Week 1 (COMPLETE)

I SURVIVED WEEK ONE OF MY JUNIOR YEAR OF COLLEGE!

So much happened this week that I can't even wrap my head around all of it.  I have either had the chance to sit down and catch up with people or I have run into them on campus.  I'm that girl that literally screams joy to see all of my friends back here on campus, but even on a campus like this, I have to keep in mind that not everyone feels so surrounded by love and support--somewhere so big can make you feel so small and that's tough.

17 hours.  I'm in 17 hours and classes are hard.  I'm in two different languages, one of which has required more patience and time than I ever intended to spend on it and I'm only on week 1.  French and Spanish together are just tough, but luckily I have enjoyed ALL of my professors so far.

I didn't have my Politics of Russia class this week because Dr. Goode has been researching in Siberia.  I'm as surprised as y'all are, I didn't realize that anyone willingly went to Siberia but I'm gonna go ahead and guess that he's an interesting man for doing so.  My classes require a lot of reading and patience and different languages.  Not many people are stupid enough to take 17 hours, but here I am.  On the brighter side of things, I had my study abroad meeting this week and my adviser is such a doll.  I can't wait to go abroad and she is just getting me more and more excited.  While I really wanted to go to Buenos Aires, it's looking like I'll be going to Ecuador.  It's half the price for a student exchange program there and it goes from the end of January to the end of April; needless to say that I'm scared to death but even more excited to jump in with both feet.

This week has just been really long and really weird.  If my weeks in DC had lasted this long, wooooo I would've been SO happy.

Meanwhile, here I am, still in college and still learning from my rookie mistakes.  Don't get me wrong y'all, I have some of the greatest friends in the world.  But sometimes, I lose patience with people in the way that I care about everyone--if I call you my friend, I care.  And sometimes it's tough to find the happy medium between "treat others how you want to be treated" and "treat others how they treat you".  I'm a doormat, but if I reciprocate that treatment, all hell breaks loose.  It's much more satisfying to be nice, but sometimes it's exhausting.  

On the brighter side, I got to know a few of my friends a little bit better this week and as I get deeper into my classes, I continue to find a new love for what I do and what I'm working towards.  

Anyway, as unorganized as that was, next week's post will be better...hopefully.  Until then, I'll leave y'all with an awesome piece of advice that an old family friend sent me before I left DC a few weeks ago.

"I'm convinced that the difference between those that succeed and those that do not, is their ability to never give up.  Find your passion and jump in with both feet."

-(Not actually anonymous but not releasing a name)