there is nothing like it...

And of course, I am talking about LOVE.

The amount of love I have seen today has been amazing.

I started my day an hour earlier than usual because I had a meeting for the Love Out Loud Campaign on campus, and I left that meeting feeling stressed and overwhelmed; thank goodness Aubrea and Laina were there to calm me down. Later, I left work early so that I could work on more Love Out Loud stuff, and now I'm sitting in class working on it even more.

You'd think that would be stressful (and it is), but it is also extremely rewarding.

So far today I have seen these messages of love directly related to the Love Out Loud Campaign:

• somebody commented on the Love Out Loud Campaign blog, and had wonderful words to say (thank you!)
• the woman, Michelle, we met with this morning was very excited about the campaign and the event
• we received an e-mail from a girl whose friend told her about the campaign and she wants to know how she can get involved - it is always amazing to hear that people are talking about our event when we aren't even there!
• the president of Inter Fraternity Council e-mailed me and wants me to come speak to the guys at their IFC meeting tonight

That doesn't even include the response that I got last night from speaking at two sorority meetings on campus and the wonderful response we have received every time we have spoken about our event to different professors and people of authority around campus.

It also doesn't include the inspiration for this post which is this:

Carly just called me and I left class to pick up the phone - boy am I glad I did! She told me that my friends and family had already donated over $700 to the campaign and had sent wonderful letters of encouragement. 

I burst into tears. My hands are shaking and my heart is racing. I am seriously blown away.

I don't even know how to BEGIN to say thank you to all of the people who have supported this project. I knew I had wonderful friends and family, but I just never anticipated how much they have taken to this project and how much they wanted to support it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! You are all amazing and I wish I could give you each a HUGE hug right now. 

You are the ones who make this project worth it - you are the ones who are helping me make a difference on the Cal Poly campus, and in the lives of so many students and people in San Luis Obispo. It is because of you that this campaign will grow and will reach so many more people. 

You are beautiful. You are amazing. You are loved. 

I am not quite sure how I got so lucky as to have every single one of you in my life.

Love, Rachel