Basking in the Light

[CW Merv]

Okay, so I'm normally in the middle of the spectrum. I don't get really high about stuff, and I'm rarely so far down in the dumps that I can't see the sky. I have moments of each, of course. The time IU beat Duke in the tournament, the first time I ever rode Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, the 24 hour drives south (not so much on the way back north) to Florida on Spring Break, that Giant Receiver catching that pass on his helmet at the Super Bowl so that the Patriots could finally fall, and watching a French Open Championship between Maria Sharapova and Ana Ivanovic rank in as definite high points. I need look no further than this past August for an ultra-low. When my family headed home with me sitting in my dorm room at IU for the first time, I thought I was going to die. The time I now refer to as Black June, when my family and I spent about half our time in Jasper as my grandfather lost his hard-fought battle with Cancer, also easily qualifies.

With these few exceptions, however, I'm not someone who gets hyper-actively happy or miserably depressed. However, I've found myself on a new plateau of heights lately. This past week and a half, I have continuously been truly happy. I came home to see my friends and family in Greenwood to celebrate my sister's and my friend's birthdays (the same day, at that!), and then I returned to Bloomington to start a very relaxing week. With the Spring Concert behind me, I didn't have to worry about Choir Practice every day, and I could focus on having more fun with my friends. I registered successfully for next Fall's classes, heard the good news that two of my better friends here at IU have gotten engaged, and of course heard names like Capobianco, Moore, and Van Treese getting thrown around on my favorite Internet blog. Yeehaw!

I don't know how long this time of sunshine will last. I'm not one to stay up or down for too long at a time, but I can sincerely say that this is a good point. I always sort of assumed that what people told me about college being the best time of your life would kick in some day in the distant future, but maybe it's starting. I don't know, but I guess time will tell. Until then, peace and joy to all!

[Julie Sturgeon]

Well, at least that upset person we left at IU is disappearing. College is better than high school.

But I'm now going to let you in on the next big secret in life: Today is usually better than yesterday but not as good as tomorrow. There are clinkers in there, for sure -- that's why it's called life -- but overall, if you are a happy person, when something changes, everything within you struggles to get back to that happy state. I'd say you're finally getting comfortable with this part of your life, and your attitude/lifestyle is swinging back to "normal."

Just in time, of course, for summer break. Can't wait until you're home and we can bug the snot out of you at work.