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Monday, August 26, 2013

Off to College








Classes start at the University of Nebraska this week.  This got me thinking about my freshman year.  In August of 2003 (wearing a really cool blue camo print tee), I packed up most of my belongings into my Civic and my dad's Grand Marquis, and we drove up to Lincoln where I would know exactly no one else in my dorm.  

When I think about that now, it makes me so nervous!  What was I thinking?  I had awesome friends in high school and most of them were going to K-State.  For some reason, I had decided several years prior that I was going to UNL and I never seriously considered any other options.  I didn't even apply anywhere else.  I'm pretty sure everyone thought I was crazy, and they were probably right.  

That whole first week was sort of a blur, but here are some random things I remember:

  • About 4 hours into the 5 hour drive, my dad asked my mom if she had packed his shirts.  She hadn't. They were going on a 1-2 week road trip after dropping me off in Lincoln, so I think they went to the mall to buy him some shirts on their way out of town.  
  • I felt very "freshman" when I went to pick up my books.  I was in line next to a girl who was so obviously (to me) not a freshman.  She seemed like she knew what was going on and not at all nervous.  I later learned that she lived across the hall from me, and was a freshman, and she thought that I seemed confident while she felt nervous.  I quickly became best friends with Anne and her roommate, Brooke.  You may remember them from Friendizona Weekend and other various shenanigans.  
  • My roommate thought the dorm showers were gross, so she just didn't take a shower for the first 3-4 days.  It was August in Nebraska.  Daily showers are kind of important when it is 100-ish degrees outside and you are carrying boxes up to the 3rd floor.  This was not the weirdest thing about my roommate.  She moved out without telling me at the beginning of second semester.  I didn't miss her.  
  • That first weekend, I was invited to a BBQ cookout for the Campus Crusade group.  When we got there, somehow they didn't have any meat, so it wasn't much of a BBQ.  The main thing I remember is playing ping pong with Collin, who ended up becoming a great friend.  You may remember him from the Montana trip.  
  • I was in the Honor's Program, and we were "required" to read Seabiscuit over the summer.  For being a pretty good kid, I was very rebellious about certain things (particularly things that I deemed worthless).  I thought it was stupid to have required summer reading for college so I just went to the movie and skipped the book.  I bluffed my way through the discussion groups after our Honor's Welcome luncheon.  Most of the other honor's kids were shocked and appalled that I hadn't read the book. I was sort of proud of myself.  I still am.    
  • My first day of classes, I was kicked out of my Poli-Sci class for being a Sophomore (my high school had a lot of concurrent credit classes).  The TA just said "If I read your name, you aren't allowed in this class!" and then read a few names, including mine.  I asked him what I was supposed to do, and he said he didn't know and didn't care but I couldn't stay in that class.  I went outside, sat down on a bench and cried.  Then I called my mom.  Then I met with my adviser and got my schedule fixed.  I still don't know why they let me register for that class if they were just going to kick me out on the first day.  It was the only class I was excited about, so it was pretty disappointing.  
Do you remember anything interesting about your first week of college?  

PS - this outfit has nothing to do with going to college.  It's a little but outside of my comfort zone (tucked in shirt, AH!), but I really like it.  

Top: Sunset Rd
Blazer: H&M
Necklace: gift
Belt: Limited
Skirt: Loft
Sandals: Carlos Santana

11 comments:

  1. What a fun read! Today was Kayla's first day of classes on campus and she was no nervous this morning! I wasn't nervous at all when I started but maybe because I went to community college so it wasn't as daunting?

    LOVE this outfit and all the colors too!

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  2. Great post, I loved reading it. I also went to a college where I didn't know anyone at all, which seems crazy now. I remember that the girls who lived on my floor became some of my best friends throughout all of college. But 9/11 also happened at the very beginning of freshman year and we were all sort of instantly bonded together after that.

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  3. This is so much fun to read, it actually makes me feel better about my first day of senior year!

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  4. 1) I love the outfit, it's a great look for you! Way to get out of your comfort zone. :) 2) How awful you got kicked out of a class on your first day! I think I would have done the same thing. 3) My freshman year of college was at a community college, so I did know a lot of people, but my sophomore year I went to a college an hour away (in Topeka) and knew one other person from high school in the whole college (and she wasn't in my dorm). I hated my roommate, but my suitemates were awesome so I mostly hung out with them, and the guy that lived across the hall. He and I are still friends to this day.

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  5. I think I've blocked Freshman year out, seriously. So cool you remember so much :)
    Ginny

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  6. I wish I could remember that much. I know I was wearing a bright orange t-shirt from camp (I had just spent the summer working there). I was extremely comfortable with dorm showers because I had endured far worse at camp. (You mean the hot water doesn't run out? And there isn't black mold to be found?) It's funny about freshman year roommates-- mine contacted me before school even started asking if I would be okay switching rooms so she could be with her friend from grade school. That didn't end up happening, but my roomie was cool anyway. I've heard some terrible stories about freshman year roommates, so minus the wanting to ditch me before she even knew me part, it worked out fine. I can't really remember much else.

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  7. I LOVE this outfit! The subtle pattern mixing with the skirt and pop of color with the shirt are just gorgeous. You look fantastic!

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  8. I love this post! It's hard to believe that 10 years ago we were starting college!

    My roommate and I messed with the system and got into one of the nicer dorms because her sister lived there. We were little fish in a big pond! It was a great time, though, and I made some great new friends and it brought me closer to friends I'd known forever. Sometimes I really do miss having my friends just a walk across the parking lot and the carefree life of being a college student.

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  9. I love this post! It's hard to believe that 10 years ago we were starting college!

    My roommate and I messed with the system and got into one of the nicer dorms because her sister lived there. We were little fish in a big pond! It was a great time, though, and I made some great new friends and it brought me closer to friends I'd known forever. Sometimes I really do miss having my friends just a walk across the parking lot and the carefree life of being a college student.

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  10. I loved reading about some of your freshman year memories, so I thought I'd share a few of mine as well...

    - I wore an American Idol concert tee on move in day, because I thought it would show all the new students that I was cool and liked pop culture and music. WRONG. IT WAS STUPID. Seriously, American Idol? My parents still tease me about it to this day...
    - My roommate was also SUPER weird. Her first question for me was, "Do you take a multivitamin?" and one of our first conversations together was about her being a witch and letting me know that any time I wanted to borrow her witch's cape and magic wand, I could. She was kicked out of college in spring semester for academic reasons and never told me until I came back to my room after class one day and all her stuff was gone.
    - I was a super naive and good kid in high school, and the first time I drank in college, I called my parents afterwards to tell them I had had three sips of beer...but that it was mixed with lemonade so I probably didn't even consume that much alcohol. Hahaha. So embarrassing.
    - We also had required reading for over the summer - we had to read Kite Runner, and I'm so glad we did. To this day, it is one of my favorite books!!

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