Day 28 - Your Year In Great Detail

No one actually has to read this. In fact, I don't really feel like writing it. But I'm on day 28 out of 30, and I'm not stopping now...

I'll do this by categories, cause going by month seems kind of ridiculous.


Adjusting to College

I'm starting with this one because it seems to be the most defining aspect of this year. A year ago I was still working, incidentally in the same office I'm working in now, preparing for school. I knew who my customs group was, and I'd probably been college shopping. It's so weird to think back on that now, not even knowing what Maia looked like or how big my room was.

I guess I knew but didn't realize how much of an adjustment it would be. Academically, it was fine. It's just that all of a sudden I didn't know anyone, and I had no really close friends like I had at home. But as time went on, that changed. It's funny because around April or so, I found something I'd written at the beginning of classes about how I felt about all of it, and how I didn't feel at home yet and didn't know when I would. So I wrote something new, about how I did fall into things with time, and how I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, how much I love Haverford and the community and feel a part of it, how I felt like I could tell my closest friends at school anything. I wish I could show those two side by side to incoming freshmen, to say "It's really going to be okay," but I won't. They need to go through it for themselves.


Friends

This reminds me of a song we used to sing in girl scouts: "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold." That's basically what I did, and that's definitely true. I was nervous about its being weird to go home to my Needham friends once we'd all established ourselves elsewhere and made new friends, but it was so easy to fall back into things whenever we were home for breaks. And it goes without saying that I've made tons of awesome friends at Haverford! My hall was amazing, and so was my customs team as a whole. I can't fail to mention customs week - Primal Scream, Pluralism, getting-to-know-you games, endless meetings in Marshall... Also, hanging out in Alex's room and the common room, playing board games, pregaming and partying and going to dances, attempting to tunnel, atticking in Marshall and Gummere, sneaking in the the faculty pool after Haverfest, movie nights with Fairleigh and Emily, watching TV shows with Fairleigh and Alex, that awesome fort we built, going to Chipotle and Wawa, eating breakfasts with Maia in the common room on Mondays and Wednesdays, actually eating every meal with Maia second semester, hall dinners, etc. We all had a great time, and I'll especially miss 3/3 so much next year when we're all living different places around the school.


Family

My parents learned to live without me this year, and I think the distance has been good for all of us. I talked to my parents once a week while I was at school, and breaks went pretty smoothly, and summer has too so far. We lost Samson around Memorial Day, which was sad, and other than that this year has been uneventful. We did thanksgiving with my dad's side and Christmas with my mom's, and we just went down to CT to see my aunt and uncle (mom's brother and his wife) again this summer, which was cool. Also, for spring break Neelima and I flew out to LA to stay with my aunt and uncle (mom's sister and her husband), which was a blast. I hadn't been out there since I was 7 - usually they come to RI where my uncle's dad lives - so it was fun to see all the sights again once I'd actually remember them. It was also fun to travel out there without my parents - it had been a plan since I was 8 or so for me to go out there with a friend. And getting dirt on my family from my aunt was pretty fun too. :P


Academics

First semester I took Intro Psych, Happiness Virtue and the Good Life (Philosophy), Exploring Critical Issues through Writing (Spanish), and Intro Computing (at Bryn Mawr). Spanish drove me crazy, and I loved the philosophy class. I also found CS fun in this kind of twisted way, but mostly it was something different, fun times playing with robots, and time spent with Josh and Abby. And Bryn Mawr lunches were a plus. :) Second semester I took Perspectives on Immigration and Education in the US (Writing Sem), Logic (Philosophy), Social Problems (Soc), and Social Cognition (Psych). Soc was the biggest headache ever; Writing sem was my favorite class this year hands down. Barbara Hall is amazing, and I'm basically devastated that she's leaving. And Ralph Barnes is just crazy, although it took me two semesters to realize this, but he's gone now too because he was a visiting prof. Thank goodness I had Maia in both of my obnoxious classes this year, because we just bitched together. Oh, and I think I wrote over 50 pages between the last week of class and finals weeks second semester. Ridiculous.


Hobbies/Activities

Chorale, Photo for the Bi-Co, SAGA, QDG, Stitch-n-Bitch (once), Quaker Bouncing (twice), and a ton of emails from clubs I never did. And Massage Therapy, Bowling, and Intro Fitness. Oh, and starting GSpot with Abby at the end of the year! yay!


Misc.

Going to Purity over Fall Break and then visiting friends at schools near home, working in my dad's office this summer and over winter break, Plenary failing, a New Years resolution to work out three times a week (which lasted two weeks), getting the stomach flu after spring break, my now-infamous facebook note to my hall, the two snow days in a row when I had Social Problems anyway, playing/traying/tabling in the snow, getting Customs with Josh, buying out all of Bath and Body Works and banning myself from the store, trips into philly, hall sweatshirts, a summer of friends and beaches and boredom (and office monsters)...and well, here I am.