Being the night owl/adventurous Douglass woman that I am, I'm restless at night if I don't have anything to do or anywhere to go... this is what I've learned:
1) You are most creative at night.
We had this discussion during what should have been a study party one night in my dorm. Supposedly, when you start to allow your biological clock to adjust outside of the "norm" (of sleeping during the dark hours and waking up as the sun rises) you encourage creativity in your mind because it's already working for a unique way to stay awake when you will it to do so. Of course I've only read a few articles on this, but most of the poems and stories I've written were created deep into the night.
2) Your true friends will come get you if you need them to.
So I go out after midnight a lot, even if the weekend buses suck at taking me back to Douglass. I've been stranded more than enough times in the past three weeks, but each time I was always lucky enough to in touch with someone who would keep me company until a bus (that wasn't overcrowded or out of service) came to get me, or would offer me their place to sleep for the night. Some of these friends I've just met, others I've known since I was a little girl, but each time I've become more and more appreciative of the people I have in my life.
As a side note, there is strength in numbers. I guess this is a side note to number 2, but if you HAVE to walk back to your dorm at an ungodly hour, do have company with you. I made a trek from College Ave to Douglass because of the awkward out of service buses, but a bunch of us did this as a group and watched out for each other. A terrifying experience, but this leads me to the next thing I realized...
3) The wee hours of the morning provide the best catch-up time.
Whether it be waiting for the buses, walking each other to our dorms, or Skyping/IMing at 2 A.M., the early morning hours are really the best time to get to know people and get close to them. You're already exhausted and pretty much wrapped up your days, so it makes it easy to just recoup and catch up. This is how I caught up with a friend from my hometown after I moved away nine years ago, and also how I still stay close to my best friend at Villanova University.
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Besides the lovely lessons I'm learning both the hard and enlightening ways, this past week was the first full week of college. Before driving myself insane with Early American Captivity Narratives (although the one I'm currently taking a break from is wonderful), I went back to my hometown on Saturday to go see Train, Ok Go, and The Bravery in concert with a friend I met from Rutgers' Leadership Quest this past summer. AMAZING. On Sunday I started to dance again at the first classes of the Rutgers Performing Dance Company, almost forgetting how much I loved to dance and how good it felt to wake up sore.
After figuring out that my schedule was so all over the place since I wanted free Fridays, I decided to not go through with the internship I was thinking about doing at the University Press on Livingston. Maybe next semester or next year! First semester seems to be a good "Me" semester to get settled in. I had my first Latin quiz on Thursday, stayed in Alexander Library until midnight on a Friday night, and went to the last three nights of RUSH for the Iota Sigma Beta Leadership Sorority. I prepared for an interview to be a captain for Dance Marathon, actually interviewed, and survived! I'll hear more about my status later tonight. (EDIT 9:15pm: I received the position as an Arts and Crafts Captain for Dance Marathon! :D) I have one more interview to go for the Douglass Student Recruitment Network tomorrow night. Doing a DSRN overnight my senior year really helped me solidify my Douglass choice, so I want to give back and show other women the great things about the DRC.
I totally LOVE all the opportunities at Rutgers!!!
And there totally is a way for everyone to make this super huge university an intimate community, whether it be through clubs, sports, Greek Life, study groups--it's all about finding that niche. It's certainly frustrating at first, but I truly believe everyone finds their place here.
Oh, and I discovered the lovely College Ave quads!
Location: SinglePost