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.

Finals

So I can officially say that I am done with classes for a month. Three finals and I am home free. I will be honest and say it is a wonderful feeling to know that I will never have to take a speech class again. However, it is sad to think that the people that I met in my classes will not be in my courses next quarter. Its strange how much of a routine my classes have become. Almost a way to get closer to the people around me. Nevertheless, there are a few classes that I will not be missing. This last week has been extremely stressful for me, as I had a group project in my speech class that I presented today. Unfortunately, I discovered that group projects aren't much better in college than they are in high school. A few people will continue to do the majority of the work. Sadly, one of those people is me. No matter how much I may hate how little my group members do, I will always strive for that A, even if that means I do more than my share of the work. But all that frustration and stress is behind me. Why? Simply because I am done with the class, except for a multiple choice test that is sayed to be moderately easy. After that final, I will be headed home for a whole month. I have never had that much time off for Christmas, and intend to enjoy it to the fullest. That includes sleeping late, reading countless romantic novels, and eating a ridiculous amount of sweets. For once I won't be counting down the days until I have to go back to the dorms. I will truly be able to relax with my friends and family. I shouldn't get too far ahead of myself though. I still have those three finals to think of...

A Lack of Holiday Spirit

When I left home after Thanksgiving and returned to the dorm, I was under the impression that, although I was at school again, I would not lose the holiday spirit. After all, I have enough Thanksgiving left overs in my minifridge that I could have a second Thanksgiving, Christmas music is already on the radio, and I have under two weeks of school before I leave for winter break. What I wasn't thinking about was what those last two weeks of school entailed. The day after I got back on campus I had my first final, tomorrow I am giving my last speech in Communications, and then I have to start studying for my three remaining finals. Unfortunately, several of my professors are still assigning their usual amount of work, so that work load has not slowed down. I am feeling mildly stressed and am lacking some holiday spirit. Fortunately though, I only have 8 more days of this. So this year, instead of a count down for Christmas, mine is merely for Christmas Break.

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break was such a great time. It was so nice to get back and see my family and friends. One of my friends had a party one of the first nights back and there were probably 30 or 40 people there and it was a blast to hang out with everyone again. It was SO nice not to have to wear shoes in the shower, have a dry towel everyday, and eat homemade food. My dad is getting married, which I am really excited about so we spent time with his fiancee and her kids as well. Thanksgiving day is always fun. We go to my dad's side for an early dinner and then later to my mom's side just to hang out. I was excited to get back to school but at the same time I know finals are coming up in two weeks and I am NOT looking forward to them. I have three finals and two papers due that week, but after that I'm home for just over a month. I got back last night and found out today that I got an A on my math test which was something nice to come back to! This week will consist of tons of studying for my finals and hopefully a fun weekend!

Corie the Fish

I come from a big pet family. Growing up, my sister and I always had a new animal, whether it was a hamster or a horse. Most importantly, I have always had dogs, and it is just recently, here at college, that I have experienced life without animals. The only pet we are allowed in the dorms are fish. So, naturally, about a month after I moved in, I bought a beta fish. Her name is Corie and she sits right next to my computer. She isn't very entertaining, and I am not particularly attached to her, but still, she's my fish. So when I asked my dad how I should bring her home for vacaction, and he laughed and told me he doubted she would still be alive, I was obviously a little upset. Talk about a lack of faith. It can't be too hard to keep these fish alive; betas are supposed to live for several years! So, after much planning, I decided to bring her home for Thanksgiving break and leave her there so that at Christmas, when I had a lot more luggage, I wouldn't have to worry about her. This is how I found myself, an 18 year old attending one of California's top ranked universities, sitting at my desk grinding a hole in a water bottle for 15minutes. My plan is to put her in the water bottle, put the water bottle in the cup holder, and bring her home. It will be interesting, to say the least. I am starting to see that freshman year of college is a year of firsts. First time living with a complete stranger, first time eating waffles at 11:00 at night, and first time transporting a fish in a water bottle.

Difficult Week

This last week was really hard. One of my friends has cancer and isn't doing well. He's going through chemo right now but keeps getting infections and a really high fever. His girlfriend is one of my best friends and it's so hard for me to see her be away from him during this time because they go to schools in different states. She has been having such a difficult time with it and I just wish there was something I could do. Along with that, there were some issues with my family that took place and as close as I am to my family, it was horrible not to be home during those times. These issues have gotten a little better, but still I cannot wait to go home and be with everyone. Chelsie left yesterday, and called me today saying she was bored already because not many people were home yet but I still wish I could've gone with her because I am only going to be home for about five days. I've been talking to my parents everyday, sometimes a couple times a day which has been helping, but there has definitely been a feeling of helplessness over the last week. I also got a D on a Psychology test which didn't help anything either. Overall, I'm doing fairly well in school but these few tests that have gone poorly have been hard for me to cope with. Hopefully Thanksgiving break will be really fun and relaxing!