Campus Life

College is different. Yes, I've been told that, and I understood that going in, but boy howdy is college ever different. Overwhelming, probably not, but completely encompassing? Yes. It has a way of taking over your life that not even primary school had. Primary school was after your effort. College is playing for your entirety. To survive in college, you must accept it's way of life, or fight a very hard internal battle while pretending to accept it's way of life.

I'm sure I'll look back at this and say, "Spoken like a true, cowed, 3rd week freshman." Because that's what I am. Oh well. College is interesting though. I've been learning alot about crowds, and walking into rooms full of strangers. Here is a rundown of some of my typical college experiences:

I spent a week, minus a day, as an Art Major. I don't regret those 4 days of class. I now understand the reason for fine art, I made a friend I think I'll keep, and I learned a lot about myself- about what I'm not that I thought I was, and vice versa. Here are a couple of key quotes that helped me figure out that the Art Department and myself were not heading in the same direction:

• "I just keep a pillow in my locker- some weekends you'll be here until 2 in the morning." ~ Student (I ride the bus, which stops at midnight. I would have had to sleep there.)
• "Words, for art students, are not a very important language tool. I am going to teach you to think visually, and to communicate visually." ~Creative Problem Solving Prof (Reading is the love of my life.)
• "You are art students. You are not here because you are going for big money. You are going to be poor, and you'll probably always going to be poor. You are doing this because you love art, and couldn't imagine life without it." ~Drawing Prof (Whaaaaat? Money is one of the ONLY reasons I'm going to college. I want a well-paying, respectable job, which Graphic Design was purported to be. I can imagine life without art. Very easily, and without much pain.)
• "I don't want to see visual 'triteness'. No Hallmark moments. I don't want to see kittens in a basket. Well, okay, you can draw kittens in a basket- as long as they're dead." ~Drawing Prof
• "We're a family. Being in the Art Department is a Mafia thing." ~Random Prof (All too true. It's Art students together vs. the world, but also Art students vs. eachother. And I am not a competitive person.)

There was more than just this, and 4 days was enough. I escaped with my life, plus 12 works of original 2D design and a toolbox full of expensive and unreturnable materials. Anyone need a set of French Curves? I only regret leaving behind the friend, the cool classrooms and all the easily-accesible microwaves. The Art Center was built to live in.

On Thursday I marched upon the Student Services building, and came out with a completely revamped schedule. Now I'm in Writing 150, Math 110, Geo 105, and Spanish 101. Life is busy, (I've been writing well-thought-out 2000 word papers all over the place.) but soooo muuuch better. I've never been higher than when I walked out of the counselor's office, and it was completely without drugs. I didn't stop cheering for the rest of the weekend.

Oddities of Campus Life:

-Comfort takes the place of cool. Backpacks are worn using both straps, and hoods are used in the rain. The exception being rolling backpacks. I tried it for a day. It was sufficient.

-It is pretty easy to tell freshmen apart from upperclassmen. There's just an aura- a filled-outness- about upperclassmen.

-You try as hard as possible not to sit next to anyone unless you know them.

-There is a reason nobody uses the "Exit to Outside" in the stairwell of Mak. It leads to a swamp.

-This is not confirmed, but I have strong suspicions that the architect of dizzying, circular LSH is the same dumb brick the hospital paid to put revolving doors in the main entrances, and to put no doors in at all between the old and new building. Senseless. Just senseless. What did Patient Transport and Writing 150 students ever do to him????

More irregularities on college life and riding the bus to come as events warrent.