Almost There

In a few short days, I will be headed home for Christmas break.  It is hard to believe that this semester is nearly over.  Wasn’t it just a few days ago that Grace and I moved into “the bunker”?  And wasn’t it yesterday that I went walking on the Panhandle trail with Jess and Elizabeth?  But I realized this past week that I only have a few more days left!  My life is not going to be the same after this semester ends.  The people and experiences in my life will be changing as I move into the next phase of life as a college student.  Since I will be leaving main campus to study abroad in Austria next semester, I can clearly see the bend in the road ahead, and the page turning in this book. 

In nostalgia for the (recent) past, here is a quick rundown of some memorable moments this semester:

1) Being roommates with this awesome lady!  Grace has been an unexpected blessing in my life.  We have shared so many things this semester: laughter, tears, late night dancing to “At Last I See the Light,” TEXTING IN ALL CAPS, “the bunker,” and many many many other things.

2) Visiting St. Anthony’s Chapel with Jess, a household sister.  After going to the zoo earlier in the day with several other household sisters and intents, we decided to try to find St. Anthony’s.  We ended up making a couple of wrong turns and then having to sit in traffic on the highway for about half an hour.  But when we finally got there it was worth it.  St. Anthony’s holds the world’s largest public collection of relics…and it is only about an hour from my college!  The moment I walked in I could feel the presence of all the many saints whose relics are there.  I felt such peace there and knew that all the saints in heaven were praying for me.  Another reason why I think the communion of saints is so powerful to me is because I am an All Saint’s Day baby.  J

3) Joining household.  Those of you who read my blog regularly were just waiting for me to write this, weren’t you?  And I did.  But really, getting to know the girls in my household and coming to a deeper realization that God loves me has been such a blessing in my life!

And now, looking forward to the (near) future, here are some things I plan to do over Christmas break when finals are OVER:

1) Bake Christmas cookies – because they are yummy and I like to bake.

2) Go shopping – I really need some new shoes and a few miscellaneous things for Austria.

3) Go to all of my brother’s basketball games.  I can’t wait to see him play basketball, because I know that he has gotten a lot better since last season.

4) Go sledding if it snows - because sledding is fun! 

5) See the Hobbit movie

6) Just spend time with my family – because I am going to be away from them for 4 months.  That’s a long time.  And I haven’t been away from home for that long before!