Dealing with Day One of College:

Dorm Life, Daring to Explore, and Dealing with Homework

Did you know that nearly a third of all high school graduates DON’T go to college? Well, that’s not me. I wanted to be a part of the bunch who gets a college education and gets a good paying job doing something I love. Here’s the story of my first day of that college adventure!

First off, let me just say how unprepared I was for life in the college dorms. I struggle to fall asleep at night the way it is, and the never ending commotion in the hallways outside of my dorm room was maddening enough to make me want to pull my hair out. It didn't help matters that my bed was as hard as a rock, too. Thank goodness for the quilt my grandma made me. That provided me with some much needed softness. But all that aside, nothing was as frustrating as living in the same room as Gina. Gina was my roommate and came from a family of 7 siblings. I am convinced that she was used to yelling to be heard (but I guess you’d have to yell if you had 7 siblings!).

Needless to say, I heard everything she had to say LOUD and CLEAR in our little 15 foot by 15 foot room. Sharing that space with Gina was quite a challenge. We had to set up boundaries early on and that helped out a little. Fortunately for me, though, our bathrooms and showers were on a separate part of the floor, so I could sneak away and take a long, hot shower in peace. Even though the facilities were not quite as clean as I would have liked, I could pretend I was on a warm, tropical island and give myself a brief vacation from the stressors of dorm life.

Once I had settled in at college, I would quickly figure out that living in the dorms wouldn’t be the only eye-opening experience for me. I will never forget my first day of classes at MSUM. I meandered my way down the crowded sidewalks, bumping into a sea of other freshmen who were as lost as I was. After going in the wrong direction 4 times, I finally successfully stumbled upon the right building. I hustled into Dahl Hall and found room 204 with the help of a random person I passed in the hallway. Once in the room, I decided to sit in the very front of the classroom. I figured I would start earning some brownie points from my professor right off the bat! But boy was I wrong. Sitting in the front just meant that Professor Benson would call on me more often. After I answered about 5 questions wrong, I think he gave up on me. So much for making a good impression. I tried my best to keep up with my notes and very quickly started to feel overwhelmed.