Success! (Part 2)

All of my grades are finally up, and I got my first A- since seventh grade (in stats, of all classes). I couldn't be more thrilled.

One semester down, who knows how many more to go.

"Look at Me! Look at Me!"

I think I've found where the wild things are--my house. This afternoon I sat down to enjoy a quiet lunch with my latest read to keep me company, but I'm pretty sure there's an unwritten law at my house against that very thing. No sooner had I cracked open my book when I have a little 2-year-old monkey named Makenna climbing up the back of my chair. And smearing her cheese on the table. And eating my food. And stealing my bookmark. And asking for her own plate of rice. And asking for a glass of milk. And throwing her rice on the floor. And closing my book. And climbing on the table. And spilling her milk. And climbing under the table. Now, she is a very talented little bugger and managed to do all of these things while still continuously saying (or shouting, more like) "Rachel, Rachel! Watch this!" "Rachel! Look at me!" "Rachel! What are you doing?" "Rachel come here!" "Rachel! I'm hiding!" "Rachel come get me!" "Rachel!" "Rachel!" "RACHEL!"

Ever since the moment I got home for the break, I've felt like a mother duck with my two little ducklings following my every move, or maybe even a celebrity who is constantly being hounded by fans and paparazzi. I have played more imaginary games than I can count, changed lots of clothes and diapers, helped Graci and Kenna feed the goldfish, been called "Grandpa" for a whole hour, listened to all sorts of stories about dinosaurs or Santa Claus, been the constant human playground, and have even had Graci sleep in my bed. I can't comprehend how such little bodies can house so much energy.

But you know what? I love it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love having these girls in my life. I love that they completely idolize me. I love listening to Makenna learn to talk. I love watching Graci pretend to be so many different things. I love watching them play together and seeing them learn and grow. I am astounded every day at how much they know and can do. I absolutely love that I can be a part of their lives and I hope that by playing games and wrestling with them, or even just fixing them sandwhiches, that they will know that I love them more than anything in the world, because even though they are wild things, they are MY wild things, and I can't imagine my life any other way.

IDK, My BFF Brooklin?

I love Brooklin (my roommate). She really has become my best friend. Really though. It's not a rare occasion when we accidentally stay up way later than is healthy having amazing, deep conversations. She's wonderful.

This basically describes our relationship:

Told you I loved her.

Success!

Well, I did it. I have successfully made it through my first semester of college without anything completely detrimental happening. My unicorn glitter tattoo that I put on my shoulder for good luck really paid off. The lady who ran the copies for my nutrition test somehow skipped every other page, so we only had to take half a test. Thanks to my lucky unicorn, the half that got skipped was all of the chemistry and most of the essential vitamins, so basically I had a VERY easy final and only missed two! I didn't have to take the final in human development because my other test scores were really high, and I'm pretty sure I aced my stats test. Creative arts, not so sure about. BUT, it's over and done with and that's what counts! Finals week was tough, but not as bad as I was anticipating. A couple of my roommates turned absolutely hilarious in their stress-induced insanity, so there was always some great entertainment when I needed a break. Plus, there was the never-ending free food (including muddy buddies, my all time favorite. mmm, boy!) that seems to go hand in hand with testing.

My first semester was great! I learned a lot, and not just the material taught in classes. I met great people and made wonderful friends. There were many tears, but much more laughter. I attended my first college football and basketball games, was culturally enriched at a dance hosted by the African-American student union, successfully avoided catching the swine flu, had campfires in the canyon, got locked out of my apartment more than once, ate a LOT of spaghettios, exploded a can of spaghettios, held a goldfish funeral and buried him in an indoor garden, learned to ignore Thing One and Thing Two and not mutter obscenities under my breath as I clean the whole apartment after they leave, made home-made decorations for every holiday, colored lots of pictures, got my pillow frozen to my window and had to thaw it off with a hair dryer, actually got asked on a date by someone who was not a creeper, and had so many wondrous adventures!

Next semester's schedule is going to be harder than this one was, but I'm excited to find out what it has in store. But for now, I am going to enjoy having a whole month off of school with nothing to worry about but keeping little hands out of the fish bowl. Good luck to all of you who still have finals left to endure, and happy holidays!

Quote of the Day

"It sounds like the great and spacious building."

-Christine