Drumroll, please.

Duuuuuurrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmm….. symbol crash.

I finished my fifth semester of college classes today!

Fertig. Finito. Finished. Done.

Now I just have to make it through a couple of not-too-hard finals and I’m home free!

Oh what a feeling, what a wonderful emotion… (name that song!)

I love college. I really do. It’s such a blessing to go to such a great school and have the opportunity to learn about things I love every day. I’ve had great profs this semester, I’ve had great classes.

But I’m so ready to be done.

I’m ready to…

–sleep

–read a book for fun

–sleep

–use my computer for something other than writing papers

–sleep

–cook my own food instead of eating in the cafeteria

–sleep, sleep, sleep.

One week from now I will be living the good life of a college kid home on Christmas break.

Glorious.

It will be a happy time.

I was reminded of even happier times last night as I was organizing the hundreds of files of photos on my computer.

I was skimming through a photoshoot I did for a friend of mine back in October. She’s an RA in one of the dorms and for a hall activity she and her fellow RA decided to take their girls out on a photoshoot. I had the wonderful privilege of being the event photographer.

It was super fun looking at the photos and reminiscing and seeing such happy faces. Faces that weren’t tired and sick and drained from a rigorous semester of studying and rhetoric.

I have beautiful friends.

See for yourself.

Amidst the photos of all these beautiful women, I stumbled onto another little gem.

Isn’t this flower just amazing?

The colors… oh, the colors. They are simply stunning. A computer screen absolutely does not do them justice.

This pretty flower was in bloom just two short months ago.

There’s no way you’re gonna find a flower anywhere outside this time of year. Not a live one anyway.

Nothing is alive outside.

Remember the post from about a month ago where I put up a picture of the vibrant view out my window? I thought about taking a picture today from the same place and doing a compare and contrast thing for this post.

But I couldn’t bear to do it.

It’s just so gray outside.

Gray and dreary.

I’m not a fan.

I know winter is one of God’s perfect creations too, and bless it, I know it’s probably wonderful, but it’s to daggum cold for me.

I admit it has been a milder winter so far in Arkansas, but I’m going back home to Kansas in less than a week and I know what’s waiting for me.

Winters in Kansas go a little like this…

–cold

–wind

–no snow

–WIND.

It’s lovely.

So, being the optimist that I am, I have devised the perfect, happy plan.

I will go home, sit on my couch with a mug full of coffee, read a book for fun, take a nap, and print this photo out huge then tape it to every window in my house and convince myself it’s actually summer.

Signed,

(soon to be) cold in Kansas… aka: kskristy