cheap energy - apparently electricity is quite reasonable here, I was super nervous about the prospect of receiving my bill after an insanely hot August with ceiling fans and a/c running all the time and I was pleasantly surprised
my cohort - they're all going to be incredible peers in the field and I love being around like-minded individuals who are crazy passionate about the same kinds of things I am
my mentor - he's totally my north carolina bff, we have way too much in common and it's nice to have someone around who totally gets you
new nicknames - my classmate, Adam, calls me "Purple Emily" (there are three emilys in our cohort), it makes me smile because I really love my hair
my friends back home - they're doing such a great job of being supportive and checking in to make sure that I know I'm missed and loved (I really can't wait to get home to Chicago)
brain waves - pretty sure I finally made a decision on what the hell I want to do my damn master's paper on (broadly, it needs narrowed down a bit) so I can start doing research
less student loan debt - I got accepted for a scholarship today that gives me $5000 a semester (which is HUGE when you're paying out-of-state tuition). Yes, it means I have to work in a particular field of counseling when I graduate but, as it turns out, it's the kind of work I wanted to be doing anyway.
