Life U Online Weblog

My Junior Year: Everything happens for a reason

2005-06-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

Life University welcomes Hilary W., a high school senior and Intern at Life U for the summer. Hilary shares her thoughts on junior year, Art, and "inspiring" history lessons…

My Junior Year: Everything happens for a reason

Well to say the least, this is a time I have anxiously been waiting for. My second semester of my junior year was a time of many changes for me. Some of these changes were for the better, others for the worst, but I stand firm in the belief that all things happen for a reason. Even the bad things that happened were for a reason. I may not be sure of that reason just yet, but I know that in time, I will realize why even the bad things had to happen.

This past semester proved to be very eye opening for me. I was enrolled in Chemistry, Pre- Cal, Art II, and AP USH. Chemistry and Pre Cal proved to be a LOT easier than I imagined them to be. I thought for sure with all of those classes that I would be over-loaded with work and have no time to even breathe! Surprisingly enough though, Chemistry was more enjoyable than I had imagined, Pre Cal was fairly easy and the other two classes were the eye openers.

Taking Art II made me realize how much I absolutely LOVE art, I may not be very GOOD at art per-se, but I love it just the same. It made me regret not taking Art sooner so that I could have enjoyed it just as much for even longer. With only one year of high school left, I am trying to figure out how to manipulate my schedule to allow me the most Art classes. If my plans work out, I will have three art classes, and possibly another one at the local college. If I take that many art classes in one year, I will have to have at least eight completed pieces of artwork before the first day of classes! (Sounds like I need to get cracking huh?)

AP USH (Advanced Placement United States History) was the one that was both the most hurtful and the most helpful... if it can be both at the same time. I took it with the hope of gaining some college credit from it. If I can get both high school and college credit at the same time, it sounds like a good deal to me, right? Well, since it was technically a college course, it was structured like one as well.

On the first day of class, I was required to have 120 pages of the textbook read and be prepared to discuss it. If you have ever had to sit down and actually read an entire textbook, every last little word, sidebars and everything, you can see where I am coming from. The class had both its good points and its bad points. The good thing about the course was that since it was a college course, there was no written homework. No question at the end of the chapter, or brain-numbing little worksheets, basically, there was no 'busy work'.

The bad thing was that it was very fast-paced. The other high schools in the county that take the same course, take it over two semesters. If you pass the AP exam, you get two class credits for college. At my school, you take it in one semester. I regret not putting more time and effort into the course. I kind of took it like I had taken most of my other classes in high school, never really working hard because school comes relatively easy to me.

After failing a few tests, I realized I needed to crack down, but by then I can almost say it was too late because the bad study habits had already set in. Over 1,000 pages later of oh-so-thrilling United States History, I can proudly say that I PASSED the course, and am (still) waiting to find out if I received college credit for it.

Taking AP USH made me realize that not everything in life is going to come easy to me, and that I need to develop better study habits in order to maintain my good grades, especially next year. Next year, I will be taking between two and four AP classes and by then, hopefully I will have the proper work ethic needed to excel in them.

My junior year kind of gave me a glimpse of what I am anxiously awaiting for… college life.

Until next time-

Hilary

Christmas this year was different

2005-01-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was different. It seems that the older I get, the harder it is to grasp the whole "Christmas Spirit" deal. It just feels a bit less magical every year. It also seems ironic that usually the older you get, the better you understand things that confused you when you were younger. I now believe that it's the exact opposite with Christmas - children have no problem getting into the spirit, but adults take a bit longer to catch on.

I've got some great plans this year. This was the first year I didn't spend New Year's Eve with my parents. Instead, I spent the evening at one of my friend's houses with about seven other people. Ringing in the New Year with my friends was the highlight of my Christmas break.

After all the partying and slacking off, I've got to go back to school. I'm trying to decide whether I should pursue a math or engineering degree. The degree, which I haven't declared yet anyway, has been changing about once every week. I've narrowed it down to about three feasible paths, but those are bound to change eventually. I'm going to try to take everything a bit less seriously for the next year. My main concentrations for the time being will be meeting basic requirements.

Until next week, not much is going to be happening. Basically it's just a matter of keeping my academic motivation throughout the holidays so going back into school won't be so painful. After registration and the beginning of classes at least I'll have a bit more routine in my somewhat disorganized life.

Until Next Time,

Jenn

Happy Holidays! It's great to be back home!

2004-12-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

Since I've been out of school, life has been considerably less busy. Now I spend my days preparing for Christmas and relaxing with my friends. Unfortunately, I can't spend all of my time loafing around the house. If I want everything to go smoothly with my transfer between colleges, I have to make sure I stay on top of the paperwork. I've got a registration deadline coming up in a couple of weeks and there are still some loose ends in my last college's financial aid office that need tying up.

I can't stress enough how important it is to go for all the scholarships you can when applying to a college. There are tons of $100 to $500 scholarships that students overlook every year. Even those little scholarships can make a huge difference. For example, as little as $1,000 may decide if you have to do work-study with the university you're planning to attend. I can speak from experience when I say that a few hours a week spent looking for scholarships is extremely preferable to working at one of your university's work-study jobs during your free time.

Hopefully, my experiences with college financial aid will really motivate my search for extra money this year. I plan on taking some time out of my break so I can search for scholarships that will go towards my tuition next year. I want to study computer science,
so I should have an advantage since women are a minority in most science fields. Of course, if I could prove that I was the only surviving member of some long lost tribe, I'd be almost guaranteed a scholarship or entrance into any university I wanted. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to be an option any time soon.

When I register for classes in a few weeks, I'm going to work towards my major, but not overload on the difficult courses like I did last semester. Instead of slamming myself with work, I think I might look towards getting the most out of the experience. I'm optimistic about the next semester and I hope that what I've learned so far will help me get through it smoothly.

Until next time,

Jenn
Freshman Extraordinaire / Life U Grad & Writer
www.lifeu-online.com

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." -Martin Buber

2004-12-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

This last week of school has been an absolute mad house! Everyone is stressed out by exams, and I've never seen so many caffeine products in my life. I saw one girl in the computer lab with a whole case of Red Bull next to her. The lengths some people will go to are ridiculous.

I've tried the all-nighter study thing before and it didn't do me much good. In fact, I had about three hours of sleep before I took my math exam because I spent all night studying. I learned that if you plan to pull an all-nighter, do not plan to eat. Eating will make you tired and fatigue is a student's worst enemy during a test. It makes you do weird things.

For instance, math becomes much funnier when you've only had three hours of sleep. Of course when you go in to take your math exam, it seems to unsettle your teacher if you giggle when you see the exam.

My other exams went well. I studied for them and was fairly prepared. More often than not last week, I found myself using the phrase "should be studying," as in "Playing computer games for hours has been fun, but I should be studying." I believe it was the official phrase of the week - I heard it quite frequently from my fellow students as well. The phrase, “Do you think he'll accept the assignment late?” came in a close second.

My week was also made busier by all the preparation for coming back home. I officially moved everything out of the dorm room at 12 p.m. today and came home. I'm going to miss everyone, but at least instant messaging makes it easy to keep in touch.

Now I don't have to worry about hall meetings and classes for the next month, but instead I'll be worrying about parental guidelines and ridiculous curfews. Oh, what a test of patience it will be.

I register for classes in another week, so until then I'll be enjoying Christmas break! Yay!

Until Next Time,

Jenn
Freshman Extraordinaire / Life U Grad & Writer
Visit Life University at www.lifeu-online.com

Where has the time gone?

2004-12-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone?

I only have one more week of classes left until my Christmas break. Unfortunately, I got really sick this weekend, so I’m going to have to really force myself to go to those last few classes. If I miss the last reviews for exams, being sick is the last thing I’ll have to worry about.

Decorations are starting to go up all over the dorms. Even though I’m so far from home, the little signs of Christmas are comforting. There’s even a huge Christmas tree out in front of the main admissions building. I think there are some people, though, that are taking the Christmas thing a bit too far in an attempt to ease their homesickness.

One girl has decorated her whole door and room with Christmas lights, garland, and snowflakes. When I looked in her room, she was sitting on her bed with her window wide open (it’s like 25 degrees outside!) listening to Christmas music and wearing a Christmas sweater, scarf and hat. What did she have in her hand? She had a tiny little snack cake shaped like a Christmas tree! It was creepy to say the very least.

Unlike most of the people in my dorm, I’ll be moving out next week. Since I’m transferring, I’ve got to clear everything out before Christmas break starts. While I will look forward to going home for a break, I’ll miss it here. You can’t live in a place for five months and not have it feel a little like home.

I’ll miss the all-nighters I used to pull with my friends in the hall’s study room. I’ll miss the hall socials, and just being able to share my life with a group of girls that are as close as sisters to me. Mostly I think I’ll miss having my own room key to a room that I could call home.

So I’m going to go back to my homework, and maybe I’ll pull some decent grades out of this semester. This is what all that hard work this semester has been building up to, so I’m not going to let myself down now.

Until Next Time,

Jenn
Freshman Extraordinaire / Professional-in-training
Life U grad & Writer
www.lifeu-online.com

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

2004-11-30T11:34:00.000-08:00

“A peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one.” ~Rita Mae Brown

Now that I’m back from Thanksgiving break, I’ve got to be more disciplined than usual. I only have two weeks of school left in the semester and my teachers seem to have unanimously decided this is the perfect time for countless review quizzes. Where do they get these silly ideas anyway?

This is going to be my last two weeks at this school. Next semester, I’m transferring to a college closer to my home. This will offer a few benefits at least:

· It’ll be cheaper.
· I’ll have my own bedroom again.
· I’ll be able to hold a higher paying job than the work-study job at the college.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about life and what I’m actually working for. As a senior in high school, I couldn’t wait to graduate, knowing that just on the other side of the diploma was a whole new life waiting for me. After 13 years of schooling, I find myself at just another school, trying to maintain the same grades, and worrying about the same kinds of classes.

I find myself wanting to start a career, to actually make a paycheck that doesn’t automatically get dissolved by tuition costs. I know, however, that I can’t get a decent job if I don’t get a degree. While working toward my degree is definitely a way of progressing in life, I still sometimes feel like I’ll be in school forever and I’ll never be completely independent from my parents.

After worrying about all of this for a good deal of time, I decided that working toward the degree is my main priority. Dedicating another four years of my life to education isn’t going to be anywhere near as long as the first 13. I am considering working in a co-op program where I can get my degree while I work for a company. That way, I can satisfy two of my needs – I would not only get the education, but also bring in a few dollars to begin the weaning process from my parents’ wallets.

As of right now, nothing is certain in my future except the fact that I have a big assignment due for my computer science class tomorrow and a paper to write for English. I know that the long-term plans help me find purpose in the daily grind, but it’s the short-term organization that’s really going to get me to where I need to be.

Until next time,

Jenn
Freshman Extraordinaire and Professional-in-Training

Life U Grad & Writer http://www.lifeu-online.com/

Roll With the Proverbial Punches & Keep On Keepin’ On

2004-11-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

It’s finally Thanksgiving break! I’ve probably gotten more sleep in the past few days at home than I got during the past few weeks at college.

While I’m free of the stress of having to attend classes, I still have homework assignments that my teachers so considerately gave me to work on over the break. Thanks to all the teachers that contributed to my workload, really.

Next semester, I’m going to transfer to a college near my home. While it was not my original intention to change colleges in the middle of the year, some special circumstances have come up. Sometimes you’ve got to roll with those proverbial punches and just deal with whatever fate hands you. I still hold firmly to the belief that life is purposely ironic.

Anyway, transferring back home means that I’ll be moving back in with my parents. This is not something I am particularly looking forward to. Since I’ve been away at college, I’ve developed my own routine, my own rules, and my own living space. Once I move back in, I’ll be living under my parents’ roof, and in turn their rules, once again. I think that our differences in living habits may cause a few disputes.

Despite the homework and parental oversight, it’s still great to be home again. I’ve gotten to see all my friends and have really gotten a chance to relax and unwind, which is something I desperately needed. (Would you like to read interesting trivia on the “gotten” and “got” distinction in British and American English usage? If so, visit: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue/gotten.html)

Now, back to my more compelling subject: Whether my friends and I are hanging out at the coffee shop, going to a park, or just lounging in front of the TV, things are definitely more entertaining than doing homework or going to classes.

Since the semester is so close to an end, it’s harder to keep sight of my goals. I keep reminding myself that even a little bit of work can have some decent rewards. I guess it’s all just a matter of exercising the self-control that seems to escape college students during their vacation breaks.

I also try to motivate myself with one of my favorite quotes, “Just keep on keepin’ on.” (It’s from the movie Joe Dirt. Or, for the older generation out there in blogland, you no doubt remember “Keep on Keepin’ On” from the 1980 song of that title written by Dickey Betts and Daniel Toler, and performed by The Allman Brothers Band. At any rate, it’s a good philosophy, and I like it.)

Until next time,

Jenn
Life University Grad & Writer
Computer Scientist-in-training / Freshman Extraordinaire

Explore the Endless Possibilities at Life University: http://www.lifeu-online.com/

Busy, Pampered, Learning, Exploring new topics…

2004-11-17T07:11:00.000-08:00

I’ve been so busy lately! This past weekend there was so much going on. On Friday, the school’s theater group put on a production of the play “The House of Blue Leaves” and all weekend admissions officers were touring prospective students. On Saturday, the school had its annual fall formal dance, but the best part was Saturday morning before the formal.

This year, the school hired students from the local cosmetology school to have a pre-dance “pamper day.” Since I go to a women’s college, this was obviously rather popular. There were stations for facials, manicures, pedicures, makeup, and a buffet with a huge assortment of snacks. After trudging through mountains of books and assignments, it was wonderful to take a day to relax.

By the time Sunday rolled around, everyone in the dorm was partied out. One by one though, we somehow managed to pour ourselves out of bed and start the mad rush that comes with the week before Fall Break.

Registration was Monday of last week and Monday of this week. To choose our classes, we have to go to a meeting with our advisor. Then at 12:35 p.m. they open up online registration. This is extraordinarily tricky.

As a first year, there are many classes that most of the freshman class is also going to register for to fulfill their requirements. Since class sizes are fairly small, they fill up fast. The whole afternoon is filled with students frantically entering their classes online trying to get into their top choices, seeing advisors, visiting department heads, and basically finagling their way into the most popular classes.

There’s also something at this school called “J-Term.” This is a single class that students sign up for over the month of January. The J-Term classes are probably some of the most interesting because they explore a broad variety of topics in a fairly informal environment.

I was particularly interested in a course in which a group designs a special math day for middle school students. The math day, held at the end of January, is supposed to encourage interest in math and science. Another class I was interested in was a philosophy class entitled “Evil.” It’s a philosophy course that examines how evil is portrayed in different cultures.

There are more hands-on opportunities for J-Term, like photography basics or even a trip to Jamaica to study biological ecosystems. This time, though, I think I’ll try to keep things simple.

Thanksgiving vacation is four days away! It seemed like it would never get here, but now it seems like it’s getting here too fast. If I make it through this week’s projects and deadlines, I should definitely celebrate over vacation. Right now, I’ve got to keep my focus on my work – that’s so hard to do when all you want to do is take a 12-hour nap!

Anyway, back to work I go!

Jenn
College freshman,
Life U Grad & Writer
www.lifeu-online.com

Profound Reflections on Life: Everything is always changing

2004-11-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

The key to next semester is to lower the stress level

It’s getting closer to Thanksgiving break (it’s only two weeks away) and my little world is starting to get pretty complicated. I’ve successfully finished two of three midterms and I have one left to do. It’s probably the worst one because it’s a series of essays that I’m going to have to work on out of class. Unfortunately, my motivation decreases every time I think about the holiday vacation.

It’s also getting close to the time when I have to start registering for next semester’s classes. I’ve learned a few things from first semester that I hope will get me a better schedule for the spring. For example, this semester I didn’t have a single day that I could wake up later than 8 a.m. For anyone in high school, that may not seem so bad, but once you get into college, it’s pure torture. Next semester I’m going to go for classes that start later in the day and I might even try to take a night class or two.

Also, this semester I took four core classes with heavy workloads. Next time, I’m taking an art class and another introductory class that don’t have the higher demands of the more advanced courses. My homework load has been outrageous and it’s hard to keep up with when I’m also trying to work a part-time job.

After taking an intro Java programming class, I’ve discovered that programming and computer science are avenues that are more interesting to me right now than my original major, international studies. Unfortunately, I chose the college that I currently attend because they have one of the best international studies programs around. Their computer science programs, however, can hardly compare to one that I can receive at some other universities. This means that if I do choose to purse a degree in computer science, I’ll have to transfer to another college.

I always thought that I’d be at one college for four years and that would be that. I’m realizing more and more now that everything is always changing. Certain colleges offer a higher quality education in some areas, while they may be lacking in others. In the end though, it all comes down to the final degree, no matter what college you’re attending.

I realize now that everything is always changing.

Transferring looks like it’s going to be a huge hassle. I’ll have to apply for outside scholarships, send a list of my courses to the college to make sure they will transfer, and go through the college application process yet again.

Right now my main focus is just to make it to my next vacation. Time is going by so fast and all I really want it to do is slow down so I can get a bit more work done. Maybe by the time I write my next entry, I’ll have more ideas about my options for college next year. I just might even end up studying abroad!

Until next time,

Jenn
Life U Grad & Writer www.lifeu-online.com
University freshman

Besides all the little mishaps, college life is wonderful!

2004-11-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

Can’t Wait for A Break

I can’t wait until Thanksgiving break! I can’t decide if I’m getting more homesick or more “heresick” – maybe it’s a little bit of both. A lot of the people on campus are ready for a break, too. Midterms have left everyone pretty drained and ready to go home for some well-deserved rest.

Stress has been really piling up lately. For instance, last weekend I spent several hours studying for a big test in my computer science class.

Yes, Virginia, there ARE nether regions in computer land

When I got into class, the professor told us to write a particular program and have it printed out for him by the end of class. That gave us one hour to write the program from start to finish without any errors.

I finished it just as time was called and I went to print it out, but for some reason my computer wouldn’t let the document print. I saved the program and switched to another computer. When I tried to open the file up again, it was gone.

To my complete horror, my program had floated off into the nether regions of computer land. I went to talk to the professor and thankfully he was understanding and gave me the rest of the day to drop it off at his office.

There was a river?

In my international studies class, the professor asked us to get into groups and discuss the importance of the river in the novel we were supposed to read. That was about the time I turned to the girl sitting next to me and asked, “There was a river?”

But the German-speaking movie is really Spanish, with subtitles in Chinese!

Also, the other day I went to "German movie night," a night when they play a German-speaking movie with English subtitles. Well, for some reason, the movie they chose was originally German, but instead of the German audio, the characters spoke in Spanish and the subtitles were in Chinese. Needless to say, the movie didn’t go over too well. Hopefully, this week’s movie will follow the theme a bit better.

$5 in a change machine; Life is good

Besides all the little mishaps, college life is wonderful. I love being able to carry keys to my own room and my own mailbox. I actually enjoy laundry days now. If you’ve never put $5 into a change machine, you have no idea what you’re missing. It’s awesome.

This next week is going to be a real challenge because I’ve got to go out of town and I will miss some classes. I wonder if I’ve had enough practice with time-management to handle the truckload of work I’m going to have to do to stay caught up in class. I guess my semester grades will reflect the answer to that.

Until next time,

Jenn
Life U Grad & Writer
www.lifeu-online.com

Jenn’s musings on Tinker Day, tutus, and family weekends

2004-10-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm going to a private school for my first year of college. I've found that there are some things that you can get from a private school that you're unable to get from a large public university.

For example, this school is deeply rooted in tradition. Almost every annual campus event has a story behind it that upperclassman regard as some sacred religion.

Tinker Day

There is one campus tradition, though, that I find particularly interesting. That yearly ritual is known as Tinker Day.

Tinker Day is supposed to be a day when the whole campus takes the day off and goes on a hike together on a mountain. This day of fun, however, is not announced to anyone. Not a single person on campus knows exactly when Tinker Day will wreak havoc.

There are also a few rules that must be followed if this day is to follow tradition.

Tinker Day must occur after the first frost, but still in the month of October. On the night before Tinker Day, the chapel bell at the school will ring 13 times. The next day at 7 a.m. the seniors come running through the freshman dorms banging on the doors and walls with pots and pans, and the disoriented underclassmen are ushered down to the cafeteria for a feast of donuts.

After breakfast, all the students are supposed to return to their dorm room to put on the most absurd clothing combinations they can think of and meet at the front of the school to begin the hike up the mountain.

The school president gives the official Tinker Day speech, and then everyone spends the next two hours making the long-awaited trip up Tinker Mountain in a variety of ballet tutus, wigs, hats, and other outrageous clothing combinations. At the very top, each class does a skit and the day is finished with a huge picnic and a hike back down the mountain.

Right now, it's near the end of October and there still hasn't been a Tinker Day. People have been preparing costumes and awaiting the 7 a.m. wake-up call. We all know it's coming soon - maybe within the next week.

Tinker Scares

Another tradition associated with Tinker Day is the senior "Tinker Scares." Tinker Scares are when seniors (usually intoxicated) race through the dorms in the middle of the night screaming "It's Tinker Day!"

You might not realize how disorienting it is to have the sound of screaming seniors and banging pots wake you up, but take my word for it; it's only funny the first time. While this is great fun for the seniors, it can be a little frustrating for the average freshman struggling to catch a few z's.

Family Weekend

My parents left today after spending the weekend in town for the college's family weekend. When I came to college, I think the relationship I have with my parents changed a bit. Maybe the same way teenagers mature as they come to college, parents also mature in their own unique way.

Whatever the reason, I was able to relate to them on a more adult level and I appreciated their company more than I have in some time.
I'm also in the midst of midterms for all four of my classes.

FYI: In small classes, teachers can see you better

Since I do go to a private school though, I've been able to get plenty of one-on-one attention with the teacher. That's one big advantage of attending a private school - there's a miniscule student/teacher ratio. Unfortunately, smaller classes (sometimes with only 5 or 6 people) make it harder to fall asleep in class without anyone noticing. Also, if you slack off, the teacher knows your name and he or she will probably mention something to you about it.

On the positive side, however, the fact that I know my teachers are watching more closely has made me work harder than I probably would have at a larger university.

Tons of hard work has brought me over halfway through the midterm weeks and I've still got so much to do. I'm getting better at balancing the sleep and school work with time left over for some weekend fun.

I can't wait until Tinker Day and I've even heard that there is a chance it might be this Tuesday!

Until next time,

Jenn

Five Very Important Discoveries

2004-10-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

With most of my time spent doing homework, going to class, or going to work, it’s been very easy to neglect the little things that I’ve needed to take care of. For instance, I’ve made these very important discoveries:

1) Just because dirty dishes might be out of sight, doesn’t mean that they are no longer a problem. The week-old oatmeal smell is a splendid reminder that they need to be washed.

2) It’s not always the best idea to wait until the clothes are starting to climb back out of the clothes hamper to do laundry. By then it’ll take about 3 loads to get all of it washed because campus washers are so small.

3) Sleep is non-negotiable. You may think that by missing a few hours of sleep, you’re gaining a few hours of work time, but the next day it’ll be that much harder to concentrate. Besides, caffeine can only keep you awake for so long, before you start bumping into walls.

4) Eating is non-negotiable. Once again, time may be saved by missing a couple of meals to finish your take-home exam or some late homework, but it ends up hurting you in the long run. If you want to still be alive and ready to go for the weekend parties, you’ve got to take care of yourself during the week.

5) Stash, save, and conserve. If you’re on a college student’s budget (which most college students are) then any time you can save money is a great thing. If caffeine is a must, buy your coffee, Mountain Dew, etc. in bulk. It sure does beat paying a $1.00 for each 20 oz. bottle of soda.

Also, if you’re able, sneak food from the cafeteria. My friends have been known to carry 3 cups of milk a piece out of the cafeteria, go back to their room and fill up a gallon jug. That’s about $3.00 worth of savings, which is about 1 load of laundry! All the little stuff adds up.

Hopefully, knowing all of this will make my college life a bit easier. Now all I have to master is balancing a hefty workload with a healthy dose of procrastination.

Until next time!

Jennifer
University Freshman
Life University Grad & Writer http://www.lifeu-online.com/

Rafting

2004-10-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

The freshmen orientation committee planned for us to go whitewater rafting today as a "team-building" activity. I had never been rafting before and I was definitely more than a little intimidated, but I figured that I’d regret it if I didn’t go.

First of all, all of us had to be out in front of the busses by 5:30 a.m. Waking up that early is definitely not the best way to start your morning. I slept most of the way there and was awakened by the unpleasant sound of one of the event coordinators shrieking, "Time to get off the bus! Find your groups!" We had arrived at our destination late so everyone was in a big rush to get us down to the river.

They said to get a helmet, get a paddle, get a life vest, and get back on the bus. After we all loaded and unloaded ourselves from the buses a time or two, they did a headcount. Our raft guide then screamed to his supervisor one of the most unsettling things I had heard that whole day, "We left with 42!" My question was, weren’t we supposed to come back with that many anyways?

The raft guide went through the basics of what to do in case of an emergency, or rather, what to do when (not if) one of us fell out of the boat. He went through all of the worst case scenarios: broken legs, bruised bodies, drowning freshman. At the end, he must have seen that we looked a little pale because he made a rather unsuccessful attempt to make us feel like we weren’t heading to our deaths. He yelled out over the bus motor "What’s the worst that could happen? You could die, that’s all." At that, he laughed a bit to himself and sat back down in his seat until we got to the river.

The day went by without any problems though. I had an awesome time, met some wonderful people, and even got some fantastic action shots of the screaming faces of other rafters as they were about to hit a class 4 rapid. I’m so glad I went out on a limb and tried the rafting. I think I might even try going again next month!

After the day of rafting, all of us were exhausted. The drive back to the university was long and silent and when we arrived on campus I believe that was the first time I referred to the campus as home.

See you next time!

Jennifer
University Freshman
Life University grad & writer http://www.lifeu-online.com/

Move In Day!

2004-10-19T06:32:00.000-07:00

Today is the day I’ve been waiting for all summer. Today is move in day at my university. I spent all week saying goodbye to friends and packing up the last of my essential belongings. It’s never easy to leave the people you love or the life you’re familiar with.

It was a six hour drive to the college and then another 30 minutes looking for a parking space once we got there. That place was packed! First on the new student check-in list was getting keys and making sure all the necessary paperwork was filled out. Basically, I had to wait in endless lines for what seemed like hours. It all paid off though, when those brassy keys hit my hand for the first time!

I made a mad dash to the dorm where I would be living and it was absolutely swarming with parents and students trying to move what looked like a yard sale into the dorm building. I parked my car, found my room, and met my roommate. She seemed nice, but I still wasn’t sure how we’d get along. After hauling about 5 boxes and a loft bed up three flights of stairs I was ready to take a well deserved rest break.

Unfortunately, the rest of the evening was taken up with orientation activities including a talent show and a scavenger hunt. Even though my team did come in dead last during the scavenger hunt, everyone was very supportive and gave us a nice round of applause when we walked into the gym where the rest of the freshman was waiting.

There have been so many new people and so many new things to see that it’s been a little overwhelming. I’m not sure how I’ll fit into this place, or if I’ll ever be able to call it home. I miss my friends already and I feel like I might as well be a million miles from home. Hopefully my homesickness will start to go away as I settle in.