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Back in my day
Posted by on Monday, November 9, 2009 at 1:03 AM (PST)
It's November as I write this blog. No doubt you seniors out there are either knee deep in application essays, knee deep in midterms or knee deep in snow. Luckily for us here at University Drive - located in sunny southern California - we don't typically get snow in November. Or ever, for the most part. But we've been high school and college students before, so we know what it feels like to be knee deep!
With that in mind, I want to help you take a break from the grind of filling out FAFSA forms, getting recommendations, spell-checking essays and all the other hard work you might be enduring this college admission season. It's too easy to get so caught up in the process of applying that you forget about what a wonderful experience you're about to have! I was reminded of this as I enjoyed a college football game this past Saturday. I went to San Diego to see my alma mater, TCU, play San Diego State. Hundreds of Frog fans (that's right, we're the Horned Frogs... what of it!?) showed up to root on the team, including scores of students. Seeing them enjoying the gameday atmosphere reminded me of how much fun I had not so long ago. Hopefully, sharing some of my memories will give you an idea of what's to come during your freshman year.
You can look forward to:
Moving all your stuff into a cool new dorm room (or, if you're a guy, a smelly new dorm room)... mistaking your first college textbook for a 25-pound dictionary... learning your school's fight song... learning which bathrooms get the least amount of traffic... FINALLY saying goodbye to Mom and Dad and wondering why you keep wanting to cry... realizing your professor sees you as an adult, not a kid... making the decision to go greek (or not) and then making friends for life regardless of which you chose... staying up as late as you want without anyone making you go to bed!... ruining your first load of laundry because you didn't realize that one red sock made it into your whites... wondering if s/he'll ever call and if you should call first... hoping the cafeteria's mystery meatloaf isn't the only option every single day... thinking you're immune to the freshman 15 and then finding out you're not (this applies to you too, guys!)... thinking you've got it made because your classes only have three grades a semester, then realizing how stuck you are because your classes only have THREE GRADES A SEMESTER!... meeting that new friend who somehow "gets you" in a way nobody from your high school ever did... learning that credit cards are WAY too easy to use... spending 25 minutes on your hair in the morning to get that I-only-spent-25-seconds-on-my-hair look... trying to convince your parents that the $400 bookstore charge was totally for books and not at all for your entire family's Christmas presents too... realizing that 9 am class was a bad idea... realizing that 8 am class was a REALLY bad idea... finding out that drinking coffee is an awesome way to help you stay up late to study and also finding out that IreallylovecaffeinewhoknewitwassogoodIcan'twaitformoregivemeatriplemochalatteILOVECAFFEINE!...
Sigh... and so much more. Hopefully as you move through this college admission season, you've been able to identify what YOU are looking forward to about heading off to college and those things are motivating you through the busy spots. And when you look back on your experience in 5 or 10 years, may your list be much longer than mine.
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