Every Eight Months

Sitting in a Starbucks, one too many bags heaped around my feet as I wait to be picked up, I'm heaving out to a reenactment in DC, something I have been looking forward to four months. Sitting here, sipping on vanilla soy latte, a laptop on my knees I feel content, and its almost as if the last few weeks, months really never occurred. 

At Fort Boreman, West Virgnia

At 11 am yesterday I finished up my last exam, intro to journalism, haven't gotten grades back, but I suspect I did well. The rest of my finals were fairly simple, I got my studying done, cramming weeks of information onto little flashcards and then to my brain. Threw together final projects around midnight and got them sent in, sprinted across campus to deliver final essays. I'm not saying theres nothing to exams week... but certainty wasn't as scary as I was led to believe. 

Finals week aside I spent my last few weeks finally living the college dream I wanted. When asked why I wanted to go to college (its hard to digest for those who can't understand why I would pay $40,000 a year for school) I had two answers. The first was because I want to be a good journalist and I needed the training and connections. The second was the experience, I wanted the dorm life, to meet people, when people talk about college they don't talk about sitting through two hour lectures trying to stay awake, they talk about hanging out late at night, doing things just on the edge of crazy, because you are 20, and away from home, and you can. 

Taken by Heather Willard

While I didn't ever get into the party scene at college (thankfully so) I was blessed by finals week by having an amazing group of people. People I went and got pizza with at two am. People that didn't question, but actually suggested we build a massive blanket fort. People who when our second to last final was complete spontaneously drove to West Virginia, simply on a whim and went to a historical park with me. Seriously, what more could a girl ask for? The last few weeks of school are a mess of picnics, laying in the sun, nighttime food runs, movies, and sleepovers complete with henna and nail painting. 

This is not to say school didn't end on a good note, I just checked my grades and got As across the board (somehow!), a very sweet email from my history teacher complimenting a group project, and high scores on all my exams. I drove home from college yesterday a little teary about leaving my newfound friends, but also swelling with pride that I was able to conquer this thing called college. 

One night sitting with my three closest companions we discussed what we had been doing 8 months ago, and what we planned to do doing. It was both contemplative and full of giggles but really amazing "eight months ago I could have never imagined myself here, and I'm so happy I am" I said. Not that I didn't have an excellent existence, simply that I just didn't see myself fully as the college girl. I have now sampled that piece of life, and am very excited, after what I hope to be an excellent summer, to go back in the fall!