In a bubble

Panama City, FL? Boston, MA? Asheville, NC? Henderson, KY? Can you guess where Sarah Hargis spent her spring break? That's right, good ol' Henderson, Kentucky.

So I didn't have any exciting spring break plans, but I was really looking forward to just relaxing at home with my family and dog. Plus, I had a research paper I wanted to get started on. So going home was going to be a relaxing and productive time! Haha. Well, relaxing at least.

I remember the first day I was back in Henderson—it felt so weird to just be sitting on the couch; I had nothing to do! I wish I could describe the feeling to you; it's as if my body no longer knew what to do with an extended amount of free time. So I decided to go to the library (my second home at Centre). I'm not sure why, but I really thought it would be the same as going to Centre's library.

Downtown Henderson County Public Library and Centre College Grace Doherty Library...not a lot of common ground there. I'd forgotten how busy my hometown library was. I picked out a book on Cuban history to read for my research paper, and spent the hour on one page because of all the distractions: kids running around, babies crying, audible conversations between wives about amazing recipes. It wasn't an unpleasant distraction though. In fact, I think I began tearing up because I missed this...I missed real life . At college, we're all basically the same age, have the same interests, like to have fun, facebook is our daily vitamin, and are constantly learning new things we've never known from our esteemed professors. As much of a privilege as it is, that's not the real world. It doesn't carry with it the day-to-day concerns of people of all ages from different walks of life. We're in a bubble.

Another day, I decided to go visit my grandma. I decided to surprise her, and came during the end of her and grandpa's dinner. After hugs and kisses, grandma felt compelled to fix me a plate and make sure I was well-fed (the diet had to go that night). Talking with just the two of them there in the kitchen was so nice. It had been so long since I'd let my body just slow down and enjoy taking in the day. Dinner seemed to go by too quickly for grandma though, so she persuaded me to stay and watch a western movie with her. Haha, ahhh good times at grandma's.

I ended the week with a visit to my old high school. I set up a table with a bunch of Centre College information on it by the cafeteria (the admissions office asked if I would do this for them). For the first couple of minutes I sat there by myself pretending to be interested in one of the pamphlets, then the "Sarah Hargis!", "Oh my gosh, SARAH!", "Saaaarah, heeeyyy!" came. It was so much fun seeing the juniors from last year who were now seniors. After a lot of catching up, we finally moved to conversations about Centre. I was so excited that so many were interested in coming here. I reflected on my own experiences to persuade and assure them that it would be a great choice. In the midst of talking and praising Centre, I had a little freeze moment and remembered just how much I really do love Centre.

Yeah it's a bubble that doesn't have to deal with every day life issues, but I love this bubble for this time of my life. All the friends I've made and absolutely love, the activities I'm in, the new things I'm learning about myself...and the term is almost over! It's already April, and school lets out in May! Though I still miss "real life," I want to savor this last semester of my exciting freshman year.