realizations.

This past weekend was Columbus Day Weekend. I went home for the first time. It was AWESOME. I didn't realize how much I missed it. Being home made me think of a lot of things. Living in New Hampshire, fall is always annoying for us because flocks of people come north to see our foliage. Growing up there, I would be like "What's the big deal? It's leaves changing color." When fall came the normal stressors of longer lines at restaurants, traffic, and never-ending raking is usually what came to mind. When visiting this past weekend, I realized why people come to New Hampshire to see such sights. I have never realized how gorgeous it actually is. My boyfriend and I spent most of Saturday driving around looking at how gorgeous our town is in the fall. We have lived in NH for most of our lives, and never realized it. It was really cool to experience this. It also made me think of how different fall at home is from fall at college. Fall in NH is like nowhere else. Fall in NH is apple picking, pies, apple cider, pumpkins, hayrides, town fairs, foliage, and cozy fireplaces. For NH, fall is our Christmas. It entials certain events that most, if not all, residents take part in. At college, it doesn't even seem like it's fall at all. This might be because of the setting. I'm on the ocean, which would never happen at home during this season. The leaves barely change. Sitting here in the library right now, I'm looking out the window that overlooks campus and can see one truee that is starting to change to red, that's all. Due to the weather, passerbys are in shorts and t-shirts. I didn't know how much I missed the traditions of home until I was there again. I realized how much I miss the little things like getting out of bed without climbing down on my desk, showering without shoes, having my own bathroom, sleeping in a queen size bed, and eating home-cooked meals! Another prevalent thing was sitting in my bed with wireless internet! I also missed the freedom of driving from place to place. Although I hate to admit it, I also really missed cooking. Over the weekend, I made three pies, a chicken dinner, and cheesy potatoes. I think that I satisfied my need to cook for a while now.


Although it has only been a month, some things changed. When I left for college, the town was doing construction on what was to be a new shopping center. When I got home it was built! I also noticed small things, like someone on one of the side roads that I take painted a blue stripe on his white car that is always in the street. I also noticed how clean my house is without me. You could still see the vaccuum marks on the rugs from the housekeeper. She must be loving that I'm not home to mess everything up! All of these observations taught me lessons about how much I take for granted. This includes friendships, nature, family, and the small things that I mentioned before. It was really eye-opening to see how lucky I am. The little things that I take for granted make such a difference in day to day life. I'm positive that I'm going to be more conscious of my surroundings and experiences from now on. On the ride back, I began to realize how lucky I am at school because of this. I have a great job, great friends, good clubs, and the oppurtunity to participate on a team. I am very lucky.

Speaking of luck, I just received an email saying that I am nominated to meet with the Vice President of the University for breakfast on Wednesday! They chose six student-workers on campus to meet with her in a conference to speak about balancing work and school. Unfortunately, I have class during the time of the meeting so I cannot attend. I really wish I was able to use this experience but my professor requires the students to attend every class unless they are required to take the final. :( Oh well. But this got me thinking, why me? In order to answer the questions "Who Am I?" and "What Do I Know?", I think that I need to figure out what sets me apart for oppurtunities like this? Did I portray myself as being good at balancing work and school? Or did I somehow imply that I cannot handle work and school together? That is going to be my goal so that I can accurately answer these questions about myself.