Coming Back

Coming back to school from Winter Break wasn't the easiest thing in the world. It's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things, studying, writing papers, doing homework etc. I haven't had any tests yet or major assignments but I have a couple coming up and I really need to buckle down and get my stuff done. It was so nice being off for 5 weeks and being home. Coming back to school was easy, especially seeing all of my friends and getting back into the routine of going out and hanging out with everyone, but the school part of it, like I said has been hard to get used to. I don't really have any advice on how to make that easier, I guess maybe just start thinking about it before you get back from vacation and don't let the first week or two of the semester slide because if you start out on a strong note, that's when you can kind of take a break in the middle or towards the end of the semester. But being back has been great. Two of my best friends and I spontaneously decided to spend a ton of money and go see my grandma in Arizona in a couple of weeks. We're all really excited about it, it'll be a nice little break and then about two and a half weeks after that is Spring Break already.
This semester seems to be better than last for me though. I really enjoy my professors, except one, but that's just something you have to deal with and the classes I'm taking are all fairly interesting. I decided to change my major to Psychology and a minor in Business, which I'm more comfortable with. We also decided where we're living next year. It's an apartment just a few minutes from campus with four of my friends; we can't wait! It's weird to admit, but a few of us were talking the other day and we all said that part of us might miss dorm life just because it's so easy. Most of your friends are just a short walk away and you have meals made for you etc. But I think we'll all enjoy being more independent next year living on our own.

7th Week

Another week went by faster than ever. It was fun, but kind of low key. Nights here seem really repetative to me; I come home from class, lay down to take a nap, wake up and work out, eat and then do homework and watch TV until about 11 or 12 when I'm really bored I just decide to go to sleep. They almost seem kind of lonely even though I'm with friends most of the time, hard to explain. I've been hanging out with this girl named Jackie a lot, she lives just down the hall from me. She has some friends that I've been hanging out with a lot, we hung out with them twice this weekend. They're older but I can definitely see them being in my close group of friends, which is comforting to have but that just means that not having a car is harder and harder because they all live in houses just off campus so we have to bum rides from them constantly.
My dad's coming down this next weekend to go to a football game with Chelsie and I. The game is an hour away and I have a friend that goes to the opposing school so that will be fun to see him. It seems like it's getting easier and easier to not talk to my parents every night, not that I don't want to but I just don't think about it as much as I used to. Also my sister and I have been talking a lot more, we didn't get along great in high school but now that we're both gone it's easier to talk and fun to hear what's going on with her.
My friends and I have also been trying to figure out spring break. I might end up going home because I'm not sure if I'll be able to go home another time in the spring, but if I don't I'll probably go see my sister with Chelsie. The kids I was talking about earlier are going to the Bahamas and invited us to go but it's close to a thousand dollars and I'm not thinking I want to spend that money, even though it woul be an amazing trip I'm sure. Saving money is a big thing in college. People always talk about how no one has any money in college and if you don't work, then that kind of becomes true. It's scary to see your bank account keep getting lower and lower but I've tried to come up with a budget of how much I'll spend per month and it seems to be working well. Well this next week and a half should be interesting because I'm sure I'll have a test in just about every class before fall break, so it should be busy!

First Week at College

My first week here at Kansas went by faster than I could ever imagine. Saying goodbye to my parents was hard, but not like I thought it would be; once they left I started feeling like I was at camp. The whole sorority thing didn't work out. I started Fall Formal Recruitment (the recruitment process, also known as "rush") but it just didn't turn out like I had hoped so I quit a few days into it. One of my best friends is here with me and she quit as well so it made it easier. The day after I quit I started classes. The first days weren't bad, lots of syllabus reading and getting to know the classes, just like I expected. Like I said, this last week went by fast but it was also a lot of work; at least two and a half hours a day of homework which is more than I personally ever did in high school. Along with that, Chelsie, my friend who is here, and I decided that we're going to work out five times a week, Sunday through Thursday. So we've kind of made a routine: I'm done with class everyday by two, so then we immediately go to the library for a few hours, finish our homework and then go to the Rec Center to work out and after that who knows.
I'm sure it's because it's the first week here, but kids are going crazy and wanting to go out every night even during the week. The first day of school, which was a Thursday, I went out with some girls we met and it was fun but this last week I went out on Thursday as well and my only advice to whomever is reading this (not trying to sound like a mom) but honestly remember that SCHOOL is the reason you are at college...not only to party...especially on school nights.
Meeting friends hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be (I'm not trying to scare you, but it's just different than I expected.) I switched high schools my junior year and it was amazingly easy to meet people. I'm pretty outgoing and social and within a few weeks I had made best friends. I guess it's only been a week and a half here, but I'm not sure that the people we're hanging out with now are going to be my best friends for life, like everyone talks about. We've met some guys, but again none that I can picture myself hanging out with every weekend; therefore, our goal for the week is to find cool BOYS. I'll let you know how that goes next week!
Well that's pretty much all I have for now, I'm sure there will be some exciting stories next week :)