Welcome to Senior Year!Hi everyone!
Well, I haven't written much in awhile, and now that I'm stateside for an indefinite amount of time, I'm afraid my blog won't be nearly as interesting as it has been for the past year. Alas, I have no foreign adventures to write on now, just my adventures from my senior year at Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, VA. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life after college, and I'm guessing many of my entries might be written tackling that issue and my indecision. If you have any suggestions on what you think I should do, please by all means shoot me an email at indianajans@gmail.com. I need all the help I can get.
Conquering the Blue Ridge Parkway, one mountain at a timeBut I'm trying to make the most of the year and carry on my traveling mentality to get out and explore more of the local attractions around me. For example, the Blue Ridge Mountains have been practically in my backyard for two years and I'd yet to venture into them. Well, a group of us Readingites decided that needed to change, and last week we went hiking on Otter's Peaks. We ended up walking the whole of Sharp Point Mountain in just a couple of hours, including several breaks, and it was gorgeous. The term 'Blue Ridge' is simply perfect for these mountains; as we were driving in we saw the peak in the distance, and it looked almost like a painted blue line across the sky. I found a place to climb out to get the view above, and it was unlike anything I'd ever seen; not even in Greece did I see a mountain vista so beautiful. Everything was shades of blue and green, it was the most calming, seclusive place I've seen. It's what I would image the mountains of Peru to look like, but I haven't seen them, so I'll have to get back to you on that.
Us at the summit!We made a pact to try and make a hiking journey as much as we possibly can this year. The next two weekends are all booked for us, but hopefully after then we'll get back out on the trails. I'm not sure if we'll get a more gorgeous day than our first one out, but we can try. I think hiking will be a great source of stress relief this year. With all the work already piling up for us seniors, the feeling of going somewhere to be outside where we don't think about those papers and books for a day will be incredible.
Speaking of work, I'm up to my head in it. I've certainly found myself missing those lazy days in England, where I went to class 3 times a week and spent the rest of the time going out on the town, traveling into London, or staying in to watch movies. It seems like I can barely hold onto my time now, and I'm constantly in a state of productivity, constantly on the move. For right now I'm keeping up with classes, but only just.
But I'm doing things this year that I've always wanted to try: I tried out for and joined the school choir, I started a job as a barista in the campus coffee stand, I'm enrolled in a creative writing (screenwriting) class, and I will soon be co-DJing a radio show on the WWRM--the campus radio station. More information on that last point as I get it; the show is available online and can be heard all over the world, so you'll all have to tune in! A theatre friend--Melissa Gilbert--and I are running it, and we plan on broadcasting musicals and recording old radio plays. We hope to cast and record our own version of the original War of the World radio broadcast for Halloween, so look forward to it!
In short, this year may not be filled with train rides across Europe or conversations in broken English with Greek locals in cafes, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let it be boring. I'm hoping to make the most of my last year in college, and after that, who knows? Maybe it's a good thing that I have no set plans for myself. I'm open to anywhere the world takes me for now, and I'm planning on enjoying the ride.
Tune in to the WWRM ('Worm') to listen to our theatrical radio show Sundays from 8:30-9:30 (or 10, as it may often be) Eastern!
