The State College-ite's dilemma

There's a common misconception that State College natives have the inside scoop about Penn State. I caught on pretty quickly that East Halls were the crappy freshmen hideouts, and that a view of the volleyball/baseball courts can keep a girl from doing her homework for hours, but I came into this university just as clueless about shortcuts, meal points, and sex-crazed boys skulking through the dorm halls at 1:30 in the morning. You know, the usual.

I may know the town, and a large portion of my paychecks somehow escaped to the many restaurants surrounding campus, but the college lifestyle is just as unfamiliar to me as the rest of the freshmen. Yes, I have friends who also went from State High to Penn State. But branching out isn't something I think is just for    those out of their comfort zone. Imagine if I had gone to Colorado, and all the yogis were all, "eh, we live here. We all know each other. We're good. She can go her own way." First off, I would wonder why they were listening to so much Fleetwood Mac. And second, it's not like there's a limit for friends; it's the same in college. A little conversation can go a long way, especially when you're huffing across campus for your freakishly early English class. Alright, full disclosure: the "freakishly early" class is at 9:30. But still. It's more fun to dramatize the long haul across campus with a fellow freshman.

I went to a yoga class downtown today, and much of the advice I gain from the teacher I solely translate to physical nature. But my teacher's words to "go to the edge," and to "let yourself absorb your surroundings," really struck what was happening every minute, not just the ninety minutes that I was sweating on a yoga mat.    It's particularly helpful to go back to this advice while I'm reading Socrates rant about caves and fires and whatnot. Ah college, where first day homework is more than getting your parents to scribble their signatures on a bajillion forms. As for the advice to go to your edge, I've accomplished that by not running away in horror when there was a word I didn't understand, or no one to go to lunch with. We're not going to know everything, or everyone. There will always be someone who looks more comfortable, more friendly, and able to pull off black eyeliner without looking like a raccoon tried to attack their face. It happens. As a State College-ite, I'm still happy to go out of my comfort zone and reach out to other people; I'll just throw in a few regular yoga trips with my high school friends. And hey, the familiar can be oddly unfamiliar when you're in a new living situation. How very Socratic, no?

A new yogic outlook, and my philosophy homework. Two birds, one stone. <3

Namaste.