I'm home!

I made it through finals and am now back in PA.  I love being able to relax--it's such a wonderful feeling to not have anything I have to do!  During the last two weeks at Houghton there was always something weighing on my mind, a paper to write or an exam to study for, and I would work and work and get one thing done only to have another to start on the next day, but now I'm free!  I think I did fairly well in all my classes; I guess I'll find out when we get our grades at the end of the month.

It's nice to be home with my family and my pets.  We don't have snow here, though, which is sad.  But that also means it isn't quite as cold as it is at Houghton, which is nice.  It's weird to think that people are still there and some still have finals to take; I got really lucky this year, having all mine on Monday and Tuesday.  It's so great to be on break!

It's summer

Hi. I don't even know who still reads this, but I have a random half hour to spend, so I thought I'd just write a quick update.

Sophomore year is over. I was done on Monday the 3rd and came home on the 4th. It's a weird feeling, being halfway done with college. It's just not right. I'm really glad to be done with schoolwork, but I miss Houghton. I would have loved to stay for Mayterm, but it didn't work out with my Europe trip. So here I am, back home. I like being home, but of course there are things I don't like too, which I won't get into. It is good to be back.

Unfortunately, I don't have a job. I applied to five places over Easter break, and I hadn't heard from any, so yesterday I stopped by four of them. The first two said they didn't need me, at the third the girl there said the manager would call me (she hasn't yet) and at the fourth the line was too long to wait in. Since I haven't heard anything, I'm assuming none of them want me. The first two (who said they definitely don't need me) were my best options, so now I'm not sure what I'm going to do. A local McDonald's is hiring, but I really really don't want to work there. Mom was suggesting just looking for odd jobs, which is a possibility, but I probably wouldn't make much money doing that.

So far since I've been home I've been really lazy--sleeping a lot, watching Lost (which some of my friends from Houghton recently got me into), playing games with Joyce, reading for fun. And it has been nice just to be able to relax, but I know it'll get old after a while. Last summer I was really bored and unhappy, and I don't want this summer to be like that. So if I can't get a job I'm planning to volunteer at a local animal shelter, which is something I've wanted to do for years. It'll help them out and keep me busy and get me out of the house, even if I won't be making money.

So yeah, I guess that's pretty much it for now. It's warm here, but not hot yet, and I like it.

Home

Here I am, back at home. I've eaten good food, done silly things with my family, gotten together with friends, gone to my old church, petted my animals, taken a walk in my woods . . . basically, things almost feel back to normal--normal meaning the way it was before I left. Something doesn't feel quite right, though, and that's because I have a new normal now: Houghton. I miss it, and I miss my friends there. Now I have two places and sets of people that I'm attached to, and being at/with one means I'm not at/with the other. In a way it's sad that I'm growing to love a place other than home, but it's good in a way too, as it shows I'm really comfortable at Houghton. Anyway, overall I am definitely glad to be back, and I know I'll miss home and my family when I leave. For now I'm going to enjoy the time I have here with them.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Thanksgiving break . . .

. . . was wonderful! It was great to go home after three months' absence and see my family, pets, and friends. I enjoyed living in a house again and eating good food, and not having to do schoolwork.

I played lots of games with my family, went shopping with my sisters, went climbing at the Milton Rock Gym with friends, and went to my old church. I didn't want to leave! But soon I'll be back again; I can't believe I've only got a week of classes left, then finals, and then . . . my first semester of college will be over! It's gone by so fast . . .