My uncle died on Monday. The funeral is today, and of course I won't be able to be with my family since I'm pretty much halfway across the country. I think it's starting to set in--the fact that things keep right on changing whether I live at home or not.

I think the weirdest thing will be going home to all the changes that slowly formed throughout the year. Whenever I ask friends or family of news, they speak of how nothing changes in a small town and how boring it is. Yet last year, after being gone from August to January, the tiny changes were enough to surprise me. I'm totally happy out here in California, but it's strange having a long-distance relationship with my friends and family.