Finally. Finally, fall break is here and my plans for the next few days consist only of sleeping and eating in various locations. Being back home (which is anything but far from campus) is a little strange. It feels as if I’ve gone back in time, like I’m in high school all over again. The things I’ve missed probably would seem a bit ridiculous to you, but you’ll understand next year when you’re in college. For example, I took at shower today without flip-flops on and that was a huge deal.
I’m one of those people who handles the wait for an exciting event by thinking about all the hard or obnoxious things they have to get through until the event can occur. This week, the thing to be “gotten through” was a biology midterm. It was my first midterm of my college career and I was nervous as…well, you know. I survived the last week by hiding in the library, glued to my biology book, feeding off cherry Coke zero and Reese’s cups. Ok, that was a lie. I didn’t hide out in the library every waking moment. I instead crammed my brain with embryology facts two days before the test. I did consume a lot of Reese’s and cherry Coke zero, though. By the way, it really does have all the cherry taste without the calories of regular cherry Coke. I was surprised. Anyway, even though I took it under the influence of a residual caffeine high, I think the midterm went well. It was pretty straightforward,. Material right off the study guide. My CORE midterm isn’t until this Thursday. That should be a delightful experience - not. We’ll see if I’m so confident after I take that one.
Before my week of intense, late-night cram sessions in Gottwald, I attend my first horse show! When I say that, I don’t mean my first collegiate-level horse show. I mean my first ever. All of my show clothes were borrowed (thanks, guys!) and I had no idea what to expect. We left bright and early from UR and drove to Goucher College, which is way up in Maryland. The drive wasn’t too bad. I kept falling asleep, waking up, and realizing awkwardly that my mouth had been hanging open. Nice. The barn and ring at Goucher are right on campus, which made all of us jealous since The Pines is 30 minutes away. The show started with upper-level classes and proceeded down through the ranks to walk-trot. That’s me! The weather was gorgeous and none of us minded standing around to watch. None of us minded early on, anyway. As the day progressed there were a few snags that slowed down the show a bit. A few girls needed re-rides, one set of riders fell off their horses after nearly colliding, and so on. No one was hurt, thankfully, but by the time the show was over we were ready to head home. We literally pulled away five minutes after I dismounted.
These two are of the President, Sarah, in the Open jumping class
Showing itself was exciting but nerve-racking. I had to ride with a purpose. My diagonal mattered now. So did closing my fingers, turning my toe out, keeping my heel down and all the other little things that are crucial to good riding and that I should automatically do anyway. My boots were two sizes too big – a consequence of borrowing, I suppose – so my feet kept sliding back around in them. I felt very off balance and out of place, but everyone said that somehow I didn’t look nervous. I got third place, so I must’ve done at least a few things right! All things considered, I had a great time and can’t wait for the next one.
Me, looking like a legit rider in my (everyone else’s) show attire 
My dog just fell asleep on my lap. She’s technically too big for that sort of thing, but I’m only here every so often so I’ll let it slide…Goodnight all!
