Making it to Fall Break



Me in a
lovely Susquehanna
 sweatshirt
at the retreat

Before and even at college, I’ve heard this advice for freshmen: “Don’t go home until fall break.”   I’ve followed this advice, and now I’m eagerly looking forward to tomorrow, when I’ll be on my way home for the first time since my parents dropped me off August 26^th.

Orientation was inevitably awkward, but soon the third floor of my residence hall Hassinger (affectionately known as “Hass”) provided me with great friends.  At Susquehanna I’ve already had many late nights of giggling and talking—and as many late nights trying to finish homework.  I’ve written my first college paper and survived my first nail-biting exam.   I’ve raved at the club on campus, TRAX.  I’ve had my words workshopped by my peers in Tom Bailey’s Intro to Fiction class.  I’ve started my assistantship in Advancement Communications, which has meant writing articles, interviewing professors, doing research, and starting this blog.  And I’ve gotten involved, going to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, Lutheran Student Movement, and even a Religious Life retreat at Mountain Dale Farms that allowed me a weekend off campus and one of the best views of the stars I've ever had.

Up until this weekend I viewed Fall Break with a certain amount of apprehension.  Home is home, and I love it, truly, but it’s so different from here.  A friend of mine compared college to a constant sleepover where you have to do homework.   So far, I agree.  There’s always that world waiting right outside your dorm room door.  At home, I open my bedroom door to a usually empty hallway with some laundry machines.  Not exactly as thrilling.

I’ve come to realize, though, that a break from the constant whirl of people will be a welcome refresher.  I look forward to spending time with my parents, meeting up with friends from high school, and catching up on all the TV I miss now that I actually have a life.  I want to be relaxed and renewed when I return to campus on Tuesday.   My shock at actually being in college is starting to wear off, and now I’m thrown into the reality of the situation.  Now I’m thrown into making that reality the best it can be.

I am finally excited about Fall Break.  In fact, I'm depending on it. 

That long Winter Break, however...