1) Altitude does affect your ability to run up and down 3 flights of stairs.
Maybe it's my lack of exercise back home at 60 ft. above sea level, however the altitude is pretty brutal. Living on the third floor of a building with no elevators would normally not be a big deal, but running up and down during move in, was basically like running 5k without actually running
2) The only "fun" part of moving in is the decorating. And getting to know your new neighbors.
Moving in is not fun but creating your dorm into a Martha Stewart catalog is a great rush of adrenaline… or something like that. Getting to know your neighbors is fun and important, having neighbors who are also your friends is incredibly important and makes the integration much easier.
3) Meeting people is exhausting.
It's important to get to know people and meet your peers, yet getting to actually know others is extremely tiring. The same questions, what's your name? What's your major? Where are you from? Gets a little bit redundant, but it's all part of the process.
4) Looking at the syllabus before going to class is more scary than anything...what did I sign myself up for...?
Before going to class, professors ask that you print the syllabus, and I made the choice (mistake?) to read over it...It was scary and only fueled my anxiety. After getting into class, I realized it was less than it seemed. But still a lot.
5) My feet hurt and my immune system sucks.
The campus is HUGE. I'm not used to walking around this much and the cafeteria food kills my immune system. On the second day I woke up sick, and I hope this isn't a sign of how this year is about to go.
6) It is completely okay to be weird.
I mean, we all are weird...to our own extent, it just happens to be some more than others. It's better to be weird and have a little laugh instead of just being boring.
7) Showering in communal showers is something out of a poorly-written horror movie.
My very first communal shower experience was at 3 am. I was the only one in the bathroom, and I was huddled away in the closed off, narrow shower. I knew that no one was in there, but I couldn't help but feel like there was someone or something in that bathroom that was going to get me as I blindly exited the shower. I was prepared for a impromptu self-defense karate-type-thing. Of course, I ended up being okay. But I think that fear will always be in the back of my mind.
8) A constant battle: Being hungry but not wanting to walk all the way to the cafeteria to get food.
Pretty Self explanatory. With the nearest cafeteria a brutal half-mile, away...it's a constant battle between my stomach and my poor, tired, legs.
9) Target saves lives.
Dorm snacks, school supplies, unnecessary items that you somehow justify needing, anything really. It does save lives.
10) Command strips sometimes fail...and it is terrifying seeing your hard work in decorating your dorm, shamble to nothing.
Though they are promising, Command strips don't always work as well as intended. And when they fail, it hurts more than you would think. It's like your whole aesthetic depends on Command strips.
11) It's a normal thing to just talk to random people as you pass by them.
How else would you meet people? A simple "Hey" can go a long way, and you might even make a new friend.
It has only been a week, and I can name a plethora of other things I've learned in the short amount of time I've been a first-year College student.
