I wore a checkered shirt with a basic red hoodie over it and a pair of denims and headed out to my classes. As usual they were normal and nothing outstanding happened. Hour-by-hour time ticked. Students were coming in and out of classes. Some were congregating while having a smoke and a few were just sitting on the benches, taking in the campus scene. With the brace around my left hand it sometimes threw off my balance overall, but slowly I've been getting used to wearing it. I couldn't dig my hand in my pocket, I couldn't type as fast, and I had to take the brace off in order to use hand sanitizer before eating. I've always been conscious of it whenever I needed to use my left hand, which, I was still trying to adapt to. Every now and then I would realize that I couldn't spar or compete for another two months or so and that got me down. Without me there wouldn't be a full team for tournaments. Not attending sparring classes also felt weird.

After classes I headed to the dining hall alone for dinner and ate two rounds of meatloaf and smashed potatoes. On the side I had a bowl of tossed salad drenched in olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. For dessert some sweet honeydew. While refilling my Coke I met a friend of mine with his girlfriend. Joining them only made me the third wheeler, which I knew wasn't ideal. They drifted off in their own romantic corner and sat down while having their own intimate conversation.

I walked back to the dorm listening to Tony Bennett and it gave off a melancholy vibe in my mind. It got me reflecting and having endless thoughts. One of the lampposts buzzed like a cicada. Cars drove their way around the roundabout, and the crickets cried in the woods. I cut my way across the empty parking lot and came back to the dorm.