Happy almost new year!!
Oh the things I could write about in December. Probably my favorite month so far.
I started the month back in my hometown of College Station, Texas!!! (gig ‘em forever, horns down, whoop, farmers fight, you guys know the drill by now) It was my first time back since starting the program, and it was maybe my favorite weekend of my life. If you took a shot every time I said “this is the best weekend ever!!” well… you’d be unwell. I arrived in College Station at 10pm on Friday where I immediately went to my old college house to surprise two of my roommates (the other three knew I was coming!) I’ve never done a surprise homecoming before (I’ve literally lived in College Station my whole life…) but WOW it shall not be my last one!! Tears!! Hugs!! Screaming and jumping up and down!! Oh how I missed shmack shack!! A place I was known and loved, where I twinned with my roommates, watched a million movies on our hand-me-down couch, hosted parties and threw pickles over the roof, chased racoons out of our ceiling, had first-date debriefs late at night, screamed over cockroaches in the kitchen, made & ate meals together, and chased our dog around the neighborhood when he’d jump over the fence. Side note, the air in College Station is so soft. I can’t explain it any other way than that, but I simultaneously hate it and love that it’s so different from anywhere else I’ve been. (I can only say I love it now that I don’t live there anymore. I resented it so much when I was there). Saturday was full of more people and family Thanksmas fun and spinning under the giant Christmas tree in central park and riding the Aggie Spirit Bus again (fun fact I used to be a bus driver) and ahhhh it was so good!! BUT moving ahead to Sunday, I ran the Bryan/College Station half marathon!! The reason I was in town again!! I remember last December I knew I was moving to Raleigh, so I told myself I would move mountains if needed to be able to come back this year to run it. Partly as an excuse to come back since I knew it would be tricky during the holidays, but mostly as a way to say goodbye and honor the town that raised me and formed me into who I am today. What better way to say goodbye than to run through the major streets of town and add a new medal to my collection!! To make a good thing even better, one of my favorite people in the world got into running this year so I got to run the race with her :’’’’))) (biggg shoutout to alyssa, the “a” in shmack shack, and my ultimate twin!! If you guys think I’m loud now… you haven’t seen anything until you have the two of us together in a room. So sorry to our old neighbors and roommates, we were a lot.) We ran! We laughed! We screamed! We cried a little!! We did the dang thing!!
I had a flight back to Raleigh shortly after the race, so truly it was a quick trip. But I left feeling SO refreshed, and reminded of how beautiful life is!
Remember how I mentioned how often I said “this is the best weekend ever!!”? Well what I didn’t mention was that it was almost always followed by an equally as enthusiastic “I’m never moving here again!!” NOT because I hate the town, not because I left feeling like I had no one there for me, not because I didn’t have a wonderful time growing up and going to college there. I hope my chaotic description of my weekend conveyed the complete opposite.
Somehow it seems two things can be true at once. I can love and appreciate College Station and all of my favorite people in it and feel sentimental and nostalgic of my life there. AND I can also dream of a life just as beautiful in a new place where it’s not suffocatingly humid and has wayyy more outdoor activities than just Lick Creek Park to walk around (iykyk) and is just plain different from where I grew up. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why I feel the need to leave “home” and family in Texas and come to Raleigh. I don’t quite know why I feel drawn away to a completely new place with no intention of going back. If you have any thoughts on how someone decides where to “settle” down and live, I’m open to your ideas! But for now, I’m thankful for this semester and the coming months where I’ve found a new home away from the one I’ve known my whole life. For a new church community where I’ve experienced worship in a new way. For a new city with an abundance of new coffee shops and breweries to explore! For families who have welcomed me into their homes and fed me and cared for me and shown me what they love about this place they call home. And for an EPIC group of friends to explore this new city with and who even at this very second when we are all away from each other on winter break are still blowing up the group chat. I MISS YOU GUYS COME BACK SOON!! Crazy how we’re halfway done :’)
I think I’ve yapped way longer than you bargained for. And I only talked about the first weekend in December!! To make a long story short, the rest of December was also wonderful. Some quick honorable mentions:
Movie night at Chris and Pauline’s house - anyone else bawl their eyes out watching “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”?
Went to a Canes game! (but we lost and no one got in a fight, so really what was the point?)
A plethora of Christmas parties. Truly so many.
Was a camel with Lola for the live nativity… Up for debate who had it worse in that costume but so worth it haha!
Homemade Lantern Festival at the NC Museum of Art with Skip and AG. The most wholesome thing ever?? I highly recommend if you’ve never gone.
Finally made it out to Durham to see Duke! SO pretty
Our Old Testament projects HA
Spent Christmas in NYC with my family! Had my first white Christmas!!
Bagels in NYC, need I say more?
Took a train back to Raleigh from NYC, very demure
ANDDD I’m going to watch the acorn drop on New Year’s Eve!! Could December get any better??
2024 was one of my favorite years yet. I’ve said that every year for the past several years now, so BUCKLE UP 2025 is about to go crazy.
OKAY BYE.
Celeste