School is back in session, and I for one can’t be any happier. I love seeing my friends and other familiar faces across campus once again.

It was nice to be on a break, but I do not like to be bored for too long or I get stir crazy. Fortunately, my break was not boring.

My family had a lot of things going on over the holidays. I got my wisdom teeth taken out, which went really well, but on that same day my dad broke his arm getting off a delivery truck at work and had to have surgery. My mother ended up catching a 10-day stomach bug toward the end of my break, which I fortunately have not caught. My grandpa got a severe case of vertigo and had to go to the hospital. As you can see, my family is very fragile (I mean that in a loving way), and we can’t catch a break (no pun intended) because one of us is always sick, injured or recovering from an accident.

After I recovered from my teeth extraction, I took my driver’s test so I could finally drive my car alone and bring it to school. I failed the first time by one point, which was a bummer, but I practiced over the weekend and then retook it on December 31st and passed with an 82. I am so happy that I can finally be an independent adult and do the things I want to without having to drag along a parent when I want to hang out with my friends or go shopping.

My New Year’s celebration was the same as it has been for the past 21 years, sober and single, just the way I like it. I made resolutions to go to the gym more, focus on adulting more and take on more responsibilities. By adulting I mean paying for my cell phone bill, which my mother has been kindly paying for some time now. I am also budgeting my money wisely with my wants and needs in mind and am saving money on the side for when I graduate.

I hope everyone had a safe break and didn’t have as many problems as my family did. Now I am ready to kick it into high gear and start the semester off strong. I believe it’s beneficial to get a strong start so you don’t fall behind and have to play catch up the rest of the semester. I hope everyone’s first couple of weeks of the spring semester go smoothly and are stress free, including mine. As for my family, I hope they make it through the winter without any aches or breaks.

Kate Rehwinkel is a senior management major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or

kerehwinkel@eiu.edu.