Next Fall

As the school year is winding down, I am already getting excited for next year. Don't get me wrong; I can't wait for summer. Three months of relaxing with my family and friends sounds glorious. But its such a different feeling than previous times. Before, I would only let myself think of the summer, dreading the time when school would start up again. Now though, I look forward to it. For one thing, I will be living in an apartment with three great friends. Also though, there are a number of things that I want to get involved in, like choir and my church's college leadership team. Its a great feeling that when summer is over, I have an awesome year to look forward to. No longer will I be focusing on finding my place at college, but I will be able to get further involved in the areas that I have an interest in. Until then though, I will thoroughly enjoy my summer.

Last weekend was my old high school's graduation, which was pretty weird. Even though I wasn't there because I am still in school, I saw pictures and heard about it from friends. It is weird because it doesn't feel like it has been an entire year since I graduated. That was such a fun, but excrutiating, time. I had no idea what my next year was going to be like, and here I am, almost entirely through it. Like I said, weird.
The pace of school is starting to pick up again. This time it is much more bearable, considering my motivation is three months off. This weekend I have a lab report and a formal "logical" essay to write, not to mention reading "The Prince" by tomorrow at 9. Even though vacation is only 2 1/2 weeks away, it still seems like I will never be done. My friend visited me this weekend and it was like a teaser of what summer is going to be like. I love my friends here so much, but I also miss the ones I see at home. So now I really can't wait!
So wish me luck with finishing up my schoolwork and staying focused (as well as staying patient)!

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend my friend is coming down to visit. I am sooo excited! I can't wait to show her around and have her finally see what I have been doing this last year. I have made numerous plans for the days she is here, including watching a movie in the drive-in theater, going to the beach, and getting dessert at the most ideal little coffee shop. Realistically, we won't end up doing half the stuff I have thought of, but thats fine. The best part will just be getting to catch up and talk. Plus, its perfect timing for her visit. My roommate is going to be gone this weekend, so she doesn't have to sleep on the floor. Over the last month, my roommate has been in total moving-out mode. She isn't exactly the biggest fan of our college and is transferring next year. So, she has been slowly emptying her room every time she goes home, which is quite frequently. Only the bare essentials are left on her side of the room, even though there are still three weeks of school left. It works for me though. It will be nice to have my room all to my self for when my friend comes.

Sailing

For quite a while my friends and I have been talking about visiting each others' houses, and this weekend we finally put all the planning into action. We were able to visit two homes, and ended down by San Diego. While there, my friend's dad took the four of us out sailing. I have to say, it was quite an experience. I always had the idea that sailing was very peaceful; very calm and mellow. So when my friend's dad kept apologizing for the lack of wind and how boring it was, I was slightly confused. That is, until the wind picked up. Lets just say I wasn't really prepared for the excitement. When there is a strong enough wind, one side of the boat can tilt really far into the air, and can even tip over. The first time the wind picked up, I was on the downside of the boat, so when the boat tilted, all I could see was a huge sail heading straight for me. So I jumped/fell off into the water. Honestly, I was amazed the boat hadn't tipped over. Anyway, after that I learned to hold on and to stay on the right side of the boat. I had definitely learned my lesson. The rest of the trip was great; especially getting to see where my friends lived and finally meeting their families. I have to say though, sailing was definitely the highlight.

End of Freshmen Year

The time has already come, to go home. Like I said before, I can't believe it's already that time of year. I was talking to a friend of mine who is a junior I told him how fast this year went by and he said it only seems to go by faster every year. Overall I had an awesome year. I met a lot of great people, had good professors and enjoyed a lot of my classes. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I honestly think I'll miss dorm life too; just being able to walk down the hall and being able to see 20 people you know. Also not having to clean your own bathroom, cooking your own food etc. I'm very excited to get an apartment next year but it's definitely going to be a huge change. This week has been so crazy with finals, compared to last semester. I'm not sure why but I feel way more overwhelmed now. I probably won't sleep for the next two nights because I still have 3 finals and a revision paper due before I leave on Friday and I haven't STARTED packing. Thinking about leaving here is really a bittersweet thought. I obviously can't wait to go home and see my family and be free for the summer, but it's going to be really hard to leave my friends and my life here. I don't think there's anything I would change about the last nine months; I've learned so much.

Relief at Last

This week, like most, is flying by. I am finally done with my midterms and papers (for a week or so, at least), hence the title of this blog. I think I did fairly well on all of them, which is nice. It is always a horrible feeling to end a test and feel sure that you didn't do well.
This weekend I am going home with a friend, which is exciting. I love meeting my friends parents and seeing how similar they are. It will be interesting to see her home and town considering I've only known her here at school. When we are down there she is going to take me sailing, which should be fun. I'm a little afraid that going to her house will make me want to go home, so I am glad that the school year is almost over.
It is weird to think that in a few weeks I will be leaving school (and with it all my wonderful friends here!) for several months. Still, I am getting ready for a long break. I am also getting very excited because summer means the Renaissance National Conference (I had to put that in there) which is always exciting!

Almost the End

With only five weeks left in the quarter, it has really hit me that this year in the dorms is really going to end. Yes, I am excited. Living with three great girls in an apartment next year is going to be great. At the same time, it will be really weird leaving the dorms. Packing up my room will be so sad. It has been such a big part of this year and my overall experience. Plus, next year my roommate won't be coming back. Instead, she is going to a college closer to her home. Its not like we hang out all the time, but I can't imagine never seeing her again. We have spent this whole year together, getting to know all the weird quirks that we have. It just seems odd that there is a good possibility I will never see her again. After reading this, it probably seems like I am depressed for the end of the year. Trust me though, I'm not. Sure, there will be sad parts, but summer sounds wonderful. And afterwards, I will be a sophomore. I have loved my freshman year, but honestly am so glad that I don't have to do it again. I love that I have a place here now, with friends and traditions.

Midterms

These last two weeks have been extremely busy. The one bad thing about the quarter system is that midterms come very quickly. I feel like I have just started these classes, but I am already half way through. I have had 5 major tests and 1 essay due in the span of only two weeks, which is slightly stressful. Thankfully, I have already done 4 of the tests, so things are starting to slow down a little and I am beginning to live normally again (meaning my desk is no longer one pile of lecture notes and I have stopped dividing my time into "study time" and "study break". I have noticed that even when I do divide my time in only these two categories, my study breaks seem to take up a majority of my time. This was also the first quarter that I felt the need to see my professors in office hours. Although all of my teachers have offered them, I was never desperate enough to put myself into that potentially awkward situation. That changed this quarter. Luckily, it was not nearly as awkward as I imagined it to be and I actually enjoyed it. Due to my visit to my history professor's office, I actually understood the topic I had to write an essay on.

Michael Bublé

So, this weekend was wonderful. My birthday is in about a month, so for an early birthday present my mom and aunt took my sister and I to see a Michael Bublé concert. It was absolutely wonderful. The Friday before, my sister and I decided to go up early and spend the night with a good friend of ours that lives about two hours from the concert. It was nice to see her and just get to talk. Its weird how each school is so different, and even though we are both at college, we are having such different experiences. She is living in an apartment pretty close to campus with a friend. The first time I saw it I was surprised out how small it was, but after searching for a house/condo for a few months I have come to appreciate it. I just hope that our apartment next year will be that roomy. Anyway, back to the concert. Saturday afternoon we headed to the the city where the concert was. We met up with our aunt and mom and got to spend the afternoon with them. It made me realize that, although it will be sad leaving my friends and this great town for the summer, I am definitely getting ready. It will be nice to have quality time with my family and high school friends. So, to wrap it up, the concert was great. It was everything I was expecting and more. Lets just say, I will definitely be listening to his CD nonstop for the next few weeks. :)