Oh my gosh. Here it is. The day I have been dreading/anticipating since I signed up for it...Springboard at SIUE. I so did not want to be here! I woke up this morning thinking that it would be the worst thing ever and that I would feel super awkward and weird. But I got here and I think everyone sort of feels that way. The first thirty minutes or so really were kind of awkward because I didn't know anyone except for ONE person that went to my high school. But once we were divided up into our groups it got a lot less awkward. Everyone feels awkward and uncomfortable at first, and I guess that's totally normal. As soon as things got more personal in our smaller groups, I think everyone felt more comfortable. I know I did.
So after getting to know the girls in my group I felt a lot better and I even started to enjoy myself. College is going to be this new, exciting thing and I can't wait. Then again, I felt so secure in high school that it's scary to leave. Some people say high school were the worst years of their lives, but I have to disagree. High school was amazing for me. But I hope college will be even better. I think it could be, if I let myself have a little fun. But not too much fun. Because if I fail out of college, it will not be good. Like, I would probably end up homeless, living under a bridge somewhere. Eek.
Okay, so moving on. After my delightful drive from Springfield to Edwardsville, I arrived on campus. After I finally found my designated parking lot, I made the longgg trek from the parking lot into the dorm. Okay, it wasn't really that long of a walk, but still. Then I found my room and it was empty. Awkward. I was hoping my roommate would get there before me. Oh well. I started to unpack and yay, my roommate came in! I was no longer alone. So she was the first person I talked to and this was when I started to feel a little more optimistic about this whole thing.
When we were all done getting settled in our rooms, we headed back downstairs. And then all the awkwardness that had been diffused by meeting one person was back with a vengeance, because surprise, here's a butt-ton of MORE people you don't know, and you have to wait with them in this tiny room until things get going. I sat down in a chair and looked around, realizing that although there were plenty of people mingling and initiating conversation, there were also a lot of people who were quiet and who looked about as nervous as felt. Which, if you haven't figured it out, was really, really nervous. So I turned to the person next to me and said hi. She said hi back. Predictable, right? I guess college is my opportunity to he out of my comfort zone, and I need to seize the moment. Her name was Sarah, and she was nice. I think we both felt more comfortable after that.
And then we broke up into our groups. After a little get to know you game that involved bumping butts, we were paired up with another person to talk to while we walked from the dorm to the University Center (MUC). I was paired up with Emily, and we found out that we went to high school reallyyy close to each other and we know some of the same people. By the time we reached MUC and started to talk about what we learned about our partner, I felt good about the whole thing. I'm not the only person who doesn't have any friends here or anyone I know here. Part of college is meeting new people and experiencing new things, so I need to start doing that now. School starts in two months, so I have a little time to prepare.
The schedule for today is pretty much just a long talk from different people working at SIUE telling us some of the fine print. This does not interest me.
What I'm looking forward to most is planning my schedule, and that's not until tomorrow.
So that's when you'll hear from me again.
Xoxo Bailey
