They don't call it the nation's greatest for nothing.

This pas weekend was Homecoming.

The word homecoming will evoke different reactions from different people.
when I think of homecoming I still fondly remember dressing up in silly outfits and going to school for a week straight, just to watch the Lions bring home a victory on Friday.
So what, I still love my small town, hondo moment, handle it.

Here at Oklahoma State though, homecoming is much MUCH bigger.
In fact, it's the Nation's Greatest Homecoming.

On the Friday night before the Homecoming game here in Stillwater,
just about the ENTIRE world floods the streets of the Greek community to look at the "House decks"
Starting in the second week of school, a sorority and fraternity begin on their house deck.
this involves, pomping, every Greek's favorite past time, right? No? OK...

Pomping is the act of putting a lot of wallpaper glue on chicken wire and then sticking tissue paper in the holes...
I am not even joking.
We do ten hours of that every week from the second week of school to homecoming in mid to late October.

Then come Thursday night, and it's.... ALL NIGHT POMP... but really, we stay up ALL NIGHT pomping.
During this time the finishing touches are put on the decks, and they are huge on to large welded structures in the fraternities front yards.

You would really have to see it to fully understand it...

This year I was lucky enough to have my parents come and enjoy walkaround with me.
My mom was very impressed with the decks, just like last year,
and my dad loved the welding, he thinks next year we should just skip the pomp and stuff.

My dad being an OU alumnus, was extremely confused and began racking his brain to try and remember OU doing this, and he couldn't remember it... because they don't.
No one does it as big as us, and that makes us special.

So no matter what classes are bogging you down, or what other things life is throwing at you,
sit back and remember...
You go to Oklahoma State University; a place like no other.
and home of America's Brightest Orange.

The women of Delta Delta Delta and the men of Phi Kappa Tau present... 

From the Swiss Alps to the Costa Rican jungles...

So big BIG news in my life...
I found out yesterday that I will be going to Costa Rica in March!
It is a trip called 'Evergreen' through my sorority, Tri Delta.
It's a week long leadership trip in the Costa Rican jungles.
I'll be there from March 3 to March 10.

It's actually a huge honor, like HUGE.
Only 10 collegiate women, out of all the Tri Delta's, get selected.
and as Elaine (PC 09) told me last night, it's really competitive.
So like I said, HUGE HONOR.

Which kind of makes me giggle,
thinking that by the time I get back from Costa Rica it'll be a few days from the day I found out I was heading to Our Chalet, in Switzerland.
Which is a HUGE HONOR in Girl Scout world,
and now I'm about to embark on a HUGE HONOR in sorority world.

It makes me sit back and think, how can I get this lucky?
Within a year I found out I was going to Our Chalet,
I then moved to Switzerland,
THEN DID A MILLION AMAZING THINGS,
and then I came home, and in my jet-lagged state, I apply for this Costa Rica thing, and then...
I GET THAT TOO!

How does this happen?
Don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful,
but it just makes me realize how TRULY BLESSED I am.
Like really...

It's kind of funny...
I can't even get a date for something as simple as a date party,
but I can be selected for two MAJOR honors in less than a year.
Ya know... I'm not going to complain...
I'd much rather scale a mountain in the Swiss alps or white water raft in a Costa Rican jungle than have a date for one night...

But I mean, if I could have both... I wouldn't necessarily mind. ;)