I have been SO sick the past few weeks. The illness kind of passed through my dorm in a wave, so I’m not the only one who was miserable. I visited health services, but I don’t think they could do much for me. It’s a virus, so it just has to kind of work its way out. I just wish it would work a little faster. Today marks the two week point. But I AM getting better. TIP: When you come to college, bring lots of medicine with you. I had no medicines, and no money to BUY medicines, so I just used what health services gave me until it was gone, which was about a week and a half ago. A better tip: Stay healthy, don’t get sick, and don’t share food/drinks with anyone.

As you can imagine, Riddle has been pretty busy the past few weeks. Lots of people were taking tests, preparing for exams, and Cassie and I had to do some shopping – we made little gifts for our buddies on the hall. That really made me feel all Christmasy. We just got them lots of candy and some personalized ornaments and holiday stickers. I think they liked them.

I’ve been really anxious to get home the past week, probably because finals have been kind of stressful. And I miss my family and friends back home.

I actually spent almost an entire day studying last weekend… Crazy. But it paid off. And now all my finals are DONE and I can relax at last. So my first college exams experience was tough, but not traumatizing. I was exempt from a few exams – If you are not persuaded to do well in classes just to do well, or to please your parents, or because you want a great GPA, then DO IT FOR THIS REASON!!! There is nothing better than having an idle exam day to just sit around and do nothing, especially when you know you will be cramming the next day.

First semester is over. I think I did really well. But everyone says the first semester is always REALLY easy, so I’m a little scared about next semester, especially since I will have a demanding course load. Overall, it was a success: – Made a lot of friends – Became familiar with Daytona Beach – Managed to keep myself out of trouble – Got a good job – Established myself as a good student – Didn’t gain the “freshman fifteen” – And most importantly… I made a lot of really great friends.

Happy Holidays, everyone!