Today, I have taken a personal day from work to participate in the first day of classes for my internship. This internship is my very last requirement for my Bachelor's degree. In this, I have been selected to participate in a pilot project at the local university (that has international reach) that invites high school students to participate in 4-week courses for both high school and college credit. The course they choose is paired with a reading comprehension course because the purpose of this program is to improve the reading level of college students -- not to get too involved. This is really the reader's digest version. Anyway...
Currently, I am sitting in on an Intro. to Psychology class. My purpose is to observe students and feel out their reactions to class. There are 7 bright-eyed, young things who appear quite alarmed already, 10 minutes into class. Each are sitting stiffly, as if they are too cool for school, and, of course, they are segregated into boys versus girls. So far, I, for one, feel very superior. The professor, on the other hand, is probably my age or younger, and is somewhat unconvincing. I'm trying to build him up with reassuring nods from my spot on the back row.
Seeing these students really takes me back to my first year of college. Boy, was a I a different person then. I can't even begin to describe myself without saying that I was deeply involved in a very unhealthy relationship with a beast. He was terrible. Suffice it to say, this "situation" added a great deal of stress to my life every single day. Let me paint you a picture...
Raaah. Raaaaah. Raaaaah. My alarm clock would go off at 6 AM Monday through Friday. I got up, maybe took a shower, changed into some possibly-clean sweatpants and a t-shirt and rolled out. Yeah, I was that gross. Rest easy knowing that I have raised my personal hygiene standards since then. Anyway, I then picked up the Boyfriend at his dorm so I could drive us both to the top of the hill and get some prime parking. We were in the parking lot by 7 AM, and class didn't start until 8. I vividly remember listening to alot of Bob & Sheri In The Morning during the waiting period...that, and arguing alot. This entire song and dance was necessary to avoid a bottom-of-the-hill parking space and the sweaty trek up to class. To be quite honest, I'm feeling a little red-faced even admitting all this. What a dork.
After this, I bee-bopped over to class, head down. The Boyfriend did not like it when I made eye contact or spoke to other guys. He considered it flirting. Some kind of argument usually ensued during this time. Eventually, I made it into class. I felt comfortable there. I always feel comfortable in class, actually. I can be successful in those situations. I think for a long time, I retreated into academics when I was feeling out of control. It's like my own, twisted version of bulimia. It was also important for me to absorb all of the knowledge my professors had to offer because I was responsible for making sure the both of us (the boyfriend and myself) earned acceptable grades. Again, I'm embaressed. I was a dummy.
After class, we would usually walk down the hill, or maybe drive, to Boyfriend's dorm. A large part of this and the following year of my life were spent sleeping. I was nearly narcoleptic. If I had as little as an extra 20 minutes, I would spend it napping. During this particular semester, I recall having at least 2 designated nap times per day. This was one of them. Boyfriend and I would take a long nap in his dorm before waking up for the next class. You bet I looked nice after all this mid-day sleeping. So then, we went to another class or two (usually -- this is prior to my becoming a Professional [and proud] Skipper), and took a nap until it was time to go to work. Unfortunately, we worked together too. Oh, and the green-eyed monster probably made another appearance somewhere in there. What a tangled web we weave. I have no (zero) warm memories during this time of my life. Sorry to bring you down with this post. I'm really leaving out a multitude of horrendous details.
On to the fun stuff... From there, Boyfriend & I often parted ways. I would come up with some creativity-lacking lie, like I was going to work on homework, and then I would meet up with friends instead. That year, the girls I worked with met up at an apartment to talk and drink and maybe play cards a few times a week. We usually went out for margaritas at a local Mexican restaurant, too. In high school, I didn't drink at all, so there are alot of interesting stories about me from this time. (Nothing too bad, just embaressing) These are some of my best memories of college, and, definitely the best of that year. Some of my closest friends -- Ally, AJ, & Jennifer -- were made that year.
I look around at these apprehensive high school students, and I'm undeniably excited for them. They have so many great times and experiences ahead.
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