It's beginning to look a lot like finals everywhere you go.

 The end of the semester is quickly approaching, and finals season is practically closing in around us. I have officially grown tired of wearing flip-flops every time I shower. There is not enough time in the day to finish all of my papers and projects and studying I should be doing. We are running low on snacks in our room (low is a relative term, but I can't eat any more goldfish or saltines so we're practically rationing the remaining ice cream).

Ah, college.

I'm currently sitting in the hallway of a building, waiting to go to English for the second to last time (I have never been quite so excited to be done with a class). I have a presentation tomorrow, an extra credit movie on Thursday night, a final on Friday, a research paper due Monday, a speaking final next Wednesday, and my last anthropology exam next Friday.

Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked.

The weeks between Thanksgiving and winter break are like a strange and awful purgatory. Everything is due - papers, presentations, teacher evaluations - and there is so much to be done - studying, homework, packing for break. I'm counting down the days until I can collapse on my bed in my room at home and not move for six weeks.

It's all kind of bittersweet, though. My first semester at college has flown by and just as I'm starting to get settled into everything, we're taking a six-week intermission. I'm so excited to go home (hello, home-cooked meals and trustworthy showers) but I will miss my dorm and the people here. I'll miss my roommate and our aDOORable decorations (photo to the right). I mean, I won't miss living in the equivalent of a teenage hotel where no one sleeps and the smell of burnt Easy Mac fills the halls, but the people aren't half bad. It'll be strange not to hear people running up and down the halls at midnight or see everyone hanging out in the floor lounge after classes.

I'm ready to be home, honestly. I miss my parents and my sister; I can't wait to spend Sunday nights watching movies with my mom or taking my younger sister to get frozen yogurt after dinner. It's going to be nice to be home where Wawa is less than five minutes away and I can turn a phone call with my best friend into an impromptu visit.

College is amazing, but home isn't half bad, either.

The 7th Week Itch

I moved into college August 29th, and this past week has, by far, been the roughest one yet. School hit hard this week - I had a speech due on Monday and then a paper due on Tuesday.

And, of course, it's never that simple. I turned in my paper only to have my teacher tell me it wasn't what she wanted and that my only choice was to rewrite it. I spent that night pouring over my notes again, trying to find something I hadn't seen before and trying not to completely collapse under the stress and embarassment.

We get through life's curveballs.

I think the other aspect that made this week particularly rough was that it's Parents' and Family Weekend on campus. I was home last weekend, and it was fantastic, so I didn't expect to feel so disappointed to be spending my time with Italian homework instead of my family. The nostalgia hits so hard, though. I miss my mom's overbearing hugs and my dad's life advice. I miss the fact that my sister is going to her first Homecoming dance tonight, and I'm not there to help her with her hair or zip up her dress.

I miss high school, too. The football games, the school spirit, the never ending love for each other and our class. You think that it lasts forever or that, at the very least, other people will be able to relate to the same struggle in college. I've found, though, that other people just didn't have the same kind of school spirit. Maybe we were lucky because we wanted to debunk the big high school myth: we wanted to matter to each other.

And I know that a lot of people didn't know who I was and that they wouldn't recognize me tomorrow, but it's okay. I had friends who loved me more than I could ever love myself, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

So, I miss the people and places and their weird traditions. I miss how my life used to be, because no matter how great it's becoming, I still worry that the best years have already come and gone.

Operation College

So, I moved in bright and early Saturday morning! It was super hectic and chaotic, but things moved pretty quickly. Thankfully, my roommate was already moved in (she went early for a separate orientation) so she was able to help me and give some tips. She's super nice, and I'm excited to spend the year hanging out with her in the dorm and between classes.

With the help of poster puddy and many Command strips, I was able to hang decorations in my dorm and really make it feel like home. I have one of the larger dorm styles on campus, so we have lots of space to make it feel almost like a tiny apartment with no private bathroom. We're right in the center of everything, with the elevator and bathroom right across the hall, so we've had fun getting to know people as they pass by.

Besides setting up my room, I've been going to countless orientation events where they force us to socialize and think about the future and who we want to be. It's all been a really good experience, though, and I'm happy with my decision to go to UD. I've already met so many nice people. What everyone says about freshmen is so true: we're all in the same boat, and everyone wants to make friends.

Enough about the cliches and typical yay-college. Here are some pictures of my dorm (hoping they might be useful to anyone who's googling for pictures of Redding Hall next summer like I was a few weeks ago)!!

Btw, Command strips are a no-no, but no one told us until after everything was hung and the damage was literally already done, so they let us keep them up anyway.

Here are some decorations on my wardrobe, including some framed photos and a caricature with my friend.
















On the right is my bed, with my tapestry from society6 on the wall. I've also got two bulletin boards on the wall above my headboard!!
















Here's my desk, with my photo collage and some other DIY stuff! The Eiffel Tower painting is actually from France; a friend brought it back for me this summer!












Our "kitchen" has a fridge, microwave and Keurig, along with plenty of snacks. We got the shelf from Target and the coffee mug to hold the K-cups from a craft store.