Giddy!

Just over a week ago, I was jumping on the bed, squealing like a little girl. Sure, I'm 21 years old and nearly a college graduate. I didn't care. The email I'd been anxiously waiting for just popped into my inbox with good news! I couldn't think of a time I'd been more excited in all of college.

Who should I call first? Mom and Dad? I'd need to call the bank. And the phone company! And my roommates would need to know. Eek! I could hardly pause my happy dance long enough to dial my dad's office number. As the phone rang on the other end, I tried to come up with the right words to say. Once he was on the line, it didn't matter. "I'm going to Ireland!!" I blurted.

Credit: Startup Ireland

Today, as I sit racking my brain for what I forgot to pack, I'm just as excited. In just a few short hours, I'll be my way to Dublin, Ireland to work on a social media team for Startup Ireland! 

While I'm abroad for the next eight days, I'll be using Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to keep everyone up to speed with the activities of the conference. Each day, I'll work in a different city covering events aimed to foster entrepreneurship and celebrate the 'let's make it happen people' of Ireland. My time will be divided between Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, and Galway.

My goal is to post a few updates on Roots during my trip, but the fast pace of this adventure will make it difficult to share everything here. For the play by play, be sure to follow @startupireland on Twitter and like Startup Ireland on Facebook. We will be using the hashtag #startupIRL to keep track of all we do. 

Well, I better load up the car to catch my flight! Don't forget to follow my trip on social media! Thanks for reading!

Wordless Wednesday: Highlights

Being a student at Iowa State University has given me so many unique opportunities! I wish I could write a blog post explaining each one. For now, here are a few photo highlights. Since school started I've had the chance to play the campanile, mentor Ag Business freshmen, and attend several picnics welcoming back all the students to campus. Meetings and homework fill my schedule, but every once in a while I get the chance to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. 

I'm so thankful for all I've been able to do so far this school year and that I can share a glimpse of it through these photos. Stay tuned for details of all my adventures. Thanks for reading!

How do you start a blog?!

Hello family, friends, and mysterious strangers of the internet! I've spent several hours on the mower contemplating what this first blog post should include. Should it be serious? Or funny? How personal should it get? Should I start off general? Or write about someone famous? How about a cool place I've been? But then thoughts like, "maybe I should wait til I have more time" and "I should hold off until I talk with an experienced blogger" started creeping in. Before I knew it, it had been a month since that warm summer breeze and fresh cut grass smell convinced me I needed to finally get my passion on paper and start blogging.

Today, I decided it was the day. My bucket list for summer is only growing, and I'm learning exciting things worth sharing NOW. At work, as I counted out tickets and sorted envelopes, daydreams of viral agvocacy posts filled my mind. A few clever titles got me even more excited, and by the time I got home I couldn't wait to open my laptop. Finally, once the website was set up and a few got pictures arranged, clearly I was running out of time. After writing down "my roots" I had so many thoughts my head was spinning even more. Please check out that page and come back soon for a more official first post. Thanks for joining the roots journey!




P.S. Aaaahhhhh! It's really happening! I'm actually a blogger!