I'm Baaaack (And Random Thoughts: The People-Are-Good Edition)

So... It has been a little over a month since my last post. Which is utterly insane. I did not intend to stay away from my blog for this long and I don't intend on doing it again. I missed my blog. (But when you're choosing between food and sleep and schoolwork, well, blogging just does not come into the picture...) Anyhow, my unexcused leave of absence had nothing to do with anything exciting--just an overwhelming crush of back-to-school stuff plus newspaper stuff plus Yamim Noraim. And there you have it. So, I'm back. Maybe not as frequently as I'd like to be, but back.

A few random lessons learned over my unintentional blog hiatus:

• "I have friends who love me. They know just where I stand." When a friend halts her Shabbos meal, walks all the way across campus and up 8 flights of stairs just to make sure you're OK, well, she's special. And you're very lucky.

• I'm not a great faster. Let's just say I get VERY cranky without food. But my sister sent me a dvar Torah that talked about the fact that we fast and we have a yom tov where melacha is forbidden so that Yom Kippur can be solely about cultivating a relationship with Hashem and doing teshuva. That inspired me. And while I went into Yom Kippur wholly unprepared (note to self: NEVER let that happen again), I had a meaningful, spiritual day thanks at least in part to that thought from my sister. I have good siblings, too.

• Yom Kippur is a hard day. But it can be amazing too. Utterly amazing. I mean, we get a chance to beg for forgiveness and start anew. Wow. I'm in awe. (I could make some awful pun but I will refrain.)
  

• My mom knows me so well it's scary. My birthday present, which she just gave me: Trivial Pursuit Book Lover's Edition. She said next time I'm home she'll play and let me cream her (which is never as easy as it sounds).
  

• I am in awe of people who are willing to admit their mistakes. Especially people who are willing to do it face to face. So the person who waited all summer to find me in person and apologize for something that happened last semester has my utmost respect and admiration.

• Never underestimate positive feedback and encouragement. (And always remember that your Gmail away messages/suicide threats may be viewed by people who need to give you that feedback.)

• 5 a.m. is not an acceptable bedtime. Coffee is not an acceptable substitute for sleep. Wikipedia is not an acceptable substitute for doing one's reading. Granola bars are not breakfast. String cheese is not dinner.

• I am awful--awful--at tennis. Let's just say I wasn't quite blessed in the hand-eye-coordination department. I am being slowly humbled by a racket and some bouncy green balls.

• Fire alarms are not fun. Especially at midnight when you are this close to the shower and your warm, inviting bed.
  

• Geography--I don't know it. At all. And I need to. By Wednesday at 10 a.m. Off to study the map of the U.S. Maybe I should sue my elementary school for believing--and convincing me--that New York is the center of the universe and the only place you need to know.