...In which our heroine is getting the hell out of Dodge.

I leave for college in about ten hours. Everything is packed, too much stuff I fear, but all the essentials are there from iPods to teddy bears, bedspreads to bug spray.

I had a minor emotional meltdown last night, but today has been much better. As sad as I am to leave my family and friends, I know that I'm doing the right thing, the best thing for me right now. But still the leaving is hard, the most insignificant acts, like packing away t-shirts or looking at makeup with Mom at CVS, at the hardest.

Although I don't start classes until the 2nd, but I still consider summer in the traditional sense to be over. Columbia does an event called Weeks of Welcome that is meant to help you get used to the city. They offer everything from tango lessons to going to a White Sox game, and genuinely try and appeal to everyone. I'm most excited for the three film events and the Second City Comedy tour. It'll be nice have lots of time to get fully settled before classes start as well.

And as for summer...what a rollercoaster ride it's been. I guess I could say it's been the best summer of my life, but I feel like that's still yet to come. I did a lot of growing up, changed in subtle ways that I can't really explain, but can definitely feel. There's been a lot of new things and changes I've had to face, and all of it has just justified this being the crucible summer that I thought it would be.

Where to begin? I saw Cassie finally meet a nice guy who actually liked me as well. I fell in love with The Big Lebowski and Casablanca. I soaked in all the treats that the summer multiplex had to offer--Pineapple Express, Wanted, Wall-E, Sex and the City, Tropic Thunder, Step Brothers, and most of all The Dark Knight. I lived the rock n' roll lifestyle for a weekend in Chicago and saw Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine. I lost my virginity to, predictably enough, an English major. I shopped for jumbo sized packs of Oreos at Costco with a roommate that I'm going to get along famously with. I regained the trust of a friend the beginning of summer...only to have it broken by the end. I saw the true colors of people I've known for four years or longer exposed and questioned my friendships. I got my wisdom teeth out and enjoyed the perks of painkillers. I worked almost a normal, forty-hour work week and learned the true meaning of being busy as a server on Sunday mornings at Bob Evans.

I lived all the thrills and spills of a life coming into adulthood. And tomorrow, the adventure really begins.

As Penny Lane would say, "It's all happening."