T-minus 2 Days.

If you include today, I have two more days before I leave.  Two more days I will live in the town of Normal where I have lived my entire life.  Two more days I get to spend in the home I've lived in since December of 1999.  Two more days I get to sleep in my big bed and wake up to my pretty purple walls.

Okay, so I know this is a bit dramatic.  It's not like I'm leaving forever.  Heck, I'll be back in a couple weeks for Labor Day weekend!  It's just that I know once I leave Saturday morning, home won't really feel like home anymore.  When I come back to visit, that will be all it is--a visit.  Once I leave, I'll begin establishing myself elsewhere, aka West Lafayette, Indiana.  Or more specifically...

Eleanor B. Shreve Residence Hall, Room 461

1275 Third Street
West Lafayette, IN 47906-4228

I love letters. (Hint hint).

Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely excited to go to school.  But it scares me to think about what I'm leaving behind.  In Regina Spektor's song, "Small Town Moon", she says, "How can I leave without hurting everyone who made me?".  Everyone I know here has done something, no matter how small, to touch my life, and it kills me to think that I'm leaving that, and possibly hurting people in the process.  Not purposefully of course.  But  I know my family especially will miss me, and I them.

Anyways, raise your hand if you've ever wanted to sit at a  computer for 2+ hours taking a mini-course on alcohol education?  No takers?  Didn't think so.  But that's how I spent my Sunday.  First I finished the dreaded Common Reading Program assignment (what's one question you'd ask the author and why? how are your views different from those of another character? how is your culture different than that of the characters? use sources and cite them...) and then I proceeded to watch a series of videos and read several fake blogs and IM conversations to get educated on alcohol.  I loved how much they tried to gear it toward teens with all the media and technology, but didn't they know AIM was sooooo junior high?  I guess it worked though...I scored 100% on my final exam for the mini course.  Nailed ittttt!

My new least favorite word is goodbye.  Shall I even list some of the goodbye events I've had to deal with recently?

• Camping with Michaella, Kelly, Brett, and Matt was basically a goodbye, because I won't see any of them before I go.
• I hung out with my sister and all the girls I grew up with in my neighborhood last night.  I can't believe that I had to say goodbye to these girls who are practically my sisters!
• The girls and I had a "Last Hurrah" sleepover last weekend where we had to say goodbye to Jessica. Then some of us were together tonight to just spend some time together.  Nothing special; we just like to prolong our goodbyes apparently!  I'll see some of them tomorrow and even Friday too.
• My neighbor across the street who was basically a second mother to me growing up came over today to wish me luck because she'll be on vacation the day I leave.
• Today was my last day of babysitting so I said goodbye to my kids, Faith and Heath, as well as the 2 neighbor girls, Lauren and Julianna, and their babysitter, Annie, who we spent a lot of time with this summer.

As rapidly as my time here is disappearing, it honestly still hasn't sunk in yet.  You'd think it would, beings that I have most of my supplies I need, I've been saying all these goodbyes, and I've stopped wearing cute clothes because I need to pack my school clothes and don't want to be doing laundry right up to when I go.  (Okay, you caught me; when did I care about looking cute all summer?  I'm still just wearing shorts and t-shirts!).  But I still don't feel like I'm leaving!  It really probably won't hit me until I spend my first night at school...or maybe the second night since my parents will still be there the first night.

I can't seem to say it enough: I'm so incredibly blessed that I get to go to college with my best friend.  She came over a little today to give me my belated birthday/going away present (my birthday is in March, haha).  She had made me a big book full of pictures of us and captions to go along with them.  It was seriously the cutest thing ever.  If I knew I wouldn't be seeing much of her the next few years, I'd have been bawling my eyes out.  I don't know what I would do without her.  I love her to death!

Rlajsrenaldfkjgaeiuerhbvnkseuiwri I still have to pack my clothes for school.  I. Can't. Do. This.  What the heck am I supposed to bring?  Indiana has the same bipolar weather as Illinois, so do I need pants? Shorts? Sweatshirts? Winter parkas?  I don't knowww!  I know, I know; first world problems.

This was such a random post.  I hope you were able to follow along!