By the time this post is live, I will be done with recruitment. I have a weekend of interviews in Houston, where I will talk to 28 high school seniors over two days and pray that I don’t ask one of them the same question twice. I say this every year, but I seriously...
I'm currently sitting at Verve Coffee Roasters in Santa Cruz, CA after the start of my last week of high school visits. My time here is very different from Texas and the whole trip has a different tone. As I was ordering my coffee, the (very hip) cashier asked me if...
I am in in the office for the first time all month! I never thought I could miss my cubicle, but sometimes the predictability of two and a half partial walls is all I want. My cold is subsiding, my bug bites are fading, and life almost feels normal for a week. It’s...
Do you like country music? I like country music (please keep reading). "Texas Was You" is a song by Jason Aldean about how certain objects or places are accompanied by specific memories. Since many of my experiences on the road are new ones or routines, I don't have...
Have you seen the movie Never Been Kissed? An adult Drew Barrymore pretends to be a high school student for a newspaper article she’s writing, when a domino effect of awkwardness, hilarity and an inevitable love story ensues? I feel like my reentry into the high...
I've never run a marathon (or even a 5k, if we're being honest) but having been through a few travel seasons. I can confidently say the two are not too different. I definitely suffer from the "sophomore slump" where, about midway through my second trip, I realize that...
Society is pretty uncomfortable with people who do things alone. People are embarrassed to ask for a table/ticket/reservation for one. We see people waiting alone and assume that they are lonely, have been stood up or have some other justification for not having...
I am on my first of five trips and have to say, gosh it feels good to be back on the road. Maybe it is the two beds (one for napping/eating/tv watching, one for sleeping), or that my hair gets vacuumed off the floor every day, or maybe it’s just getting out of the...
There is a division in the USC Office of Admission. It causes heated debate. It can define travel. It certainly is something that defines a person. Are you Hilton or Marriott? (Or do you walk on the wilder side with ::GASP:: Starwood?) If you’ve seen Up In The...
* Title is a tribute to Mindy Kaling, whom I aspire to be. Fall always gets a little difficult when trying to plan your life. My friends will ask, “do you want to see Passion Pit in October?” to which the answer is a resounding YES, but I can’t buy tickets because...