The orientations for the new students begun on Monday August 24, 2020 with a welcome message to all new students, followed with information about the school, courses, rules and regulations and other general information. Afterwards, we were given a tour of the school including inside the admin building, store where students can get their school supplies and other items, most importantly was information on the strict times for classes, dormitory, library and the stores. It was a very good presentation, very informative, even my parents enjoyed it a lot; as Chris, Jaime and I had already given ourselves a tour of the campus, we still felt that there was a need for another tour one more time, because come next week when we start classes, pretty much we shall be navigating everything on our own.
By midday, the presentations, the tours were over and we all had a nice prepared lunch by the school almost like a picnic which was so delicious and healthy, we also got our ID cards which we would be using in school. For the remainder of the afternoon, we chilled in our rooms, went to play badminton and to the gym where we also did our dance for fun as always. Our parents returned back to their hotels and to continue doing some sightseeing in Boston at the same time visited some of their friends in Maine, New Jersey and New York. On Thursday morning Chris and Jaime met with their academic advisor Mr. Walter to discuss and go over their first year courses and to ensure that their registered courses were in moodle before they start their classes on Monday. They were both going to study a double major in accounting and business management and a minor in law; quite a tough combo I thought and remembered hearing their academic advisor asking them if they would be able to handle the course load as it was very demanding. Chris and Jaime were both confident not only with the courses they took but they were ready to take on the course work. They both loved economics, accounting, law and business so what better way for them to combine their favorite courses together and study them in one of the best universities. For their first year the number of courses they were to take was between eight to ten courses, quite heavy, but they were exempted from two of the courses as they took an equivalent back in high school; was quite a relief. After their meeting we went to the library to check out some of the materials, resources and books then returned back to the dormitory. When they browsed through their moodle, they were able to see their courses, the names of their professors and their classmates and the best part they already had assignments in all their courses which were to be completed by Monday.
On Friday morning it was now my turn to meet with my academic supervisor, my major was International Relations/Political Science but I also wanted to do a double major where international relations/political science was my major and an international language was my minor. I was already fluent in both French and Spanish, so decided to challenge myself to take on a new language which I settled for Chinese. My academic supervisor's name was Mr. Everson, he was a pretty funny guy, and very down to earth. The courses I had signed up for were still available and were able to fit into my schedule along with the Chinese language course which was every other day. We checked to make sure all my courses were registered in moodle including the days and times and it was perfect as none of them were conflicting with each other. From looking at my schedule, I had classes from Monday to Thursday 08:00 AM -11:00 AM, and then in the afternoon from 12:30 PM to 5:00 PM, each class was an hour and a half. I had no classes on Friday which was perfect as that gave me time to complete all the homework/assignments and readings for next week's class. Before returning back to my room, I took a tour to our teaching and learning building to find all my classes before Monday as I didn't want to get lost or be late on my first day of school. I was able to find all my classes which were on different floors which required climbing the stairs; good exercises. Afterwards returned back to my room, stopped by Chris and Jaime's room, they seemed to be doing well, just busy getting ready for their classes. I showed them my schedule and the courses was registered for my major and minor. They were quite impressed that I was taking Chinese which was going to be the third international language I would be learning. We also noted that we were all having classes from Monday to Thursday except Friday; that came with a high five, but they had more classes which made their day even longer finishing at 5:30 PM; still gave each other high fives. We all seemed quite happy with our courses and schedules and our journey at Boston University.
I returned back to my room and started browsing through my moodle, the courses, the names of the professors and fellow classmates. We had already received greetings and welcome messages from our professors while our classmates had already written their introductions. I also noticed that out of my six courses, four of them already had homework/assignments which were mainly readings or articles and answering some questions. I also noticed that we had to purchase some textbooks, which could be purchased either from the school library or the bookstore. I quickly did a Google search, found the bookstore and placed orders for the books, which the good thing was all the books were available and ready for pick up on Saturday which was tomorrow; was very excited about getting my textbooks, and the good thing was that they were all mine and will not need to return them.
At 7:30PM, Chris, Jaime and I went out for a quick bite, told them about my textbook adventure; they had already purchased and received their textbooks which I thought was fast. As we were having dinner our parents called to check in on us, we shared our schedule with them, talked about our days since we had not seen them since Thursday. Nevertheless, they were all happy with our schedule which they liked seeing us being kept busy, they asked about getting textbooks, we told them 'all that was done, and were ready for school on Monday.' Our parents were still enjoying their travel and visits in other states and would be returning the following weekend on September 4, spend the weekend with us then return to Chicago the following Monday. While Anderson was scheduled to return this weekend or on Monday August 31 after completing his first internship job in Chicago. After speaking to our parents, finished our dinner and walked back to school, it was our last weekend of freedom before hitting the classes on Monday early morning on August 31. It was going to be a quiet weekend as we planned to prepare for our classes, complete the readings and assignments before the start of our classes on Monday.
The weekend quickly rolled in and quickly rolled out, it was a busy two days trying to get the readings done, replying to messages from our classmates and uploading completed homework/assignments on moodle, printing documents and information needed for classes next week. Chris, Jaime and I only went out for lunch and dinner, decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal off campus and did some grocery shopping on our way back. On Sunday evening, we chilled in our own rooms and spoke with Anderson for a while only to find out that he was officially returning to Boston on Monday afternoon and we just couldn't wait to see each other. He asked if I was ready for my classes tomorrow and wanted to get a copy of my schedule, I told him "pretty much ready, still have two more articles to read and write a summary and sent him a copy of my schedule." We compared our schedules for this semester and we were both going to be extremely busy except Fridays and the weekends; we both have no classes on Friday and we could spend the weekends together either at his room or my room since we were living alone. Moreover, as we were all in the same university, going to the gym was a MUST after classes from 6 PM to 8 PM. We felt that it was very important to keep fit and healthy; otherwise just focusing on just studies would clearly burn us mentally, emotionally, and physically. Although we were not able to meet for dinner but we were able to meet every day for lunch which was a good thing as it helped us check in on each other and see how everyone was doing. By midnight, had already showered, finished my last readings and assignments, packed the books I needed for classes tomorrow, set my alarm for 6 AM, hit the lights and went to sleep.
Monday morning 6 AM and was already wide awake, took a shower, made some coffee, enjoyed it with some pastries I bought over the weekend. By 7:30 AM was already downstairs waiting for Chris and Jaime and then we headed to our classes but we were in different buildings. We hugged each other, wished each other all the best and would catch up at the school cafeteria/coffee area. My first class started at sharp 8 AM, I walked into the class and there were quite a lot of other students who had arrived, I also noticed that there was about ten other mixed race colored students, not that they were interested in saying hello to me despite waving my hand at them. I sat on the third row next two one other guy smiled and moved his stuff for me to sit next to him. I took out my computer and the materials plus my notebook. He introduced himself with a handshake, "Hi I am Sam, nice to meet you." "I am Diana, nice to meet you too" He asked, "Are you also studying international relations/political science?" I replied, "Yes for the next four years and my minor will be Chinese language." "Oh that's pretty cool," he replied. As we continued speaking the professor walks in, a tall stark built guy with brownish hair, gave a not so friendly smile and gave the impression he is a no joke kind of a guy. Anyway, he introduced himself as Dr. Watkins and he was to be teaching "Introduction to International Relations." He gave a presentation which included a rundown of what will be taught this full year and a full schedule of all the dates when we have classes and what we shall be learning in each class. It was also inclusive to pay attention to the pre-assignments and pre-readings for the class. The grading scale for the work, quizzes, mid-terms and finals were also included in the schedule. It was then I realized his emphasis on his presentation was attendance, completion and submission of assignments, research papers on time, class participation, presentations, quizzes and exams; pretty much like what my life was like in high school, déjà vu all over again. Nevertheless, was not worried or scared at all, and since we were given the full schedule, being organized, having time management, meeting deadlines, and being responsible were the attributes that would help in passing this class. When his presentation was over, there was a Q& A session about the courses and other queries and then we officially begun our class which went for an hour and a half.
After my first day of classes met up with Chris and Jaime, bought dinner in the school cafeteria as take away and headed back to the dormitory; as we were walking, my phone was ringing and it was Anderson. He had already arrived at the university and was waiting for us at the reception area of our dormitory. When we arrived, we gave each other a tight hug with a kiss, and then he hugged and greeted Chris and Jaime. We went up to spend some time in Chris and Jaime's room for an hour, and Anderson and I went up to my room. We hugged each other again and were so excited and happy just to see him again as it felt we had not seen each other for decades. We enjoyed sharing our stories for the day while he was giving himself a tour of my room; his comment "great room and great space, same size as mine, now I know where to hang out on the weekends or some week nights." My reply, "You are always welcome." After a very long day that we both had, we decided to retire at 10 PM; I escorted him downstairs, kissed each other good night and would see each other the next day. Before he left he made one interesting comment, "I am so happy that you are finally in Boston University, I get to see you every day and spend every moment with you." My cheeks started feeling hot and I thought maybe was coming down with a cold as I was pretty tired only to realize I was blushing. I returned back to my room, showered, prepared for tomorrow, hit the lights and went to sleep.
For the rest of the week I had the following Courses: Fundamentals of Global Money, History of International Relations 1900-1945, History of International Relations since 1945, Introductory Microeconomic Analysis, and Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis from 8 AM to 5 PM. By the time Friday came along, was completely exhausted, not just my body, but my brain cells, too much reading, pre-reading, writing research and lots of class participation activities that were going on in my classes. I slept in on Friday until 10 AM when my phone was ringing like crazy only to see it was my mum calling in a panic, but I was OK. They were back in Boston and wanted to meet up before heading back to Chicago. We decided to meet them at 11 AM at their hotel where they were staying for the weekend which was like a twenty minute walk from our campus. Once I was ready, went by Chris and Jaime's room to see if they were ready, which they were, and when we arrived downstairs Anderson had already arrived at our reception area and was waiting for us. We walked to the hotel, and met our parents in the lobby area; they were all very excited to see us including Anderson. We decided to have lunch at the hotel restaurant which was quiet and would be able to have more time together and share our stories. The highlight our parents wanted to hear was about our first week of school, about the courses, the professors, our fellow classmates and the work load. It was as they had expected after hearing our stories, they were happy with how things had gone for our first week of school and were even happier that the professors were keeping us very busy. Our parents were also very happy that we were all in the same university including Anderson as they knew we were going to take care of each other, be there for each other and could always call them if we had any trouble; especially my parents who were worried of me still being very young at seventeen, they thought I could be bullied by classmates or find myself facing challenges and difficulties. I reassured them that all will be well, and that I had Chris, Jaime and Anderson with me as my guardians and protectors.
It was our last weekend we were spending with our families as they were flying back to Boston on Sunday afternoon. I tried very hard to hold back my tears as they were leaving but it was one of the most difficult things to do as it was going to be the our first time being separated from our parents, and the first time we were going to live away from home on our own. Even as they left, I was still crying, couldn't control my tears, Chris, Jaime and Anderson were trying so hard to help me calm down, trying to make me laugh but it was still hard, even though I wanted to be alone, they were not going to let me be on my own, guess they knew what was going to happen if they did, so it was decided that Anderson would spend the night at my place just to make sure I was alright and would be able to make it for my classes on Monday. On Sunday evening when my parents arrived, they called but I was already asleep. Anderson picked up the phone and spoke to them, my parents especially my mum was very concerned and asked how I was doing, they were glad Anderson was with me to make sure I was OK and had stopped crying. He said, "She stopped crying some hours ago, we kept her busy talking and laughing until she fell asleep. I will stay with her tonight, and see how she does tomorrow." "Thank you Anderson, yes do let us know how she is by tomorrow," my mum said. "Of course Mrs. Johnson, I will let you know, goodnight," replied Anderson. "Goodnight and send my greetings to Mr. Johnson," he continued. "I will goodnight." I must have either cried too much and was so exhausted that I slept the entire night until 6 AM the next morning. When I woke up I found Anderson was a sleep on the floor, he had found the extra mattress and blankets I had bought in the closet and spent the night at my place. He also woke up and was just staring at me, gave him a hug and a kiss. He asked how I was doing and whether I slept well. He spoke about the conversation he had with my parents last night, and how worried they were including Chris and Jaime. It was then I knew his reason for spending the night, not the fact of being my boyfriend, but was very concerned and worried that I might cry the entire night and not make it for my classes or end up being depressed. I thanked and reassured him that I was going to be fine and will be able to get past it, and just to prove it; I called my parents and spoke to them for half an hour and they were happy to hear my voice and to know I was doing OK. We did promise to be calling and checking up on each other twice a week just to make sure we were all doing well. Anderson was having class, so he had to get back to his room to prepare and get ready, likewise as well as it was already past 7:15 AM and we didn't want to be late. I didn't have time to make coffee so decided on my way to class would stop by at the coffee shop and get a large latte and a pastry. On my way downstairs, Chris and Jaime were also heading downstairs; they had seen me smiling which told them everything was OK and I was also doing OK and ready for class. We decided to meet up for lunch at the school cafeteria area after our classes, also sent a message to Anderson to let him know of our lunch plans. Our day went pretty well, classes went pretty well, lunch went also pretty well having a great meal and we were all able to hang out for an hour together which was very pleasant as it kept my mind focused with no worries, fear or anxiety. Our afternoon classes went well but had quite a lot of work to do especially with the pre-readings and writing assignments, but I have to say was enjoying all our classes, had not gotten to know everyone in our classes yet maybe about five to six students. The rest were not as friendly as I had expected and a lot of them seemed to be very focused on doing their own thing. What was really frustrating in two of my courses (Fundamentals of Global Money and History of International Relations since 1945) was that when we had to do group discussions and presentations; it was hard forming a group, getting people to speak in the group and even harder getting someone who would represent our group to present our answers; I pretty much learned you are on your own.
Before 10 PM Chris, Jaime and Anderson came to check up on how I was doing, and they saw I was doing much better than before, was happier, cheerful and focused on my studies, they were quite happy and relieved which made them sleep better tonight. What was quite sad was not being able to have time to hit the gym as we had promised ourselves, the work load was already catching up with us, and it was important to be ready for all our classes. Nevertheless, we still hoped we would have time to hit the gym once we had settled comfortably in Boston University.
Autumn was over and was heading into winter; it was pretty cold in Boston and would get quite dark very early. I had to buy extra winter clothing especially heavier jackets as was not ready to catch a cold while in Boston. As fast as the way winter arrived that was also how fast my first semester at Boston ended. Our winter vacation was for three weeks, and all I wanted to do was fly back to Chicago to see my parents, celebrate my birthday and Christmas with them. Before we closed for the winter vacation our grades were posted on the website; I received an A minus, Chris, Jaime and Anderson all got straight A pluses. I was very happy and satisfied with my performance for my first semester. We were all scheduled to fly out on Thursday December 17 2020 as we didn't have any exams on Friday and would return on Friday January 8 2021 to start school on Monday January 11, 2021 for our second semester.
When we arrived at Chicago airport, our parents were waiting for us with open arms, as we were heading to the parking lot, I hugged Chris and Jaime, kissed and hugged Anderson and agreed to keep in touch via phone to make plans for the weekend, before Christmas and for my birthday in which I was turning eighteen years old; was so excited. We arrived home and all I was talking about was Boston University, the courses, fellow classmates, lifestyle, Chris, Jaime and Anderson. I had not realized how many hours I had been speaking and all my parents were doing was smiling, listening and laughing. It was so good to be home, hugged them again, saying how much I missed them, and they could see how happy I was which made them feel that everything was going OK. They were happy and impressed with my performance in the first semester and encouraged me to continue working hard.
The week of my birthday, we did shopping which also included my birthday, Christmas and New Year's shopping, and it was so much fun just like in the good old days. We had spent the weekend together, and on my birthday Chris, Jaime and Anderson joined in helping me celebrate my eighteenth birthday with a large cake baked by my mum, wonderful lunch and dinner and also received wonderful and lovely gifts from everyone. I had also gotten birthday wishes from my former Chicago High School mates on Face Book and Instagram which was very kind and sweet of them to remember my birthday. We did chat online and they were all doing very well for those in the universities and those still at Chicago High School. Anderson spent my birthday night at my place and we planned to hang out at Jaime's place the next day before Christmas day. From Christmas day till New Year's Eve, we were spending it with our families, wanted to spend quality time with our parents before heading back to Boston on Friday January 8, it was the best gift we could give our parents for Christmas and New Year. Moreover, I wanted to help my mum with the Christmas and New Year cooking; making the pasta, chicken, salads and the desserts. Although it had been a while since I last did any cooking but my knowledge and memory were still intact and I made some great dishes and desserts which were greatly enjoyed by my parents. I did notice my mum had put on some weight which I thought could be due to age, but didn't pay too much attention to it at all.
The New Year 2021 rolled in and with the beginning of a brand New Year, we sent our wishes to Chris, Jaime and Anderson and their parents. I had bought them Christmas gifts but planned to give them when we returned back to Boston. I spent the last week at home with family but Anderson and I did meet two days after New Year where we went for lunch and enjoyed pleasant walks downtown and in the parks. He was quite happy now that I had turned eighteen and considered an adult, no longer a 'child' as he would always like making fun of me and the fact that I was now eligible to do quite a lot of things including driving. It did not change anything in our relationship; things were still as before, giving each other space, being open with our communication, encouraging, loving and supporting each other and spending time with each other. For things that I was not ready for or we were both not ready for we never pushed or demanded them from each other and that was something I had and always appreciated from Anderson.
Thursday January 7 2021, was our last day at home in Chicago with our families, I spent the day cooking with both mum and dad, talking about school, listening to their suggestions and advice, singing and dancing. I didn't want to start crying and told myself to be strong; it is just Boston for a few more months and will be back for the summer. My dad went to bed early as he was going to be our driver to the airport, while my mum and I pulled an all nighters till 6 AM Friday morning when I started getting ready for my departure to the airport for my 10:30 AM flight to Boston. It was truly a wonderful three weeks well deserved and well spent with mum, dad, Chris, Jaime and Anderson. I thanked my parents for a wonderful winter holiday as we were driving to the airport, that I will be OK and they have nothing to worry about. When we arrived at the airport, I noticed Chris, Jaime and Anderson had not arrived yet, sent them a text message and they were five minutes out. When they all arrived, we went in the airport, checked in our luggage, got our tickets and then prepared to head on to immigrations. I hugged and kissed my parents, waved at them and for the first time, I felt confident being able to leave my parents and return to Boston. I didn't cry nor was I sad but was eternally grateful and blessed for having spent a wonderful three weeks of the winter vacation and was happy getting on that flight knowing I have seen and left my parents smiling and happy. "Call or text us when you get to school, OK dear," said mum. "OK, I will", did the I LOVE YOU sign language and went to the immigration. We were all cleared, went to check where our boarding gate was, once that was done we decided on having some coffee as we had about half an hour before boarding time. As I looked at Jaime, Chris and Anderson, it had never occurred that we would all be taking the same flight from Boston to Chicago, and then Chicago to Boston, and studying at the same university, it almost felt so unreal, but I couldn't have been happier having these three handsome men; two being my best buddies since kindergarten and one being my boyfriend since high school.
They were truly humble, kind, caring, supportive, loving, and encouraging and the most respectful friends I have ever met and I am and will forever be grateful for having them in my life.
When we just finished our coffee, we got ready to board the plane; we were seated right next to each other. I sent a quick message to my parents that we had boarded the plane and will call them when I get to the university. We landed shortly after 12:30 PM, got our luggage, took the airport shuttle till downtown, and then took a cab that dropped us straight in our campus at 1:30 PM. Once at the university we each went to our rooms to unpack, relax, and have a nap as I was very exhausted and didn't sleep on the plane as was not sleepy at all. I did call home to say I had arrived and all was well. For the rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning up and cleaning the room, doing laundry and preparing for our classes on Monday. After doing all the housework, checked my moodle for any new information, updates or pre-reading and assignments needed to be completed before Monday; there were some pre-reading articles and simple writing assignments to be submitted by Wednesday next week. My courses were yearlong courses so didn't need to select new courses for this semester. I relaxed on the bed for like ten minutes or so I thought not knowing I slept till 7 PM and had it not been my phone that woke me up, think I would have slept till the next morning. Chris, Jaime, Anderson and I decided to order McDonalds, quick simple meals which were quite filling and ate at my place, chilled and relaxed for an hour. We were planning what we could do for the weekend, the fact that it was quite cold, we decided in just hanging around on campus. At around 8:30 PM, Chris and Jaime returned to their rooms as they still had unfinished work, while Anderson and I hung out, and by 9 PM Anderson returned to his dormitory.
The weekend rolled in and it quickly went by; we found ourselves hanging out either at Jaime and Chris's room but as we had never seen Anderson's room we got the opportunity on Saturday afternoon. His room was so neat and tidy, everything well organized and clean. His books and other reading materials were well placed in a bookshelf that he had bought last semester. I also noticed he had a round table just like mine where he put his utensils, mugs, coffee, and he also had a small fridge and microwave exactly like mine. It was as if we had bought them together. His dormitory was also mixed-gender housing, he was on the second floor Room 220. We spent the entire Saturday afternoon in his room, watched some movies on his large computer screen, had lunch and dinner and hung out till 8 PM, when we returned to our rooms. On Sunday, at around 10 AM I surprised him at his room with coffee and pastries that I had bought from the school coffee shop. He was so touched and loved the surprise that he gave me very tight hug and thanked me. I had brought my reading materials so as we could spend Sunday together preparing for our first day of the second semester tomorrow. I had about three articles to read and the best part he had a printer so was able to print all my articles, read and highlight them without having to strain my eyes on the computer.
At the same time he also had two articles to read and summarize for tomorrow's classes and others for the week. It pretty much took us the entire day which meant lunch and dinner was going to be at his place. We had pizza for lunch while watching a movie to relax and recharge our brains. He also ordered extra for dinner less headaches trying to figure out what we shall have for dinner. By 08:30 PM, we were not only done with our readings but all the pizza that we ordered was gone; we were also shocked as those were not small portions of pizza; we were quite hungry. We planned our week and other things as well, packed my stuff and by 9 PM, we hugged and kissed each other wishing each other goodnight. I thanked him for the pizza and returned back to my place.
We were to meet tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM to head to class together with Chris and Jaime. Once I got back to my room, I showered, prepared and packed my lesson materials, textbooks and notebooks for tomorrow's courses, remembered to also charge my phone and set the alarm for 6 AM and by 11 PM lights were off and went straight to bed.
The second semester begun and it went by pretty fast with the weather and seasons changing pretty fast as well; from winter it was spring where we welcomed the beginning of the warm weather. I was finally able to experience spring in Boston which was actually the same as in Chicago; I had started enjoying myself in Boston, spending the weekends off campus with Anderson more often, doing sightseeing, going to the gym and even started practicing my archery at the archery club. Moreover, my classes were going pretty well, and although the workload was more than the first semester with lots of pre-readings, readings, research and assignments that included writing essays, and quizzes from time to time, I still managed to have everything completed and submitted on time.
When May kicked in, it was the ending of spring and the beginning of summer and it was also last month of the final semester and the completion of my first year at Boston University. A lot was happening in this month which included the preparations for the final exams, final group and individual presentations, essay writings for the final exams and course selections for my second year. I just couldn't believe how time had gone by so quickly, Jaime, Chris and I were going to start our second year at Boston University in September while Anderson was going to start his third year.
In preparations for our exams, Jaime, Chris and I met in the library every day after dinner from 6 PM to 9 PM, it was also during that time we were working on the final exam essays for some of the courses which were not having exams. The library had quite an extensive amount of resources that really helped in allocating sufficient information that was useful for our essays. The two essays I had to write were for Fundamentals of Global Money, Introductory Microeconomic Analysis, and Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis of four thousand words and since they all had to do with money, micro and macro economics, I had to turn to my two genius buddies and experts on business and economics Jaime and Chris to help me with my essay. They were not only experts on these two topics but were also experts in writing essays since high school getting top scores on their English, economics and business management essays; definitely they were my number one choice to ask for advice and suggestions on my essays and I knew with their help would definitely pass. Once I had finished typing out the essays, they read it, edited, refined the essay, and suggested additional information to be added. Upon making the changes which took over an hour it was then we were getting ready to head back to the dormitory; they would read the essays again and let me know their thoughts. We arrived at the dormitory shortly after 9:30 PM, after taking Anderson back to his dormitory; I went straight to Jaime and Chris's room for them to read my final essays. I was already nervous as wasn't sure what more they were going to say; once they had finished they glanced up giving me thumbs up for well revised essays. I jumped up and down of the excitement at completing my two essays and was now able to write the references, upload and submit them via moodle. Once I submitted my essays, enjoyed a celebration dance in my room, and now I only had two exams and one more final exam essay to submit. I sent a message to Anderson sharing the good news with a huge emoji smile; he sent back congratulation with a smile laugh and red heart emoji.
By midnight, I was already in bed and ready for a good night sleep. I had two more days of rest before the start of my final exams on Monday May 17, 2021. I spent the weekends in my room, reading and preparing for my final exams at the same time completing my final exam essay for the course 'Introduction to International Relations' which was due on Wednesday morning before 10 AM. On Saturday and Sunday, Jaime, Chris, Anderson and I decided to meet up for lunch at 12 PM at Anderson's room. After lunch we hung out until 2 PM and returned to our rooms to continue studying. Dinner was served at 8 PM; I ordered Italian which included pasta dishes; carbonara, spaghetti Bolognese, salad, and pizza with coke and sprite. I had found this great Italian restaurant about forty minutes from our campus, checked it out and their food including their menu choices which were delicious. I asked if they deliver to Boston University and surely enough they did which of course had to pay for their transport and a small tip. I was quite impressed with their deliver service and the food came smelling fresh, well done and hot, so didn't need to microwave it. The boys had thought I ordered McDonalds since I was in love with their French fries and chicken nuggets but were very surprised and excited when they saw it was Italian for dinner. We all enjoyed our dinner, talking, cracking jokes, discussing how the preparations for the exams were going over the weekend. We all seemed to be coping with the stress of the exams, loads of essays and presentations. We also checked in and spoke with our parents who were very pleased to hear that our studies and everything had been going well. On Saturday evening Anderson spent the night at my place, and all we did was watch movies; we needed a breather away from the books, and to also recharge our bodies and brain from all that serious reading, reviewing and revising for our exams. It was truly relaxing, having good laughs and just enjoying a nice quiet evening with no thoughts or stress and it was truly the remedy we both needed.
The weekend was over and exams kicked off on Monday May 17, 2021, I had all my exams this week, which was quite a stressor, plus the submission of my final exam essay on Wednesday for 'Introduction to International Relations'. I had my first exam on Monday which was 'History of International Relations 1900-1945 at 8:30AM for two hours. I had arrived shortly before 8AM and sat in my usual seat. I took out my materials and started revising one last time before the start of our exams. At around 8:05AM, my classmates started walking in taking their seats and revising while others just sat while checking their phones. Shortly before 8:30AM, one of the professors came in and the usual procedures, we were told to put away our materials and everything had to be placed in front of the smart board including our phones which were either to be in silent mode or switched off. Once we were all seated the professor started handing out the exam papers and as I looked around I could see the expressions on my classmates' faces and they were not looking happy at all, which could only mean that the exam was not as expected. When I finally got the exam paper, it was six pages long; section 1 had fifty multiple choice questions, section 2 had eight short essay questions and section 3 had eight long essay questions but we were to choose five. I decided to start with section 2 and 3, I read all the questions and thank goodness the questions were straight forward and were information I had reviewed and studied. I gave myself one hour and fifteen minutes to complete both sections; it was writing after writing and was not paying attention to anything or anyone around my area. By the time I finished my right hand was swollen and numb, I could not hold my pen anymore. I glanced at the time and only had forty five minutes to complete the multiple choice section. Time was clearly not going to be on my side, I started massaging my right hand and it was painful, scary thing happened was my entire right hand turned black, I kid you not!! I had no idea what was happening and I didn't want to cause or bring any attention to myself, so I quickly took out tissue from my pocket and covered my entire hand for five minutes as I started reading the multiple choice questions. I put my right hand on the desk and started using my left hand to circle the answers which seemed to have attracted one of the professors as next thing I saw was one of the professors looking at my hand wrapped in tissue with the question "Are you alright?" I replied, "Yes, just swollen due to the writing, so just letting the pain cool down." "I see, "was the reply and the professor continued walking along. I didn't have much time to start thinking what was going on as I had less than thirty minutes to complete the multiple choice questions. I put my pen down, glared at clock and closed my eyes and with the pain I was feeling on my right hand, I had to calm down and focus on completing the exam. Once I opened my eyes, took the pen on my left hand and started reading the questions and circling the answers to the questions. The strangest thing was that I only needed to read the question once and then circled the answers; I had completed all the questions in twenty minutes, was left with ten minutes which I used to review all my answers and to ensure all questions were answered. It wasn't shortly thereafter; we were told that we had five minutes left. I wrote down my name, class, course name and number and put my pen down, I was done!! At exactly 10 AM, our exam papers were collected and we were allowed to leave the classroom. I didn't want anyone to see my hand so I quickly used my left hand to pick up my backpack and left the classroom heading straight to my room. My right hand was covered in the white tissue, could feel it was still swollen. When I got to my room, I shut the door, dropped my backpack on the floor, went straight to the bathroom and un-wrapped the tissue; my hand had gone from its regular chocolate brown color to being completely black, when I looked up in the mirror I noticed my eyes had also changed from brown to red. I froze staring at the mirror and had no idea what was going on but it was beginning to become a very scary episode and was not about to call Jaime, Chris or Anderson to tell them what happened or show them my hand. The good thing I was not having any other exams for the rest of the day or tomorrow; my last exam was on Wednesday afternoon, so I had plenty of time to figure out everything and ensure my right hand was going to be ready for Wednesday's exam.
I started looking down at my right hand and left hand trying to understand what just happened; couldn't really understand as I had never seen anything like this nor had anything like happened in the past. I did recall back in high school when I would get ready for badminton and archery, black smoke would appear around my right hand, going round, in and out of my palm, but was not sure if that had anything to do with what happened today. I looked at the mirror and my eyes were still red, full blasting fire red, then I realized my body was also beginning to feel extremely hot. I decided to try turning on the shower and stand in the cold running water. As I stood in the cold shower, the heat in my body started cooling down, while the swelling on my right hand also started cooling down. I stood for another twenty minutes and my entire hand retuned back to normal and heat in my body felt cooler. Then I stood in front of the mirror and my eyes returned to their normal color. I turned off the shower, dried myself, changed my clothes and sat on the ground. I was still puzzled with what just happened and decided to position myself seated cross legged in a meditating position. It wasn't long I found myself back in the same room where my exam took place this morning; I saw myself seated in the exact same position when I heard a voice talking to me inside my head. I turned around only to see 'black hood' seated across from where I was standing. I asked "what was happening to me?" "You were very stressed out writing the answers to the questions in sections two and three that you didn't give yourself any space to breathe, you were over working your hand writing and writing which is why your right hand got swollen and turned color. Your body was under pressure which is why your eyes changed color and your body was heating up," said 'black hood.' "So basically what you are saying is whenever I will feel stressed or under pressure in an exam my hand will swell, my eyes change color and my body will heat up, seriously," I replied. "What in the hell type of eyes and body do I have, am I normal?" I asked. "Yes, you are normal Diana, just different from normal people," said 'black hood." "Sorry I am normal but different, normal but different and this is supposed to make sense how?" I asked looking frustrated. 'Black hood' replied, there will come a time and place where all your questions will be explained but for now you have one more exam and a final essay exam to submit which I suggest you get right to it as time waits for no one." "But wait, I still have more questions to ask," I said. "Oh and one more thing for your final exam on Wednesday please try and be calm, you are already well prepared for it, so take it easy," said 'black hood.' Before I could say anything else, 'black hood' disappeared and I was back in my room with my eyes back to brown and my hand back to normal. I got up to check my eyes, hands and body in the mirror and all was back to normal, but what was not normal was the writing I saw in the mirror, "I will always be with you, you are never alone." I was so focused on trying to understand the writing that I didn't hear the knocking on the door. It was Chris, Jaime and Anderson; they had been knocking for five minutes, when I opened the door, I could only hear them screaming, "are you OK, are you hurt, why didn't you answer the door?" I waited for them to calm down as I sat on my bed and once they did, explained that I was in the shower, hence the wet hair; was not about to tell them what happened in the exam and the episode I went through just five minutes ago. I could understand their reasons for going crazy and all the questions but again now was not the time to tell them anything. I had not realized that it was already past 1PM, they had actually come to ask if I wanted to join them for lunch, I happily agreed after I finished drying my hair. We decided upon McDonalds, quick fast food which as usual was French fries and nuggets, regular burger and a large coke, got the looks from the boys' after placing the order; after what happened this morning, my hunger appetite was beyond control; my response with a smile on my face; "I am hungry, can't the lady eat to satisfy her hunger appetite?" After lunch we walked back to the campus, Chris and Jaime returned to their rooms to prepare for tomorrow's exams while Anderson and I went to his room to hang out as we didn't have any exams till Wednesday. I ended up taking a nap on his bed while he slept on his chair till around 5 PM, I must have been quite exhausted but it was a well deserved nap. We chatted about our exams and briefly about our summer holidays and from what I understood; Anderson was heading back to Chicago to continue his internship, Chris and Jaime were returning to Chicago as well but were not sure what they would be doing for the summer. I had no plans as I was busy trying to finish my exams, but for now was sure that I going to be headed back to Chicago for the summer vacation.
At around 6 PM, I headed back to my room to start preparing for my final exam on Wednesday which was 'History of International Relations since 1945', but before that had planned to submit my final exam essay for the course 'Introduction to International Relations." I had already typed it out, just needed to edit and write all the references before submitting it. I prepared myself a kettle of hot water for coffee along with the snacks I had bought from the supermarket which was to keep me awake while doing my work and reviewing for my last exam on Wednesday.
By 9 PM I had submitted my final exam essay and all that left was to prepare for my last exam on Wednesday. As I was relaxing eating my snacks, I called my parents and they were both home watching television. We started talking about school and how things were going including the exams; they were not worried as I thought they would be, as they believed I was already doing quite well in university. We talked about my summer plans mentioned that I would be returning to Chicago; it was then my dad asked if I would be interested in working as an intern in his company. My first response was "What would I be doing?" There was a moment of silence when my dad asked if I would be interested in working as an assistant to the director and staff. I hesitated for a minute but then again thought "great opportunity to experience working in a company for three months, would keep myself busy while practicing for the upcoming archery competition in July. I happily agreed and it was decided that I would start at the end of May when I closed for the summer. When I hang up the phone, started thinking about the internship experience, the working environment, the kind of people I would be working with, would I enjoy it etc. In the end, decided not to fret too much about it but try to have an open and positive mind about the internship and enjoy the opportunity.
By 11 PM I had already showered, and was enjoying another cup of coffee while reviewing for my exam. I checked in on Chris and Jaime via phone to see how their preparations for the exams were going and how they were doing as well. They both seemed quite confident and ready for tomorrow's exams both morning and afternoon and with their genius brains, never doubted them at all. We spent half an hour on the phone, wished them all the best and would see them after their exams tomorrow. I also checked on Anderson, he was reviewing, revising and preparing for the exams on Wednesday. Personally, didn't have any doubt he would struggle in his exams, and knew he would do quite well. We chatted for half an hour, and wished each other goodnight with love and a kiss and planned to see each other in the afternoon, along with Chris and Jaime after their last exam for the day. Having drunk three cups of coffee would have expected to have ample energy to keep reviewing for my exam; sadly I had fallen asleep on my bed with the review papers and textbooks on my bed. Clearly it was bed time and my brain was tired, so placed all my review materials and textbook on the table, brushed my teeth, crawled back into bed, turned off the lights and rolled over to sleep, it was already 2 AM.
The following morning (Tuesday) at around 6AM sent a quick text message wishing Chris and Jaime all the best in their exams and would see them once they finished their exams. I went back to bed sleeping until 10 AM where I enjoyed having a lazy morning, having coffee and breakfast in bed as I continued reviewing for my exam tomorrow (Wednesday). As I was reviewing, started reminding myself that I needed to take it easy and be calm before the exam and during the exam as I was not ready for another black hand, red eyes and body heating episode. I decided to review for two hours then take a break, get some coffee, do some breathing exercises, then review again for another two hours and keep this routine for the rest of the day. In addition, made sure to have a good lunch, an early dinner, review one final time then shower and by latest 11 PM would be in bed, waking up at 6 AM on Wednesday morning.
In the late afternoon around 5 PM, I met up with Chris and Jaime just after they had finished their last exam for the day and Anderson. They were quite hungry, thus we decided to head straight to a nearby restaurant off campus for dinner; we had been there once, and it was pretty nice, with a good variety of meals to choose from burgers, to pizza to pork ribs, etc. Dinner was on Jaime tonight and of course we were all excited and thanked him for the nice treat. As we waited for our meals and drinks, they begun chatting about their exams and how it was quite difficult, not that I could understand their conversations but from their facial expressions it was not an easy exam. They asked about my day and Anderson's day, what we did and about our preparations for tomorrow's exam. After we finished our dinner, we headed back to the campus and each headed back to their own rooms, we chatted for a bit in the reception area, greeting fellow students who passed by that we knew. At around 8 PM, Chris and Jaime retired to their rooms, while Anderson returned to his room after we bid goodnight with a kiss and hug. I returned to my room, showered, got into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, got into my bed and reviewed for an hour and that was it, no more reviewing. I set my alarm for 6 AM, turned off the lights and was in bed by 11 PM.
On Wednesday morning was already up at 5:30 AM, even before my alarm went off. I decided to take my time in getting ready before heading off to the exam room for my final and last exam of the semester which was 'History of International Relations since 1945.' I started off the day with homemade coffee as I was reading the news, at 6 AM, showered, dressed up, did my hair and then packed my reading materials and books. I made another cup of coffee with a Danish pastry (warmed in the microwave) bought from the school convenient store the previous night. I left my dorm room at 7:15 in the morning, took the elevator which stopped on the Chris and Jaime's floor and when the elevator opened it was indeed Chris and Jaime, they were also heading to their exam room, funny thing was when we reached the first floor, guess who was waiting for us; Anderson. We all just started laughing when we saw him as we didn't expect to be bumping into each other considering we didn't plan on meeting up this morning; so in sync I told myself. We left the dormitory headed to the teaching and learning buildings; when we got to my building, we all hugged each other wishing each other the best in the exams and would see each other later in the evening. I was having only one exam in the morning while Chris, Jaime and Anderson were having two exams.
Once I arrived in my exam classroom, I was surprised to find the class half full with my classmates all reviewing and revising for their exam. I waved shook and nodded my head as a greeting and sat at the same spot as on Monday. I took out my notebook, review materials and textbook and started going over the review content. As I was reviewing the content, a voice was speaking to me "remember, be calm, take it easy, don't stress yourself and you will be fine." I took a deep breath, calmed down and continued reviewing. At around 7:55AM, two professors came in holding the exam papers; we were asked to put away our materials, backpacks to be placed at the front of the class, all phones were either to be switched off or put on vibrate. Once we were all seated, the professors started handing out the exam papers; when I received the exam paper wrote my name, course name and number and then started going through the questions. The exam had three sections; section one was fifty multiple choice questions, section two was five short answer questions all were to be answered and section three were the essay questions with a total of six and were to choose three. We had a total of two hours for the exam. I decided to complete the multiple choice questions as I had already started reading them before the exam begun and already known the answers to ten of the questions. By the time I completed section one, it was already 8:20 AM; next was the section two, first read all the questions, took a minute to breath, took my pen and started writing. I was so relaxed and calm, didn't feel a thing while I was writing my answers. I completed section two in thirty minutes. The third section was where the remaining time was allocated, each question required details, supporting evidence, examples, personal opinions and conclusions. I completed two questions, and then had to put the pen down to relax and take a breather for five minutes as was already feeling the heat in my body and pain in my right palm. During these five minutes, decided to go over the answers from section one and section two just to make sure all the questions were answered to the expectations of the professor. With just twenty minutes left, I was already relaxed, calm and ready to complete the third question from section three. Luckily it was a straight forward question which required supporting details with evidence and examples, personal opinions and conclusions. I finished the question in fine print almost as if I was signing a document; I smiled, looked through my answers one last time, and then put my pen down. My exam was completed on Wednesday morning at 10; this was my last and final exam for the semester and conclusion of my first year at Boston University.
After the exam was over, got my backpack and left the classroom, a few of my classmates and I were chatting asking my thoughts on the exam; challenging, lots of information needed with lots of details and exams, but hope for the best was my final thought and reply. On my way back to the dormitory, decided to treat myself to coffee and a pastry and just relax as I had finished all my exams and was officially on my summer holiday; was such a good feeling. I started thinking about the afternoon; what to do as I wasn't feeling sleepy or tired and didn't have any books to return to the library and my room was already tidy. Then I thought, 'archery,' I could go to the archery club, practice and relax for the rest of the day until 5 in the afternoon. After finishing my coffee and pastry, returned to my dormitory, changed, packed a small bag with some essentials, phone, and money, took an extra light jacket in case were cold and a drink and then left for the archery club. On my way, I sent a message to Chris, Jaime and Anderson letting them that I would be in the archery club until 5 in the afternoon. The archery club was like twenty to thirty minutes from the university via shortcuts, decided to walk to the club as the weather was quite nice and warm. When I arrived at the club, got myself a locker, placed all my personal belongings and headed off to the practice field. The place was very quiet with just a few people getting training and lessons. I walked to the fields, looked around, and memories of my archery life in high school started flashing back including the tournaments. It had taken about three minutes before I realized someone had been tapping on my shoulder saying "miss, miss, are you alright?" I turned around, "Yes, I am good thanks." "Are you here to practice?" he asked. "Yes, I am here to practice and just enjoy for the afternoon," I replied. Alright, if you need any help let me know," he said. "Sure, no problem, thanks." I replied.
I returned back to the collection stand to pick up a bow and arrow, had to find a suitable one as I didn't bring the one I used while I was in Chicago. I took about three of them to practice shooting the arrows to find one that was compatible; decided to go with the crossbow for practice and the recurve bow which was similar to the one in Chicago that I used for my competitions. With the crossbows I practiced for two hours, was a bit rusty as I had not played since high school. As I was practicing a voice was saying, "Your shots are pretty rusty Diana." I automatically knew it was 'black hood' speaking. "Yes, I am aware of that, thank you very much, just need to practice and practice to regain my feel and game," I said. "By the way aren't you supposed to be somewhere else," I asked. "I like you and your style and we have quite a lot in common," said 'black hood' "Besides our green and red eyes, the black smoke, great memory and ability to have power, speed and unbelievable energy, what else do we have in common?" I asked. "We have the ability to see the past, ability to heal from any wound or sickness, the ability to shoot arrows faster than a bullet not missing a target, and a very bad temper especially when we both get angry," said 'black hood.' "So if I have the ability to, wait a minute, how is both of us having a temper especially when we both get angry an ability?" I asked. "Now would not be a good time to explain that, you need to focus on your current practice," said 'black hood.' I was beginning to get irrigated and agitated, when 'black hood' said, "there are also other abilities and powers you have which you will know, learn and master in due time." I tilted my head to the right trying to get a glimpse of 'black hood' but its power and energy was too strong, my head was just facing the archery target board. I took my crossbow and arrows and continued practicing, didn't want to speak to 'black hood' all my arrows were clearly hitting the middle of the yellow circle. After a two hour practice session, was now ready to use the recurve bow, but before that took a ten minute break to stretch my body, hands, thighs and legs. It wasn't until I noticed the guy from earlier standing a few feet away from where I was doing my stretch exercises. Then the questions begun; how long have you been an archer, where did you learn to practice, who was your trainer etc, long list of questions which were okay at first until he started getting personal; you are not from around here, where are you from, how old are you? How often do you come to this club? I wanted to shut him down but 'black hood' was still around trying to calm me down as my temper was already rising. "Easy Diana, just be polite and tell him, you are not comfortable answering the personal questions." "I am sorry but I am not quite comfortable answering the personal questions, but we can play and enjoy archery, got no problem with that." I said. "I am sorry." He said. "No problems," I replied.
After the long stretch, took my recurve bow and arrows and begun my target practice. It didn't take long to start feeling myself back in the game, getting perfect shots, not missing a target. "Now that's how we do it," said 'black hood.' I smiled with a funny laugh and continued practicing for the last three hours. 'Black hood' helped me practice, trying new and different techniques of shooting, including blind folded and shooting three arrows at the same time. It was a long three hours of practice but well deserved!! I had never felt so good in such a long time, especially after today's practice and working with 'black hood.' I asked 'black hood' if we could train together for the next week in this club before heading back to Chicago. 'Black hood' agreed with the following conditions; practice every afternoon from 1-5, and practice would be every day. My response "deal," got my stuff and left the club heading back to the university.
It was already 5:30 in the late afternoon when I arrived back at the university. First went to see Anderson; he had just arrived five minutes earlier, talk about perfect timing. He noticed I was looking very exhausted and asked with laughter "were you practicing archery or having an archery competition," I replied, "Was just practice and fun, but remember I hadn't played since high school so getting back into it was quite a task, but was pretty cool and fun." I continued, "I have decided to be going every afternoon and practicing from one to five in the afternoon and back at 5:30 like today." He replied, "Oh that's nice, at least you will have something to keep you busy as we continue with our exams which end next week." We talked about our exams, and other things; I also told him about the internship I will be doing in the summer at my father's company. He asked some questions about the internship which he was quite thrilled to know that I shall be able to have something to do in the summer and it will be a great learning experience. We were talking for over an hour when my phone rang; it was Chris and Jaime, they were asking of my whereabouts and dinner plans. "We were actually talking about dinner plans with Anderson and were thinking of doing pizza night, ordering from Papa John's." I told them. It was the perfect idea and we were to have dinner at Anderson's room.
At around 7:30 in the evening, Chris and Jaime arrived just as the pizza was being delivered for Anderson to pick it up from the reception area. He had ordered three large pizzas; Pepperoni pizza, chicken super papa's pizza, Canadian bacon plus 3 cheese, was clearly going to be a feast tonight. As we were talking about the days' events and how things went in the exam, I was just busy munching my pizza while listening, must have been hungry after a full five hours of archery practice. We also talked about our summer plans and when we would be planning to return to Chicago. Since we were all going to be done with school Wednesday May 26, 2021, we agreed and decided to leave the following day which was Thursday May 27, 2021 on an early morning flight back to Chicago and also purchased our tickets online to confirm our departure. We had also informed our parents and luckily they were able to pick us up from the airport. Yes!!! This was going to be a very interesting summer; Anderson would continue his internship at the architectural/engineering firm; Chris and Jaime would be working at their parents business and law firm, they would spend June and half of July working at their father's business company, and then the second half of July and the first two weeks of August working as interns at their mother's law firm. Finally, I would be working at my father's company as an assistant to the director and staff. It was all exciting news; just the fact of all four of us being in Chicago for the summer and doing internships was great. This meant we would only get to see each other on the weekends, which was no problem, as long as we were in Chicago we could also see each other after work. All in all, our summer holiday was working out as planned and was going to be an amazing summer!!
By 10 PM, we were all stuffed, tired, and already falling asleep in Anderson's room. Sometimes, I tell myself "Life is so hard, why going to school can't be as easy as going to pre-k or kindergarten where all we would do is just have fun, fun fun." Well, look on the bright side, just have one more week and school will be over, my first year at Boston University will be over, even when I think about it or say it to myself, can't believe it!! We were finally able to get up from the floor, gather ourselves and head back to our rooms; Anderson as always a kind gentleman escorted me to my room, right outside my door, while Chris and Jaime as tired as they were managed to get back to their rooms. Anderson and I kissed each other goodnight, and he watched me enter my room before returning back to his room.
For the next one week while Chris, Jaime and Anderson were doing their final exams, I spent my mornings just being lazy in my room and in the afternoons was at the archery club practicing with my special guest 'black hood.' To be honest, I had started enjoying and getting used to 'black hood' plus all the interesting conversations and discussions we would have, but what I found strange was that every time I asked him personal questions or tried to get to know about 'black hood' the topic was drastically changed with no warning to the extent that he would just vanish and I would be left talking to myself. 'Black hood's disappearance just like that happened quite a number of times which led me to think, it was not a good thing asking him personal questions, but why I would question myself, was it something 'black hood' never liked to talk about, was I related in any of it, did it have anything to do with my mum and many more questions were surfing in my mind. Nevertheless, I thought best to not touch on any personal topics and let it be, should 'black hood' be willing to talk about it someday, I am sure all my questions will be answered. On Tuesday May 25, 2021, it was my last day of practice at the archery club. The archery club was very nice to temporary pause my archery club card as I was going to be away for two months, they will reactive my card when I return in mid-August. Since 'black hood' had not come to help me practice for the last two days, I used my telepathic ability to send him a message about my summer plans, but I didn't hear from him at all and I left the archery club returning back to my university. I was quite saddened and wasn't sure if I was every going to hear or see 'black hood' ever again!!
In the afternoon of Wednesday May 26, 2021, we were back in our rooms, busy packing, cleaning the room and getting rid of all the rubbish. I was to make sure my room was clean and well organized before leaving tomorrow morning. All the food, including snacks and drinks that were left in the fridge I decided to give them to the staff that clean our dormitory and the security guards, so I packed and wrapped them well ready for delivery tomorrow morning. By 7:30 in the evening, the room was clean, my suitcases were packed, all that was left was to pack the toiletries tomorrow morning once I finish using them. Chris, Jaime, Anderson and I met just outside our dormitory but not for long as we were having an early morning and needed to get an early shut eye to avoid being late tomorrow. At 9:30 at night, we were all back in our rooms, I showered, washed and blow dried my hair, brushed my teeth and by 10:30 PM, my alarm was set for 6 AM, turned off the lights and went to sleep.
The next morning my alarm went off, didn't take me long to get off the bed and was already getting ready, Anderson had checked in via phone to make sure I was awake, we both checked on Chris and Jaime via phone to make sure they were awake. We were all ready, packed with our suitcases downstairs at the reception area and ready to go by 8AM. Before I left I gave the wrapped and packed snacks, drinks and food to the staff working at the reception and security guards, they were very happy and thanked me for my kindness. Our ride to the airport had already arrived shortly to pick us up at the campus before 8AM, as we were loading our suitcases in the car; I looked around at the campus and my dormitory with a smile saying "Boston University see you in August." We left the campus and headed straight for the airport, which was a very quiet right ride, figured we were still sleepy and we hadn't had breakfast. Our flight was scheduled for 11:15AM, gave us time to have breakfast and hopefully would not be too jammed at the airport especially the immigration section. We arrived at the airport shortly after 9 in the morning; the check in line was quite short so we rushed to check in, got our tickets, headed to the immigration only to find one long line. The good thing was that more counters started opening up as they saw there were already too many people waiting in line. It didn't take long; we were through with immigration in less than twenty minutes. We first checked and found our departure gate once that was out of the way, we found a restaurant that served breakfast and it was partly empty and close to our boarding gate. We made sure to have a good breakfast before getting on the plane, because once on the plane we were all going to sleep until we landed in Chicago. We checked in with our parents and gave them updates on our status at the airport. All was good and was now just enjoying our breakfast.
At 10:30, we begun boarding our flight, Chris and Jaime were seated in front of us, while Anderson and I were right behind them. Once we were settled, chatted with each other as we were waiting for the plane to take off. It was going to be a two hour and twenty minute flight, which was good time to catch some sleep before landing in Chicago. As we were preparing for takeoff, sent a quick message to my parents letting them know, "our flight was on schedule and are getting ready for takeoff, see you in a few hours, love you." Switched off my phone and we started looking outside watching as the plane was on the runaway getting ready for takeoff.
As I started my summer holiday, I thought back and reflected that it was not long ago we were completing our high school in Chicago getting ready for college and life in Boston. My first year at Boston University went by so fast, still can't believe Chris, Jaime and I have finished our first year while Anderson has finished his second year at Boston University. I had thought college life was going to be stressful, frustrating and difficult to adapt, but it turned out to be a life I never expected especially with the many courses, the nice and also other not so nice and friendly classmates, the nice but strict professors, and the environment and the college lifestyle. As I watched the plane take off, I turned my head and started looking at Anderson, Chris and Jaime and feeling so appreciative, grateful, happy and lucky to have met them. They have been such a joy to have in my life, with their support, encouragement and love, we have been able to conquer all challenges, stress, and the ups and downs of life but despite all that, we have formed a very strong friendship, a relationship and a bond that continues to grow, is stronger than ever and hopefully one that will last a lifetime.
This summer we found ourselves back in our home town Chicago for another summer vacation only this time we shall be working as interns in different companies, taking on the challenging tasks and ensuring to meet the expectations as an intern. It was my hope that this will be a great opportunity and experience that will help us in our personal and professional development as we step into the professional career for the first time in our lives.