Orientation 2005!!!

So, Orientation 2005 is now over and finished.

It feels so strange. Last year, it didn’t seem like such a big deal. This year, I feel like I poured my heart and soul and every single thing I had into it. Although I feel a little bit nostalgic, a little sad that it’s finished, but mainly I have to say that I feel satisfied and relieved. That great feeling of having completed a difficult and important task, that feeling of pride and accomplishment. I never thought I would grow so much in such a short period of time, but it seemed so natural. To be seen as a leader and used as one, not only by delegates, but by other OL’s, MugL’s, and even some TF’s. Before this weekend, I would never have been able to get up in front of hundreds to thousands of people and perform without stuttering or screwing up. I would never have been able to start a cheer, but by the end, other MugL’s and OL’s would come up to me, or send word down to me, asking me to start one. I must have started nearly a hundred cheers this weekend by the end of the President’s address…. And there’s nothing like starting a cheer and then having thousands of people suddenly standing up and joining in. So amazing.

So, I’ve gone through four full days of training, and two days of working with some amazing first year university students. In total, six very long, very full days. I came home every day, exhausted to the bone from all the effort I put in, but each night I was only able to get a few hours of sleep, because I was too excited to actually stay asleep past 4 or 5 am. And once again, I am up at 4:30 am writing this. And I have to say, I regret not a single moment. My team of delegates was incredible. I was worried about remembering their names, but it was never a problem, because every single one of them is so memorable… I wish I could sit here and name each delegate and go on and on about how awesome each one was, but then I would be here until tomorrow morning, so I have to just stop there and say they were great. I can’t help but wonder, after how much I’ve changed in the last two years, what they will go through before they are finished at the U of A. I hope so much that they come out to the Mugs events because I really feel I didn’t get a chance to know them all as well as I wanted to.

Being a Mugs leader this year was one of the most rewarding things I think I’ve ever done. My team was absolutely phenomenal, and my partner, Bobby, could not have done a single thing more to be any better. I hope to hell that our delegates apply for Orientation next year, because I know every one of them is going to make a great leader. Chad, my TF, told me last night that my team had the record high for both my OL group and section for retaining the most Orientation students for the entire program. That is something I just can’t get over. It certainly wasn’t something that had to do with Bobby or me, because most of the OL’s out there were just as good as us. It basically just came down to the fact that my team was rockin’ awesome and stuck it through to the end, because they’re not the kind of students that give up.

Once again, I’m so glad that I’m part of the Mugs program and that I actually get to hang out with my students after orientation is done. Tomorrow is going to be so strange, with none of the orientation shirts hanging around everywhere… Nobody screaming out random cheers, no pirates yelling “ARRRRRR!” and no mug trains. But I think the fact that it isn’t really over for us MugL’s is going to be what gets me through. The idea that I was so close to not being chosen as a MugL scares me so much right now… I wouldn’t give up these 6 days I’ve experienced for anything. So right now, I am thanking Jenni, my delegates, Bobby, and my wonderful fellow MugL’s, because none of what I’ve experienced could have ever happened without you all.

- Jeanine

Psst….

Fresh and green, lean and mean… We are Team… BOBBY JEAN!!!