Well, that's 5 semesters down, 3 more to go!
This was my first semester at the university (I was at a community college before). Being at the university has allowed me to finally meet and hang out with other gay people. Our LGBT organization has about 30 people in it, mostly lesbians lol. I now wear a rainbow wristband wherever I go, although not while at Dad's house. Mom has seen it but I don't think she knows what it represents, or at least hasn't said anything about it.
Other than meeting fellow gays, nothing has really happened on that front.
The semester ended better than expected grade wise. I figured I would barely pass one of my classes, but I actually got a B, which was my lowest grade this semester. I also got a personal email from a professor I had for two classes (he's also my adviser). He commended me on a job well done this semester. He said it was a pleasure having me in his classes, and how how he always enjoyed reading the papers I wrote for class. Similarly, I received a compliment from another prof about how well I write. The first prof also urged me to join the Model NATO club at the uni and attend a conference in D.C. in February. He said, "we could use a person like you in our group!"
Unfortunately, I have something else planned for the weekend of the D.C. conference. It's only a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert, but I already bought the non-refundable (of course) tickets. Also, it's a Christmas/birthday present for Dad; they will be playing music from his favorite composer. However, I am interested in taking part in the club once the new semester comes around.
On another note, Alex and I are considering getting an apartment together near campus next semester. He's tired of dorm life and I'm tired of living with my mother lol. I'm not sure if I can afford it or not. Using the financial aid money I received this year, subtracting tuition cost (which will probably go up next semester), and then subtracting rent for the year, it's only leaving me with a little over $1,000. That's not including the electric bill (the only utility not included in rent), nor groceries. So, I don't know if getting an apartment will actually happen or not, but it's something that is being discussed.
In the last year, I've taken up music writing as a hobby. So far I've only really copied what others have written, but recently I bought a few books on music theory and composing that'll teach me a thing or two so I can write my own stuff. I have a music program that I use to write and playback music for all instruments. The sounds aren't terribly great, especially when compared to the real thing, but it gets the job done and is fun to play around with and arrange existing works.
For Christmas this year, I did a version of "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!" by John Williams (who else?) from Home Alone 2. If you recall, last year I did a rather poor arrangement of "Somewhere In My Memory" from the first Home Alone film. Hopefully this year's is better :P
Here's my version:
Here's the real version (with lyrics):
