"These Days"

October 17, 2005

I cannot believe that this weekend is already over! I've been waiting for so long for this weekend to come! Now that it's over, I'm feeling a little letdown...but an excited, content letdown. Last night, two of my friends and I made the trek to Baltimore to see Rascal Flatts, one of our favorite country groups, in concert. To begin with, yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL day...it was sunny and clear and the mountains were gorgeous. (Once again, I can't get over how beautiful it is out here!) Some of the scenes that we saw during the drive were breathtaking. Once we got to Baltimore, we joined the mob of loud, cowboy hat-wearing country music fans for the concert. We got to Baltimore relatively early and we were some of the first people in line to go through. Waiting in our seats turned out to be fun, because we could just sit and watch all of the eccentric fans who turned out.

Blaine Larsen and Blake Shelton opened for Rascal Flatts, and they were both very good performers. But the real show started when Rascal Flatts hit the opening note...their whole performance was such a rush! Of course, they played some of my favorite songs, but EVERY song was great just because we were watching them play LIVE, right in front of us. One of the songs, "Skin" is about a cancer survivor. It touched me to see how the whole band lined up on the stage and sang right out to the audience. Rascal Flatts also played my favorite song, "These Days," and that made my night. After the concert was over, I felt like I was waking up from a dream. The whole night was so much fun.

This weekend was Homecoming weekend, so there were many visitors on campus. My family didn't come out this weekend, but I enjoyed meeting everyone's families, and friends who came out for the weekend. It will be so exciting to come back to EMU for my reunions to see all of the great friends who I live with here. I was kind of uncomfortable on campus, though. I felt like I had to live up to the expectations of the alumni. As my friend Corrie said, "These could be your future in-laws!" Meeting everyone was great, but I am glad to be back to normal.

This week will be another busy one, with many papers and exams due. To be honest, I am really dreading the next few days. My nineteenth birthday is on Thursday, and I have four papers and a test on that day! It's exciting, but I also know that Thursday will not be the easiest day. Fall break is next weekend, and I will definately be looking foward to that. For now, I will keep on working and get through to the next weekend...hopefully just as good as this one!