D.C. Home Sweet Home!

This weekend didn't go as planned.  Shortly after publishing my last post Bennett called with some very sad news that her boyfriend Vic's father had suffered a massive stroke and was in the ICU.  By the next morning they were pretty sure he wouldn't make it, so she stayed in Georgia to be with Vic.  It was a very good choice because he passed a few hours later.  He was lucky to be surrounded by tons of friends and family, so I am hoping he knew on some level how loved he was in his last hours!  I was sad to not be able to see my best friend, but Bennett being with Vic was the best thing for him at this terrible time.

On a happier note...
The very first thing I did when I arrived in D.C. was get on the wrong metro train.  So much for being a local! It took me so far out of the way that I just got in a cab to meet my friends.  For some reason, the cab driver squiggled through campus, making sure I passed every significant corner and tugging my heartstrings the whole way.  While I went to D.C. with my mama a few weeks ago, being on campus was so different.  I could feel my stomach twisting as we passed my freshman dorm.  I feel like it was a completely different person who lived in that dorm.  I am so completely different from the girl I was when I first moved to the city that I don't even recognize her.  My memories seemed like they belonged to someone else, and it just showed me how much I have grown.

Driving down Sorority Row reminded me of the best friends a girl can make.  I know the common conception is that sororities are all about drinking, partying, and hazing, but I promise you it is not true.  There are absolutely sorority girls who embrace all of those activities, but it's really not what it's about.  When I was a freshman I got a "Big Sister" or more lovingly called my Big, and without her I never would have survived the life changes of freshman year.  She really became my big sister and I love her so much.  Being in a sorority gives you such a bond, and even now, 5 years later I can still go to her with any problem life throws at me.  I now also have a Little, a Grand Little, a Great Grand Little, and a Great Great Grand Little! I'm really old.  I always hoped to be the kind of Big to my Little that my Big was to me. :)

Since Bennett couldn't come anymore, and it is finals time for GWU, I brought my schoolwork and studied the days away with my Little.  Then, at night we grabbed my Great Grand Little and went out on the town.  It was a more low key weekend then I had planned, but that made it so much better.  I got ahead on my schoolwork and got to see so much more of my Little than I thought!  Our weekend included Spanish tapas, SANGRIA, some late-night shopping, family love, and the White House!

It is strange to consider two places home.  I grew up in Syracuse, and it will always be home, but D.C. is where I truly grew into the woman I am today.  Being back there was enlightening, sad, exciting and simply put, amazing.

Yes...there was an outfit change.  In the middle of the store ;)