Schönes Wochenende!

By: Kelly

One thing I was really excited about for college was the fact that I could actually be stylish. Wearing jeans and a t-shirt for the last seven years has taken a bit of a toll on me and I was ready to wear dresses, skirts, etc. That sounds laughable to me now. I mean, tons of girls do it and they all look really cute but for some reason it has completely turned me off from wanting to put any effort into my appearance. Maybe it's all those girls I saw dressed up for rush, I don't know. I keep wanting to walk around like a total slob. Aren’t people supposed to wear sweatpants everywhere in college?! I am going to abide by that tradition even if every other girl here looks like a pageant queen; I really could not care less. I like the hobo chique look. I went to the library for the first time the other day and it now makes my top five favorite spots on campus, which I will now list:

1.Library West- I immediately felt at home. With my mom being a librarian, I grew up in libraries and I know I’m going to be spending a lot of time there. There are SO many books and they smell so good and old and pretty. The shelves go on and on and when I was there, I felt exactly like Harry Potter in the Department of Mysteries when he passes the shelves of prophecies, because each one contains a life and a story (NERD). It was so nice sitting in a comfy chair looking out at the campus beyond the sheets of rain, sipping on my coffee and sneaking pieces of a chocolate chip cookie when no one was looking.

2. 2. The alligator pond- This is right in front of my dorm and is this green mossy pond surrounded by foliage and animal sounds complete with an alligator who sunbathes on the grass every day. I like sitting on the little dock that overlooks it. He is the closest I have to a pet now that I'm away from my dog and Natalie's fish Gerald died. The only downside is having to watch the idiots who walk by and see who can get closest to the alligator without dying.

3. 3. The conservation area- I put a picture of this from my phone on the last post and it’s my favorite walk to take. I also like reading at some picnic tables there because it’s very secluded. I plan on reading Mockingjay there because I’ll feel like I’m in the hunger games with the surrounding environment.

4. 4. “The Swamp” aka our stadium- It’s overwhelmingly blue and orange and humongous and a great place to work out (or so I’ve heard) and just contemplate life (what you’ll actually catch me doing). Unfortunately I’ll probably only ever be there when it’s deserted because I didn’t win football tickets but I REALLY want to find some somehow because even though I don’t care about football, I still think it’d be a lot of fun.

5. 5. Every single food place here- Mochi, Home Zone, Chipotle, Moe’s, Steak and Shake, etc. The food here is fantastic.

Now let’s talk about my weekend! Friday night I went over to Destiny’s apartment which is reallyyy nice. She’s a great host and fed us tons of food. I can be such a baby sometimes because it was so comforting to me having someone act like a mom, even if she is my age. I know how pathetic that is.

The thing is though, you know how Rebecca always used to call that group of kids the All-American Squad? And how even though we love them all it can get a tiny bit annoying? Well, I’m almost at that point because they want to hang out EVERY DAY. I have received more text messages since being here than I have in my entire life. It’s the exact opposite of what I expected. I thought I’d have to go out and find friends through a really excruciating process but instead I've been juggling different invitations and trying to include everyone. I’m really not complaining though, just surprised by how effortless everything has been so far. And yes, I sound like the world's biggest douche. Whatever.

At one point on Friday night I went in Destiny’s room to call you, and before I did I overheard Destiny’s older, glamorous roommate Rocio gossiping to her friends about Destiny and Helga. She was talking about how innocent and naïve they are and how “Destiny is chill and has potential because she’s up for anything (meaning smoking and rolling with them) while Helga is a lost cause” (which is kind of ironic considering five minutes before Helga had excitedly told me how they used to have a book on their coffee table with all of the sex positions). It made my stomach drop a little because although 90% of the time I’m really confident in who I am and the decisions I make, every now and then I’ll doubt myself like any normal person. Like I know that there is nothing particularly abnormal or wrong with never wanting to get plastered but occasionally people like Rocio make me feel like a child. I wonder, “Am I just being a chicken? Should I just push myself to explore things just for fun and to gain experience?” But really, it’s not a matter of being scared. I really just have no interest in it whatsoever. I don’t know. It’s just funny how you go through life and you never really know what you’re doing and you never really feel grown-up, ever.

Then on Saturday I rediscovered my superhuman academic self (apparently my worries were unfounded and senioritis did not eat away all of my perfectionistic tendencies, just the toxic ones. It actually cleansed me haha) and did almost all of my homework for the week. It’s funny because I will feel incredibly behind until I’m at least a week ahead in homework. I have this urgent impulse that won't go away until I'm finished.

Anyway, that morning my roommate made crepes with her friends Michael and Julie and so I got a delicious breakfast of thin pancakes, bananas, and nutella. Then that evening, I heard a knock on the door and lo and behold, it was the John kid I mentioned in my last post. He awkwardly stood there and said, “I was wondering if you wanted some vegetables.” I kind of stared at him blankly for a few seconds because I was trying to process who would ask that type of a question so he explained, “I bought a bunch and the recipe I’m using has portions for more than one person.” So I said sure and that I’d be right out. I came out and found him cooking them in the kitchen with legit ingredients like cumin and soy sauce. I stood there for like five minutes before he was like, “You don’t have to wait out here if you don’t want to”. So I went back to my room and told him to knock when it was ready. My roommate came back so I told her the story and we were hysterically laughing when he knocked. We were laughing so hard though that I didn’t hear him so while Natalie was screaming “WHO THE F*** DOES THAT?!”, he was yelling obliviously from outside that it was ready. I bravely made my way to the common area trying desperately to keep a straight face. The squash and zucchini was actually really good. Let me just point out that this was the second time in one day someone had cooked for me, so for the hundreds of guys out there who have told me I need domestic skills to be a proper woman, suck it.

The conversation however, was just as bad as last time. We discussed jury nullification, Andrew Jackson’s secret libertarian plan, mankind’s inborn ability to understand physics through evolutionary psychology, the short-lived presidency of William Henry Harrison, the revolving door of politics, Atlas Shrugged, the flaws of Das Kapital, our bloated military bureaucracy, and many other things. All within a 20 minute period. As I complained to Monica over facebook chat, “He was SO dry” (NOT that’s what she said). Afterwards, I went back to my room and five minutes later, heard another knock. I opened the door and there he was, brandishing a knife. I was about to slam the door in his face until he said, “You forgot your knife.” Oy vey, I have some interesting characters on my floor (For example we also have a kid who juggles while he runs every day. I am not joking.) But hey, at least I’m staying healthy and eating my fruits and veggies. I’m not one to complain. Natalie and I are planning on having a pumpkin delivered to his room on April Fool’s Day.

So then last night, I hung out with a bunch of Natalie’s friends in their dorm and we spent a few hours passing around each others’ cell phones and reading the drunk texts from their friends. They consisted of things like, “I go thai patty and heap foxy” and “e broski aol disobey phone”. It was hilarious. One of them took a shower with his clothes on when he got back and wandered around the entire campus before making it back to the dorm and another kid was practically crying when we locked him in the bathroom because he thought he was in a dungeon. This reminds me of why I should not feel like a loser for not drinking. Still, I might go next time they go to a party just to see what it’s like in college (the high school ones did not impress me) and laugh at everyone. I'm almost positive it'll just be like a one time thing though.

And Natalie’s friends are all really nice. I’d feel comfortable going to a party with them. One of the guys, Matt, has a girlfriend at West Point and I feel really bad because while all of his buddies are out partying, he hangs out with us while we sing Disney songs, read Cosmo, and watch Chicago. But he’s a really sweet kid and a good sport and I know he and the other guys who don’t drink, Keith and Joe, would make sure we were okay if we went to a party. It's so weird being around genuinely attractive, decent guys. Also, all of them are Catholic and go to Mass together every weekend. I might go one week just to see what it’s like because even though I’m Protestant, I don’t have any scruples about trying something a little different.

My roommate just brought me some delicious hot tea that tastes like Christmas. I feel like I got the much better bargain in this roommate situation compared to what I have to offer to her…which is basically nothing. Anyway, now that I’m FINALLY caught up on most of my homework I’m going to catch up on Jersey Shore and read Mockingjay. Schönes Wochenende! (Okay, so that means have a beautiful weekend which doesn't really make sense considering the weekend is over, but I'm so excited that I've started thinking in German that I do not care. I've got my first quiz tomorrow; wish me luck)