Changes, Changes Everywhere

So this last week has been interesting because my friends at home finally started school. It’s really hard to think that I’ve been here for six weeks, and I really can’t believe that they haven’t started school yet. I’m excited because I don’t feel like I’m the only one moving on with life now, and I can see how their college experiences mirror and vary from my own. I’ve been gone long enough now that the subtle differences are starting to hit me. The biggest is just how many people here I don’t know. Growing up in West Linn meant going to school with the same kids every year of my schooling, and even if I wasn’t friends with all of them, I knew who they were. I don’t even know all of the names of the kids in my classes this year, let alone anything about them. That is definitely different from what I’m used to. I’m meeting a ton of new people, and I’ve made some great close friends that I feel really comfortable around, but it’s weird to not be able to sit and tell stories about Ms. Patteson’s 3rd grade class and middle school madness. I knew coming out here would mean that I started all over, but I think I failed to understand just exactly what that meant. I’ve found myself missing people that I wasn’t necessarily friends with, but interacted with on a daily basis, and became part of my routine. I’m getting into a new routine with new people in a new place, and I’m sure that over time, it would be weird to think of life any other way. I think part of why I’m thinking about this now is because this last week a lot of my friends had birthdays so I talked to them more often than I normally would. Almost all of them are going to school with people they know well, so seeing all of their pictures has made me realize just how new everything out here was to me.

One of the most noticeable differences is certainly the weather. It got a lot colder this week, and I was a little worried since it’s only September, and it’s just going to get colder. Luckily I think I came prepared with enough clothes that if I need to, I can just layer up like crazy and run to class. I’m also hoping that I get used to the weather changes soon- it can be freezing and warm in the same day, and that really throws me off. My favorite part is the thunderstorms we have. They are hardcore thunderstorms with lots of noise, rain and lightening. The other day we had a serious downpour and I ran out and jumped in puddles all over campus, and walked back into my dorm room absolutely soaked. But it was tons of fun, despite the weird looks I got from the Valpo Visit Day kids that were getting their tour of the campus. The nice thing is that most of those stupid bugs are dead now, so I don’t have to listen to their obnoxious buzzing all of the time.
The biggest news this week was that my roommate broke up with her boyfriend of almost 3 years. It seems to me like this is something that she has been wanting for a while, and just never had the guts to do. He certainly didn’t seem to see it coming. I feel bad for him because she pretty much moved on to some other guy already, and has no problem rubbing that in her ex-boyfriend’s face. It’s kind of nice for me because he spent a lot of time in our room, and that provided a lot of awkward moments for me, but it still sucks that it had to end this way. The group of us are torn between who we are supposed to hang out with, but so far it hasn’t been that bad. We’ll have to see what happens. We also start intramural volleyball tomorrow and I’m really excited about that. Although, we practiced today and I don’t think we’re going to be very good, which is a little discouraging, but that’s ok. As long as it’s fun, I think I’ll be okay; I’ll just have to put aside my intense competitive nature- or at least attempt to.
The next few weeks will probably fly by due to homecoming, midterms and fall break. We get a four day weekend the second week of October which will be a nice break from class. It’s really hard to believe that we are already almost halfway through the semester. Time really is speeding by. I’m a little sad that everyone and their mother will be going home for fall break, but I’ll be working a lot, and as boring as that will be, it’ll give me some extra spending money which will be nice.
I hope that everything is going well back home, or where-ever you are. If you get bored, it’s always fun to have something waiting in the mailbox- I joined Netflix just so I could have mail every once in a while  and, we watch a ridiculous amount of movies out here, so I’m sure I’ll get my moneys worth.
I love you all!