Loving College

I love college. I love my schedule, my dorm room, the great friends I am making. But most of all, I just love how people can be themselves. Tonight my dorm hosted an Open Mic Night, where people could just go up to the mic and sing, read poetry, play an instruent, or anything else they wanted. Now in high school, this would never work. A few "band geeks" would show up and play, and no one would be there to watch them. No one would dream of reading poetry, much less some they had written. But tonight was different. A few people got up to sing and play the guitar. A music major sang an aria she was learning for class, an RA sang harmony to Amazing Grace. One guy even read his poetry off of his Mac. It was great. There is no cool kid in college. If you like who you are and are confident in yourself, you are cool. If you drink, you are definitely not alone. But if you don't, you will find that a vast majority of students will respect your decision. If you are an athlete, good for you. But being an artist, a musician, or just plain smart is great as well. I really think that there are few places as accepting as a college campus. Which brings me back to my first point: I love it here.

Halloween

This is the first time that I have celebrated a holiday away from my family. Sure it might just be Halloween, but it still counts for something. Over the last few weeks, my roommate and I have been collecting candy for goodie bags and I even bought a cute Halloween bowl at Ross to put the extras in. Yesterday we both made our bags, and although she got hers' done twice as fast and she put twice the amount of candy in hers, I must say that mine are cuter. The combination of the two is great. This is my roommate's favorite holiday, so we have a bloody spider web up (gross, I know) and a few other decorations. After thinking about decorations though, it was time to think of what to do on the actual day. What CAN a college student do on Halloween night to have fun without partying? That was the real dilemma. Several girls and I decided that we would dress up and go downtown to collect candy from the local buisnesses. Afterwards I think we will bake some sugar cookies and decorate them (of course) and then watch some corny Halloween movie...like Young Frankenstien. So yeah. Not exactly the plan for most freshmen in the dorms, but thats okay. Today I went costume shopping, which was interesting. After passing many pirate costumes and revealing dresses, I found the perfect one. I am being an owl. I will not go into full detail about it, but it is pretty spectacular. So...I am pretty excited for this coming week and the holiday. On Wednesday the college gives out free food and stuff to people that dress up during the day, but I don't know if I am brave enough. We'll see. So, to end this, Happy Halloween!

My Visit Home

Last weekend was my first trip home since I moved in here, and it was so nice! I hadn't realized how much I missed everything. It was so weird to come back and find everything, or nearly everything, just as I had left it. One of the things I enjoyed most was having dogs again. I have 4 of them, so it was weird going from a ton of animals to none. Another thing I enjoyed was a regular shower. I can not explain how good it feels to shower without flip flops after 6 weeks of doing so. Eating home cooked food was another highlight. My campus has a pretty good campus dining system, with plenty of choices and different places to eat. Despite that, I grew tired of the food within my first 3 weeks here. Once I was home, a part of me really didn't want to come back. It was so nice to be back in my comfort zone, to have space to spread out, and just to be in my own bed again. But when I got back on campus, I was suprised that I felt similar to how I did when I got home. I was back to what had become normal to me, back to all my new friends and new surrondings that are starting to feel less and less new. I have to say the one definite drawback of being back on campus is the pile of work stacked up on my desk!

Homesick

This last week was kind of rough. I didn't have hardly any homework all week and no tests or papers, maybe the easiest week here so far. But when I don't have much to do I start to get bored and then I get homesick. I was O.K. for the first few days but around Wednesday is when I started to get a little sad. Thursday and Friday night were a lot of fun, I just went out with some friends to a couple of parites but when Saturday rolled around, there was hardly anything to do. I think I've said this before, but weekends here are kind of hard, especially without a car. If you had a car you could go shopping, out to eat, or whatever you want but without one you're pretty much stranded at the dorms and especially as it starts to get colder, there's hardly anything to do. So this Saturday my friend Jackie and I sat and watched Friends and slept pretty much all day until we went out Saturday night and we did the same thing on Sunday before we went to a movie later on. My mom called me on Sunday and we had a long talk about this and she made me feel a little better, but there's still part of me that wonders how happy I am here. I think i like it a lot but there are sometimes where I'm just not sure. My mom thinks I should get involved more, like with intramurals or a church or something but none of my friends are involved and I don't really want to just go out and play a sport on my own. Plus I think it's a little too late to do a fall sport. I would work if I could, to keep me busy, but all jobs on campus are filled, but even if they weren't I wouldn't really want to work on campus I don't think, and again since I don't have a car I can't have a normal job. Hopefully I'll find more things to do and get involved in as the weeks go on!

Midterms and Group Projects

Today I had my first ever college midterm. It was for my history class and, since that is my major, wasn't too painful. I was surprised when my professor gave us a number of essay questions that might appear on the test and actually seemed to genuinely care how we did on the exam. I think that part of this is going to a university that really does try to have smaller classroom sizes. To go on a tangent, my senior year of high school I really wanted a huge university where I would just be a face in the crowd. But I have found that it makes a difference when your professor knows your name and you are able to recognize at least one face on campus wherever you go. Back to the midterm though, it wasn't nearly as terrifying as I thought. Today I also got started on a group project that I am doing in my communications class. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to pick our groups. One guy in my group told us that he really didn't want to work to hard on the project and then proceeded to watch youtube videos of the Colbert Report while the rest of the group worked. Well, at least he is upfront and honest. I can tell though that this is definetly going to be a learning experience and I am going to have to speak up for myself and the rest of the group. Yikes. I am ending the week by going home for the weekend. I am SO excited. I can't wait to see my dogs, sleep in my own bed, and spend time with my parents. I am leaving tonight (actually I am leaving as soon as I get done writing this) and will be home by either midnight or one. So...to end this, I have had a great week and am heading into an even greater finish.

Random Thoughts

This has been a very typical afternoon. I have, in my reluctance to start writing my speech, have looked at everyone's photos on facebook, eaten a blueberry muffin, gone to the gym, and even done my long overdue laundary. As I have mentioned before, procrastination is a wide spread problem in college. But after I didn't collapse in the middle of my first speech, I am feeling much less anxious about this one. I am also getting excited for Thursday. After class, my sister and I, along with two friends from high school, are making the trip home. I am so excited to see my parents and friends again! And although it is a 4 1/2 hour drive, I am sure that it will be worth it. It is wierd how you can be so ready to get away, but at the same time, can't wait to get back.
Last weekend I was at a retreat for a club I am in, so this will be my second weekend away from the dorms. And although I have only known my friends here for a month, I miss them a lot when I am gone. When people come back, they always say that they feel as if they missed out on everything, which is exactly how I felt when I came back last Sunday. Living in the dorms, although it is akward and uncomfortable at times, is such a great experience, one that you can't help but bond over with the girls (or guys) you are living with. So once I am back here after my visit home, I think it will be my parent's turn to come see me, not the other way around!

Fall Break

A lot of people had mid-terms before we left for fall break, but mine weren't exactly "mid-terms'' since I have more than two tests in each class. But I did have tests in three classes and a paper due all on Tuesday and Wednesday so Monday and Tuesday night were both pretty intense with studying. All three tests, French, Pschology, and Math but I think my paper went well. I won't know about any of them until the end of the week though. I left for home on Wednesday after my first class. My friend Krista and I rode with her roommate and her roommate's friend. Those girls were a little strange and we could tell right away that it was going to be a long car ride, especially since they weren't driving us all the way home because they were headed to a town that was about three hours away from mine, so my dad had to pick us up in the middle. Overall the ride took about ten hours when it takes seven to go straight to my home town. The next night I stayed with one of my friends at her school, who I haven't seen in two months. It was so much fun and so nice to see her, except that night we found out that one of my friends has cancer again, so that put a little damper on the night. The next day I hung out with my dad for most of the day and went to dinner with his side of the family, and it was great to see them. My mom and I watched a movie that night and just hung out. The next day my dad and I went to a football game with his best friend and his family, whom I haven't seen since my graduation party last summer. It was my mom's birthday on Thursday but since I was with my friend, my mom and I went out to dinner Saturady night to celebrate and already on Sunday it was time to leave. The trip home was great, and very much needed but it went by too fast. I don't think it's because I'm unhappy here at school but I just hadn't been home in two months and it was nice to be back at my own house. This week shouldn't be too bad since I had a lot of tests last week. But I'm already looking forward to the weekend!

A Typical Day

As I was thinking of what to write on this week, I realized that I have not yet just wrote about my typical day. Thinking about this, I knew that that is what I would have wanted to know as a junior or senior in high school. What really happens at college? To start off, I wake up at 7 o'clock in the morning Monday to Thursday. After daydreaming for a year that I wouldn't have an early class, this was quite a blow. However, I have somehow been able to manage. After my early Spanish class, I have an hour break before my history class. Going back to my dorm during this break would require that I go up a hill, something I am eager to avoid. I have instead been going to the library to work on homework during that hour. I thought that the library would be intimidating, but was surprised to find that I fit right in. To everyone esle, I was just one more person coming to study. To me however, I was the little freshman that was using their first college library. My history class ends at 11 o'clock, which is my last class on Mondays and Wednesdays. I usually celebrate by going to lunch on campus with some friends or even just making a sandwich in my room. Waking up at 7 am, I am still extremely tired by the time I get done with lunch. I have therefore started a habit of taking an hour nap after my meal. To some this might seem lazy, but getting seven or less hours of sleep per night just doesn't agree with me. After this I must admit that I waste a good portion of my time, thinking about homework but finding myself on facebook instead. I usually go to the gym on campus for a little, and then come back to study or hang out with friends in my dorm. Tuesdays and Thursdays I go back to class at 5pm and get out at 7pm. I was pretty bummed that I had a night class at first, but I actually don't mind it. I have gotten into the habit of going to dinner with other people from that class, since most of my friends have eaten by that time. This has allowed me to actually meet the people in my Communications class and feel more comfortable during those two hour lectures. After a dinner that isn't quite good, but not bad, I go back to my dorm, study, and spend the night hanging out with friends. Most of the time this includes movies, tv shows, or just talking. Once in a while I will find myself downtown, but not usually on school nights. So...there is my typical day. It is quite different from high school; being a much more relaxed and flexible schedule, and I definetly like it.

Time

It seems as if I have never had more or less time. What I mean by that is, on one side, I seem to have a ton of free time. But on the other, the time here seems to fly by so fast, and already I am almost through the week. People told me that time management was important in college, but I never paid them that much attention. I mean, I was the queen of time management in high school; as soon as I got home I would do my homework, completing that before anything else. Now though, it is much more difficult than that. The "queen of time management" is now rushing to get her paper written and struggling to find time to study her Spanish. I think part of the problem is my schedule. After an hour-long class that starts at 8:00 am, I don't have class again until the late afternoon. This gives me so much time to do whatever I need to do that I start putting it off, because I think I have more free time than I actually do. Secondly, it is hard to balance your social and academic lives. During orientation week, my most important task was to begin meeting people. When school started though, that had to move down on my priority list. But when you are living in a dorm with a ton of other girls, sometimes your social life starts to take time away from your academic one. Not necessarily in the form of partying, which I don't do, but simply in runs downtown and nights in front of the tv, watching the Office.
Although it is hard to balance, it is not impossible, and I am starting to get the hang of it. Yesterday I spent the majority of my day writing and rewriting my speech and studying my Spanish vocab, despite the many other things I would rather have been doing. So practice your time management in high school so that you might be able to apply some of it when you get to college.

8th week of school

This week was kind of slow school wise; I didn't have any tests, papers, major homework assignments or anything which was nice because I ended up getting really sick in the middle of the week. This was my second time being sick and having to miss class. I've learned that it's very helpful to email your teachers as soon as possible if you know you're going to miss class, at least my teachers appreciate it because then they know you're not just ditching. Missing Wednesday wasn't that big of a deal though, like I said because I didn't even have any homework assignments due that day. It becomes more challenging when you have to miss a test or a due date for something important because some professors won't let you retake the test or turn in a late paper. So Wednesday for me consisted of laying in my bed watching movies and many episodes of Friends. I started feeling better on Thursday which was nice because I had a very busy weekend. Saturday, our football team played one of our biggest rivals and my dad came in town and took Chelsie and I to the game, which was a blast. It was a great game and we ended up winning which made it ten times better. My friend Jackie's brother came in town Saturday so I hung out with them Saturday night. Today I've been studying most of the day. I have three tests and a paper due before I go back home Wednesday night, which isn't as bad as a lot of people. Most people have big mid-terms that count for a great percentage of their overall grade where mine are just normal tests. But still it's going to be an incredibly busy few days. Along with that I need to do my laundry before I leave. I'm trying to teach my roommate that if you clean your clothes, they won't smell and therefore make our room smell...we'll see how that works! I know I've been saying this for a while, but I can't wait to get home. I have a feeling these next three days will go by slow because that's all I can think about, just being in my own house with my own room and car will be so nice. Hopefully the seven hour drive will go by fast!

Tests

Before I came here, my main concerns for college weren't if I would pass my classes or if I would have good professors. I dwelt instead on what friends I would make and how I would find my niche in such a big university. However, now that I am here, academics has played quite a big part of my day-go figure. Although I only spend about two to four hours in class each day, I spend a good chunk of my extra time on homework and studying. In high school, I was in the top ten percent of my class and was used to being one of the most hard-working people in the classroom. However, it hit me today that the students in my classes in college are all just as smart, or smarter, than me. This fact wasn't the most cheering of all, but it has made me take my classes seriously and become more competitive with my grades. An eight out of ten would be an okay grade on a quiz if I knew that the people around me got the same thing. Yet when they are getting nine and tens, it pushes me to try harder.
Although I have had a numer of quizzes over the last few weeks, my first tests tool place this Tuesday. College tests have always seemed intimidating for me, and midterms and finals just seem impossible. Yet I was surprised to find that they were...okay. Bearable. My Spanish test wasn't this horrible thing that I was doomed to fail. It was all manageable material. I was surprised when I finished it to realize that I was actually confident that I passed. On Tuesday I also had to give my first speech. If your anything like me, that sounds terrifying. Giving a speech to a bunch of college students. Yet looking around my class, I realized that I was now one of those "college students" and although they were all just a smart as me, they were also just as nervous. It ended up that my first week of tests wasn't the nightmare that I thought it would be. Surprisingly, high school prepared me for what was coming ahead. Saying that, I can't wait for the weekend and the sleep that I am determined to get.

Getting Involved

I know it sounds cliche, but I am starting to see that getting involved on campus makes a huge difference. When I left high school, I also left behind some major responsibilities. I was no longer the president of my school's Service Club and no longer a leader of the Renaissance Program, and I loved it. When I got to college I didn't want to be in charge of anything. And now, even though I am not ready to head up a committee or start a new club, I am starting to get involved again. Some of the clubs I have been checking out are Campus Crusade for Christ and Beyond Shelter. At Campus Crusade, I am getting to know some great people and have refreshing times of fellowship. Next weekend I am even going on a retreat with them, a great way to get to know more people in the organiation. At Beyond Shelter, a club that reaches out to the homeless in the community, I have the opportunity to get involved in my new town, not just my school. Although these clubs are great ways to get involved and meet more people, many of the activities I have been doing don't involve joining a club. Last week my dorm hosted a Grey's Anatomy party with Mocktails (alchol free cocktails) for anyone who came. We have also had nights were 20-30 girls (sorry guys) have overtaken the common room and watched The Holiday and The Hills together. Yes, the shows and movies are great, but it is the sense of community that makes the night a great one. So if you were over extended in high school, or maybe have never tried to get involved on your campus before, I would encourage you to get involved in your college. Now, when I walk around campus, I don't just recognize people from the dorm I am living in or the classes I am taking. I am starting to meet people with the same interests and cares as me, making me feel much more connected to my school than I would feel otherwise.