Think of the most hectic week in your life and then multiply it by 4, add some friendship and finish it all off with the knowledge your life has only just begun. Basically, that was my week. It all started off with move-in weekend...in the rain. I had to pack two cars full of everything I thought I would ever need to survive and left my house (in dreary Flemington) for at least a few months. Starting off looking presentable and pleased with myself my family and I soon arrived at my dorm in New Gibbons (on Douglass campus). Of course, we tried to be sneaky and getting to the dorm early so as to miss the traffic... little did we know that the rest of the Rutgers community were also well adept in cunning. After what seemed like hours we finally made it into my dorm room, met my (fabulous) RA, and found my roommate (I'll go into details on this topic later on). After waving my family goodbye (I honestly thought they would never leave because they kept on procrastinating) my roomie and I flocked off to find friends.
Rutgers tried hard to plan out our weekend well; however, it kind of failed a bit. The "carnival" was relocated indoors due to the rain and consisted of a few boardwalk games and a couple hundred people crammed into the tiny rec room in the Cook student center. The rest of the weekend was more enjoyable. The throwdown in the rec center was a huge hit and resulted in my throat being sore for approx. 3 days. In addition, my entire dorm (New Gibbons B-3/B-4) seemed to be perfect for everyone. Any horror stories you may have heard about college dorms have yet to occur in my dorm.
Once Tuesday rolled around I think everyone realized that we were all in college. My schedule at Mason Gross is, as one can say it, "gross". I have an 8:15 ballet class Monday-Friday with most days ending around 3 or 5:30 with only minimal breaks in-between. However, the dance world is extremely competitive, and Mason Gross is a world reknowned school so excellence is to be expected. For the first 2 days we had placement classes for ballet to make sure all us freshmen were in the right classes, and for an additional day we had placement classes for modern technique. This stressful period pushed all us newbies to our breaking points to make sure we could all handle the dance department's rigorous requirements. In the end, we were all sore and exhausted but we made it.
However, academics is only one essential part of college. Socializing and networking, although dangerous in large amounts, are important. Let's face it- I love to have a good time, and Rutgers has been able to provide me with unique opportunities anytime I feel like going out. To help me have fun, my roommate and our many friends are always willing to take breaks from practicing to enjoy ourselves. My roommate, a vocal performance major, is almost exactly like me in personality and we get along perfectly. In addition, almost my entire dorm shares my willingness to have fun. If you look back at high school and think of the artsy kids- those theater, music, and dance people- you may picture some less than stellar personalities. However, my dorm (which is in fact the new Mason Gross Performing Arts dorm) transcends these stereotypes and brings a whole new description of performing arts kids. I remember meeting all these fabulous people, knowing they were as into the arts as I was, and then going out with them- only later to hear them practice their instruments or act out a scene and being completely blown away by the talent Rutgers has snagged this year. These are honestly some of the most fantastic people I have met so far in life.
I'm sure the going only gets tougher, but I feel as though college is just another endeavor in life to be overcome. If the rest of college is as epic and eventful as my past week, then this college experience will contain the some of the greatest moments in my life.
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