In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been active on social networks as much as usual over the past month. This has been for a variety of reasons. The most prominent one being that I started college. If I'm being completely honest, the real reason I was MIA is because I hated college. It was such an adjustment! EVERYTHING was different. I am used to being on the same campus for pre-k 4 through 12th grade, to seeing (mostly) the same familiar faces every day, to knowing all of the faculty and stuff, knowing where to park my car, and most of all just being comfortable. College holds none of those qualities for me.
The University of Utah is a beautiful campus, but it is also huge. It is comprised of over 1,500 acres. It is, to say the least, intimidating. I am living at home which is 20 miles away from school, therefore I have two options for transportation. I can drive myself, purchase a parking pass and fight for parking. Or I can take public transportation for free using my student id card and make the trip last doubly as long as it would driving. Neither is preferable. I know because I tried both. I really dislike taking trax (Utah's public transportation) because it takes so long, is very crowded, and I have to walk a long ways from campus to the stations. This does't mean I like driving up there though. I never know when I am going to run into traffic, I have to pay for a parking pass, and parking is a joke. Recently I have been parking in paid lots because they are so much closer to my classes. It is about $8 a day but it's worth it to me.
As you can tell, just getting myself up to campus is a joke in itself. This is why my first few weeks were such a struggle for me. I was discouraged to even get in the car to drive for 35-40 minutes to go to two or three classes a day. My classes were pre-determined for me because I am enrolled in a special program through the school that is designed to get general education requirements fulfilled in one year instead of two. This is great in the long run, but no fun right now. I am enrolled in 15 credit hours. I take three classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10:45-1:45. Then I take two classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays lasting from 12:25-3:20. This means I am only on campus for about three hours a day, but add at least 40 minutes to and from home and I am gone for about 5 hours a day. I struggled really hard to motivate myself to go to school every day. I wake up at 7 am everyday so by the time I should be leaving for school, I want to just stay home. If I would have scheduled my own courses, I would have done some online so I didn't have to go to campus every day, and the ones on campus I would have scheduled for earlier in the morning since I am awake anyways. But, oh well. Basically, I was stressing all the time. I honestly wanted to drop out. I know it sounds like I'm overreacting but I seriously hated it that much. Of course I would never drop out. It just seemed like too much to handle at first.
I am just really glad that I stuck it out. Finally, this past week I have really started to appreciate college life. College is great because it holds so much opportunity. I look around campus and see future doctors, lawyers, businessmen, artists, actors, dancers, social workers, athletes, teachers, engineers, computer programmers, politicians...you get the point. People shape their futures on college campuses. I am just starting to grow accustomed to this. I am happy to say that I am finally starting to figure out how to balance college and life. So, bear with me. I may not be as active on social networks as I sometimes am, but it is for good reason I can assure you. Now stay tuned for pictures and details of Henry's birthday party!
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