Time seemed to stand still amidst the never-ending midterms, day after day of salty cafeteria meals, and frozen walks on cobblestone sidewalks destroying every heel on my shoes. Pencil in hand, fervently writing the last paper on Saturday, I anticipated my homecoming. When you’re so far away, the smallest sensory details of home are magnified in your mind. For me, they include the taste of Cuban plantains; the soft texture of Mia, my Yorkshire terrier; and the sight of my grandma’s fingers as she plays the piano and her head turns in perfect rhythm. I couldn’t wait to get home.

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It’s been a stressful semester being a thousand miles away from home, learning to adjust to a new environment, and having to make new friends. But I found my niche while reporting news for both my campus newspaper and TV program. I made friends by immersing myself in those activities, but I managed my time for homework, too.

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It was the same routine every Thanksgiving at home: I’d wake up at 8 a.m. to beat long lines at the bakery and claim boxes of custard and pumpkin pie. Then I’d volunteer to serve people in the community for the Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving dinner at the Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall. I’d return home with leftovers: bags of dinner rolls and packs of chocolate candy.

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I never donned a coat, a scarf, a pair of gloves, slumbered on a loft bed or even lived in a dorm—until I arrived at Bradley.

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The second round of midterms has begun. After a long weekend of nonstop review sessions, key-terms memorization, and dissipation of last-minute doubts, this week brings no prospects of calm. The chaos started this morning with an hour-long Comparative Politics exam. Tomorrow a presentation on Waiting for Godot awaits, followed by another presentation and 8-page paper rewrite on Thursday, and a science midterm on Friday. While I dive into a pool of the thickest course packs and notes, anxious that I not miss the smallest detail, I try not to forget that, inevitably, the week will soon be over. Then I’ll welcome the most fun event that Harvard life has to offer.

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Sometimes the hardest part of college planning is knowing where to start. In this podcast, some students ask how to get started and others give tips from their experiences. After listening, check out ACT’s college planning information for more college planning topics and tools.

Download this podcast (3:25, 5.8MB)

It took a convention, a trip to the Midwest, a guest speaker and 21 years to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

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I strolled outside last Thursday morning, expecting to see “scattered flurries,” as weather forecasts predicted. I was greeted by clear blue skies and gusts of icy air instead. My face and body turned numb, despite the heavy jacket, fleece scarf and gloves I donned. It’s only the beginning of fall and I’m shivering! During the brief walk to my 9 a.m. math class, I wondered if I would survive the severe arctic winter winds. More than an hour later, I returned to my dorm room and peered out the window. No signs of snowfall. No layers of white fuzz on the ground. No phenomena of nature falling from the sky.

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Where has the weekend gone? How did I come to be surrounded by stacks of government class papers explaining democratization, a bursting laundry bag, even much-dreaded winter clothing: gloves, scarves and a down coat? It’s the last night of the last week of calm. Midterms approach and are preceded by a chaos of review sessions, last-minute note-taking, so many questions and full-day adventures at the library.

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I called my school’s housing department to ensure that I won’t be homeless next week. They said that I shouldn’t worry, because I won’t be without a home … for fall break at least.

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