college lifestyle?

thanksgiving in massachusetts proved to be very relaxing and enjoyable. my friends and their families that hosted me are very kind. and then, the harsh reality of looming final exams hit me. coming back from nearly a week of vacation- in which i did very little work but instead read three entire books, watched quite a few '80s music videos, a slept much more than i usually do- was rough.

for the first time in my life, i am not 100% happy to be at school. i am feeling bogged down and overwhelmed with all i have to do. i have five papers due in the next week. i copy edited and reformatted an entire 24-page newspaper last night. i ran out of meals and find cooking a formidable challenge (not to mention that i don't really have the resources- i have no pots/pans, groceries, time or money), so i have also adopted a typical college diet of coffee, granola bars, easy mac and candy. i also don't have very much time to sleep, let alone exercise. in addition, i have a sinus infection that has been plaguing me for almost a month. the combination of all of these factors really takes a toll after a while.

on a more positive and (but still pretty self-centered...sorry) note, i am excited for my upcoming travels. i just applied to be on an audio-documentary crew in new orleans for a week in march. and, i am beginning to think about living/working arrangements to spend the summer in baltimore...

finally, keep in mind it is world aids day this saturday (december 1). i am hosting a global peace tiles workshop with two of my closest friends (and classmates), where students have the opportunity to create personal, artistic statements about aids on 8"x8" wooden tiles. we are going to donate the tiles to the topsy foundation in south africa. peace tiles is a really cool project that i urge you to investigate- check out www.peacetiles.net and www.flickr.com/peacetiles. but if you don't have the means to make a peace tile, try to do something to honor your solidarity with the aids pandemic.

thanksgiving

it is the tuesday before thanksgiving and i am pondering how much life can change in a year’s time. a year ago i was anxiously awaiting a visit from my significant other at the time. i remember feeling so mature for having a east coast thanksgiving with this special person— we spent time (very briefly) in philadelphia, washington dc and new york city. it was certainly an exhilarating way to spend a few days! this year i feel so much more settled into goucher and ready to get off campus for a little while. i am leaving this evening to drive to massachusetts with friends. i am excited to return to massachusetts— both worcester and boston— which of course i wouldn’t have predicted a year ago. it will be so nice to be in a home and interact with family again, despite the home and family not being my own. i think thanksgiving is a great opportunity to expand horizons, so i am not fretting about not going home. when i do make it to shoreline in december it will be my first time home in over six months! college in general is such a prime time to explore new parts of the country and meet new people— i am so grateful that i am able to experience this! i am so, so thankful for my family for allowing me to have these wonderful cross-country encounters. i could not ask for a more supportive family and i look forward to seeing them greatly over christmas. i am also extremely grateful to all the friends i've made at goucher, and especially the ones that have opened their homes to me in the last year. i realize how fortunate i am to spend time meandering— that’s certainly not something everyone is able to do— and i hope to become a more well-rounded, better-informed, and interesting person for it. i certainly can't imagine where i will be in a year.

happy thanksgiving to all!

here are some photos of recent events:
1. louie came to visit baltimore in october. it was a bit of a flashback to high school. i hope he had fun here!
2. the gorgeous autumn weather in baltimore! this is the sunlight in my room.
3. some friends and i headed up to our buddy debra's house in woodstown, new jersey. we had a blast at a square dance at her quaker meetinghouse, building a bonfire on their lovely audubon reserve property, eating vegetarian chili, and going to a cute coffeehouse in their little town. the weekend excursion really changed my opinion of new jersey.
4. this is the ghost foot of one of my friends square dancing.
5. the annual dining hall version of thanksgiving dinner left us all pretty content.