Eliza

Eliza Rinehart placed her sketch book, pencils, and camera into her suitcase and zipped it up. She grabbed her other bags that sat by her bedroom door and rushed downstairs to get everything loaded into the car. When she was ready to go, she went back into the house to say goodbye to her family. Trying not to ponder on how much she would miss them, as that would only make things harder, she focused her attention on how wonderful Kansas would be. Eliza receive her accceptance letter to the University of Kansas about two weeks prior  to this day, so that's where she was headed. It would be about a fourteen hour journey from Ohio to Kansas, but she was ready for the trip. 

"Oh Honey, I'm going to miss you so much," said my mom pulling me in for a hug, "I don't know what I'm going to do without you." Tears began to cloud her eyes and her hug seemed to get tighter by the second. 

"Are you all packed and loaded?" my dad asked, who was no doubt going to go through the "check list" to make sure I was really ready to leave.

"Yeah, I packed almost everything last night and finished this morning. And I already loaded the car. I also called Ben to make sure  our plans were still in place for me to stay there until Monday," I said, trying to reassure my dad that I was going to be okay.

"Okay, good. Do you have your phone and money? I put a full tank of gas in your car last night and checked the fluids and tires, everything is good to go," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. My dad was more of the quiet type, not one to really show much emotion. Though it was a little unusual for him to be so sensitive all of a sudden, it was just what I needed.

"I have everything I need, thank you for making sure and thank you so much for the gas and for checking the fluids and tires. I appreciate everything." As I gave my dad a hug, my mom went into the kitchen and came back out with a bag of cookies and some banana bread.

"Here you go sweetheart, I made this in case you get hungry and don't have time to stop somewhere," my mom said with a heartwarming smile. 

"Thanks, mom. That was so nice of you," I said with a smile, "Now, I really must go." I began to walk toward the door to put my shoes back on. 

"Give your bother a hug for us when you get there later!" my mom shouted from the hallway between the kitchen and the front door. 

"I will, don't worry. I love you two, I'll call you when I get there so you know I'm okay. Bye!" I waited for their goodbyes and then shut the door. As I got into my car everything really set in. I couldn't believe that in just three days I would be studying at the University of Kansas. I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in, but not many people do their first year of college. Maybe I'll pursue art, or photography, maybe even writing....I thought to myself.

I drove for nearly four hours when I decided to take a lunch break, as it was already almost noon. I pulled into a Starbucks and reached for my bag in the backseat that had the banana bread my mom had made. I ate a piece and contemplated whether or not I wanted to go inside the cafe and get a coffee. Travel always seemed to relax me which caused me to get tired rather quickly. After I had my fill of banana bread, I went  into Starbucks and ordered my usual, the Caramel Macchiato. I found a small table near the window and pulled out my journal  and  began to write:

Today has been bitter sweet. I am so excited about going to college and I'm excited about  seeing my brother, but I'm a little bit sad, too. I am going to really miss my friends and family. I wish I could bring them with me. I think I'm going to miss Natalie the most, she's my best friends and I can talk to her about anything. Not to mention she only lived two minutes down the  road from  me, so whenever I needed to get out of the house or have some fun she was always there. I'm sure  she's just as excited about going to college as I am. She was telling me yesterday how Ohio State University has an awesome program for nurses and that she's so excited to check it out. She tried to convince me to just go to OSU with her and study photography or writing  there, but I just don't  feel that is where I'm suppose to be. 

Well, anyways, the trip has gone pretty smoothly. I only missed one exit which got me a little lost but thanks to my GPS I was able to find my way again. Oh, and some guy almost ran me off the road today. That was a bit frightening. I don't know if he was drunk or just failed to pay attention, but he went to get over in my lane and I was right beside him. I swerved over and quickly sped up to get ahead of him. I got beeped at a few times, but I'm just happy that I didn't wreck. My mom always told me that it wasn't me she didn't trust, it was other people. Now I understand why she wanted me to wait until I had better concentration to get my license...Speaking of driving, I better get back to it. I still have a ten hour drive ahead of me.

I gathered my stuff from the table and headed to the car. It was a beautiful, fall day. The leafs were changing colors making everything look so radiant and pretty. There was a slight breeze which refreshed me. I was feeling so much better about the trip after being able to eat and organize my thoughts. The further I drove the more excited I became. I always dreamed of going to college, spending a lot of time at cafes studying and meeting up with friends. Now, that was becoming a reality and I couldn't have been more excited. My only fear was that people wouldn't accept me, or that I may not get good grades. In High School I did remarkably well, I applied myself and was an A average student. It didn't come easy, it took a lot of hard work, but I discovered that it was achievable and dove into the challenge.

~Y~

When I finally arrived at my brother's house, it was about 9PM and all I wanted to do was go to bed. I called my parents and let them know I made it safe and sound to Ben's. Then I grabbed my bags from my car and headed into the house. My brother gave me a big hug and told me how much he had missed me. It had been about two years since I was last able to visit him in Kansas, after all, I was working and going to school. His wife, Holly, had made spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner. She offered to take my bags to the guest room and asked that I join Ben at the table for dinner. Moments later she had a seat and said how happy she was to see me, then asked that Ben say a prayer over the food. 

"Dear Lord," Ben prayed, "Thank You for bringing my little sister here safely and thank You for allowing her the opportunity to study at the University of Kansas. Please help her and guider her in the direction You would have her go. Thank You for this food that we are about to eat, bless it into our bodies that it may give us the strength to carry out Your will. Amen"

"I'd really love to stay up after dinner and catch up, but I am really tired. Would it bother you if I head to bed when we're done eating?"

"No, not at all. We understand your tired. Plus, tomorrow is a big day, I don't want my little sister to be tired on her first day of college" My brother smiled and Holly agreed it would be best for me to rest. 

After getting myself ready for bed, I pulled out my journal and pen and began to clear my head:

Tomorrow's the big day. I have to be at the school by nine and get registered. I just can't believe it's all happening so fast. I also get to sign up for my classes tomorrow and meet my teachers. I think I'm most excited about moving into my dorm and being able to meet my roommate. I hope we get along okay, I assume we will and that we'll become very good friends. I  suppose we'll have to see...Anyways, I'm going to go to bed. I need all the sleep I can get. I'll write more tomorrow! 

I had only an hour left until I needed to be at the university. My heart was racing from all the excitement and nervousness I was experiencing. My brother helped me get everything loaded back into the car. He just kept telling me that instead of being stressed out about everything, look at this at my own personal experience and journey. This is something that I was doing for me and no one else, and I should be happy for myself. I appreciated his insight, and it helped me a lot. We looked over the schedule for the day to see how things were going to go. Registration was from nine until ten. We were able to check into our dorms by nine-thirty if we were already registered. Orientation was scheduled for eleven. Lunch would be at twelve-thirty, and we would have some free time until three o'clock. 

After getting registered, I headed to my dorm room. I was super excited to meet my roommate. The school was so packed, I could hardly make it to my dorm room. Dorm #102, that would be my new home. I opened the door to discover two beds, two desks, two dressers, and no roommate. I assumed she hadn't yet arrived, so I placed my stuff on the left side of the room and began to unpack. I was so happy to finally be at college! It made me feel so grown up. After making my bed, putting my clothes away, getting my desk set up, and fixing my hair, I grabbed my camera and took a stroll on campus. I went outside and made my way to a beautiful pond with a lovely fountain in the middle. I snapped a few pictures and then checked to see how they turned out. 

"So, you're going for a photography major, yes?" I turned around to see who had asked, and saw a guy who looked my age, with short black hair and beautiful blue eyes. His smile was perfect and his arms were strong. I thought I might have been dreaming in that moment because I could have sworn I heard a choir in the background. 

"Oh, hi, you startled me!" I said feeling bashful. "Oh, and um, I'm not sure about the photography major."

He laughed and then asked to see my camera. I handed it to him sheepishly. He snapped a picture of me and said, "I don't know, I see her as being a pretty great photographer. I think she's onto something." then, with a smile still on his face, he walked away. I wasn't sure if I should follow him and get his name, or if I should just continue about my picture taking. One thing was for sure though, there was something really special about him.