Future Me, Thank your Past Self!

If you read my blog post about new years reflections and resolutions, you know that I made a goal to blog post 2-3 times a month. If you keep track of the days, you know today is the last day of January. If you read my blog, you know I have only written one blog this month. And if you know me, you know I am someone who always does my best to keep up with the goals I make for myself.

So here is my not-so-great, last minute somewhat unorganized blog post on the month of January so that I can stick to this resolution of mine! And I guess I should clear it up that I am not just writing this because I have to. There has been some pretty cool events and some amazing memories throughout this last month that definitely deserve their own blog post. :) 

First off, I had the opportunity to attend the Los Banos FFA's January chapter meeting to host a recruitment presentation in the search for Miss May Day 2015. I enjoyed the opportunity to attend my old FFA chapter's meeting and see the direction my chapter has taken, speak as Miss May Day 2014, and talk to potential contestants for the 2015 pageant. It is so hard to believe my time as the reigning Miss May Day is almost up, but it has been such an honor to serve our county fair and I have enjoyed each opportunity I have had to wear the crown that so many inspiring women before me have worn. I am now so excited to see who will wear the crown next and advocate for the agricultural industry at our county fair. 

Miss May Day recruitment presentation 

Throughout my four weeks back home I enjoyed the time I had to catch up with family, scrapbook my first semester at K-State (sorry to my family for basically covering our entire dining room table with scrapbooking materials throughout our whole break!), and of course having the freedom to lay on the couch and watch tv with my dog for as many hours as I possibly could! I truly forgot what that was like, and I was definitely falling in love with my winter break.

Pieology with family to finish off my break! Couldn't quite fit us
all in one picture so this merge will have to do I guess :)

But the four weeks of laziness could not last forever (nor would it to.. I would start to go crazy with nothing to do!), and before I knew it I was hopping on a plane to head back to one of my favorite places, Manhattan! I was so excited to be able to reunite with my best friends, sorority sisters, new roommate, fellow AgEd majors, and everyone in between! The people of K-State make up my second family, and four weeks without them was extremely difficult.

Off to Manhappiness!   

My new roomie is just about as awesome as it gets! 

And once I settled back into my second home the craziness began right away! From Sigma Alpha events, SGA meetings, AgEd Officer Retreat, work, catching up with friends, classes and homework, college life definitely does not wait for anybody! I am so blessed to have some pretty amazing people by my side, because I am not too sure I could do it all without them. 

These two lovely ladies are my people! And I love my people. Nothing
beats the endless amounts of laughter, sarcastic comments, genuine personalities,
and the "I am always here for you" friendship the three of us have built. 

I love my Sigma Alpha sisters :)

Sigma Alpha Grape Juice & Cheese Social

The sweetest dessert with an even sweeter friend :)
Blessed that SGA brought us together!
This here is my very first Cookie Bake ever.. worth the wait!

We are heifers and we are proud! 

AgEd Club meetings are our fave! 

I would be lying though if I were to say these first two weeks back in Manhattan were just 100 percent peachy and full of rainbows and unicorns. It sure has been great, but I cannot fail to mention I spent the entire second week of classes feeling sicker than ever. I suffered a terrible cold which made sitting through classes nearly unbearable, a terrible cough which probably made my roommate hate me throughout my nightly coughing attacks (sorry Lizzie!), and a terrible headache that made for a stressed out Kaitlyn. I also spent the first weekend back in Manhattan adjusting to the elevation change. I had to suffer through elevation sickness during the beginning of the fall semester, and apparently I was back home over break long enough to make me have to endure it again during the spring semester. In case that sounds surprising to you, I guess you should know the elevation in Los Banos, California is about 100 feet, while here in Manhattan, Kansas it is just over about 1,000 feet. So not a huge difference, but enough to make my head feel like one million pounds. 

Enough with the negatives though. :) Fortunately, after one week of feeling sick I am now just trying to get rid of this cough and should be up to health standards by mid next week at this rate. Yay!

And I have just one more exciting moment to share before I sign this blog complete.. this may just be my most exciting moment of the semester! ;) So each month I write an inspiring quote on my whiteboard calendar which I look at millions of times each day. My quote of the month for January was, "Do something today that your future self will thank you for." Well, I may have only actually done this once that I can point out for sure, but even one time makes a difference! I stayed up just 10 minutes later last week to finish my Crop Science assignment rather than waiting till the night before to do it, and then crashed since I felt sick. And then two days later I sort of forgot (blame the cold) that I had finished the assignment so I began to freak out because I did not have much time left to get it done. 

Now what is so exciting, you ask? I pulled out my Crop Science notebook, and guess what... the assignment was finished! Thank you past me, you really helped out your future self. :) *why yes that is it.. I apologize if that was a disappointment for EXCITING news, but in that moment I was unstoppable. And I definitely need to do that more often.

What can you do right now that your future self will thank you for? Trust me, big or small it will be worth it!

For example, I am just positive our future selves will
love this picture! ;)

Living a life of purple, passion, progress, and purpose,

Kaitlyn Alanis 

Jumping for June in January

Anybody who knew me at this time last year knows that I was so excited I would be experiencing a true midwest winter right now. A winter filled with snowfall, salt on the ground, Willie the Wildcat snowmen, chilling teeth chattering temperatures, and my heater on high all the time. I would spend each day last year telling myself I am not allowed to call 45 degrees cold because I would soon experience 4 degree weather. I prepared myself to the best of my Californian ability by wearing thin clothes back home as though that would be any help at all to my halfway across the country move. And I was pumped.

Well, let me tell you something. We now have about a day and a half left of January, and I have walked around campus to see people in shorts playing basketball, students in short sleeves walking to class, and citizens jogging around Manhattan! In J.a.n.u.a.r.y! Why yes, my first winter in Kansas has actually had days here that are warmer than back home in "sunshiny" Los Banos, California!

Throughout these winter months I have experienced just two snowfalls. One snowfall where the "snow" melted as soon as it hit the ground, and one snowfall where I moved back home for winter break the day after. And yes, that has been my extreme midwest winter.

Now maybe I am  jinxing myself and next week we will probably see the biggest blizzard to hit the Little Apple, but hey, at least I have a pair of nice gloves and warm headbands that I got for Christmas! I am "totally" prepared. Or another scenario, maybe I'll come back next fall in August ready for a few warm humid weeks and I'll be welcomed with Christmas in summer or something like that. In Kansas, you never know what you're going to get! But I can attest to the fact that there really is no place like home. :)

Living a life of purple, passion, progress, and purpose,

Kaitlyn Alanis