Tuesday... almost as good as Friday

When you read this title... you're probably thinking, what in the world is wrong with this girl... Nothing is wrong with me. This semester I got the joy of becoming a Big Buddy.  What does that mean you ask... well... a big buddy is a mentor, for an underprivileged child in grades 1-5.  You get to spend 2.5 hours with them, one day a week and encourage them to work hard in school, to become a better citizen, or pretty much just be there for them.  This organization is  College Mentors for Kids aka CMFK.  I never thought that this program could have such a huge impact on my life... but it has.

The first week, we went to the school to meet the kids on their own turf and meet their parents too so they knew the person that was going to be with the child for 2.5 hours a week.  My little buddies name is Angela.  She is a hoot.  She reminds me a lot of me when I was younger.  She's helped me learn how to be even more patient than I ever thought I could be!

Another great thing about CMFK is the fact that you get to meet people from Purdue from all different majors and backgrounds and you get to become pretty good friends with them.  For example, my little buddy and two guys little buddies are pretty much best friends and they won't be apart.  So, we have gotten to know each other pretty well which is cool because I probably never would have met them if I didn't do this.  Especially since they are management and engineering majors.

So, each week we go on a "field trip" with them. The first week on campus, it was my turn.  Let's just say I was excited.  Terone Johnson is my best friend. He got me in contact with the head of basketball operations for the men's team and we set up a tour of Mackey, the guys were going to read the book of the week to them and talk to them about working hard in school. Let's just say that was adorable.  From dance offs with Robbie Hummel (he can't dance btw) to hearing DJ read and getting stuck on a word, to seeing one of our little buddies stand next to Sandi for a picture. SO CUTE! Let's just say I think I had more fun than the kids did.  At the end of the day, we made thank you cards for each of the players.  All the little girls wanted to make Ryne and DJ's... let's just say they all had little crushes on then.  It was adorable.

Those were just some of the cool things we did while we were in Mackey.  Here is my little buddy :) Isn't she a cutie. :)

Well, I'm sure I will have more to tell you about CMFK at a later date.

For now, as always...
Boiler Up!

I have a new found love for tornadoes

So, obviously I've been a little busy this semester! Good grief... it's been forever since I last posted.

So what going on at Purdue right now?

Well.. I have an exam tonight in Math, hopefully it will go well.  After that, I am going to the Purdue game tonight against High Point.  If it's anything like the last one, it will be a BLOW OUT! I hope it is just like it too :)

So can I just talk about this weekend? It was full of sports, big victories, pancakes, and rushing the field. Can't complain about that.

Let's start with Friday... the first regular season men's basketball game was against Northern Illinois.  Coming in, I was pretty sure it wouldn't be much of a game because of how big it was.  Mackey Rededication weekend, Robbie's return :), and the first regular season game of the year.  The game started off with nothing else but a tre from Robbie! It was like he never missed a beat, even though he actually missed 18+ months... Let's just say after the game we had 14 3's and a 96-34 victory.  No, that wasn't a type-o. We won by 62 points. Biggest margin in Mackey in over 50 years! It was awesome to see Robbie out there too.  Nothing like having 21 points in a mear 20 minutes of play! That's what I call affective!

Oh... and did I mention that there were FIREWORKS... IN MACKEY! Craziness, I know!

Now onto Saturday:

The morning started off with pancakes of all kinds from chef momma.  They were super yummy and the energy those gave us were very helpful in cheering our beloved Boilers onto a 26-23 overtime victory against tO$u who we have a great hatred for.  They are most known for this... Party.  Even though there was much disapproval from some alum.. (couch cough Brian cough cough) We rushed the field.  The pure joy that we felt when we won that game was so great that there was nothing to do except rush.  When you are used to heartbreak all year losing those close games, to finally win one was such a relief we didn't know what to do, so we rushed the field.  I got a picture with the one and only Ricardo Allen

So that was pretty awesome to say the least.  Then, Sunday I spent all afternoon in the library with Bre and Avery.  It's gonna be a busy week, but Thanksgiving is just around the corner! :) 

So today was a pretty special day too.  I got the cool opportunity to go on a self guided tour of the new and much improved Mackey Arena.  So pretty much what it was, was time for us to walk around Mackey with no restrictions... that was pretty awesome! We were watching the guys walk through from the upper part when we hear the tornado sirens go off..... normally, I would have been scared. But I knew since I was in Mackey I would be okay.  But, I also knew that meant we had to go to the "basement" aka the locker room area.  TOOOOO BAD! :) So, when we go down there, we see that the guys practice is almost over! So we go down to the tunnel to see what we can see, and none other than Brian Cardinal! SO COOL! It seemed like he recognized me.  When I saw him, I asked if we could take a picture and he was more that willing.  Then, when I went to put my stuff down, the older lady (okay, she was old enough to be my grandma... she reminded me of her too) started screaming... "OH MY WORD! Do you know who you are?!?!" Brian looked at her and said "Yes ma'am, I'm Brian Cardinal and have been my whole life" hahahha I lost it.  After I was done laughing, we tried to take a picture. For 10 minutes I'm sure.  The same old lady that flipped when she saw him was trying to use my iPhone to take the pic.  We had everything from videos to pictures with Brian's head cut off.  Finally, he just said "Give me the phone" so he took it.  Yeah, Brian Cardinal held my phone. In his hand. No big :) Here's the pic :)

Then, we thought we could leave, but we were wrong. Another tornado warning came out. So, with this time I decided to make another move... let's go sit by there locker room. Who knows what might happen.  You'll never guess who came out the door... none other than Sir Robbie Hummel himself :) I go over and ask him for a picture, and he generously accepts. When this happens, the only person I see around is DJ Byrd... so he takes my phone and takes the pic.  As he takes my phone, he begins to admire my phone case, which happens to be pink.  He then goes to say "OH! I love your phone case." Thankfully, he was just being stupid.  Cause, if not... I woulda been worried.  Here's our pic :) 

After that, I got to meet Dru and get a pic with him and then we got to walk out onto the court. So cool.  Here are those pics. :) 

They also had this really cool interactive thing in one of the exclusive clubs... 

This is how I compare to Robbie hahah

All in all I would say it's been a successful and very busy semester (be watching for a post about College Mentors for Kids soon) Such a GREAT opportunity! I always cherish every moment I have at Purdue and am so glad to share my journey with you....

From Brave to Boilermaker

Until next time... 

Boiler Up!