Another Year, Another Chapter

Well, its hard to believe I'm a junior this year - only two more years left at Waynesburg University, and really only three semesters left here, considering I'll be at Queens University in Belfast in the spring...

But where are my manners? My wonder at how quickly time is flying got ahead of me for a moment. That's right, loyal readers, I have returned for another triumphant year of keeping everyone updated on the life of a typical Waynesburg student! And its already week three - and believe me, it feels like it. Homework, exams, essays - but then, I suppose that's college for you. However, with the start of a new year of work also dawns the start of a new year of fun, and I certainly haven't been lacking in that.

But I am getting ahead of myself a bit. After all, its been almost four months since I was last posting here, and that's four months worth of events that I need to paraphrase! I think I'm up to the task - and pictures are always worth a thousand words, so I'll be certain to have a lot of those as well. I suppose the best place to start is a reminder that I actually live just outside of Waynesburg, so the start of summer didn't involve my return home to some faraway land like many of the students experience. However, that didn't mean that summer didn't have a different feel all the same - especially with all of my friends gone.

I guess the biggest change in my life at the moment actually started over the summer, and that's my job at the nearby Target store in Washington, which ate away most of my summer time as I began my savings for my semester at Queens. However, I did have two amazing vacations despite my working time - one to New York City, and one to Baltimore.

My trip to New York was absolutely an unforgettable one. Thanks to some amazing plans by my boyfriend for a load of late birthday presents, I got to see the city from the top of Rockefeller Centre, went on a carriage ride in Central Park in the evening, got to do a load of fantastic shopping, and even got to eat at Ninja New York (which was quite the experience, let me tell you - they cut food with swords and jumped out of dark corners to grab you - definitely a lot of fun). It was also my first time flying alone, which I suppose was good preparation for my nearing departure to another country alone. However, on my way back I did get delayed two days longer in New York, but I wasn't complaining. An unexpected extension to a vacation is always welcomed!

Baltimore was also quite an unforgettable experience, but in quite a different way. My best friend Nicole, her sister Natalie, and I all headed to Maryland for four days to attend one the largest Anime and Gaming conventions in the United States - Otakon. And I'm not kidding whenever I say it was large - according to the statistics, there were 26,586 there this year. That's...quite a lot of people, let me tell you. But the three of us happily dressed up as favourite characters all three days, and we met a lot of awesome people with similar interests while we were there, attended a lot of fun panels, and even saw a few of our favourite voice actors. We also saw to Japanese bands perform - the first was on Thursday night before the convention started, when we saw a band called VAMPS on one of their very limited US tour dates. It was their first time touring in America, so we were definitely glad to see them. The other artist was at Otakon itself, a female singer called Mell. Its definitely quite an experience to go to a concert that's not in English, but its one I highly recommend. Both were unforgettable.

Finally, the last exciting thing I really did this summer was I taught Vacation Bible School at my home church for the first time. It was a great experience, since I grew up attending VBS myself, and it was a great opportunity to switch roles and become the teacher rather than the student. I had about six to eight 5th and 6th graders under my wing for the week, and had a great time teaching them, as well as learning from them. It was my first time really getting my feet wet working in ministry, and a great experience for my Biblical and Ministry Studies major. I was even asked at the end of the week to be sure to come back from Belfast in time to teach it again next year, which I am definitely going to try to do.

Well, that about brings me up to my semester beginning at WU (or at least, those are the interesting parts of the summer - I very well might tell more stories later as I am reminded of them as the semester goes on). I can definitely tell its my third year despite how quickly time is passing, because the classes have certainly gotten harder and the workloads heavier - but with that, comes a deeper level of satisfaction and achievement with each thing that I learn, and each paper that I write. Just as a quick reference for when I am sure I will be talking about specific classes as the semester rolls forward, I am taking ::
-World Literature
-World Religions
-French I
-Contemporary French Cinema
-Geology and Oceanography
-Religion in America
And I also have the privilege of being a Fiat Lux mentor once more (Fiat Lux is a freshman orientation-style class for all freshman beginning at WU that is worth one credit in the fall) and I can already tell after only three weeks that I really have a great, sociable group of kids to work with. I'm definitely looking forward to that interaction more and more as the semester goes on.

And roll on the semester certainly does! It hardly has time to wait around for me, often standing still and staring dumbfounded as I still find it hard to believe I'm actually a junior. Time stops for no one, though, as they say.

Thus far, the weather has also been pretty nice - a bit rainy at times, but decent. Today the sun was shining in its fullest, giving myself and a few of my friends the opportunity to lay out in the grass between classes, reading or playing video games, and just relaxing and enjoying the sun and forgetting the stress of class itself. I'm certainly soaking up as much sun now as I can before the weather gets cold and dreary once more, because I know its only a matter of time before the Pennsylvania winter settles in...

I suppose, looking back on the summer in that context, the weather is the only thing that I'll miss about summer. All through my high school years, I clung to summer as my only escape, my only true happiness, and dreaded going back to school. Ever since college, I've been completely the opposite, wishing away my summer in favour of being in school once again. I guess that is one of the most simple and obvious signs that college is a completely different experience - and WU specifically has been such a change in my life. I never had the motivation to work like I do now, and I'm far enough in now that there is not even a thought of ever turning back!

Believe me, its in those moments when I'm with my friends, sitting out in the grass in the middle of campus and just watching students walking to the cafeteria or wherever their paths may be taking them, that I wish I could just steal time away for a while and enjoy those moments just a little longer. But even though I can't do that...I just know that its good to be back.

And with the thoughts of Northern Ireland being only a few months away to continue to motivate me even further - I know I wouldn't have it any other way.