Blast From the Past

This past week seems to have been a blur. Papers are due. Presentations have been scheduled. Final papers are being assigned. Stress is increasing. Things are getting difficult and graduation is only 4 weeks away. Anne has been trying to put all the stress behind her and the other day entered my room with a hankering to play video games.

It started with a conversation at lunch about freshman year. We were reminiscing about the good days, when she was my roommate and she had the rights to use my video game system whenever she wanted to. This, of course, brought up the game that had taken over her life most of freshman year, an NBA GameCube game that was simply a 3 on 3 basketball tournament.

When we were freshman, this game ruled Anne's life. She would skip class to continue her season on the game, winning time after time and never putting the controller down for a break. She would save and turn off the television when she had to leave the room, but the game system would stay running, never being turned off so that Anne wouldn't lose any of her progress in her character's basketball season.

It was pathetic and we almost had to have an intervention to make her quit playing. Luckily, the summer had broken her addiction since she didn't have the game readily available at her home.

As we talked about this game, Anne decided it would be necessary for her to revisit her character and the season she had been doing so well in only three short years ago. When we returned from lunch, Anne took a seat in my green chair and started playing.

I did homework as she played and immediately I began missing freshman year, the stress free beginning classes and the countless fun memories I had with my friends. It made me realize how quickly the past four years have gone by, the ups, the downs, and the countless friends I've made. It's gone too fast and now it's over. There are so many things that I'll miss; Andy (my absolute best friend), the girls, Matt and Chris, and the free time I have to write. It's hard to believe that it's all coming to an end, but the future looks bright.

I watch Anne kick ass in each one of her 3 on 3 basketball match ups and realize that these are the simple times I'll miss the most, just hanging out and talking, watching her play a pointless video game because it helps her to calm down, breathe, and release some stress.

Let the Countdown Begin...

For the past few weeks, video games have become irrelevant. Now it's time to buckle down and get our work done. Of the six of us girls, five of us are seniors...and seniors with intense cases of senioritis. We all have our own things that are keeping us busy. Four of the girls have boyfriends that fill their time. Anne has rugby and her constant rugby parties. I spend most of my time hanging out with my close friend, Christian. There isn't time for video games, only time for homework parties and dinner.

The stress of our upcoming graduation is looming over all of our heads. We're trying to be good and not give in to the pressure of what lies ahead of us in the very near future, but it's difficult. The stress is causing our boiling points to rise and as the end of our undergraduate college careers gets here faster and faster, we are becoming easily annoyed by the little things. Nothing serious, but fights won't be easily avoidable with the high amount of pressure being placed upon the five of the six of us girls.

Last night we took a breather, a nice night to forget homework and other friends and spend the day catching up. The six of us took a walk to Bev's for ice cream. Being outside in the fresh Oswego air, taking in the breeze and enjoying every second that we had with each other helped each of us to relax. While we were walking, we talked about planning a family day, a trip to Alliance Bank Stadium for a Sky Chiefs game, the perfect way to take our mind off of the impending separation.

For now, video games, even though they can sometimes prove to be a definite way to de-stress, have taken a back seat to homework and valuable time with the girls before we all must say our goodbyes. Only a month left until graduation...