trip photos, welcome packets, social media strategies, t-shirts & hats, food, rental vans, health history binders, application forms, birthday cards, phone calls, pay checks, Treks Checks, graduation packets & much much more.  Honestly, that's not even the half of it. 

It's not like I expected to waltz into a room full of magicians, but I just never realized what really went into making an AT trip successful.  Dock told me I was the first AT student to actually work in the barn, which gave me a very unique opportunity because I still understood and felt the surreality that is AT.  I can explain the importance of evening meeting & still get goosebumps on my arms, I can still picture the wicked dance moves kids had when retrieving items from the "bin of doom," I can still hear Bob Bailey recite, in complete accuracy, lines from "Shrek" as the Gingerbread Man, I can still see Haley's face as she paddled our canoe backwards on the Clearwater Lake, I can still feel the tears in my eyes as I left AT for (what I thought would be) the last time in 2009, I can still tell how long a 3 minute shower really is, I can still remember laughs I had with Haley & Jenn Tanner over kidney beans, I can still smell Ramen Extreme & Oatmeal, I can still feel the "natural mattress" of sand on the Olympic Coast, I can still taste my very first AT pineapple that grew straight from the ground, I can still see smoke spewing from the crescent of Mt. St. Helens, I can still recall practicing head stands in the British Columbia with Niki Gaeta & I still CAN'T explain why I am so in love with Adventure Treks, but I am.  

2007

2008

2009

I learned a lot this summer from some incredible co-workers with some varying perspectives:

Perspective 1. Emily taught me to go for it & that decisions are never easy.  She taught me to be myself & she helped me act like a total goofball in my attempts to YOGA.  She also accepted me as her "right hand wo-man" & taught me her ways. 

Perspective 2. Joan taught me selflessness & how one person can be so loving, giving, & special.  She taught me (& Emily too) how to best approach a decision & how to conquer it & also that FSU has some awesome Alumni (tell anyone & I'll deny it... just kidding) & that Talenti bars may be the death of me. (Meow)

Perspective 3. Jan taught me how to be 24 & professional & that using headphones in the office may lead to a paperclip throwing fight.  But really he fed me some rad technology/systems knowledge.  

Perspective 4. Holly taught me the parent perspective & how hard it is to give up your child for any period of time.  I remember her telling me she missed the "pitter-patter" of her son's feet when he woke up in the morning & it hit me that I never thought my mom & dad would be "child sick" while I was away, having the time of my life, at camp. 

Perspective 5: Stacey taught me that sometimes not everything works out, but that with a little self-determinism and personal strength you can do anything & be anyone.  

Perspective 6. Dock taught me that working in an office can be pleasant & accepting & that no matter your age, you have a place with Adventure Treks.  He also gave me a sense of importance that I am truly grateful for.  

So I guess what I am trying to say is thank you for such an eye-opening summer.  Thank you for letting me indulge in my summer camp obsession.  & thank you for EVERYTHING!!

Adventure Treks may not be magic, but what transpires within each individual trek is truly magical & can only be understood when under its fantastic spell.

~Ciao-Ciao

spontaneity.

There is a well-known expression, “not all who wander are lost,” but sometimes you just are.  

This week, my mom & I flew to St. Louis to visit my grandpa after his heart surgery.  We spent the 3 days showing him the much-needed love & hanging out with other family members until returning home to Stuart. 

On the way home, our flight to Chicago was delayed & therefore, our connection home was missed.  If you know the Harvey clan at all than you know we have had zero luck in airports lately, stuck in a land my mom likes to call “airport hell.”  In the past 2 years, every storm across the country & every issue a plane could have left us in another lovely airport hotel.  (Shoutout to AC for providing Marriott love when the going got rough & the airport wasn't able to help a sista out).  

Anyway… here we were, “Mommy & Rachele together at last without those icky boys” stuck in Chicago for the night with a 9:20 am flight.  After the initial disappointment of landing in Chicago after our flight home took off in front of us, I came up with the most brilliant beyond brilliant of plans.  What if we took advantage of this sucky situation & spent the following day exploring the city?  Make lemons out of lemonade, right? 

Now I know everyone approaches their moms differently because moms are known to self-destruct at any time, especially when under unnecessary stress, but for my mom, you just have to work that pros list, mix in a little chutzpah, smile uncontrollably, & make her laugh.  It only took me 4 hours to work my argument until she was calling American Airlines herself to change our flight to 6 pm the following day.  She may have whined along the way in her little exasperated struggle that usually gets me to stop heckling her, but I didn’t budge, & if I hadn’t, this blog wouldn’t exist.  

When moms go rogue take 1.  

Of course when I called AA at first, a woman answered, who could smell my fear & lack of domineering chutzpah, & told me changing our flight to a later departure time would cost us $200 a person.  I hung up feeling defeated after fighting my mom for 4 hours to simply consider the idea of “spontaneity,” but I convinced her to use her feminine wiles to change their minds.  The truth is… my mom’s got talent.  I am pretty sure she could smell the fear on the operator and he had no choice but to give the woman what she wanted.  6 pm flight, no charge, plenty of seats, badabing badaboom.

We ate a deep-dish dinner at Gino’s Eastside to maintain our figures & then woke up to a day in Chicago.  We began our spontaneous adventure with an architecture boat cruise through the city, a trip down memory lane for my mom & a practically brand new memory for me (I had visited Chicago once before circa 1998, but due to recent budget cuts in memory & in iCloud storage, I have very little space in my brain for vacations pre-2001.  They gotta be there somewhere though, right?).  

Anyway, the water cruise was beautiful & the city has buildings like no other.  Apparently after the 1871 fire that Ms. O'Leary's cow started, Chicago created an architecture competition to rebuild the city.  Therefore, it is a relatively new city that grew right alongside Lake Michigan.  The buildings tower alongside the river that snakes through the heart of the city & what is even more special is that a walking path has been preserved all along the river for pedestrians & joggers to enjoy.  

After the end of the tour, we walked along the river walk & up to the street level on Michigan Avenue where we explored.  The eclectic architecture between modern, classical, & impressionism was fun to look at & the size of everything around us was much larger than anything we’d ever see in Stuart, obviously.  Fun Fact: the only hill in Stuart used to be a landfill…  

Once we walked up & down the “Magnificent Mile” a few times, we crossed the river toward Millennium Park to see “The Bean.”  This strange curvaceous structure is fairly new to Chicago, but is an interesting sculpture because it reflects the view of the city & yourself & it is shaped like… you guessed it, A BEAN!

Our walkabout Chicago was short-lived, but definitely a positive compared to being stuck in “airport hell” with a displeased attitude.  We felt like Ferris Bueller for the day… skipping out on reality to a day in the city.  Maybe we didn’t have a random parade to “twist & shout to” or a visit to the impressionist museum to stare at tiny dots for hours, but we did have our spontaneous outing that was 100% out of character… maybe not for Ferris, but for us!  

I have known my mom for a little over 21 years now, & I will admit she is pretty fantastic all-around, but specifically what I can say about her is that she can plan.  Whether it is a safari in Africa, a RV adventure through Alaska, a Spring Break trip to Costa Rica, a ski trip to Colorado, a summer getaway in Europe, a tour through China, a road trip up the east coast, a casual visit with Daniel, or my Bat Mitzvah in Israel, my mom has an itinerary planned out & sent to family, friends, pets, the police station, & any acquaintances in the tri-state area.  She is more organized than most people I know & can plan a trip like a ninja on steroids.  Her keen sense of travel is what has made my childhood such a perfect adventure & has given us all such wonderful lives.  

So… I guess what I am trying to say is that my mom has always been a planner.  This, of course, is not a negative, but is an attribute that I believe highly describes her motivated self.  That is why this spontaneous layover in Chicago was a wonderful surprise to me.  I have to admit I did not think I’d win the argument, but I guess that is what is great about my mom… she always puts myself & Daniel & Scott first because she loves seeing us happy.  

I don’t remember where I heard this story… it may have been a question Daniel asked or just some oral tale passed down among knowing mothers, but I was told that a child turned to his or her mother once on Mother’s Day & said, “why isn’t there a kids day?”  The mother than replied with, “because every day is kids day.”  & it’s true.  How lucky are we kids to have a day devoted to us almost every day of the year?

But today is her day.  Happy Mother’s Day to the most devoted & wonderful MAMA BEAR around.  I know I have written posts before about how lucky I am to have a mom like mine, but sometimes she just goes above & beyond… like all the time really.  I love that you can laugh at yourself & your stupid questions, I love that you call me “Baby Bear,” I love that when you smile your face does too, I love that you listen, I love that you are sensitive like me, I love that you have specified “off duty” times of the day, I love that you recycled that vest that you loved so much (you know what I’m talking about), I love that you like to travel, I love that you can talk to anyone & to walls, I love that you have chutzpah, & I love that you love me (PS: Everyone else out there who is reading this should be SUPER jealous that she is not your mom because she is awesome & you’re missing out!!!).  

I LOVE YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE ME! (& it is possible…).

-Ciao

pictures.

I have been having a blast the last few days snapping pictures of some of my favorite people!  Just look at these beautiful people! 

__________________________________________________________________

Let me know if you need any pictures done for graduation, or applications, or for fun, or for just a good 'ole smile!

~ciao