Home Again

After living in Ohio since the end of August, I was so excited to finally go back home. I had already made some plans with my friends beforehand, and I was so ready to see them again!

I took a bus from campus all the way to the various oasises around Chicago last Tuesday afternoon. I was very impatient along the ride since I did not have enough motivation to do anything besides listen to music.

When I finally arrived where my parents were meeting me, I was thrilled to see that they brought along our dog, Maggie, to meet me there as well. I had missed her so much! And the way she was clinging to me the entire time I was home, it was clear she missed me too.

Along the course of the break, I was able to see my friends Robert, Megan, Krista, Hannah, Daniel, and Gaby. It was so nice to see everyone again!

On Saturday specifically, Gaby, Krista, and I went to go get piercings. I got my ears double pierced, Krista got her tragis pierced, and Gaby got her belly button pierced. Mine did not hurt too bad since it was not cartilage, but now I want to get a cartilage piercing so that I can wear earrings like this that connect to a cartilage piercing! That would be so cool.

Even though it was nice to be home, I was ready to come back. Being the abnormal roommates we are, Ashton and I were so happy when we got to see each other again! We even decorated our door for the upcoming holidays! I also put up some lights in our room while Ashton was working on a project. We're cool, haha.





















Now, unfortunately, I have to focus on all of the essays, assignments, and exams coming up these next couple weeks. Only three weeks until winter break and we will all be home again!


~ Valerie  

Counting Down

I literally cannot wait to get home. Ever since I finally received my bus ticket home via email on Thursday, I have been very impatient for Tuesday to come.

Going home is going to be so surreal, I already have plans with my friends on three of the days I'll be home, I'm so excited to see them again! Some students have already gotten the chance to go home this year, but I have not. I haven't set foot in my house or driven a car since August! I'm going to be so anxious on that bus ride home, it's crazy.

Especially since all of my big tests and assignments due before break were due last week, now I just have to choose what to pack, and survive.

Blah, well I just have to be patient and wait for Tuesday to come. There is still some work I can try to accomplish before then, so I guess I'll try to keep myself busy.

Side note:  My friends and I went to Kroger yesterday and all bought ourselves these little rubber animals, I thought the picture was too cute to resist adding.

From left to right: Chantel, Ashton, Courtney, Lindsey, and me. I'll miss them all, but right now, we all just want to go home. 

~ Valerie

Hockey and Birthdays

Well, it's about time something worth writing about happened in my life! I have basically been taking things day-by-day, nothing too exciting.

But! Finally, I had a pretty eventful weekend!

First of all, some of my friends and I went to a hockey game on Friday. For Courtney and I, it was our first game; but for Ashton, it was her second since she is in the pep band. Since Miami is a major hockey school, I had fun in the student section. It is way more intense than football here! Plus, Courtney and I sat right next to the pep band so that we could still talk to Ashton. Even though most of the cheers that get started are derogatory, I could tell that the players were used to it. I still felt bad for the opposing team's goalie, though. So many negative cheers are directly aimed at him...

...Oh well, we won 5-2! So that made it better.  



Since Saturday was Ashton's birthday, Courtney and I were going to leave the game early to go decorate my dorm room door, but the game would end too early for that plan to work, so we asked our friends Lindsey and Chantel to do that for us while we stayed with Ashton. Also, since we went to the student center directly after the game to watch "The Dark Knight Rises" at 11pm, by the time we got back, it was Ashton's birthday. So the plan worked out well! She was sufficiently surprised.

On her birthday, instead of being the norm and going out to the bars, we went Uptown to eat dinner and go to the movie theater to watch "Pitch Perfect."

Even though she could not go home for her birthday, she said she had fun. I'm glad we could make sure that she did not have to spend the whole day wishing she could be home!


~ Valerie