My current mood: The Bear, 1:5 16.25

Hello world!

Coming to y’all from my actual dorm building as opposed to the library today. It’s finals week which means I get up every day at 5:30 and stare at the wall for a hot minute as a treat. Like, me and the “final grade calculator” tab on my Google page have been attached at the hip. My brain is like an episode of The Bear if Florence and the Machine wrote the soundtrack. 

That being said, I did escape my neighborhood yesterday. In what I knew was a poor decision, go downtown, near Christmas, to go to a tourist hotspot. Yep, that's right folks, the Chicago Cristkindlemart. Where for the low price of absolutely free you can get poked and pushed three ways to Sunday and become nauseous from the overwhelming stench of hot brie cheese. I, as a part of my group, lasted about 20 minutes in which I got very profusely apologized to by a grown man for bumping into me. Thank you sir, but I have not spent a day in my life as someone taller than 5 '3, I’m used to being absolutely mowed down by grown men who don’t watch where they’re going. 

To put that experience into further context, the CTA red line has been a little off the rails (no pun intended). So on our commute, we did have to move train cars as a patron sitting across from us decided to partake in the smoking of some unidentified substance. Our lovely Sarah did provide us with a ride to Culver’s and a ride home. She also took my plant (that I have kept healthy all this semester) to her home in the suburbs. So, Sarah, I don’t even know if you read these, thank you!

For my next gripe; The sun setting at 4:30 PM. That’s it. Enjoy the sun being up at 7 AM, but seriously, I get out of class and it's nighttime. I sit at my desk, and wonder “Jeez, is it already bedtime???” Nope, 5:15. I read that people on the Easternmost side of their timezone sleep more than people on the Western side and I do think that's true. I’m getting to the point where I go to bed at 9:15 because I’m bored. Plus, every time I look out the window into the darkness I can’t help but think that I look like Laura Ingles Wilder waiting for Pa to return from his harrowing journey into town. Sidenote: Looking back those books were crazy, I read about a dirt-poor family, and all their misfortune and thought to myself “Yeah, I could do that”. Like, girl, you would’ve starved or died from one of the 15 thousand blizzards that gave the whole family frostbite.

Anywho, I am more than thrilled to be going back to EL for a break, mostly because I don’t have to think about school. Also, pasta for breakfast, yum. 

Reflecting on this semester, it’s been a net positive. I’ve been enjoying my time both in Chicago and Loyola. I’ve met some great people, and done some exciting things. I’m not thrilled with the honors program here, but I’m hoping that things will improve next semester with a better professor. So yeah, in short, things have been good, and here's to hoping that will continue. 

Well, time to get back to my math, history, and TW: BUSINESS INFO SYSTEMS- the bane of my existence.

See you all soon!

-Gretchen