There are a hundred reasons why I should be so stressed for these first weeks of school, but a good friend of mine once said "When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show them you have a thousand reasons to smile." So, I guess I am giving my pledge right now to start counting my blessings instead of honing the stress I feel with this amazing, new experience.
It started the weekend before August 20th, which was the move-in day for the dorms. I made my round, saying goodbye to my two greatest friends, and promising I would see them again very soon. Then came the hardest part.. I drove downtown to say goodbye to my high school sweetheart, Adam, for the last time. We knew it was coming, and we dreaded the day since I got my acceptance letter, but we knew it was for the best, and I was not about to give up my dream for a boyfriend so young. Still, when I came home to pack, I was visibly upset to the point where I seriously considered staying home and going to community college for two years before moving away.
My real experience began by moving out of my house and into the Valencia building. I had dreamed of starting college since I was in primary school, and I could not believe that was the moment I had imagined all along. I had packed all my necessities the night before, and bringing them into the house, as we now affectionately call it, felt just like I hoped it would. Though I was only moving an hour away from my family in Carlsbad, I felt independent already. I walked into my room with the help of a friendly RA and met my five roommates AND their families, as everyone had come to see their daughters off to college. There was a conflict over rooming assignments, and I was moved around a couple times, but nothing to start a civil war over. When I finally got settled in, I got to know the girl I would be sharing a room with, Alexa. She is absolutely the greatest person I've met so far, and I am so lucky to be rooming with her. She is a sophomore with my major, so she is able to show me the odds and ends and give me the inside information. The other four, Brittany, Sarah, Leandra and Sylvia are all equally as sweet. My roommates are what make this experience smooth around the edges.
Unfortunately, I had much more trouble with my classes than with my roommates. I had applied and been accepted with a musical theater major with a vocal emphasis, but they sent me to the wrong NSO. I went as a music major with a vocal emphasis, when I should have been at the NSO for Theater majors. So, the weekend before school started, I had to go through the long, stressful process of changing my major and finding a new track. Needless to say, I was worried for a long time about whether or not I would get all my classes. I had to crash multiple classes, set up meetings, pay fees, apologize to professors for my latecoming, stay responsible and in-touch with my advisors and wait patiently for everything to work itself out. Eventually, with the help of Larry Peters, I got 17 units that worked perfectly with my major, and now I am on track towards working for a BFA in Musical Theater.
There are plenty of mundane details in between, but this is just the introduction to this new chapter in my life. I cannot wait to see how it unfolds.
