Travel.

     Dear Mama,
     Today has been a little rough. And I'll tell you why.
   
     I woke up at 6:30.

     Let's just take a moment and appreciate that terrible life decision.


     What made it worse was getting up at that time meant I got about 3 hours of sleep. And even that's being generous, because the Other woke up at 4:30 to go to her ROTC training. And when she wakes up, we all wake up.
     So, the reason I chose to get up at such an unearthly hour, was simply because I have a class at 8:15, and I wouldn't have enough time between the end of class and chapel to come and clean the room. I failed to realize this until last night after the Other had fallen asleep and The Ap's was close to it. So, I bit the bullet, set the alarm, and did more homework than I needed to so I wouldn't be stressed over the weekend.
     At 7:40 the room looked beautiful. Everything was put away nicely, the Other has taken out all, (all. even my) garbage, (it was a glorious moment in the world of Me.) The floor had been swept, the Other is was taking a shower, and I was alone. I was dressed, ready, shoes on, messenger bag filled, make up applied, and warm. I enjoyed my solitude until 7:59, when I realized I needed to prepare myself for the cold wasteland of the outdoors.
     I walked down the stairwell, and waited until I see a bus through the window before walking outside. I could tell just by the chill of the window that if I went out there too soon, my face would freeze so badly, my nose would fall off.
     So, I finally see the bus, and I run to catch it, the whole time praying that there is room for me. There was. The ride down to main campus was warm. and I was happy. I made a friend with the girl sitting next to me. And she was nice, even though no one looked happy to be awake.
     The bus stopped. I got out, jaywalked across the street, (because that's what we learn here at college) jaunted up the stairs to the second floor of the Ark, and went into my classroom. My very friendly looking professor was nowhere to be found. I take a seat next to a girl, say hello, she ignores me, so I just go on and turn on my computer. This guy comes and sits next to me, says hello, I say good morning, and I think to myself, "He is an attractive person." That's it. That was the entire thought. Nothing else. Just acknowledging that he was a decent looking human being. I then turned back to my computer, and did not think of it again until later on in the class when I find out that, of all the students in this course, he is the only one who is married. And I legitimately felt like an adulterous.

     Another fun moment of class was when I misunderstood the professor (who did end up coming to class-- much to my disappointment) when he said, "don't take selfies. You can get in huge trouble for it." Something you should understand about my teacher: though he is friendly, he can be very intense. He worked a job that I'll tell you more about later, but basically, he's credible. So I was scared. Why was I scared?
     Well, we had just finished talking about Social Media, and how it is used to harass, bully, stalk, and threaten people. We also talked about the legal definitions and consequences of these actions. So, when he said "huge trouble" I thought "huge" included some of the other things he had been saying like, losing job credibility, losing your chances of being accepted to colleges, going to jail! Those sorts of very unappealing things. So, I was thinking of the few selfies I've taken. Just a couple days ago, I took a selfie to show off what The Ap's had done to my hair. I did not want to go to jail for that! I'm not one of those girls who take a selfie a day. But I've taken a few! and I was legitimately scared that there might be something wrong with that, like, it shows arrogance or stupidity or something!
     I wasn't going to bring this up in class though. Let's just be honest, no matter what you say to preface it, if you ask if taking selfies is legal you not only look like an idiot, but you also look like the selfie-a-day girl.
     So. I waited until after class.
     My Professor laughed when I asked my question, which was something I wasn't sure how to react to. He then explained that it had to be a selfie of something not completely appropriate, (clubbing, doing drugs, that kinda thing), so basically, my hair pictures are safe from criminal charge.

    I walked out of the class, and started talking to a girl I hadn't seen before. She'd had a question too, so we left semi-together. She was a really sweet girl! And I think we'll at least be, "Hey, how are you? I'm good too. See you later" friends. I asked her what year she was, and she said, "Well, technically I'm a junior, but I'm a freshmen."
     ... mmmkay, princess, I'm going to pretend like that made since... "You see, I was homeschooled and I did two years of college at home while finishing up my last two years of high school." Ahh, the over achieving home schooler... I complimented her on her abilities, and then realized I was talking to the older version of my sister. (At least, as far as academics go). And I had a moment of sisterly pride as I bragged about what my sophomore sister planned to do. I could tell this girl was impressed. Which was cool.

     We got coffee, (okay, she got coffee, I got hot chocolate because coffee is gross) and we talked as we descended the Ark, walked through the cold to the doors of the Great Golf Ball, and I lost her as we walked through the crowded entryway.

     (Chapel was so good. The speaker made excellent points that caused me to think a lot about my walk with God. I'll tell you more about that later.)

     After chapel, I had a choice to make. The Great Golf Ball is in the middle of campus, so I could either walk up to my dorm in the freezing cold, or I could take a bus. The downside of the bus was that it first had to go to the other side of campus, before it looped around to my dorm. But, this was an easy choice for me, since I already miss riding around in cars, so the extra time in the bus would be welcomed! And the warmth would be heavenly.
     So, I get on this bus, and some guy I don't know comes and sits next to me. I introduce myself, and he talks to  me for a bit. He was nice. He got off at the stop with all but 3 passengers, and I knew that the 4 of us left-overs had all had the same idea. (you know, take the bus and skip walking in the cold.) What we 4 hadn't counted on was for the driver to say this:
     "Uhh... yall gotta get off this bus. I'm going off duty."
     Oh... Well that's just awesome.
     We get off and go stand in the cold, waiting for another bus to come. At this point, I'm on the completely other side of campus, so there's no faster way I can get to my dorm than just standing there and waiting. So finally this other bus comes, and we all get on, and it takes us all the way back to the Great Golf Ball's bus stop. Again, most people got off to go into the Ark, but this time about 15 people stayed on. I am not making this up, the bus driver raises her voice and says, "All yall gotta get off! I'm going back to north!" She was going back to the place we had JUST come from.

     So, again, I am standing in the cold, waiting for a bus. After waiting about 5 minutes, I realized one wasn't going to be there soon. So I bite the bullet and just walk. I walk to my dorm. in the cold. The same distance I would have walked if I had just walked back in the first place! Only now, I'm even colder than I would have been, I'm exhausted from my 3 hours of sleep, it's been about 20 minutes, and I am admittedly in a bad mood. To make it even worse, right as I get to the cross walk to go the last little bit before getting to my dorm, I am passed by a bus. A bus I could have been on, had I waited in the cold rather than walked in the cold.

     I walked in my dorm.
     I put on sweat pants.
     I hid under my blankets.
     And I slept until my next class.


     That was pretty much today.

     With Love,
      Me