Day One…
“Click, click”. Two pictures taken, three seatbelts buckled, way too much luggage/dorm stuff loaded up, and we were on our way. Driving to the freeway, I kept my eyes locked on everything outside the window, and took mental pictures of the buildings, flowers, palm trees, and everything else that structures what used to be home for me. It feels weird (to say the least) to be leaving this all behind – memories from elementary, junior high, and high school, but pure excitement for what’s ahead of me always takes over any feelings of fear, doubt, or uncertainty.
My parents played the “Alphabet Game” in the car and laughed at 1) my dad’s way-too-advanced vocabulary, 2) my so not-advanced vocabulary (and yes, I’m a journalism major), and 3) the fact that the game lasted about five minutes.
Finally, we pulled up outside my dorm, loaded a huge cart with allllllll my stuff, and headed up to my room. Four out of five of my roommates were unpacking (the other was at orientation) so I introduced my parents and myself and got to work. An hour later, we decided to call it night and finish the rest tomorrow. I’m almost moved in!
We headed to our hotel and agreed on Chinese take-out as our last dinner together (for a while, at least). And I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Boxes of sautéed veggies, spicy chicken, black pepper steak, and potstickers laid out on the bed, chopsticks in hand, we ate, laughed, reminisced, and ate some more. Seriously, it was perfect.
Day two…
It was an early morning for all three of us, but we pretty much just woke up and laid in bed. After about a half hour of snuggling with Mom one last time, we got up, got dressed, and Dad and I went out and got breakfast. Jamba Juice and KIND bar for me, oatmeal, coffee, and bagel with cream cheese for him – the perfect fuel for another long day of moving in!
Today was for unpacking clothes and somehow fitting everything into my room, a target run, and figuring out last minute things I’d be doing on my own from here on out. The first two things – done by noon. The third thing – done by 2:00 pm (and exhausting if I may add). The fourth thing – still doing that.
Today was also the first day of WOW (Week Of Welcome)! My group was met at 3:30 pm and we toured the campus, learned the lyrics to “My Bologna” by Weird Al, and meditated. Strange? Yeah.
After dinner was this big ceremony where President Armstrong welcomes all the new students and the athletes, band members, cheerleaders, and parents all wish us luck on this new and exciting journey. The football stadium was packed, music blared, and excitement and a little fear rushed through all of us. Saying goodbye to my parents was hard – my mom shed a few tears and I tried (and failed) to hold mine in. My dad was pretty successful in keeping dry eyes.
The President’s speech left me nervous, anxious, pumped, excited, scared, and proud all at the same time. I’m nervous, anxious, kind of scared, and a little excited to be leaving my parents and friends and living on my own, and I’m pumped, still kind of scared, nervous, and proud to be starting classes at such an amazing school.
So to wrap things up, here I am, day two of my first week at Cal Poly. I’m exhausted, but so ready – ready for my future, ready for having fun, ready for growing up and finding me.
