Anticipation

After spending Friday night and Saturday afternoon in Madison, I quickly recalled why I looked forward to fall during my college career. The city is buzzing with anticipation and excitement. Sure school will be starting soon, but there's so much to look forward to in the meantime. For at least 1 week each fall, college students around the nation have nothing on their plate aside from staying up late, sleeping late, and repeating. There's no doubt that some have practiced this despite classes, but for most college students this is one of the few times each year to just hang out. In my opinion, this is one of the best few weeks on the calendar year for college students. Even after the "bender" ends, there's still a lot to look forward to. The first day of classes, a.k.a. syllabus day, is pointless and boring from an academic standpoint, but it's the perfect time to scope out lectures and discussion sections for the hotties that you hope to sit next to and perhaps invite to a house party at some future date (believe me, this isn't just a guy thing). There was so much positive energy and excitement that it was hard for me not to be swept into it. While driving home Saturday evening, Colin and I discussed how great it is around this time of year for college students.

With that said, I am also starting to get my own feeling of excitement, but mingled with some nervousness. After going to St. Louis last week and checking out the city, it finally began to hit me that I was really going to be moving away. Needless to say I've been a bit overwhelmed and edgy the past week and expect that to continue for the 2 weeks leading up to the move. In the next 2 weeks I will be busy trying to find a place to live, finding furniture for that place, and getting all the other fixings that I need. On top of that I'll also be trying to prepare mentally and emotionally for a move to an unfamiliar city, a new job, and meeting new people. While I'm excited for the change of scenery and the experience, I'm definitely nervous about what lies ahead. If I'm able to adjust even half as quickly to this as I was to moving in 5th grade and going away to college, I don't have much to worry about. I'm very confident that once I've moved in, it won't take long for me to get my bearings, but in the meantime I'm faced with the notion of the unknown, which we all know is a scary proposition.

My hope is that as I take care of the physical things to prepare for my move, I'll have more time to prepare myself mentally and emotionally for what lies ahead. In the meantime, pardon my one word answers and irritability, it's only going to last a couple of weeks.