First Day
The title gave it away, but I’ll still say it – first day!! I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m anxious. I’m scared. I’m happy. I’m nervous.
Did I mention I’m nervous?
What if I don’t make it to class on time? Or what if I get lost? Dude, college is hard already and I haven’t even been to my first class. This campus is HUGE and no two buildings look the same, which is helpful in that I can remember what one building looks like, but it’s confusing in that I can only remember what that ONE building at a time. And let’s not forget the seemingly manageable-until-the-third-day-hills of Cal Poly. Thank you, mom and dad, for a bike. Seriously, Belle (my beloved roadie) is my new best friend. She gets me anywhere and everywhere and I love her.
Without Belle the Babe-olicious Bike, these stairs would be an everyday thing. Love you, Belle.
My first class, Women’s Gender Studies, started a little after 10:00 am and was full. Professor Lamoree (at least I think that’s what she wants to be called) rushed in and wasted no time getting right to the nitty-gritty of the class. We had to create a picture of a feminist and then draw it. People, my skills come out when I have weights in my hands or oven mitts on – not when I have a pencil that’s supposed to make a picture, especially of a person. I didn’t snap a picture of my lovely feminist on my phone because Prof. Lamoree scares the chocolate out of me already and I will do whatever she wants to stay on her good side, but I’ll give you a little description. My feminist had hair which was like mine (just a coincidence, because that’s the only hair I can make look like actual hair rather than ugly, dead strings), a t-shirt that read “GIRL POWER”, a longer-than-necessary skirt, and shoes that look like they belong to Minnie Mouse (and probably should stay on Minnie Mouse because she knows how to work them). One arm was awkwardly longer than the other and her legs hinted (or screamed) that she never skips leg-day. And of course Prof. Lamoree wanted to collect these at the end of class. I hid mine under the pile of everyone else’s and got out of there as fast as I could.
Lunch came next, and I seriously debated making lunch at my apartment or getting one of my meals out of the way for the week. I chose to cook at home mostly because I was already heading back that way but also because my last class ends at 7:00 pm tonight and then, of course, homework. I have to figure out a way to not let college business take away my cooking time. Can I prioritize cooking over class? Like Fat Amy in “Pitch Perfect” would say – “Ehh, better not”. However, my lunch proved that Einstein Bros. Bagels, and any restaurant on campus for that matter, ain’t got nothin’ on me. Turkey and mozzarella with honey-mustard and mashed avocado melted over a whole-wheat bagel topped with mixed greens.
Yupp.
English 134, a class all about the joys of writing and the confusion of rhetoric, went from 2:00 pm until 3:00 pm and is my favorite class so far. Professor Porchello blended in with all the students, with her natural hairstyle, tan blouse tucked into dark, skinny jeans, and golden-brown loafers with a heel high enough to add a little height but short enough to wear to work everyday and help her seem like she has at least some connection with my generation and our style. She’s funny, opinionated (but not overwhelmingly so), passionate, and welcoming to everyone. I really like her, and I liked her class even more when she told us we’d be sharing a blog! Yay for English 134!
I had an hour before my next (and last) class for the day, which left me plenty of time to check emails, text a few friends, and, of course, snack.
My final class (or classes, I guess) started at 4:10 pm and ended at 7:00 pm, with a 15-minute break at around 5:30 when the lecture becomes a lab. On the first day, I didn’t think that break would be necessary, but about a half-hour into the class, I was already checking the time. Don’t get me wrong – I have a feeling that, as the year goes on, this class will become more engaging and exciting, and the professor seems really laid-back and easy to get along with, but his voice is very… soothing? And at the end of a long, exhausting first day of class rushing around this (ginormous) campus, I sat in the comfy swivel office-like chair in this class, listened to Professor Prado ease my classmates and I into what Journalism 203 – News Writing and Reporting would be all about.
I need sleep.
Professor Prado dismissed us a few minutes early and I grabbed dinner on campus with a friend. What was for dinner? Spicy pork stir-fry with steamed vegetables. Don’t be fooled by the mouth-watering sound of that. I had to ask the boy working behind the counter (nicely, of course) like, three times if he could fill the bowl at least halfway, and he sighed, “Sure”, with an eye-roll. Dude, I’m hungry. To my surprise, however, it really wasn’t too bad! But I did leave still a little hungry, which meant only one thing – Ben & Jerry’s. I scooped myself a little bowl of their Cherry Garcia Greek Frozen Yogurt, curled up on the couch surrounded by my lovely roommates, and laughed with them, talked with them, spied on people doing laundry with them, and realized college might not be so hard after all.
Day 1 – check.
P.S. sorry for the lack of pictures. I feel awkward taking pictures of the not-very-pretty-and-definitely-not-very-tasty campus food, but I promise I will work on photographing more!