Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling: hello junior year

Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky.

Did I just use this beloved Aladdin tune to begin my first day of junior year post? You bet I did.

As mentioned in my previous post, my 'whole new world' began at 5:45 a.m. yesterday. I had set alarms at 6:15, 6:30, and 6:45 in the morning because I was afraid of being later for my 8 a.m. class, especially after three months of a summer sleeping schedule and two years of starting school at 9:30. Surprisingly, I woke up to silence - not a roaring alarm. I hoped that it was around 6:15, but I knew it was too good to be true. My room was still too dark; there was no way it was passed 6 yet. Sure enough, I checked my phone to confirm what I had already known. 

I'm not complaining because I would have rather woken up earlier than later (punctuality is so important and being late stresses me out). So thank you body clock for knowing it was my first day of junior year.

After staring at my ceiling for a good 5-10 minutes, I decided to go into the kitchen and make a cup of coffee, knowing that a long day was ahead of me. As I sipped on my beloved blue mug from Target, I checked my e-mail and came across exciting news: I was officially offered a fall 2014 internship at InternQueen.com! (Read all about my new internship here.)

Suddenly, being awake so early with the knowledge that I wouldn't be done with class until 6:45 p.m. wasn't so bad anymore. I quickly texted a few friends who I had talked to about my application and interviewing process, shared the exciting news with my roommates, and sent a text to my parents - who are the best, by the way. Having parents who support your dreams and believe in you? That is precious and I never take it for granted.

My roommate, Charlene, and I left home at 7:15 to avoid parking trouble and head to school for our 8 a.m. classes -- not without taking a solo first day of school picture. Here's my first one in years!

I'm not going to discuss each class individually yet because I'm still in the process of seeing what my official schedule for this school year will be, but they were all pretty neat and I just know that I am going to learn a lot. During my college career thus far, I've been pretty blessed in terms of having good teachers. Based on yesterday, I'm confident the streak will continue.

I know balancing all my classes, my InternQueen.com internship, the Daily 49er, PCN Board, and other activities will be a challenge. Despite that, I believe I have the potential to thrive during this semester and come out of it as an even more focused and knowledgeable person.

Yesterday marked the beginning of my junior year and the start of my last two years of undergrad. Isn't that crazy?

Here's to making the most of the whole new world that awaits me.