It's a Blog Hop!

One of those oh-so-clever ladies on the Mckmama forum has started a fun blog hop. Want to play along? Just follow the rules and add your post to the McLinky (click on it for directions.)

Here are the rules, from Jamie's blog:
Go to the place where you upload all your photos. If you don’t upload them online, just go to wherever you store your pics on your computer. Open the oldest album, and post the first photo. Tell the story behind it. Grab the MckLinky and post it on your blog. Just for fun, tag 3 people you want to see old photos of :)

So here is my picture:



That's me in the back. Second from the right. Mother Goose.

It was from my sophomore year of college, at a not-so-scary Halloween event called the Enchanted Forest. There was a place in Georgetown that hosted a Haunted Forest every year, and they'd pay a fraternity to staff it. For a few years, they also had this Enchanted Forest, which was a walk through nursery rhymes and fairy tales. It was a project for the frat's "Little Sis" organization.

I LOVE this picture for a few different reasons. For one, I really enjoyed doing this. As Mother Goose, I got to lead each group through the forest. It was a combination of tour guide, children's theater, and improv, and it was one of those moments I truly felt "in my element." I was sad when it was all over!

Another reason I love to remember the Enchanted Forest is because the first time I worked there was a turning point in my time in college. I was a homesick, lonely freshmanl with a back-home boyfriend, sitting on my computer (and the internet was really not all that exciting back then) and calling my mom. I had made a few friends on a freshman retreat through campus ministries, but I didn't feel like I was a part of any group yet. And I didn't know if I even wanted to be.

Then some of my new friends, some of them older, came and coerced me into coming with them to help with this haunted house thing. Soon I was hanging out in the PHA lobby, staying up too late, and hoping I would be a little sis. I found a place, made lots of new friends, took on leadership roles, dated new guys, and blossomed. I credit that first night at the Enchanted Forest as one of the reasons I am who I am today!

Plus, it reminds me that there are some people with whom we will stay connected, and that there are others... well... I'll just say that there are a few people in the picture that I don't miss. There's one girl that I remember being very intimidating, only now I can't even remember her name! Ha! So I guess it's a nice reminder not to let people get the best of you, because while the ones who are worth keeping around will be there, others come & go throughout life. And that's sometimes just fine.

I could go on, but I'm not really sure how interested my fellow blog-hoppers are in hearing my "back in the day" stories. I'll just tag a few of you. I'm picking from the people I think might visit my blog- so SJ, Brown-eyed Pea, and... ooh- Nikki! Yeah. I want to see your old photos. Ready? Hop!