There I was. Sitting in an airplane thousands of feet in the air, staring at the magnificent Sierra Nevada below me. The view was just breathtaking. I looked at the houses at the base of the mountains. Minuscule. I thought about the early pioneers to California, and how much of a pain it must have been to cross the Sierras.
My thoughts shifted to reflections of the past eight weeks or so. Here I was, sitting in an airplane on my way back to Berkeley. Where did the time go? I guess I was just enjoying winter break so much that time became nearly non-existent. Or at least paid very little attention to.
Never before had I relaxed as much as I did over this winter break. Absolutely no homework, minimal work for school extracurriculars, no iPhone nuclear silo alarm clock shattering my REM sleep cycle. Simply amazing.
And all the fun times with family and friends. High school friends, church friends, Berkeley friends. A perfect fusion of past, present, and future.
I felt that up to New Year’s, so many fun things went on. Holidays with family, New Year’s Eve hangout and sleepover at church, nerf wars, winter camp, lunch with high school buddies. Looking back, things were a blur. Then came part two of winter break – the chill weeks that followed New Year’s.
Even though our house flooded and we spent the entire break getting it re-piped and remodeled, I could care less. I was with my family, we were at a luxurious golf resort, and I slept in until noon every day.
These weeks were also interspersed with visits to my friends at UC Irvine and UCLA, where I got to experience what other colleges were like and just hang out.
And how could I forget the Disneyland trip? It’s just awesome that nearly our ENTIRE floor from Clark Kerr showed up. I was utterly impressed and had a blast.
As some turbulence hit, I was back at the airplane. I could hear the drone of the turbines, the announcement that no drinks would be served. We apologize for the inconvenience…
My mind wondered off again. What does the new semester hold for me? I don’t know what to expect and I’m a bit nervous. But I’m excited. I get to take new and hopefully interesting classes, continue to meet new people and make friends, and learn more about being on my own.
This semester, I want to continue to be the best I can be. I want to be a dedicated student who still has time for family, friends, church, and work. I want to meet new people and make lasting friendships.
It definitely won’t get easier school-wise, but now that I have a semester of college under my belt, I feel that things will definitely be easier from the get-go. And that is what I’m looking forward to.
Pretty soon, the plane hits a downward course. The city of Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area loom into view. And I’m happy. Happy that I’ve had my rest and fun, and ready for whatever comes next.
Berkeley, part 2, here I come!
Visit my blog at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
Glad you started blogging man. I’ll be reading.