Last Friday At Home

Well today marks the last Friday I have in Mt. Horeb and I only have two more days until I head back to Coe.  It seems like three weeks have just FLOWN by.  Winter Break has been lovely for me so far.  No homework is probably my favorite part of break.  I'd read some books (just for fun) which I was really lacking at Coe.  When I got home, I realized how busy I was at Coe.  Everyday I was doing something and see someone or someones.  Winter Break was a little hard at first because I didn't know how to do nothing.  But I learned.  Now let's hope that I forget how to do nothing once second semester starts!

The odd thing about coming home is that suddenly, the freedom I found at Coe was slightly restricted.  Talking to old high school friends, I realize we all have the same problem.  In college, when we want to go somewhere, we go.  We don't have to tell anyone or report back to them at a certain time.  Curfews don't really exist.  At home, it's a whole other story.  My parents wanted to know where I was going and what time I would return.  I had to plan around what my brother and sister were doing (I was a lovely chauffeur the past three weeks).  Suddenly, instead of worrying about my own schedule, I had to take into account four other peoples' schedules.

I also started to miss everyone at Coe.  One of the things I love about a small campus is the ability to see everyone I want to see everyday (multiple times too).  I run into them on the way to class, in the elevator in Murray, in the caf, at the PUB, in the library.  My friends and I go crazy when we don't see each other everyday.  And by Winter Break, we are so use to seeing everyone all the time.  On the other hand, some of my high school friends went to bigger universities such as UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee or University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.  Since the student population is much much bigger than Coe's, they don't see every one of their friends everyday.  Granted, they still are going through a friend withdrawal like I am, but I feel that mine is a bit more severe.  Luckily with technology as it is, Skype and texting have been my friends the last couple of weeks as an easy way to keep in touch.  Our conversations aren't very long because we all know we have catching up to do at home but the underlying message is the same: I miss you and can't wait to see you.  I've pretty much made a family at Coe, a tight, close knit group of people who are watching out for me and I'm watching out for them.  I spend most of my "free" time with them and we always have a blast.  And that's one of best parts of Coe and what makes me enjoy my college experience all the more.

Well, I'd best be off.  I've got laundry, baking, packing, reading and final catching up to do before I hit the road Monday.  See you later!