First Week Back

First week back and I'm already a little overwhelmed at the moment! I have seven classes this semester totaling 18 hours--it should be interesting! After a somewhat interesting start to the semester I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday weekend, having only a short week ahead of me (most of my classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays). It was not without some stress though. I am currently in the process of trying to find an apartment for next year, as well a roommate or roommates. I am also going through the process of filling out tons of state required documents so I can start working at the campus child care center this semester as a sub. To start work I have to get fingerprinted and get a background check and get a health form signed so I have a lot to do tomorrow, even though I only have one Tuesday class for the time being.

It is great to be back in Boone even though it was a little tough getting here. The snow was beautiful when we came back Thursday before classes started and it snowed almost the whole weekend which was awesome. This past week we saw little snow but even though it's been in the 50's and rained a good bit this weekend, there is STILL snow on the ground! I am loving the cold weather so far (which is quite a change for me).

I have a job pending for me in Massachusetts right now. I am waiting to hear back for their final decision. I was hoping to spend the summer working at a camp in Minnesota but it didn't work out. But, I think that the job in Massachusetts may turn out to be better than it would have been for me in Minnesota. David has a job in Massachusetts for the summer working at an all boys camp as a counselor and soccer instructor. It is about half an hour away from the camp where I might find myself, but depending on whether or not I will have a car by then I may not see him the whole time. I was having a hard time deciding whether or not I wanted to work at a camp at all this summer or spend the majority of my summer in Peru doing either volunteer work or a study abroad type thing. The funny thing though is that the camp I might be working at this summer is right next to a town called Peru. So, I may be headed to Peru this summer after all! (little did I know I might still be in America)

First Semester...busy, busy, busy

So I had no idea just how busy I would get this semester. I barely found time to sleep, much less hang out on the computer. The semester was wonderful overall.

I got the opportunity to lead a campus-wide service project to collect warm clothes for local shelters in our county. It was an awesome experience but definitely more work than I bargained for. It was a relief when it was over but it was well worth it! We collected a ton of clothing and were able to deliver it all before we left for Christmas break!

My classes all went well and I ended up with straight A's after many all-nighters and non-stop work for the second half of the semester. I had some really awesome professors and a few not so great ones, but I was pretty lucky overall. It was all very stressful but I learned more this past semester than I did in all of high school.

When I wasn't studying, I had some fun climbing up a waterfall with my friend from Kumon who came to visit, taking a trip to nearby Blowing Rock with Kelly and Hayley, and having many many movie nights with David and my roommate, Ashley. We decided to be kids again one night and build a fort in our room and watch Polar Express in 3-D. It was a lot of fun--we made a mess beforehand and made cookies and cakes and just had a good time to celebrate the end of classes. I have a new suite mate as of a few weeks before the end of the semester and she is really awesome! We get along really well and it's been a lot of fun getting to know her.

David took great care of me during the second half of the semester when I was stressed and lacking enough time in the day. We have been together now for 14 months. It has been great having him there with me even though it seems like the only things we do when we're together are eating and homework!

Christmas break is almost over. It was great to see everyone at home and spend lots of time with the family but I am excited to go back too. Boone is becoming home so it's kind of weird now being here in Weddington. My mom and I have gotten to spend a lot of time together which has been awesome. I'll be going back in time for another snow it seems! I am liking the cold weather there a lot more than I thought I would but I'll being going back to much colder temperatures than when I left. I guess I'll try to write once a week for as long as I can this next semester...we'll see how it goes!