Looking Back.....and Looking Ahead

So, here's the last blog post of 2011! I honestly can't believe this year will be over in less than 24 hours. It's gone by so fast! And I really can't believe that the Fall 2011 CP is almost over, too! It's hard to believe that in 5 days, I'll be moving out of one apartment and into another with all new roommates. The packing has already started, and the apartment is really starting to look empty now. :( My room is mostly boxes and crates at the moment, and I feel like I'm nowhere near done packing. Luckily I have some time before I go into work today to get some more done. I just hate packing and will pretty much look for any excuse not to do it. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels that way. :p

Anyway, usually at the end of the year, I like to reflect on what's happened and look to what the next year will bring. But since this blog is about my college program experience, that's what I'm going to focus on here. These last 5 months have been, overall, the most amazing 5 months of my life. I've had a lot of fun down here, met some incredible people that I will be friends with for the rest of my life, and I've learned a lot about myself along the way. I feel like I've grown up a bit, and I've learned to not let things get to me like they did before. I still stress out, but nowhere as much as I used to, and I've learned how to deal with my stress--mostly by exercising now. Which is a good thing. :)

This isn't to say that the past 5 months have been all good. There have definitely been some issues...mostly roommate issues. I'm not going to get into all of that because honestly, it's in the past, and I'm not dwelling on it anymore. I've learned that there was nothing I could do to really change anything, and people are going to act like they want to regardless of how I feel about it. It's not up to me to change people or to try and make them see the error of their ways. They have to want to see that. And if they don't, oh well. There's nothing I can do about it. So I'm not going to waste my time stressing over it.

I've also been homesick a lot, but that was to be expected, I suppose. It's definitely hard for me considering that I've pretty much lived at home until this point in my life. I'm close to my family, so not to have them here is hard. But, I'm glad I've gotten to experience life without having them right here. It's definitely allowed me to grow and see just how strong I can be. And I also know that I can make it on my own, which is something I needed to find out about myself.

These past 5 months have also been hard on my boyfriend and I. It's definitely been more of a roller coaster ride than before I moved down here. And there were times when I wasn't sure if we would survive this. But we have. And I know that we will come out stronger for this. He's been so supportive of me coming down here to do this program, and he's been really supportive of me staying here for another 4 months. I honestly couldn't ask for a better person to be with through all of this. He's amazing, and I am so lucky to have him. :)

While I will miss some aspects of the Fall program, I can't wait until next Thursday when I get to move into my new apartment and start this next chapter of my Disney journey. :) It's going to be another crazy ride, but I'm confident that it will be a blast. :)

So Happy New Year, everyone! May 2012 be even better  than 2011! :)

Housing for Extension

So, I went yesterday to get my housing assignment come January. I'm happy to announce that I will be rooming with one of my co-workers/best friends down here, and that I will be staying in Chatham! :) No changing complexes....just buildings. And the building I'll be moving to is a short walk from the one I'm currently in, so all is well with that. :) And I'll be on the first floor this time, which will make moving in so much easier.

Move out/in day is January 5. We have 3 hours to move everything from our old apartments into our new apartments. It shouldn't be a problem for me, but Kim (my future roomie!) is moving from a different complex. Hopefully she won't have too hard of a time getting everything moved.

I've already started packing up some stuff--mostly stuff for my parents to take back home with them when they come visit me next weekend. I hate the thought of moving again, but I'm excited for the next chapter in my Disney adventure. I still don't know what I'm going to do come May 11, but I'll figure it out. I have to.

Well that's all for now. I'm gonna get dressed and maybe head to Hollywood Studios for some drawing classes for a bit. :) Then it's back to the apartment to pack some more.

Have a magical day!

Update on Life

I suck at blogging here lately. >.<

Anyway, I finally heard back about the PI I applied for, and........I didn't get it. :( Oh well. At least I still have my extension, so I can stay here a little bit longer. :) That's definitely an upside.

Speaking of staying here, I go next Tuesday to find out my new housing placement. I know I'm going to be living with one of my co-workers (Kim) who is also extending. We've gotten pretty close during this program, so I'm excited that we'll be living together come January 4 (move-out/move-in date). We don't know who else we're going to be living with. I guess we'll find that out next week. :)

So, I know that my blog has been mostly about the positive experiences I've had while I've been down here. And for the most part, this has been a very positive experience for me. However, there are times when it gets hard being here and away from my family. Like the holidays. I have a pretty big family, and I'm used to spending Thanksgiving and Christmas around them. And I love being around them. So, it does suck that this year, I missed Thanksgiving, and I'm going to miss Christmas. And it makes it hard because I haven't really had a chance to incorporate some of my families traditions down here. However, my parents are coming back to visit me over Christmas weekend, so that will definitely help because I'll be around them on Christmas morning. And I'm also planning to Skype with my brother and his family that morning as we open our gifts. :) It's not going to be the same as actually being around my nieces and nephew when they open their presents, but it will definitely help. :)

And the program does a lot to make sure that we have a good holiday season down here, too. They know that we're all away from our families, so they try to make up for that. They had a Thanksgiving feast for us the week before Thanksgiving, and on December 20, they're putting on a special edition of Grocery Bingo. Which reminds me, go to at least one Grocery Bingo game while you're here. They are so much fun, and if you win, you get a ton of stuff. They definitely treat us well here. :)

Plus, Disney has some amazing holiday traditions to experience and be a part of. The Magic Kingdom has Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on select nights in November and December. That's probably one of my favorite traditions. I've been to the party 3 times in the past 10 years, and it always amazes me. :) Epcot has Holidays Around the World, which is my favorite thing to do. You get to walk around World Showcase and learn about the holiday traditions in the different countries. It's so cool! :) Hollywood Studios has the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights, which is amazing. I need to get over to the Studios to see those this year. And Animal Kingdom has Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade, which I need to go see as well.

So, even though I'm away from my family this year, there is a lot to do to still get in the holiday spirit. Although, I'm not exactly used to wearing shorts in December, which I was doing up until Wednesday night. Then we actually got a cold front, which meant I could finally wear jeans and a jacket outside. But we're apparently going to be warming back up here today. Our high for the day is 78 degrees. It never stays cold long here in Orlando. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about that. :p

Well, time to get ready for work! Have a magical day!