Walking down Emory lane...

First, thank you to all of the people who have donated so far! The walk is getting closer and closer and I am getting more excited. I am hosting a Pampered Chef fundraiser as my next big act. Pampered Chef is a great company that had kitchen products. They are donating 15% of the sales from the catalog party to Susan G. Komen and the 3-Day.

To shop by catalog show go to the website, www.pamperedchef.biz/allisonmarth. Here are specific instructions for ordering because it can get confusing sometimes:

Go to www.pamperedchef.biz/allisonmarth

Click on "SHOP ONLINE" (lower left-hand corner of home page)

Under Option 1 ("Already Invited to a Show and would like to place an order"), type in "Meredith Perlman", then click on "Search for Host"

Click on "Meredith Perlman"

Click on "Shop Catalog" or use the links on the left to shop the different collections.

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Now, on to my post. This past Saturday I walked 12 miles. Everyone was busy, so I walked through campus and around Emory. That is kind of normal, but this past Saturday was freshmen move-in for the class of 2014. If you haven't read or heard of the Beloit College Mindset List, you should check it out at http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2014.php These kids were born in 1992! I was in 5th grade then.

As I walked through campus, I was reminded of the Saturday (well Thursday for a pre-orientation trip with orientation starting on Saturday) 11 years ago that I moved into Emory's Means Hall. One of my stops this past Saturday was at the new Longstreet-Means Hall that was just completed this summer. It is a LEAD certified hall. My Means Hall was old and shook when the trains passed at night and it was musty. However, it was the place that I first made friendships on campus. I still remember the people on my hall, my RA and my SAs.

I walked down Fraternity Row...now known as Eagle Row. It used to be full of parking spots close to the buildings and the fraternity houses. Now, it still has the fraternity houses but it also has sorority village. It houses my chapter, Epsilon Epsilon of Kappa Kappa Gamma. These past few years, I have had the privilege of serving as an adviser and have loved getting to know these women and their beautiful house!

I was able to walk by McTyeire Hall, where I lived junior year as a RA. It is also where Ben lived as a freshmen. Ben and I started dating my junior year while I was living there and it is where I formed 2 close friendships with my fellow RAs, Rachel Roberts-Galbrieth and Katherine Wright-Bombardier. We have been in each others weddings and now get to experience a new baby for Katherine. McTyeire Hall was also a feature location in the scavenger hunt proposal that Ben planned for me in March 2004.

I walked through Emory's beautiful Lullwater Park, which houses the President's House. It is also the location of my family picnic after graduation. It is a gorgeous park that has a pond and nice trails.

It also led me to Clairmont Campus and the buildings there. I was able to see the apartments that I lived in senior year and the pool that we now get to spend hot summer days at. It is the site of the apartments of Ben's colleagues and our friends. I stopped in to see them and see how upperclass check in was going. It reminded me of the times we have spent in Lauren and Sally's apartments - playing games, drinking wine and hanging out.

I headed back to campus and swung by Complex Hall. Complex is where I was a sophomore advisor and Ben was a RA our junior year. It has just gone through a renovation and new sophomores were moving into the the building. Lots has changed but Complex still holds memories from college of friends, fun and hanging out.

I swung by Glenn Memorial Church on my route and saw the steps of the church where Ben proposed to me. With our friends watching and having helped me in the scavenger hunt, I got engaged to my best friend. It was also the site of convocation at the beginning of my career on Emory's campus and the site of baccalaureate near the end of our career as an Emory student.

I finally headed home to Harris Hall, where we've lived for the last 2 years. It can strange to live on a college campus when you aren't the one involved in student affairs but I am lucky to be able to walk through my memories frequently. Emory has changed quite a bit since I walked the campus regularly but it is a place that I love and one that I will hold dear to my heart. I'm glad my 12 miles pushed me through the memories of my college career and beyond.

Hope your walks give you time to go through some dear memories too!

Meredith