Thursday, April 24, 2014

UGA Bucket List

Everyone talks about a college bucket list, myself included. So, I thought it was finally time to put pen to paper and write down my UGA bucket list! 

X
1.     Serve on the executive board of an organization
X
2.     Go out in a t-shirt
X
3.     Attend an event in the chapel

4.     Visit the UGA Creamery

5.     Picture with UGA
X
6.     Picture with Hairy Dawg
X
7.     Take a picture on the Arch logo tile in Tate
X
8.     Attend the Dawg Walk
X
X
9.     Georgia-Florida Game
10. Frat Beach
X
11. Sit with the Bernard Ramsey statue
X
12. Late night at Snelling
X
13. Eat in a dining hall as an upperclassman

14. Attend an event at:
X_ a.     The Georgia Theatre
__  b.     The Morton Theatre
Xc.      Hendershots
X_ d.     The Melting Point
X_ e.     40 Watt
X_ f.      Memorial Hall
X_ g.     The Classic Center
Xf. Flikr
X_ g. The Melting Point









X
15. Visit the Georgia Museum of Art
X
16. Picture with Grady College (or your respective college)
X
17. Attend the Athens Rodeo
X
18. Walk the trails at the State Botanical Gardens
X
19. Tailgate on Myers Quad

20. See a movie at the Tate Theater
X
21. Start the Georgia cheer

22. Tour Terrapin
X
23. Attend Swing Dancing Nights on the IM Deck
X
24. Get in the North Fountain
X
25. Ring the Chapel Bell (#winning)

26. Attend Salsa Night at Jerzees
X
27. Attend Athens Twilight

28. Eat Roman Noodles

29. Eat, eat and eat some more
X_ a.     The Last Resort
X_  b.     5&10
X_ c.      Transmetropolitan
X_ d.     5 Star Day
X_ e.     Mama’s Boy
X_ f.      Big City Bread
X_ g.     The Grit
X_ h.     Harry’s BBQ
X_ i.       Clocked
X_ j.       Ted’s Most Best
X_ k.     Pauley’s
__  l.       Amici
X_ m.   The Mayflower
__  n.     Heirloom Cafe
X_ o.     Blind Pig Tavern
X_  p.    LaFonda hot dog
X_ q.     The Grill
X_ r.      Shokitini (and rent a room for karaoke)
X_  s.    Weaver D’s
X_  t.      Ike & Janes
X u.    Marty’s at Midday
__  v.      NONA’s
X_ w.    Speakeasy
X_ x.      Square One Fish Co.
X_ y.     Sunday brunch at Porterhouse
__  z.      Dondero's Kitchen
X_ aa.  The Capital Room
X_ ab. Agua Linda
__ ac. The World Famous ("This is it" sign outside) - get the pork steamed buns
__ ad. Viva (by The Grit)
 ae.  La Dolce Vita
 af. Copper Creek (get the sweet potato fries!)
 ag. White Tiger Gourmet




























30. Then drink… a lot
X_ a.  Open a Pauley’s beer card (& try finish it)
X_ b.  Buy a glass and drink all 8 pours at Terrapin
X_ c.  Attend $2 Tuesdays at Copper Creek
X_ d.  Creature Comforts Brewery
X_ e. Kill Bill at Budda Bar
X_ f. Cutter's on a Thursday for $1 Yuenglings
X_ g. Dance on the tables at Bourbon
X_ h. Sangria at The Manhattan (hipster bar on Hull St.)




X
31. Kayak down the Broad
X
32. Go dancing at 9d’s (if you're there before 1a.m., you're doing something wrong)

33. Jump off the high dive at Ramsey
X
34. Do the corn maze (& strawberry picking) at Washington Farms
X
35. See a movie at Cine
X
36. Visit the Iron Horse
X
37. Find the Tree That Owns Itself
X
38. Drive down Finley St. (the cobblestone street in Athens)

39. Have ice cream from Hodgson’s Pharmacy
X
40. Attend at least one Dawgs After Dark event
X
41. See a movie at the dollar theater

42. Climb the rock wall at Ramsey
X
43. Hang out on North Campus

44. Achieve the Trifecta (at your own risk)

X
46. Attend Athfest
X
47. Ride the full orbit of the Orbit bus route
X
48. Go for a walk on the Greenway

49. Watch the sunset from the top of the North Campus parking deck
X
50. Spend a summer in Athens
X
51. Go out in bad weather (rain, sleet, snow)
X
52. Pull an all-nighter (or two or three) in the SLC
X
53. Get all the stamps on a Jittery Joes frequent buyer card and buy the most expensive drink on the menu (Suggestion: Frosty Joe)
X
54. Road trip to an away football game.
X
55. See the Constitution of the Confederate States (displayed once a year in late April)
X
56. Swim in the river at the Botanical Gardens
X
57. See the giant globe in the Geography building (but, actually, it’s cool!)
X
58. Look through the telescope in the Physics Building
X
59. Dress up for Cow Day at Chick-fil-A
X
60. Hang out in the Founder’s Garden
X
61. Don’t go into the main library (just to see if you can do it--still haven't been inside)
X
62. Study abroad (or at least go abroad)
X
63. Star gaze at the IM Fields
X
64. Spend time on Herty Field
X
65. Study on the Two Story back porch
X
66. Go to the Athens Farmer’s Market (& buy fresh veggies!)
X
67. Walk through J.J.’s Flea Market

68. Take a cooking class at Earthfare
X

X
69. Play the arcade games at Wonderbar
70. Walk through the Elder Mill wooden bridge
71. Tee it up at the UGA Golf Course
X
X
X
72. Get an Ice Cream Float/Lunch from Add Drug
73. Never pass up a home game/Saturday in Athens
74. Walk under the Arch on graduation

Monday, April 14, 2014

Take a good look around, cause you're gonna miss this

I've been saying for months that I can't wait to graduate college. I was born for the working world: business attire, project based work, life outside of a college town. I am ready. I am. Or so I keep telling people. Inside, however, my heart aches when I walk past Sanford Stadium and my mind baffles at the thought of walking under the Arch. Maybe I'm not as ready as I once thought.

I've been spending a lot of time in a little on-campus cafe the past few weeks. I'll grab a coffee, sit on one side of the room, do work and people watch. I see an amazing culmination of people every time I'm here. As I look around the room right now, I see a friend from freshmen year, I see parents eating lunch with their child, colleagues and friends discussing work, and every diverse group of students you can imagine (think Mean Girls, but where everyone is nice to each other). It's easy to spot the freshmen, but the upperclassmen are harder to pick out.

The lines blur after your first year. Age and grade level cease to matter. We're here to get degrees, make memories and move on to the next chapter of our lives. For most of us, going to college wasn't even a question; it was expected of us. This is what we were supposed to do. Yet, reflecting on when I decided to go to The University of Georgia four years ago, I couldn't even fathom the opportunities I would be afforded, the people I would meet, and the events I would get to experience. I get a headache if I think about it for too long; how have four years already passed?

When we're in college and constantly worried about that exam next week or interviewing for the executive board of our favorite campus organization, we don't think about the end. We watch as older people turn that tassel to the other side of their cap and walk under the Arch, but our own graduation was never occurred to us. Graduation was for "them," not you or me. Now, with one month left until I am on the field in Sanford, I don't want this end. Am I really ready to move on? School, a constant stream of projects and exams and a calendar so full it would make a movie star feel unimportant is what I have know for 16 years. Not having school as my norm anymore? That's an overwhelming idea if I've ever known one. So here's to not having a clue, to navigating life after school, to making even more mistakes (and learning from them), to dealing with insurance and all that jazz. Cheers to my dawgs, to my fellow 2014 graduates. Who knew that the past four years would be so sweet? Forever we'll say, Go Dawgs!