Harvest is Ended

"Harvest is ended, and summer is gone," quoted Anne Shirley.

It certainly is. Today is my last day of summer, although I'm spending it working at Bella. Tomorrow I have orientation for all graduate students, and Tuesday morning a history department orientation. But the Anne Shirley quote is appropriate, as my mother and I just got back from Prince Edward Island a few days ago. We had a beautiful time; we saw two Anne musicals, visited Green Gables, the L.M. Montgomery Museum and Birthplace, took a Matthew's Carriage Ride, and spent a day at Avonlea Village (a bit like Rev City, except with Anne of Green Gables). We ate Beavertails and Cow's Ice Cream, and we wore our Anne Hats, complete with red braids. We had lobster dinners for cheap, and took a coastal drive all over the East side of the Island. We went to a sketch comedy show geared towards Canadians (we got about half of the jokes). We had quality time that we've been missing this summer with me living away from home permanently... how odd to think. We saw stars-- oh, the stars! I've never seen so many in my life, I don't think, not even in Jefferson City! I could see the Milky Way, even! The weather was cool and clear. It reminded me of October, which made me long for autumn, though not for school.

Speaking of which, I kind of have classes picked out. It's been a bit of a mess, because one of the required courses for my MA program I took as an undergrad, and there seems to be no point in repeating it, but I have to get it officially waived before I can pick out a second elective, though I easily found two electives that I would love to take-- The Golden Age in Spain, and readings in the American Revolution. The last class came highly recommended. I suppose everything will be sorted by Wednesday (it must be!), but it has been stressful already. Plus, they told me that without approval I cannot keep my job at Bella and have a stipend, so I'm waiting to hear back on that. I really want to keep this job. Although, I have a feeling I will have a very full schedule even without it, so I guess it's really up to what the dean decides. My schedule has gotten even fuller with these frequent trips to Richmond, and God-willing they will continue. :)

In other news, Stephen has moved in, so I have a roommate officially! I think we will have lots of fun, plus he gave me lunch today which was much appreciated-- chicken and mashed potatoes. I certainly didn't have time to cook anything, or any food in the house to cook, so it was good of him to give me food. It's very nice, though, to come home to someone in the house and to settle into an hour of talking and laughing. Much better than being alone all of the time.

And that's about it. Tomorrow I begin the big adventure of graduate school, meeting new students, learning about new requirements, and trying to get back into the academic swing of things. Hasn't this summer flown, yet seemed so interminably long? Looking back to beach week I think that must have been a decade ago, yet the fact that classes are starting again has taken me by surprise.

I suppose alot has happened. I went to lunch with my friend Courtney the other day and he said, "Do you feel as if we've been expected to really grow up alot in these past three months? More than at any other time?" and I think he's right. At graduation I still had that shelter and mantle of childhood, but now-- now I'm a viable adult, a supposedly contributing member of society. Of course, I'm still in school, but I don't have to be and graduate school is so much different from undergrad. Only three months ago things were so incredibly different: much heartache hadn't been suffered, many responsibilities hadn't fallen onto my shoulders, and my closest friends were always no more than a short walk from my bedroom. Not that it's been a bad summer-- in fact, I feel much happier now than I did at graduation. But it's been a summer of learning and growing and adapting and adjusting, and while the outcome has been positive, these are hard times, and I have no doubt that they will only get worse before they get better. Not worse-- that's not the word I want-- I have no doubt that things will only get more challenging before I find my stride. But it's there. I've caught glimpses of what I want from life, and those glimpses are enough for me to keep going on. Maktub.