Ladies, I'm having life difficulties.

2011 started out as a fantastic year. And then I got the two things I wanted most of all. I met a man for whom I felt both passionate desire and the potential for long-standing love...and I was accepted to an Ivy League University - across the world from Australia.

I went. He and I maintained our relationship. It was a good decision to do so, albeit hard. I am now home in Australia on Winter Break, while he is abroad for the Australian summer holidays. That's the context to my present state of affairs.

But ladies, stuff sucks:

*I hate my university. More than just homesickness, more than just hating the transition from high school. I hate where I am in a 'I can't get out of bed today' way. In a 'I don't want to eat because I'm sad today' way. I've been seeing someone from my school's psychological services about it, and things are going okay. But it makes me want to be home, to be with my friends and family, and to go to school close to where things are familiar, where I'm not sad every single day. And choosing between a great opportunity far from home and my sanity and comfort is proving more difficult than first thought.

*My grandmother died 35 days ago. I have one of her quilts on my bed; she was a painter and a quilter, from her records she made over 300 of them. I miss her terribly, the loss is making me fragile.

*The man I'm seeing - my boyfriend - has recently brought to my attention that there is a rift between our families, something that up until several days ago, I was unaware of. I love his parents, I love my parents, and this is making me angry and more sad. I don't know exactly what I can do to fix it, which makes me feel helpless.

I'm not looking for advice on my decision, or on these familial difficulties. I'm just feeling particularly miserable at the moment, so I'm checking in, listing my first-world problems, and asking for words of comfort. xxxx