well, my lovelies, i finished my french oral today, which means that i'm officially done with my sophomore year. now it's time to pack up my things and hang out with my friends before we leave each other for six months, and for a year and a half when it comes to anna and allison. here are some highlights of the year...

- ELDER: we had our ups and downs living here, though it was mostly downs. at least we survived though. i said to meghan, "it wasn't so bad," and she replied, "no, it was horrible." we never got to know our next-door neighbors, or even anyone on our floor, which was ok, because we still have our own friends. the only contact that i made with one of the guys next door was when he asked to borrow our vacuum a few days ago. we had to deal with screaming fights, inappropriate drawings on our door, the drunk girl who got into bed with meghan, guys randomly coming into our room looking for girls to hook up with, fire alarms at 2am in the rain, lights that never worked, an even more disgusting bathroom, offensive posters, the weirdest funk in the laundry room, the arduous trek to classes, and much, much more. but looking on the positive side, as i always do, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.
- CLASSES: nothing spectacular, and a lot more work than last year, but that's to be expected. at least writing all those papers makes me feel a little smarter and not like i'm wasting my parents' money.
- NSTV: i've gushed about it so much, what else is there to say? many thanks to nafis and allison for making me go to the shows last year and getting me involved. i'm such an nstv nerd now, i even got the "outstanding crew member award" at the banquet last wednesday. i'm looking forward to getting back into it when i come back from london next year, because i love those people.
- DANCE: i'm actually getting better. wow. i hope i can continue it in london. and i'm definitely doing danceworks again next year.
- WILLARD: with the new members of my pledge family, and hanging out with nafis, i was at willard a lot. maren once asked me, "why don't you just live here?"
- ALPHA CHI: i definitely hung out at the house and with my sisters a lot more this year, which was great. since i lived up north, i would just come to the house to sit around, take a nap, or play the piano in between classes (katie: "you're really making that facility-user's fee worth it"). going to the steak 'n shake with my favorite juniors is a tradition that definitely needs to be repeated next year. that, and taboo.
- MAREN: my pledge kid is the greatest, i love being a proud mommy! i got to spoil her so much, because she's worth it. this "wild thing" is really funny, smart, and sweet, and i'll miss her!
- ODWALLA: this juice became my new best friend. i am now addicted to the organic orange juice. yesterday i drank two bottles of it (and a cup of fresh-squeezed from einstein's).
- NAFIS: my year would have definitely been less interesting without this crazy baboon. so so happy that we got to know each other this year.
- FRIENDS: though we were separated by a whole campus, we did our best to stay close. and the new additions into our group were very welcome. we had a lot of fun (a bunch of 20-year-olds watching "muppets in space"? and they weren't high? weird...)
- MEGHAN: ahhh, what would i do without my wonderful roomie? my life would be so boring without her and the butt dance, zookeeper, super nintendo, my so-called life, lesbian movie night, pottery painting, and everything else. have fun next year with your gay lover who won't vacuum and will pee on your futon. i know you'll miss me when jake's primping all the time and making you tell him that he's pretty. and even though i don't say it, i'll miss you too! and no one can replace you. there, are you happy? :)

saying goodbye will be hard, but it's only six months! before i can say "bob's your uncle," i'll be back here!