2 more months...

I used to get so irritated when people would ask me, "You must be excited for (high) school to start, aren't you Meghan?"

Uh, try no. People seem to equate success with happiness, but my little 7 to 2 gig didn't bring me much of the latter. (That's not including all the fabulous people with whom I'm still friends.) Now, I'm just about bursting with happiness when I think about school.

Maybe I've become burnt out by my three jobs, but I'm ready to be back at UNC. It's liberating, yet structured at the same time. It's like an extensive cruise where I don't have to establish my sea legs. Or worry about missing the water taxi back to the boat.

I miss my UNC friends and my 200 square-foot room and classes I actually want to attend. I can't wait to live across from The DTH and go on field trips to grocery stores and start my own club.

Somehow, college feels like this little self-contained bubble of hope. Maybe gas prices are high and the war isn't over and our economy is failing, but I see the present mess juxtaposed with the future: the students. And that definitely eases my mind.

You might even say that my freshman year made me an optimist. Any place capable of such a miracle merits another three years.