Today is my third day of classes. I don’t start until 11:30 so right now I’m just chilling in the Greenfield Library. It’s quiet as far as conversations go… There’s only a librarian and one of the maintenance men in here. I should be working on my homework for Professor Shaver’s class (btw, he has an awesome name… even if it’s not real), but that can wait a few minutes.

Anyway, while I was in the bathroom upstairs on the Foundation floor of this building (Anderson), I noticed that the transition from using a high school bathroom to using a college bathroom was pretty much non-existant. I mean… the smell is bearable, and the toilets are a tad more cleaner (not to mention they have seat covers always in stock!), but there are still scribbles on the wall. Some more inspirational than others and some just a tad amusing. (I admit giggling a few times while in the stall… Don’t worry, I’m only laughing at the writings.) Regardless, that urge to write something on a public surface has not disappeared.

Last night was the first night I succumbed to eating frozen food. It’s part of the college experience, I tell you. Anyway, since my dad isn’t accustomed to cooking, at least for himself, he suggested that I devour a random Healthy Choice frozen, microwavable meal that had been sitting in the freezer for who knows how long. He said he had one for dinner (figures) and that they were pretty good. (Good, or edible?) So instead of trying to debate on whether or not to eat it, I just ripped the box open, threw the plastic tray into the microwave and heated it for three minutes. My dad told me to cut a slit in the plastic cover and to set it for four minutes. This was after the fact — I didn’t cut the plastic (I lifted a corner of it) and I didn’t set it to heat for four minutes. Whatever. It finished cooking and I ate it. It wasn’t great, but it was something to tie me over for the night.

I was up until 11:30 doing homework. Not that I had to be, but I realized that I was working at a really slow pace. :( (Oh! What’s that I hear? Someone else is in the library typing?? :O *Gasp!*)

Yesterday was pretty fun. I didn’t have class until 5:30, but I was on campus at 11:00. Haha. Okay, well, I was to meet someone for lunch… We ended up sitting in Solmssen Court until my best friend Jamie and my new friend Kaitlin went to their 1:00 classes. My other new friend Laura and I went to Utrecht where I spent $71, roughly. :( Of course, being the amazing commuter that I am, I ran to my locker and shoved what I could into there (my museum board wouldn’t fit!) then left to go eat at this little cafe (I’m used to being able to create accent marks on a standard PC keyboard) called The Last Drop.

After that, Laura and I headed toward South Street to see the ‘trash wall.’ We saw that and decided to keep walking down South Street toward the shopping district (I use the term shopping loosely) to find where Laura was going to move into. Along the way, we passed Got Game? I stopped and was like, “Hey, I wonder if Lauren’s working today!” So I called another friend of mine from high school, Lauren. She actually lives in Philadelphia, and how I went to school with her is a story that could be told on another day. Anyway, she said she was on her way to work so I told her I’d meet her on the way back. Laura and I found her home-to-be, then headed back and went inside Got Game? (No, it’s not a question, it’s the name of the store and to put a period after that would look really silly.) A few minutes later, Lauren came in and it was all YAY and HIIII. :) We talked and took turns playing Metal Slug.

Lauren decided she wanted a breakfast sandwich. So we walked to PEARL (to get my museum board cut…remember, it didn’t fit into my locker) then to some bagel shop. (Oh, at PEARL, they charged me a dollar to cut it….then they charged me tax…) On the way, we passed some gum trees. (Yes, my picture is sideways, leave me alone. :P) They were… interesting. We also passed Condom Kingdom and boy do I have stories about that~! But I’m not here to talk about that…at least not at the moment. :D

Blah, blah, blah… Ummm… Oh okay, so yeah. We left Lauren at the game store so she could work and then Laura and I went back to campus. Class, blah, blah…

This morning I was playing with my camera and got the most amazing picture ever…

See, if you live in a dorm, you can’t have one of those. ;)

I have to go buy a textbook right now. Yes, RIGHT NOW. :D

Like most of the students at UArts, I dorm. Yes, that’s right — I have my own living area. However, unlike most of those students, I dorm off-campus. Heck, if you want to get super technical, I commute!

I live at home with my parents. Okay, there it is. Sorry, but I was not going to pay 6k to live in some large, crowded room with three other girls when I can live in the comfort of my own home by myself. Of course, my parents are there… Kind of. My mother works in Eagleville, so she’s never here… Only for some of Saturday and all of Sunday. Anyway, I live in Jersey. I live in a small town called Pine Hill, which is roughly 45 minutes from the university. By PATCO, that is. By car, it’s about an hour…but that’s because traffic exists in the world of driving.

People think it’s crazy that I live in Jersey and get my higher education in Philly. So what? The only issues are: I have to carry everything around. If I brought it, I keep it with me. The other issue is inclement weather. Hopefully Mother Nature will be kind enough to send enough snow (when she decides it must snow) to close the university rather than the PATCO, or both. The prime concern I have is that if it snows and the PATCO closes, but the university doesn’t… I’m in deep doo-doo.

But my professors so far have been sympathetic, telling me that in such an event to just let someone know I won’t be in class or to call the office and have them relay a message. ?

In some ways, we can say that dorming is overrated. From what I’ve heard and seen, these people are in a small “apartment-like setting” with three other people. Two bedrooms, four people. The kitchen area is small. The living area is small. The over all place is small. The corridors are small. The stairs are creepy (well, at least in Pine they are) and…well…I don’t know. See, as a commuter, you can get away from home yet at the same time, be able to go home when you want to. How many dormers can say that? Hmmm?

Right now I’m sitting in the comfort of my own living room. Okay, so it’s my parents’ living room, but still. The fridge is only four steps away, there’s a TV, video games… AND, get this, I can still use my own car! :D Of course, it’ll only take me to work and the PATCO station, but hey! It’s a car!

Also, by living at home, I can avoid gaining the freshman fifteen; it’s not a guarantee, you see, but the chances are greatly reduced. :)

I need to go buy some glass now. I’ll explain that later.

“Welcome to UArts,” they all tell us, “We all hope you enjoy yourselves here.” Of course, that’s what all university administrators tell their incoming freshmen (and in some cases, transfers)… What’s awesome, though, is that the admins here actually mean it. Over the summer, I imagined what life would be like as a student at the University. Often I’d compare it to high school, hypothetically, and then realize that there is NO way college should be compared to high school. Ever. Not even for a split second. Why? (Oh and by the way, the person in the picture above is Dan!)

Simply because it just shouldn’t. College is a whole ‘nother world, chapter, area, thing. And if you want to get a little more specific and personal, UArts is just… Let’s put it this way: orientation week was the best week of my entire summer. I met people and learned how diverse the entire campus is. People here are open and just so nice. As a student, you learn that looks can be ultimately deceiving — in other words, those people whom I felt were carrying themselves a little too highly actually turned out to be really down-to-earth.

To the right is a friend I made right away. Sort of. Okay… Actually, I didn’t meet her until later in the day on the first day of orientation. On the first day, I was really shy. That’s really odd for me since I’m usually pretty enthusiastic about meeting people. I didn’t say a word to anyone in the first fifteen minutes and the only person I actually talked to at first was my OL..and that was only because I had a question.

As the day progressed, I became more relaxed because I saw how fun it was to be with people who shared the same interests, no matter what their background or style, forte or major. Today, I sit in the cantina with two friends — my best friend, Jamie, who came to the university with me to major in illustration and the new friend you see above, Kaitlin, who is also majoring in graphic design.

To myself, my new friends, and my fellow classmates: Welcome to the University of the Arts! We are the class of ‘11 and we’ll make these the best four years of our lives!