It’s that time again (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), and you must want to talk about. So here’s a place to do it, courtesy of your ever-obliging GAPAs.
Actually, Jadestone reminded us with this helpful offer:
Think it’s time for another back to school thread? Since many musers are heading off to college for the first time I’ve been thinking about making a list of less-thought of items I found really useful to have freshman year.
Please do, Jade! I’m leaving soon, and getting nervous. I don’t leave until September 12th, though, and almost everyone I know is leaving this week, which is sad.
ffffffff
so I typed up a bunch
page refreshed
THERE IT ALL GOES
starting over I guess
THINGS THAT PROVED INVALUABLE TO ME IN COLLEGE, VERSION THE SECOND:
– a GOOD raincoat/pair of rainboots. Unlike in high school, you’re not just showing up to one place and then staying inside all day. You’re likely going to be wandering between buildings that might be a long walk away. Drying off takes time, and when you’re outside for a lot of the day if it’s raining and you don’t have a coat/boots you will never dry off. I speak from experience. You will feel damp all day, which is not fun when you’re just sitting in a lecture hall for an hour at a time and as soon as you get dry it’s right back out there. If you don’t want to have to wear the boots in class, just take them off. No one will care if you’re sitting there in your socks. Unless it’s a chem lab maybe, that might not be a great idea then. But coat/boots/umbrella are really useful to have on hand and possessing them doesn’t mean you can’t run out into a thunderstorm and play in the puddles now and then. I always keep a small collapsable umbrella that’s smaller than my hand in my backpack just in case of inclement weather. Cheaper than the one I bring around if it’s raining hard when I leave for class, but effective and always on hand.
– a brownie pan. Bowls and spoons are things most people remember to bring (though I still reccomend your own), pans are rarer and harder to borrow. And you can make many things in them! Brownies, cakes, cookies (just a cookie sheet with edges!), as well as non-desserts if you feel like real food. In the first few weeks of school, the two friends I’d made and I would often sit in the lounge while doing work and baking treats. You can offer them to people who wander by, and it’s a good way to start chatting with people if you’re shy like me and bad at instigating conversation. Boxed mixes are super easy to make if you have oil/eggs on hand (my roommate has a container of powdered egg whites, which are good for basically forever and much easier to keep than normal eggs), and very fast and tasty as well. Boxed cake mixes can also be made using the mix and a single can of soda (any flavor) as well if you don’t have eggs/oil around. It’s also nice to have such a pan when you have new friends with birthdays in the first semester–it can be very lonely for some people to be away from home on their birthday for the first time and don’t know many people around. Making them a treat+frosting it is a fast and cheap way to make it feel more special and bond.
– light strands. Your room will probably have an overhead light which is good for most purposes, but I liked being able to have a light I could turn off while in bed. I had a string of paper lanturns across my windowframe, that I could easily switch on/off without having to get out from under the covers. Christmas lights work well for this.
– EXTENSION CORDS/POWER STRIPS. There will not be enough outlets in your room, and they will not be where you need them.
– plain computer paper. Even if you’re not bringing your own printer, a good all-purpose stack of paper can be used for countless things. Cards, envelopes, posters, notes, paper snowflakes, etc.
– I have trouble sleeping unless it’s really, really dark. At home I have a pair of dark curtains that go around my bed and block out almost all light, but that’s harder to do in college. I got a cheap pair of light-blocking curtains from Target and a curtain rod. Don’t believe those “adhesive curtain rod holder clips” because they are all LIES. Bring some twist ties and suspend/attach the rod to the top attachment of the existing blinds. It works 1000 times better. Twist ties in general are really useful and can fix many things, especially some of the ones duct tape cannot. If you’re living with a roommate, you may want to talk to them about curtains first though (I was in a divided double, so I had one window that was mine and this was not an issue).
Other things will follow later as I think of them
I would say be sure to research whether your dorm room has a mirror. Personally I had to buy one halfway through the year because I didn’t want to go to the bathroom just to do my hair or something.
Ooh… Brownie pan. Good idea!
I’m all moved in, as is my roommate. I think the only thing I forgot to bring is the little row of hooks I hang on my bed for jackets, etc. Oh, and sponges, but I can make do with washcloths for a while. I have more posters and prints than last year because I wanted to personalize the room a bit more. The roommate and I are discussing getting some seating in here as well.
This afternoon I managed to meet with my music minor adviser and I got the various codes I need to register for various things. I also talked to the person in charge of letting me test out of the Keyboard Skills course, and since she had some spare time we just did it right then and there. I also officially added the music minor, after tracking down where the college’s temporary advising office is since the real one’s under renovation. Picked up my textbooks (and returned the two for the class I dropped) as well. A very productive day, I’d say! I can’t wait for my classes to start. Well, one of them I’m dreading, but the rest should be great.
And I managed to get football tickets this year! Last year they had some problem with their online system and so very few underclassmen managed to get them, but this year went much better. Nothing more important than Husker football.
I find it hard to express how much I love campus life. I think this city feels more like home than than my “real” home.
Ignoring the obvious stuff (clothing, bedding, an alarm clock, soap and whatnot) college packing:
1.Provided you’re driving and not flying: if you can bum it off your parents, take it. You might need it. You might be able to barter it. If you’re planning on studying long-term, it’s best to start living like a cheap student as soon as possible. Yeah, you can get more later. But if they’re paying…
2.Power strips: preferably grounded. Just get a billion, you’ll have so much crap to plug in. Also look into extension cords and really long ethernet cables if you live in a dorm that doesn’t have wireless internet.
3.DESK LAMPS. You’re all readers. They’re GOOD. Extra lightbulbs.
4.All the underwear and socks you can pack. Doing laundry is hard and boring and also they tend to magically vanish.
5.Textbooks: most schools post a list for your classes. They’re all pretty cheap on Amazon and Ebay (though Amazon is more trustworthy and shipping policies are easier IMO), totally overpriced at the bookstore (also, look into Amazon student for a year of quicker shipping).
6.Cookies or brownies. Just have them around at move-in and everyone will love you. True story. They are not thinking “dude lame this kid’s mommy made cookies what a baby.†They are thinking “SWEET! COOKIES.â€
7.You really don’t need posters. Or that many books (there is a library). Or decorations. They won’t move, and then you’ll just have to move them somewhere else eventually.
8.Post-its, dry erase boards, stuff to write notes to yourself, there’s so much going on. Unless you’re a planner-notebook type.
9.At least one set of “nice†clothing. There will be something you need it for. Consider more if you’re in a place that gets the full range of the seasons.
10.Raincoats > Umbrellas. Because umbrellas are super annoying to bring to class and mysteriously break or go AWOL. This might be a personal preference: I’m from PA and we’ve all sorts of crazy weather, so a little downpour on the bottom half of my pants never bothered me.
11.Reusable water bottle. And coffee mug if you’re a coffee person.
12.Tupperware. Lunch bag that fits in your backpack. I’m personally not a fan of ice packs, but they’re nice sometimes.
13.Silverware can be useful. Can openers doubly so. Don’t forget dish soap and a sponge, if you’re going to bring them.
14.TISSUES, PAPER TOWELS, NAPKINS, GARBAGE BAGS.
15.A stapler. And staples, you have so many papers.
16.Folders upon folders to organise the stuff you actually had to print out.
College living:
1.Don’t loan anyone money, just, don’t. It’s a good general rule to have.
2.That being said, don’t be afraid to share what you do have. People will appreciate it and generally return the favour, if they can. If else, ditch the moochers.
3.If it’s free, take it. You can always get rid of it later.
4.Get a job if you can, on-campus stuff and work-study is great. You get paid, you get something on your resume, you network, and you learn to balance an active life.
5.Speaking of having an active life, most colleges in the US have a free fitness center. Make use of it. Get a routine and/or workout buddy and stick to it. You’ll feel better, you’ll function better, and it’s fantastic stress-relief.
6.Budget budget budget. Get used to it now. Understand scholarships and loans. Start planning for a career or grad school as soon as you get there.
7.Be presentable when you go to class. Engage the professors. Some are good, some are horrible, but they’re all professors and you could have another class with them. Or make a useful contact. Visit office hours, even if you don’t have any “real†questions.
8.I’d say not to skip class, but that’d make me a bit of a hypocrite. I’m totally condoning this for giant lectures. Provided you actually teach yourself. Simply saving PowerPoint slides to “view later†does not count as teaching yourself.
9.Start assignments as soon as you can. Pretend they have an earlier due date if you’re a last-minute genius.
10.If you’ve a mandatory catered meal plan, use it. Yeah, eating out is good for having a social life, but it gets expensive quickly and it’s easy to end up overeating. No one will think it’s weird if you just get a cup of coffee or something. You can always say you ate earlier. Also it’s crazy-easy to bring a lot of food home from a buffet-style dining hall, especially when it’s crowded. Just make sure to have tupperware or plastic bags in your backpack.
11.Learn to cook, if you can’t already. Learn to cook cheap and in bulk. The internet is your friend.
12.Don’t get a pet. They are cute and adorable and the bestest but they are also effort and smell and you have to pay their upkeep.
13.Have a credit card in your name. Also a checking account. Start establishing credit ASAP. Credit checks look at how long you’ve had accounts. The longer it is, the more trustworthy you’re deemed.
14.Get an unrelated minor. A BS/BA is the minimum requirement for nearly every decently-salaried job. Be better than that. Double major if you can. Learn a language. Don’t major in something useless. If you major in something useless, learn to make it sound like you’re capable of doing any job ever.
College social:
1.No one cares about what you achieved in HS after the first week (okay, first semester) of college. Be interesting, not nostalgic. Do new stuff. The rules have changed. Adapt accordingly.
2.Join clubs that interest you. If you don’t mesh within the first couple weeks, drop ’em.
3.Cool people drink without pressuring anyone else to do so. If someone tries to make you feel bad about not being an alcoholic, s/he probably has no life outside of drinking. Laaaame.
4.Everyone is trying on new personalities and being a total spaz about it. This is okay. This is normal. This is a great time to drop the previously-mandatory pretensions and act in a manner you feel is best. Might as well make friends who aspire to be the same sort of person you do.
5.Take NOTHING personally.
6.It’s also good to have friends whose personalities compliment yours. Speaking as someone who’d had ridiculous amounts of social anxiety, having outgoing-but-nerdy friends was a boon. As was that token friend who understood social situations. That sort of thing. Seriously, I can talk to cashiers while maintaining eye contact and not stuttering now, it’s pretty sweet.
7.Don’t be afraid of asking people (your RA, a professor, etc) for something you need, or for help. That’s what they’re there for; you’d be surprised at how much people genuinely like everyone. And want to help :3
8.If you give someone a pen/cil in class, you will never see it again. Just so you know. Not advising against.
9.Get to know the upperclassmen in your field, they can recommend profs and help with work and tests. Also, you’ve got similar interests already, and they know so much STUFF.
10.If your roomie’s a psycho, just confront him/her directly. But make sure you cover your bases first. Talk to the RA if you have trouble. So s/he won’t play the victim. If your roomie is actually on crazy pills, just find whatever keeps him/her distracted and occupied and out of the way, trust me, it’s easier. If your roomie eats all your stuff, learn to eat weird. S/he won’t stop. So many people operate on spite. Don’t operate on spite.
11.Call your parents semi-regularly. Or email them. Yes you’re finally FREE AS THE WIND, but they’re still your fallback people. Unless they are actually evil, they still feel some sense of love and obligation toward you and any threats made about your lifestyle or education are largely idle. At worst, they’re trying to make you independent. This is a good thing.
.
.
.
Okay so I typed a lot more than I’d intended… it’s making me feel organised because I’m currently trying to fit all my absolutely-necessary stuff into a couple suitcases because grad school is really really far away. Hopefully someone finds it useful. And don’t take my word on everything. Or anyone’s word. Y’all’re smart. You’ll get yourselves sorted.
FREE THINGS ARE SO GREAT
And yes, the way to people’s hearts is often through their stomaches or at least their taste buds. They make people remember you at least instead of just being in the blur of faces.
And I second EVERYTHING Mel said about college social life, and the importance of laptop speakers.
I’m just going to… copy this post and save it for future use…
Oh, and speakers! Because laptop speakers are awful when you try to watch movies in a group.
Sorry for the chain posting, but another thing just occurred to me: a drying rack, because some stuff can’t be put in a dryer, and other stuff NEVER dries.
I would add to the laptop speakers an AV cord that can connect a laptop and a TV, and that also works with your computer. Because sometimes you’ll have the option of watching said movies in a common room with a TV, or be able to
break intouse a classroom after hours and use the projector.Mel- I would add: look for scholarships everywhere. Ask any and all advisers/department faculty if there’s any scholarship money available. If you don’t ask, you won’t get anything, and the worst that can happen is they don’t give you anything.
I also second, third, and fourth the “stapler” point. Good note on the speakers, too. You can get some excellent two-speakers-and-a-subwoofer sets on Amazon for twenty bucks.
Oh, that reminds me: there’s a ton of free computer-related stuff you can get if you have a student email address–free/ridiculously discounted software, a free Amazon Prime membership for some period of time, bonus Dropbox space, all kinds of stuff.
Also: the library (especially in the stacks, the farther from the entrance the better) is the absolute best place to study and write papers. Scout out the most secluded areas you can find.
I love library stacks.
Yes yes. Apply for all the scholarships. No matter how weird. And also ask all the faculty you know if there are student jobs or research positions, especially over breaks or the summer. Especially if you’ve had a class or lab with them before.
I don’t know how common a problem this is, but especially if you’re female, it’s worth asking around about the safety of the library stacks before you go study in secluded areas. I’ve known people who had bad things happen.
THIS PLEASE. ACTUALLY VERY IMPORTANT.
There aren’t problems that I’ve heard of in our library, but there ARE some sections of campus that are significantly more dangerous. It is very worth finding out where these areas are, especially, as Lizzie said, if you’re female. If you’re not sure and are ever nervous try to go places with a buddy, and stick to ares with lots of lights.
Library stacks can be pretty creepy… The ones at Yale were like a maze.
This is amazingly helpful. Thanks so much, guys!
I don’t know if 7th grade stuff belongs here.
Yup, it does! There’s usually a competition to see who goes to school first/last!
Also for posting about your first impressions for this year, how you like your classes, any friend issues, etc.!
Sure it does.
Jade thank you for the advice! I have a really cheap set of nonstick pans at school but I am lacking in bakeware and was considering getting a baking sheet, now I know a brownie pan will work just as well PLUS BROWNIES CAN HAPPEN
Also, a thought of my own:
BE CAREFUL OF YOUR COLLEGE FIRE CODE
I would love a string of lights or even just an extension cord, or a toaster, but they are not allowed in New York State colleges
However, glow stars on the ceiling may be okay– they are at BU.
hahaha not for me, anything on the ceiling is NOT ALLOWED, even though the “if it glows, it goes” rule likely does not apply to glowing stars
we’re also not allowed to cover more than a quarter of the walls with posters, but they don’t calculate or anything, just glance around
I’ve heard that the fire marshals aren’t allowed to open drawers or closets, just look around. I know someone who hides a toaster in his closet, and I put my coffeemaker away before I leave for long breaks, even though it doesn’t have any exposed hot parts. It doesn’t hurt to be careful; it’s harder to get things back than it is to hide them.
on a related note: DON’T BE THAT PERSON WHO BURNS POPCORN LATE AT NIGHT AND CAUSES A FIRE ALARM, EVERYONE WILL HATE YOU
the first fire alarm last year happened during orientation, before non-freshmen had even moved in
the fire alarm in the dorm where I live now makes my ears ring if I don’t get out in the first two or three minutes — they renovated this summer, hopefully it’s not as bad now, but it’s led me to develop a hatred of people who can’t cook
related to that: BE CONSIDERATE IN THE KITCHEN
don’t be the person on my floor last year who cooked a cheese pizza directly on the oven rack
during passover
when one of the people who was planning to use the oven later had a severe contact allergy to dairy
we had to wait hours for the oven to self clean and the whole floor smelled like burning, but the oven had become unsafe for almost a quarter of the floor to use
that’s an extreme example, but cross-contamination was always a huge problem for my dairy-allergic friend, and she couldn’t eat at the dining halls because of it so she /had/ to use the kitchen. so clean up any mess you make, wash your plates instead of leaving them there with food residue, etc. It’s not a big deal for you and it could save someone a trip to the ER.
You can put glow stars on your walls, though. I have Orion on my wall at home.
Yeah, this is great. I’ve been composing a list of things to bring to college (I’m starting in January) but there were several obvious-in-retrospect things mentioned here that I overlooked (stapler, desk lamp, bedding).
Yeah, bedding might be a good idea XD
Er, I’ll read everyone else’s posts in a bit but.
Trash cans! Dorm rooms don’t seem to come with them
paper towels!
simple cooking supplies
a first aid kit
super glue
playing cards!
stuff you need for a hobby
comfort reads/movies
some kind of hot water heater if you like tea
Jade and Mel are wise.
Something I find really helpful is having some food on hand that is easily made and consumed but NOT potato chips or something of that ilk. Instant whole-grain couscous is my go-to, usually. Or miso broth. It’s really handy to have good food that you can eat in the middle of the night when you are up studying and suddenly realize that you are STARVING and there is no place open and nearby.
The first couple weeks you will meet a ton of people. You might be convinced that you will always be friends with these people. That is probably not the case. In the beginning everyone makes these weird friend-clumps and hangs out and do silly things and use those experiences to “bond” with each other. They will be forgotten. Example: a bunch of people on my floor one night during the first week stayed up the entire night in the common room. I did not, because I was horrifically tired. I then felt like an outcast because they were all talking about HOW MUCH FUN it was an OH MY GOSH GUYS it was SO GREAT and they were all SO TIRED but it was SO WORTH IT. And I just kind of mumbled something about having to get my sleep and felt lame. After a week or so it was entirely forgotten, since we’d all gotten real things to be friends over. No one remembered who had done whatever silly things there were that they used to bond and make others feel excluded.
So be prepared for that sort of thing. Everyone is insecure. They’re worrying more about themselves than you. I promise.
Just this evening my friend Taylor (who I love dearly and now share a suite with) and I were talking about how at first we were mutually terrified of each other because we both were like “whoa, she’s WAY too cool for me.”
Make friends with upperclassmen, but don’t ONLY befriend upperclassmen (especially seniors) because then they graduate and you feel weird. On the other hand, don’t be afraid to make friends with seniors because they’re going to leave soon. They’re pretty cool, and they can be really handy when all your fellow freshmen are going crazy and being dumb. Since all of you are paragons of maturity, this will be frustrating for you. Your upperclassmen friends will empathize and introduce you to non-stupid people. Or they will try to corrupt you. Try to hang out with the ones that do the former more than the latter.
Become comfortable eating meals by yourself. This sounds super depressing, but there will be times when you can’t find people you know or want to sit with, and you will find yourself alone at a table. Or maybe you just won’t have enough time to eat and converse and so in order to not be late for your next class you will sit alone and snarf down your food at an alarming rate. It’s not super weird as long as you don’t act super weird. Hunching will make your sitting alone-ness more noticeable and it’s also probably bad for you when you’re eating. I dunno. Sit up, eat your food, read a book maybe, discreetly people-watch, and don’t think “I am a loser I am a loser I am a loser everyone hates me because I am a loser.” Because you’re not, and they don’t.
Your RA is your friend. Really. I know plenty of cool people in Res Life and they all really like taking care of people, which is why they are in Res Life. Talk to them. Hang out with them occasionally. They’ll like it, and you probably will too because once they get over their peppiness res life people can be genuinely cool.
For god’s sake take your hair out of the shower if you shed. Don’t poop outside of the toilet. Let someone know if a stall is out of toilet paper. Don’t write obscenities in toothpaste on the mirror. Don’t throw up in the water fountain. Learn how to take care of drunk people or find people who know how to take care of drunk people. Learn to distinguish when you need to call in extra help with them. Leave parties if you feel uncomfortable. Take vitamin C and zinc and other vitamins you might want. Wash your hands. Bathe regularly. Talk to your professors outside of class, try to have at least one or two adults that you can have fun conversations with to keep yourself grounded. If you like kids and there’s an opportunity to work with them, take it, because being around people of all ages is good for you. Make sure you get some variety in your classes or days. Do things that make you slightly uncomfortable (in a good way). Talk to people who seem really cool. Make yourself heard when you speak in class. Treat people gently but don’t back down if you need to say something. Try to keep your room somewhat clean. Do your dishes before they get moldy, and don’t leave the kitchen a mess. Take time alone and enjoy it. Enjoy your roommate’s company every now and then.
Second that having good food thing. I love instant rice packets.
I found that nuts are good for the emergency-snacking situation, bananas too, but they don’t last very long.
Let’s have a grade roll call! What grade are you going into this year? Are you excited? Nervous? Dreading the day?
I’ll be a sophomore in college. I move back in on September first, and I can’t wait.
The saddest grade. The “I just graduated and need a job grade”. I’d like to go to grad school for museums/libraries eventually, though!
Freshman in college. Terrified.
I’ll be in ninth grade. Starting high school. Ehhhh :/
Ninth! I’m a little scared because of how big the school looked when we went there for a tour, but I’ve heard wonderful things, so it all balances out.
Sophomore in college! More terrified to go away than I was before freshman year — I almost refused to go back last week, which would have basically ruined my life plan because two weeks before classes start is too late to transfer anywhere, I would’ve probably lost National Merit aid, etc. — but I’ve accepted the inevitable passage of time, mostly.
My family drives up on Sunday, but I don’t move in until the 22nd and school doesn’t start until the 30th. I have to get there extra early to help with freshman move-in, and go see my psychiatrist while my parents are still there to help in case something goes wrong, and attend a retreat for special interest floor board members, and other things like that.
Freshman in high school. I’m not very excited about starting off with geometry. Everything else I am excited for.
I’m going to be a freshman in high school (and also taking 2 or 3 college classes, depending on my scores on several tests). I’m very excited because my school is awesome.
Seventh. Looking at all of the other posts, I feel like a baby. I hope seventh grade goes smoothly. (unlike fifth. Total disaster)
Don’t feel bad about your age! We were all in seventh grade once.
(Fifth grade was a total disaster for me too. But it’s far behind me now)
It’s okay! I was in seventh grade when I joined MB!
As was I–well, I was going to start it soon.
Senior in high school.
Excited because I’ll be going to two schools this year, my normal one from last year and an online high school, part time at each.
Nervous because I’ll be going to two schools this year. Also, each of the five classes I’m taking could be the hardest and/or most time-consuming class I’ve ever taken. And it’s senior year, so there’s a lot of other things going on at the same time.
Right now, though, mostly excited. We’ll hope that lasts.
I’m going into what’s called Lower Sixth, which is equivalent to the American junior year/11th grade. I’m leaving for England at the end of the month, and I am excited, but also a little apprehensive since I’ve never been to boarding school before. The school has a reputation for being very, very academic, so hopefully I manage!
Junior in high school. I think I’ll be able to survive, if I can weasel my way out of AP Chemistry (since AP Biology is apparently full)! I have some classes that I’ll actually enjoy next year, so that should be good.
If you don’t manage to weasel your way out, we can be AP Chemistry buddies!
Can I join the AP Chem club?
Of course!
I’m in too, if that’s ok!
Absolutely!
Middle of junior year in high school. This semester the workload is smaller but having a greater effect on me, but I’m determined to get as good grades as last semester in the subjects I consider important. If I talk about my school social life I’ll do it on another thread later…
I’m also thinking, and researching a little, about universities. I know making myself decide things would be too stressful, but it’s great being more informed. I’ve made note of Jade, Melpomene, and other peoples’ advice!
Also, those of us who will do calculus start it as juniors, although I taught myself most of this semester’s work online so I could use it to understand more physics. Mwahaha!
Freshman in high school.
Actually pretty excited, probably because I just went school supply shopping and that’s the best part of school. Call me materialistic, but there’s something comforting about all those new notebooks and pencils and binders. All in pretty colors. They make me want to use them.
Yeah, I think I’ll like high school! I’m a little nervous but mainly excited.
Junior!
Vaguely excited, somewhat nervous because I’m taking 4 APs and in two of my classes I’ll be the only non-senior. (AP Chem and Calculus)
Senior in high school! and MEGA excited. Last year I discovered that as an upperclassman I could make underclassmen be quiet just by looking at them. This year my power will be EVEN GREATER AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAAAA
It’s going to be lots of fun! And lots of work. And lots of fun! I am going to apply to the heck out of those colleges! I will apply to them so hard they will not know what hit them.
I’m going into my junior year, and I’m conflicted. On one hand, I’m taking more advanced classes, which I like because having active, engaged people in a class is far more, well, engaging than having a class full of people who don’t care. On the other hand, three AP classes are bound to be a lot of work.
*junior year of high school, in case anyone was confused.
It’s a lot of work, but I’d say it’s worth it. AP classes tend to have a higher level of thought than non-AP classes, which is especially nice in humanities classes like English or History where the discussion can now go places that it actually literally could not go before, and especially nice in STEM classes like Calculus or Physics where you’re wasting about half the time you wasted before, and actually covering interesting material at a speed quick enough that you don’t become bored.
That said, taking an AP class that you aren’t prepared for/qualified for is never, ever worth it. It’s such a pity that the College Board essentially penalizes you for not taking APs (one of the questions colleges ask is, “did this student take the most rigorous courses available to him/her?”, which basically means “out of the number of APs your school offered, how many did you take?”) because it’s painful, difficult, and you actually learn very little because you’re too busy trying to keep up. There shouldn’t be any shame in taking a non-AP class when an AP is offered. Do what interests you, and the less it interests you, the less you should do it.
14 (CPM)~ 14th grade. Excited, because I’ll finally have something to do, but nervous I won’t have enough going on since I have significantly less classes than I did last semester. Also I won’t have the whole “getting used to college is overwhelming” thing. So I’m worried about boredom.
Addition to my last post:
Understand that this is a time where a lot of people (including yourself) will be re-thinking a lot of things you thought you’d never question. A lot of people will go a bit crazy trying to figure out the boundaries of their newfound freedom. Try to be patient with them and with yourself. It will eventually calm down. Be careful of people who are very loud about their beliefs, because often they will reverse them. Be gentle, especially with your friends who suddenly stop living by the moral code they grew up with and find themselves questioning their identity and convictions.
Counseling is included in your tuition, so make use of it. Seriously. You’re probably not going to have this opportunity again. Even if you’re busy, mental health is mega-important. If you have a friend who you think could benefit by going, encourage them to. Nag them mercilessly. I cannot express how grateful I am for my friend who asked me MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY whether I’d made an appointment yet, until I finally did because she was so annoying. I knew at the time that I needed to but kept talking myself out of it, but her insistence helped convince me that I had a problem that was real and that others could see and were concerned about. I really appreciate that, even though I still don’t have the words or confidence to tell her that.
So, nag people. It’s good for them and they will probably appreciate it, even if they never admit it.
Approach people who look sad. Do something nice for them even if you don’t know them very well, it doesn’t have to be big at all.
Know at least a few things that make you happy and less stressed out, and do them regularly. For me, taking walks in the woods, contra dancing, and playing music were the things I identified as making me feel human again, and when I started planning them into my schedule like they were important things (hint: they were), everything got exponentially better. Accept that doing things that make you feel good is important, because feeling good is important.
Also accept that people suck sometimes. Try to make friends outside your normal group, because then you can have fallbacks when everyone suddenly goes crazy.
If everyone in the universe is suddenly crazy, you might want to re-examine yourself for a bit to make sure you’re not actually the crazy one. If you are, figure out how to get help. (See above.)
I keep thinking of things after I hit submit… u.u
Remember that while it’s really good to take care of people, you are not responsible for their actions (unless you’re going to Hogwarts and are using an Unforgivable Curse on them). There comes a point where you need to take care of yourself first and others second and not feel guilty about it.
Fiddler, thanks for saying this, as everyone should know by now I strongly believe that if you want or need help with your mental health you should seek it, and college-age is when things tend to happen to your health or at least when you become able to do something about your health without parental consent
but! Just because your school counseling center offers free/paid-for-as-part-of-tuition services doesn’t mean that if they don’t work out for you there is something wrong. You should treat your school-assigned therapist/psychiatrist as you would any other therapist/psychiatrist. It takes time to find the right one, and you definitely shouldn’t settle because you think it’s too hard to find another (logistically or otherwise) or not worth it (your mental health is worth A LOT, more than you think, especially if you have a mood disorder that makes it hard for you to think clearly about your worth). If you have friends at school that are close enough for you to talk about personal things like this, ask them what they’ve heard about the counseling center, or about their experiences there. You wouldn’t go to a specialist doctor without hearing from your general practitioner that they were good, and getting a referral (or at least I hope you wouldn’t), and this should be no different.
I wish I didn’t have to warn you about this, but my psychiatrist at the counseling center, after seven months of seeing me once every three months, determined without my consent that I needed to be evaluated at a hospital. Since we were part of the school and on campus, he had the ability to call security guards to enforce this, which is something that most psychiatrists can’t and shouldn’t be able to do. When I talked to a friend about it, she told me about how notoriously awful the counseling center’s psychiatrists were, and how at least two of our friends had been hospitalized due to their bad calls.
For all I know this problem is specific to my school (I certainly hope so!), but the school counseling center is in a sort of unique position among outpatient doctors in having so much power over their patients, and it’s something I think you should consider.
I’m currently going into… limbo-land!
…No, seriously, I still need to nail down an internship. But I’ve found a work-exchange platform that sounds almost too good. Anyhow, trying not to be bitter about everyone else moving on with their life.
Back to school…
High school!
And I’m going shopping for school supplies, and I am going to buy all my school supplies by myself. With my mom’s money, but still.
Does anyone (who isn’t in college) have what they call a “Block Schedule?” It’s where we have four classes each semester that are an hour and a half and they switch out second semester.
My high school was like that, except we switched off every other day and Fridays were shortened periods of everything (So Mondays and Wednesdays had the first four classes, Tuesdays and Thursdays had the next four, and then Friday had half-lengths of all eight).
Turned out to be a huge boon when I went to Cornell, which is OCAAT so you have ONE class for four to five hours everyday. The people who came from typical 45-minute classes had a much bigger adjustment to make than I did.
Yes I was so glad to have had long classes in high school! It made my attention span that much longer!
Although now because of budget cuts my high school has a seven-period schedule and everyone takes all seven periods every day.
Well we called ours a block schedule but it’s not the same as yours! We had eight periods a semester and switched which ones we took every day. Like Tuesdays were odd days, Wednesdays were even days. Monday we took all eight.
With four classes a semester, how do you have enough class space for all your classes?
confused
Her classes are each an hour and a half long, so 1.5 times 4 is 6 hours of school per day. That sounds plausible to me.
I meant room on a year-long schedule, not hours in a day. Since I had eight classes, I was taking a bunch of stuff at the same time; like I would take English, Math, History, Language, Science, Elective, and various other required classes, required or not, during each semester.
I guess that AH wouldn’t take all of these classes at once… but I was wondering where electives would go with only four classes at once. And a second language pretty much requires you take a class on a regular basis, so that swallows up a period, too.
Oops forget the required at the beginning of the third line!
They take 4 different classes second semester, instead of the same 8 classes all year.
Yes, the way it works (we’re going to the same school) is that all your cores and electives are jumbled together, so you’ll complete an entire English class in one semester and then not take it the next, and the same would go for biology, history, art, underwater basket-weaving, etc. The only year-round thing is band, which means it’s one of your four classes for both semesters.
Interesting. How do you like that?
If you wanted to, then, could you take all your cores first semester and next year’s cores second semester and get a grade ahead each year? Because if so, I want to move to North Carolina and go to your school.
What’s the hurry to rush through school?
It would be perfectly reasonable not to want to do that, in certain circumstances, but personally, I do want to get done with it as quickly as possible. I don’t mind it, but college sounds awesome, and I’d love to start 2 years early. I suppose my current situation is actually preferable, though, because I don’t have to learn how to live on my own in only 2 years (I’m not sure how I’ll even manage to do it in 4; I’m a bit behind in independence), and I can at least finish college 2 years early (I go to an early college high school and will get an associate’s degree and 60 college credits when I graduate from high school, and I know that won’t transfer everywhere, but I refuse to go somewhere that doesn’t accept my credits), which is also good because graduate school sounds even better than college, and I’d love to get an early start on that, too–and furthermore, I’m getting the first 2 years of college free, so that’s certainly a plus. It’s possible that I’m being naive and that I won’t be any happier when I’m older, but I doubt it, and at any rate, I’ll presumably find out eventually.
I’m not sure if you could; also it’s not recommended because of the huge workload that each class has each day (the classes are twice as long and each day is like two days). People try to generally spread out their cores and electives so as to have an even workload.
Also I’m not sure about sophomore, junior, and senior year, but in freshman year at my school you can only take one math course. Actually, if you struggled in algebra the previous year you can take a sort of algebra refresher course one semester and geometry the next. But you can’t do geometry one semester and algebra II the next.
Oh. Well, that sounds like a silly rule.
My middle school was like what TNO and CPM described. I don’t even know what my high school class schedule will be like (not counting which classes I have). I’ve heard it’s like college and that classes last hours, but I don’t know how college classes are scheduled, so that doesn’t aid my understanding much. I’m sure I’ll hear all about it 9 days from now.
I just found out what hours will be like, although I still don’t know when I have each class. Basically, you have each class twice a week for 1 hour and either 25 or 35 minutes. Each day (except Friday), we have 4 or 5 classes, study hall and/or club time, and (basically) free time in your House common room (except that sometimes your Head of House makes you play games, although the House usually gets to vote on what’s played). Apart from House time and study hall, is that how college normally goes?
I go to school on the 29th. Summer is slipping away…
Here’s advice. If you are applying to a work study position, read the ad carefully, and double check your resume so that you don’t forget anything important before you click the apply button. And then don’t accidentally click something that deletes part of your resume, necessitating its retyping.
…I hope I’m still eligible for the position.
I am so absurdly excited to go back to school. I have spent the last two days packing in preparation for my Pre-School Journey (no time to pack when I get back!). God I have a lot of stuff. I figure I’m allowed to since I don’t live with my parents anymore (love them though I do!) and would prefer not to store things in their attic (exceptions are currently being made for my hoards of books). But it’s going to be awful to move it all. Every four months, I move. What is this.
Although last year I sort of bridled at how the college seemed to hamper my independence, I’ve been paying rent and bills and buying food for the last four months, and have proven to myself that I CAN live on my own, so I’m pretty much ready to go back to the summer-camp-esque lifestyle. I enjoy doing things other than work (though I will still be working, as much as possible–I have to remember that college isn’t free!), and being around my friends (I live with some awesome people, but we don’t really go on adventures together or anything), and I know I will have to pay it all back later but it is nice to have a few more years of not having to worry about things like that. Adulthood terrifies me. I would rather remain in this in-between state for a while yet.
The first bit really confused me until I realized that ‘Pre-School Journey’ meant ‘journey before school’ and not ‘journey at/to/through pre-school.’
TNO, you go to Cornell? That’s awesome. One of my really good friends is going there. How was your freshman year?
I really hate the fact that all my friends are on semesters and leave this week, except me and one other friend who don’t leave until mid-September. I’m going stir crazy. I’m terrified about going, but I’d rather just get it over with. My only remaining friend and I are going camping next week by ourselves, just to have something to pass the time.
Plus side: it gives you time to Kokon with me!
Yes! That is definitely a plus side.
I do. It’s pretty fantastic. And the block plan is like the best thing ever.
I’m going to go to *local university* this fall.
Not exactly what I hoped for, but I’ll get my bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in three years and can spend one of those years abroad (in Europe). But hey, at least the semesters only run October-January and March-June, so I have four months a year to travel Europe or sit around watching Dr Who. Perhaps I’ll study a language as well on the side.
More immediately, I’m planning on moving out and the ‘rents are pretty supportive. I already have one friend who’d be a potential flatmate, though general university students generally have a bad rep as tenants so it’ll be difficult finding something suitable.
I still feel almost like I’m giving up or wimping out as far as applying abroad in concerned, but, ultimately, the sad truth is that I can’t afford college elsewhere without massive scholarships. Even the plane tickets were already getting to be a problem, plus application fees, campus visits, testing fees… and so on. After I’ve gotten my first degree, I’ll have more job- and travel-related opportunities. I was going to travel during my gap year, but since I’m not 18, many programs rejected me flat-out.
This way, I only need to pay living and housing costs and can move back in with my parents should all else fail. Besides, my sister is interested in US colleges as well, and this way at least my mom won’t already be in debt. I do wish I could have had the whole college campus experience with dorms and diverse classes and diverse students etc… but perhaps I’ll be able to at least do graduate study in the US. I really would have liked to take creative writing classes (or any kind of writing class), but perhaps a summer workshop will come my way someday. But hey, at least I know what I’m doing this year and I have a month more of summer.
Other things I forgot to mention:
Plastic wrap and zip-lock bags. And a lint roller, because you will accidentally wash something with paper in the pocket. Irons are nice (because they double as hotplates), but hair straighteners work just as well on clothing.
Fiddler/d12:
HUGS, hugs, hugs. And so much that. Especially the taking-seriously part. I’ve had friends land in the psych ward every other semester and the ones who’ve taken it seriously and continued counseling are just doing so well now. So, uh, it gets better and stuff
bookgirl_me:
Hello fellow math(s) major! Math-solidarity, yeaaaaaah. Studying in not-your-home-country is… difficult. Usually for Americans, grad school stipends in US schools are largely based on your GRE score. It’s probably similar for foreigners?
And if you’re staying local for now, it’s always possible to look at already-established flatshares. There’s just a good bit of interviewing and visiting and general wandering around, but you can usually find a good deal with students who are into the same things. I’m assuming you’re in at least a semi-major European city, so using your city’s or school’s network to contact housing people and visiting apartment after apartment via public transit can’t be too hard
Rambling:
All I want to do is get my student visa in the mail D=
Finished undergrad, and instead of being a responsible adult with a job and a suit and a probably a briefcase and no debt and normal hair and all that lovely stuff, I just signed my life away to a Master’s program. The idea is to (1) go on to another school, after a year’s up, for my PhD, (2) see if I want to simply change the class of my degree and stay on in one place until PhD is finished. Because if I stop school, I probably won’t have the academic stamina to return. It’s draining. Hurrah, forever a student.
In other news, the prospect of living in on-campus housing again is really starting to frighten me, but it’s so difficult to find something from across the pond. Something not really dodgy, anyway. It’s a bit more expensive. But advantage: my friends here claim that it will force me to be Social, which is something I so often forget. I will miss having my own, proper kitchen, though. And I have notoriously bad luck with randomly-assigned room/house/flatmates. But with how this paperwork’s been bullying me, I figure things can only make a turn for the better is this faulty logic? Definitely yes. Ah well.
There is regression to the mean, though. That might help.
Hey school! I just returned from a leading an almost-month-long backpacking trip for incoming freshmen in Utah, which was super great. If you have a chance to go backpacking/outsiding of any kind in school, definitely do it.
My biggest recommendation for college students (and everyone, in general): Live Simply. Yes, you want everything you will need. But don’t bring too much! I like to bring enough clothes to go 2 weeks between laundry loads, but no more than that. You don’t need to bring your entire library — you can make time to read for fun, but you won’t have that much time. Your school has a library. If you don’t use something every day, or even a few times a week, don’t bring it. Bring a bike/lock/helmet. But in general, it’s easier to keep your room clean and organized if you have less stuff. And it’s easier to move at the end of the year.
Sweet Melpomene mentioned that you should double major if you can, which I disagree with (but am not a good example of). Take as many different types of classes as you can. If you think you want to major in math, take some english, anthropology, art classes. Take some of everything. Learn as much as you can about lots of different things. This may be your last chance to take classes in all of these areas, and you may find that you’re interested in subjects that you didn’t know you liked before. Employers look at your classes in addition to your official major — be well-rounded!
Also, say yes all the time. (But get good at knowing when to say no, which I’m also really bad at.) Take ALL the opportunities. Go to the first week of every activity you’re interested in. Talk to your professors after class and get to know them. But also take time to yourself to stay sane.
Good luck with school, everyone of every age! School is awesome. Get excited.
YES to living simply
(says the person who brought literally two cars full of stuff to school this year)
(in my defense I packed in about two days and had the philosophy of “when in doubt pack EVERYTHING”)
moral: DON’T BE LIKE ME
I’m going to agree with Purple Panda about the double-majoring. I’m a double-major, and because of that I never had the opportunity to take any electives, plus college is taking me five years instead of four. Mind you, I love my classes, but I’m still a little jealous of Kittymine, who’s starting college this fall, and is taking all sorts of fun electives her first semester.
Also, one other thing that I learned during my one year in a dorm: Sometimes the rules about no appliances are there for a reason. My school did not ban appliances, but on my floor, the fuse would blow if more than three appliances were plugged in at once.
Feel free to be jealous, but even if I was double majoring I would still have to take those electives because the college I am going to requires you to take courses in almost all of the different subjects in order to get your bachelors. Which is a good thing in terms of being well-rounded.
Quick addition to the pack-for-college list: Sewing Kit. It doesn’t need to be huge. I actually got a really nice one last year and I used it a bunch. (I also became known as the seamstress).
Oh, and please keep your kitchen clean. In my dorm last year, many folks used bowls and such and then left them “soaking” in the sink for days or even weeks *shudders*. And when you drain pasta, make sure that you do not clog up the sink.
Mel:
Right now, I’m hoping to work out a flatshare with an old friend whom I’ve been close to for about 5 years now, and since we have similar interests/sleep cycles/social life expectations and suffered through each-others worst phases, we can probably work something out. But yeah, moving into an existing flatshare would definitely have a lot of benefits so I’m going to keep my mind open. I’m still young enough to qualify for the cheap youth ticket on public transportation (74$/year), so I could also live on the outskirts if I need to. Thankfully, Vienna’s pretty safe, so I won’t need to worry too much about finding a good neighborhood. The Math department’s out in the middle of nowhere anyway. Yay for math majors!
My sister is going to college in 3 days. It’s going to be a real change.
Signed up for college, filled out all the forms and only have to show up tomorrow and pay them the 22$ for this year. I hope I don’t get what I’m paying for, if you know what I mean.
All the university Musers are making how-to-university posts, so I guess I’ll make a high school post! Seems like we have a lot of incoming freshmen. (Warning: this post is by no means complete, and as can be evidenced from the Rants and Plaints thread, its writer cannot high school very well herself.)
1. The workload will be harder. That’s been true every year so far; it was harder in eighth grade then seventh grade, and it’ll be harder in ninth grade than eighth grade. Ultimately, it won’t be that much more. However, it will be more difficult to manage, and here’s why:
2. You are finally going to get a life. No, trust me. That may not mean a lot! I didn’t suddenly start partying every night, because I am not the kind of person who parties, like, at all. (Never ever ever let me dance. It’s painful to watch.) But you’ll start hanging out with friends more, and finding other things to do. Some of those things will be outside your house. Some of them will be inside. I got a Tumblr in sophomore year and suddenly had way, way less time to work, because I was busy hanging out with all the brilliant new friends I had made! Some of the things you could be doing include:
3. Joining a club. You should do it! You may not like it, and that’s okay; you don’t have to stay. But you should sign up for lots of clubs, and go to the opening meetings of at least a few. I never managed to start going to GSA regularly until junior year, and that’s okay too. I think Chok does extracurricular journalism? At some schools drama is extracurricular. It’s a way to get out of the house, meet friends, and develop your interests– all things you’re going to be wanting to do desperately.
4. Joining a sports team! Now, I am the most unathletic of all time, so I was lucky to go to a school that’s so small you don’t even have to try out for some sports. Cross-country was one such sport. I recommend it! When doing sports, it’s important to remember that the sport itself is not important. Yes, I know that’s counterintuitive, but really! What should matter is if the community is friendly, the team is bonded, and you are having a good time and feeling good about yourself. If that’s not true, something’s wrong.
5. Finding a job? In freshman year this may be less of an issue, but you’re going to want spending money, and your parents will be increasingly less inclined to fork it over. I highly recommend babysitting. If you live in an area that contains small children, put up flyers! If you don’t live in an area that contains small children, find a nearby area that does, and put up flyers there! Don’t even think about babysitting a kid still in diapers unless you are very confident. Set your initial salary somewhere from $6.50 to $8.50 an hour; when you get more experience, you can raise it. (I’m being paid $12 an hour, holy cake, holy cake.)
6. You are going to get increasingly more academic freedom! By junior or senior year, you may be choosing all of your classes. Take what you’re interested in, and take it early! Colleges like to see that you continue an interest from the beginning of high school to the end. It shows commitment. Take only one language, and take it from freshman year until you can’t stand it any more. Choose a visual or performing art and at least try it; if you like it, take it the next year. (Don’t take APs or Honors for the sake of taking APs or Honors. No, really, don’t. Know your limits, Master Wayne.)
7. You are going to get increasingly more personal freedom! Use it wisely. This is the place where you can practice making important decisions. Here is the rule you should mostly go by: never, ever get into a situation that you feel you cannot control. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take risks, because you should! But don’t take stupid risks. Don’t think nothing can happen to you because you’re a freshman. And if you do feel like you’re in that kind of trouble– tell someone you trust. That someone may not be an adult, because adults often don’t understand, but it should be someone with some kind of power.
8. Middle school sucked, and now it’s over. Your classmates were annoying, your teachers were irrational, and your principal talked to you like you were six. Irritating things happened to your body. Everything was terrible. Well, guess what? That part of your life is over forever! You’re free! Have fun!
9. MTV lied to you. This one’s going to take several paragraphs, because it’s a story.
He rides a skateboard, mouths off in class all the time, never gotten an A in his life and never will, skips school, won’t go anywhere. She’s skinny and pretty and popular and rides horses. We’re all in the same health class, but that’s about it. We don’t talk besides “can I borrow a pencil”; I’m a geek, he’s a skater, she’s a popular girl, we’ve seen this miniseries, okay?
And it’s been a hard health class; we opened up, shared our feelings a little. She has a friend who had a riding accident, the friend’s in a coma now, she cried in the middle of class. He didn’t really say anything. I’m skipping algebra to go to the counseling center, and I find them down there on the couch, talking.
And look, okay, I’m used to this. Other people talk and I do homework because I’m unpopular because they don’t want to talk to me because that’s not the rules. Except they don’t. They turn to me, they talk to me too, and she’s still crying, and we just keep talking on the couch out there, and his brother’s an alcoholic they found nearly dead on the street outside their house a few years ago and sometimes it’s all he can do to get through the day without breaking something, and she lost all her friends last June because she wouldn’t drink or smoke with them and she’s been alone all year, and I tell them what I’ve never told anyone, about my great-grandmother, how she killed herself, what it did to my grandmother and her mother, and they listen to me with compassionate eyes and I do the same.
I never talk to him again. We don’t even exchange nods in the hall. She and I, though, have classes together in future years; the next year, in junior English, we start talking about how what seems to define our generation is this sense of deep and insurmountable fear that we’re not good enough, and these other two girls who everyone knows are pretty and popular and brainless join in and make it even better, and we talk about things– because we’ve spent so much of our lives smiling politely at each other, smiles that never reach our eyes, and suddenly we discover each other as if we havent been here the whole time. And I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone in my life who wasn’t amazing. Anyone at all.
10. Fall in love. It doesn’t have to be with a person. It’s not difficult. It makes you better. You’ll remember it forever. It’ll end badly, or it’ll end when you leave, and either way your heart will break so hard you’ll be picking up the pieces for years afterward. It’s what makes you human. You won’t regret a thing.
Thank you! As an incoming freshman, it’s nice to have some advice from the ‘Blog.
1. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that. I can’t get myself to really care before experiencing it, though.
2. That sounds lovely. I, too, “am not the kind of person who parties, like, at all,” but it’d be really nice to have close friends.
3. I’m definitely doing that. My school doesn’t have class rank, but it selects the top 10 graduating seniors each year, and GPA isn’t the only determining factor, although it’s the biggest one. I’ve looked at the rubric, and Leadership is important, and it apparently involves club activities. Besides, there are some really awesome-looking clubs, not to mention competitions that I can only participate in if my school registers (and my school will probably only register if other people want to do it, and if there are other people interested, I might as well form a study group with them so that we can help each other do well, especially if it’s a team competition).
4. Personally, I hate sports and would be utterly miserable on any team, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good advice in general, I suppose. I wouldn’t know.
5. Good to keep in mind.
6. I’m unlucky. I had 2 electives last year, but this year, none. However, when I do get electives, I’ll get more to choose from than most high scholars (Wildlife Conservation and Management? Environmental Biology? Philosophy of Religion? Yes, please.), so that’s good.
7. That’s good advice, I think..
8. Yay!
9. I’ve gotten that impression; it sounds nice. I think it’ll be even more true at my school because it’s tiny, and everyone knows basically everyone, apparently, and we even have Families, which are like Hogwarts Houses except that there are more of them, that they’re smaller, and that they’re not based on personality.
10. I might actually be aromantic; at any rate, I don’t see how I could fall in love on purpose. However, you said it didn’t have to be with a person, so maybe you just mean, “Love something, in any sense of the word,” in which case I fall in love all the time and easily and don’t regret it and agree. I still don’t see how it can be a choice, though.
Thank you, Cat’s Eye. *hugs* Thank you for that; as an incoming freshman, I will try to keep your advice in mind. That’s all wonderful advice.
Oh my gosh yes all of this is true.
Journalism isn’t extracurricular at my school- it’s actually a class, albeit a tiny and mostly student-run one, although our teacher is awesome- but regardless of what it is at your school, I highly recommend joining. I can’t think of a MuseBlogger who wouldn’t be good at it- plus, school newspapers tend to be staffed by a higher concentration of slightly geeky, friendly, smart people than is present in the rest of the world. Also, I don’t think this is always true, but at least at my school, we have a staff of six editors and six writers, and we are always looking for new people.
/journalism_recruitment_propaganda
Just, if you are someone like me (the highly disorganized, homework-can-wait-until-tomorrow-morning, I-don’t-remember-if-I-packed-a-lunch type), have somewhere to write reminders to yourself! Somewhere other than the back of your hand, that is, because a) either you’ll draw over it or it’ll wash off and b) it turns out that Sharpie ink is actually not very good for your skin. Last semester, I duct-taped a small notepad to the inside of my binder, and have been using that to write down homework, people I need to talk to for Journalism, and so forth.
Do not, I repeat, do not, get in the habit of sticking loose papers into your backpack and promising to organize them later. Either get a portable three-hole punch, or have a regular one at home and set a time for hole-punching all of your papers after school so they can go in your binder. I’m just going to be all fanatical on this point because my papers last year were in such bad repair and it was embarrassing and painful.
The incoming sophomore will stop attempting to sound wise now! Keep deodorant, a small towel, and a spare change of clothes in your locker,
Thank you Cat’s Eye and Choklit for this advice! I will reread this many more times before and during school.
I would like to emphasize the advice about spare papers! I had the habit all through middle school of having a very neat system for organizing papers but being in a rush and just ending up with a huge pile of papers!
Anyway, Choklit, thank you for your advice.
Is anyone in school already? I think I win this year for getting into school the latest (in the United States, anyway…).
When do you start, out of curiosity?
October first…
*rage* I start just after Labor Day! *more rage*
Yes, well, I start in a week. You’re not so badly off.
I started a week ago.
I’m not really that excited about school, especially from the experience during sophomore year. Its actually more of a burden on me, knowing that school is so near.
It just makes me wanna cry that I messed up my sophomore year.
Anyways i’ll end this post here before it really gets to me. Or maybe that might be too late.
A really important college tip that’s probably been shared half a dozen times already but bears repeating:
Get to know your professors and make sure they know you, especially the professors you like. In big lecture classes that can be hard, but professors have office hours for a reason. This tip is especially useful for professors in your major/minor.
Last semester I took a Latin American history course, and I really liked the professor so I signed up this semester for a literature course he’s teaching. I would’ve taken this class eventually, but I chose this semester and this section specifically so I could have another class with him. Apparently, another Spanish class I’m taking this semester is a prerequisite for the literature course. Sometimes you can take prerequisites concurrently and sometimes you can’t, so I talked to the lit professor after class today. The conversation, translated:
Me: “So, 305 is a prerequisite for this class, right? Is it okay if I’m taking it this semester?”
Professor: “Normally I’d say no, but for you it’s fine since you were in that class last spring and I know you’ll do well.”
Boom, now I don’t have to reorganize my whole schedule. Part of the reason, I think, is that pretty much everyone else in the class was the typical sorority girl Spanish/Psychology major and he knew that I would actually be able to bring some intelligent discussion to the table. (Tip: bring intelligent discussion to the table.) But just knowing your professors, especially ones that you’ll be seeing again in the future, is immensely helpful. You have a much better chance of getting scholarship money that way, too.
(I feel like noting that he even remembered my name and majors, and was surprised when I mentioned in my introduction that I’m studying music too. That’s a good sign.)
Advice to incoming middle schoolers (I know that’s not a lot of you but still):
1.) Middle school sucks, especially when you get to high school. Sometimes it seems okay from inside of it but once you escape you wonder how you survived.
2.) The staff will treat you like you’re four years old; the teachers will treat you either a.) like high schoolers because you’re Almost In High School And This Is Just To Get You Prepared. or b.) like middle schoolers because they have given up caring about you. c.) Like people. This is good.
Teachers will vary in how they treat you. You just have to put up with this. Sometimes they won’t give a cake what grade you get and that means you’ll just have to care for yourself if you want to pass the class.
3.) The people can be incredibly immature. They will stand on tables and swing from light fixtures and troll everything and not give a cake. Sorry. There is no good way to put up with this, but a bad way to put up with this is to join them.
4.) Social groups: Popularity in middle school is a complicated thing. Find friends, and stick with those friends. It doesn’t matter if you’re popular just so long as you have a friend group. They’ll support you and be nice. Nerds are good people to hang out with. The latest fashions and hashtags and swag and yolo and who knows what else aren’t worth it. Not in middle school, anyway. Popularity is something that just happens to some people; don’t try to force it upon yourself.
5.) During middle school, some of you will have to take algebra.
I’m so, so, so sorry.
6.) Dramas may seem exciting, but it’s much more fun to chat and hang out with your friends without having to think about “OMG STACEY WENT OUT WITH BOB AND BOB SAID THAT HE’S GOING TO BREAK UP WITH HER AND STACEY’S FRIEND FIONA SAID SHE THINKS STACEY IS A CAKEFACE AND STACEY’S BEEN SUCH A CAKEFACE TO EVERYONE LATELY’. Sometimes you’ll be caught up in the middle of these things, but avoid them if you can.
7.) I don’t feel certified to give dating advice but at my school it was normally a “popular kid” thing to do. Don’t force dating upon yourself. Don’t think you have to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. Crushes are fine, they’re okay, they’re cool, they’re amazing. But in middle school (in the popular crowd at least, which was where all the dating went on) a relationship lasts maybe a week at least and doesn’t really mean anything.
8.) Nobody actually goes to school dances.
9.) High school is so much better.
Most of that is good advice, but I don’t think we have any incoming middle-scholars. Catwings is going into 6th grade, but she’s home-schooled, so most of this won’t apply to her. It’s possible that a future incoming middle-scholar will see and be helped by this, though!
I know this is totally not normal, but my middle school years were some of the best of my school career. This is likely because
(a) I went to an all girl’s school
(b) I was totally oblivious to whatever drama was going around
(c) I had a really nice group of friends (who are my friends to this day)
(d) My principal was, and still is, amazing
(e) I made connections with some great teachers, including the librarian.
I loved middle school so much that on the first day of 9th grade I ran across the parking lot to the middle school building and cried to the librarian that I hated the stark white high school I really belonged in the nice, colorful middle school hallways.
So perhaps someone will get lucky and also have a good time in junior high.
I vehemently agree with your first point; I’m continually amazed that I managed to survive seventh grade. I don’t think I could do it a second time.
Registering for classes today was odd. This feels like the first summer I can remember where I genuinely felt like I’d been away mentally. Instead of returning to school feeling like I was returning to my real life, like it usually does, it felt like I was leaving the real world to go somewhere else.
Which was really nice, actually. I mean, I complain about the town where I go to school all the time; it’s too small, it’s too insular, it’s too wealthy, and it’s uncomfortably racist. The mothers do absolutely nothing but sit at home and worry about their children, and the alcohol consumption rate among students is the highest in the county.
Except–I’m a senior. One more year. And a year really isn’t a very long time. And that’s just sort of highlighting for me that high school is such a small part of your life; it’s just starting to seem silly to make a big deal about the things that happen there. It’s not the real world. It’s not my real life. My real life is far away from high school, in my future college and the Internet and places far, far outside my house. And that’s nice.
Anyway. Also it was very odd because I’ve spent all summer at arts camp and on [snipped external website — Admin.] and watching Teen Wolf, which are all places full of fabulous queerness, and then I go back to high school, and really what was most striking was how heteronormative it all is. I mean, really. So many straight people! Incredible amounts of straight people! It’s amazing how many straight people there are in the world! Literally no one is out in my grade.
Also I seem to have gained social skills over the summer. This is majorly wigging me out.
They might not all be straight. Many of them might not be out.
Yes, that’s what I meant! My health teacher complains about this all the time– she likes to have out bi/gay students speak in her class, just to discuss what it’s like not to be straight at our school in particular, and last year she couldn’t find a single one. The QSA is having a crisis of membership, in that it hasn’t got any members besides me and my friends. There’s just this complete lack of a non-straight presence on campus. I can’t do this by myself, bluh bluh…
Oh well. Only one more year.
Hmm. I want a list of advice for future incoming people with jobs. Or grad students. Or people thinking about grad school (oh dear I should sign up for the GREs). Or recent college grads.
I can’t give much advice because I come from a pretty different system, but one thing I’ve found incredibly useful is calenders/planners. We used to get free ones back in school, so this sort of went without saying, but idk what it’s like over there.
Get one that has one week per double page, where the days aren’t divided into hours so you can just write down homework, tests, misc. appointments etc. and doodle in during class. Now that my days of free planners are over, I bought a nifty one from paperblanks with approximately the same format. I usually put in social appointments and to-do lists as well. When I ran out of space in some more work-intensive weeks, I stuck post-its in and just folded them up. Anyway, this planner is your life
Anakin. Use it wisely and decorate the pages with giant squids during latin class.I received one for free as well; it’s full of propaganda, like school-issued planners always are, but it’s been really useful already. Until this year I was that kid who always forgot to check her planner; I’m not doing that anymore. I can’t afford to, because that’s now where I write down awesome events that my parents will forget to take me to if I don’t bring them up.
In middle school it was required that we buy the school planners. I hated them because we had to have these stupid discipline cards on them. But I used it when I remembered to.
My experience with planners: If I’m given one or buy one, I won’t use it. If I consider all of the years where I haven’t used mine and choose not to buy one, I will be panicking in October or so because I forgot something major and had to work really hard to fix the emergency, and I will rush out and buy a planner, and I will use it religiously through the end of the year. The next year I will revert to the first outcome.
Your mileage may vary. Still a great tool to have around just in case, and they’re not very expensive.
That was an accidental pie sorry. *squids*
Equilibrium must be established!
*pies*
My school issues us with planners like you describe, and calendar-style ones for home use, and they’re great! We weren’t supposed to graffiti ours, so I haven’t made a habit of it even though the teachers don’t care now.
Not that we’re actually organised about doing individual tasks.
My school also issues planners like that, but I find them too big for me: they’re about the size of a folder and I feel like I’ll lose it. Fortunately, I found one that is a good size (about half the size of the school-issued ones) and it has a nice quote on the front with some pretty colored dots.
Yay planners!
At one point I tried to interest Muse‘s publishers in creating the world’s best planner. The idea didn’t go anywhere, but I realize that here on MuseBlog I’ve got the perfect team to design one. So, just as an exercise — what would you want to see in the perfect planner?
Well, everyone has different tastes in what works for them as a planning tool. For example, some people like big dry-erase calendar boards that you can just re-number for every month, but I prefer the traditional calendars with one page for each month, so I can write down events ahead of time.
I think the perfect planner would ideally have lots of room in it and not have the days all cramped together. If it were for school, would everything be organized by subject?
In my opinion: there should be a two-page spread for each week. The planner should be the size of a normal spiral notebook, and should be able to easily slip into a binder.
First of all, it would be nice to have a planner that was propaganda-free. I’m not saying I disagree with messages like “say no to drugs” or “be yourself,” but I don’t think anyone’s going to do those things because ens planner told en to. I especially don’t think anyone is going to avoid peer pressure because something told en to do so, at least if there’s no explanation of why it’s a good idea, which is often the case. And if it had study tips, like mine does, they wouldn’t have condescending language or bad jokes in them, like mine do.
I agree with everything AL said, as well. Space is crucial. Organizing by subject is a good idea, but the problem with that in practice is that planners rarely get your classes right. For instance, they might include PE even though the user doesn’t take that class or only leave space for 2 extra classes when en is taking 3. This gets inconvenient. I think the solution is to leave room for the user to organize it however en wants.
It’s also good to leave room for non-school activity notes. Extracurricular things can be important, and besides, they can motivate you to actually read your planner after school. It’s the only thing that works for me.
Planners should also not insult their users, like Harry’s and Ron’s did. That’s a really efficient way to ensure that in practice, there is no user, only an owner.
Also, the summer months should have all the features present in the other months. It can’t hurt, and it makes things much easier for some people.
They shouldn’t bother including holidays; people can write that down if they want, and if they don’t, it wastes space and ink.
It would be really useful if planners had alarms attached to them so that you could schedule them to give you a reminder at a certain time.
From an aesthetic standpoint, I like how my High School’s planners would have different-colored backgrounds for each month. It keeps things interesting and helps you keep track of what happened when.
I wouldn’t want to see any planner. Last year they didn’t work so well.
The best planners for me in middle and high school were the kind that had both daily and monthly areas. As in, each two-page spread would contain a week’s worth of daily writing spots, and every time the daily spots started a new month, the next spread would contain a calendar for the whole month, which I would use for long-term assignments.
But now that I’m in college, and pretty much all of my assignments are long-term, I just use a regular calendar to write everything down. I wouldn’t have any use for the daily spots.
So if you’re trying to make something that appeals to the widest audience, I’d say make the pages rearrangeable. That way, if someone only wants the calendar pages, they can move them to the front and ignore the daily pages. Even better, have different page sets for people to choose from, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
As for organizing by subject, there’s one problem with that. The school-issued planner that I had in sixth grade had each day’s area divided up into spaces for each subject. Trouble was, each of those spaces was way too small.
Also, I don’t even know if this is possible, but I can see a dry-erase planner being rather useful. Like something that could be rolled up and put in your backpack.
Or an iPad app?
I was trying not to go in that direction, since iPads are rather expensive. But yes, if you have one, a very customizable app would be kind of awesome.
I agree: low-tech is cheapest and best.
That depends. I have never, ever been able to work with any paper-based planner, and believe me, I have tried so many times, so many ways. Digital isn’t perfect, but it’s the only route that offers any hope for the likes of me.
What digital planners have you had success with? I’m looking for a good one this year.
Perhaps a website that allows you to customize a planner, then send a pdf to be printed & bound? I found a book store that has an Espresso Book Machine, it’s delightful! I’m getting some 19th century out-of-print technical manuals printed up nicely. OfficeMax could do the job, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near as nice.
I think I’ve found a new winner for “Most Brilliant Thing on the Planet.”
ANDROID FOREVER
iPads are an unnecessary, closed-source evil
I disagree,because I’m typing this on an iPad . They’re pricey, but really nice.
One more thing to always have with you in whatever level of schooling you are at: SHARPIE. Lots of colorful ones too, if you’re like Groundhog who bought a white knapsack just so she could cover it with rainbow designs. But a plain black one is a lifesaver.
I wish I could. I love Sharpies, but whenever I try to write with them I get awful headaches.
I’ve heard that they (along with GermEx and dry-erase markers) kill brain cells. Is that true?
I don’t know, but either way it can’t be healthy to breathe in the fumes. Especially since it’s possible to get high off of all of those things.
I think I’m half brain-dead because of Sharpies, if that’s true
Got my schedule! *dances* And I got Photography as an elective, which was my first choice. *more dancing* But Math is first period and Biology is last, which means I probably won’t be as able to concentrate as possible. Oh, well!
My textbooks came! I’m looking through them, and I like what I see so far. I’m especially excited for World Geography PreAP; I didn’t realize that we’d study that much physical geography, and I’m happy we’re doing more than I expected because I can relate that to environmental science. Geometry looks exciting, too; along with what I’m going to call Flatland reference material and background info, we’re going to learn about formal logic. That’s exciting!
The biology and study skills textbooks are pretty much what I expected so far; I hardly looked at the Spanish textbook because I might test out of that class, anyway. But 2 good impressions and no bad ones! That’s a good sign.
Yay, Biblio! It’s awesome that you find things you’re so interested in. I need to take a leaf out of your book and stay more optimistic.
So I’m in school, yeah, second week, I started Monday of last week. First day of high school. Yay. But Gah Everyone Is So Immature. No one can be serious like ever and people can be rather frustrating. But who knows, maybe it was just a first week thing. Ya’ know, when everyone’s feeling awkward. I haven’t run into as much trouble this week. Anyway…
You lucky people going back to school so late >:) I’m so jealous. Summer came to an end so fast. Ah well, I’m excited for the new year. Great teachers, small class sizes, good electives. I don’t have to much to be dissapointed about. I always find something to complain about though
When I finally found someone I thought had a good personality (not totally ridiculously immature), I think I came off as stalkerish O_o Curses.Oh yeah and then there’s that kid who we’ll both be looking around the room randomly, because we both have a tendency to do so, then we both look at each other at the same time ALWAYS and awkwardly look away. It’s like, subconcious telepathy O_oMy awkwardness will not deter me! Onward to new social heights! And new academic heights, of course. A lot of my teachers use Google Docs, which is great. Wow, this got long fast. And I’m starting to ramble. Argleflargle (YES GOOGLE CHROME ADD THAT TO THE DICTIONARY).
/endramble
At my school, you can’t go to class on the first day if you don’t have your formal, printed-out schedule (which you are supposed to pick up during orientation). For some reason, they decided that the morning of the first day would be an excellent time to distribute schedules to the people who didn’t come to orientation (which is pretty much everyone, actually). So I turned up a half-hour early, at 7AM, and waited in a line that stretched halfway across campus for forty minutes to get to the schedule-handing-out people- only to discover that I had to have my school ID to get the schedule. This necessitated a 1-hour wait in yet another line to get into the gym, and, surprise, another hour to finally have my picture taken.
So, I spent three hours yesterday waiting in lines while carrying the heaviest backpack of my life, and I missed my first two classes. But things got better from there.
My classes:
AP European History
Honors Precalc
Honors Chemistry
Orchestra
Spanish 2
Honors English 10
Journalism
This is a scary year. Also, there is a huge amount of construction going on at my school (because what’s the natural thing to do when your state’s school system is facing massive budget cuts? Build a new gym and completely rebuild the main building, the cafeteria, and the science hall, of course!), and the classes have been moving a lot, and everything is very hectic. But Journalism is ohmygodfunalready, and my AP Euro teacher is the actual best, and I think I may have gotten a good English teacher for the first time ever!
Good English teachers are so awesome. In 6th and 7th grade, I think I may have known more about what was being taught than my teachers (I was not only getting 100s on virtually every assignment but frequently noticing errors in the exercises, both the ones written by the teachers and those that were written by ‘experts’ far away), so of course it was awful to sit through the class the whole time. Then, in 8th grade, I got a teacher who was not only nice but actually knowledgeable about English and made an effort to make sure everyone was learning, including the people who already knew a huge portion of what they were supposed to teach, and it was wonderful. I can’t tell you what a huge difference it made. Fortunately, I get the impression my teacher this year will be similarly competent.
I agree; a lot of English in elementary in middle school was, for me, mostly things I already knew. During one writing exercise in the fourth grade, our class was collaboratively writing a descriptive paragraph, which went something like, “Billy sits alone in the gym. His dark chocolate brown eyes streamed tears onto his pale face from behind thick opaque glasses. His basketball jersey had the numbers 00 on it”, and the teacher refused to acknowledge my complaint that “Billy sits alone in the gym” should be “Billy sat alone in the gym.” Of course, I wasn’t a very aggressive fourth-grader and generally believed what my teachers told me. So when she said, “Uh… we’ll… we’ll learn about that later…” I actually believed her and stopped worrying.
So to summarize: I had a really long rant I needed to say, and good English teachers are essential if you want to get things out of the class, if you’re like me and your knowledge of what they taught you last year carries over to the new school year.
My goodness, that was long.
Oh dear. I’ve run into some potentially dangerous information. My university doesn’t offer Japanese as a major, but they do have a minor available. The Plan B minor is 22 hours (101, 102, 201, 202, 203, and 204). Clearly I can’t do that. The Plan A minor, on the other hand, requires 6 hours of 300-level classes. That’s it. Two classes and you’ve got yourself a minor. Granted, you’d have to get permission to get into the 300-level courses without doing all the prerequisites, but–two minuscule classes. Not to mention the fact that being a Japanese minor would allow you to study in Japan for a semester.
Not that I don’t have plenty else to do, of course. I have general ed classes to finish up, 9 more hours to finish my Classical Languages minor, etc. Technically, I’ll be done with a Spanish minor after next semester; 12 more hours will be necessary to get the major. And I have the music minor to do too–but that’s only four hours of actual classes, three of which are Music 101. I do desperately want to study abroad, but there are plenty of places to do that, especially studying Spanish. Heck, I could even go to Nepal thanks to a loophole in the classics department.
Still. Six hours. That’s immensely tempting. I mean, two majors and two minors isn’t that insane, right?
I just went through my degree audit and crunched the numbers. If I’m understanding everything correctly, then to finish everything I currently have–two majors and a minor, including all the gen ed requirements–it will require 47 hours after this semester. I could graduate at the end of my junior year if that’s something I wanted to do.
All I need:
-6 hours of university-required general education
-4 hours of college-required general education
-12 hours for the Classical Languages major
-6 hours in Latin 400-level
-6 hours in Greek 300-level
-15 hours for the Spanish major
-3 hours of 300-level phonetics or linguistics
-3 hours of 300-level literature
-9 hours of 400-level
-10 hours for the music minor
-3 hours (3 semesters) of applied lessons
-3 hours (3 semesters) of ensemble work
-1 hour of lab
-3 hours of Music 101
-0 hours (2 semesters) of recital attendance
This does not take into account the honors credits I will need to have if I want to graduate from the honors program. However, since any class can be contracted as an honors class, that won’t be a big problem.
What this tells me: Firstly, if I so desired I could graduate a year and a half from now pretty easily, albeit I’d have to forgo getting the honors diploma. That’s not something I’m particularly inclined to do. Secondly, if I do want to take a semester to study abroad I don’t have to worry about the credit hours involved. That’s hugely liberating.
Okay, MuseBlog, thanks for your assistance. For whatever reason, typing at you helps me think more clearly.
“MuseBlog: Catalyzing Clarity Since 2005.”
So I’ve got my schedule, and I’m back to school on the 29th. Because going to school for three days before Labor Day makes sense.
I’ve got all the teachers I wanted, pretty much. There’s a new math teacher and I got her, so I don’t know about that. But I got the good science teacher (well, the one that’s so strict that she gives people detention if they don’t call her Dr.–I’m just going to hope she can teach well enough), and the good history teacher, and the not-awful English teacher (okay, the other English teacher is better than her, at least niceness-wise. But one of my friends told me that she’s actually a really good teacher if you get over the outrageous workload and strictness, so there.). I also got Chorus and Art as my electives, Drawing 1 and Chorus next semester. That’s exciting. I’m a little worried, though. I still have to fulfill my gym, health, and tech credits, which is 2 credits overall. I’ll try and do it over the next three years, but that doesn’t leave me much room for electives I want to take, especially if I continue with French. I might have to drop Chorus. And then the Chorus teacher might murder me. We’ll see. Also, I’ve heard it’s hard to take tech ed when you’re at the other building (My school is on two campuses, 8-9 and 10-12) and I’m hoping I can get into a class.
I have classes with my friends, too, which is awesome. I’m excited for this year; I think it’s going to be amazing.
In school related news of a different kind, I just started the application process for study abroad! Woo!
I moved in to school today! Most people move in on Saturday so it’s a bit lonely, but there’s still about 7 of us here now.
So there’s about a 66% chance I’ll be singing on Broadway this February.
Yes, the Broadway. The one in New York. And no, I haven’t been visited by the Good Fairy of Holy Cake What Even (except for how oh my god, I totally have); it’s because I joined the A Capella class.
The A Capella class at my school is really, really good. For the past two years they’ve sung at Carnegie Hall, and yes, that Carnegie Hall, too. Not only did they sing the first time, but Carnegie Hall liked them enough to invite them back. Suffice to say that I was really, really envious of my friends in A Capella who went.
But this year I’ve joined the A Capella class, and that means I get to go on tour with them! And we have two options: going to a music festival in Hawaii, or singing in a one-day-only concert-version of Ragtime on Broadway, which may or may not end up having Hugh Jackman in it. In which case I would be singing on Broadway with Wolverine.
And if we go to Broadway, there’ll be an opportunity for everyone to audition for a minor role in the production. Audition. For a Broadway production.
So. It was a pretty nice first day of school.
aaah
AAAAAAH
Whoa.
I’m trying to put together my schedule and ahrgahrg I’m going to have lectures at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week and it’s my Steop* class so I can’t risk cutting it, at least not unless it’s completely useless.
*What is Steop, you ask? Since everyone who applies is admitted, sometimes too many people sign up for a course. So during the first semester, they are tested and tested in one (or two) courses, without a chance to repeat the test more than once, and whoever fails is chucked out and barred from studying the subject in Vienna. In math, they only get about 200 students to start with, so they only lose about 30 or so and don’t really make much of an effort to drive anyone out. On the contrary, in Biology, 1400 students are cut down to 300 within the first year.
That awkward feeling when the first day of [online] classes is delayed for a week.
I’m more than a little bothered by that, since now my first day of online classes is my first day of offline classes, and because English-on overlaps with US History- and Chemistry-off, I won’t be able to attend the full period of each one of my classes on the first day like I could on the previous schedule.
It’s also a pain because I’m already excited and impatient to begin, and now live classes are put off for another week! Interestingly enough, they’ve decided to create a “Fall Reading Period” to make up the gap, so I’ll still have assignments and homework; I just won’t have class yet.
The good news is that I’ll be able to go to my entire varsity soccer retreat instead of leaving for 2 hours in the middle. Ah, tradeoffs.
I’m all packed. Finally. It is DONE. Except for the clothes I’m wearing next week, and a few other daily necessities, everything is in a box. Hooray!
I don’t think I’m going to make it a week, I want to go back now…
Three more weeks… *Hums nervously*
High school tomorrow and the schedule on the website is different from the one I got at orientation.
Oh, and have I mentioned that there are nearly 800 freshmen coming?
Really? Wow. Mine has 114, and apparently, that’s the largest lot they’ve ever had. (They, um, try to keep it small).
My middle school has about 75 seventh graders.
It’s the largest freshman class we’ve ever had, though.
I remember back in fourth grade, if we had over five hundred people it was huge. And that was for the whole school. The grade level sizes were around one hundred.
Yes, but like I said, this is the largest freshman class we’ve ever had, too.
I’d be surprised if my school has more than 300 students, actually. They accept about 100 freshman each year, but they almost never accept non-freshmen, and lots of students transfer because the classes are hard, so there are only 30 seniors. I have no idea how many sophomores and juniors there are, but we can all fit into 10
Houses families of about 20-25 students each.Generally public high schools tend to be larger. My class was 600 people; by the time i graduated, the freshman class was around 750.
I’m in the largest class my college has ever had, though. We’ve got around 80 students.
My school is actually technically a public school. They just do things differently from the rest of the district.
On the other end of things, my 9th grade class (the entire grade) was 9 students.
Wow! How did that happen?
Two reasons:
1. I was at a private high school without any elementary/middle school attached to it, so everyone who went there was actively making a decision to go there, as opposed to going there because it comes after middle school.
2. This school had somewhat unusual teaching methods (like having “draw a political cartoon” as an assignment in US Government), and there wasn’t much in the way of a traditional classroom structure, so a lot of parents didn’t want to send their kids there. Which was unfortunate, because that place was awesome.
Classes start tomorrow! I figure out my work schedule tomorrow! Sometime in the next week I figure out whether I’m adding fiddle lessons and who I’m getting them from and whether I can sort of craft my own minor within the traditional music program so I can focus more on celtic music than old-time or bluegrass, because as much as I love them I’m not as interested in pursuing that sort or music as seriously.
I also still need to work on my resume and get back in touch with the captain of the boat I want to work on next summer and get my USCG paperwork done and BAH.
ANYWAY. My backpack has all my books in it, my camera’s battery is charging (eee documentary photography class eee!), and all I have to do is hang out and then sleep at some point.
Whoop.
Leaving Hong Kong in three days’ time, school starts in a little over a week. I’m getting more and more excited!
Aaand I didn’t realize that my music theory class was a term class (half the semester). So that means for this term I only have three classes. What.
I’m going to see if I can add one called Great Books though, since it appears to be a more self-driven class where you read books and then meet with the professor for things, so hopefully I can jump into that a little late. I really hope so. I don’t want to have so little to do. I was already wigged out by how little I had. Ugh.
Emailed my adviser, hopefully I can meet up with him today to talk about it.
Anyway, that made my day significantly less great, but oh well.
I survived the first day of high school!
And we actually did some stuff in Geometry!
OH MY GOSH I JUST HAD MY FIRST DAY AT HIGH SCHOOL
Wow that was exhausting.
I mean, the first day of school is always just one long day of sign ALL the things! but wow. This is going to be an exhausting year.
Homeroom: Is the home ec teacher. Handed out forms to sign. Nothing there really.
Then I went and trekked around a bit and found my next class, downstairs. Honors Biology. I think I’m going to like this class; not only do I love science but the teacher seems good and he wasn’t one of those teachers who micromanages the way you organize your notebook. It was required in middle school, so it’s good now that I don’t have to do that, and I can just use a notebook. I might have to study more to do well, but that’s okay because all of this interests me.
Speech: After a bit more trekking and wishing I had brought band-aids for my blisters, I found my Speech class. I seem to be getting along with the teacher, and I think I’ll enjoy the class. My only concern is that my fellow classmates will be like my social studies classmates from last year in that they are inconsiderate trolls.
Band: After Speech let out, I immediately made a beeline for the familiar setting of the band room, where after setting up chairs, the band director talked to us for a bit, and then Concert Band II introduced ourselves and such. It was a nice bit of interaction with people I enjoy being around, although I am on tenor sax and I wish I could play trombone in this band. However my mom was adamant because I happen to own a tenor sax, and the only trombone in the house belongs to my sister. So it’s tenor sax for me. Woohoo. Ah well, band! Band! Band! Yay!
Lunch: Bleh. Social interaction. I hate it so caking much. It wouldn’t be so bad if not for… bleh… Oh well, I’m sure it’ll get better. We can eat pretty much anywhere, which is nice because normally in middle school if you wanted to escape from the cafeteria you had to sneak past administration and run before they saw you. My ‘friend’ the alto saxophonist was sitting at my table but I don’t want to ruin freshman year by alienating the friends I have left so I conceded to sit with them in the courtyard and eat and give off vague impressions of social willingness.
Honors English: From the courtyard to my next class was a short walk and a shortcut through the band building. I sat down at a table and had a nice conversation with one of the friends of The Only Freshman In Our Section Who Didn’t Come From My Middle School. Looks like this teacher is going to be fun and dynamic, but strict. I think I’ll enjoy her class. We had to draw self-portraits. That was fun. But we have textbooks and mine won’t fit in my backpack. Not fun. All the same I think I will enjoy her class.
Right then!
School tomorrow. Bleh
Good luck; you’ll do great! And don’t give up if it’s rough at first! First days are often rough!
Am I crazy? I think I’m probably crazy.
Added Great Books but showed restraint by choosing the one-credit one. So, I’m being cautions. Yeah. Still need to officialize and pick out books to read by Thursday.
Also need to figure out fiddle lessons, gah.
So, that’ll mean I end up with:
-Documentary Photography
-Introduction to Archaeological Field Methods
-Geology
-Great Books (a self-study sort of thing) for the first half of the semester
-Applied Music Theory for Trad. Musicians for the second half
-Applied old-time fiddle lessons
-Practicum for a community-based arts play.
Plus 15 hours of work every week, and I’m the student leader of my crew and want to make my crew actually be useful, so I’ll have a lot of leadership-stuff to do with that.
So yeah, a pretty chill semester. Right? And I need to figure out my major so I can declare it by the beginning of next year.
Now I’m off to do homework in the 40 minutes I have until my next class.
Yay, thought I had the hang of marching band but then AFTER SCHOOL REHEARSALS OWWW
walk around with a heavy backpack –> march around with a heavy baritone–> go home with a heavy workload–> DON’T WANT TO DO IT
And it’s only the second day of school, I barely have any homework but this is Still Too Much. Blehbleh. I’ll get used to it eventually!
I ahd my first classes today: Spanish and American Environemtnal History.
American Environmental History seems like it’s gong to be fascinating. It’s discussion heavy. We read one of the many books for the class, and then talk about it in class, and I really like class discussion, especially when I’m talking. (Does that sound stuck up of me?) This first day the professor challenged us to define words like environment and nature and whether or not we should judge historical figures for their actions. Also, said professor has a British accent.
Spanish was…well, this is my first time ever taking Spanish. And the teacher was talking in (very basic) Spanish, but I still didn’t get it, and i was relying on context clues to understand what was going on. But now I know how to say, “Como te llamas? Me llama (FF), soy de Michigan.” Upside question mark and accents omitted because I don’t know how to do them on the computer.
Also, the lingual non-English centers of my brain still default to Arabic. so whenever I try to say something in Spanish, it pops up in Arabic first/instead. That should be interesting during class.
I have chemistry and ecology tomorrow, I think. And I need to order books. Eep 250 dollar books.
I think you made a mitstake (or possibly just a typo) in Spanish. “Me llama,” means, “En calls me;” I think you meant, “Me llamo,” or, “I call myself.”
Definitely a mistake, yeah. Only taking one day of it and most of that was…I don’t know. We weren’t fussing about little things like that. I’m sure that there are benefits to making everyone in the class get up and try to converse with each other, but when everyone is a beginner and can only say two things, and doesn’t know the proper pronunciation for things anyways…
Well, we’ll see how it goes. This is the first time I’ve taken a language class completely cold, with no prior knowledge for…quite some time. Maybe even ever.
I experience something like that between Spanish and French. Whenever I’m trying to speak French, if I don’t know a word, my brain defaults to Spanish and fills in the gap with that. Fortunately, the languages are similar enough that I make pretty good guesses, especially if I say the Spanish word with a French pronunciation. I imagine it’s trickier than that for Spanish/Arabic.
FF- I also have to order textbooks… you are not alone!
First day of classes today! My first class is in an hour… I’m excited, I guess? History of Rock and then Computation and Formal Systems today. Then there’s a sophomore class gift and free ice cream at this one place if I remember to go there.
What I’m really excited for is tomorrow — multivariate calculus with my favorite professor, and lunch with my best friend, who’s now a freshman here.
I’m only taking 14 credits so I don’t know what to do with my life. But elections for special interest floor board positions are next week, I’m hoping to become Tech Services Director (one of the two positions my current position as Tech Director was split into), and failing that, hoping to be appointed Webmaster.
(I also have to decide whether I want to transfer somewhere less stressful. I’m trying not to think about that now…)
First day of class tomorrow. Haven’t received any word from my professor re: start time, but moodle indicates it’s at noon. also we’re in the library instead of south hall, which is where most of the English courses are, which is awesome because south isn’t air-conditioned and it’s very hot and humid right now (in comparison to wyoming anyway. In reality it’s only eighty degrees, but. when I left on friday it was below freezing and I’m not prepared for this heat nonsense and I sort of feel like I’m going to die).
Well, I had my first week of school, and it was so much better than I expected! I have so much to tell you; I wish I didn’t have to fit it all in one post.
Alright, so for one thing, we have this weird thing called 10th period, which is usually at the beginning of the day. I have no clue what we actually do in there. I asked some upperclassmen, and they said that freshmen study for the Accuplacer*, but I already passed that. They said that people who pass at the beginning don’t have to stay for tutoring, but none of the people I asked had passed it so early, so they didn’t know what happens to the people who pass at the beginning. I’m hoping I’ll get free time or an extra study hall or something.
Study hall is nice; I’m told not all freshman have it. If you have a privilege card (which I do and intend to keep), you can leave after the first 20 minutes and go outside or to the library, which is nice.
My English teacher is widely disliked, but I don’t understand why. We went straight to work, but it’s not hard work. We’re just interviewing each other and writing paragraphs. It sounds like it’s going to be a pretty interesting, challenging class, though.
There’s also Path to Success. This is a dual credit course in study and life skills. The teacher is strict. I like him, and I think the class will be useful.
We haven’t started games in the common room yet, just talked and received forms and things.
Geometry is my worry. We’re still reviewing. I have learned nothing.
World Geography is like Potions probably feels like for a clever Slytherin. The teacher is hilarious, and his jokes are always strangely like something Snape would say except that Snape would mean it, and my teacher doesn’t. Anyway, he’s awesome, and he really cares about what I have to say. Also, I’m really excited about the subject! Physical geography in particular is really fascinating to me.
Spanish seems surprisingly alright. I’m still hoping to test out of it, but I like my teacher. Fortunately, I like the Spanish 3 teacher as well.
We haven’t done much in Computers yet; I don’t know much about it.
So. Biology. ♥. It is awesome.
They promised before the year began that everyone who passed the Accuplacer immediately could take the class for dual credit. It turns out there are only 7 people who passed it. And we get our own dual credit class. With 7 people. That’s right: There are 7 people, and they’re giving us our own class.
And the teacher is awesome. It is so great to get to talk to someone who loves the things I love. And I think I’m going to actually learn things! Because apparently, since we’re getting dual credit, it’s going to be more like an AP Biology class than a freshman biology class. That’s kind of incredible for me. I would marry this class if I could, I think. She even said she could prepare me for the AP exams if I wanted to take them–and I really do, because the college credit we’re getting is for the non-majors biology class, which I probably won’t actually get credit for, since I’m going to be a biology major, and you rarely get credit for both. But if I take the AP exams, and I get a good enough score, then depending on where I go to school, I won’t have to take introductory biology! Which means I can jump straight into upper-division biology classes, which is important, since I’ll be starting college as a junior and majoring in something really biology-related. Also, if you get more 5s on the science-related AP exams than anyone else of your sex in your state, you get a big scholarship to anywhere you want; that would be nice.
And she says she has biologist friends who she’ll invite to talk to us about their research.
And she’s going to take us on field trips.
Um. Excuse me, but SQUEE!
Friday volunteering sounds amazing as well. The bus sounds scary; we’ll be sitting 3 to a seat. That sounds loud. But to spend all morning learning about how to identify local plants and volunteering at a nature preserve!
*That’s a test you have to take to get college credit in Texas, which we all took at freshman camp because I go to an early college high school. Most students didn’t pass it, so they’re going to take it again until they finally do.
In short, I’m kind of really delighted.
Ooh, that sounds good. I’m glad your school seems to live up to your hopes! I can relate to one bit– small nerdy classes with good teachers are awesome.
Today, I started looking through same exam questions with a friend… Is it strange that the new problems I haven’t been taught about yet are easier than the ones I (allegedly) spent four years learning about? I suppose I’m just unreasonably fond of proofs and proving things.
So I just blew off doing my spanish homework in favor of watching spanish tutorials on youtube, which were vastly more informative than anything I’ve taken in class so far. As in, these videos actually explained the random gibberish that I had to memorize in the first two days of class.
I STILL MAINTAIN HOPE THAT THIS CLASS WILL NOT BE A TOTAL WASTE OF MY TIME.
In other news, still not done with pre-class chem tutorials. They’re due in two days.
[cut rant pertaining to spanish class and homework assigned when only two people in the class have textbooks] I can tell what my favorite class to complain about will be.
First day of school was, essentially, a roller coaster. First I was happy, then scared, then excited, then bored, then happy again, and finally terrified.
Good luck! I hope the rest of your year contains more happiness and excitement than fear or boredom.
Well, the bad thing about my school is that in our Houses, they make you do things. I mean, at the beginning of every month, people make suggestions for a calendar, and everyone in the House does everything suggested. Some people love this, and I think it’s a great idea, but I don’t understand why we aren’t allowed to not participate if that’s what you want. I don’t even know what half of this month’s suggestions mean, but there were some that really scare me. For instance, we’re going to play soccer. That is going to be a really unpleasant experience for me. I don’t understand why we have to do these things even if we really don’t want to.
I’m guessing the point is to create unity within the House. If people could skip out on the activities they didn’t like, then the House would end up being divided by likes/dislikes.
But I feel your pain nonetheless. I always hated all-school/all-grade activities. *hugs and squid*
As a homeroom, our class has to do all sorts of competitions w/ others, and I have discovered that I stink out loud at kickball.
I’m hoping most of our activities aren’t like that. What bothers me is that I don’t even know. We planned out the whole month, but I don’t even know what most of the activities mean; I’ve never heard of them before.
Ask! It’ll be an easy conversation starter.
My one class for the day is done (benefits of a light courseload?) and now I’m just waiting in the library for recitation signups in the nextdoor building at 5, then a meeting for society of undergraduate math students at 5:30, then floor meeting and elections at 10. Wish me luck with elections!
I tested out of the first semester of Spanish 2! Which means I really ought to be studying right now so that I can test out of the second semester, I suppose. I’m just so excited, though! I took the test in July, and I only just got my results back; I was by no means sure my score would be high enough. If I test out of the second semester, I can start Spanish 3 this year, and if I pass another test, I’ll get college credit for it! That’d be nice. And my biology teacher is being really helpful about my wanting to take the AP exams.
Wow, that was an interesting day. I have American Experience (essentially honors US History) first, and we started off with a geography quiz. I finished early, so I drew a donkey in North Carolina, an elephant in Florida, Isaac in the Gulf of Mexico, and a moose next to an igloo and a speech bubble saying “eh?”. I would have drawn a maple leaf too, like my Canadian friend taught me to do properly, but I ran out of time because on Mondays I have to leave that class halfway through!
And I leave it to go to my first online class, which is AP English Literature. It was supposed to be a fairly smooth transition besides the “leaving class 35 minutes early” part, but when I got down to my room by the counseling center, it turns out that the school network – specifically the firewall – does not like my live classroom software. I tested out all of the other technology a week ago, but I couldn’t try a live class until there – surprise – was a live class. Of course, I discovered this at 8 when my class starts at 8, so by the time I drove home I was 20 minutes late for my very first online class. Luckily, everyone seems to expect problems with the software, especially on the first day, so it wasn’t terrible, but I missed most of introductions. That’s disappointing, because I want to make friends! Or at least know who my classmates are. Anyways, for class, we already read two poems, “Easter 1916” and “September 1, 1939”, so we started discussing them. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have seminars where everybody has something valuable to say, where every point is well-spoken, where everybody has really interesting insights about a text. I’m so excited for classmate who are…this sounds vain…a lot like me in that regard. It will really push me to be better than I am now.
My third class is back at school and also overlaps that online class, so I was there for roughly 5 minutes. This is AP Chemistry, we only have 10 people with one possibly dropping out, this is my fourth year with the teacher, and I think it’s going to be an awesome class. By the time I got there, they were done with work and paper-passing-out, and they were talking about the teacher’s son, who is getting his doctorate in reproductive immunology.
Starting after second period at my brick-and-mortar school (what people at the online high school/OHS call “regular” schools) ends at 10, I have nothing at all until 1, which is really nice. I mean, mostly I’ll have homework, but it’s still nice to be independent in that pursuit. I also can have lunch with my friends! Or both lunches, if I so desired! I can see definite advantages here. But before I got to that, I got well-acquainted with the school tech support guy, which I suppose is a good thing. He seems really nice, actually, and was telling me about the ham radio app he has on his iPad and the Croatian guy he’s been talking to with that for years and how he’s going to go visit him this year.
My fourth class, second online, is Chinese. This class was a bit more “normal” than the others, since we learned a little already during the week from pre-recorded lectures. It was basically your standard language class, repeating sounds and short words and everything, except that there are microphones and webcams. I like it. Because Chinese is so different than English, we’re going to spend the first three or four weeks mainly on pronunciation. That’s okay with me.
My last class, which is much later, (6:30-7:45) is Calculus C. It’s basically the parts of Calculus BC that aren’t in Calculus AB, plus some extensions of concepts and deepening of understanding. We hardly got to any math – lots of questions about placement, lots of talk about class policy – but one of the first things we hit had to do with infinite series, which (along with sequences and summation in general) is one of the few things I don’t have solid grasp on from previous math classes. Great. At least a lot of the rest of the class said during their introductions that their weakness is limits, so everybody else was just as lost on that problem. Looking forward to office hours. One of the other students in the class made a joke over text chat about a hypothetical 4-dimensional cube, and I thought of you all when I said, “isn’t that called a tesseract?”
Overall, pretty good in retrospect. I can forget the bad parts more easily now that I’m distanced from them. Besides, everything is going to go smoother from now on, at least most of the time, and I’m very excited about the opportunities that I have!
I never took AP English Lit, but I took a class called “Modern Poetry” at the community college my senior year of high school, and we read Easter 1916. Not my favorite Yeats poem — I love The Second Coming, cliched as liking that one may be — but still solid. I hadn’t heard of the second poem, but looking it up, it’s by Auden, another poet we studied.
I hope you get to read something by one of my absolute favorite poets, William Carlos Williams. (I also adore E.E. Cummings, but who doesn’t?)
((I don’t get to talk about poetry that often, especially as a CS major who is done with English classes forever, but I do enjoy it))
I like the Auden one better than Easter 1916. Maybe that’s just because I know more about World War II and feel the emotions more personally as an American, rather than an Irish uprising that I’d never even heard of. In addition to that, though, the style and imagery drew me in quickly. I mean, read this (two stanzas from the middle):
“…
Into this neutral air
Where blind skyscrapers use
Their full height to proclaim
The strength of Collective Man,
Each language pours its vain
Competitive excuse:
But who can live for long
In an euphoric dream;
Out of the mirror they stare,
Imperialism’s face
And the international wrong.
Faces along the bar
Cling to their average day:
The lights must never go out,
The music must always play,
All the conventions conspire
To make this fort assume
The furniture of home;
Lest we should see where we are,
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
Who have never been happy or good.
…”
The whole thing together moved me a lot. It’s certainly very impassioned.
I cannot believe how lucky I am; I am just so excited about everything.
I had my first day of Service Learning today–the name we use for the volunteering we do on Fridays instead of having classes. We didn’t do anything today, because we had to learn where things are, what to do in an emergency, etc, but just seeing what we’ll be doing is amazing. I feel like I’ve been admitted to this secret society where we do all these things that are just incredible, which is basically the case, except it’s not a secret society; it’s just hard for me to grasp how amazing this is. And we learned about opportunities to volunteer outside of school, too, which almost no-one else our age gets to do. Certainly, I wouldn’t have received these opportunities otherwise. And the person in charge of the program I’m doing lives near me, and she even offered to take me to the park on days when my mom can’t! This is really big, because there’s a volunteer opportunity every Sunday morning, but my mom goes to church and couldn’t possibly take me at all often. So this Sunday I’m going to help care for carnivorous plants there.
…I can’t seem to express this adequately; caring for carnivorous plants at such an awesome nature preserve is the sort of thing I’d dream of doing on Sunday mornings. And if I go often enough, I can get an award.
I am having trouble believing all of this is real.
In other news, I’d nearly forgotten how much I love languages. I am enjoying studying to test out of the second semester of Spanish 2; this is fascinating.
Unfortunately, I have very little free time. I can’t come here every day anymore, because occasionally, I really don’t have time for anything but homework.
Well, I’ve been at school for a couple weeks now, and am currently in the position of having homework to do but no clue how to do it. (The assignments in question are online and don’t always match up with what’s covered in class.) So here I am, with time galore, actually trying to get a head start on things for once, but I can’t. Because I don’t understand electron orbitals or Spanish verb conjugation or don’t have the book that’s required reading for my next class. (Seriously, why don’t I have it yet? I ordered it two weeks ago.)
So I worked on work-study applications, because I still don’t have a job, and now I’m thinking of going through all the study abroad fliers I picked up, or clearing my room a bit even though it isn’t even that messy, in a terrible attempt to feel productive after blowing off a lot of work earlier instead of enjoying my free time like I would otherwise be inclined to do, because right now i just can’t.
That’s depressing! *huggles* I think I understand your other post better now… Perhaps your classmates are just as confused as you are?
I can help you with Spanish verb conjugations if you want. I’m sure there are other people here who could, too, and with other things as well. (I understand everything I know about electron orbitals, but that’s not very much, as I haven’t even taken high school chemistry).
I go back to school this Friday! I can’t wait, but I have a whole bunch of stuff to do, like buy more clothes and pack and visit my high school and make sure I don’t forget anything.
…Hello?
*has missed the rush*
*is sad*
What classes are you taking this year, Kyra?
SOMEBODY NOTICED
I have Honors Gen Chem, Modern Physics, Mathematical Methods of Physics, and a required social science class, Mind.
It’s gonna be a doozy, but this year is the year I decide what to major in! Hence the taking chemistry and physics courses at the same time. I’m also really hoping to get into the symphony, and since the conductor was super nice last year and let me store my cello in her house for the summer, it just might happen! So that’ll add about another class’ worth of time into my schedule and have the bonus of making my Wednesdays total nightmares; working from 9:30 am ’till 10:00pm with not a whole lot of breaks.
How’s school going for you? What kind of classes are you taking? Any favorites?
Wow, lots of hard sciences! Is “Mind” part of the UChicago Core? What’s that going to be about?
School is going really well now that I’m getting into a rhythm! This year is very different from the past few because I’m taking two classes at my normal school (“brick-and-mortar”) and three classes at the Stanford Online High School. I’m in American Experience (basically college-style US history) and AP Chemistry at my brick-and-mortar and AP English Lit, Chinese I, and Calculus C online.
Online school has been really, really interesting. My AP Lit class has already read some poetry, then the Tempest, and now we’re doing Robert Browning poetry. I’m going to get my first essay of the year back in the next day or two, and I’m sort of nervous for that because everybody in my class is so smart, and I know the bar is really high, but I know I’m going to learn a lot. The online environment doesn’t take away from our ability to discuss texts at a really high level. Of course, there have been inevitable tech problems (including delaying the start of live classes by a week), but it’s really neat to be at the “bleeding edge” of education, and I have so many opportunities that I don’t have elsewhere. There are even assemblies! And social life! And clubs! Right now I’m considering the Book Club, the Dead Poets’ Society, MUN, the Science Club, the Linguistics Club, and the Spanish Club. It’s a lot of fun.
I’m moving into the dorms at UC Berkeley in six days. Packing is a nightmare…
YOU DON’T SAY.
*makes kokon noises*
Hmm. Yes. This would be great. February maybe, since January I’ll probably be trying to adjust.
BAY AREA MUSEBLOGGERS, ASSEMBLE!
(I’ve always wanted to do that.)
Oh gosh, this could be a huge and amazing thing! Cat’s Eye, Cskia, Swalot, Kokonilly, and I all live in the Bay Area, so a kokon shouldn’t be too hard to pull off, actually!
R101, is there any chance you’ll be in town soon?
Not until the end of April at the earliest.
(I saw this in the Recent Comments bar and I was going to post “RAGING ENVY” followed by some keyboard smash in all caps. I’m glad I read the rest of your comment first.)
The weirdest part about a kokonvention will be learning to refer to everyone by their meatspace names.
I still call Cat by her MuseBlog name. (I didn’t know how to address *Cskia at first because I couldn’t figure out how to pronounce her blogname…)
I figure the * denotes a click consonant, like the exclamation point in “!Kung.”
The “s” in “POSOC” is a hard s, so it’s pronounced “POE-zok.”
Oh, I didn’t think of that! I’d thought of her as “SIS-kiya” (actually, I sort of still do).
Your name- yay, I’ve been mentally pronouncing it correctly! It’d be a bit of a drag to keep calling you “P-O-S-O-C,” I think.
If you’ve been around long enough to remember when I was Prarilius Canix, feel free to call me PraCan. Or even if you haven’t been around that long.
Or simply “Captain” will do.
I STILL can only think of you as Captain Canix, so… XD
Yeah, you’re still PraCan to me.
I asked *Cskia about the pronunciation of her name and my recollection is that she said the “*” is silent, and that her name sounds like the word “ski” with an “ah” at the end, emphasis on the “ski.”
*Cskia: Please correct if needed!
I just go by “Jade” anyway, and I seem to have a habit of meeting up with the bloggers who go by their actual names here… Ebeth, Lizzie, Grant
XD
I like being called Kai at Kokons, it just feels appropriate.
Same here! And I like Cat better than my real name, anyway; I got everyone at my summer camp this last summer to call me Cat.
I like it when people call me Al.
(If you’ll be my bodyguard, I can be your long lost pal,
if I can call you Betty, then Betty when you call me, you can call me Al…)
Yes, I like “Tess” at Kokons.
I’ve never Kokon’d and therefore never had to deal with this problem. It would probably be weird calling me by my given name–after all, I don’t think of you with yours–but FantasyFan really doesn’t shorten into anything nice with a good ring to it.
I break that trend, heh.
(Whoops, I should have reviewed Kokon rules. OEADs, if the month is too close to “exact time and place,” snip it.)
That’s still fairly general, but thanks for noticing — and that’s probably a good line to draw.
Noted. Since I’m over 18, I’ll simply follow the Kokon rules “with the substitution of myself for my parents,” as Oxlin put it.
I did? I mean I’ve definitely done that before, having met various MBers post 18 but huh. Don’t remember saying that.
I don’t know how to link to individual comments with this nesting system, but it was on this thread: https://musefanpage.com/blog/?p=7530
My next post on this thread will probably be a Dispatch from Collegeland. I’ll let you know if I spot any Fun Vampires.
Things that happened:
– I took the PSAT last fall and couldn’t get my score until today, but yesterday I got emails from a few colleges, all of which seemed to know my score, and that was cool and kind of infuriating. (Oberlin sent me one saying “You rocked your PSAT!” but I had no idea if I actually had.)
– Today I got my score- 213. 80 in Writing, 75 in Reading, and a kind of embarrassing 58 in Math. 223 is the qualifying score for the National Merit Competition in California (ah, to live in one of the 36 states where I would have qualified). Also, I’m a sophomore, so my scores don’t count toward that anyway.
– And then a number of rather cool universities sent me things! And some kind of weird ones- Swarthmore, Oberlin, Kenyon, Macalester, Colgate, and Ursinus (which I had never heard of, but that’s, um, quite a name)- and then Colorado State University and Southern Methodist University (?).
– I got all excited when I looked up Macalester, but then I found out it’s in Minnesota, and I’m torn because it looks like a great college, but I think I’d freeze and die if I lived in Minnesota for four years.
I’m kind of excited, although I don’t have much of a reason to be.
It’s awesome to be excited! Wooo college! Did you put your email on the PSAT? I didn’t, but all my friends did–I was glad not to be receiving electronic as well as paper college solicitations.
I don’t even remember what I got on the PSAT, but it wasn’t spectacular. I got to be a finalist anyway! I suppose there’s a lot less competition in Oregon than California. Good luck next year!
Oh my god, that’s fantastic! Well done!
Colleges are going to be sending you a lot of mail, electronic and paper, over the next two years. (Some of them even called my home phone, and I don’t know, it may happen to you too.) You don’t actually have to read and research it all if you don’t want to; after a while, it actually becomes a little irritating. (My friends and I always played a game where we pretended that any college mail we got was mail from an ex-girlfriend who wants to get back together. “Cat, chat with us tomorrow night!” “Cat, your life could begin here!” “Cat, come visit us!”)
This is super exciting! Good luck in the whole college process!
Swarthmore? Weird? Well, it did produce me.
(As for Ursinus, all I remember is that it was one of the few colleges that Swarthmore could almost beat in football.)
I got rejected from Swarthmore.
Probably directly because of a disastrous interview.
How often do American universities interview? It can’t be every applicant, surely?
*or colleges
From what I’ve seen, most private US colleges do recommend (but not require) that you interview with them? In my state, at least, it seems more optional for public universities. When I was applying as a freshman, I did in-person interviews with an admissions counselor at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Rochester, and an interview with a local alumnus of MIT. The MIT one was required as part of the application (but I didn’t have to travel for it), the other two I did just to show that I was seriously considering those schools. I didn’t bother interviewing at my non-top-three schools and still got accepted, though.
Also, it’s a little different in special cases. For example, if you’re a music major you do have to play your instrument in person for a university representative to get accepted, so every person is interviewed.
Hmm, I dunno. I applied to 9 places I think? 9 or 12, and only one required an interview (it might just have been heavily suggested), and another reccomended (which I didn’t do because it was the first college I was visiting and I was AFEARED, but it ended up being the one I went to!).
Good thing too because I am bad at interviews, I get so nervous D:
Whether being a music major is auditioned or not depends on the school. A lot of the smaller music departments basically admit anyone who is admitted to the school without requiring a separate audition.
I don’t think many require interviews, but they like to do them, and perhaps they increase your chances of getting in? I’m sort of concerned because I live far away from most of the colleges I want to apply to, and I live in fear of having to do a phone interview.
lots of schools do alumni interviews, or they will send representatives to a Large City Near You.
I went to as many interviews as possible, which was three. Almost all the colleges I applied to said interviews were “recommended.” A good interview can improve your chances.
When you live far from campus, interviews are done via alumni, so you don’t have to travel all that way just to get an interview! Swarthmore and UChicago had alumni living in my town. I had to drive to Portland for my Yale interview.
Oh no, I meant that the fact that both Swarthmore and Southern Methodist emailed me was weird- Swarthmore seems to fit my interests down to the letter, and I can’t think of anything I put down that would make me seem interested in religious colleges, but I keep getting emails from them.
Aside from the fact that they offer all the languages they learn, it (Swarthmore) just seems like a really enthusiastic place. Are my perceptions correct? Allosaur went to a French camp there over the summer and really liked the campus.
(It’s fun to say Swarthmore.)
It was very earnest and intense when I was there, but I hear it has lightened up a bit since. A recent graduate works in our office, and I’m sure she’d be happy to tell any interested MBers about her experience.
My recommendation to you is to go wherever I go. PERPETUAL KOKON, WOOHOO.
Seriously, though – I’m just finishing up this process, starting from a similar position as you when I got my PSAT score, so if you have any questions, ask ask ask away!
Just curious — has anyone on the blog applied to (or considered) Carleton?
I just looked it up- oh gosh. I may have a bit of a crush. That is a beautiful university.
I mean the college in Minnesota, not the university in Ontario.
Right, for some reason I thought they were interchangeable. A beautiful college, then!
SFTDP: I’m trying to figure out if I could brave the Minnesota winter in order to go to Carleton or Macalester. I think I have an inordinate fear of the Minnesota winter- too many Little House books?
Hm, well winter these past two years has been extraordinarily mild. It hasn’t snowed in Chicago yet, and my Minnesotan friends got their first dusting in mid-December.
Maybe the weather will swing back and hit you full force by the time you get over here.
There’s plenty of stuff to do inside, though!
The Carleton alumni I know (all of whom loved the school) say they had a lot of fun with the snow there. It’s a small polling sample, but it includes Californians.
I just got an email from Carleton entitled “Hey.”
(It begins: “Looks like you took the PSAT. Clever.”)
My mom (a Californian) did just fine in the Minnesota winter! In fact, she’s still here to this day and I’ve grown up here! The key to winter here is layers. Wearing undershirts as well as long socks and such. Also, when you’re at college you don’t really have to go outside nearly as much as you would anywhere else. I’ve been to both Carleton and Macalester’s campuses and they are both small and quick to get around, hence you’d not be in the cold for long! Have you considered Beloit, as far as small midwestern liberal arts colleges go?
In America we tend to blur the distinction, and several colleges have rebranded themselves as universities to sound more impressive for marketing purposes. In Britain, as I understand it, “college” can mean either (1) a subdivision of a university or (2) a high school. Is that correct, Paul and/or Selenium?
Yes, that’s right, I believe. Here we wouldn’t really say ‘going to college’ when referring to higher education.
As far as I know, Oxbridge and Durham are the three universities with a collegiate system; University of London is slightly different in that the eighteen (I think) constituent colleges operate as universities in their own right such as with admissions, research etc.
Pre-university, there are many further education/sixth form ‘colleges’ (secondary school) such as Eton College, Winchester College, Radley College, Cheltenham Ladies’ College (whom I turned down), etc. My school does not have College in its name, however.
I’m sure you made the right choice, though it would have been fun to know someone attending a school called Cheltenham Ladies’ College.
Aha, well, I’ll never know, will I? But I think I did, too. They’re bigger than us, but we have better results than them (a little independent school rivalry never killed anyone – incidentally their uniform is not a very nice colour).
I got really excited when you applied there, because I’d love to be able to say I had a friend who went to Cheltenham Ladies’ College. Or any Ladies’ College (not that your current school doesn’t have a spectacular name).
I don’t think you have felt the pain of a bad school uniform until you have been forced to ride the subway wearing a pinstriped collared shirt and a blazer with pinstripes in the opposite direction. (Traumatic middle school memories.)
My school’s name seems to be always causing other people to associate it with a convent.* Yes, it’s quite a religious school (as independent schools here generally are) but we’re definitely not nuns..
No, I don’t feel the pain of the uniform. It’s not a bad uniform, as they go. It takes a bit more time in the mornings – though I can now put on a tie without thinking about it – but then again it saves having to decide what to wear.
The idea of mixed pinstripes sounds horrendous; I suppose members of school administrations aren’t really known for their fashion sense, but that does sound a particularly bad example.
*I’m sure the obvious jokes have already been made many times.
I have a good friend who goes to Carleton and loves it! Their English department sounds quite spirited
Yup. Also both my parents are alumns. And my a grandmother and a grandfather. And a great grand mother. And a great grand aunt. And my cousin. And my dad’s cousins. Er, I think that’s it. I nearly went there too, but decided on Beloit instead. Glad I picked Beloit, it was right for me, but Carleton is really awesome too. If anyone wants to read about Carleton in the ’70s (plus faeries) or just a general college experience book, read Tam Lin by Pamela Dean.
Robert: As of yesterday – yes! Yes I have! My impression of Carleton is that it has marvelous academics, especially for someone like me who wants humanities AND great sciences, and a community that is just genuinely, earnestly, nice. It was described to me as the “most quirky-fun-refuse-to-take-myself-too-seriously” of liberal arts colleges, which is an awesome recommendation!
Also as of yesterday, I am done with college applications – undergraduate, I mean, and besides midyear grades and financial aid forms and such – but other than that, I am done with college applications FOREVER!
I ended up applying to Williams, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Pomona, Scripps, Carleton, Grinnell, Bowdoin, Smith, Harvard, and Tufts! The first five there are currently my top inclinations, but the awesome thing is that I think I could be perfectly happy at any of those schools.
RE: Interviews
I’ve had interviews for Bowdoin and Swarthmore so far, and I’m in the process of scheduling interviews for Harvard and Middlebury. The woman who talked with me about Bowdoin was super nice. My Swarthmore interview was over Skype, which is a really neat development that makes things even easier for those of us in regions where the closest alumni interviewer might by 3 hours away. That one was a bit rushed – for one, I think she forgot the time we’d planned, so we had to reschedule for a few hours later – but I think they can get a glimpse of a personality pretty quickly, too. For my upcoming interviews, the woman from Middlebury seems really awesome – she played soccer there and is now a professional triathlete! – and the man from Harvard not so much, but I think Harvard is way less of a fit for me anyways. I applied there because it had a really easy supplement, and because if I happened to get in there and choose a different school, it would be kind of awesome to be able to say that I turned down Harvard.
Interviews are really just a conversation with an alumni of the school who is nice enough and proud enough of their school to volunteer for the job! You get to talk about yourself and all the cool things you do, and they get to talk with cool people and brag about the school that they love, so it’s really a fun conversation all around. As for how it fits into your application, the interviews are basically another way to show your personality and to humanize yourself for the admissions committee. If you feel that there are aspects of you that would come across better in an interview than in any other part of your application, including an essay, I definitely recommend doing one.
Well, I’m moved in at Berkeley. I was planning to do a “Day 1 – Day 2 – Day 3” sort of thing, but the first three days passed with no Internet connection until I realized what I needed to change in my computer’s settings, so… It’s been hectic, rushed, and often frustrating. But I like it here! It’s beautiful in the mornings. My RA is awfully nice and friendly; she talks a lot, but she’s a good listener too. My room is cozy. and… I hear my roommate at the door, moving in.
Update: He seems nice. Anyway. To pass the time, I’ve been doing some welcome week activities (ultimate frisbee!) and reading some of the books for English and Classics that I acquired in the used bookstore back home. Now that I have the Internet it will be easier to procrastinate. As well as the RA, I’ve met the awesome janitor for our building whom everybody likes.
Classes start on Tuesday. I’ll keep updating you as events warrant!
What is Berkeley the town like?
Well… To be honest I haven’t seen much of it yet, just the few streets around the campus proper, which are mostly filled with businesses that cater to the students. But from what I’ve seen it’s very much like its reputation — still kind of bohemian, hippyish, artsy, though not so much as it was in the 60s.
Not sure how safe it is. It’s obviously not as dangerous as some cities, but I generally go off campus after as part of a group or not at all.
I like it, though. There are lots of nice little restaurants and bookstores, the climate’s great, and the views across the bay from higher up are pretty stunning.
Cool! I really want to visit Berkeley (also Boston.) I’ve heard a lot about both!
Berkeley’s a really nice place – my mother’s family is there so I’ve spent a lot of time growing up. There’s a fairly major homeless problem, and occasionally there’s a cougar in Tilden park, but other than that it seems fairly safe? It’s very walkable and there’s a lot to do.
Yeah, I’ve noticed the homeless people. None of them have bothered me so far, despite stern warnings about panhandlers from the parents. It’s just kind of sad.
I haven’t been to Tilden Park yet. Maybe I should.
Yes, definitely go to Tilden. I don’t know how it is in the winter, but in the summer there’s a lot of great hiking – you can do stuff like get up early on Saturday, go climb Wildcat Peak, eat a picnic on top, and then go on with your day.
JOIN US. (I don’t actually live in Berkely, but it is a ridiculous and lovely place.)
POSOC- As far as I know, it’s pretty safe (I feel safer there than in San Francisco, although because I have no common sense, I go to San Francisco alone on occasion). My aunt used to live there. There are parts that are kind of shifty, but most of the places I’ve been are really out-in-the-open and full of nice parks and museums.
(Lizzie- cougars are really, really rare- you’re unlikely to ever see a sign of one unless you’re in the mountains. I hadn’t heard of any in Berkely.)
There’s been a few in the farther reaches of Tilden that I remember hearing about. A quick google search gives a sighting in Kensington last October, some cubs on the UC campus also in October, one in Wildcat Canyon, and a few next to the Lawrence labs.
One great place to visit in Berkeley is the UC Berkeley botanical garden. It’s up a bit in the hills above campus, has many odd plants, many beautiful plants, and it’s got a peaceful air that I greatly appreciated when I was full of angst in my 20s and living in Berkeley. Looking back it was a wonderful time. Funny how that happens. If I think of more great Berkeley things to do, I’ll post.
If you decide to go to the garden, but you have no car to get there, have no fear. A shuttle goes up there every half hour. Or you can walk but it’s a long uphill climb.
Thanks so much. I would love it if this comment thread turned into a giant Regarding Berkeley post.
Oooh, Cal Sailing Club used to have free days every couple of months- I think they may still have them! You basically get a basic sailing lesson for free, on the bay.
Also, the Museum of Paleontology, which is on the Berkeley campus, but closed to the public. They have open days once every decade or something (okay, maybe once a year), which are well worth going to, because you get to tour their artifact collections.
And Berkeley Repertoire Theater has free acting classes a few times a year, which my mom really enjoyed. You might look into that!
Oh! Oh! I am so jumping onto this thread!
Telegraph Avenue is my favorite place in the East Bay, and maybe the whole Bay Area. If you decide to go into every shop that looks interesting, you’ll be going in and out of every single shop. It’s very near campus, so you’ve probably been around it already, but there’s incense everywhere and long-haired hippies selling Communist T-shirts and homemade earrings on the sidewalk and people playing mandolins. Highly recommended.
All the local movie theaters are pretty good, especially if you want to go to a midnight showing of anything. A few of them do regular midnight showings of The Room, or Rocky Horror, or things like that, but even just for ordinary midnight releases of popular movies it’s a really fun experience.
The local landscape is beautiful! If you can find a place to go on a hike, go on a hike with someone! The views can be really lovely, too.
Regarding safety: if you’re near the college, you’re going to be okay. If you’re not near the college and it’s daytime, you’re going to be okay. Don’t get too far away from the college at night, I’d say; you’re a lot closer to Oakland than you’d think, and there are parts of both Berkeley and Oakland that aren’t places you want to be after the sun sets,
Regarding food: Berkeley has the best frozen yogurt in the world. You have probably already had some, because Berkeley likes frozen yogurt more than anyone else, ever, because it is full of hipsters. There is a frozen yogurt shop on every other block. You think I am exaggerating. I am not.
Regarding sports: There are going to be people who are going to try to convince you to support the Oakland A’s. This is great, the A’s are fantastic, go to a baseball game or something, tickets are ridiculously cheap and sometimes they give away free root beer floats. It is important to remember, however, that the Giants are clearly the superior team. Also, the Niners are awesome and no one likes the Raiders much but don’t tell that to Raiders fans because they’re a little scary.
I don’t live in Berkeley but I’m close enough, so if you and me and Chok and *Cskia don’t end up hanging out I’m going to be seriously irked. Also I know everything about Berkeley so please ask me more questions, I love talking about Berkeley.
I know very little about Berkley, apart from the half-day I spent there as part of a debate tournament, but here’s my recommendation: Along one of the streets with lots of shops just off the campus, there is an icecream/cookie shop. It’s called CREAM, I think? It stands for something, I forget what. Something to that effect, anyway. But it has the most delicious icecream sandwiches, with fresh homemade cookies and icecream… So good. If you haven’t already found it, you must.
OH YEAH restaurant recommendations
People have mentioned CREAM and Zachary’s Pizza, which are absolute musts. There’s also Scream Sorbet, which is stunningly hipster and stunningly delicious sorbet (the apple flavor tastes like you’ve just bitten into an apple, is what I’m saying). Barney’s Burgers has what one of my friends describes as “the only decent curly fries in the world”, so you should probably go there. Also, Fenton’s is an ice cream place that appeared at the end of Pixar’s Up but is actually real, and you should go and get a sundae with caramel because their caramel is extraordinary. Geta’s is a fairly cheap sushi place with really, really good udon; Holly’s Mandarin does the best Chinese. Cactus Taqueria has really good chips.
If I think of more I will post them. Also if/when we meet up I will drag you places.
Is that the same thing as the rose garden? The one I’m thinking of is a WPA project.
Favorite foods: zachary’s pizza, saul’s deli, king tsin (which is technically in Albany). A lot of my favorite bookstores closed, which is sad. I’m mostly familiar with the Gourmet Ghetto part of town, though.
Lizzie, the comment chain is getting complex so I’m not sure if you’re asking if the rose garden is the same as UC Berkeley’s botanical garden – or something else. As for the botanical garden – it’s not the same as the rose garden, though the rose garden is an awesome spot too. It’s a little bleak when the roses aren’t blooming but bleakness isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Berkeley is a really good place for gardens. Indeed there is ANOTHER gorgeous botanical garden in Berkeley, up in Tilden Park. At least it was gorgeous last time I was there, more than 10 years ago. It’s devoted to California plants. UC Berkeley’s has an international collection.
The one in Tilden is a little harder to get to than the UC Berkeley garden if you don’t have a car. (College students often don’t have cars. I don’t know if POSOC does or not.) It’s called Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
I do not have a car. I do have a bus pass, though it only works for AC transit.
I suggest getting a Clipper Card; they work on AC transit, BART, Caltrain, and VTA (making it a lot easier to get to San Francisco).
There’s a cafe called Eat a Pita, which is really close to the Berkeley campus and has cheap and very good falafel (though I haven’t been there in five years, so I don’t know if it’s still there).
Have you been to the Berkeley Bowl? It is the most ridiculous place. Everyone there is extremely cross, for some reason- but they have excellent free samples. Some of the food is surprisingly cheap and some is incredibly expensive (Trader Joe’s is a better place to actually shop, I think, but Berkeley Bowl is iconic and strange).
I plan on going to Trader Joe’s as soon as the snacks my parents sent with me run out
Sadly, I will be unable to take advantage of most of these lovely restaurant recommendations due to gluten/dairy intolerance
AHA. (I’m sorry to hear about the gluten/dairy intolerance, but-) my aunt used to be a vegan, and she took me to this one pizza place in Berkeley, which has vegan toppings and gluten-free pizzas available! It’s called Red Tomato, and I think it’s on/near University Avenue. I went there a couple of months ago, and it was still amazing (although I had the regular crust, which has gluten in it).
Thanks, I’ll have to look into it.
For my part, I really like this one Thai place called Cha’am. My uncle introduced me to it, and they have great lunch specials.
How are you dealing with your allergies while at college? (I have gluten and dairy intolerances too, and I’ve been wondering how one survives college without starving.)
I know some people with allergies who are at college. They talked to disability services who arranged things with the dining halls. The dining halls should be able to work around it!
I don’t know how other colleges handle it, but the Cal Dining website has menus for all the dining halls, and the dishes are linked to complete ingredient lists. I can generally find various meats, rice and/or potatoes, and of course the organic salad bar helps since I can assemble it myself. I’m composing an email to the dining dept. as we speak…
Mmmm. Chaam. I love the food there too.
(SFTDP) Looking into the Clipper Card, I found that the Walgreens right near campus sells them! Thanks.
Day 4. Yesterday Dad and I finished ordering textbooks — they should arrive midway through the first week of classes. (I should have probably waited until that week was over, in case I got some that I’d never use, but I can always return them.)
Annoyingly, on weekends the dining halls only serve brunch and dinner. I snacked on various things from my fridge, but I’m beginning to realize I’ll have to keep it stocked. I can’t live on meal plan points alone. (The nearby Trader Joe’s will be very useful, I’m sure.)
Also annoying is the fact that only one dining commons is open so far. Fortunately, the one attached to my dorm opens tomorrow evening, so I’ll no longer have to trek across campus to get every meal.
On the plus side, the hot water in the showers finally started working this morning, and I learned how to use the laundromat.
My roommate and I have almost nothing in common, but we get along pretty well so far — we just don’t have much to talk about. Three women moved into the room next door today, and at least one of them is a fan of Douglas Adams and Flight of the Conchords, so I might have more in common with her.
Day 5. I’ve gotten to know several of my suitemates a little better. Roommate remains elusive — when I left for lunch, he was asleep. When I came back, he was gone. He returned briefly a couple hours ago to change, but he spends most of his time at the gym or with his fraternity.
Today I went with some of the other freshmen to eat at a Buddhist temple that serves Thai food in exchange for donations on Sundays. The red curry over rice was pretty good. Tonight, the dorm’s dining hall opens!
With the “Day n” format I keep expecting these to turn dramatic.
Day 36. Food supplies low. Sometime after midnight Robinson snapped and ran screaming out of the compound without even putting his boots on. Ran straight into a group of zombies about 200 yards outside the doors. The rest of us sat and listened to the sound of them tearing him apart for the rest of the night. Captain hasn’t said a word in four days. He just sits in the corner, cradling his rifle. Velazquez says he thought he heard him singing this morning. We heard a truck behind the compound a little before noon, but it was just looters. If the Corps doesn’t get here by the end of the week we’ll probably be joining them out there. There comes a point hungry men are more dangerous than zombies. We’re rats in a cage, and ain’t no one coming to feed us.
To own the truth, so do I.
I wouldn’t worry too much. One semester in college I shared a bunk bed with a roommate whom I never saw awake. Every night he stayed out playing billiards until after I went to bed, and every morning he was still asleep whenever I went to breakfast. He was a perfectly nice fellow, but I’m not sure I ever learned his last name. I certainly don’t remember it now.
This has basically been my experience so far. If she gets back when I’m still awake, it means I’m up too late. If she’s awake when I get up, I’ve overslept by several hours. We coexist very well, but rarely interact.
Sort of a twist on Box and Cox.
That’s like one of my roommates! We got along great, but I never really saw her.
Day 6. Today was pretty uneventful. I went around the school making sure I could find all my classes, but since the buildings were locked up for the holiday I couldn’t get into the actual rooms or lecture halls. There was an interesting incident, though: while I was out walking on the campus, a graduate student collared me and recruited me into an interesting linguistics experiment. She had me divide cards into categories based on the spatial relationships of the objects drawn on the cards, then quizzed me about the criteria I used and the words I thought in (“above,” “below,” “beside,” “outside,” “within”). I was paid five dollars for it.
I just had a really nice dinner in the dining hall. Classes start tomorrow! I am excited.
Ahhh hurray
Good luck! Have fun! Tell us all about it!
Day 7. All the rest of my textbooks arrived today. It hurts to look at the bill (I am so fortunate and grateful that my parents can pay for all this, so far) but hopefully I can take advantage of Amazon’s buyback scheme at the end of the semester. Next year I’ll know more about what’s cost-effective.
The anthropology lecture was pretty standard and a little boring — the professor just went over the syllabus for an hour and a half — but he seems really engaged when he teaches, which is nice. I went to the first meeting of an English department mentoring program this evening, too, which was interesting — and I’m looking into creative writing workshops connected with it.
In between those two events (as well as eating, bathing, cleaning teeth, and sundry other maintenance activities, all of which I will skip over in future) I mostly learned how the laundry room worked. One of the loads of laundry didn’t dry completely so I’m running it again right now on a setting that worked better.
Laundry looks like it could get awfully expensive here. I’m thinking I’ll wash colors and whites separately but dry them together in future — the dryers are pretty big.
And I feel like the “day” format will rapidly grow tedious at this point (barring zombie outbreaks) so I’ll just update you guys on anything else interesting that happens to me.
Elementary school: “My mom got me socks for my birthday. Aw.”
College: “My mom got me socks for my birthday! Sweet!”