I'm going to start this off with a disclaimer: both of my parents are University of Portland alumni who have been taking me on visits to campus since I could walk. So coming here as a freshman, I thought I already had a pretty good idea of all that UP had to offer, thought I already knew the in's and out's as well as I could and the transition to this new life would be a cakewalk.

As it turned out, to my utter astonishment, there's a pretty big difference between imagining your college life and actually living it. (You mean ... I actually have to study? And I have to wake up on my own to get to class?) In these past 3 weeks, there have been ups and down, moments of extreme difficulty and moments of extreme happiness. If I'm being honest, I'm still kind of waiting for all this unfamiliarity to suddenly become familiar, to realize that, no, this isn't a break from my life, this is my life from now on.

To put it shortly, I've been surprised. University of Portland has surprised me, in more ways than just the described here, but in an effort to keep this lighthearted I'm only going to list the following 5 — some of the best surprises I've encountered during my 3 weeks on campus, and a hope for more in the future!

Surprise #1: "Who let the dogs out?"

( ... yeah, I know, its a squirrel, just ... bear with me, OK?)

I was expecting a lot of things when it came to dorm life. Homesickness, lack of privacy, shower shoes, weird elevator antics, to name a few. What I didn't expect was to miss certain members of my family as acutely as I do.

I'm going to be frank. I miss my dogs.

That's why one of the best things is the number of dogs one can find being walked around the quads and grassy areas about campus. Whether it's upperclassmen who live off campus or just people who live in the area who want to take their furry friends out to explore this beautiful campus, it's always a highlight of my day to see people and their dogs wandering around. I've even been to a club meeting where people literally jumped up and left momentarily to go pet one. It's both incredible and heartwarming the effect four paws and a fluffy tail can have on homesick students.

(Note that all of the above could also apply to squirrels, so therefore the picture isn't that far out of left field.)

Surprise #2: Precious cinnamon rolls too good for this world!

Anyone who's been to the Bauccio Commons knows the little coffee cafe at the entrance (I legally can't call it Starbucks even though it sells Starbucks coffee, go figure), but, coffee aside, it also sells a number of assorted pastries in the morning, like donuts and danishes.

Which brings me to point number two. I bought the cinnamon roll pictured above on an early Wednesday morning before class, and within an hour at least two people had asked me where I got it. It's a sweet way to begin your morning, cinnamon and cream cheese frosting rolled up into a bun that, I'm not joking, is nearly as big as your head. Seriously, I highly recommend you try it at least once. And on the weekends, you might even be able to get it fresh out of the pan!

Surprise #3: Bagel queen, carbs & cream cheese, only 17...

Just kidding, it's really only $1.50. But, in case the cinnamon roll is just a little too sweet for your taste, there's a tiny little cafe tucked away in the basement level of the Franz Hall, where you can find freshly toasted bagels on the daily. No wonder the building always smells so good!

What was actually really surprising to me was how long the lines are between classes, and how quickly they sell out. Though the cafe itself is open til 5 still serving coffee, by 10:30 or 11:00 in the morning there's usually not a single one left. So if you want one, you actually have to plan ahead.

Surprise #4: Magic bookcases.

Clark Library is pretty neat. I mean, it has study rooms, a digital lab, and, as I recently discovered, multiple electrical outlets if you know where to look ... which I didn't know for the first 2 weeks of school.

What is simultaneously one of the coolest and also the most intimidating things about Clark Library though would have to be its magical moving bookcases in the basement level quiet zone. Cool, because wow, it moves by itself at the press of a button, instantly unlocking an entire new set of shelves for you to pursue at your whim. Intimidating, because it's pretty much dead silent in the entire floor and the action of pressing a button and moving an entire bookcase just to access a book for your research paper can get pretty loud and you feel like everyone is looking at you and silently judging you and possibly on the verge of "shush"ing you if the moving bookcase gets any louder.

Anyway, both the exhilaration and apprehension of watching an entire section of the library move back and forth at your will — totally unexpected.

Surprise #5: I'm not bluffing.

In the words of the Mother from How I Met Your Mother, it's just "bonkers beautiful" out here. (Don't talk to me about the finale — I'm still not over it.)

Really, coming from Southern California, The Land Without Seasons, its hard to believe just how many trees there are here, so much green, so much life. That's why when you come across a view like this, taken right by the bluff near the Commons, you just got to take a step back and enjoy it.

The bluff overlooking the Willamette River is the reason why UP is called "the Bluff," but it wasn't until I was looking for a place to study that I realized just how open and spacious and pretty the view really was. You know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of the drop off from "Finding Nemo", the part where the world as you know it just kind of fades away and there's just this giant open space in the air for you to breathe and just admire.

It's also where your son gets kidnapped, spurring an impromptu road trip across the world that you undertake with a mentally handicapped woman you pick up on the way to find P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney.

But maybe "Finding Nemo" had it right. Or, rather, "Finding Dory," the part where Marlin asks, "For once, can't we just enjoy the view?"

When I came to college, I expected nonstop stimulation, friends, schoolwork, extracurricular activities. I expected to be writing home about all the amazing events I would attend, the exciting people I'd meet, the projects I'd be working on. So its been really kind of eye-opening to realize how it's the little things, like cinnamon rolls and magic bookcases that have been some of the tiniest yet most impacting surprises so far. After all, it's the small details that give our lives color.

While friends and schoolwork and events are definitely important (one of those events happening to be a Friday night campus showing of "Finding Dory"), I've found that sometimes it can be nice just to sit back, eat a bagel, and enjoy the view.