spring

Tomorrow is the first day of school!  A part of me is excited, but another part of me is disappointed that break is over already.  I had the best time: shopping, Disneyland, snow, cookies, eating until I got sick (twice), cake pops, watching movies....many more posts and videos are coming soon to recap all the fun.

Don't worry, I'm not as dramatic as the little girl above (Mommy, doesn't she kind of remind you of the little sad girl at Oakbrook?).  No matter how much I complain about school and stress, I am thankful beyond words to be fighting on at the greatest university in the history of the universe.  Ever.  I know I've mentioned this the past two years, but the spring semester has a special place in my heart because once upon a time, I was a spring admit.  I'm not really sure why I was a spring admit.  The note that came with my letter of acceptance simply said that the school wasn't physically able to accommodate the large number of accepted students each year.  It was a relief to take a semester off from school and I had enough AP credits to boost me to sophomore standing.  But it was one of the most exhilarating and daunting times of my life.

Everyone kept assuring me that I would be ok and fit in right away.  And as much as I appreciated their words of comfort, that was like telling a Sharpie marker that it would fit in with a box of crayons.  It just didn't quite work.  You can't go from living at home with your parents with basically nothing to do for half a year and then magically transition into college life within days.  There was also a level of surreality.  I spent far too much time on USC's website, anticipating the activities I would get involved in and the classes I would take.  (Unfortunately, since I was a spring admit, I missed the marching band season in the fall.  Or I guess you can call it football season too.)  Then suddenly I was on campus with thousands of other students whom I didn't know so I felt and looked out of place because people probably assumed that I was a freshman in high school, not a freshman in college.  Actually, people still probably think that I'm a freshman in high school.  Anyway, to make a long story short:

Today while I was biking on campus to buy my books for class, I saw a lot of kids with their parents, deciphering maps and building abbreviations and schedules and all that other stuff they load on you at orientation.  Then to my surprise, I bumped into five of my friends on the way to and from the bookstore.  It's amazing how things have turned out with just a little time, confidence, and patience!