For the Love of Sisters

I featured this photo back a few weeks in my first Pinning Sweetly post and I've mentioned my sorority a time or two on here, but I've never gone into detail about the things I love about my greek life experience and adventure. Since yesterday was the start of work week, I thought I'd do just that and share some of the great things about my sisters.

CREDIT

1. Support - While I was debating moving schools, my sisters were nothing but supportive. They told me they'd hate to lose me as a chapter member, but were excited for me to make my dreams come true.
2. Friendship - Most of my friends at school are also my sisters. It's not because they're my sisters that they're my friend, but because they're my friends that I chose them as sisters. I love my girls and I know if I ever truly needed them they'd be there for me. I also made one of my very best friends through my recruitment/New Member education. 
3. Connections - Some of my new friends recently graduated and are now alums of my sorority. One, specifically, is moving to New York to be her amazing self and chase her dreams, but had trouble finding an apartment. At one point, she contacted a woman about an apartment and she happened to me an Alum as well. Needless to say, my friend now has an apartment and will be chasing her dreams with our New York City sisters!
4. Parties - I'm not the usual college kid party-er. I don't drink or act crazy, but I love my sorority's parties. We have 4 every year just us and our dates, then 3 or 4 more partnering with the fraternities on campus. Then again, it could be argued that every time we get together it's a party! We always have so much fun laughing and singing. We don't need to drink or go out, anytime we spend together is tons of fun.
5. Charity - My sorority's philanthropy is the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Every year we grant or help grant at least one child's wish. I love getting to meet the kids we're helping and seeing how happy they are. Last year, we grant a little boy's dream of a play house that he could really play in. After buying it, a bunch of us went out to help build it! We had some much fun playing with the little boy and his younger sister (while the men/boys built the house). I love knowing that not only am I helping myself and bettering my left, but that by being a part of my sorority I'm helping ill children get their dreams.
6. Family - I've mentioned my grand big before, even showed the picture below in my "Of Sisters, Food and Explosives" post. I love the close knit families we develop in my sorority. It's so great to know that, while I have a huge group of sisters, I also have a very close, loving, accepting family to turn to. My grand-big and I have bonded so much this summer and I can't wait to help our family grow in the coming months with my own Little sister!

Those are, obviously, just a few of the things I love so much about my sorority. I love the greek system in general and I love what it does for universities.

Are you a part of Greek Life? What are some of your favorite aspects of your experience?

Life? When did that happen?

When I concluded people, my friends and sister, may actually want to be around me! It's been really great recently! I've spent a lot of time with friends/sister. I've never been more thankful for my sisters and my sorority than I am right now, but I'll get back to that in a bit.

The other night I went to hang out with my grandbig for one of the first few times. It was so great to see her and just to chat about stuff. We also watched the above movie, Sydney White, which I may review sometime soon.

Then last night, I house sat for my grandmother and invited one of my high school friends over. We hadn't spoken since Freshman year, so about 4 years apart, but she is transferring into my current university, so we got reconnected. Here's the awesome part, though: At her old university, she joined a sorority, my sorority. Now that she's transferring she's meeting the sisters here and I'm so grateful! We may have never been reconnected if it weren't for our sorority. I'm so so grateful. We were good friends in high school, and having spent over 24 hours together, nothing has changed. We're still awesome friends and I love this girl so much!

How has the start of your weekend been?

The Dream-Hunter: An Adult Book Review

"What mattered most was the present, and that was what he focused on. Always."
        - Sherrilyn Kenyon - The Dream-Hunter



"Feel? Why would anyone in their right mind wish for that? Feelings are for fools."

        - Sherrilyn Kenyon - The Dream-Hunter

"Geary had never been aroused, amused, and highly offended all at the same time before."

        - Sherrilyn Kenyon - The Dream-Hunter

"The key to humanity is simple. Life your life with purpose."

        - Sherrilyn Kenyon - The Dream-Hunter

For my first Adult Romance in a while, this book was absolutely perfect! I really enjoyed it. Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my favorite romance authors, and she's wrten a YA! Excitement abounds! I really like the new myths she's added into the mythology of Ancient Greece.

Summary: Arik is a Skotos, cursed by the gods to have no emotion and to feed off the emotions in the dreams of human. He has spent his life drifting from dream to dream looking for the emotions to make him feel alive.

Meageara hated her father's hunt as a child, but when he's on his death bed, she swears she'll carry on the quest and clear his name. A hollow promise then has become her life's purpose. She searches for Atlantis, keeping a stern, strong air in the patriarchal society of academia.

In her dreams, Geary can let go. She can be herself in all her fears, doubts, happiness, and sexuality. A man takes the place of her sexual fantasy. But only in her dreams, until Geary finds him floating in the sea near her research vessel. A man stepped straight for her dreams with a promise to make her lifes work come true.

Will Geary let go and trust her dream lover? Does he deserve to be trusted?

Characters: I really love the characters. Arik is so beautiful and has an almost childish ignorance about the human world, but dry humor doen't escape him. The otehr Skotos I adore is Solin. He's cold and amazingly sweet and humorous. Meageara is a good, likeable character. She's a strong woman, which by now I'm sure you know I love. She doesn't just fall into Arik's arms (or bed) the moment he arrives and promises to make her dreams come true (erotic and otherwise). My favrite characters are Kat and Persephone. Kat is a major part of the story but you'll have to read it to see why I like her. Persephone is actually only a very small part towards the end, but I find her adorable! She is understanding and a good balancing act for the "cold" god Hades.

Plot: I really liked the plot. There isn't a lot of sexual scenes, but the few are done well and tastefully. I like that there aren't many sex scenes. Through out the book, especially when seeing Arik's point of view, about erotic ideas and thoughts, but it doesn't take away from the plot. There is a lot of action that I really enjoyed. My favorite thing about this book is that the book isn't about sex, it's about Meageara, Arik, Gods, Goddesses, Atlantis, a quest, and consequences.

Recommendation: I would say that I  suggest this one to anyone who likes Adult paranormal romances. This certainly isn't one I'd suggest for anyone under 17, at the youngest. Like I said, don't expect a lot of erotic scenes, expect some, but expects a lot of action and dry humor.

Oh. My. Gods.: A Book Review

“‘A fairy tale,’ he says, ‘is a story we wish were true.’”

I loved this book! It was quirky and girly and a nice break from witches/werewolves/etc. While I adore my normal genre of books, I enjoy the girlier side as well. It did bother me a bit that I had a history in the study of greek mythology, thus some “surprises” were obvious to me but the characters hadn’t figured it out yet. Aside from that, I really really enjoyed it.

Phoebe is just a normal girl. Track team girl, but normal. She lives alone with her mother in California and has her whole life planned out. That is, until her mother goes to a family reunion to visit Phoebe’s late father’s family and brings home an engagement! Once school is out Phoebe is pulled from all she knows and taken to a pricate island in Greece. On the island is the academy that her new step-father runs, but the students are… special. They are all the desendants of greek gods. Her only hope to continue on the path to the life she had planned is to gain scholarship to her dream college, but that is only possible if she runs excellently on the track team. She has to be better than everyone else, better than demi-gods. And you thought your high school was hell.

I’ve said it before, and I say it again, I love this book! It was clever and sweet and not too serious. It’s a wonderful read if you like greek mythology, super humans, etc. I, personally, cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel, Goddess Bootcamp.