Freshmen...Start. Your. Engines!

Flashback: You literally just graduated high school and EVERYBODY is asking, "Where are you going to school? What will you major in? Are you living on campus or commuting? Did you get a scholarship--for how much?" They really want to know.  You're swimming, more like drowning, in circles. I just want to get my open house thank-you cards over with so I can enjoy my summer and get my mom off my back. 

One month goes by: You're at orientation and an enthusiastic welcome committee is throwing A LOT at you. "Welcome to [insert college or university here], if you'd kindly follow this group to the auditorium we can begin our orientation." Do I take my parents with me? Is everyone else taking their parents with them? Crap--I didn't bring a pen. Mom, please stop crying. Okay, everyone is heading in by themselves...Do I have time to go to the bathroom? 

Orientation is finally over and you've got all of your classes picked out: Contemporary Ethical Dilemmas (whatever that means), Intro to Earth Science, Algebra, and English. Not so bad, considering I scheduled all of them for after 11:00AM and nothing on Fridays. Now where do I get books? That guy in the polo shirt might be able to tell me. Okay, made it to the campus bookstore. Oh good, the line is out the door.

Present day: It's officially the end of July and it seems you've got almost everything you need. 12 mechanical pencils, 11 spiral notebooks, 10 Bic pens, 9 giant erasers, 8 rad t-shirts, 7 neon highlighters, 6 pairs of shoes, 5 three-ring binders, 4 huge containers worth of toiletries, kitchen and office supplies, 3 awesome band posters, 2 back packs, and a FUNNY LOOKING, BRAND NEW ID!  It's all packed and piled in the corner of your bedroom, awaiting its debut.

Fast forward: It's move-in day and the trip so far has been wonderful to say the least. You definitely weren't just arguing with your sibling over who gets to take the Harry Potter movies...and lost. You haven't been trying to hold it together so your mom doesn't burst into tears...for the millionth time. You certainly did not forget your all-time, favorite, ever, blanket that is folded neatly at the foot of your bed at home because you slept with it last night and didn't remember to pack it with your new bed-set. You are just thrilled to be squeezed tightly in the back seat surrounded by all of your stuff for the entire way to school--microwave on your  lap.  All statements above are SO not full of sarcasm. That was sarcastic. 

When you arrive on campus, a relentlessly cheerful Resident Assistant hands you your keys along with a bunch of forms that you CAN NOT FORGET TO FILL OUT AND RETURN TO HER BY 4:00PM TOMORROW, then mentions that the elevators are out and points you to the stairs. After a grueling hour of moving everything from the car to the room, you begin setting up and your mother moves everything around, disregarding your comments about the need to share the space equally with your roommate that hasn't yet arrived.  Then it's time for your family members to head back home. More waterworks; this time, even you get pretty choked up.  After you say your goodbyes, you meet your new roommate. It seems like we could get along--not that I'd really have a choice. Thank goodness I took that "common interest" sheet seriously when I was filling out housing applications. Oh, she brought a fridge too. Yay, two fridges! Wait...this is how it starts, the Freshman Fifteen.

After a few days of "Welcome Week" activities, you're nervous to start school, not to mention, pretty mentally and physically exhausted. You are aware that you didn't read enough this summer, which is a major bummer because reading anything always seems to sharpen your mind and enhance your vocabulary, but oh well. I'm sure I'll get my share of reading if I want to pass my classes this semester. You know that you heard some people say that you should meet your professors and get to know them, especially during the first week. Therefore, you've amped yourself up and are prepared to courageously answer their questions and shake their hand after class if given the chance--even if they try to intimidate you with a hefty syllabus. You remember the advice about meeting other classmates, exchanging numbers, and looking for opportunities for study groups. Then you stop, look around, and realize that everyone, for the most part, is sitting in the same boat of confusion and chaos and suddenly you feel a little better because it is really happening. No more anticipation or anxiety about the what-ifs. A whirlwind of mixed emotion crosses over you. All you can do now is what you came to do: Go to class and let the adventure commence. Here we go, wish me luck.