Good times with great people

I could not think of a decent title for this blog entry, but I believe the lame one I came up with is fairly self-explanatory.  Although I did not get to go see Allie in Alicante, Chelsie, Karonica, Lindsey and I had a great weekend in Nerja.  Nerja is about an hour and a half from Granada, and is a cute little beach town that reminds me a little of Cape Cod.  The beach was nice (and topless, yet again) and we managed to squeeze one terrific and sunny beach day in before the rain came on Saturday.  I am tan! And I am probably heading to Salobreña (another beach town) on Thursday or Friday for one last day trip.  How lucky am I?

Chelsie and I jumping at the beach! She is a dancer, so check out her form and compare it to mine...

Of course, I also have an exam tomorrow, but my professor told us not to study for it.  The exam can only raise our grade, and I have had a feeling all semester that she doesn't actually read any of the things we write anyways. My motivation is at an all-time low.  Next semester will certainly be a rude awakening, but I'm hoping Emi and Carly's crazy science major tendencies will force me to study as well.  Exams here are mostly only a formality, and I just want them over so I can go to the beach, shop, and explore Granada before I leave in almost one week. (!!)

I can't believe this is almost over.  Part of the reason why this past weekend was so great was because I was completely and entirely myself.  Not to say I haven't been this whole semester, but there is a level of comfort that you can only get after spending a lot of time with people/friends.  Now, I feel completely comfortable with my friends here and there isn't anything I have left to hide from them (not that there ever was, but I hope you get what I mean).  I mean, now pretty much everyone knows about my slight OCD with my retainers (I can't sleep without them...) and how weird I am most of the time.

I am also sad to be ending this semester because I have gotten to spend so much time with Hannah. We barely ever get to see each other since she goes to Bucknell and doesn't live in Simsbury, and only manage to squeeze in a few hang outs/catch up sessions throughout the year.  She also so happens to be some sort of genius, and has saved my butt a few times with her fluent Spanish.  Luckily, though, podemos hablar en español ahora, vale? :)  Also, Hannah has scarlet fever or something ridiculous right now, so FEEL BETTER! I warned her about the Spanish doctors and their medicine, and told her not to let them leech her or something ridiculous, but she is apparently having better experiences. Hopefully she will be better to accompany me on my last few nights out in Granada!

One of my oldest and bestest friends :)

Currently, my Señora is annoying me slightly because 1. she moves around all my things when I go on trips for the weekend and 2. I didn't eat the entire potato she left me today, so she threw a mini fit. Sorry I am not hungry! But honestly, I got fairly lucky with her, even though she is old and decaying.  Listening to some other stories, I am more than grateful for the hot water and constant Wi-Fi I have in my house! Funny side note: Lindsey was unable to take a shower last week sometime because she walked into the bathroom, and found two LARGE plants taking up residence in her shower.  Why? Just, why? Apparently, her señora simply forgot to take them out of the bathtub. Oops!

I am a little ready to go home today, only because the UConn in Florence group got home today, and so did Lindsay. With everyone home and reuniting with their friends and families, I want to see everybody too! At the same time, however, going home does not seem like a reality. I don't think it's going to feel like reality until I am sitting in my house in Simsbury while watching Sportscenter and eating pancakes.  Then I will actually be home, and Granada will be part of my past.

That's a sad thought, actually. I don't ever want to forget the feelings I've had here, and I absolutely do not want to lose this feeling of absolute happiness with myself.  I hope to carry the things I've learned here, and the confidence I've gained, into this summer, next semester, and life after college (woa. now THERE is a scary thought, which I have been thinking about a lot lately since many of my friends are graduating this year).

The next chapter in my life, though, after a short 3 and a half weeks in Simsbury, will be a summer in Washington, DC, interning at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. I am unbelievably excited to have another amazing opportunity, and I am thrilled I get to live with Shannon, one of my best friends from high school.  As a girl who used to cry for home at summer camp (whether that camp was 5 days or 2 weeks), I sure have come a long way.

A big congratulations to all the graduating seniors today at UConn.  I will miss the ones I grew close with, and I wish I could've been there to celebrate the end of your college careers! :) Come and visit next year-my apartment is your apartment!

Also, a BIG shout out to my amazing soccer team for volunteering for the Special Olympics Husky Classic at UConn last weekend.  We participate in this event as referees/scorekeepers every year, and it's always a fun day.  I wish I could've been there as well, but I'm so happy so many of you turned out and helped a good cause! :)

men & women's FC UConn (well, some of them). I may have creeped this off of Facebook, but I loved it so much that I just had to!

So, I have 8 days from tomorrow and I am going to make the best of it.

Lauren

P.S. I managed to force myself to watch Mariano Rivera's rough fall, and his press conference afterwards.  I almost wanted to cry (him saying he wasn't sure if he was going to return felt like the end of my childhood!), but he said one thing that really stuck out to me: "If [the injury] had to happen like that, at least it happened doing something I loved to do...there's a reason things happen, and you just have to fight through it." He's 100% right, and that quote applies to everything in life, not just his injury.  The man is amazing, and the reason why he was most upset was because he felt like he was letting his team down. Now there is a professional athlete with his priorities in line.  There's a reason why he is my favorite! :)