Just...WOW!

Hello all. Yes, I know, it's hard to believe I am actually updating here. The really amazing part is that I am actually able to update from Blogger itself instead of having to do an e-mail post. I guess IT security here at school decided Blogger wasn't a horrible creature after all. This pleases me down to my very soul.

It takes so little to make me happy.

This week is mid-term week here at Sullivan. It has...was a quiet week for me until today. Today I had a keyboarding mid-term (no, it wasn't that difficult) and in intro to law and legal research many projects suddenly arrived to be done by Monday morning. Eight o'clock Monday morning. This makes me feel as if, just possibly, I may have to miss tai chi this Saturday and it makes me sad. The projects for the two classes mentioned are quite detailed and will take time. A good amount of time. Since I can't work 24/7 and my brain and body need a break, I may have to use my break on Friday and just sleep and relax, watch movies, and read and on Saturday begin all over again so I can have Sunday off, perhaps.

Something struck me today as I was tooling down the hallway to the student lounge where I was going to have my popcorn and Pepsi for lunch. (I just couldn't find anything neat-o for lunch today, especially since my tummy wasn't feeling absolutely wonderful.) I am a freshman. I am a freshman in college again. Then suddenly I saw it: freshmanism. What is that, you ask? Let's see if I can explain.

You see, when you are a freshman in high school or college you are essentially the new person. You are experiencing something that you haven't experienced before. You are meeting people, different kinds of people, and most things are vibrantly original, at least to you.

It has happened to me, too, of course. School and attending school is new, again. It fills me with elation and joy and makes me look at my schedule with surprise because it is so full. However, the freshman-itis portion of freshmanism wore off relatively quickly for me and I can say, quite happily, I have a pattern to the days and I enjoy them; the innermost me remains the same while more knowledge is crammed into my brain daily. However, recently I've been seeing how it has affected some of my younger contemporaries.

It is the "college dating" portion of freshmanism. Couples are forming. It isn't unusual to see a couple hugging in the hallways between classes or curled up on couches together in the student lounge. Did they all meet here at school? The majority have, which was a surprise. They have become couples in the past five weeks of school and some of the very young ones are adamant they have found their soul mates, while others are just happy not to be alone in a strange place.

Cliques are also forming. Even I am slowly gravitating towards familiar people and making new friends, albeit slowly and especially more slower than my young contemporaries. Luckily I can stand back and look at what is happening around me (figuratively, of course) and not advance into conversations or decisions being made because a) the serious decision of where to go for lunch doesn't affect me; b) it doesn't matter I am not going to have a black shirt to go with my black slacks just like this or that person's so we'll match on "dress Fridays"; and c) I am not completely disheartened by the establishment at this point. It may come, after all it is a bureaucracy we are going through to receive our education. However, the main difference for me is that I don't expect it to disillusion me or cause me problems. If it does, well it doesn't, if it doesn't I am happy and extremely grateful.

One of my young acquaintances is from a small town in southeastern Kentucky. She is so homesick she can't see herself staying here beyond 18 months to get her Associates degree in paralegal sciences. She doesn't like "the city" and can't wait to go home on the weekends. Today I gave her my number and e-mail address and told her that if she wanted to go shopping or needed something to give me a call and I'd do my best and try and help her out. Why? Because she looked so lost and I could have benefited from this so very long ago when I went through college the first time. She looked like she needed a Sissy.

Yes, freshmanism is definitely here, but somehow I'm not fitting into it exactly. When did I become a caring adult? Have I always been this way? A seriously large part of me would like to believe I have been, but the truthful part of me simply can't agree because it knows better. Still, I am glad this much has changed in me.

OK, time to get back to legal research.

If all goes well there should be more tomorrow!