UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY – Jackie Greco

things are getting out of control. i am starting to stress out about what i have less than 30 days to finish. i also moved my full time job to day shift so my hours are completely different than they were. my internship this term is great though. i am doing it with the sports communication department for UIU and my supervisor is Howie Thompson. he is pretty laid back and gets a lot finished for being just one man. i like him.

work is really getting stressful because a future employee messed up a lot of paperwork before they left. it helps a lot being on day though-i get to spend a lot more time at night with my friends, my sisters and my puppies!

it has clearly been a while since my last update but we crossed everyone over who was pledging for us this semester and it was a blast finishing out the process. i wish i would have had more time to do more activities but it was still another great experience.

one of our pasted sisters, christina monthisane, came to visit last night for another sister's 22nd birthday. it was so great to see her. since she graduated and moved up by minneapolis i just dont have the time to get up there, but im lucky now because i will be seeing her again for her wedding shower over the weekend. YAY! parties are great!

well thats all i have time for now. sorry. check in soon though, greek week is just a week and a half away! GO E.Y.E!!!

life has been so crazy. belize was a blast-no-a blasty blast! there are not enough words in the world to describe even the atmoshere of the country let alone the whole experience of a week there. below is a picture of me sacrificing paige devine on a sacrificial stone at the top of a mayan temple.

so along the way we had to make some sacrifices...

there were a lot of things we gave up when we got to the village. running water-so showers, toilets that could withstand toilet paper, etc.- a/c, electricity, cell phones, computers...everyday things that dont cross our mind. we use a lot of devices and machines to go about our business daily taking for granted their purpose and place in our lives. i definitely say there is probably worse we could have experienced, though.

i mean i slept 3 nights on a cement floor. it could have been dirt. i got bitten by a ton a mosquitoes. i could have forgotten my bug spray. the heat got the best of me and i was drained at the end of everyday, let alone burnt. i could have gone without sunscreen. we could have done nothing while we were there, but they needed our help. it was fun spending time in the village with people others don't think twice about on a daily basis. i miss it. it was simple. beautiful. endearing to a point. their gratitude made it all worth it, along with the food.

~the school before we repainted the mural~

none of the work we did was difficult. it did not require a lot of skill. im sure if those living in the community had the money, they would have done it on their own. they appreciated us being there but you could tell they were a very self-sufficient community away from the city and drama of complicated living. the women there insisted on cooking us dinner every night so when we were finished for the day and super tired we just sat down to an amazing meal. as we gave to them, they gave back. the school was our biggest project which turned out better than we could have imagined.  however, we also worked on the basketball courts. we repainted all of the lines and added lines for their volleyball games. no worries, i made sure i put a peacock head on the center jump circle. my own little mark on their world.

-just before the mural was finished-

everything there was gorgeous. the jungle. the animals. even the sounds while very different and at times got my mind wondering, were beautiful to my ears. the whole adventure into central america was calming and when the work was over, relaxing down a river of spring water with my friends and peers was perfect. cave tubing couldnt have come at a better time and it could not have been more refreshing.

.a small group of us during the cave tubing.

i just want to finish by thanking everyone who took part in making this chapter of my life happen. it was a short time in another world, but the experience will live with me forever. i do miss the children and the people. it is definitely something i would love to do again and again.

>paige and i holding a snake that belonged to a snake handler we found on the side of the road<

the day has arrived. i am officially one less term and one term away. graduation is so close i can taste it in the air. this is the earliest i have ever been completely finished with finals, but that it is a good feeling. only took four years. lol

2 stinkin' days. belize here we come. i can hardly keep my eyes closed long enough to sleep at all anymore. i feel like a six year old waiting to hear reindeers on the roof. there have been a lot of changes with the exact type of service we will be doing whether it be the fence, the garden, the rec field or the partitions, but i think we are finally set. rec field and garden we are bringing the boots!

the dinner with the girls was a hoot tuesday night. mom presents went over well and its always good to learn a little about the girls you will be calling family. we ended up eating tacos with a side of potatoes and mac n cheese. sound appetizing? lol. we have picky eaters, but there was at least something for everyone including the desserts.

just a couple weeks after break we will be officially crossing the pledges over as sisters assuming all goes as planned. it will be fun to have my final crossover. i will miss having these times of change and growth with all my sisters. the things that happen just sitting around with everyone couldnt be bought in stores for any amount. its just love at its finest most diverse moments. i love them all... through the fights, the dinners, the presents, the tears, the competitions, the fundraisers...they really are just my sisters. good bad and ugly.

im sure next week in belize will be everything and more, as for right now, im content. hope to keep you updated!

finals. finals. finals. i am so not ready for next week to come strolling around the bend. super stoked for the week after in belize, but not ready to turn in papers and take tests. fail.

E.Y.E is set on track for pledging. things are going well. all events have been scheduled and one of my favorites is next week. the pledges will be serving the sisters dinner. they get to eat too, lol, but it is a really fun time for bonding. we give and recieve presents that help us get to know each other a little better.

im kind of sad this will be my last pledge period. work has been making me miss out on a lot of activities so i cant even take part in most of the best ones. there is just too much going on in my life right now. juggling is good, but things have to be sacrificed i guess.

its scary thinking about how i have to actually grow up in the coming months. i mean obviously i am grown. having health insurance, my own car insurance, all my own bills and school to start paying for. its exhausting. what can you do though right? gotta let go of the reins eventually.

today we had a greek council meeting to discuss certain events we wish to hold during greek week. over the past four years i have seen tug-of-war, kickball, cook offs, obstacle course, relays and photo shoots. every year is different than the last and some events are always more competitive than others.

for example, in our sorority we do not have a lot of girls that "body build." not to say that other sororities are walking around with members who bench 350, but our girls are smaller, more agile. therefore, we pretty much never win more than one tug-of-war contest. it isnt that we have given up trying. we just...have given up trying. lol-we actually joke about showing up to the competition in dresses and heels just to make a statement. we havent...yet.

this term is starting to come to a close for us. spring break is merely two weeks away and i cant wait to go to belize. i have no real expectations for what it will be like, but i know it will be amazing. a few of my close friends are going too which will make helping other people that much better. im just so stinkin' excited!!!!

as finals approach though i am reminded that i only have one more term. as cliche as it is, it feels like yesterday i was finishing my freshman year dreading coming back. its not so much like high school where you will be leaving friends who have come to know every smile, every scar, every inside joke, but in a way they do. in high school i graduated with people i grew up with...in may i will graduate with people i matured with and i will miss them.

other than thinking about missing them though, that 10 week count down reminds me of the 3 classes, 2 internships and one thesis i have to get done pronto. lord help me...

here's to hoping my parents get to see me walk!!!!

life has just been crazy this past week. work is kicking my butt. i got a break this weekend when i went to madison, wi but life is just going to get more hectic.

this past week our sorority sold crush sodas and kisses as a fundraiser in correlation with valentine's day. personally i think it is a silly holiday but we used it to our advantage. at a meeting on thursday we all put the gifts together with each personalized note given by the purchaser. in addition to the crushes, we discussed future plans for pledging.

the pledging period started a week ago but we are just getting underway with our traditional activities. Like most sorority or fraternity pledging processes we started with an ice cream social where we invite all prospective pledges to kind of get a feel for personalities. from here we hold an invite only gathering with our brothers. we are very close to our frat brothers so this activity is to see how outgoing the girls are and to accommodate the way they interact as a part of the family. after this night of fun and games, as a group our sorority discusses who we would like to invite for interviews which is the real start and definite commitment to pledging for E.Y.E.

the whole process is very time consuming. we have traditions we have to keep and certain activities that are always done every year. other than all the technicalities though pledging is a fun and exciting time of year. we learn a lot about each other and about the new sisters. everyone becomes so much closer.

this!! is love at first sight!

i feel like this week has just been meyhem. i cannot believe it is already almost thursday. sunday seemed to come so slow this weekend. then it was like a couople nights of wor, three chapters of psych homework and one test later i arrived at thursday. weird.

sunday was a good day though. pledging starts next week so our sorority held what is called a social. other schools call it "rushing." it is basically just a meet and greet kind of thing.

E.Y.E does an ice cream social every pledge period and we just send invites to whoever we have come in contact with that we had something in common with or had an ageeable personality. this social was smaller than we had hoped but some of the girls interested were out of town so we wont hold it against them.

the next step is to narrow down the search for future sisters. during the social we tend to pay attention to how outgoing or active each prospect is with all the sisters and even the other possible pledges. the games we play are specfically designed to ask questions most wouldnt find on a get-to-know-ya survey. its super fun and extremely hilarious. it was small but good.

next week we will host an invite only social with the brothers possible pledge students. this is one of our favorite events and really allows us to see how comfortable the girls are with the brothers, the other sisters and themselves. i am really looking forward to getting to know the girls we have decided to invite back. i think i just like being a social butterfly. do you think you would want to be a part of something outside of campus like a sorority? it is not always work and planning and community service. those are just the productive aspects

welp...here's to hoping the weekend comes even faster and stays even longer.

p.s. my older sister had her baby this week-2nd niece in my life! she is the beautiful attached picture above because i am that proud-Evelynne Elizabeth 6lb 11oz

well hello. my name is jacqueline greco. most people around upper iowa call me jackie o and some call me jack michaels, but thats a whole nother story for another time. i hailed from the great metropolis of st. louis, mo. i am the youngest of four kids and my extended family is enormous so there arent many personality types i havent encountered.

i spend most of my time working in a town not far from school. when im not doing that or school work i thoroughly enjoy hanging out with my friends.  i used to play soccer and softball at uiu during my freshman and sophomore years. most of my friends are or were members of those sports teams here at uiu, but some are just sisters in my sorority, E.Y.E, or brothers from our family fraternity, FTF.

E.Y.E is the smallest sorority on campus. it is also the oldest organization at upper iowa. we were founded in 1969 by four "mothers." we spend a lot of time planning for homecoming, greek week, pledging terms and community service projects. some of the annual projects we participate in include visiting the nursing home at least twice a year for christmas and valentine's day, cleaning up the highway once a year and fayette appreciation day.

aside from having a good time, which i always try to do, i am working my way to graduation in may. this is my fourth year here at uiu and i will be leaving with 3 degrees in the liberal arts department. i am an english, psychology and communication journalism major with a minor in coaching. it has been a long road to get to this point in my college career, but it has been well worth the wait.

in the coming spring i will also be joining the ASB trip to Belize, Central America. i hope to be able to express what i learn while i am down there through this blog. it is my hope that uiu can bring a little joy and some extra comfort to a town much less fortunate than those in the u.s.

upper iowa may be a small town, but it offers opportunities and bonds that can be found no where else in the united states. i have made the best of friends and found the best family away from home in these four years. i plan to take it all with me and share as much as i can with others before i do.

feel free to comment or ask questions at anytime. im pretty open minded and i love to hear new perspectives.

Favorite Quote: "I am the Master of my Fate, I am the Captain of my Soul"-William Earnest Henley