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.