Post-Holiday Blues

I have been feeling a bit sorry for myself since the holidays. During the three-week break I managed to spend a lot of time with my family, my horses, my little dog and my friends back in the city. I had a birthday, I got presents, I went shopping, and I felt loved. Then I came back to my placement - back to work and back to the reality of assignments, exams and other assessments.

And I was lonely.

I know that a lot of the other rural students are feeling the same way. It doesn’t help to know that the student society is running events that we can’t possibly attend, and that our city-based friends are carrying on with their social lives, attending trivia nights and having group dinners and breakfasts. It did help marginally to see our classmates on the big screen during a whole-class video conference, to sneakily chat on Gmail and to wave at the camera.

But the only thing that really snapped me out of my little funk was a 3am phone call from some old showjumping buddies, inviting me to the casino. They didn't know that I'm placed 500km from said casino, but they have no idea how much it helped to know that old friends still think of me occasionally.

We probably all have a few old friends who could do with a phone call ... some of them might appreciate being called at a more respectable hour, but it's always nice to be remembered.

(Photo stolen from www.bluesbrothersgallery.com)