College is great fun. I don't know if anyone has told you otherwise, but they were wrong. It's fantastic here. I can come and go as I please, and I learn responsibility on my own. Already in these first few days, I've been learning to take initiative, speak up when I have something to say, accept the fact that I can't do everything, learn to say no politely, and learn to properly address professors. I've also learned how to study for three and a half hours straight, take a break for dinner, and then study for another two (That's the fun part, let me tell you).
So here's a rundown on my classes:
Intro to International Relations - My professor for this class is very passionate, and loves to hear our opinions, which is something a little new to me. I have only been in a handful of classes where the professor engaged us in conversation in order to hear OUR side of the story. But it's great! So far this week we've watched Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, and done a lot of reading from the textbook.
Intro to Pre-History - Not really sure what to think of this class so far. Our professor told us the first day that our final exam was optional, and then today we had to interview random people around campus about 'the past.' So the jury is still out on this one.
French 202 - I signed up for this class with the knowledge that the professor was going to be the woman in charge of the French department. In fact, it is a fast paced man from the Congo who loves 'get to know you' activities. He is hilarious! It's nice to get back into French again. (Hopefully a Study-Abroad trip will come out of it, too!)
University Chorale - This is the time of day where I get to spend time with the music students, AKA a bunch of kids who love singing and sharing their feelings. It's kind of nice having something familiar.
Intro to Philosophy - My professor is a Japanese woman with a British accent, so a lot of the time I feel like I'm at Hogwarts. Philosophy is going to be TOUGH! I've had a lot of reading so far, and I have to spend a lot of time focusing on it. However, once I finish the reading, I always feel more accomplished and a little smarter, too. So this is going to be a good one.
Art and the Search for Meaning in Life - This is my Honor's Seminar, and on the first day, our professor spent a lot of time talking to us about how this should be a 'sanctuary from the outside world' and we should 'be able to share our feelings without being afraid of judgement.' AKA "Let's share our feelings with each other." But I don't really mind because it's mainly a reading and writing class - and those are my two favorite things!
EN Thompson Forum - This meets once a week at 5 in my residence hall, and it is going to be challenging! It's a mostly conversational class, as we discuss world issues and prepare for upcoming lecturers who will give presentations at UNL. I am not a very vocal person, nor do I enjoy confrontation, so this class could be difficult. I do think, though, that with a mere 11 kids in the class, I will find my voice and share my opinion.
So those are my classes! My residence hall is great, too, and my roommate is very sweet. We get along well and are starting to get into a better routine now that we've been living together for a few days. She stays up later and sleeps later than I do, but I've learned how to use my phone as an alarm clock so as not to wake her up.
Other interesting things I've learned since being at college:
1. I can kill two birds with one stone if I workout while listening to news podcasts on my iPod. That way, I have a great idea of what is going on in the world without having to click though a lot of worthless links on the newspaper websites.
2. The food in the dining halls is actually very good here. Surprise, right?! So far Mini-Pizza day has been the best :)
3. Neihardt (my residence hall) has great study rooms: Two beautiful, big parlors decorated in Victorian-era furniture, a courtyard with iron wrought fences and decorative chairs and a big, expansive lawn, and (my personal favorite), a long hallway that has been dubbed "the Harry Potter hallway" because...well, just because it looks like a Hogwarts hallway.
Kind of like this! Except instead of those benches on the left, there are desks along the hall.
The second day was the hardest adjustment - my roommate had just moved in and I was sort of mourning the loss of my personal space. However, there were a few things I did to combat that, including:
1. Plastering this poster along the wall and putting a chair in the back corner under my lofted bed to create a sort of "Adrienne corner" where no one can disturb me.
2. Taking long walks around our dorm, finding secret hallways and exploring little parlors and rooms. This was what I did oftentimes when I felt homesick at Bard. The scenery there was so pretty! It's pretty nice here too.
3. Listening to this song. And yes, I realize this isn't a song that really discusses any of the feelings I might have had about going to college, but for some reason, listening to it on repeat was very soothing for me.
It's probably because Darren Criss is the lead singer. Whatevs.
4. Using Tumblr, a website that one of my close friends Amy recommended to me. It has funny pictures and videos and animations on it - searching "Harry Potter Funny" in the tags gave me lots of amusement.
5. Calling on the telephone. Cosmo recently came out with this study about how texting people isn't as comforting as calling them on the phone (and no, you may not judge the validity of the article just because it is from Cosmo. Jeez). So I've spent quite a bit of time talking to my parents and my best friend on the phone. Hearing their voices is soothing.
Overall, college is so great so far! I'm learning a lot about time management, especially since I thought I had great time management skills before - college just fine tunes them, I suppose. I love the people and the atmosphere here, and I am so grateful for this opportunity!
Have a great night!
<3
