i've officially survived the first two weeks of school. just barely. this is my last school year (if all goes well, i'll graduate in april!) and also quite possibly my roughest adjustment back to school yet.

you know that saying "when it rains, it pours?" well, it's kinda true. unpleasant things just kept popping up right amidst the already existent chaos that comes with figuring out your new school schedule, buying textbooks, readjusting to studying/homework etc. among the unpleasant things were nick's car battery completely dying, our wifi router not working, my laptop hard drive crashed (which is not only an expensive fix but a heartbreaking one too when you realize you haven't updated you external hard drive in the last three months and nearly all of your summertime photos/videos and every old photo you've spent hours scanning in are now lost. plus things you don't even realize are lost. like bookmarks you've spent the last four years saving/organizing. or your keypad settings that somebody else set for you are all different. and you have to reinstall microsoft word and all the adobe programs from scratch. needless to say, it was a rough thing to happen right at the beginning of the semester - especially being in a very computer based major....), plus dumb little things kept going wrong like my shoes just outright breaking when i was walking all over campus or waiting in line forever to register my bike only to be told i didn't write down the right serial number. these things can really get to you when it's already been a rough week. then you get the news that something as terribly sad as your grandmother passing away, which really just blows every other silly concern out of the ballpark. plus a few other pieces of heartbreaking news came our way that aren't my place to divulge about on my blog.

basically it's been a rough two first weeks of school. but also i know i shouldn't be too complainy about it all because there were a lot of good things that happened that should be what i'm focused on. like my good friends bachelorette party, two amazingly fun weddings, a baby shower and my sister coming into town with my two adorable nieces. plus realizing just how amazing my husband/family/friends are when difficult things happen. i feel so amazingly blessed to have such a close, supportive group of people who are there to get me through hard times. i know i always have a shoulder to cry on and that's an incredible thing.

plus i have the opportunity to go to australia with my dad and brother tomorrow until next sunday to be with family for oumie's (grandma's) funeral. i'm sad that it's under such sad circumstances but so happy to be able to go. my grandpa on my mom's side passed away when i was just a baby so i don't remember his funeral and when my granny passed away i had just recently returned from south africa and wasn't able to go again for her funeral. so it will be nice to actually be there this time and be there to help comfort my oupa (grandpa) through it.

my mom lent some comforting words that i've been clinging to about when a lot of trial/adversity hits. she said it just means something good is coming. and there's always something to learn from those hardships that help us grow and become more prepared for our future. it reminds me of the quote by joseph campbell: "we must be willing to let go of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." i don't know a lot but i know that things are not always going to go our way and i know that that's okay. we have such a limited view of our lives that things don't always make very much sense when they're happening, but one day they will.