"A Little Bit of Everything"

Howdy.

I got back from Austin, Texas several days ago, and I'm still having trouble writing about. So much food, music, inspiration. I just loved it! Right now, I'm writing a big paper due Friday on Barbara Jordan's 1976 Democratic National Convention keynote address. Talk about inspirational. AND she's from Texas!

... and I can't stop listening to Dawes. We saw the lead singer interviewed by Paste Magazine and then a show the next day and the band is rocking my world. The video below sums up how I'm feeling right now pretty nicely. Yeah, I'll take a little bit of everything.

"I think love could be so much easier than you realize. If you can give yourself to someone, then you should."

Hoop Girls: End of An Era

Whole group after the Kentucky game!

I remember walking into my Hoop Girls interview at Stegeman Coliseum in late August of 2009. Some older girls at chapter stood up and talked about it; I figured, "Why not?". Starting college was super overwhelming and the idea of being involved with a basketball team felt comfortable after being the Sports Editor for The Catalyst and Wheeler's 2009 AAAAA State Championship. Good times.

Hoop Girls became one of my favorite parts of college. We were the marketing and support team for Men's Basketball; we sold tickets, handed out programs, worked Hospitality rooms, promoted philanthropy events and shared news from the Athletic Association to the student body. There were a lot of great things happening for the program my freshman year. UGA just hired a new coach, Mark Fox, and expectations were high around campus. 

A 2010 game

Throughout the last four years, I've met some of my best friends, enjoyed some delightful wins and devastating heartbreaks, and a beautiful facility renovation to Stegeman. Every step of the way, our advisor, John Bateman, was there for whatever we needed. It was so assuring to have such a great teacher, mentor and friend during my time at UGA. 

Seniors!

On Thursday, we ended the (regular) season with a win over Kentucky at home. I couldn't think of a better way to end the season and my four years as a Hoop Girl. I'm excited to see what the future holds for Coach Fox's program and the girls in our group, including a Homecoming Queen, future doctors, media rock stars and spectacular leaders. We'll split different ways in a few months, but we'll always be welcomed back to Stegeman. Once a HG, always an HG... Right JB?

Seniors after the UK game with Coach Richt!

Stop & Enjoy the Music, Sweetheart

Hello sweet, sweet blog. 

What's up, you ask?

A lot. 

Taking 14 hours of classes and working 12 hours a week doesn't leave much time for the things I love. Traveling, blogging, concerts, SLEEP, time with friends. Don't even get me started on figuring out post-grad plans.
But it leaves enough time.

I've gone to two great shows in the last week: Moon Taxi and EOTO, both at the Georgia Theatre. 

Moon Taxi's found their the cool old-fashioned way: by putting on a killer show. The sold-out crowd at the Theatre loved it. It's funk meets rock meets send me to the sky, or moon, as would be appropriate. They'll be at some awesome festivals around the country this summer. Do yourself the favor.

EOTO is comprised of two members of The String Cheese Incident. SCI has a cult following. It's insane. You don't just like String Cheese... You LOVE String Cheese. Boyfriend is one of those people. The percussionist for SCI plays drums and sings while the drummer handles the percussion, guitar, loops and electronic madness. These guys are musical geniuses but it was clearly a show designed for people who can sleep past 8AM. Their set started at 12:15 in the morning. I know, I'm 21. I should be up for this kind of thing so after a cup of joe, I was good to go.