One week down, plenty more to go. Here are some thoughts that passed my mind in between the

1. There are a LOT of people here.

We all knew coming in that the bear family was a big one, but that didn't stop the ocean of freshman faces at Big Night anymore disorienting. With lectures that look like concerts and enough students to champion every issue under the sun, it's a comforting and overwhelming thought that we're sharing our Berkeley journey with thousands of others.

We missed Bear Pact because this hall was over capacity. Imagine.

2. How do I nicely reject a flier?

Week one in, I have the answer: you don't.

Don't poke the bear- headphones in, eyes straight ahead and run.

3. Where is level A of Dwinelle?

*Freshman sobs in the distance*

I had my first Dwinelle experience earlier this week. And yes, much to the amusement of the professor that found me sadly wandering through level B, I got lost. It's not just Dwinelle either, in a week, this labyrinth of huge (albeit gorgeous) buildings has made Maps is an eternally open app.

4. I can manage 8 am classes!

I woke up early in high school! I'm an adult now! I can do this!: the fiction.

5. I can't manage 8 am classes.

6. I'm eating cereal out of a disposable cup and... it's not so bad.

Week 1 and I'm already finding creative outs. Don't want to wash a bowl? Cereal+milk+cup = breakfast. I miss kitchen sinks.

7. What kind of cruel irony is the name Foothill?

Seriously though. This is just painful.

8. Walking around the city all by myself! I feel so adult.

Being in charge of my own schedule, meals, and work is certainly a welcome change of pace. It's a new sort of freedom that I'm figuring out how to use. (So far this has really just been having game nights until midnight and eating cereal out of cups, but I'll get there.)

9. Me vs. the laundry (aka I am not actually an adult)

Yeah... nothing like counting exact change and needing to get to the dryer before someone takes all your clothes out to remind you that adulting isn't all fun and games. Yes, I had to google how much detergent to use.

10. I took 7 years tomake the friends that I now call my closest, how do I start over?

aka: I miss my friends. I miss being able to send out a text to a gm to hang out and spend the next few hours in comfortable discussion about the lives we've been sharing for years. A blank slate means new questions, expectations, and awkwardness that only time can tame. Not a fan.

11. I miss cars.

The days when the most I walked was down to my garage to get into my car feel like a beautiful and distant fantasy. While I'm getting used to the distance, I can't help but yearn for the feeling of pressing down a pedal and moving-- no walking required.

12. Who's Kehlani? Wait who's CALaborate?

That welcome week concert though. A fun couple hours of listening to indistinctive rap, dodging lines of grinding bodies, and trying not to get a secondhand high/lung cancer from the people trying to make the night literally "lit" all for an artist we only knew from that one song in Suicide Squad.

13. Waking up to the Campanile bells isn't half bad.

Sleeping off the fatigue from staying up too late and walking everywhere is nice, and waking up to the bells is even nicer. Don't get me wrong, 8 AMs still suck, but walking to them with the tower waking up with you is pretty nice.

14. I think I'm going to really like it here.

It's not exactly home yet. But I think it will be soon, and I think it'll be great.