SGA 2014 - 2015

{Learning Experience 4}

     As I sit here tonight at Starbucks, I try to sort out the mixture of emotions that are currently circulating throughout my body. To be honest, I do not know how to truly explain what I am feeling, but I will attempt to give it a shot.

     So, if you know me, you know I am a complete emotional wreck and that is totally accurate. Consequently, I have had a lot of tears tonight. What about? Endings and new beginnings.

     This past year, I have been apart of TCU’s SGA (Student Government Association) and I have been blessed more than I could ever imagine. I have met the most INCREDIBLE people who all love TCU more than life and who have bigger dreams for our school than I could ever envision. I without a doubt believe SGA is comprised of the absolute smartest, driven, and most motivated people on campus and it has been an honor to lead alongside these individuals.

     Tonight was our last house meeting and it was the last time our group would all be in the Chambers together. It started off as an emotional night, with speeches made my cabinet members and committee chairs and then, the swearing in of new cabinet members and elected committee chairs. While I am extremely excited to see what SGA does this next year, I am also saddened by all of the amazing people that are moving on to new life endeavors.

     To truly describe our current house, I simply need to mention one name: Cody Westphal. If you don’t know Cody Westphal, you are seriously missing out. To be honest, I do not even know Cody Westphal extremely well, but what I can say is that I have seen tangible differences made on campus because of him. It is no secret that he has made huge changes at TCU, from initiating the Not on My Campus movement to the sexual assault roundtables. On top of that, he works tirelessly each and every day to better our university. He can be found serenading people on campus (even though he claims that is now something of the past), talking to people in his office (because he always has his door open), and meeting with students about new projects. I do not know how he has done it this past two years, but all I can say is “WOW.” We are losing one heck of a president, one heck of a horned frog on campus, and one heck of a great guy.

     Even besides our president, we have so many students that work day in and day out to improve the overall TCU experience. Unfortunately, I will not be apart of house next year because I am taking on an internship, but tonight has made me realize how impactful this organization has been not only on my life, but on the other 8,646 undergraduate students’ lives.

     I have met some of my best friends through SGA, have gotten to work with some of the coolest and smartest people ever in my academic affairs committee, and have been able to vote on bills and resolutions that have enacted change on campus!! How freaking cool is that? Honestly, this year has been unreal and I owe it 100% to SGA for making it so life changing.

     My hope for SGA next year is that our members continue to foster the wonderful legacy cabinet has left behind. My hope is for new experiences and positive changes, but that my fellow SGA members will always remember the unique privilege we have of serving our student body. Few people have the opportunity to say that, but what a joy and pleasure it is to be able to.

     So, thank you. Thank you SGA 2014-2015 for making my year meaningful, for filling it with caring and driven people, and for teaching me how to serve others deeply and completely.  What a wonderful learning experience SGA has been. 

Alexandra and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

{Unrestrained Laughter #1}

     I get sick quite often and when I do, it is no laughing matter. 

     In the spring of my freshman year, I came down with the worst flu I have ever gotten in my life.  My throat and stomach were killing me, I legitimately could not speak (I sounded like Olaf without even trying), my nose was running uncontrollably, and I was achy and lethargic.  It was bad. 

     I ended up going to the health center to figure out what was wrong with me.  Of course, the health center could not decide what I had, so they told me they needed to perform a variety of tests on me to pinpoint my sickness.  I had to get my finger pricked, a flu test (where they stuck an incredibly large stick up my nasal cavity), and a throat swab.  It was the worst day ever.  You may wonder what they ended up finding out.  The answer to that question is nothing.  They said they thought I had a virus, but they could not do anything about it (what a wonderful assessment).

     Consequently, I had a terrible cough and could not stop coughing all day and night.  To make it worse, nothing was helping.  I ended up drinking over a half a bottle of cough syrup (over the span of a few days) that was virtually powerless.  My roommate and the entire hallway wanted to kill me because no one could sleep, with my loud cough booming through my thin dorm room walls. 

     What did I do?  I decided to sleep in my dorm’s lobby all night.  Mind you, it was a Friday night so the entire hall thought I was either so drunk I could not find my way to my room or I did not live there and decided to crash there for the night.  I brought my box of tissues, a bag of cough drops, and my pillow to the common room and with all my will, tried to stop the horrifying uproar that billowed from of my chest every few seconds. 

     When Saturday morning rolled along, there was no lack of questionable stares.  For the most part, I pretended to be asleep, while the entire TCU population judged me silently. 

     Finally, I woke up from my uncomfortable slumber to see both my roommate and friend staring at me wide-eyed.  We all started laughing uncontrollably and my friend showed me the picture she took of me earlier in the morning (picture attached below).  To this day, everyone can get a laugh out of my freshman year dorm nightmare.

     The Incongruity Theory is at the root of this story.  The Incongruity Theory is based off of the idea that humor violates conceptual patterns.  Thus, amusement is caused by a mismatch between expectation and perception.  My friends and I laughed because it was unexpected that I slept in my dorm’s lobby.  Sleeping in the common room was the cognitive shift.  It was a sudden, unexpected violation of expectation. 

     My friends ended up calling my sickness “The Infamous Swine Flu.”  It was the flu that took a week to get rid of and forced me to sleep in my dorm’s lobby.  It also prompted my mom to send me enough McAlister’s meals to feed my entire hall (we had five pints of soup and buckets of macaroni and cheese in our refrigerator for a month).  Yet, it also made for a lot of laughs and a wonderful story to tell people. 

     I will forever remember the night I spent in my dorm’s common room, complete with confused stares, too much cough syrup, and a memory that will never fail to make me laugh.

Pictured above: My long night spent 

in the common room

Unlikely Friends & Chick-fil-A Sauce

{Conversation Partner #5}

     Noor and I are exactly the same people in two different bodies. 

     My statement above may seem a little offbeat, but it is true.  Noor and I are so similar, yet so different in many ways.  Noor and I have the same interests and personalities, but we are from different countries, know different languages, and have different religions.  However, our differences are what make our friendship unique and rewarding. 

     Because Noor reads my blog, she always asks me what I am going to write next.  So, yesterday, I told her that I was completely stumped.  I had nothing more to say for my next blog post.  I begged her to help me out and give me some piece of wisdom that I could write about.  We both laughed and she went on talking about her life and asking me about mine. 

     Soon after, she smiled at me and told me that many Saudi Arabians do not think they can become friends with Americans because their differences would come between them.  Yet, in the wise words of Noor, “I don’t understand the problem.  They can still be friends.”

     At that moment, I knew I had an idea for my next blog post (as well as a wonderful piece of insight).

     First, I second Noor’s answer.  Different people can totally be friends with each other, but there needs to be one important premise: acceptance.  Friendship cannot occur without two people 100 percent accepting each other.  To illustrate, Noor and I enjoy many of the same things, but we also differ in many of our views.  Yet, we do not judge each other for our differences.  Instead, we embrace them and see them as a way to learn from each other.

     Second, having a friend who is different from you is awesome.  For example, Noor and I went to Chick-fil-A yesterday and she asked me to get her ketchup.  Unfortunately, it turned out that she had never tried the Chick-fil-A sauces, which was a huge loss for Noor.  So, as the good friend I am, I forced her to try both the ranch and the classic sauces to show her that she was not living her life to its fullest by sticking to ketchup.  Now, she is hooked on both of them (and I am not the least bit surprised). 

     Why am I giving this silly example?  No matter how small or insignificant, Noor and I teach each other so many things.  We share our own experiences and offer each other new ones to learn from.  Thanks to Noor, I know more about Islam, the IEP program, the Arabic language, and the delicacy of Turkish and Arabic coffee.  She has helped me laugh at life’s little moments and share them with sweet friends.  She has taught me to make memories, even if they cost you some embarrassment on the way.  Lastly, Noor has taught me how to love others deeply, fully, and cross-culturally.  

     Friendship is meant to be unifying.  Therefore, it makes sense that different people can become friends.  If either Noor or I had gone into this semester with closed minds, we would have not been able to make this friendship work.  Yet, we decided to accept each other and learn from each other, which has given us both the gift of an unlikely friendship. 

     You know what?  I think unlikely friendship is one of the most amazing friendships of all.