I just finished up my final exams for this quarter!

My Calculus and Bio exams were yesterday and I think I did well on those. Today I had Chemistry and Philosophy and while I'm confident I did well on both... I very nearly had a panic attack in the Chemistry exam. But I managed to calm down and do the exam. So... win I guess.

And my mom's driving up tonight and as soon as my boyfriend is done with his last exam tomorrow at 10-ish we're driving home to Baltimore. Woo!

So I have to take a few General Education/Liberal Arts classes. Which is cool with me, I like the humanities.

I took a Sociology class that fulfilled my "Social Liberal Arts Perspective" in fall quarter and this quarter I'm taking a Philosophy course to fulfill my "Ethical Liberal Arts Perspective".

I IB/AP-credited my way out of an "Artistic Liberal Arts Perspective" (aka something I would have actually loved to take because fate is a serious douchecanoe)

and I think two Writing Seminars.

I would have been taking German to fulfill my "Global Liberal Arts Perspective" but that isn't happening, whatever, I'll take it next year.

So here's where it gets... stupid. I also have to take a random "General Education Elective". Any one I want. I was hoping I could use that to take some kind of arts class. I was looking at "Visual Arts Elective" classes and... none of them seemed to have ANYTHING TO DO WITH ACTUALLY DOING ART.

I've been a student at RIT for four months now. I've been trying to make connections but it's a struggle. I get nervous and scared and avoid things. I feel like I don't know how to handle myself in social situations.

This is the first full day I've been back since break. Walking around campus today I realized how many connections I've made. A girl I've never met surprised me by talking to me in Gracie's and we ate together. I waved at people I'd met once or twice, I had conversations with people I knew better, and I generally felt... at home. 

I don't feel like an outsider. I feel like a part of the community here. I feel welcomed and liked. I'm still not completely steady on my feet socially but... I'm hopeful.

It's a good feeling.

Also my floormates and I are trying to work out an issue on our floor. I'll keep ya'll posted on how it goes, because that seems like a useful college skill. Anyway two girls were on our floor for the first quarter, but they left to do study abroad so now there are two new girls on our floor. One of them (heretofore referred to as A) is ALWAYS in the lounge, ALWAYS playing music and ALWAYS singing along and it's really annoying especially since it's everyone's lounge, and sometimes other people want to be in there and do things without the soundtrack. We're planning to talk to our RA right now but I'm considering telling my floormates that I'll talk to A if they want me to because it seems like it'd be better and more mature to work it out amongst ourselves. Maybe I'm wrong though. I may not even say anything.

Thinking to myself, "I don't mind dirt and I'm lazy, fuck shoes"

I forgot it was cold. And wet.