La la la, whatever, la la la, it doesn't matter, la la la, oh well

Tomorrow I begin the last week of classes of my undergraduate career.  It's strange to think about because the truth is that I can only tell you snapshots of what I will be doing next, like when I will be in Northern California for a wedding but I have no  idea what my day to day life will be like after May 23rd.  Part of me is okay with this but most of me knows that this is a very uncomfortable experience and I really just don't know how to cope with any of it.  Right now I am stressed beyond belief because even though it feels like most of my school work is under control, it isn't totally under control and there are so many bigger questions that need answers.

This is one of the last posts I will write as a Lehigh blogger, the next post will inevitably be about the last loose ends of my semester and then maybe one about senior week/graduation but if you are lucky, maybe they will be two separate posts.

I am being all depressing because I can't sleep and I am excited for this week, there are still all sorts of things going on, events celebrating that we are seniors and such so that part is something worth looking forward to.  Now if only I could get through the mountains for work first.

Spread the word in stereo At the speed of sound

The last week has been insane!  There has been so much going on but it was nice because I didn't have very many academic obligations.

I guess the most interesting things were all this past weekend with sorority activities, Candidate's Day and Sundaze, plus a visit from a friend who graduated last year.

Saying that I just had my FINAL sorority formal is really strange, we only have them once a year, meaning that I have only been to three but it still seems like such a giant ending.  It was nice to get some time to just spend with friends and dance, having a good time because we won't have very much time together to do that.

This year, the nearest alumnae chapter of my sorority was also kind enough to have a senior service for us which welcomed us into the alumnae community which also had everyone in my pledge class announcing where they were going next year and it was kind of reassuring that there are still a fair number of people who don't know what comes next.  These woman all have very different life experiences and it was really nice being able to meet all of them and get some great breakfast :).  I hope they choose to continue this service in the future.

Candidate's Day is one of those events that seems so much the same every year even though there are always new people here.  There are the kids who have no desire to be here for whatever reason who let their parents run everything and then there are the other kids who are super excited the entire time.  I bet the bookstore makes bank those days, their bags are everywhere!  I did get to talk to a lot of potential Economics majors which was really interesting.  When I started at Lehigh, I thought I was going to be a marketing major or maybe even a dual degree but four years later, I don't think I would have been able to do as much outside the classroom if I had followed through with those plans.  Some people have a defined course they want to take, others think they do but then college gives you the time to figure out exactly what you want and then you find a completely different path.  It was cool meeting the future of Lehigh since for the first time, I won't be here when they are.

Sundaze is one of those experiences that I cannot figure out why I did not have previously.  Seriously, I have been wracking my brain for weeks trying to figure out why I didn't go freshman or sophomore year.  Although it was not sunny out, the weather was okay so it was fun.  I got to spend the afternoon hanging out on Sayre Field with my friends and getting a lot of free stuff.  What college kid turns down free stuff?

Okay now I have updated you all a bit but I have  more things that I must be off to do, like find a grown-up job.

Smiled and said 'yes I think we've met before'

So I shall start by saying that I have a test in two hours that I am thoroughly unprepared for but something just happened that I feel would be good to comment on here especially since I have been having writer's block lately when it comes to this blog.

So I just saw a kid look at me for a minute, then smile finally figuring out where he knew me from.  We all experience those out of context sightings but college is different since in the back of our minds, we know that everyone else is a student to some extent, we see them in plain clothes most of the time but we all vary on what our attire is on a day to day basis meaning, for example, my laundry days are generally over the weekend so I will opt for sweats as opposed to the other people who go to class each day in sweats.  

It is still strange to see someone you know from a club where they have power in a place like the library where they are working in a group or in class where they are no longer the ones in charge but rather have to listen to a higher power than themselves.

A few more quick things before I ensure that I get some studying done before this test (since that is the reason I woke up early, I was not ready for my alarm this morning).  Had a really great weekend, spending time time with my sister, the Hirabayashi family, Meagan, Sean and seeing what the Annapolis social life was like.  The last part was probably up there with the most interesting because it was so different from Lehigh's but I guess that is the fun with knowing people at other colleges, you get to see and experience different things by just going to visit and keeping up with old friends.

Okay, now I really have to study.

Riding on the Curl Straight into the Shore

First and foremost, HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY CAMPBELL!  I hope that my adorable cousin had a fantastic day with his grandma, parents and big brother.

Now for the usual Lehigh update.  This week has been INSANE!  I don't know if I have ever been so busy and things just kept coming that had to be taken care of.  There were so many things I wish I could have had time for this week like a thorough enjoyment of St. Patrick's Day but they just didn't happen in the scope of trying to balance all of my other responsibilities.

We are less than ten weeks from graduation, it feels like a lifetime away on one hand but on the other, that is two and a half months which is nothing.  I ordered my cap and gown and announcements yesterday which was a shocking reality of how close to the end I am.  Senior year of college is like a more stressful version of senior year of high school, everyone asks what your plans for the following year are and most people have no idea how to answer that.  The questions start coming even before senior year starts and you still have to worry about the balancing act of classes and other involvement in addition to looking for a job and updating all the necessary materials.

Everyone told me that my life would get easier after Vagina Monologues was over but I am still waiting for that day.  To be honest, it's nice to not have the hold in my life because I am still doing all sorts of other things I love instead.

Okay, it's time to get back to my to do list.

It's a Brand New Day

School starts again tomorrow.  I got to spend a week in glorious weather to come back to cloudy blah.  It was shockingly rocky on the boat which was different than what I was expecting.  I am not one to get super motion sick but even I thought it was bad.  The weather was fantastic minus the first day and the last day but the worst weather was the first day so it just got better.  A whole day at sea down south meant everyone spent the whole day at the pool which was great.

Spring break was nice to hang out with friends, some I see a bunch and others who I haven't seen in ages but also meet some new people.  There were a ton of other spring break kids on the boat so it was a lot of fun since there were a ton of other college kids around rather than only a ton of families.

Second semester is rough when we only have the one week off but it was glorious to have the time to relax We spent multiple days doing nothing but laying in the sun and reading.  I love to read so I actually got a chance to kick back and read for fun.  It was a chance I haven't gotten very often with other breaks because there were places to go and people to see.  I didn't have to worry about anything this week other than sunscreen, there were a lot of very sunburned people on this cruise and it looked very painful.  I currently have to catch up on a lot of TV shows from this week.  Of course all my shows were on a mini hiatus the week before spring break and then I missed them all while I was gone.  I have some work to do but it's not as much as past breaks.

I should apologize now for the spelling mistakes and other mistakes because I am still exhausted.  The time change today was also a little rough knowing how much stuff I had to get done today but so far, I got some food, went grocery shopping and then started getting work done.  There are so many things to do!

With that, I have to get some real homework done now.

Keep on moving through all this hustle

Today I fell in love with a new album.  It is Katie Costello's Lamplight and although I am a little behind on the times, her EP Cityscape.  There are very few albums I can listen to from beginning to end without skipping any tracks partway through even on the first listen but hers has been the perfect soundtrack to my day from start to finish.  I haven't flipped past a song yet which is mostly due to the amazing music and partly due to the desire to protect my hands from the freezing temperatures outside.  I have heard Katie perform in person at a benefit my sister put on when Katie was a Junior in high school at my alma mater.   It's hard to find artists these day who sound just as good in person as they do in their recorded music but she is one of those hard to find artists.  From Facebook, it's obvious that her growing fame has not caused her to forget who she is as an artist and a person and she has kept her friends close even though she splits her time between two very distant cities.  While I cannot claim to be a friend by any means, it's still pretty cool that we went to the same high school and I did have the pleasure of passing her in the halls during the two years we overlapped.

On to my life.  I am finished with classes until after Spring Break which would normally be a liberating feeling but I have soooo much laundry to do (I have been pushing it off for a while...) that I won't have a chance to enjoy the freedom until all that and the packing gets done.  Along with what seems to be half the school, my best friend and I are headed off on a cruise to get some sun.  The dilemma with second semester is that we only get spring break meaning that we have to wait through seven weeks of class to get a break which is not a natural break in the semester to then come back and go back to full steam ahead for the next seven weeks before finals.  I am convinced that this is a good portion of the reason second semester drags far more than first semester.  The other reason is of course the weather but I will get to that in a minute.  First semester, we get pacing break at the beginning of October and Thanksgiving at the end of November which splits the semester into three roughly equal parts which works with the testing system most teachers utilize.  I got lucky and had no tests this week and none the week we get back so I sort of get away with not doing anything over the break.  I will admit to having some classwork to finish but the likelihood of it getting done while I am on the boat is minimal.

Spring break seems to split students into two groups, the ones who head south with friends for what they hope to be a crazy week and the other who head home or to a friends with the intent of re-cooperating and refreshing for the rest of the semester, some of the latter group tries to get ahead or catch up on more independent work.  I am happy to say that I think I fall in between the groups, I am going to get some sun but also get some rest.

Okay back to the weather.  It has been a very tricky thing of late.  Today, it was freezing, last week it was nice and sunny.  I would like it to sort itself out.  Almost all of the snow and ice has melted from the warmth of last week but it's time for winter to be over and for spring to come.  It would be nice not to have to pile on a million layers to walk to class.  I have shorts that I would really like to wear when I get back from spring break.

I think I have made up for the lag in posts with this monster post.  Be back after spring break!

Leave all your love and your longing behind

I now have to figure out what my new normal is. Our Vagina Monologues performances were this past weekend and that means that a lot of the stress and pressure is now off. All I have left is to wait for some more donations to come in from local businesses and families and complete a couple of follow-up reports. Other than that, I have a lot of things to do for classes and I got to start again at work this week. It should be an interesting time.

Producing Vagina Monologues taught me a lot about Lehigh that I never knew before. I have always known that Lehigh consisted of amazing people but I got to meet a lot more of those people.  Friday was an incredibly stressful day but it helped that I had a ton of other people I had never met before helping to load my car and take a lot of the stress off.  Throughout this process, people came out of the woodwork to help make things run more smoothly, whether it be to just come to an event to support friends or offer specials to help us raise money for our goal.

On Wednesday morning, I got to run around to a bunch of offices in Alumni Memorial to pass out hot chocolate in our specialty cups which mean I got to meet a lot of the staff I may not have met otherwise.  It was a lot of fun because I don't know how often students venture into those offices without needing anything. 

I have already raved about the Women's Center but seriously, they are AWESOME!  I don't know if it is possible to find a more supportive group of people.

I have been distracted about a million times but I have to go now and tend to my other responsibilities.