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! :)