And...go!

I should be reading about three different textbooks right now, but I'm waiting endlessly for washing machines to open up downstairs so I can wash my clothes and sheets...so I'm calling that an excuse for blogging.

I'm back up at CSUN (for those who didn't know), and actually quite excited to be so. It will be my final year - not only in Northridge, but in school PERIOD. That's it, two more semesters! I will be done and finished with all my required classes and work to received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism come May 2011, and then freedom is just beyond the door.

I can't believe I'll be graduating college. I'll be the first woman in my direct family to receive a Bachelor's degree (I believe...?), and 18 years of schooling will finally be OVER. I'm beyond excited - I'm tripping out. It's enticing, the world out there. And I finally will be able to go experience it leash-free (well, except for the whole money part, of course).

I have finalized my plans to move to Europe (Netherlands) at the end of next summer, so about one year from now. I'll be living with Bjorn in Eindhoven and we're going to travel southern Europe at first - mainly Italy, Spain, and Greece - and then settle down. He has his job and I'm going to try to tutor/teach English at the local high schools. It will be a challenge, but I'm up for challenges. And I'll have him and his family for close support and comfort, so I know I'll be in good hands.

As for missing my family, friends, and home? I can't even fathom how much I will - I know it will be unbearably painful at times. But I have to do this - I NEED to. Since I was little, I've been a dreamer and my limit was beyond the sky. If I don't grab the bull by its horns and go face the world, throw myself out into the unknown and step out of my box, how will I ever grow up?? Moving to Northridge was the first step in that, and small as it was, it helped condition me to get accustomed to living away from my comfort zone and establishing my own routine.

Europe is a far bigger step, I know. But I'm not jumping in headfirst without a parachute, and I'm not hopping on a plane without any idea of what I'm doing. I'm prepared, I'm informed, I've got plenty of help. As far as being brave? Well, I definitely need to ask for help from the powers that be for that one. I know God will provide if I ask with my heart. But it's up to me to take the initiative.

Anyway, so that's the future - what's going on now?

Well, I love my new dorm. Love it. It's far more comfortable than last year - it feels like an actual home. We have a kitchen and hallways and general little things that one takes for granted, that make a place feel more like home than a hospital room. And I'm rooming with two of the same roommates as last year, since we all got along so well, and the fourth girl (who's new) is AWESOME. Very like me, actually: she loves 80's music and saving the planet and animals, and women's rights. So we have a lot to talk about. :)

This semester will be extremely busy for me, though, I can already tell. I have a job (returning from last year), so that's a HUGE plus - the whole money stress nightmare from last year will be absent this time around. But work Mon-Fri plus five classes (all a handful each) means it'll be nonstop, go, go, go until December. I think I'm ready though - I'm prepared to kick butt and get this done.

So that's the update for now - lots of exciting things on the horizon. Life is going pretty well right now, and I'm deeply grateful. Stability is precious, I've learned.

So here we go - let the final year commence!