It was a dark and stormy night...sorta (Sept. 2007)
I walked outside and my ears were greeted with laughter and sounds of excitement. It was shortly after midnight and the skies had opened up and poured down warm, heavy rain. College students in pajamas, t-shirts and shorts, sweatshirts and jeans, ran through puddles barefoot. Some students slid down muddy hillsides on their stomachs like deranged penguins. Rain was pouring down insane joy all over the campus. 20-somethings splashed in the fountain, as freshmen spun in circles on dorm lawns.
We were intoxicated by the precipitation, like a desert tribe in Africa we felt compelled to dance in the rain to express our childlike joy. I could imagine the students from Seattle sitting up in their rooms staring out at the crazy Californian folk, "It’s just rain. Water from the sky, big deal." For centuries rain has been celebrated as the coming of renewal, the decay washes away and the beauty of the world appears anew after the veil of dew is pulled back from her lovely face.
I love the rain. The way the dirt smells after rainfall, the quenched thirst of dry air, Gene Kelly tap-dancing in puddles, and God promising never to flood the earth again; the rain refreshes, rejuvenates, and replenishes everything it touches. My friend Stephanie and I walked all the way across the campus and back in the downpour. When we got back to our dorm we dried off and enjoyed hot chocolate and Singin’ in the Rain. Of course, it was about 2 in the morning at that point, nevertheless, it was a memorable experience.
I wonder why rain means so much to humans in general. People complain about the rain ruining their clothing or hair or inconveniencing them on their way to work. At the same time people in other countries are dancing in the rain because it means they will have food this year. I know few people who did not thoroughly enjoy jumping in puddles as little children but these same children grow up and become concerned about dampening their feet. It’s something to think on.
Freshman Fall; It's Gravity (Sept. 2007)
September. The month of going back to school. That is, it used to be the month of going back to school. More and more schools are beginning the academic year in August. Gone are the years of 3 month long summer breaks, not that I am old enough to have ever experienced one, nevertheless I never will. Unless I am unemployed for a very, very long time. Though, I cannot imagine forced vacation being very enjoyable.
I am now about a month into my first semester at college. People tell you all the time that their first semester was difficult, lonely, chaotic, and challenging but you can never know exactly how much until you experience it. I am here to tell you that it is every bit as challenging as they say. If you have an easy college experience though, I wonder what you are learning in that environment. I have taken on the extra challenge of a full course load and a part-time job, and I am beginning to doubt my competency. I am glad to know that I am not alone in feeling this way but at the same time I wish I was in control of everything.
As I was talking to my wonderfully wise mother on the phone a couple of days ago, she told me that I had support to fall back on but that this was MY education and I was going to have to make the decisions involving it. Being called to grow up frightens me. I do not like being responsible for my own education, that means that if I fail I have no one to blame but myself. Under the burden of responsibility though, I can see growth in myself as a person. I have been made to step up to the plate but I am readying myself for the homerun.
There are so many good things about college life so far that if I started listing them they would go on for at least another 750 words. While I reassert that Freshman Fall(or Spring, if that's when you start) is not easy, I want to remind you that the year is what you make it and, as trite as it sounds, you really do get out of it what you are willing to put into it. There are so many awesome things about college, but do not arrive without an attitude of teachability.
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