Time Capsule: The 2009 of My Life

Thinking about my 2009 seemed to be, on its surface, nothing spectacular. But once I took the time to reflect on some of the amazing moments I’ve had, the incredible opportunities that have come my way and even some of the simple things that have had a tremendous impact on my life, I now realize that 2009 has been a great year in my life’s journey. I’ve learned a lot about myself, grown in so many ways and altered my outlook on life…all for the better.

Here are some of the things I think of when I look back on my 2009:

January

1. I began my term as the first Online Editor-in-Chief at The Pendulum. It was a brand new position that I was able to define and formulate throughout 2009. When I shot The Pendulum’s first video for Valentine’s Day of my sophomore year, I never imagined how much we would be able to grow our multimedia and online coverage in just one year thanks to a dedicated and innovative staff. I couldn’t have done it without the strong multimedia editors and the incredible editorial staff who were so committed to expanding our online presence.

2. A once in a lifetime experience as a journalist came to me Jan. 17 to 19 when I traveled to Washington, D.C., to cover President Barack Obama’s Inauguration for The Pendulum. Along with Olivia Hubert-Allen, Alyse Knorr, Derek Noble and our adviser Colin Donohue, we compiled videos, a photo slideshow and a special 8-page inauguration insert for our second Winter Term edition. I got to interview vendors, Red Cross volunteers, a distinguished guest from the Comoro Islands and at least a dozen other people from around the country. We spent the night on the window seats in my dad’s office in Arlington just so we could beat the traffic and Metro rush the morning of the inauguration. The sunrise over the Capitol was breathtaking. I couldn’t have been more excited to stand in the bitter cold that weekend.

3. The night I got back to Elon from D.C., I packed my bags and left before dawn the next morning to catch a flight to Alabama for my Leadership Fellows Winter Term class. Our weeklong trip took us to Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery, and Atlanta, Ga., to learn about the Civil Rights Movement. It was an emotional experience that taught me a great deal more than I ever knew about that period in American history. I enjoyed bonding with the junior class of Fellows and traveling to parts of the country I have always wanted to visit.

February

4. Another amazing Pendulum staff retreat to Seven Lakes – it’s a wonderful trip with wonderful people where we learn lots of wonderful journalism things.

5. Twitter and Ashley become friends. For the longest time, I swore I would never join the Twitterverse…famous last words since I’m now an addict. I sent out my first tweet at 3:12 p.m. on Feb. 16: “finally tweeting on twitter!”

March

6. Elon celebrates a snow day on March 2!

7. Madeleine Albright delivers a very empowering speech at Elon’s Spring Convocation for
Honors.

April

8. I met Anderson Cooper and got a picture taken with him! Before he arrived, Alex Trice and I decided it would be our goal to get a photo with him since we’re Triple A: Ashley, Alex, Anderson. Sure enough, it happened.

9. Oma celebrated her confirmation.

10. Chaplain McBride became chaplain emeritus in a lovely ceremony in Whitley. I've always enjoyed writing stories about Chaplain McBride, so this was yet another one for me to write for The Pendulum.

11. I was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi, the academic honors society I wanted to earn a spot in as soon as I learned about it freshman year.

12. David Wells and I took Dr. Hatcher to our Turning 21 Dinner. It was particularly sentimental because Chaplain McBride started the Elon tradition years ago, so he spoke at his final Turning 21 Dinner.

May

13. I turned 21! My mom and dad came down to celebrate my birthday with me, and along with Roomie, they threw me a surprise birthday party. I was SHOCKED! I then proceeded to have one of the best birthdays ever. Since I was little, I always wanted my first drink to be a pina colada from Olive Garden, so some of my best friends came with me to celebrate.

14. I watched some of my dearest friends graduate Under the Oaks.

June, July & August

15. My German relatives came to visit and we took them all over the place for one of my favorite and most memorable vacations ever. We took them to a Maryland Blue Crabs baseball game, traveled to Ocean City, New York City and Orlando to Disney and Sea World with my cousins.

16. Cavemen are real people, too, I learned as I started my internship in the news video “cave” at The Washington Post. I met some incredible people and enjoyed every minute I spent interning there. Some of my most memorable stories to cover were the Beat Ya Feet Kings, the Running of the Brides, Michael Jackson’s death and the 4th of July.

17. Toasted to senior year with some of my best friends and fellow seniors Alexa, Amanda and, of course, Roomie.

September

18. BIG change in my life: My love for football is born. I began covering football for The Pendulum with my darling sports editors, Pam Richter and Sunshine (Sam) Calvert. One of my favorite games was when we road-tripped to Wake Forest together. I enjoyed every second I spent on the field with David, Jack Dodson and Lindsay Fendt, and in the press box with Pam and Sunshine.

October

19. Belk Library hosts a rave! Highlight: When everyone in attendance rocked out to “Party in the U.S.A.” and The Pendulum’s business manager Chris Dorsey was spotted crowd surfing.

20. Celebrating John and Alexa’s engagement! (I’m so honored to be a reader at the wedding!)

21. The Pendulum wins the coveted Pacemaker award in Austin, Texas. It was a wonderful trip for the six of us who went with Colin, but I didn’t truly feel the excitement of the win until we were back at Elon to celebrate with the entire staff.

November

22. Pam becomes the new editor-in-chief of The Pendulum. SO proud of her.

23. Awa comes home. Sophomore year, I told the story of Awa and her family. Her struggle to obtain a visa to come home to North Carolina is finally over. Getting a hug from Awa was a defining moment in my journalism career.

24. Attended the midnight showing of “New Moon” with Roomie and Alexa. A-mazing.

25. Ran a 5K in Elon’s annual Turkey Trot! I have wanted to run in the trot since freshman year but was never brave enough until now. I’m so happy that I did it…even if it did take me forever to finish the race.

December

26. Officially had an article published in every section of The Pendulum when my first column (about the social ramifications of Twilight) ran in the opinions section. I was very intimidated because of our opinion editor, Morgan Little’s greatness.

27. Finished the first semester of my senior year – the hardest semester of my life – and oh, it was sweet victory.

28. Packed up my things and moved out of the International Pavilion, my home since spring of freshman year.

29. Came home to enjoy a beautiful blizzard and our first white Christmas in years.

30. My final Ya-Ya sister, Brittany, turned 21 while Lizzie and Caitlin turned 22. We celebrated Christmas at our annual Ya-Ya get-together.

Some Books I Read
For the second and third time: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn
The Host
Anne of Green Gables
The Notebook
He’s Just Not That Into You

Some Songs I Loved
1, 2, 3, 4 (Plain White T’s)
5 Years Time (Noah and the Whale)
All the Right Moves (OneRepublic)
Fallin’ For You (Colbie Caillat)
Fireflies (Owl City)
Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Iron & Wine)
If It Kills Me (Jason Mraz)
Love Story (Taylor Swift)
Lucky (Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat)
Say (All I Need) (OneRepublic)
Somewhere Out There (From An American Tail, Starlite Orchestra & Singers)
To Be With You (David Archuleta)
The Time of My Life (David Cook)
Use Somebody (Kings of Leon)
Viva la Vida (Coldplay)
We Belong Together (Gavin DeGraw)
You Belong With Me (Taylor Swift)
You Found Me (The Fray)

Artists I (finally) discovered and CDs I loved
Gavin DeGraw
Owl City: “Ocean Eyes”
Noah and the Whale: “The First Days of Spring”
Kings of Leon: “Only By The Night”
OneRepublic: “Dreaming Out Loud,” “Waking Up”
Arctic Monkeys: “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not”
Vampire Weekend: “Vampire Weekend”
Oasis: “Dig Out Your Soul”
Bark Cat Bark: “Mathilde”
Boys Like Girls: “Boys Like Girls”
Lady Gaga
…and, of course, the New Moon and Twilight soundtracks