Now it's almost over two hours later and I'm finally able to sit back down and type. I started some laundry, which by the way is expensive to to, and I wanted to take some photos of my room but it needed to be cleaned. So now two hours later I have a clean room and clean laundry all folded up or hung up. I love having a clean room, but I hate cleaning it. I suppose that's something I'll have to start keeping on top of. I'm living in an apartment, though it's still on campus housing, which means my room mate and I are responsible for keeping the place clean. She's very much a cleaner which is great for me, but I feel bad when she starts cleaning. Maybe it'll inspire me to be more tidy. Only time will tell.
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| My lovely bed and dresser. |
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| Where I "study" |
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| And the fan that saves my life. It gets hot around here, especially when your building has no air conditioning. |
I've been having a lot of fun with my friends, and making some new ones as well. Kaitlynn came to school here as you all know and it's been fantastic hanging out with her. Bridger and Russell also went to high school with me and though we didn't hang out too much in high school, it's nice to get to know them better and hang out with them more.
I was disappointed that Kaitlynn and I weren't room mates, but now that we're here I actually think it's a good thing we aren't. We wouldn't have meet the people we had, like Kaitlynn's room mate in the dorms. Her name is Amanda and she's great fun to be around. With Kaitlynn in the dorms I don't feel quite so disconnected from everything because she's great about inviting me over to hang out. I get now why they really want freshman to stay in the dorms, there is this sense of camaraderie you can feel between them. If I can sense that, by not even living there I bet it's amazing when you do.
Don't get me wrong, I like my place. It was a bit of an adjustment and I felt very lonely at first but now that things are a little more put together and I'm more settled into school I feel better. The bathroom that I only have to share with one other person is a big plus too :)
My room mate is a Sophomore from Norway, which has been fun. There are some definite culture differences but all and all we get along great. Her name is Emilia and she's a great room mate, it's nice to have someone who knows more about the world outside of the United States than I do. We talk a lot and are getting to be pretty good friends. She's going to come home with me and experience her first American Thanksgiving, though I guess there really is no other kind.
I've really been enjoying my classes, and they're all pretty easy. MWF I don't start till 12:00 P.M. and it's called Popular Music in America. It's really a fascinating class and some days when we talk about certain songs or composures it makes me miss my high school band days. The professor is really young, I found out in class yesterday that he's 25! There are students that are older than he is, but he's a good teacher. He knows his stuff and he's really enthusiastic and passionate about it, which really shows in his lectures. We also listen to some pretty good music before and after class. I find myself reading the text book for fun.
After that I have Human Nutrition at 1:00 P.M. I think it may be one of my harder classes, just because there is so much information to memorize and keep straight, but my professor is nice and pretty funny and seems like he'll be easy to work with. He's also a younger one, though not 25. I'm not sure of his age, probably early 30's if I had to guess. Nutrition ends at 2:00 P.M. and I'm done for the day. Most of my friends are still in class at this time so I usually go home and work on some homework, clean, or go spend some time in the library.
Tuesday and Thursdays are the days I dread. Though none of the classes are hard, my first one starts at 8:00 A.M. and getting up early enough to get to class on time is hard. Having campus just right across the street helps with my punctuality though it can also lull me into a false sense of security and sometimes I under estimate the time it'll take me to actually get to the lecture hall. My 8:00 A.M. class is University 1000, which is required for all incoming freshmen. It's basically a class that teaches you how to learn, or unlearn all the behaviors you had in high school. The professor is very high energy, and she tends to get on some people's nerves but I think she has some extremely valuable things to share with us and I personally enjoy the class. That class ends by 9:00 A.M. after that I usually head over to the library and work on my online class for a few hours.
My online class is basically a computer science class. It teaches you how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, and Access as well as some basic information on servers, and internet use, and html. It's a lot of stuff to learn and it's a little difficult doing it all online, but I've found that if I devoted about an hour and a half to two hours to it after University 1000 I keep a head of schedule. I haven't taken my first test yet, so we'll see if I'm doing as well as I think I am.
Usually I get out of the library by 10:00 A.M., sometimes 11:00 though. I usually go home after that and either grab lunch, or a quick nap before my History class at 1:00 P.M. History is good, I've always enjoyed history, though this class feels a lot like any of my high school history classes. Though students aren't in danger of having stress balls thrown at their heads :) My professor is a nice woman, a little on the quite side but that might be because this is her first teaching job and she's still working on her teaching technique. Her lectures are easy to follow which is a relief and though the class is scheduled to go till 2:20, we're usually done by 2:00 P.M.
I don't know what it is about Tuesday and Thursday but those two days are the ones that really seem to take it out of me. I find I'm dragging all day. I think part of the problem maybe that I'm still trying to acclimatize, and get on a regular sleep pattern. I do feel homesick from time to time, but it's really nice being able to call or text dad or Curt at any time, and keeping busy and getting involved really seem to help the homesickness. Hanging out with my friends and having a good time always helps too. This weekend is Labor Day and I'm going home with Kaitlynn and her room mate Amanda. I can't wait to see my family and sleep in my queen bed :)
Over all I'm really really enjoying college, it's a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to the next four years I'll be spending here, instead of being afraid of them. I feel like my entire life is a head of me, which in a way I guess it is.
I think I'll end here for today. Hopefully I'll be better about updating, but I have a feeling I'll be even more busy here in college than I ever have been.
