There's No Place Like Home

I'm finally home!

This past couple weeks have been emotional for me, in ways both good and bad. It was an amazing feeling when I finished classes. For the first time I could remember I didn't have any homework I needed to do, and I didn't know what to do with all of my free time. The next day was a big reality check however, when realized that I should start studying for finals and also got sick. The next few days were awful as I attempted to study and take all of my finals while I was miserable with a bad sore throat. When I finally finished my last exam I was thrilled. As I walked out of the testing room I literally couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. However, this time my joy was even shorter-lived as I soon realized I had to pack up all of my stuff and be ready to leave my room within two days. I was thrilled to be heading home, but it never really hit me until I started packing that going home also meant leaving Wellesley.

I think I've mentioned this before, but I don't think I'm ever going to get used to living in two different places like this. It doesn't help that I usually fly back and forth so I can only bring a limited amount of stuff with me (and for the record, this time I brought too much!). I had to make so many  trivial decisions that made packing so much more difficult. How many sweatshirts will I need this summer? Will I regret it if I don't have that shirt home with me? How much stuff can I fit into that box so I will still be able to carry it to storage? If I bring that book home with me, will I actually read it this summer?

Packing was also hard because I know that life will be so different next year. I have really enjoyed this year, and I know that things will just never be the same. Different dorm, different roommate (I will miss you guys!), different classes. Packing all of my stuff made me realize how much I will miss things the way they were this year. Oh, as always I'm excited about the change too, and I'm sure I'll have a wonderful year next year. At this point its just hard to think about all of the things that will be different.

Anyway, enough about that. It's awesome to be home, but I haven't really been able to fully settle in yet. It didn't help that I started to get sick on Friday (again!). Sinus pressure and airplanes are a bad combination, so my right ear hasn't been properly functioning since I got home. I haven't been able to make myself unpack all the way or do much of anything besides sit on the couch. Thus far my summer hasn't gotten off to the best start, but I know once I'm less exhausted and disoriented I will be able to appreciate being here more. It is so great to be with my family again!

I'm hoping to have lots of exciting stories to tell you guys this summer! I'll be in touch.

Endings never come without beginnings

The month of April was a crazy (and wonderful) one. There have been so many ups and downs that I don't even know where to begin. Classes have been very busy as they are wrapping up for the semester. Of course there was the week of the Marathon, which was quite the experience in many different ways (both good and bad). The weather has become nice lately and everything has turned green and bloomed. Wellesley is a beautiful campus on any day, but with everything in bloom it is a breathtaking place to live.

Overall I have really been enjoying life lately. Sure, I've had a couple awful stressful weeks where I'm up late every night so I can finish all of the things I have to turn in. But I've still been mostly happy. Honestly, I think the weather itself has been a huge reason for my joy lately, despite how superficial that may sound. It is nearly impossible for me to be stressed out when I walk outside and the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming and the smell of mowed grass and flowers fills the air.

I am missing home so much right now though. I really want to see my family and friends in person, not just talk to them via texting and facebook and fuzzy Skype connections. I really want some time to relax and not have to think about what exams and papers and problem sets I have due soon. I want to have the freedom to cook my own food and not eat every meal every day in a dining hall (although I'm not complaining about our dining halls, I really like them). I want some time to be less social and not have a plethora of events to go to each week, no matter how fun they may be. (Why yes, I am an introvert.) I really want my own bed and the guarantee of a warm shower every day! (This semester that has been anything but certain in our dorm). I really just need to go home.

At the same time, a rather large part of me is dreading the end of this semester. Don't get me wrong, I want finals to be over just as much as the next person. I will be happy not to write any papers or take any exams for a while. But I will miss some of my classes and professors so much! I have been really lucky this semester.

Lately I have been realizing even more how much I love my classes. I realized it yesterday after math class when we ordered lunch and talked about life and told funny stories from our childhoods. I realized it last week when our math professor baked us chocolate chip cookies and told us the story about how he nearly flunked out of Kindergarten because he couldn't color in the lines. I realized it yesterday when our Spanish professor brought us chocolates and let us go from class early because it was so nice outside. I realized it last week when my computer science professor gave us a five minute lecture about how we might be brains in a lab somewhere being fed sensory data by scientists (long story...). I realized it today when in my classical studies class we got to talk about gladiators (and we also went off on a long tangent about life in the Midwest and how it differs from New England. And how my professor used to own 6 kayaks...) I wish I could tell you about all of the stories I have from classes and professors this year. Then again, with some of them you might not believe me...

Anyway, I just wanted to share some of my reflections about my life lately. Minnesota friends, I will be home very soon! I can't wait to see you all. And Wellesley friends, I am sad we will have to part soon, but I will see you in the fall.

Nothing can end without something else great beginning.