Sherri gave us a lecture about re-entry before we left Salamanca, but let me tell you, I don't think I needed it. Readjusting to life back home is one of the easiest things I've ever done, probably because I never really adjusted to life in Spain. My brother came home for his winter break a few days after I did, so being home is actually fun right now. When he leaves in early January, I will still have three weeks of vacation left, so I'm trying to see if I can get permission to live on campus during that time. No offense to my parents or anything, but I find my day-to-day life much easier when we're apart. Of course I love them; I just love them from a distance.

I'm happy to see my angels, of course (that means my dog and my cats, for those of you who don't know that my pets are like my children to me). Hopefully I'll be able to track down a few of my friends during the break, before we all scatter back to our respective colleges.

I've also made an important decision: No one has the power to make me feel bad anymore. I make myself feel bad enough as it is, I don't need negativity from anyone else to make it worse. So Mom, Dad, siblings from hell, ancient enemies from school, write this down, because it's important: I hereby strip you of all power to make me feel bad about myself. I know how to make myself happy, and I'm going to do just that. Say what you will; your words don't affect me anymore.