One thing I noticed when I came for a tour last year at Randolph College was the accents. I couldn't wait to go to a college in the South and get a Southern Accent. I always wanted to be a Southern Bell and that typical country girl. I rode horses growing up and always wanted to be a cowgirl so I would talk in a Southern accent, but Virginia is the real deal. They have real accents. My parents always told me that they would come home for breaks saying words like "yall" and having an accent. When I went home for Fall Break I said yall one time and my friends freaked out. They thought it was so cool but funny. I have noticed I have been saying yall and talking different. I think it depends on the people you hang out with if you want to get a bit of a southern accent. I hang out with quite a few people who are from Virginia or just the South in general so I caught on to the Southern talk pretty fast. My roomate hates when I say yall so I tend to say it a lot around her. I wonder what kind of accent I'll have by the time I graduate Randolph College. I hope I'm a Southern Bell.

I don't know if its just me but i find it very un comforting and strange that there is a jail right next to Randolph Colleges' campus. I cant even walk around town without seeing at least 3 police cars and a ton of police stations. Every time I go on a walk I think that a prisoner is going to escape and murder me or kidnap me but i know that just my mind exaggerating. I know this jail couldn't possibly be filled with murders or that bad of people but its still scary for eighteen year old girls like me. Whenever me and my friends go out at night we walk past the jail and the inmates wave or bang on the windows. Some people find it humorous but I think it is just flat out creepy. I remember when I first told my room mate about the jail and how close we were to it. She couldn't believe what I said and was in disbelief until I made her walk with me to see it. My mom said that when she went here that an inmate escaped at ran through Bowman (her dorm). I always tell people that story whenever we walk past the jail and they get so freaked out. The building is a tall beige colored, triangle shaped building at the front of the campus. It has creepy windows about a foot wide on all sides. I wish they would just take down the jail and relocate it somewhere else because it makes the campus look unsafe and sometimes makes me feel unsafe.

Last week was a week I had been looking forward to after being at Randolph College for 2 months. It was fall break! The friday I went home I couldn't wait to be done my friday classes and get on the road to Maryland. I didn't even care that a five hour drive was ahead of me. After getting an A on my oral exam I rushed to my car to get on the road. It was pouring down rain 4 out of the 5 hours my friends Alexis, Angela, and I were driving. I was so excited when I got home! My family gave me a million hugs and were so excited to tell me about the trip they planned for us all to take Saturday. We were going to New York city!

I had been to New York City a bunch of times for school or with my mom but never with my whole family! My brother had never been in his life and it had been 30 years since my dad last went. My mom and I were so excited to show them around the city! My favorite part was when we went to Central Park and saw all the places where movies have been filmed. My mom had never seen all of Central Park and always wanted to. I wanted to see the Zoo but they didn't have bears so I was very disappointed because bears are my favorite animal. Another one of my favorite parts was when we went to see The World Trade Tower Memorial. We went specifically to see one of my dads fraternity brothers name on the memorial. He had gone to Roanoke College like my dad and was some what close to my dad. After finally finding his name two ladies asked if we were here to see him. They said that had come to see him too because they also went to Roanoke College and was a Phi Mu at Roanoke College. My mom was so shocked because she was a Phi Mu at Roanoke too. It was almost like fate that we all met up at the memorial. What a small world this is. After waking up at 5 in the morning to take a 3 hour bus ride, walking around NYC for almost 9, and waiting two hours for dinner we were all just ready to go home.

This past weekend was one of my favorite weekends at Randolph college. It was parents weekend. Since my parents went to Randolph College back in 89' and 90' they knew all the best places to take me out. One of my favorite places they took me to was the Roanoke star. We went at night so the valley looked really pretty all lit up with all the twinkling lights. My parents of course took lots of pictures of my brother and I by the Roanoke Star.

Then, the next day we went on a hike on the Appalachian Trail. My dad knew the whole way because him and his college friends use to hike the mountain all the time. My mom who is scared of heights forgot she was scared of heights halfway up the mountain and started to cry. I convinced her to continue on the trail and try to not look down the mountain. My dad had to walk her the rest of the way and hold her up because she said she was getting dizzy.

When we got to the top of the mountain it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The mountains were so blue. I now know why they are called the "Blue Ridge Mountains". The leaves on the trees were just starting to change colors so they were red, orange, and yellow. I felt bad for my mom because she couldn't look over the cliff but I took lots of pictures for her.

This coming weekend is the weekend I have been waiting for for weeks. Parents weekend! I've never been so excited to see my mom, dad, and little brother. I've also never realized how much I needed them until they dropped my off for college.

I first realized that I needed my mom when I got sick 2 weeks into college. I didnt have her to give me the right medicine and I didnt know the first thing when it came to medicine. I didnt have my mom to do my laundry and make my clothes smell like flowers just like it does back home. My mom would no longer be there for when I came home from a bad day and needed to vent. I miss the long car rides we would take together and I would spill out everything about my life. I miss shopping for homecoming dresses with her and going grocery shopping even though I complained the whole time. I miss her hugs and her squeaky voice when she tells me she loves me.

I not only miss my mom but I also miss my dad. I've always been such a daddys girl and always need my dad. I miss watching sports with him on sundays even if it was golf (which I hated) but it didnt matter because I was with him. I miss playing guitar for him at night and when he would join along and play air guitar right next to me. I miss him bringing home either goose or fish for us to eat for dinner even though I was against him hunting. I miss him telling me not to be late for curfew when I went out with my friends. I cant wait till he comes to Roanoke and watches the soccer games with me reminiscing on the times when he played for Roanoke in 1989.

Last but not least, I miss my brother Tyler. I never thought I would say that but I do. I miss him making me laugh at the dinner table. I never realized how much I needed him in college, mostly to make me laugh on stressful days. I miss driving him around to his friends house or to go fishing or just to get snow cones. Im so glad he is finally going to get to see Roanoke. I miss watching him play lacrosse and soccer and cheering him on silently in my head so i didnt embarrass him on the field.

I miss my family so much and have realized that no matter how far from home I am they will always be #1 to me and my biggest supporters. They come first in my life and I feel like I struggle everyday without being home with them. Im so glad I get the chance to go to the college that my parent met at and am glad they get to live their college experience all over again through me.

Recently I went through one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. Recently as in last weekend. As I mentioned in my last blog, I took a trip to University of Maryland 4 hours away to visit some friends for the weekend. I was already so nervous to be traveling without my parents and knew that something would go wrong one way or another. I don't have the best luck when it comes to these types of things.

I woke up Sunday morning in my friends dorm thinking that if I left at 12:30 pm traveling 25 minutes to D.C. that it would leave me plenty of time to catch my bus for a 2:00 departure. My friend would drive me to Union Station and everything would be fine and dandy. This wasn't the case though. 

Luckily we were making great time, but my luck soon turned. I was following my Google Maps on my phone and it said that we would be there 30 minutes before 2:00. My friend driving failed to tell me that she was following her own GPS which was taking us a completely different way. Hers said that we would arrive at Union Station at 2:10. This was unacceptable..I could NOT be late for my bus back home. I told her to follow the directions off of my phone from now on even though we were already about 20 minutes out of our way. My friend is a pretty reckless and fast driver and normally her driving would have freaked me out but not this time. This time I was the one telling her to pass that car or to speed up even though we were already going about 20 over the speed limit. I had my mind set that I was not going to miss my bus home. 

Washington D.C. traffic was insanely busy that day. OF COURSE..TODAY, the day I'm late for my bus. The car was getting hotter and I began to freak out. I started thinking off all the consequences of missing my bus. 1. My parents would be pissed that I just spent all that money on the bus ride and 2. I would be missing my classes monday! I called my friend who traveled with me but got her own ride to the bus station. She was already on the bus and wondering where I was. I told her to stall the bus driver and tell him that I would be there a few minutes after 2:00. It was no use, he couldn't hold up the passengers on the bus. I was doomed. 

I spotted Union Station from about a half mile away. We were slowly inching our way through the line to reach the entrance of the station. I just said "screw this" jumped out of the car and sprinted across the busy road, then the lawn, then around a huge statue that seemed to be really inconvenient at that moment. I looked like a fool running awkwardly with a big bag on my back. I'd never felt so out of shape and didn't realize this until I started almost hyperventilating while running through the station. I couldn't find the busses anywhere. It was exactly 2:00 there was no time to loose. Then I got the call.

my friend: "Meghan..the bus driver just started the bus.where are you??"

me: "Im coming, just please stall!"

my friend: I tried my best! He's pulling out of the station now. you need to go back to your friends car who drove you here."

I didn't know where my friend who drove me was at this point. Eventually I called her  and jumped back in the car. I didn't know where to go next. Should I get a hotel room and then catch a bus back to Roanoke tomorrow? I was out of ideas. Finally I made the call to my parents. They were disappointed and very mad at me. I began to cry to my mom over the phone which calmed them down and suddenly made them more supportive. They told me to come home which was an hour away from Union Station. I was exhausted and just wanted to be on that bus sleeping. 

When I got home my mom hugged me. I was so happy to see my family because I hadn't seen them since they dropped me off at college. They told me I was to drive back to Roanoke that night so I wouldn't miss classes the next day. I thought they were crazy at first because I had only driven the highway about 3 times before this. I was not ready to drive 5 and a half hours back to Roanoke but knew it was my only choice. 

I hit the road around 5:00 pm and drove for 4 hours. I was so tired while driving that I almost fell asleep at the wheel a few times. I knew I had to stop or i would probably end up getting in an accident. I was close to James Madison University and knew my close friend went there. I called her up and explained my situation to her. She felt so bad for me that she let me stay at her place over night. I slept on a hard couch that was right outside of her dorm room. I woke up early to hit the road and thankfully made it back to Roanoke before my 12:00 class. This whole adventure was a learning experience for me and was somewhat glad I went through it. 

Here I am sitting at the Falling Branch megabus station. It's cold outside and full of strangers. 20 more minutes until I board the bus.. My journey ends at University of Maryland. I've never been so exciting to take a trip back to Maryland and I've also never taken a bus without my parents. Unfamiliar with the area and scared of strangers I don't know how this trip is going to work out.

I just took my seat on the bus. A 300 pound African American just took his seat next to me and is blaring a song by  "2 chainz" out of his iPod. I was basically sitting next to the hulk. Thank God I took the window seat so I could look at the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains on this journey. There all types of people on this bus. I wonder where they are going and why they are traveling. I wish I had my car so I could drive myself from Randolph College to Maryland. I could be blaring my music in my car and sit on my leather seats rather than listening to my music through headphones at a reasonable volume in these itchy bus seats. Not to mention I haven't eaten anything since before my 12:00 class. My stomach is making weird noises because I''m starving! 5 more hours until I can eat. I'm craving a buffalo chicken wrap with fries and a mountain dew and The Cavern back at Randolph College. 5 hours of sitting on a bus can be boring..thankful I have my "Thr Sex Lives of Cannibals" book to read!

It sucks not having a car in college to be able to go on these road trips myself. Instead I had to pay someone to drive me to the bus station, pay for a bus ticket, and pay for someone to pick me up from the bus station on Sunday. I'm so used to having my own car and driving it every day to wherever I need to go. I've been on bus rides at school for field trips but never a bus ride from school to home. I guess I could think of this as a long field trip. I've never felt so out of place.