I know I already blogged this week, but like I said… it is finals time and I don’t have Facebook, so I need something to do with my time!

I want to take this time to talk about my mixed emotions with the semester coming to an end.

1. Fall semester of junior year coming to an end means that people are leaving.

2. I love spending time with my family, but I miss my friends over the holiday break!

3. Moving out of the house.

My junior year thus far has been absolutely wonderful.  I have gotten to do so many neat things through the university and have accomplished so many of my personal goals.  Before I say what I am planning on saying, let me say this first — I NEVER cry.  With that being said, I found myself crying while studying at the National Weather Center, not because I wasn’t going to be able to get that one A, but because spring semester is going to bring on some big challenges.

You will learn in college that a lot of your friends will plan on going abroad or taking a semester to do an internship program, which often happens spring semester of junior year.  Sunday, when I was crying in the Weather Center, I was texting one of my good guy friends about my best friend, who he is also close with, about how she will be leaving for the entire semester.  I have a lot of friends who are going to be studying abroad, but she is going to Orlando to intern at Disney.  She is a Disney freak — she loves all the movies and even wears those ugly, not to mention tacky, Disney sweatshirts.

I mean this one isn’t that bad — trust me she has worse.  Anyway, I am going to miss her and her awful, heinous, and overly big Disney sweatshirts.  I know this is a wonderful opportunity and it is something that is going to further her career, but let’s be honest, I would rather her just stay at OU with me.  I am going to miss our late night Taco Bell runs, our movie nights with the house boys, going to church together on Sundays, and our car dancing sessions.  The only thing that is allowing me to let her go is that we will be living together our senior year and she signed her lease so I know she has to come home!

I would encourage all of you to look into opportunities like the Disney internship program.  There are thousands of options when you are thinking about going somewhere for a semester.  You can go to a number of countries or even do an internship in Washington DC.  If a semester abroad doesn’t interest you then maybe think about doing a summer or winter study abroad program.  I chose not to go abroad or to take a semester long internship program because I wanted to experience college.  For me that meant I wanted to be CAC Homecoming Chair and that meant holding several offices in my various clubs.  I am unique because I lived abroad for almost 3 years, so I have gotten to have that experience.  I also studied at Oxford for a summer through the OU Honors College and am going to Costa Rica this January through Price College of Business. So if the semester away doesn’t appeal to you there are multiple other options! To find out more about our programs check out the OU Education Abroad website.

Another big change for me is that I am moving out of Gamma Phi Beta.  This is a bitter sweet thing for me.  I LOVED living in the house. Seriously, there is nothing better than living with 78 of your best friends!  Nevertheless, I am beyond excited to have my own room.  Actually, I am most excited about being able to turn on the lights in the morning.  This is something I took for granted — yes I know it is a small and petty thing, but I literally cannot explain how excited I am! I wouldn’t say that I am a morning person, because really I am an all day every day person, yet I do enjoy my morning routine of turning on the lights and putting on some Ben Rector (or something similar) and starting my morning off right.  I am moving into the Cottages which are individual houses, but they are in a community.  I will be living with four other girls, but we all have our own bedroom and bathroom.  I am taking over the lease of a girl who is graduating at semester. Here is a pic of my cottage:

I think this upcoming semester is going to be a new experience, but I think that any new experience is a great one! I am leaving this semester with the hope that I will end up getting that 4.0 that I worked so hard for and that I will have an even better spring semester!  I leave you all with this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt —  “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”