A Personal Design Project

Ok....well, here is what I completed tonight. It only took me about 2.5 hours. It isn't anything really complicated, and I'm pretty sure it needs something else.....but this was my first shot. I do like the organic look of it, and the colors.

I Want To Be a Designer, Gosh Darnit!

I want more than anything to be a graphic designer. But, I feel like I constantly have an artist's block. I have all of these great ideas of things I want to design....but when I try, I just sit and stare at my computer screen, not knowing where to begin.

This makes me extremely nervous. There are so many people in my class that design things in their spare time and they look really awesome. I feel like even though I study and read about graphic design to try and be ahead of the game, really I need to be using my computer rather than having my nose stuck in a book. So......from now on, I want to try and design one thing a week. I'm not saying that it's going to be super fabulous, but I think just simply trying and working my way through the programs will help. I'm just such a perfectionist and I'm terrified of failure, that sometimes it's hard to just start designing while not really knowing how to do something.

So, here goes....I'm pulling out my moleskine notebook.....now!

I'm in a Funk....

Well, lately I have been in a little bit of a funk. Unfortunately, I am having difficulties with my thyroid again. This, most likely, is the cause of my fatigue, anxiety, and depression.

A little history on my thyroid issues:

About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with cysts on my thyroid. My doctor at the time told me that he couldn't remove them, but that I needed to have an MRI done every couple of years to make sure that they don't get worse. Turns out that they can grow larger, even becoming tumors and cancerous.

Well, due to not having insurance, I have yet to get my thyroid checked since. A few weeks ago, I was having issues with fatigue and nausea, as well as having anxiety attacks. The doctor did numerous tests, thinking it could be my gallbladder or pancreas. I got my tests back this week, and everything was clean. (Which is great!) But, knowing my medical history, he thinks my thyroid is causing my symptoms and he wants to do an MRI scan. It's going to cost $200 +, and frankly, I don't have the money. I'm currently looking for a job so that I can hopefully save the money and get the scan done in the near future. But, honestly, not many places are hiring right now. So, in the meantime, I feel crappy and get to worry about whether or not I have thyroid cancer.

I'm trying to exercise and eat healthy and not get too stressed out, to help alleviate some of my symptoms. Hopefully the exercise will help some, but I think the stress will be around no matter what. Which is bad, because that's the worse thing for me....but, what am I gonna do...?

Speaking of exercising, I met with a personal trainer today. Ok, he's a friend of mine, but he's legit. He just got his personal training certification and he needed a couple of guinea pigs to get him experience. So, the first month is free, then I get a discounted rate thereafter. The CMM 1/2 is in 8 weeks, so we are training for that (he is an Ironman, so this is his specialty) and we are doing some core workouts as well. I'm hoping that this will help me get back to that size I so desperately want to be again....I mean, it's only a few inches, and about 10 lbs....but it's always those vanity pounds that are the hardest to lose. And me being a petite girl to begin with, one can really tell that I have gained weight.

So, here's to trying to get back to that happy size and it helping to relieve some stress so that my thyroid can calm itself while I try and find the money to make it better!

-jleigh

While snow is nice, I want it to go away

I've lived in Tennessee for 17 years now....I know, even I can't believe it! After moving up from Florida, I have always been excited to see snow in the forecast. Well, this winter, I have seen more snow than I have in my whole time here, combined. The first snow I got really excited! I made chili, had a movie day, and cuddled up with Nate; all of the things you should do when it snows. Now, about 4 snows later, I get excited, but only because of the hope of getting out of school. And really, I just want it to warm up, so that my walks to school can be more enjoyable and so that I can bring out my flip flops again.

Not to mention that I am really, really anxious to get outside and run! The 1/2 marathon is just 8 weeks away and I have yet to break that 5 mile mark....and the last time I ran was weeks ago. The weather is just putting a damper on a lot. It's hard to get out of bed when it's cold and I hate leaving the apartment, because I don't want to brave the frigid cold. I am praying that the warm weather will move in soon, but so far, the forecast has nothing but more snow and low temperatures.

The cold weather is exactly why I hate the north. I can't wait until I graduate and am able to move further South.

-jleigh

School is definitely underway....

School has been super crazy for me, and it is only two weeks in. Really, it's just one class: Typography. Which is the class for my major, so of course I am going to want to do all of the projects really well and in a timely manner.

At first, I didn't like this class, not because of the subject manner, because I find that extremely interesting, but more because of the teacher. She is super hard, and really harsh on critiques. This ultimately is a very good thing, especially in my field. It's better to have someone tell me now what I need to fix in my work, rather than them sugar coating it and later on I find out that my work is ultimately crap. So, in the first two days of class, she definitely has shown how hard she is going to be this semester. We had a presentation, a paper, a test, and 2 projects due within the first two weeks. While it was pretty overwhelming and I've already had some late night/early morning combinations, I actually really love my teacher. Yes, critiques are harsh and the workload is crazy, but I really enjoy what I am doing and am going to try my best at everything I do for this class.

Luckily I have the best boyfriend ever, who has helped me through a few stressful nights. He's been really helpful around the apartment and has taken on a few more chores when he has the time. I am very blessed to have him.

-jleigh

On my way to Charleston

I'm currently outside of Atlanta, on my way to my favorite city, Charleston, SC. Nate and I are going for my 25th birthday/our 3 year anniversary. For some reason I'm more excited this time than any time before. We are staying closer to the harbour, plan on eating at a few new restaurants, and doing some non-touristy things. We are also staying longer than we ever have before, just bc we got such a great deal on our hotel.

I hope to update this daily while we are there. Just kinda as a travel journal.


- jleigh (on the go)

A Look Back at 2009

2009 was filled with many ups and downs. The year started out with me being alone and single, due to Nate and I’s seperation at the end of 2008. On top of that, the year was filled with financial diffuclty, the loss of a job, and an extremely lonely summer. On the plus side, I accomplished a few goals that I had set for myself, became a more independent person with moving into my own apartment, and fell in love with Nate all over again. I couldn’t think of a much better way to review my year, than with pictures. So here you go:

The first major event of the year was my 24^th birthday. I was so blessed to have so many of my close friends in attendence. I love each and every one of them and thank them for making my birthday so wonderful! I also was introduced to the ‘Paddle of Destiny’ at Mellow Mushroom….even though I only got about 2 samples….it was amazing.

The next major event was moving into my very first apartment. It was so exciting and the place is absolutely adorable!! It was my friend Nicki’s old place and I thank her for introducing me to it. I painted the living room and my bedroom, and it was so nice to be able to decorate however I wanted. I absolutely love my apartment!

The great thing about Nate and I was that we were able to remain really great friends, even after we broke up. Our love for the city of Charleston took us there again for our Spring Break. We visited Ft. Sumpter, went on a Ghost Tour, and stayed at the fancy Francis Marion hotel. I had an amazing time!

Zeta Day 2009 was in Chattanooga this year! Iota Chi was allowed to go, and we even won awards!! Yeah, we were small, but we were AWESOME! We won: Zeta Day Attendence Award, Sisterhood Award, the Highest GPA Award, and Spirit Award. And….my own twin won the Zeta Lady Award!

I accomplished one of the goals I had set for myself a long time ago….I became a marathon runner. Now, I only ran a half, but still…I’m awesome! After months and months of training, it felt so amazing to cross that finish line. Race day was a lot hotter than anyone expected it to be. That combined with the inclines of Nashville, I finished a lot later than I wanted to (3:07:07). But, my main goal was to at least finish, and that I did, with a big smile on my face!

I also went to my second live soccer game. It was the World Cup Qualifier that was held in Nashville. I’m still learning the game, but I’m getting better at understanding things.

I have loved Dave Barnes for a few years now, but have never seen him live in concert. He had a show in Nashville at the end of April and thanks to my ZTA Big Sister, who gave up her ticket for me, I was able to finally see him! And oh…it was amazing!

Oh,…and he got his name up on the Exit In Wall of Famous Entertainers.

The 7 Iota Chi girls that stuck it through our chapter’s Recolonization, had our last sisterhood event together before the summer and the Recolonization in the fall. I love these girls so much and am thankful to them for proving to everyone that Zeta is Forever.

This summer I opened up my apartment to my best friend and Zeta Twin, Liz. I ended up putting some of my furniture in storage and moving my living room into my dining room, so that I could designate my living room for Liz’s room. It’s a little cramped, but I love having my twin so close!

June 19^th of 2009 was supposed to be my wedding day. This was a very hard time for me, but I was lucky to have great friends to be around me on this day. A few weeks after this date, Nate and I decided to give our love one more chance. It was great to sit down with him and talk about us, something that we really didn’t do at the time of our break-up. We just both realized how much we really missed being with each other….and now we are better than ever! Distance and time really do make the heart grow fonder. I am so thankful every day that I have him in my life. I couldn’t imagine ever being without him.

Oh and he ended up taking me to The Cheesecake Factory for a date! I have always wanted to go….and it was AMAZING. I love cheesecake! (and Nate)

I designed my first Tshirt this summer for our Race for the Cure Zeta Team. On top of that, I learned how to Screenprint thanks to my good friend David Penuel. He is so awesome and let me intern with him and even let me print my own shirt…

This Fall was the Recolonization of the Iota Chi Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha at Middle Tennessee State University. This was the moment that the 7 of us ‘old members’ had been waiting a year for (During the past year, we weren’t allowed to wear our letters at all…pretty hard for a sorority girl). We were so thankful to have amazing TLCs and an amazing National Council that supported us. They did an awesome job of getting 300+ girls to sign up to be a Zeta. Over a period of 3 days, the potential new members went through an Interview and Recruitment process. Then Nationals had the very hard job of narrowing the 300+ down to only 100 to invite back to Pref Night. At Pref Night, Nationals then extended a group bid to all of them. I think only a handful of girls rejected, but the screams of excitement from my new sisters brought tears to my eyes!

The day after Pref Night, we held a Bid Day celebration. We played ice breaker games, and ate, and ate, and ate some more….oh and we took lots of pictures!

For the first time in almost 12 years, my family went on a vacation together. I planned a weekend trip to Charleston, SC (of course). Due to Nate’s busy soccer schedule, he and I had to drive down on Friday night, hang out with everyone on Saturday, and then drive right back that night. It was a very tiring trip, but it was well worth it to have Nate there and be in Charleston with my family.

Over the summer I had talked Liz into doing the Middle Half with me. I didn’t stay on top of training like I should have and finished at almost the same exact time as I did in Nashville, even though Murfreesboro’s terrain is completely flat. I was pretty upset with myself, and due to this, decided to do the Country Music Half again instead of the full marathon. I just really want to beat my time! On top of a bad run time, I ended up getting a pinched nerve in my back, and I had to be out of school for a week. It just goes to show you how very important it is to train!

Nate registered for his first 5K, Race for the Cure! Even though he walked it, and I walked it with him, I was so excited that he came out for such a great cause. And everyone was wearing my shirt!

I met Stacie Garland during the summer. Michael Weston told me that she wanted to be a Zeta. As soon as I met her, I went into Recruitment mode and was asking her a ton of questions. I also absolutely fell in love with her! She became my twin this fall (because we are a class of (pretty much) only new members, we have twins instead of bigs and lils). I call her my lil because I am so old, age wise, and being an older member, that it seems a little odd for me to have a twin…plus I have Liz. And speaking of her, she is Stacie’s best friend, Amanda’s, twin. We then adopted another person into our little family, Nicky, whose twin dropped out after Homecoming. So I now have this wonderful Zeta family…I came up with the name JEANS (I know it’s kinda stupid, but kinda cute) but it’s the first letter of each of our first names. I love them and they are the greatest!

In December, Iota Chi initiated 77 (ish) members. We celebrated with a Luncheon and our National President, Laura Ladewig Mauro, and Deb Ensor, Zeta’s Executive Director, both came down to personally congratulate us. Most Zetas never have the opportunity to meet a National Officer, I myself have met 6 of them, and I feel truly lucky.

I must go back and tell a story that always makes me cry….the moment when Deb Ensor came back to MTSU to tell the Iota Chi 9 (originally 9 instead of 7 bc some transferred out) that Nationals had approved the Recolonization of Iota Chi. She said that 9 was a lucky number (there are 9 founders of Zeta) and she said that we were her heroes because of the sacrifice that we were making for the future of Iota Chi. We were now Founders like those Founders of long ago, and we should be proud of the sacrifice that we were making. Any time Deb Ensor talks, you know you better bring tissues! J

Anyways. Back to the Luncheon. The food was SOOO good! Haha. Here are some pictures of that fabulous day!

That pretty much brings me to the end of my year. Even though it was a tough one, looking back, I am really thankful for so much. I have amazing friends and family and such a loving boyfriend.

So far in 2010, I am looking forward to my 25^th birthday, another trip to Charleston, Nate and I's 3 year anniversary, a couple more marathons, my cousin having a baby, and my brother’s wedding in September! My future is so bright, I’m gonna have to wear shades!

-jleigh