It's the End of the (Freshman) World as We Know it!

You knew there would be an obligatory "it's the end of the school year" blog, didn't you? Ah young blog reader, you know me too well.

You know how you go into new situations with these outrageous expectations--like by the end of an aquatic retreat you'll come out looking like a turtle? I've always been bound with these ideals that by the end of some phase, I'll look completely different, and the feeling like ten million rainbows have exploded right next to me will magically follow suit.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting this time around. Perhaps it was something like this:

We NEVER tolerate dancing around dorm rooms....

How did I turn out at the end of the year?

We just have bundles of fun

So the outward change wasn't terribly different. I think it's just too much of an indicator that you will not be a party girl when you spend recess writing plays. But I've actually enjoyed having (somewhat) challenging classes, particularly Eng-assmic (that excited feeling an English major feels when learning literary things) was literary theory. New Criticism and I just understand each other.

Seriously, if you love reading, you will want to live in English 200.

But as fate usually has it, I realize that instead of sobbing over the lack of drastic change, I realize it's all right to be the glitter loving, semi-disorganized time-nazi every once in a while.

When you show up to a class half hour before it begins, your teacher will notice you. Perhaps not positively, but hey look how much attention Britney Spears got for shaving her head, and that was a dreadful idea.

Soooooo I suppose I should make some sort of conclusion about freshman year. I wouldn't label it as "wheeee, fun!" It was more like a "you'll thank me later" kind of fun. And learning how not to look tired. Yep, lots of that.

It seems easy to stay in your home town for college. My house is ten minutes away, they know me by name at Webster's, I know which alleys to steer clear from (hint: it's all of them). And while it's been nice to get a lot closer to State High people, it's also a strange feeling to have such a new experience in a familiar place. If I were to move to say, Alaska (and buy ten thousand winter coats) for college, I would recognize the setting as "this is my collegiate place. It's where I do collegiate things." Similar to Colorado, where I think "this is my meditation place. It's where I wonder how much cheese I can buy with my paycheck think meditative thoughts." But my brain gets confused when this is the place where I think Quaker thoughts (and eat lots of oatmeal), go to dance, speak in outrageous French accents, and attempt to eat at every downtown restaurant in one Summer with Keri (we failed). During Summer session, I went to a yoga class downtown, and it was so like my senior year of high school, that I was all, "okay, I'm just gonna go home and watch some Survivor with my dad."

Oh, wait.

I had to remind myself I lived on campus about ten million times.

So it's familiar, but it's different. And you thought you had a confusing brain.

It was nice to have a job off campus, as I didn't feel like I was sequestered to dorm-life forever. And I got nice and friendly with the CATA Bus schedules, which are more guidelines than actual rules.

Academically, there are quite a few classes I fell in love with. Science 200 got me excited about the subject because it stressed critical thinking more than it did chemicals and experiments and knowing that molecules go "ooohhh."

I don't know what sound molecules make.

But if you're looking for a GN requirement, this class is like any blogger's heaven. You get good grades whenever you question the universe. I spent the first month of this class asking myself if it was all a joke, and the professor would say "nevermind, you must find a new theory of relativity in 5 minutes...go!"

But cruel joke it was not. Proud moments I had. Annoying yoda speak I will stop.

'Twas a good year. I'll let you know how it goes as an apartment-dwelling sophomore. Maybe I'll dye my hair an even more ridiculous color next time.

Namaste.