I’ve come to the conclusion that going home three weekends in a row was a very, very bad idea.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed seeing my family and pretending as though I had never left for college. It was fun being able to eat food I didn’t pay for and pick on my siblings. It was fun seeing my high school’s football team (which I used to be a manager for) beat one of its biggest rivals for the first time in years. It was fun watching college football on Saturdays with my parents like we always had. It was fun going to a Labor Day weekend cookout with my stepdad’s side of the family and seeing my aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins. It was fun watching my brother play his first football game and actually win. It was fun giving real hugs instead of virtual ones.

It was all fun.

But, like I said, I was just pretending.

Now as my first weekend of staying in Hillcrest since classes started approaches, I’m finally starting to realize how different it’s going to be from here on. I won’t have the opportunity to go home again for a few weeks because Iowa plays at home this weekend against North Texas and next weekend against Penn State.

But that’s okay for a few reasons:
1) I love my job. Filming Hawkeye football is a thrill and, even though I haven’t been able to film an actual game yet, standing on the sideline and running cards is just as exciting (even when taking into consideration the fact that I’m really out of shape).
2) I need to be more independent. I’m an adult now, right? Time to start acting like it.
3) I need to develop a routine.

I’m a person who loves routines. I love planning everything down to the hour, and sometimes even the minute. But since I’ve gone home every weekend, I haven’t developed a very solid routine yet. I haven’t figured out a sleep schedule, I haven’t figured out when the best time to do my laundry is, and I haven’t come up with a study plan. I have a giant to-do list full of about 20 things I need to get done.

Pay my U-bill. Pay interest on my student loans. Apply for another job. Start researching for a presentation.

And it’s driving me crazy that I don’t have it all planned out. Maybe my college routine can be to not have much of a routine at all and just take everything day-by-day.

But I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how these next few weeks go and take it from there.

 

See you next time, Hawks!