One Week Left

This holiday has been everything that I wanted it to be: a time to rest, spend time with my family, and catch up with my friends. Which means its going to be that much harder to go back in a week. During my first quarter of college, I didn't think much of life after Christmas break. If I could just make it that far, I would be alright. The month that I had off seemed like it would go by forever. However, with only seven days left of vacation, I have come to the realization that it will not. Suprisingly though, I am not really dreading going back. I am actually excited to see my friends and to get into the rythm of school again. One of the only things that I really don't miss is the food, and even that isn't too bad. Don't get me wrong though. I am ready to soak up this week and fully enjoy it. One of my goals for this break was to get better at ping-pong. There is a ping-pong table in my dorm and I decided that it was time that I was able to play without totally humiliating myself. I am proud to say that I have gotten significantly better and might even consider playing while other people are actually in the room and can witness my mistakes. So, in the end, when it comes time to go back, I guess it won't be that horrible.

Christmas

Isn't it weird how you spend an entire year looking forward to Christmas (or at least I do!) and it only takes 24 hours to pass by? It's kind of weird. This year, mine was spread out for two days, though it still passed suprisingly fast. The good thing is that now that the holiday is over, I have nothing to do but relax. I love Christmas shopping, but it is also a nice change to see my online banking account stay stable instead of taking plunge after plunge. And instead of wrapping gift after gift, I can put away the ones I recieved this year. I also find it hard to believe that it is almost time to go back to school. I will probably say this next week as well, considering I still have over a week before I go home, but this month went by so fast. It is hard to imagine getting back into my college routine. I have a feeling it is going to be harder than anticipated! But I am looking forward to seeing my college friends again. It is odd going from living down the hall from someone and seeing them at least once a day to not seeing them in three weeks. But that gives me something to look forward to as I face leaving good food and my own room in a mere 9 days!

Two Weeks Down

I was unpleasanlty surprised the other day when I realized that I am halfway done with my vacation. Needless to say, I was a little upset. Its not like I am dreading going back to college, I just love being home. However, I have partly reconciled myself by saying that I still have two weeks, but its not enough. For the past two weeks, I have had little urge to go back to my life at college. I know that if I leave reluctantly, things will not be that great once I get back. Don't get me wrong. When I was at college, I loved it. Now that I am back though, I am having a hard time missing it. However, the other day I was looking through old pictures and I found some of my friends and I making a gingerbread house in the dorm. Seeing my friends and remembering that night, I started to actually miss it. That was the first time that I thought: "Okay, I guess it might be nice to get back". I mean, I'm not going to make a countdown or anything, but when the time comes to go back, there is a good chance I will be ready. Until then though, I am all too happy to waste my days on reading, baking, and hanging out with friends.

Christmas Vacation

I officially love Christmas vacation. A lot of my friends are saying they are already ready to go back to school, but I have to disagree. How could I be ready to leave my leisurely schedule, home cooked food, and friends I haven't seen in months? Right now I am actually visiting my friend's apartment in Davis (she goes to school here). She lives in an apartment, which makes me so excited for next year. I can't wait until I move out of the dorms. Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful experience, and I am so glad that I live there. But one year is long enough. I think it will be so much fun to be able to live with my friends, cook my own meals, and have my own room (or at least be able to pick my room mate!). So this trip is getting me very excited. Once I get back, I will return to waking up at 10:00, reading and watching movies all afternoon, and spending time with friends in the meantime. What a wonderful break!

Back Home

It is the most wonderful feeling knowing that I have a month off. That means no classes for four weeks, no homework, no early morning wake-ups. Most of all though, it means that I am home. Its not like Thanksgiving where I had to rush around, determined to see my friends, spend quality time with my family, and of course, eat at my favorite restautants. Instead, I have time to relax. To actually unpack my clothes, put everything in its old place, and just enjoy being home. I'll be honest. For me, this means reading on the couch with my sister for the majority of the day, getting up to have lunch and make an occasional trip into town. For the most part though, I am just soaking it up. I get to leave my room a mess and not worry what my roommate will think when she spots the dirty laundry on the floor. I get to spend half the day in my pajamas and not shower till noon. Once in a while, I will look up from what I am doing (most likely reading) and just soak the familiarity of home up. I know it might sound cliche, but really, this is the best Christmas gift ever. Just to be back.

Driving Home

Since I am now home for Christmas vacation, I don't have any new insights on college life. I would like to look back instead on events that happened a while ago. More specifically, I would like to reflect on driving home. My first trip home was the most entertaining by far. To get back from my school, I have to get on highway 101. Well, I had never driven the route before, so I made a very big mistake within 5 minutes of leaving the school. I got on highway 1 instead of 101. The problem was that I didn't notice my mistake until we were on the road for quite some time. A trip that should have taken four and a half hours took six instead. And instead of driving a simple and straight stretch of road, I spent at least two hours driving on hair pin turns right next to the ocean...at night. I feel confident in saying that that will never happen again. My second trip home was for Thanksgiving. That was made interesting by the fact that my sister had a fish bowl at her feet the whole time which was slightly too full, and that my fish was in a water bottle sitting in a cup holder. Thankfully, no one got that bottle mixed up with their own drink. I also had a carfull of people making sure I was going the right way, considering how disatrous our first trip was. Last Friday was my most recent trip home, and I am glad to say that it was nearly perfect. The one gliche was that I managed to get turned around (not lost!) only 30 minutes from my home. Overall though, it was a pretty successfull trip, and one that proves the saying "Practice makes perfect". I really think that the next time I drive home, my passengers will have nothing to complain about!

Finals Week

This last weekend and continuing to this week has been by far the most stressful time since I've been at school. Preparing for finals is so difficult just because you dont know exactly what is going to be on your tests. I hung out with my friends last Thursdasy night but stayed in the rest of the weekend which was a great decision. My roommate went out a couple nights this weekend and still hasn't really studied at all and now she is freaking out because she doesn't have time to review all the material that she needs. I took my French final yesterday and in the middle of it, started tearing up. I studied for probably 12 hours this weekend for it and it was so difficult. Then of course when I got out I called my mom and cried. (That's just me, I'm kind of a baby like that :) I had my English final this morning which was two papers and a presentation and I think my papers are great but my presentation was a little shorter than she wanted. I have math tomorrow which is probably going to be the hardest of them all and I'm going to study with my friend all tonight starting probably at three. The only one after that is Psychology which is on Friday and even though I got a D on that one test, I think I can pull through on the final. Then i get to go home for a month!! My best advice for finals week is to not go out the weekend before, drink a Red Bull if you need to and just study as long as you can.

The Packing Ordeal

Going home for Thanksgiving was no big deal. Pack your favorite shirts, a few pairs of jeans, a good book and you're done. However, it is a completly different for Christmas. This year my winter break lasts for four, wonderful weeks. Which is great. But is also means that if I forget something, I go without it for a month. So the big challenge these last few days has been to get everything in order and make sure that nothing is left behind. So far I have a full laundry bag, three medium sized bags, and around six small bags filled with clothes, books, shoes, and just stuff that I could not live without for a whole month. An example of that would be my Friends seasons and my favorite lotion. So the big question is: "Will it all fit?" I am one of three girls that are sharing very limited trunk space, so this is could become a real problem. I have a slight suspicion that my pink Adidas bag will end up on my lap. Of a bigger concern though is coming back. If I already have an overload of bags, bringing back Christmas gifts will be worse. However, for all of this worrying, I am SO excited to be leaving for home. I cannot wait for a whole month of doing nothing with my family and friends. It will be the first time since leaving home that I won't have to count down days until I go back to the dorms.

Finals Week

Well, here I am in the middle of finals. Somehow, it feels as if I am as prepared as I will ever be, yet not nearly prepared enough. My desk looks like a bomb went off inside it; there are dirty dishes, old math tests, dozens of sticky notes, and a half-empty milanos bag, My head is starting to feel as if it is in the same sense of disarray as my desk. I have already completed two written finals and one oral exam, and I have two left. My first final, a Politcal Science course, wasn't too bad. I took the class over the internet, so my professor organized the exam so that all of the questions were from material presented online. My Spainsh exam, which I took this morning, could have gone better, but since I am horrible at Spanish, I will be pleased with a B. And my oral exam in Spanish was what I expect all oral exams to be: terrifying. What makes it even harder to concentrate is that all around me people are packing up to go home (my roommate included). This, needless to say, is slightly depresseing. Because I have late finals, I can't go home until the very end of the week. My mantra has become "four more days" then "three more days" and now "two more days". I'm so close! Let's just say that I wasn't a fan of high school finals, but I would trade them any day for these.