the gleam of your tail lights fading east

The semester has ended, finally. The last three weeks of school felt like a marathon, a non-stop test of my endurance. There was inevitable stress with finals and unavoidable sadness at the thought of so many of my closest friends leaving next semester. I don't really care about the tests, the academic work, the papers, and the grades. I've done undeservedly well in that arena and I have yet to care. However, I do care about these people more than anything else at school, and they all seem to be leaving for a foriegn land next semester. Over the past couple months, there have been very few reasons I have wanted to be at JMU, but a couple of people have kept me here, maintained my solidarity, and been a constant encouragement, even when they aren't even trying. So I'm not really quite sure what I'm going to do come January. I know that God has not forgotten, I can see how he has brought new people into my life, even over the past two weeks, and how I have a couple things to, without a doubt, look forward to in the upcoming months, but I'm still sad.

I think it just hurts because its more of the same, people leaving, distance, cold replacements for human interaction. And I'm tired of it. I'm so sick of people leaving.

But for now, I'm not thinking about that. I am home and its amazing for the most part. I love everything about Richmond. I love how when I think of my family here, my mind immediately is taken to my church, and how the two cannot be separated. Or how I can wake up early and go and get free coffee from starbucks (oh yess for connections) and sit and read. Or how I can drive downtown with some of my favorites and see all the Christmas lights. Or how I will go Christmas shopping tomorrow with my sisters. I don't like describing it because I just can't express the full weight of how much I love this place.