New Beginnings

Well the first week of school is finally over...and what a week it's been.

I must say that the past several days have been filled with a lot of fun. I saw friends that I haven't seen in months, moved into my dorm, celebrated my 21st birthday, and started classes for my senior year of college. Crazy to think that all of that could be squeezed into just a few days, but there it is. I guess I'll start my rambling at the most obvious point, the beginning of classes...

Senior year of college definitely stands out from senior year of high school on the homework level. Some education experts feel like senior year of high school is almost pointless...we don't really have that much more work to do, there's not much more we can do to make our college apps look good, and it's a pretty easy ride til graduation day. Not so with college. It's only the first week and I already feel like I'm drowning in reading assignments. We're trying to get anything we can to make our resumes look even better for grad school or the work force, and this year seems to matter more than all the others. I think it's going to be a good year, but it's going to be busy and challenging as hell. Time management skills, activate! Now, on to a bit more of a cheerful topic...

I'M FINALLY 21!!! I celebrated by having dinner with my dad on Tuesday at The Dubliner, followed by my friends joining me there at the bar for drinks. We had a really good time, and everyone else paid for my drinks! Woohoo! I was happy to see both old friends and new friends there, and truly felt special on my special day. Probably one of the most amusing things, however, was seeing so many people there who don't exactly like each other (or at the very least don't hang out together). The past three years have been so ridiculously drama-filled that a ton of people that may have been friends at one point have somehow or another been pulled apart; and yet here they all were, coming together for my birthday. While they all pretty much stayed apart and talked to the people they did like, I do appreciate everyone coming together for my birthday to make it a great night. Just want you all to know, it really meant a lot :)

The birthday celebrations continued on Friday night with a combined surprise party for my roommate Maura and me. Maura's 21st birthday was not only in the middle of the summer, but also in the middle of her intense army camp, and thus she had no way of actually celebrating. As it turns out, our friends had been planning this little gathering since before school had even started, and we were both pleasantly surprised. Once again, there were many people together in the room that otherwise wouldn't have been, but it was still a blast; and once again, I thank all of those people for putting up with each other.

Oh yea, and one more part of the birthday celebrations was last night's BUFFETT CONCERT!!! As always another great family gathering, but I think I'll refrain from Buffett stories for now...that could always deserve its own post ;)

One other thing that could be seen as either a good or bad thing (or potentially both), is my nostalgia for Spain. My newly-acquired independence has almost given me a bit of a smothered feel on this somewhat sheltered campus, and part of me just wants to return to my travels around Europe. I've found myself speaking Spanish to anyone that will tolerate it, and one of my biggest current goals is to try and meet a lot more new people this year. While these aren't necessarily bad things, it's definitely made me realize that I'm going to have to change my way of life at CUA compared to years past. I must admit that this can be a bit of a daunting thought process, but an exciting one as well. I suddenly find myself looking for other things to do around DC and even around the country (road trips have already been brought up in conversation). I'm so ready to branch out in the world and see even more new things...and while I can't exactly afford to return to Europe right now, why not start with exploring a bit more of my own country? I just hope that these new goals and desires to explore hold out for the year (and beyond of course) and I don't fall back into the typical college-ness (don't really know how to describe it) that I seem to have been stuck in until now.

So that's about all that's been going on and running through my head this past week. I realize that this post's length is probably disproportionate to it's level of being interesting, but that's ok. I need to get in what I can while I still have time to write a blog...work for classes, preparing for comps, and looking for a job are quickly beginning to take over my life :P

P.S. In case you didn't make the connection with my picture choice, it's because I'm sure I'll be needing a few drinks to make it through this crazy, albeit fun, school year!