The Calm After the Storm

Well, this is my first post. I've decided to start keeping a blog so that everyone who went abroad this semester will still be able to know what is going on here at The Catholic University of America and mainly what is happening in my very boring life.
I think this is shaping up to be a very interesting semester and it is going to be one that changes a lot of people. As second semester juniors in college, we are all starting to look towards life after college. For some, the vision of what they will be doing is crystal clear. For others, it is a blurry, hazy picture. I tend to find myself in the second category. Sometimes that can be a little frightening, but I try to roll with the punches and hold out hope that it will all work out in the end. I don't know how I can be worried about what I'll be doing a year or two from know when I've got a history test and a paper to deal with this week.
It seems that maybe the best way to set up this blog is to lay out my goals and plans for the semester and track whether or not I accomplish them. So here they are (in a somewhat, but really no, particular order).

First, I need to find a job. I need something almost immediately, most likely on campus, to deal with my extreme shortage of cash. The money supply needs to be increased since I spent half of Christmas break in Boston not making money. Hopefully, later in the semester I'll be able to find a job off campus that can get me some actual experience doing something. The ideal situation would be that this turns into a summer job or proves to be a segway into a summer job. This leads me to...

Second, find a way to stay in DC this summer. This will obviously require a decent paying job because I will have to pay to live on campus, as well as buy food and pay for transportation (hopefully through my car). Last summer I stayed home, babysat my cousin and worked in my uncle's liquor store. Working in a liquor store is cool... for the first week. But I've been working at Harry's since I was in high school. Only one girl has worked there longer than me and I'm pretty sure I've trained every one of the current employees other than Erin (the one there longer). I make peanuts working for my uncle. Minimum wage. Which is fine for a high schooler, but that barely covers my alcohol costs for a month once I get back to school. I was miserable last summer. Seriously, I hated being home. So this summer I want to stay in DC and work. Most of my friends are going to be down here for the summer and I can't imagine I would have a bad time here. Liz and I are planning to live on campus and have a freaking awesome time, including a kick ass Kenny Chesney concert in Philly. There is also the outside chance that a group of us may road trip to New Orleans for a weekend, but that is still very much up in the air. Basically, I'm dead set on having a better summer this year than I did last year.

Third, get back into shape. When I was in high school, I played a varsity level sport for 11 months out of the year. It means I was in fantastic shape for almost my entire HFA career.... Then I came to college. The freshman fifteen (or the freshman thirty as they're starting to be called) are NOT COOL in any way, shape or form. So this semester I am trying to get back in shape. I realize I probably won't get back to where I was my senior year, but I want to try and get as close as possible. I have a schedule this semester that allows me to go to the gym three days a week, which is a good start. I'm also trying to be more conscious of what I eat. I want to set a realistic goal of being in pretty decent shape by the end of the semester and good shape by the time of the Kenny Chesney concert/4th of July. I think this will be the thing I have the toughest time with, but I'm pretty motivated.

Fourth, get my car down here with me at school. My mom has this fear of letting me bring my car to school. I'm not entirely sure why, but she thinks I'll want to go "joy riding" in downtown DC. That's ridiculous. I try explaining to her that I want my car so that I can drive to 7-11, or the supermarket or Target. OR, drive home and save a ton of money on travel. If I was able to drive back and forth to school, it would save a ton of money on bus, train and plane tickets. My car gets great gas mileage and I can drive from Bayonne to DC and back into New Jersey on a tank of gas. I can literally drive to school and home while never having to pump my own gas. Now, if I had it down here consistently I would probably have to pump gas at some time, but that's not the point. I've talked to my dad about it and he seems to think he may be able to convince my mom to let me bring it back to school after spring break. That way at Easter I could bring some stuff home and at the end of the semester, I could pack my car and go home without having to be picked up. I really just think my dad doesn't want to have to drive down here and pick me up but, hey, that works for me. Also, I want to have my car here over the summer. I'm going to need to bring my things here when I come down. I'm going to need to get to the store and buy groceries. And, hello, Liz and I need to go to Philly for a concert. Never mind if a group of us decided we wanted to go to the beach for the day. It's the most realistic option and I just need to approach my parents from an economic standpoint and show home much money it would save.

Fifth, make the Dean's List again this semester. Last semester, with six classes and a lot of outside, extenuating circumstances working against me, I was able to make the Dean's List. I know most of my friends have made it before, but I was always kept just short of it because of my Latin grade. It wasn't terrible, just not high enough to get me there. Seriously, I would miss it by the skin of my teeth every semester. So in December when I found out I had made it, I was beyond happy. Hopefully this semester will be less stressful, and the smaller course load will allow me to make the Dean's List again. I'm pretty sure I can do this.

And finally, not go completely and totally insane. Last semester was a roller coaster ride. It had some extreme lows (which some people know of) as well as extreme highs (a couple nights I won't mention, but one involved some Scarlet Ladies). When I look back on it, I don't really think there is anything I would do differently. There are things I would like to have changed, but they are not within my control, so I tried to handle them as best I could. I had a couple of fantastic friends who helped me get through it and some of them could completely relate to what I was going through. That helped and I'm very lucky that I have those people who I can count on. Unfortunately, two of my closest friends, Liz and Matt, are abroad this semester. That's not to say I don't have other people to hang out with, freak out to and play beer pong with. I do. But its going to be different without them. I think the best way to get through the semester is to hole myself up in my room with my headphones on during the week, and just get really drunk with the boys on the weekends. It's been two and a half years and that system hasn't failed me yet. Why mess with a good thing?

So these are my goals for the semester. Get my car, get in shape, get a job, get good grades, plan an awesome summer and make it through the semester. If I could accomplish all of these things then I would be completely thrilled with myself. I'll update this blog as I become able to check things off my list. Also, I'll keep it updated on any interesting (or not so interesting) things that happen here at CUA. Maybe I'll even post a picture or two.

Until next time...