Emily's Little House on the Prairie

I just found out that my school is increasing my and my fellow students' tuition by 25% starting next semester.

I also found out that they're going to be laying off 10% of their staff.

And if that's not enough, they're going to be cutting about 10 degree programs. Which ones, we don't know. But we do know that when they cut them out, it's going to be immediate. Meaning that not only will new students not be able to start in that major, existing students will have to either change their major or change schools.

Thankfully, I'm an English major, and I don't see them cutting out their English program. It's one of the biggest at the school. But the first thing I mentioned, the raise in tuition, could quite possibly mess things up for me. I'm not really worried about next semester, because I already have enough financial aid promised to me to cover my tuition even with the increase. The only thing that would mess up next semester would be if I didn't get the money promised to me.

I swear, with all the economic craziness that's going on, I almost feel like I want to move into a dugout in the side of a hill just like Laura Ingalls and her family, and grow my own food and make my own clothes and wash them by hand and churn my own butter, hand-crank my ice cream, and make my own whipped cream the old-fashioned way. (For those who aren't familiar with the old-fashioned method of whipping cream, it involves shaking a jar for a very, very long time. I've done it before. Only it was a very small amount in a baby food jar and didn't really take all that long.)

I did say "almost," right? Okay. Because I don't think I'm ready to give up all of my modern conveniences. But as simply as I already live, I think it's quite possible for me to live more simply and it's looking like it may be necessary. And this is not just me freaking out over a tuition increase at school. I've been thinking about this for a while. And it seems like as more time passes, the stronger these feelings have gotten.

I've been wanting a bike since I started back to school this semester. Because I live close enough to school to bike there. And that would be that much less gas I would have to use. Therefore that much less money I would have to spend. And it would be beneficial to my overall health as well. So I'm praying for a bike.

I've also been thinking about Christmas coming up. Making gifts is an excellent idea. The only question is, do I have enough time? Last Christmas, my family and I made a few gifts that we barely finished, and I wasn't in school then, nor did I have a job. I'm not going to be done with school this semester until the 10th, which gives me a little less than two weeks to work on gifts. Not likely. I suppose my family and I could come up with something, because we're pretty creative. But I don't know how thoughtful or interesting it would be. I don't know. It's something to think about, at least.

I've also been thinking about the cost of my eating. I already eat pretty cheaply, simply because I have cheap tastes. Seriously. If you're looking to take someone to a fancy restaurant and you want that person to be excited about it, don't take me. I will ruin your fun. Because I won't like anything on the menu, and if I do find something I might like to eat, chances are it's going to be the cheapest thing on the menu and the most boring. There is a very small number of foods in this world that I like to eat, and most of the time they are very simple and very inexpensive. I liken my pallate to that of a small child. Small children tend to be pretty picky eaters and they only want macaroni and cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. That's my kind of food. That and cereal. Cereal keeps me alive. I will eat it for any meal.

The last time I went grocery shoppping with my mom, I examined closely what we were buying and the comparitive cost of everything. If I had been shopping just for myself, I could have bought much more for the same price. But most people aren't content with what I like to eat. I noticed that what we likely spent the most money on was meat. Again, if I had been shopping for myself, we wouldn't have bought all the meat. I'm not a vegetarian, and I don't ever see myself being a vegetarian, but I often go a short while without eating any kind of meat. And when I do eat meat, it's most likely chicken. Or turkey. The not-so-meaty meats. I can eat a lot of chicken and turkey. But I can live without everything else. Meat just doesn't thrill me.

We'll see what happens. I'm really not worried. To be honest, I sometimes get a small thrill of excitement and anticipation when I think about how drastically things may change in the recent future. I don't know for sure that things are going to change drastically, but I have a strong feeling that they are. And I think with my current mentality, I might be one of the ones that is better prepared when things do change. But then again, maybe I won't.

The only thing I do know for sure is that God is in control. And I think that is the reason that I get excited. God's plans make me excited. So if the world is turned upside down, literally or figuratively, I know he's got something in mind and I'm excited to see what it is.