Dear Kaitlin, / Love, Kaitlin

Excerpt from a letter

Dated: August 27, 2009 Delivered: June 11, 2010

As a self-proclaimed veteran of the Catholic school system (I’ll have survived 17 years by the time I graduate USD) I admit I didn’t think twice about venturing on University Ministry’s Pre-orientation retreat last August. The last day of the retreat we were told to write letters to ourselves about anything or everything that was on our mind - letters to be delivered back to us at the end of the school year.

Just above lies a piece of my letter.

It’s a moment frozen in time forever. My exact mentality the week before I started USD as a college freshman. Looking back, it’s my To Do list that stands out the most. One year. Five rather ambitious tasks. My letter in hand and a pen ready to go, hopefully I’ll find that quite a few check marks are in order here…

a

I have to say this was the most daunting task upon my list. Just 9 months to find those kinds of friends? Friends I would travel across the country to visit and who wouldn’t mind trading shoes/clothes/cars/ basicallyeverythinginourlives.

Luckily, USD is a fairly small school, so meeting these sought after people wasn’t (hopefully) going to be a drawn out journey. In fact, I met one of them, Heather, my very first day at USD.

Meet Heather Sam & Sara.

Sam, we found her! And Sara… she found us. (I really hope you recognize the television reference here! Oh 90s cartoons….)

I even visited Heather in her hometown of Fredericksburg, Texas just a few weeks ago... and she spent a few days at my house in Los Angeles last weekend!

a

With so many sororities on campus this was definitely one of my easier tasks (minus the pain from wearing heels all of rush week!)

My final choice: Kappa Alpha Theta!

I can’t help but tell the story of my Big Sister Sarah (to clarify, in a sorority a sophomore will choose a freshman girl as her “little sister”, hence bigs and littles… and grandbigs… and great-grandbigs… etc.)

Sarah was the first person I met at USD, ever. As a senior in high school I set off on my overnight trip to San Diego, a chance to stay in the dorms with a current freshman and really experience college life there. Sarah was my overnight host and I couldn’t help but love her, the school, and her sorority stories. 14 months later, we’re inseparable as Big & Little : )

Moral of the story (kind of): Definitely come visit for an overnight! You never know who you might meet.

a

“The Alcalá Club is a service organization of men and women who work with the president of the University of San Diego as official representatives of the university.”

To put it simply, members work with the President of USD and attend University fundraisers and alumni events. Out of 1000 freshman each year, only four men and four women are chosen as the newest members of the club.

Interviews, personal essays, and letters of recommendation – getting in is no easy feat. Which is why, truth be told, I’m still SO excited about it!

I’ve only been a member of the Club a few short months and already I’ve had an icecream party with USD’s President, escorted VIPS at Alumni Honors night, and dined at Club 33 in Disneyland!

Here’s a closer look at what the Alcala Club is all about:

http://www.sandiego.edu/usdmag/?p=445

Alumni Honors Night! A chance to chat over dinner with USD's best and brightest from decades past. Amazing company, amazing decor, and amazing food - I'm already looking forward to next year.

The eight of us Freshmen are lucky enough to make up the newest Alcalas. I already love them all! As you can tell from our pictures (taken at the annual Etiquette Dinner/ White Party and at New Member Initiation) it's going to be a great four years together!

Oh, and the other brunette in the pictures... It's my roommate for next year Sara! Who would have ever guessed we would both be accepted? (We already have plans to hang the blazers on our dorm walls as decorations.... kidding)

Ah my check marks had to come to an end eventually…. Who knew that Astronomy would be to blame? Star-gazing? Not exactly... but I definitely think venturing out and taking unique classes is completely worth the B! (shhh) Speaking of venturing out, I’m even taking surfing this next semester! Wish me luck…

Places I can successfully drive to without the help of outside influences:

Mission Beach

Fashion Valley Mall

Starbucks

Seaworld

Does that count as navigating the city of San Diego? It’s okay… we can be honest here… I accept my failure on this one…. I mean, on the brightside, I have no doubt I’ll have the freeways figured out by the time I graduate..

____________________________________________________

Finding a letter in the mail is always a lovely surprise (it's becoming so rare now with email)

Thinking about it, this just might be one of the best mail surprises I've received in quite awhile.

Reason to smile today Y:

If you're starting at USD next year... only 38 more days to go (as my roommate just texted to inform me) see you there!

Written with love, Kaitlin