Two Months Down...Seven More To Go

Here we are, two months into our first semester of college, and strangely, it feels like we’ve been here much, much longer. Only two months? I don’t know about everyone else, but personally, it feels like I’ve been here for at least a year. So much has happened in these past two months, I could easily fill a novel. They’ve been filled with some of the most exciting, stressful, scary, amazing moments of my life so far. I’ve met a lot of different people from all walks of life, and made some great friends.

I’ve had a lot of fun going to football games, exploring downtown Columbia, walking around campus (especially with the trees now changing colors), watching late night movies with friends, and spending time with my sorority sisters. I’ve learned a lot in these two months, not just in the classroom, but also from my new experiences as a college student. I’ve had to learn to be independent and do things on my own. For example, I’ve learned that by the time your dirty clothes are piling up higher than your desk, it’s probably a good idea to do laundry. I’ve also learned from living in Missouri for two months that no matter what the weather is at the current moment, there’s no guarantee it will be like that in 5 minutes (I now carry an umbrella in my purse at all times).

I’ve also had to deal with the freedom that comes with being 2,000 miles away from home. I can sleep in and skip my biology lecture class easily, but I’ve quickly learned that there are consequences to doing it too frequently. I can stay up as late as I want, watch movies and hang out instead of studying, wear yoga pants and a baseball cap to class everyday, eat the exact same salad and grilled chicken sandwich for dinner e-v-e-r-y singly day, go for; well, let’s just say a “long time” without sleeping in my own bed, keep my desk eternally messy (much to the dismay of my roommate), and do whatever I want without anyone telling me otherwise. In fact, these past two months, the expression: “I can do whatever I want”, has crossed my lips more times than I can count.

I’m not saying that I haven’t made some mistakes or that I’ve had the perfect first two months of college. Just as it is in life, these first two months have had their share of both up’s and down’s. I’ve had some of my happiest, most fun moments here, as well as some of my most unhappy, upsetting moments too. Still, despite the slight missteps, I feel content knowing that I’ve succeeded in emerging from these two extremely stressful months, relatively unscathed. One of my biggest worries moving from Seattle, Washington to Columbia, Missouri was that I would become so homesick it would become unbearable. Surprisingly, I never got homesick like I had expected. The few times I wished I could go home, at least for a moment, were when I had the flu and then after a particularly painful argument.

At the moment, I can’t wait to go home for Thanksgiving break. It will be nice to be back in Seattle. I can’t wait to feel that crisp, rainy fall weather I’ve known my whole life, to get a chai tea latte from the Starbucks right by my house, eat real Chinese food, and, of course, see my family and friends. I’m looking forward to going back for a little bit, but I’m sure once I’m there, I’ll be even more anxious to get back to Columbia. Columbia is my new home now, and even though I’ve only been here two months, I already feel like this is where I truly belong. J

Sick, Sick, Sick

I could honestly say that I've been sick almost the entire time here at Mizzou, and I know I'm not the only one. Gillett is filled with germs that seem to be unavoidable. I've tried everything, such as, washing my hands every 5 minutes, using Germ-X like crazy, taking my vitamins, and not sharing drinks with anyone. Even after all these precautions I feel like I have the black plague. Maybe I should invent a bubble to live in because I can't handle this illness anymore. If anyone has any great remedies, please let me know. And to respond to Verbatim's last blog, it was Kelli that started the circle of sickness, not the Kelsey's :)

Tourists For A Day!!

When someone uses the term, “scavenger hunt”; it’s inevitable that a few things come to mind. First, I’m reminded of those ridiculous backyard scavenger hunts they do at birthday parties when you’re like 8 years old. You know, the one’s where you’re supposed to run around and look in crazy spots like inside the doghouse, all for the sake of finding a pathetic Reese’s peanut butter cup. As we’ve gotten older, the perception of scavenger hunts has changed dramatically. When I joined a sorority this fall, I learned that, in addition to many other things, scavenger hunts are considered a form of hazing and therefore should be kept on the down low, at least in the Greek community.

            So, imagine my surprise (and annoyance) when I found out for our next FIG assignment we were to complete a “Mizzou scavenger hunt”. To be honest, Kelsey and I were kind of annoyed at the thought of having to walk all over campus, taking embarrassing pictures of ourselves in front of various locations. After Kelsey figured out the clues though, we grabbed out sunglasses and headed out on a sunny afternoon to complete our mission.

            The first place we visited was the Student Health Center. It was ironic, because it was only the day before that we had been at there. “Not here again,” Kelsey whined as we walked into the building. (Kelsey and I both share a fear of hospitals or anything with a hospital-like setting, by the way). We were brave though, and made our way up to the fourth floor. I posed with some pamphlets on STD’s and then we quickly headed off to our next destination. 

            The following places we visited were: Hitt Street Subway, the sand volleyball courts at Stank Field, the Math and Science Building, Strickland Hall, the Student Success Center (where you can get help with career decisions, find review sessions, and get mock interviews), Neff Hall, the bridge at Peace Park, Shakespeare’s Pizza, and Wich Wich (our new favorite sandwich place).  

            Despite our initial annoyance with the assignment, the scavenger hunt turned out to be a lot more fun than either of us had expected. On a usual afternoon we would probably be just sitting in the dorm, either studying, on Facebook, hanging out, or a mix of all three. The scavenger hunt gave us a change to get out of the dorm and explore campus on a beautiful, sunny afternoon.

We got to hang out together, act goofy as we made funny poses in our pictures, and walk around parts of campus we don’t see as often, such as the Quad. Plus, for me at least, it was nice to do something that distracted me and took me away from things for a while. Just walking around for an hour, seeing the beauty of campus, people watching, and enjoying the sunny day really helped me de-stress and take my mind off things. It was like a mini escape from my usual everyday worries and stress.

As we walked back from downtown towards campus, making our way towards Gillett: the now well familiar and second home to us both, I actually felt glad to have done the scavenger hunt. It was kind of fun being goofy and walking around campus taking pictures like a tourist. I also enjoyed the carefree feeling it gave me, not having to worry about things like classes, midterms, and jerks - even if it was only for an hour. I especially felt grateful to have such a great friend who I know I can always count on to be there for me and get me through my hard times, no matter what. J

Icecream and Sandy Davidson

This Tuesday, at the Rollin's lounge, we were privileged enough to have a guest speaker who is a teacher in the Journalism School. Her name is Sandy Davidson, and her specialty is journalism in politics. I, myself am not as informed with the presidential election as I should be, but I was very interested in what Davidson was talking to us about. 

She explained her views about the importance of journalism in the political world and how it has changed very much since the times of  Martin Luther King Jr. It seems that as the years progress journalists are more interested in the personal lives of presidential candidates, and anyone running for a government position. Back in the day, journalists were more intrigued by the straight facts of the presidential candidates and not the juicy secrets that are being pulled out into the news more and more. 

Obviously, not everyone lives a perfect "Mrs. Cleaver" life, and sometimes it feels like the presidential candidates should. When that is not the case, their home lives are shown on every paper, new station, etc. If you don't see it there you are most likely going to see it on Saturday Night Live, or the Jon Stewart show. I, personally didn't really think about these things until I listened to Sandy Davidson. I think she has very good opinions about the political campaign and  I would be interested in taking a class of hers.