The time is 7:45 am. The iPhone alarm rings, it's that birdsong that repeats over and over giving you an irrational hatred of birds. I hit snooze, of course, and nine minutes later, the birds are back. I hit snooze again once more, for good measure. By the third encore, I am awake, sort of, and I drag my body out of bed and into the bathroom. Here I dress to go to the gym and curse my digital scale which shows no indication of improvement my daily gym torture. I grab my headphones and head downstairs. My hair is a mess, there is still that gross crud in the crevices of my eyes, and my gym clothes are in no way fashionable. I am in a large t-shirt and shorts. Fabulous.
I get to the first-floor gym to discover that someone is using the recumbent bike -- MY recumbent bike. I am not athletic; I don't run, lift, play sports, or do burpees. I bike on the recumbent bike that is unspokenly mine, every single day. It is too late to turn around and leave -- I'm at the gym, I'm committed. I head to the dreaded treadmill instead, and I manage to figure out how to walk on the rotating belt without falling off and feel pretty good about myself -- that is until I step off and feel like I have powered into hyperdrive. Walking on solid ground after using a treadmill is an unusual worldly experience. Steps that normally take you a few feet are taking you yards upon yards. I leave the gym, inwardly scowling at the girl who happily spins the pedals of my recumbent bike as my legs take me out of the room with a mind of their own. In what seems like seconds I am back in my dorm room, trying to recover.
I get cleaned up and dressed into my typical outfit: jeans and a sweater, despite the 90 degree forecast. I dress like I am headed into the tundra because I am; the tundra representing the classrooms of course, which generally average freezing 20 degrees. I hoist my 40-pound backpack onto my shoulder and head out the door, sticking my headphones in my ears, avoid any conversation with an optimistic, chatty freshman in the elevator.
As I bike to class, Jouney's Don't Stop Believin' blasts in my ears. I get to class and sit down in my unassigned seat that I have sat in since the begining of the semester. I pull out my laptop which reads 30% power in the top righthand corner -- I sigh because I'll be lucky if the charge lasts through this class period. The professor begins as my hands begin to freeze -- that hypothermia I was talking about earlier sets in. This is the end. I try to pay attention while simultaneously rubbing my hands together, scarfing down a granola bar that I brought with me as breakfast -- the iconic Nature Valley crumbs nicely accessorize my outfit.
My other classes of the day are no more exciting than the first; they're all the same. The same three students answer all the questions as the professor flips through slides rapidly, as the rest of us hope our photographic memory kicks in and stores all of the information instantly in our robot storage files -- beep. beep. I leave class, having little more understanding of the material than before, and head to the Student Union for dinner.
Hesitantly, I stand in line forever. I once again resort to my headphones in a desperate attempt to avoid conversation with anyone. But to no avail, a girl I met last year spots me and smiles. I smile back and feel compelled to take my headphones out and talk to her: "How are you? Good. How's this year going? Good." Then we both awkwardly stare at our shoes. I knew I shouldn't have left my room this morning, as I am regretting all my life decisions -- help. I wait through the rest of the line without my headphones in, so I'm not rude. I aimlessly look at things around me, trying to find something to talk about -- nothing. I finally escape with my burrito bowl and head back to my room.
I spend the remainder of my night switching screens between my Word Doc with my homework assignment and Netflix with Grey's Anatomy. My mind is a blur of marketing strategies, reading assignments, and Merideth Grey's love life -- all equally important..
The time is 1:00 am -- Bedtime, finally!
As I drift off to sleep, I thank God for my life in college -- from the gym to the cold classrooms. I thank Him for the friends I get to run into, despite the awkwardness, and the ability to get an education in college. With all the up's and down's that college has, it is truly a blessing. My take on college life may be a little sarcastic and perhaps pessimistic, but that is not the whole story. Even on the days when we feel cynical, God is still working.
