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I've officially been back at DePauw for 11 days now and I couldn't be happier. Now, we all remember my adventure in Aspen and I wouldn't change any of that for the world. I would go back in a heartbeat, but my heart belongs to DePauw and Delta Gamma. Living in a house with 58 amazing women who love me for who I am and always have my back is why I'm here. This past week and a half has been a world wind getting back in the DePauw bubble. I was thrown right into recruitment, Editor in Chief of The DePauw and into my classes. It's been a little rough getting used to having homework again and living off of very little amount of sleep, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

DG Gamma-Iota Chapter 

It's all about the real world

My blog neglection has gotten bad and out of control. I've been too busy living in Aspen and too tied up in work to take the time to reflect on my experiences. The reason I'm blogging now is sadly not to share my experiences and what I've been up to the last month, but to share links that I found beneficial. Indiana Intern requested to follow me on Twitter and looking back on their recent tweets I found some interesting and helpful links.

Since my internship is coming to an end I've started to think about how it has helped me and how I have benefited from it. This link sums it up in 5 points.

http://www.iaam.com/magazine/college/5-Ways-Internships-can-Help-College-Students#.Up4yNGRDvAL

And this link is giving some career tips...I am still a ways a way from applying for an actual job, but not too far away.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/234468724324105063/

Recap: What it's like to be me

Aspen has taken over my life...well, my blogging life anyways. The last couple weeks I have been working hard and playing hard leaving me very little time to update you all on the life I have created and settled into here. I can't even remember what I have been up too, but it has been fun and I've had a few learning experiences. My life is always better explained using photos, so here we go...

What happens when our photographer is out of town? I get to run around town and snap photos...while I was supposed to be taking construction photos I stumbled upon some skaters practicing some tricks and found these to be much more fun to photograph than someone putting a roof on a bathroom or putting shingles on a store front, so I had another front page photo :). 

Happy Halloween!! I got to go to the senior center for a preamble to my evening festivities and this here is Woody dressed in drag as Miss. Nebraska bobbing for apples. Best photo I've taken here. It's just so funny and it made great front page art once again. 

My awesome Halloween costume...Experiencing Halloween in Aspen is like nothing else in the world. It is the greatest holiday and was probably one of the best nights I've had here. 

Of course I had to post a photo of food. I went down valley to Whole Foods and had a delicious piece of Brisket pizza and it made my stomach very happy. It was also an amazing day of bonding and girl time with my bestie :). 

And onto my writing because that's what I'm really here for...

http://www.aspentimes.com/news/sports/8622032-113/polo-aspen-glick-group

http://www.aspentimes.com/news/snowmass/8676374-113/portillo-salon-snowmass-village

http://www.aspentimes.com/news/8776981-113/aspen-program-women-military

http://www.aspentimes.com/news/snowmass/8777382-113/aspen-challenge-petersen-race

I've had the chance to cover some pretty exciting topics and go outside my comfort zone these past couple weeks. I've definitely been reminded that I'm here to learn and grow from mistakes I'm guaranteed to make because I'm still young and still learning. I'm becoming a better reporter and writer. I'm becoming more confident and more sure of who I am and who I can be on my own. This experience isn't limited to my internship, but it's been a chance for me to grow as a person. I've taken chances and they've all paid off. I still have no regrets in the time I've been here. As much as I don't want to ever leave I am excited for what is still yet to come.

Action-Packed, No Regrets

After counting down the weeks and days, Friday finally came and my best friend, Hope, woke up super early to come fly to Aspen for her fall break. It was a jam-packed weekend giving Hope the ultimate tour of the unique Colorado city.

We started with a low key Friday night where Hope came to the office while I finished up work and then we went to CP Burger for a quick dinner, nothing fancy but really yummy food. We spent the evening catching up with each other and eating our delicious burgers. We then came back and layered up for the walking tour we signed up for. At 9 p.m. we arrived outside the Wheeler Opera House to begin our hour-long Ghost Tour of the city. We walked around hearing about the haunted Hotel Jerome, Red Onion, Ted Bunte serial killer and more. It was an hour filled with scary stories about murders, ghost and tall tales that haunt the city of Aspen. It left me glad that I wasn't sleeping alone in my apartment.

Saturday, was when the real action began. We rose early to go to Bikram, which was the longest hour and a half of hot yoga I have ever experienced. It was a great start to the day, but man was it long. Then, we set out on an afternoon of shopping hitting up every store in town where Hope put quite the dent in her credit card. We wrapped up the afternoon with a late afternoon walk on the Rio Grande trail before our girls night out.

Sunday we stuck to just working out and a nice dinner out on the town. We hiked up Smuggler Mtn. and took the Hunter Creek trail (an 8.5 mile hike that took us 3 hours). It was a bit slippery through the freshly fallen snow and all the rocks down the steep hills, but we made it through. We ended the day with a trip to yin yoga to stretch it out and rounded it out with a fancy dinner at Jimmy's.

Monday we went on another hike up Smuggler Mtn. but explored a couple different trails - the behind the sign trail and the tootsie roll trail. It was a shorter hike than Sunday coming in at 6.5 miles but still was a good workout. After our hike we returned to run errands and have another girls night in. All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I'm so happy I got to spend it with Hope.

Photos speak 1000 words

Despite the lack of feeling in my fingers, my aching ears and chill in the air I still continue to press down on my shutter button to snap pictures. Being able to freeze a moment in time is beautiful whether it is a sporting event, nature walk or family gathering. The fact that we have the ability to speak through pictures is a truly amazing thing.

Here are some of my photos from the soccer game at Aspen High School today. It was the last home came of the season and as tradition holds, senior night.

Another perk to my job...last Friday I got to enjoy a delicious lunch for free since I did a restaurant critique for my weekly beat. Here are the picture of the amazing food I got to sample:

Biscuit n' Brisket: cheddar biscuit, black kale and bbq briscuit 

Andouille corn dog with homemade mustard creole 

Green salad with tomatoes, parmesan, and a light balsamic dressing

Crab tacos with an avocado lime dressing

And last but not least, I wrote a features on water polo and snapped a few photos at that too...

Time Flies

Something I don't understand is how I have been in Aspen a month. I knew my weeks would start flying by and I would no longer be counting down my days here, but boy has this happened so fast. I am finally in my own rhythm and loving every minute I have here. I am taking life by what is thrown my way in the present and not missing out on a single opportunity whether related to my internship or not. I have gotten to the point where I can no longer keep track of what I am reporting on.

Some days have been rough where I am consumed by my past and what could have been. This has not only become a time where I am exploring what it is like to work in a professional newsroom, but it has become time for me to examine myself. I haven't been alone in a long time and even though I just started my fifth week here I'm still meeting people. I'm still learning what it's like to live by myself in a city that I have never been to before.

I am moving forward in life and becoming an adult. This experience is part of my college career and even though I am not starting a new chapter of my life in Aspen it is still a new chapter in the larger scheme of my book and for my time at DePauw. Time does move fast here, but now I am beginning my second month and it's a little strange. I thought I would be better transitioned and know more people, but even though I keep putting myself out there it is really difficult to meet people when your not thrown into a situation like a study abroad program or a program with other interns. It's a learning experience and I know when this is all over I'll miss it and be so thankful I had this experience, but being consumed in the middle of it going through some tough emotional drama it's hard to see it that way.

Looking back on my past week, I had some great articles published and took some risks. The weekend took a turn as most of them do when I have to entertain myself and come up with things to do, so I was a little homesick and missing what I just recently lost. Now it's a brand new week and I need to look forward. It's another week where I have great opportunities to publish more great articles, take risk and this weekend I get to see my best friend.

Bliss

I've finally had the perfect weekend even though I still have 8 hours left, but my next eight hours consist of watching the Cardinals, Bikram and watching my TV shows later tonight (Once Upon a Time and Revenge).

You may be asking yourselves why my week has been so great....well let me share:

Silver Queen Gondola Ride

We took an 18 minute ride up to the top of Aspen Mountain to see the amazing views and hang out on the sun drenched deck Saturday afternoon.  

Puppy on Board

Mack, a 13-week-old English Bulldog, shows his skateboarding skills at the top of Aspen Mountain. Mack is being trained as an avalanche retrieval dog by his owner Brad Dingess, a snowcat operator for SkiCo. "He's definitely an outside dog," Dingess said.

This weekend the Silver Queen Gondola offered free rides to the top of Aspen Mountain, so I obviously was all over taking the ride up to see the beautiful views. Everyone and their mom was up there, but it was a great decision to go up. There were so many adorable dogs and little kids hoola-hooping and having snowball fights. I definitely got caught in a snowball fight between another co-workers kids and my boots took some pretty hard hits. 

Mountain High 

Just one of the beautiful views from the top. Snow on the caps, sun high in the sky and hot cocoa makes for the perfect afternoon. 

Not only did my day include a great trip to the top of Aspen Mountain, but I started my day off with a great morning workout. I have been going to Bikram the last three weeks and yesterday was by far the best class I have had so far. I was able to push myself and reach positions I didn't know I could do. 

To conclude my Saturday, I came home to read my book and catch up on a TV show, Hart of Dixie, that I used to watch. 

Today has been another great day where I have had some great Me time. Aspen High School had their annual college fair so I stopped by to say hi to the DePauw admissions counselor and then came back into town where I had a nice lunch outside. It was my first time eating at a restaurant alone and it was actually really nice. I got to people watch and listen in to some of the other conversations around me. It also helped that my sandwich was deliciously yummy. 

It's been the first weekend where I have been completely happy to be out here by myself. I've gotten out of my apartment and hung out with people, but I've had some nice quiet time alone.