Things I Learned My First Year of College

Here we are, the Saturday before finals week and I thought I'd take the time I should be studying to share with you some of the awesome things I've learned this year. While these are really only a few of the insights the experience has afforded me, as this adventure draws to a close, I thought I'd share with you a list of the  top ten lessons I learn in my first year of college.

1. Anything can and will mold.
Except for like Twinkies. Really. Coffee molds! Who knew, right?

2. All you need are socks.
And until you need socks or other unmentionables, you won't do laundry. Not for your lucky jeans. Not for your sheets. Not even for the only shirt that doesn't make you look fat. Until you need socks or undies, you will make do.

3. Make work fun.
Working in college kind of sucks, but only if you let it. I work the worst job imaginable - Campus Dining. But about 99% of the time I love my job because I make it fun. I talk to my co-workers and our customers and I will be the one laughing it off when something little goes wrong, working the fastest to get through the orders of the entire baseball team with a smile or following the stupid rules about cleaning/cooking/breathing cheerfully. I will be the one making the jokes, poking fun and having a great time. Because if I have to be here four days a week, it had better be fun.

4. What the hell is sociology?
Sociology, friends is the study of development, structure and functioning of human society and its institutions and it is awesome. I never knew what it was and probably would have gone my whole life without really knowing so if my first year experience course had not been with a sociology professor whose influence had a profound affect on me. Now I'm considering a minor in sociology and have a whole new perspective with which to view the world around me.
5. Boys will be boys.
You thought they'd be different then they were in high school, but no. They're just the same.

6. Studying is best done in solitude.
Group study is a great idea! We can all catch up with homework and each other at the same time! HA! Not.

7. Stress less.
Money, commitments, due dates, uncertainty, life... it's all so terrifying. Sometimes it all catches up with me and I have a mini panic attack. But then Bob Marley comes to the rescue and I play Three Little Birds and I believe everything he sings to me. Every little thing is going to be alright and it's nothing a few deep breaths and a good night's sleep can't fix.

8. Balance is key.
Balance your workload, balance your diet, balance you budget, balance your backpack, balance your friends, balance your life. Moderation is the golden rule.

9. Do what you want to when you want to.
If you wanna go, even if you have to go alone, then you should go. If you want to stay even through everyone else is going, then by all means stay. Be your own person for goodness sake. If you can't count on yourself to look after you, who will?

10. Communicate, Articulate, Elaborate.
In class, in relationships, in writing, in thought, in word - say what's in your head and heart, say it well and be prepared to expound on your ideas.

Old Lady August

Ah, August.

I have a difficult relationship with August. It's suffocatingly hot, stuffy and those nasty cicadas are making that horrid noise high up in the trees (which is just plain creepy when you think about it). Summer is ending. School is starting.

August is a sad month, in my opinion (which, for the record is really all this blog is. I'm sure you figured that out by now, and hopefully, you share my opinion sometimes). It reeks of an ending, which is bitter in so many ways. It's like an elderly women, whose beauty, charm and allure are but memories.

But last night, I was shown a lovelier side of August that I am not sure I have ever seen before.

August was suddenly a cool, unexpected breeze.

August was tall, soft grass tickling my toes.

August was a game of tag.

August was appreciating a sip of cold water.

August was crickets and grasshoppers leaping about.

August was the sun setting gently.

Yes, those creepy cicada things were making that revolting noise, I got bitten by a chigger/mosquito/other blood sucking thing or two and there was a lot more sweating and stickiness than I would have liked, but last night, August was beautiful.

Last night, August wasn't the end of the summer. It was precious final days, like kissing a dying Grandparent. There was a finality about it, but there was also something sweet, perfect and necessary about it. Summer days are drawing to a close, but the August is a half open door. I tasted the sweet in August and savored the bitter.

I will admit my favorite thing about it was that it didn't feel like a hundred degrees outside, which is my biggest issue with August. They say it's a cold front from Canada (I love Canada today), but maybe it's just August out to prove me wrong. I can see her being ornery like that. She may not have the youthful beauty of May, but she is witty.

I can hear the cicadas singing now...