Like Summer Break is Gone

I'm ready for summer vacation to start. But it's over. Because I had to be the "crazy home schooler who actually plans ahead and does school over the summer" (according to Luke M.). But the past couple days, as I have submitted my communications project and took the last test, I consoled myself with the hope that if the next 8 weeks go as quickly as the past 8 weeks, it won't seem like I've done school for 16 weeks straight. Besides, I've done school that long with no breaks before.

Then this morning I was exploring my classes that start Monday, and going through the course schedules. And suddenly the realization hit, as I planned it all out. And I got this funny feeling in the bottom of my stomach. I attempted a bit of nervous laughter, and tried to fake myself out with a crooked smile. But the truth can't be denied. Which is that I will be doing school straight until December 16. A whole 17 weeks. Compounded on the 8 past weeks. For a grand total of 25 weeks of break-less school.

The problem is this (skip this paragraph if you don't want to read a schedule--it just helps to write the problem out). I am taking 5 classes: Psych 101 (general education elective), Bible 105 (elective [woot woot! First elective ever!! I actually get to choose what courses I want to take at least]), Bible 110 (elective) Business 223 (elective [personal finance--figured it is practical and would be handy]), and Algebra 110 (elective). I'll take psych and bible 105 the first 8 week subterm, and business and bible 110 the second 8 week subterm. Algebra is a 17 week class though, so it spans both subterms. The problem is that the one week break included in algebra does not coincide with the Fall break between the 8 week subterms. The algebra break doesn't come until Thanksgiving, which is when I'll be in the middle of business and bible 110. Thus, there will be constant school until Christmas break.

God help me.

Okay okay, maybe it's not all that bad. It's just that I'm hoping my brain will be okay, because at a certain point it will get frustrated with being used primarily on the right side, seeing as I'm a left-brained person (hence the blog). And I will probably turn into a boring, gloomy, silent, stressed, uber-practical basement troll. I turned into one last semester and I didn't turn back until a week after it ended. Mom said she knew it had ended because I used the words "Amish" and "it's electric--boogie woogie woogie woogie" in the same sentence accompanied by a miniature surfer dance move. So we shall see how long I can evade transformation back into the hideous troll who forgets there is more to life than the next "A," and does nothing fun.

Fun stuff like build sand castles! Last night was rather suck-y because it seemed like everything was going downhill. Summer coming to an end. Andrew going back to school. Not having done much traveling this summer. Only having a single, 5 passenger car for all seven of us. The ever present financial woes. Watching the verse "Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household" be played out in multiple ways...not with myself personally...but...it's everywhere.

And in times such as those, you have several options. You can get angry. You can cry. You can pray (good one for anything, but I'd personally just start crying so it's fairly synonymous with the latter). Or, you can do something productive, and not vent the emotion, but let it dissipate slowly, channeling the frustration into something good. Sorry if that sounds zen-like. But at least I didn't go get out the yoga mat and attempt levitation. Nope, I put on my swimsuit, went outside in the driveway by the woods, and dug around in the pile of sand from the gas people (the sand they use for fracking--they had some left over, and since Grandpa and them are best friends, they gave some to us). If a psychologist was watching me, they probably would have said something like I was having a nervous breakdown and retreating to childlike behavior by doing something comfortable and familiar. But I am going to say that it was not that, and that I was just searching for fun, and grabbed the first opportunity by its shirttails. The end result, despite lots of thunder and intermittent rain showers (not that thunder could do anything...I just wanted to mention it lol), was this.

Then the sun came out for a second as it was setting...and boom. Pretty light effect :)

Pretty fun, and the process cheered me up enormously. Everyone needs to build at least one sandcastle over the summer, so I got mine.