So maybe I'm not the best at keeping up with a blog--there are worse things in life, aren't there?
I'm 13 days out from leaving behind my two homes (because once you live in Chapel Hill, it will always feel like home) for a two-week love affair with New Zealand (wherein I ultimately decide to drop out of school and become a sheep herder) and a five-month stay Down Under. I'm less nervous than I was when I last posted--I don't know whether to attribute that to the fact that I've nearly finalized all my plans for New Zealand or to the immense cabin fever that continues to close in on me.
I've been at home for nearly two months now. As the child of divorced parents, I've split my time running back and forth from one parent to the other and filling my days with books, movies and missed television shows. I've had more genuinely enjoyable time with my dad than I've had in years (at least since I've left for school) and I've gotten a closer look at my increasingly goofy mom and her continually emerging quirks (her dance moves are getting better, I think). I've now seen half of the nominees for Best Picture at the Academies (and, surprisingly, I have yet to be disappointed), rewatched New Girl two times over ("I hope you like feminist rants, cuz they're kind of my thing"), three-fourths of Wes Anderson's filmography, and read more non-school-related things than I have in nearly five months. And while this break from the everyday stressors of class, multiple part-time jobs and worrying about paying for rent/groceries/etc. has been precisely the break I've needed for some time now, I do kind of miss the routines and familiar faces of the university life I've grown accustomed to.
It's odd returning to my childhood room as a long-term visitor--it's less comfortable. I'm not living out of a suitcase (yet), but this isn't really my home anymore. I miss the independence of having a key to an apartment I pay for, my friends being no more than 10 minutes away and even the familiar environment of the classroom. While I could do without the 2 a.m. coffee breaks, the bullshit papers that somehow coalesce into something mildly articulate and the truly discouraging cold, rainy, miserable days that make me question my overly optimistic initial desire to go to school somewhere other than Southern California (or anywhere, for that matter), I do miss learning and I do miss all of the more pleasant aspects of Chapel Hill that I frequently take for granted.
But with just over two weeks left I'm not going to count down the days until I go or envy the life I know I could be having had I chosen not to go abroad. I have to decide what to do with the time that is given me (you didn't think I was going to post about New Zealand and NOT mention Lord of the Rings, did you?)--and I've decided to spend it as I have the past few weeks: enjoying the invaluable time I haven't had with my parents in years, appreciating the comforts of a home that will soon be 8,500+ miles away and remembering to love the sound of silence that will soon grow unfamiliar. Adventure is waiting--but it can hold on just a little longer.
