| | Well, I guess it's been long enough, and I need to make an update now that I'm actually out of the house and AT COLLEGE! Let me just say this right off the bat: I'm having a BLAST! I love the people, the classes, and campus life in general. Let me expound on each of those: The people: I got a head start in meeting people for two reasons: 1) I already knew my roommate, three other guys in my dorm, and three other girls scattered around campus. 2) I went on the HonoUr's Retreat (yes, we insist on the U), which allowed me to get to know people in a much smaller context: only 120 people instead of 1200. I met a lot of cool people like Alex, who is apparently my twin; Gwendoline, who has the world's coolest name and who speaks Czech, French, Spanish, and a little Slovak; Hannah, who is definitely Lydia's twin; Sean, president of the Cartwheel Club; Zach, the campus liberal who is going to teach me how to lift; Allen Z, the junior who wishes he was a freshman; Ryan, who always laughs before the joke; Liz, who is trying to find a "non-nerdy" guy on campus (we told her to give up now); and many more. We've had a great time hanging out on campus now, and bringing others into our little groups (we're not cliquish..yet). We've watched a lot of movies (partial list: The Prestige, Singin' in the Rain, Good Will Hunting, The Princess Bride, The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged), broken into the music building to play the Steinway (clarification: it was actually legal, it just felt like we were breaking in), played water polo (I'm out of shape--'nuff said), stayed up until 1 to watch an eclipse that actually happened the next day at 4:30...you get the idea. The classes: So far most of my friends have really complained about how much homework they already have, but I must have really nice profs because my homework has been just about nil. Only two writing assignments, and neither of them for credit. Just a lot of reading and a few Latin problems (it's still 101 so it's really easy). All my profs are great: Smith gets so excited about Homer you think he's gonna have a heart attack right there in front of you, Hutchinson reminds me of Sasser in his stream-of-conciousness style of teacher where he says whatever pops into his head and yet makes so much sense, Siegel has a really dry wit but really knows what he's talking about, Krannawitter is a genius and knows the Constitution backward and forward, and Holleman is everything a choir director should be (although I still miss Mrs. Debreceney). Speaking of choir, we're singing Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, which is already awesome, and I'm auditioning for the chamber choir, so pray for me. Freshmen almost never make it, but they're short on tenors, so I have a good shot. Campus life: My roommate, Tom, and me are so similar it's kind of eerie, but that's the best kind of roommate. We both go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time, we listen to the same music, we're both really laid back, and we just generally get along great. I live in Niedfeldt, which is known around campus as "Nerdfeldt", but we're really breaking out of that stereotype this year. As a matter of fact, we're having one of the freshman girls dorms over for dinner tonight (the common reaction: "Girls? At Niedfeldt?" My answer: Beware, this is not your mother's Niedfeldt). The meals are already getting old, but some of the best conversations happen around the cafeteria table, so I'm not complaining. Being out on my own feels different, but I'm having a good time with it. So praise God, life is good. Just a few prayer requests to sign out: pray that I would find the church that God wants me in so that I could start getting involved, pray that I would work diligently, and pray that I would be a witness to my friends on campus. |
