NaNo 'Nihilation

Well, it's nearing that time of year again. And here I am, as always, debating as to whether or not I will join in the fun.

I think we all know what my final decision will be, so I think I'll just move a long now. =]

FALL BREAK. Right, so, it's October, the leaves are turning, the weather's getting cooler and the midterms are piling up. What is there *not* to be excited about?! My roommate (bless her heart. Gotta make you wonder if there really are past lives we get punished for in this one...) is a doll, but she lives nearby. It's not rare for her to go home over the weekends. At this time, I suddenly realize how much homework I have to do. And then do it.

It's really quite liberating to get so much done in so little time. Of course, I couldn't do that all the time. I don't think my mind works that way. But it's okay. I don't need to be responsible on a regular basis. Just so I do it often enough to not end up wearin' the red shirt. (Social status. Academic probation. Whatever you want to call it.)

There is a theatre production going to be put on in December. Wild horses couldn't keep me from being a part of it (I'm thinking, the cleaning lady?), but the prep time runs all the way through November. Oh, did I mention I'm going home for Thanksgiving? Like, home home. Hoooome.

Yup, so I've decided to start storing sleeping points for when November gets here and I start running out. It works like that, right? Oh well. I've discovered something, while being here in this hot, dull, expensive state. Deadlines really work. I didn't know that, growing up. Deadlines were these things that bounced around in the confines of a week or two. Deadline was almost synonymous to motivation, and motivation was purely of my own making. But I've learned something that's actually quite exciting for a little homeschooler like me. If I have to write a paper that's due at the next class period, haven't printed my assignment for the current one, and have yet to find where I stuck the study guide I was supposed to have finished ... that's not important - it happens. Life stalls, time pauses and I get things done.

This is still a mystery to me. I spend probably 45% of my time out of class doing class related things, but somehow frequently end up needing to do one last thing before I can run to class, slide into my seat and pull out my binder 30 seconds before the professor shows up. The other 55% is usually divided between work, filling in for others at work, listening to the talking girls who are sitting on my silk-covered bed, and sleeping.

My life has turned into something I never thought it would be, and I have yet to decide if I'm not entirely satisfied with what it is. I'm learning new things every day, both from the people around me and the God who so majestically keeps me in the palm of His gentle hand. I am being challenged, and given the opportunity to challenge others. My heart is being molded into something slightly better than what it is, while my mind is being shaped into something broader then I thought it needed to be. I might complain a good deal, but in all honesty, I'm happy exactly where I am - vanilla wafers in the ice cream and all.

It is a gorgeous morning outside. The birds are singing, the leaves are slowly drifting down to the drying grass below. My entire hall is deserted and I don't work until this afternoon. Can you imagine a better moment in time? A better memory to look back on and say 'right there. Right there I was the happiest I ever was in my entire life.' And then wake up again tomorrow and be able to say the exact same thing.

Have a wonderful Fall Break, everyone.