I know I am definitely not the first to do this, but it is something I have recently been introduced to and I am so dang happy about it! It is the ever-elegant Biola Breakfast that consists of Lucky Charms and Captain Crunch. Together. SO GOOD. One more reason to love college.

A room full of memories

But on the occasions that I escape the Biola Bubble and make it home for the weekend or the night, I come into my room, worn with memories and lived-in, but stripped of some of the things that made it so mine . My walls have random bald spots because all my best posters are in my dorm. But the purple comforter on my bed is the same one I grew up with, that tear in the corner still there and the small stain from my lunch some summers ago still visible. My headboard remains layered with the books of my teen years, and my Fallbrook High School lanyard still hangs from my lamp as if I had just gotten home from school and set it there. My shoes are piled on the floor-shelves in my closet, as though I had just kicked them off after a full day of adventure.

This room is like a ghost. Not alive or in use, but still holding all the remains of what used to inhabit it. It’s there to remind me of the past, so I don’t forget where I came from, but also serves to show me how far I have come. For example, it reminded me how much my musical spectrum has broadened.

The Jesse McCartney conflict

When I settle down in this comfortable place I realize all my good CD’s are at school and if I want music from my stereo, I have to dig into the dark and embarrassing abyss of the CD case I have had for a few too many years and find something decent. As I sit here doing homework, writing a blog, trying to read, I am endlessly distracted by Jesse McCartney’s poppy voice because his was the most tolerable CD I could find. And Hilary Duff’s tracks remind me more of saying words for a long time than actually singing.

Trying to read the book of Ezra and write a Talley-approved worksheet on it becomes difficult when Ryan Cabrera’s broken heart is drowning and suffocating my taste in music.
You take what you can get, I guess, and being at home is worth the price of my tween music obsessions. When worse comes to worst, I can pop my headphones into my laptop and listen to some real music.

Couches and cable TV

Another fantastic thing about being home is cable TV, as I was reminded when I brought a few girls from my floor home to visit. All we wanted to do was sit on the couch and veg out. It was fantastic.

And now I’m here, it’s Thanksgiving break, and God’s given me more than I have the decency to be thankful for. Especially since this semester started, I have become so much more aware of how blessed I am. Seeing the places and situations others have come out of, or going to prayer meetings and SMU chapels has made me realize that just having a home and a parent or two who will take care of me when I get there is a stupendous blessing. Though I can’t imagine my life any other way (because I’ve never had to) I am reminded to be thankful for each thing. Even though it can be tough to remember, I’m sure trying!