A Tribute to the Fortress

It's hard to put into words what the "Fortress" entails, but I am here to offer the rest of the world a glimpse of the glory and prestige of the four ladies who lived in this residence and ruled College Station for a year. Many longed to be one of us, few made the cut. It all started with the genius herself: Nicki Mechem. As she was preparing for her 5th year of college, her last chance to create a perfect household was looming over her head. Nicki is not the type to do anything half-heartedly. She wanted to leave her time in Aggieland on top. So naturally, she needed to surround herself with people who would bring her visions and goals to fruition. Hand picking the chosen ones, the Fortress became a reality: Sarah Foster, Nancy Davis, Elisabeth Jones, and Nicolette Mechem.

We quickly realized our position of superiority in the surrounding community. We tagged ourselves the "Home of the State Champions". Sarah won state in Kentucky 3 years for tennis. Diana won the state championship with the Bryan High Vikings Softball team. I won state in both track (300m hurdles and long jump) and also club soccer (5x). Nicki won the Texas High School Tennis state championship. Once this connection was made, the Fortress was off and running, daring anyone to challenge our authority.

Perhaps the biggest event of the year was the Soccer/Tennis Ping Pong Challenge, hosted by the one and only Fortress. What proved to be a battle to the very end, the Tennis team pulled out a nail-biter. I coached my soccer team fearlessly, but was unable to lead us to victory. Fortunately, my two roomates, Sarah and Nicki, both lost their individual matches to Table Tennis World Champion, Philip Stephenson, and one of the greatest competitors in Texas A&M athletics history, Kati Jo Spisak. Nicki is still suffering from the sting of that defeat.

Many tried to become one of the select. We did accept a couple lucky winners as two of our own. Jason Meyer and Alissa Kruse, although both deny wanting to be part of the Fortress, secretly adored their newfound circle of trust. Still, others challenged us to competitions, but never followed through. We still lead the Park Place girls 1-0 in our cooking competition (thanks to the incredible pasta creation of Chef Mechem). Alissa Kruse, Amy Boone, Katie Bentel, and Emily Hoffman talked the talk, promising they could outcook, outdance, and outmaneuver us, but we are still waiting for anything to come from such outlandish remarks.

We all learned from eachother, each bringing something different to the table. There was never a dull moment when Nicki was involved. She could always make me laugh. She pushed me to my limit competitively. She was the queen of my social life, introducing me to so many people I would never have met otherwise. Sarah tought us what caring is all about - always cooking for others, continually encouraging, and loving unconditionally. She and Kent showed all of us what a Christian relationship should look like. Diana opened my eyes to the liberal viewpoint on life. I learned to not have a close-minded, strongly Conservative leaning on stances just because that is what my family says, but to think for myself. Although we did not agree on much politically, I love how she challenged me and made me back up what I had always professed. We also had killer dance parties and incredibly deep conversations almost nightly. We have video evidence of the Little Mermaid solo by Nancy if anyone wants to see it.

We all laughed together, cried together, and learned to love eachother. We came into the household as strangers, and left as best friends. From the late night study sessions - drinking Coconut Glunk and jamming to Enya, to the weekends out a Northgate, Wine League, or the ping pong games that lasted late into the evenings, we were a force to be reckoned with. Although we are all spread across the country right now, our bond lives on. The Fortress inhabitants all migrated to Aggieland for a special reunion weekend this fall. As I was running through the bootleg line during halftime of my game against UW-Milwaukee, I saw my biggest fans screaming their lungs out for me. I ended up scoring a hat-trick during the second half, the highlight of my soccer career, and I can honestly say it was all because of the FORTRESS POWER!!!

It may be the ending of an era, but we definitely went out with a bang! And now, as we have all gone our separate ways, we still find a way to individually bring honor and prestige to the Fortress. Diana is in Austin, going into Law (at a school I will not name). Sarah is in Florida, playing professional tennis, about to embark on a European tennis tour. Nicki is in California, dominating the business world of Stryker, bringing sexual tension to the workplace. And I will be entering medical school shortly. We may not live under the same roof anymore, but our hearts remain as one. Long live the Fortress...

The Interview from Hades

This last weekend, I walked into my UK College of Medicine interview with my head held high and confidence bursting out of the seams of my brand new, sexy business suit. This was the first interview offer I had received, somewhat discouraging considering most of my friends have already been accepted by multiple institutions and knowing that UK's med school class was already 90% full, but I was not going to let it get me down. I am a student-athlete at a top university, dagnumit, and I carry a 3.98 GPA. Who cares that my MCAT score was only mediocre and that I had no first hand clinical experience. I am Elisabeth Leigh Jones, daughter of the legendary Dr. Raleigh Jones and Dr. Janine Jones, both members of the UK Medical School Class of 1980.

I was 1 of 16 people getting interviewed that cold, rainy morning in Lexington. I was going up against students from Johns Hopkins, UVA, Illinois, Wisconsin, and NC State. Obviously if these kids were getting interview offers as out-of-state applicants, they have to be great candidates. Nonetheless, I figured I was still in good standing. The Interviewers were then introduced, and unfortunately I did not recognize any of them. I was hoping to get interviewed by one of my parents' peers, considering they had both been working at UK Hospital for 20+ years, but I was not that lucky. The next thing I was hoping for was to get interviewed by one of the middle aged men, someone who would be interested in me playing college athletics (since that is really the only thing worth anything on my application). I figured most men are sports-lovers, considering they do carry the Y chromosome. But alas, my name was called for my first interview, and I looked up to find an 86 year old woman, who was about the size of pre-menstrual 12 year old girl. Great!

Dr. Jackie Noonan was her name, one of the premier pediatric cardiologists in the world, I came to find out later. She even has a syndrome named after her (Noonan Syndrome). The interview started out fantastic. She immediately recognized me as the daughter of Raleigh Jones and the granddaughter of Phyllis Corbitt. It was very conversational; we talked about soccer, photography, traveling, and music. She never made me feel uncomfortable. I felt great after those 30 minutes were done. I figured I had gotten my first interview jitters out of the way and it could only get better for my next interview.

But oh, was I wrong.

For the next hour I was the victim of Dr. Greg Jicha, an MD/PhD in Neurology. He had no shame in telling me that he had turned down Harvard Medical School, that he was the best in the world in his field, and that he brings in 5x the amount of money to UK Hospital that his salary pays him. He absolutely grilled me for the last 45 minutes of the interview, mind you it was only supposed to last 30 minutes. I learned a lot about myself from him during that hour. According to Dr. Jicha...

1) Since soccer has been such a huge passion of mine for the past 20 years, I will be unable to let go of it and move on, which would greatly hinder my ability to succeed in medical school. I will be too focused on working out and coaching to make time for medicine.
2) Having both of my parents in Lexington, working at the same hospital I will be attending medical school, will only hinder my ability to become a strong, independent individual. I will be a puppet to them and choose whatever area of medicine they want me to go into. I am incapable of making my own decisions.
3) As someone who is interested in going into primary care, I will become the stereotypical family practitioner who knows nothing about everything. I will misdiagnose almost every case that comes into my office.
4) I need to be more confident.
5) Just because my parents are physicians does not merit me to act like I know what it is like to be a doctor. It is really disappointing that I could not find the time to have more personal clinical experience. I am just going into medicine because that is what Jones' do.
6) I was unprepared for the interview (yes, he actually told me this).

I have never felt more inadequate or incompetant in my life. I was the last one to finish my interviews. I walked into the meeting room afterwards and the few acquaintances I had met beforehand immediately asked me where I had been. They had all finished their interviews and eaten their lunches by the time I got there. They chatted amongst themselves on how laid back and easy their interviews were, and how they all felt confident of their chances of getting accepted. Praises and accolades spilled forth for the next few minutes, before one of them asked me how mine had gone. Holding back the tears, I explained that I had not had the same experience, but I brushed it aside, acting like I did not really care. But inside I was dying.

I left UK that day feeling like I did on August 6th, the day I took the MCAT - an utter failure. I was holding everything in, trying to soak in the morning's events, when Sarah called me right when I got to my car. I immediately started bawling to her, telling the story, while she sat their and listened, giving me the calm, encouraging advice that she always does. I don't know what I would do without that girl.

So then the trouble came with the multiple text messages and emails I got from friends the next couple of days, all asking me how it had gone. I didn't go into much detail with anyone, but I told them I didn't think my chances were good. I was embarrassed. UK was supposed to be my shoe-in. I ignored a lot of phone calls and messages over the past week, trying to forget about it. It was hard to not think about it while I was skiing in Colorado, knowing that I would find out my stance with them this weekend. But I tried.

I got back home to Kentucky this afternoon. The flight home was long and depressing. I kept playing the interview over and over again in my mind, playing the "what if" game on some of my responses, and thinking of what my life will consist of this next year as I re-apply. But at 5pm my phone buzzed, telling me I had a new voicemail. Oddly my phone had not rang, so I didn't know who it was from, and I just ignored the voicemail. About 30 minutes later I thought I would check it out, and it ended up being Dr. Noonan calling to congratulate me on getting accepted into the 2012 UK College of Medicine class. WHOOP!

So it ends up being all my worrying was for nothing. That seems to always be the case with me. But I really do believe that anyone who was in my shoes and had experienced the arrogance and ferocity of Dr. Jicha would have felt the same way I did. Somehow, the interview from hell ended up turning out good in my favor. I don't know if this was some nasty trick God was playing on me, but if so, He sure did fool me.

ej CAN'T explain

Just in case you are wondering what I am doing with this blog, I am here to offer satirical, sarcastic, witty, and sometimes non-pc views on life, love, sports, and aggies. No matter what the situation, I'll form an opinion and provide some sort of explanation for why things are the way they are. Although my blog will never enter the ranks of some (see Why, Justin, Why???), I still hope to make a few people laugh, cry, or just ponder life as they venture onto this site.

But I've already encountered a blip in this goal of explaining the crazy world around us, and I'm only two weeks in.

I, for the life of me, can't explain to you why Billy Gillispie is an utter failure as Kentucky's new basketball coach. I personally watched him at Texas A&M for two years as he formed Aggie basketball into a national powerhouse, yet he has been nothing but a disappointment in Lexington this year. UK Basketball, what I would argue to be the epitome of college basketball and tradition, is currently 4-3 on the year, not ranked in any national polls, and recently had one of its best players (Legion) decide to transfer.

Billy G, get your act together. You're making me look bad. So to all my loyal readers, I apologize that I am unable to provide a logical, reasonable explanation for this phenomenon. Maybe some of you can?

Going Against Cultural Norms

Every young, naïve, wide-eyed freshman lass assumes they will graduate college with a ring on their finger and a 10 year plan. Why else would women go to college? To actually get an education?…blasphemy!

I am 23. By this generation’s standards, I should already be married (or at least engaged). The average age of women in Kentucky for their first marriage is 22.8 years old. As a super senior this year, I have multiple friends who are already married and even more who are engaged. Yet, I am nowhere near this landmark. Not that I’m complaining. In fact, I am here to sanction the opposite.

My grandmother always asks me why I am not dating anyone. The other grandmother subtly hints that she hopes she is still alive when I get married. Personally, I can’t wait to get hitched. I know very few women who are not excited about starting a family*. I have dreams of curly-haired, blue-eyed kids running around the back yard while my ruggedly handsome husband** grills out, winking at me as I pass by. While all this sounds perfect, I am not ready to go there yet. I still have the world to conquer. I’m young, energetic, and adventurous. I don’t know what the future holds for me, whether it’s 4 more years of education in medical school or maybe trying to play professionally in Europe***, but I do know that I am perfectly content being single at this stage of my life.

I will be the first to admit that I am stubborn, selfish, and immature at times. I still need to figure out myself before I can share it with anyone else. Luckily, marriage isn’t even an option for me right now. But on the upside, I will be attending my first date party tonight (whoop!), although I am slightly worried that my ice-skating skills may be a little rusty.

While I will not be graduating in May with a diamond ring, I will be graduating with an Aggie ring on my finger...and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.


*with the exceptions of Paige and Allison
**preferably 6’2”, athletic, intelligent, funny, & an Aggie
***I am probably not good enough, but it sounds fun, eh?

Things I will miss most about being a Student-Athlete

1. free food - all the time. calamari, steak, lobster, chocolate thunder from down under, and all the Dr. Peppers a girl could ever ask for. $35 ticket...no problem. the coaches will take care of it.
2. being "that hot aggie soccer babe" in all my classes - no longer can i get away with wearing sweats, no make-up, and hair in a pony tail to class every day. and all those times i went to class dirty and sweaty because of 6am workouts, people ignored the stench coming from my direction because they thought it was awesome that they personally knew a soccer player. no more high fives on monday mornings from students excited about the victories from the prior weekend, no more being on the cover the 12th man magazine or the Battalion, no more awkward videos about me being played on the big screen at football games.
3. being in shape - not because i am disciplined and go workout every day, but due to the nature of my sport. i couldn't get out of shape if i wanted to. i was running 3 hours a day and lifting weights 4 days a week. i was a machine. it has now been 9 days since we lost to t.u., and therefore 9 days since i've broken a sweat. today as i was riding my bike to class like always, i found myself huffing and puffing, as if i was an overweight tuba player running to get first in line at the cafeteria. that is just sad....and pathetic.
4. eating whatever i want - since the age of 5 i have never had to watch what i eat. i was doing gymnastics 3 hours a day then going straight to soccer or basketball practice for another 2 hours. i would eat a Big Mac in between practices then go home and eat hamburger helper and ice cream galore, and still look like a starving child in Africa. then in college i was doing 2-a-days the majority of the time - running and lifting more than any human should have to. on the way home from practice i would stop by McDonalds and grab 2 cheeseburgers, fries, and a coke, then i would still eat double everyone else at dinner 3 hours later. the days of being able to eat til my heart's (and stomach's) satisfaction are over. do i really have to start watching my caloric intake???
5. free gear - first i got free UK gear (although not much because my coach didn't think we deserved to keep it since we lost so much); then i got to partake of both free Nike and Adidas A&M gear. my closet looks like Aggieland Outfitters threw up everywhere....maroon is covering every inch of both my closet and chest of drawers. so long to being pimped out in the latest, coolest adidas gear that no one else on campus has yet. aggie soccer was great for my wardrobe, but now i have to start wearing normal people clothes.
6. massages - 30 minutes of pure bliss and relaxation every wednesday morning. this should probably be moved higher up on the list.
7. traveling - going across the country for soccer and getting to see the big name college campuses. i got to play at every single SEC and Big XII school during college. i also went to UNC, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan St, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Ohio State, and Duke. i've been inside Allen Fieldhouse, Rupp Arena, Cameron Indoor, Dean Smith Center....i've seen Neyland Stadium, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Tiger Stadium, Memorial Stadium, Gaylord Stadium, and Beaver Stadium....all of which are college athletics at its finest...yet, none compare to Kyle Field.
8. having an instant cop-out to reject date offers - sounds bad, but so many times i got out of going on a date by having practice that evening, or because i wasn't allowed to go to the bars 48 hours before a game, or obviously the easiest of all, because i am out of town this weekend. looks like i'll have to start coming up with some new material.