The first thing I will remember are the red flags sporting the "R" of Rutgers lining the lamp posts, fluttering crazily as the REXL lurches past (and me, not yet being accustomed to shifting my weight to avoid rolling all over the place on the bus, therefore falling backwards and apologizing profusely to the pitiable person behind me). I will also remember transitioning from saying, "R-E-X-L," to "rex-ell," to "recksul." I love it because it sounds a bit like a dinosaur. Like, hey, this is my Tyrannosaurus rex, REXL. Cute!
The second thing would be talking to so many new people and knowing that I can make friends! And not just talking to people, but talking to people that I never would have really talked to or gotten to know much in high school. And, religions and nationalities that were so few and far between in my hometown that I never got the chance. It feels like someone is taking my figurative eyes and ripping them open in a non-painful way. . .huh?
Thirdly: the deep kind of homesickness. Knowing that I really won't ever live at home anymore, and that I'll probably only see my parents a few weeks every year. For whatever loony reason, that doesn't stop me from getting annoyed with my mom over the regular things when I talk to her on the phone. Sorry, mom! I love you, I really do.
But, fourthly, along with the homesickness is a huge excitement about my future in general. I'm already looking forward to the summer when I hope to live here over the summer in off-campus housing. I mean, finding my new place, buying and cooking all of my own food, figuring out how to move all my junk, paying for everything (hopefully I'll find a source of income large enough to sustain myself and cover all costs that I may incur over the summer), and really, it'll be doing whatever I want. Not whatever I want as in going to the beach or eating Taco Bell everyday, though those sound like two very delightful things, but doing what I want in terms of work and the roof I put over my own head, and for me, there's always been an appeal in these "adult" things. Maybe I've just gotten years ahead of myself and am already trying to break open the egg of being a student. Hmm, should probably incubate a bit longer.
Fifthly, sitting through a nearly three hour Bio Lab soaked from the knees down. I've learned that in torrential rainstorms where wind pretty much blows the rain up and there's thunder going everywhere, an umbrella and a bus shelter don't provide nearly as much protection as you might initially think. Now, I have a lovely, glossy pair of rainboots getting acquainted with the rest of my shoes. The weather on my phone shows another thundercloud. A good investment, indeed.
The sixth is riding the bus. The bus is kind of the time that has a weird nebulous-ness where I can just sit with my own thoughts, stare blankly, and doze off. Relax for a moment. I suppose it's good I live on Douglass, as I have to ride the bus a lot.
And seventhly, it seems that I've come to terms with myself a bit, and have stopped doing things "just because it's what I feel obligated to do" or "it'll look good on my resume." Now, I do only what I sincerely want to do, and it's been making me pretty darn happy. Even if I come home (I've started calling it home!) a good bit tired, I'm actually happy to be so tired because I got tired doing what I wanted to. And this results in less complaining, which results in more satisfaction, which means an easier time sleeping, which equals a happier me! I've also learned how to describe my worst moods: when I'm tired and when I'm hungry. And perhaps, a little when I'm cold. And I'm a beast if I'm in all three states. But not the happy kind of beast like REXL.
These are seven things I will certainly remember about my first weeks in college, which is technically not yet a month, but I figure I'm only a few days short.
Fall's already here, looking forward to the famed east coast event of leaves changing colors, and soon maybe it'll be a, "How I will remember my first semester of college". . .
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