I went to the Christmas Eve service at church alone this year. My dad usually forces the family to go, but when I asked what service, he kinda just changed the subject, which was odd. So I saw some people at church that I knew and then went to my travel buddy's family's Christmas Eve party where my old high school friend group met up. We talked for a few hours but, because it was Christmas Eve, we all slowly but surely had to leave to stay with our respective families.
We had Christmas at my dad's house first, where I received skinny jeans upon skinny jeans, as per my request. Also some shirts which seemed to fit, which is uncommon. Then mom's Christmas at her fiancé's house, where we ate and drank and it was nice. From my mom, I just asked for help financially when I traveled in the future.
That night, Katie Williams was in town with her boyfriend (a very likeable guy), Michael Bruner. Their Christmas had been weird but we all watched Mean Girls and then they got tired, which was good, because I was to fly to Florida the next morning for Christmas stuff with extended family on my dad's side. Siblings stayed up all night for the flight, as is their tradition, so everyone was annoyed with everyone and I played peacekeeper, which was annoying. After my past semester at school, nothing seemed worth complaining about. Anyway, the trip lasted too long (because earlier return flights were more expensive) and consisted mostly of sitting around all day then drinking too much at night.
I got back in time to sleep in and then go back-to-school-for-a-year-on-an-island shopping with my mom, then went to meet up with my good friends Tara and Mia (and other mutual friends Marissa and Stefanie) at a hotel we had booked for NYE. Time flew by because this was really the main occasion I had been excited for all break that actually happened, but it was time treasured. Tara complained of her boyfriend who never wanted to do things like this, and I advised that she needn't date someone just because she likes some qualities about them. After all, I told her, she and I aren't dating despite the fact that we like qualities in each other (and if she were Christian, I would totes consider dating her). We went to Victory Park in Dallas and everyone was too cold, so we went back to the hotel and reached it just before midnight, then drank and passed out. Then in the morning, my friends left, waking me up to hug them first, and then it was just me. I went back home and packed with naps in between and wished that I had booked my tickets to give me more time. Then I left in the morning, leaving my dad with new commands for my car, that anyone who drives it has to obey the law (I quoted some Bible verses on authority) and I could tell it made my dad upset because it required using his seatbelt, which he very rarely does, and only upon great insistence, and not speeding, which everyone tends to do.
I spent the day very depressed as I traveled, wishing that I didn't have to go back to that island. That island that cut me off from my friends and family, that put me in a world filled with people and cultures so different from my own. I hated it. But I made the trip because I'm bigger than that, and so is God's calling for me. I made it to St Kitts, stayed in a hotel with a friend, then went to Nevis, hired a taxi for the afternoon for $35 to take us to the grocery store and then to our apartments (way better pricing than a taxi in Dallas), and finally settled in to my studio apartment. Admittedly, it felt okay being here after I cleaned up the place and kinda made it my own. Most of my complaints about the island aren't applicable at the moment, aside from the major one of separation from loved ones. But without that separation, I wouldn't realize how much I loved them, and they me.
Tomorrow is orientation for new students, and my second semester of med school begins the day after. There is hope for this next semester. I have my own place that I can arrange how I like. It's a little small but not cramped. My study habits will finally depend on me and God working through me.
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