sorry that it has been so long!!

Hi everyone here's my update, it's been awhile but I've been pretty busy. Today marks my second week of school and first full week. My classes are going well and I'm feeling like it will be a good semester.

It's been weird, this weekend would've been the first one of the school year but no one was allowed to leave. It's been a lot of Door Dash and Pop-tarts but it could be worse. I guess I'll have a lot of time to do my homework and continue to watch Netflix movies.

I've been working out a lot and continuing to run. Today was supposed to be a long slow run but it started to storm so I ran for 30 minutes instead. My credit load is less than normal because of the classes I took over the summer so I have a lot of free time. Tomorrow I only have one class! I know that all of the free time could be bad for some people but I use it to do my homework, laundry and workout. I also have my first day of sailing practice tomorrow!

ROM seemed to take forever. We tested out on the Monday after our two weeks but we stayed in ROM status until Friday because some people's tests took longer than others. I wish they'd said that ROM was more than 14 days, I was going pretty stir crazy. Then our move to our academic year rooms was delayed and the whole thing seemed to be a mess. Luckily my move wasn't too bad and my roommate Katherine helped me out! It didn't take too long. The part that took awhile was getting our boxes from Halsey (a big indoor track where the movers stored our boxes). Luckily my Dad helped me out in the morning and my friend Madeline helped me and Kath out in the afternoon. Well we're moved in now so that's what matters.

I'm supposed to sail in probably our only regatta of the season this weekend. I'm looking forward to it! It should be fun regardless of the fact that we'll be getting on a boat from Navy and returning without the usual stops for breakfast or groceries. This is a weird time but like I've said before it's weird for everyone. There's no point in complaining about the fact that we lost our season because every athlete at every level lost their season. We'll compete eventually we just don't know when.

Classes are going well. So far they're all online and from the comfort of my room. There has been some confusion as to whether or not we'll go to a classroom or if the instructor will even be there. I've been going based on what my instructors and professors tell me. If they don't say anything, I'll be logging on from my room. If they say we're meeting in a classroom then I'll put on my mask and go to class. I don't mind class on a computer. It's a little harder to stay engaged and discussion based classes are slightly awkward but other than that it's okay.

I've successfully avoided King Hall for the whole time I've been here. That's our dining hall btw. It's not like a regular college where you go up to a buffet and pick what you want, it's family style. You sit down and they place the meal in front of you and you get what you get or it's cereal and a PB&J. Right now that's not the case because of Corona so they've just been handing out boxed meals. Let me tell you, they're less than stellar. Thankfully I have a fridge and parents who are awesome and are willing to go grocery shopping for me. Although, I could just use Instacart and I might try it. Yes, I do eat a lot of snacks as meals but I'm still doing well. It's better than King Hall.

I guess the biggest downside for me, right now, is that we don't know the next time we'll be able to go home. Some say that they'll keep us here for Thanksgiving, some say that we'll go home for Thanksgiving and not come back until January, some say we won't leave until Christmas, we just don't know. Also they're pretty much all rumors. The professors don't know and the Mids don't know, I don't really know who knows!! It's pretty frustrating. It's getting harder and harder to keep a positive mindset. I'm not even bored at this point I just like to look forward things.

I can't wait to be home and be able to cook and bake things, I never thought I'd miss it this much. I also miss my own bathroom. We don't have communal showers (thankfully) but we do have communal toilets. They're normally okay it's just nice to have your own. I also miss home cooked meals and Bungee. I ask for a picture of him almost everyday. I used to complain about him but while I was home we became close. Some days it'd just be me and him, I'd take him to the dog park and get him a puppachino. I bet he misses me too!

Oh yeah, I guess this is big news that I completely forgot about, the minute I logged into my first class last Wednesday I committed to 5 years of service in the Navy. We call it "2 for 7s." It means that we did 2 years at Navy already and we're going to do 2 more years at Navy plus a minimum of 5 years of service. Normally there's a ceremony and pictures and they have a dinner for us but due to Corona... we didn't have anything. In the words of my dad, "we didn't use to have a big fancy thing, it was just a regular day of school. It's not like it used to be." That's a common phrase among old Navy grads, sorry Dad. I hope that paragraph didn't sound too negative, what it really means is that when I graduate with an English degree I'll have a guaranteed job! I don't think many other English majors at other schools can say the same. I also can't threaten to drop out anymore because I'd owe the Naval Academy a lot of money.

I think that's all that I have to say for now. Hope everyone enjoyed their final days of summer!! Hopefully fall comes soon and it's really pretty. Honestly I like every season except winter... it's too cold and it's just slushy. Snow is pretty for like a day and then I'm over it.