Homecoming!

Today is the start of homecoming festivities and I’m beyond excited! Being a Freshman is so awesome because all of this is brand new to me. At my old high school, homecoming was fun, but it wasn’t as big a thing as it is here. We had the game, the dance, and the parade that we shared with MSUM, but that was it. There was some pride and some excitement but it’s nothing like what I’ve seen here so far. There’s so much going on and I can’t wait for it all to happen. Tonight is Frosh Frolics and the bonfire. Two of my favorite things: talent and fire. I’m also super excited for the parade, because I get to walk with Circle K. Plus, I get to throw candy, and who doesn’t like to do that?

I can’t believe how fast Concordia became “home” for me. This is exactly where I want to be. Some of the best people I’ve ever met reside or work on this campus. I’m proud to be a Cobber! Not only because of how awesome it is, but because it’s practically a family tradition. My grandparents went here, and then worked here, my mom and all her siblings went here and a few of my cousins did too. I love being able to share this with my family. Maroon and gold is where it’s at.

(View original post at http://cobblog.cord.edu/?cat=65 )

Nom nom nom!

Let’s be honest. Dining Services gets old. It’s not that it isn’t good food, because it definitely is, but eating the same type of food every day gets pretty monotonous. The first couple weeks, I got pizza and pasta for every meal. Not a good idea, trust me.

Today, my friends and I decided to take a little trip to downtown Fargo and get some food that differed from the stuff served at DS. It was magical. We went to Spicy Pie on Broadway, which is a wonderful pizza shop. Don’t worry though, it actually was a break from Dining Services, because I gave up on eating pizza for every meal like a week ago. Plus, no other pizza in the world can compare to that of Spicy Pie’s. True story.

It honestly was just nice to get off campus in addition to the awesome dinner. Nothing beats a little adventure to downtown Fargo. I have to remember to do that more often.

(view original post here)

Feeling euphoric

I've had a permanent smile plastered to my face for the past few days and it's nothing short of glorious. I probably look a little weird walking through campus, grinning to myself all the time, but it can't be helped. I just love it here, and I'm having so much fun. It's incredible.

Aside from climbing trees, falling down all the time and getting stuck in peculiar situations, the thing that's making me the most happy right now is my new almost-job. :) I get to blog for Concordia. How cool is that? I'm beyond excited to start. Concordia is so full of amazing opportunities and experiences and I know I made the right decision to come here.

Top 5 (Part II)

The Top 5 BEST things about college. :)

1.The Freedom!

Sleeping, eating, doing homework - all whenever I choose to. If I want to go on a midnight walk with one of my friends, the only thing stopping me is the cold. It's so amazing to be able to do whatever, whenever. The past 3 weeks have been so amazing, and it's largely because I've just been able to live my life and have fun. :)



Sam Ham, Tessa and myself.



2. Making Friends.

I know this was on the list of the hardest things about college, but it's also super awesome. It's hard at first, but it gets easier, and I LOVE to meet new people. I love the people on my floor, in my classes, and the randoms I meet just from being around. The people at Concordia are so amazing, no joke.

3. The Classes
Yes, the homework sucks, but it's so awesome to take the classes that I'm actually interested in. No more having to take crappy classes just because. I suppose this goes along with the freedom as well, but it's just so awesome that I thought it deserved a number. :)]

4. The Clubs

There's something for everyone, here at Concordia. I'm actually having a hard time trying not to join all the clubs I want. I'm sticking with 2 for now (Campus Democrats and Circle K) because I'm a little afraid of burning out from doing too much right away. Next year though... I'm doing everything!

5. The People

Everyone here is so nice. I've experienced nothing but acceptance and niceness (is that a word?) from everyone I've met. I can strike up a conversation with anyone I meet, whether they be an upperclassman, faculty, or just another freshman like me. This is definitely the kind of environment that I've always dreamed of being in. The camaraderie is fantastic and sense of belonging is even better.

Being a college freshman is way better than being a high school freshman. Not a joke.

I love it here.

Top 5

Part 1: The Top 5 Hardest Things About College

1. The Homework
In high school, I was blessed with the ability to slack off in class, take tons of naps, socialize to my hearts content, never study, and still pass with a 3.8 GPA. I sure enjoyed it then, but I'm kicking myself now. I forget that I need to pay attention always ("Constant vigilance!" - Mad Eye Moody). I have to spend hours on my homework. I need to study. It was a total wake-up call. It's easily the hardest thing about my college life right now.

2. Living Away From Home
My mother isn't around to wake me up in the morning if I sleep through my alarm, my step-dad isn't cooking wonderful meals at night, and I don't have all the familiarity of home. Don't get me wrong, I love college, it' just takes some getting used to.

3. Living With Another Person
I'm an only child (if you don't count my step-siblings) so I've had my own room my whole life. No one to keep me up, no one to bug me, no one to try and live with. It's definitely a different experience, but I also really like that I'm able to go through it. I guess if I ever get married, I'll need to have the skills to live in harmony with someone else.

4. Making Friends
I'm a naturally shy, self conscious person, so making friends was pretty difficult for me to do. Don't worry, I succeeded, and I'm still doing it, too, but man, it was scary the first couple of days. It's not like I never made new friends in high school, I certainly did, but I always had my central group of friends to hover back to. It was safe and familiar, and this college thing has been scary and unknown.

5. Lack of Sleep
I should have put this one as number 1, but seeing as how I'm running off a very small amount of sleep, I'm too tired and lazy to change the numbering around. So we'll just say that this list is in no particular order. I'm exhausted. I get very little sleep due to homework and my roommate being loud at night, and then during the day, it takes me longer to get my homework done because I'm so tired and easily distracted... quite the vicious circle. I'm hopped up on caffeine and the natural energy from fruit right now. I'm sure that eventually, I'll get used to running off less sleep than I'm familiar with, but right now, it kinda sucks.

Looking back at all of these, I realize that the common factor in all of them is simply the unfamiliarity, the unknown paths that I'm trekking down. That reminds me of one of my favorite quotes of all time: "It’s the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more." - Dumbledore

But why is that? Why is the unknown so freaking scary? I have no idea, but I do know this: fear can be overcome, and better yet, embraced. I prefer to embrace my fear and my anxiety, and then charge head on into the situation at hand.

I think that's what college is about. Charging into the unknown and coming out a better person.

Orientation

Move in day. All of my stuff eventually (finally) got organized, arranged, rearranged and then rearranged one more time. Then came the scariest part: leaving my family and walking into Memorial Auditorium alone to try and scope out my orientation club. My hands were shaking and my heart was beating so loud, I was convinced everyone in the auditorium could hear it as I walked up the seamlessly ending staircase to my club. Club 14. Our theme was Red Bull, and our slogan was "Jacked on Taurine with Club 14!"

The fear soon melted into happiness. I was surrounded by 21 other scared-shitless Freshman and slowly, we all morphed into friends. Orientation was long and tiring and though part of me was so happy to toss my beanie with 600 other people and finally start classes, another part of me missed the camaraderie and excitement of the first few days. They packed our schedules so full that there was no time to fathom being lonely but after they cut us loose, the loneliness was starting to emerge. The advice I would give to first year students is this: make friends the first couple days. Lots of friends. And spend time with them, even after orientation is over and classes start, because it really does make a difference.