Lately, I've felt like I've been stuck in a rut and repeating the same routine over and over again without giving anything I do any thought. Now I look at where I'm at: I'm back in my childhood room while my puppy is snoring in sync with my father in the living room, and it's almost midnight. There is no way I could've seen myself being here tonight a week ago.

It's hard to understand that the things that seem so currently important to us won't matter nearly as much in the future, whether that future is near or far ahead of us. A week ago, I was on campus and planning a day trip with my closest friends once I got caught up in my assignments. It was going to a weekend to finally celebrate fall! After visiting a nearby pumpkin patch and corn maze, we'd come back to campus to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and Halloweentown. However, Hurricane Matthew decided that I needed to go home and reconnect with my family and old friends instead.

I know that not everyone is driven to finish every chapter, problem, lab, what-have-you, but for me, this hurricane didn't scare me as much as it annoyed me. I wanted to get ahead in all of my classes and next thing I knew, the power was out and I was unable to get anything done. My perfectly planned weekend was gone within hours of the storm hitting Fayetteville. It took me awhile to mentally adjust and accept the fact that I would be behind in my classes once Monday came around, so I did what any other normal college kid would do and distracted myself with the friends that were near me. We played cards games, laughed, and just relaxed around each other while all hell broke loose behind a wall and a window not ten feet away from us.

What I'm trying to say is that sometimes we don't realize that we need to focus on the things that really matter until it's the only option we have left. I feel slightly disappointed in myself that I needed a hurricane to bring me home, but those who truly know me that only a natural disaster could stand up to my stubbornness and beat it.

I'm blessed to be safe. I'm glad I'm home. I'm okay with letting go, just this once!