I’m sure you’ve read/heard about the recent devastating news that Nashville has recently been hit by a storm that has left our great city under water.
Although we at Belmont suffered comparatively little damage, it was still an ordeal, and seeing out beloved city and its great historical monuments like this leave us all heartbroken.
Yet, although we have been shaken, we will not fall. Nashville is the heart of the nonprofit industry and I think it says a lot about the people in the area and the hearts we have for community and supporting those in need. As Nashville has stood ready to help those in need from here to everywhere, today it’s us who need help.
During the flood, several Tennesseans lost their lives in an effort to save others and I cannot begin to recount story after story of friends and family reaching out to help, and even literally save the lives of, their neighbors.
I am so encouraged to see this beautiful and already strong community coming together to conserve water, help victims, rebuild, and strengthen our beautiful city so quickly.
To help, please donate to the Red Cross.
If you live in Nashville please consider donating to www.savetentcity.com or Second Harvest Food Bank.
Author Archives: whiten
Graduation? What?
I can’t believe it! Graduation is finally within sight! It’s crazy how quickly these past four years have gone! It hasn’t been perfect and definitely not without mistakes and bumps along the way, but looking back over the last four years I’m very happy with the person I’ve become and where I’m going as I leave Belmont.
I landed a full time job as a freelance writer (an English major’s dream) and am going to work on that, try to publish some of the articles/stories, and continue writing grants for local nonprofit organizations. With the economy in the state it is in, it’s very difficult to find a decent post-grad job right now and I’m very thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given. A few weeks ago I was very stressed out about getting a job, but I was actually approached by a connection I made as a Belmont student that offered me the position. I am so thrilled!
As excited as I am for the future as I’ve ever been and I’m always going to be happy to look back on my time as at Belmont as a time of great growth. I’m not the same girl I was checking into Hail Hall on move-in day 2006, but now I’m a woman who is confident in herself and has been given the tools to succeed. In the next few years I’m going to be pursuing my Masters degree and hopefully finish up a book.
I’m looking forward to graduation ceremony where I know I’ll be surrounded by faces of classmates and hopefully I’ll be able to introduce my parents to a few of my favorite professors. More than anything though, I’m looking forward to the days when I will be able to think back to the moment I cross the stage as I am handed my diploma as a closing of one chapter of life and the beginning of a new one. Here’s to going from here to anywhere!
Graduation? What?
I can’t believe it! Graduation is finally within sight! It’s crazy how quickly these past four years have gone! It hasn’t been perfect and definitely not without mistakes and bumps along the way, but looking back over the last four years I’m very happy with the person I’ve become and where I’m going as I leave Belmont.
I landed a full time job as a freelance writer (an English major’s dream) and am going to work on that, try to publish some of the articles/stories, and continue writing grants for local nonprofit organizations. With the economy in the state it is in, it’s very difficult to find a decent post-grad job right now and I’m very thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given. A few weeks ago I was very stressed out about getting a job, but I was actually approached by a connection I made as a Belmont student that offered me the position. I am so thrilled!
As excited as I am for the future as I’ve ever been and I’m always going to be happy to look back on my time as at Belmont as a time of great growth. I’m not the same girl I was checking into Hail Hall on move-in day 2006, but now I’m a woman who is confident in herself and has been given the tools to succeed. In the next few years I’m going to be pursuing my Masters degree and hopefully finish up a book.
I’m looking forward to graduation ceremony where I know I’ll be surrounded by faces of classmates and hopefully I’ll be able to introduce my parents to a few of my favorite professors. More than anything though, I’m looking forward to the days when I will be able to think back to the moment I cross the stage as I am handed my diploma as a closing of one chapter of life and the beginning of a new one. Here’s to going from here to anywhere!
Spring has Sprung!
These past few weeks have been crazy! Thankfully, however, Spring is finally here! That means just a few more weeks until graduation!
My boyfriend, J. L. has been recording a lot lately with our friend, Josh. They’re working on finishing up a record that will hopefully be finished later this month. We used to record with Josh at the Belmont Studios, but since Josh got an internship with a local producer, he is allowed to use his facilities for free! This studio is where Sixpence None the Richer recorded their debut album (ever hear the song “Kiss Me”? Yeah. It was recorded here!)
There have been a lot of late nights, but it’s been really fun and time flies when you’re with friends who love what they’re doing!
Apart from that, I’ve just been busy searching for jobs and getting school wrapped up! Thankfully, I’ve been able to enjoy some of this wonderful sunshine! Here is a picture from Dragon Park (which is right near Belmont.)
Happy Easter!
Spring Break and the last 8 weeks
Wow! I can’t believe it! Eight more weeks left and I’m graduating! I can’t say that I’m not ready to go though! With the job market the way it is, it’s a little scary right now to be a senior, but I feel very confident that the right opportunity will open itself up. In the mean time, however, I’ve been sending out resumes and making as many contacts as I can to make that opportunity present itself!
Thankfully, however, last week was spring break and I was very grateful to have a break from my busy life lately! My roommate/sister, my boyfriend, and I went down to Florida to go to Disney World. We were only there for one day, though, because we did a “Give a day, Get a day” pass. If you’re not familiar with this program, Disney is providing anyone who volunteers for a day with a free pass to any park. We decided to work at the Second Harvest Food Bank here in town. We spent three hours sorting and packaging food–and I must say, we had a blast doing it!
Here’s to the last eight weeks!
Hometown Adventures
With the sun finally coming out and the cold (hopefully) leaving us, we’re all getting pretty excited about the nice weather! In fact, with the weather cheering up, I decided that it was time for some exploring around Nashville! I’ve lived here for four years and I still feel like there’s always something new and exciting about this city!
First stop: my favorite local Mexican food fix, Baja Burrito! I’ve been here so many times (this is the first place I saw Jon Foreman *sigh*), but it never gets old. Burritos on the patio is the way to go on a sunny Nashville day!
Next: We visited downtown! Broadway is always busy and everyone seemed to have the same idea we did, but it didn’t make it any less fun! Between the guitar shops and the candy shops, not to mention the riverfront, it was definitely a worth while visit!
Next: Sometimes the local art museum, the Frist, has free event days… and of course we attended! It was great and we saw a lot of Ancient Greek artifacts, European paintings from the Romantic period, and even some very modern light sculptures. This was great!
Last: After a long day site seeing and soaking up the rays, we decided to end the day with some tasty s’mores. 
Love at Belmont
SO, one of my best friends got the surprise of her lifetime this Valentine’s Day.
Craig proposed to Laura!
However, what she didn’t know what that I knew the whole time! Craig approached me in early January and asked me if I would *mind* helping him pick out a ring. (Would I mind? What kind of a question is that?) With a big smile and a childlike squeal I said yes!
So, after asking around, Craig made the decision to go to Shane & Co. in Cool Springs.
Craig knew Laura wanted a white gold ring, but other than that, he didn’t have any direction. Thankfully, I was crafty and found out what she liked and we told the oh-so-helpful Brian who pointed us in the right direction.
(Turns out he was born in the same hospital as me! Yay Aurora, Colorado!)
After looking at several rings that fit under the guidelines, Craig spotted THE one. And this one came with a matching wedding band (when I heard them say “wedding band” it really hit me they’re getting married not just getting engaged!) Next we picked out the diamond and the halo to go around it.
This was the end result:
I was so surprised how quickly the whole process went! We were probably only there for two hours, but with all of the help we got and a good idea of what we wanted it wasn’t hard. I was so pleased because this ring felt “very Laura.”
Craig was pleased too
So after purchasing it came the wait…
Craig emailed me and called me a lot over the next few weeks. He was nervous and the toll of keeping this secret from Laura was really hard on him (precious). We planned that Laura and I would get our nails done the day before so she could have nice looking nails for the pictures and a few other things. While getting our nails done, Laura told me that she hoped that Craig wasn’t going to get her anything “too big” because she got him the This Is It DVD for Valentine’s Day. I just nodded and smiled and said, “Yeah, I’m sure he won’t make a big deal out of it either.” Muahaha
So here’s how the proposal went down:
On Valentine’s Day Craig picked up Laura around 2 o’clock to take her over to his house to “hang out.” Once they got to his place they exchanged gifts. Laura gave him her gift and, being very nervous, Craig said ‘thanks’ really quickly and kind of threw it aside. Then he pulled out the scrapbook he had been working on to give to her. Laura actually started this scrapbook and gave it to Craig on their first Christmas together documenting their relationship up to that point. This time, however, Craig had finished it and filled it with pictures of their adventures over the past two and a half years.
However, on the last page, Craig wrote something to the effect of “And then Craig knew he couldn’t spend another day without her ever again…” and he got down on one knee and proposed.
She said yes and the rest is history! I’m so happy for them!
ASCAP WRITER’S NIGHT!
This week has been crazy! My boyfriend, J. L. Phillips is a Songwriting major and was selected to play in the ASCAP Writer’s Night. The Curb Cafe was PACKED (they had to kick people out because they were over maximum capacity!) Several of our friends showed up to support J. L. and we were all excited not only to hear him play, but local celebrity/singer/songwriter Matt Wertz was also playing!
Here are a few of us before the show.
Here are the songwriters and the President of ASCAP before the show.
Each writer played 3 songs and they were all truly wonderful. My favorite one was the one J. L. wrote for me in while I was in France this past summer. In fact you can download it for FREE by clicking here:
Free Download of Anytime
also check out his myspace here!
It was a great night and helped me remember yet another reason why I love Belmont so much
Last First Day
Last week I had my last first day of undergrad… ever! It’s a bittersweet time! Much like senior year in high school, I’m painfully aware that not only I, but all of my peers, are on the verge of stepping out into the great unknown to further discover who we are as adults and in Christ. I feel excited and prepared, but that feeling of the unknown can, especially late at night, be rather frightening.
Right now I’m juggling school, work, job applications, and grad school applications, but I’m very glad I have all of my wonderful friends to keep me sane.
Here we go!
From Here to Anywhere
It’s getting to be that time again… decision time. My May graduation is coming a little faster than I had hoped. Four years ago when I was a senior in high school, the decision to come to Belmont was not a hard one to make. However, thanks in part to Belmont, actually, I feel like my options are, well, limitless. It’s a wonderful problem to have, but right now I’m facing an uncertain horizon.
I’ve considered taking a year off to work and write (an English major’s dream). I’ve also tossed around the idea of grad school, getting a “big girl job”, and running away and opening up a vegetarian restaurant in a small town in Hawaii. Well, I was joking about the last one, but now that I see it in writing… it doesn’t look half bad.
Anyway, Belmont has a slogan that says “From Here to Anywhere!” I used to laugh at thinking that it was impossible to go anywhere but I’m finding that the cliche slogan is more true than I had realized!
Here’s to finding the path God has laid out before me! I’ll let you know when my head stops spinning and I figure something out! Here I go!