I'm still the same

The last few weeks have been insane with all of the things that needed to be accomplished for this week. Last week we had a snow day, that NEVER happens here where the whole university is closed. Teachers will cancel classes if there is bad weather but this is one of the only times the school made the choice. Lucky for me it was because there was a 3/4 inch of ice outside instead of snow. It was only lucky because I had been a little under the weather so if it was snow I would have gone out to play but since ice is no fun, I stayed inside, did a little work, hung out with my roommates and slept. I felt far better the next day as a result. I am still not back to 100% but far closer than I would have been if it had not been for the snow day.

This week is V-week, the week I have been working towards since last April. We have events scheduled everyday so I tried to get a lot of my work out of the way this weekend but I only mildly succeeded, there were more interesting things to be doing and people to be seeing. I did alleviate a little bit of the extra stress of this week though and am super excited to see my family this weekend.

Classes are still going. I don't have one class that I love like I usually do because it's hard taking classes which you are not ready for. By not ready for, I don't mean unprepared but rather I don't have the skills to make the class interesting or relevant. For example, GS is interesting but as a senior, I have kind of passed the level that is being taught to just through random other classes like Economic Development or my freshman English class.

Well, I should get going because I do have homework to get done before my speakers start today.

2AM and she calls me

I know it has been forever since I have written anything but to be honest, nothing substantial has happened lately. I turned 22 on Tuesday, and it was a good day. I got to spend time with a number of my favorite people.

This has been the most exhausting first week of classes ever. The weather has not been my best friend lately. There is so much snow and ice! It is not fun to slip up the street but campus has been pretty easy to navigate which has been really nice.

I am still working at Academic Outreach which is a lot of fun and despite the insane scheduling issues I seem to be having, I refuse to give up any of my time in that office.

I know it's really late but I have been trying to get some work done since I hung out with friends last night, had all sorts of welcome back retreats this morning and have a full day of VM things tomorrow. We are about to start our hardcore fund-raising efforts for the cause soon. We are starting t-shirt sales and tickets and it's all coming together, now we just need money :)

My parents are coming in less than a month although my mother will also be on the east coast next weekend to hang out with Reagan and Campbell, (I am soooo jealous)but I am starting to plan all of the places that we are going to eat while they are here.

I am very all over the place right now because I am exhausted but I hope that I can update later on more of life.

So here we are, fall semester finals again. Hard to believe that I started writing this two years ago.

Well, the weather is a little cold, snow has been coming on and off but nothing stuck yet so I feel like we are probably in for a bad winter when I get back in January through sometime around Spring Break. I am just hoping that the weather holds long enough for me to get home without too many delays.

This might be the least stressful finals period I have ever had in my life. I only have a paper and one test spread out over a week. Despite finals being a week later than they used to be, I get to get home before too much of the Christmas travel hits. My last test is Friday night and the paper I am supposed to be working on right now (I have been surprisingly productive today) is due tomorrow so they are nicely spaced.

Linderman is incredibly crowded right now but I have my coffee and a comfy chair so I should be good to go for another few hours of work before dinner with a friend and video games. That's not true... I will probably take an extended break soon and finish this paper between dinner and video games. I only have two pages to go. Remember when that used to be long paper? I also remember when all my teachers told me that I would always write papers that were at least 10 pages long plus citations in college. Truth: I can count the number of papers I have written solo of that length or longer on one hand. No teacher wants to grade a full classroom's worth of really long papers. The only type of paper I have worked on that was consistently longer than ten pages would be group papers because there was maybe only four to eight groups in the class. I love all of the strange things that teachers tell you about the next school you get to ie when you learn cursive, the teachers tell you that you will always use it but in fact it's nice to know but it is rarely used.

Okay enough distraction. Back to work.

Happy Holidays!

Yesterday it started to flurry. This brings out very mixed feelings because as much as I like the snow, it means that it will keep getting colder which I am not a fan of. The good thing about fall semester though is that the cold keeps me inside which means that I am slightly more productive during finals time because it was far more comfortable to be curled up in the library with some hot chocolate or other warm drink and a book or laptop than in the spring when it is so much nicer to be sprawled outside getting tan and then trying to get work done.

This is the start of the last week of classes which is probably the most difficult week of the semester because while some classes end in finals, others end in projects or papers which are almost always due at the end of the semester. This coming week, I have a group paper, an individual paper and two group presentations which is really hard because as a result of all the groups, that means that we have meetings on top of everything else. The nice thing is that after Friday, I have a fairly chill week in comparison since I just have a final paper and a final.

I am looking forward to having a break from school to recharge and spend some time with my family and friends from home. I get to be here for just under two more weeks before it is back to the slightly warmer weather. I have all sorts of sweaters to look forward to using.

The first four weeks of next semester are going to be really rough but I can look forward to spending my final undergraduate semester with my friends and having a very chill second half of the semester, which will be a nice departure from right now. Well, back to work on my paper!

Another Turning Point

Today is Veteran's day, by many other students, it is a day the is marked by a lack of school and celebrated for that reason. We don't get the day off but it wasn't until this year that I really began to understand the significance of this holiday. It's weird because between now and next Veteran's day, life will be drastically different. Right now, if I know soldiers, they are friends of friends or friends of my parents but this time next year, it will be my best friend serving our country. Regardless of what people do in the military, the point is that they are ready and willing to serve our country with everything they have. I don't really know what else to say because these men and especially the woman are so incredibly awesome.

I feel like I have nothing else to say on that subject without rambling or getting too emotional so on to other current issues.

I had to register for my final semester of college classes. I have to petition for graduation (everyone has to, it is not because I am missing something, Mom) before March and before I know it, I will be on the field in a cap and gown with my friends. I would like to think that I am ready for all that.

Side note, I realized that I have given more tours in the last two weeks than I usually have in all of first semester. But they have been a lot more fun than usual which is great and totally worth it!

Okay, now I am really using this as an excuse not to be writing my GC reflection paper which is due tomorrow before I go into work. I am being responsible. I ate dinner before I started work and have Harry Potter on now.

Keep my head up i know I'll be fine

The first Vagina Monologues meeting was yesterday and it was awesome! I am super excited about our cast because I think that we have enough bonding events planned that they will gel as a group which is most of the fun of being a part of the show. I was worried that people wouldn't be happy with their parts but on the whole, most people are satisfied which is a load off my mind because I don't want to have anyone be discontent. Becca and I still have worries about the show but knowing that we have a cast that looks to be pretty dedicated makes life a lot easier. It's weird to see how my involvement has changed my college career with regards to VM. I started it because it was something my ex was passionate about, and made it through a crazy year with all sorts of drama surrounding the show to the point where I almost decided not to do it again. But, I knew the producers my sophomore year and they were awesome girls so I figured that I might as well. Then I went away and found an e-mail offering me this opportunity and I couldn't imagine my senior year without it now.

Honestly, there has been so much going on that I can barely think straight about everything that has happened lately. The most significant change in the past few weeks (besides having a cast) was that STAR Academy started again. STAR brings in children from the local community who need an extra push to be successful members of society. The program has Lehigh students (or STAR graduates) tutor for an hour and half about two Saturdays a month. This is program I have been involved in throughout all of my Lehigh time and has allowed me to make all sorts of new friends. I had the same tutee for the first three years but she graduated last June (very proud of her) and is now continuing her education elsewhere. My new tutee is a senior in high school so we are starting the application process all over again. It's more exciting to be doing that then looking for a job right now.

Now I need to go dig through my basement to see if I still have books from freshman year to write my capstone paper.

We R Who We R

I don't really know what to say but I guess I can just make you aware of the random things that I have learned over the past few weeks.

1. 96 is the ideal number of people for marching band formations so our band has 97 for formations plus a drum major

2. Student Auxiliary Services are very nice people

3. I have to register for my final undergraduate semester NEXT WEEK.

4. I have not been so good at the talking on my tours, my throat hurts after I finish giving them but a lot of them are still fun, especially when I get questions.

5. I AM ON TRACK TO GRADUATE.

Okay, now I am going to bed. Will post more when I am not so tired.