My Brain!

Last week I participated in a psychology study testing the effects of empathy on the brain. It included two weeks of nightly surveys on how connected I felt with people and the final segment included an MRI of my brain. I was a little worried that I'd be claustrophobic but it wasn't a problem at all! Especially since they put $10,000 goggles on me that showed everything on the experimenter's computer. I was so glad that I could participate and I got paid for it, too! $110- woo hoo! And apparently, according to the pictures, the lab workers said that I have a very healthy brain! Great!

Happy Easter!

Today we celebrated Easter with our family which was so wonderful. We began the day by going to church and celebrating the Lord's resurrection. He is risen! After church we went our to the Saticoy Country Club for a delicious brunch. My ultimate weakness is all the sweets- especially since I was supposed to give them up for Lent. Notice the words "supposed to"! Anyway- we all had a great time spending the morning together even though we missed my cousin Sara who is away at college in Colorado. It was beautiful day and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again in a couple of weeks!

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Tomorrowland Party!

Last week I had so much fun going out with my Chi Omega sisters to celebrate the beginning of spring quarter! Our theme was tommorrowland so we all had fun in our space age outfits. It's always so much fun to dress up and I've surprisingly made good use of my mom's outfits from the 70s and 80s- so glad she saved so much of all that good stuff! It was especially great to go out dancing with one of our newest Chi Os- Nivedita. She and I have been friends since the summer from the UCLA Wildnerness Welcome program but she only recently became a Chi Omega. I think we all had a great time that night!

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Debutante Ball 2010

This post is a little late- I just got the pictures- but I remember the night like it was yesterday! A couple weeks ago we celebrated at my best friend Lauren's Debutante Ball. It was a beautiful ceremony and as a former debutante, it was so much fun to see the presentation from the other side of the curtain. Lauren looked absolutely beautiful and I couldn't help but cry when she was presented- I am so proud of her and I am so blessed to share so many special and fun memories with her. We are lifetime besties!
Everything about the event was perfect: the room looked absolutely gorgeous- from the ornate bouquets to the silver and china- it was a night to remember. I loved the fillet mignon but Lauren and I especially loved the Dulce De leche dessert- so good! We had so much fun dancing the night away- even my Grandma Joan got on the dance floor! I was impressed! And it was so much fun to swing and waltz with my dad- he was so excited to get on the dance floor! Every minute of that night was special and happy. I'm so glad that I could come home from college to see the event and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

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Spring Break!

Well, today is the last day of spring break- my last hoorah. I had a wonderful week and I loved getting to relax and spend some quality time with family and friends. I've posted a slideshow of some of my highlights of the week- I was pretty busy socializing! On Thursday we had a water balloon fight in the park which was pretty fun- too bad the weather was foggy that day. On Friday night I went out to a Hollywood club with my friends (one more goal on the bucket list completed!) and we had fun dancing the night away. On Saturday I went to Alexis' water polo game- Stanford vs. UCLA where we lost. I was so proud of Alexis though and it was so exciting to see her! Later that night we celebrated Sara and my birthdays with our family- I always love getting to catch up with everyone and share laughs and memories together. This is such a short summary of my week- I had such a great time all and all! I can't believe spring quarter starts tomorrow- only one more to go! I'm looking forward to all the fun adventures coming ahead!

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Ruth Chris Dinner to Celebrate!

Last night I went to Ruth Chris Steakhouse (my favorite restaurant) with my parents to celebrate the completion of my second quarter as a freshman at UCLA! I'm so excited that I got straight A's this quarter! Last time I was there was a year ago to celebrate my acceptance into UCLA- so much has changed since then! I'm so happy at UCLA and I'm so glad that I made the right choice. I love being in Chi Omega, Relay for Life, and the campus atmosphere in general. It is such a beautiful place to go to school and though the transition was difficult at first, it showed me how strong I am and how independent I can be. I have gained more confidence as an individual and I feel more courageous in pursuing my goals. A year later I am still working toward becoming a motivational speaker and majoring in psychology. I am so happy and I want to keep enjoying and making the most of every day!
As for dinner- it was absolutely the best! I've stopped eating red meat but I still enjoy it occasionally- I had a few bites of my dad's fillet Mignon and my mom's rib eye- heavenly! (Especially when it comes in sizzling butter haha) I ordered a delicious lobster bisque, corn pudding, and my favorite- sweet potato casserole (it tasted like pumpkin pie!). As for dessert, I had a little carrot cake and cheesecake- which is the best I've ever had- absolutely fantastic! It was such a celebration and I'm so glad that I have such amazing support (financially and emotionally!) from my parents. Looking forward to another quarter of fun adventures!

Lauren's Karate Tournament

This past weekend I attended Lauren's Tae Kwon Do Tournament- she has been doing it for over 12 years and this is the first time that I've actually gotten to see her do her thing! She is a fourth degree black belt (she had the highest ranking amongst all the other girls there). She did an excellent job on her form- she got third place- but she at least deserved second place. She also did a great job in sparring and in her free form routine with her boyfriend Travis. It was so much fun to watch and I was so impressed with Lauren! It was especially entertaining because Lauren is the sweetest girl I know and I've never seen her look so determined and serious! She is strong and she means business! (No pepper spray necessary for her!). Later in the day we had the best time hanging out and having a girls' day together. We had fro yo and tacos and we sunbathed in my backyard for a bit. We baked peanut butter whoopie pies which were absolutely delicious and we had the best time just chitting and chatting. I am so blessed to have her as my best friend and I know it will stay that way throughout our lives. I'm so proud of her and I'm so glad that I could finally see her kick and chop and hi-yah!

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