While all Freshmen at OU are required to live in the campus dormitories their first year, many students choose to move into off-campus housing after completing this requirement. A small number choose to remain living in the dorms; a few become Resident Advisors in order to reap the benefits and fulfill a desire to leave a larger impact on incoming classes.
With the financial weight of my college education being nearly exclusively on my shoulders, I made the decision halfway through my Freshman year to enroll in the R.A. Training class in order to become "certified" to apply to be a Resident Advisor, and fulfill both of the aforementioned goals of this position. After taking the class, interviewing, and being offered a job, an application for a similar position at Sooner Housing Center (commonly known as "the athletic dorms") was accepted and I decided to take the job there.
So after two years of living in dorms, and having considerably different experiences both years, here is a list of things that were not the best about living in the dorms, and I will not be sad to leave behind.
12) Flights of stairs.
11) Paper thin walls which make it possible for EVERYTHING to be heard.
10) Food produced in bulk. Aka cafeteria food. 'Nuff said.
9) Fire drills. Also, fire alarms set off by overcooked popcorn, or (actual scenario) overcooked brownie.
8) Having to use a swipe card to swipe in.
7) Having to use a swipe card to swipe out.
6) Being locked in your building because you can't find your stupid swipe card you need to swipe out when you're already running late for class.
5) Fighting for parking spots in parking lots that are still considerably far away from your door.
4) Having a room so small that one item on the floor makes the whole room look like a disaster.
3) Being advised to lock your bedroom door because your hallmates might steal from you.
2) Showers with only two possible settings: a showerhead with no water pressure that is a comfortable temperature, or a showerhead with adequate water pressure that scalds you.
1) Wearing shoes in the shower.
Freshman year was a great experience. I loved my room, my roommate, my friends, the thrill of everything unknown about college life that I was getting able to discover.
But living in the dorms a second time has felt like being a freshman again, only lacking the things that made it great.
Living in a dorm room by yourself sounds like it could be fun, but it's amazing how you can live on a floor with 30 other girls and still "live" completely alone.
Yes, dormitories, you have been okay. I am pretty ready to bid you a not-so-tearful goodbye.
2009/05/09
Dread and Delight are Friends
Today is May the 9th.
We have only one week of school remaining.
For the last several weeks I have been anticipating the glorious moment when I will step out of my last final exam and breathe that welcome sigh of relief we are all so happily familiar with. My classes this semester have been sub par, and as far as course material is concerned, I've been fairly unimpressed, and am happy to move on to bigger and better things (famous last words...).
However, these feelings of blithe anticipation have been simultaneously tainted by a subtle sense of uncertainty and borderline dread. This dread has showed its ugly head in reminding me that in the next two weeks, the people I spend daily time with will be out of my life for nearly three months.
Last summer, I spent time in Tulsa. I was eager to return home after my first year at school in order to revive relationships from high school that had been neglected while I was away, and spend some time with my family and others in town whom I had missed. What I found was that my friends from high school were either spending the summer out of town or had made other friends or other plans and were no longer around. My friends from college were at various places, namely, Camp Wabanna and Norman, and my family had a life that existed independently of mine that they were all busy keeping up.
Last summer, I was exceedingly lonely about 90% of the time.
After spending a semester in pretty nearly daily fellowship and community with friends who love and support me so faithfully, I am feeling that a summer under similar circumstances as last year will be even more painfully lonesome. While I will have some friends in town (Justin, I have not forgotten you) I am not ignorant of the fact that many of my closest friends will be away, and that even Justin and I will have some trouble finding things to keep us entertained all summer.
So what do I do? Do I get two jobs and work 60 hours a week? Do I make an effort to make friends with people I know I will not be around in 3 months?
Just smile all the time--that's How to fight Loneliness.
So, as I take my exams, I am torn between my desire to be delighted to be finished with French and five hour classes, and the desire to slow down time so that things I love can stay as they are.
I have a lot to look forward to post-summer that is exciting to think about. I do not usually warm up to change immediately, but I know that I will adapt. And life will be fine. And God will still be God, and will still be good. My friends will still be my friends. Summer has the potential to teach me a lot.
My summer project is to make my blog posts shorter.
We have only one week of school remaining.
For the last several weeks I have been anticipating the glorious moment when I will step out of my last final exam and breathe that welcome sigh of relief we are all so happily familiar with. My classes this semester have been sub par, and as far as course material is concerned, I've been fairly unimpressed, and am happy to move on to bigger and better things (famous last words...).
However, these feelings of blithe anticipation have been simultaneously tainted by a subtle sense of uncertainty and borderline dread. This dread has showed its ugly head in reminding me that in the next two weeks, the people I spend daily time with will be out of my life for nearly three months.
Last summer, I spent time in Tulsa. I was eager to return home after my first year at school in order to revive relationships from high school that had been neglected while I was away, and spend some time with my family and others in town whom I had missed. What I found was that my friends from high school were either spending the summer out of town or had made other friends or other plans and were no longer around. My friends from college were at various places, namely, Camp Wabanna and Norman, and my family had a life that existed independently of mine that they were all busy keeping up.
Last summer, I was exceedingly lonely about 90% of the time.
After spending a semester in pretty nearly daily fellowship and community with friends who love and support me so faithfully, I am feeling that a summer under similar circumstances as last year will be even more painfully lonesome. While I will have some friends in town (Justin, I have not forgotten you) I am not ignorant of the fact that many of my closest friends will be away, and that even Justin and I will have some trouble finding things to keep us entertained all summer.
So what do I do? Do I get two jobs and work 60 hours a week? Do I make an effort to make friends with people I know I will not be around in 3 months?
Just smile all the time--that's How to fight Loneliness.
So, as I take my exams, I am torn between my desire to be delighted to be finished with French and five hour classes, and the desire to slow down time so that things I love can stay as they are.
I have a lot to look forward to post-summer that is exciting to think about. I do not usually warm up to change immediately, but I know that I will adapt. And life will be fine. And God will still be God, and will still be good. My friends will still be my friends. Summer has the potential to teach me a lot.
My summer project is to make my blog posts shorter.
2009/05/03
J'ai lu, Avril 2009
Well, it finally happened. My laziness got the best of me and I did not even get close to meeting my goal this month. However, I'm still feeling pretty confident in myself and have not begun questioning my identity, so I think we will survive this. I'll try to redeem myself by reading extra in May. We'll see if that happens.
**Side Note: I would like to say that I think a large portion of my April reading time was transferred into time spent with my friends (you know who you are). I am very comfortable with this trade off.**
The Glass Castle (Walls) – A memoir of the author’s childhood and her family’s interactions as they lived a life you can hardly believe is true. It is not an exaggeration to say they put the “fun” in dysfunctional. A truly unbelievable but powerful perspective on a lifestyle that will make you thankful for the normality you enjoy. (9)
Ultimate Punishment (Turow) – My criminal justice class encouraged us to read this. A lawyer takes an in-depth look into the death penalty controversy and especially the role it has played in the state of Illinois. He deals with the question, “Is the risk of sending an innocent man to his death worth the benefit of killing a guilty criminal?” Interesting and thought provoking. (7)
Concise Theology (Packer) – I know we studied this in Relish this semester together, but seeing as we finished it this month, it makes it on the April list. My opinion of Packer was positive, but I wish the book had been laid out differently. Packer goes surface level on a lot of different topics. I wish he had gone deeper on not as many topics. As it is, Packer gives you a taste of many different issues of Systematic Theology, and leaves it up to you to investigate those issues further. (6)
I've got some great stuff in my stack for this month, so start looking forward to May reviews.
Currently obsessed with: Gmail and Edith Piaf.
This month in music I like Sherree Chamberlain, some of the new Gavin Degraw album, and classic favorites like Patty Griffin, Damien Rice, and John Mayer.
The Katie Tracy Band saw a fancy lot of showtime this month. As a principal member is graduating, watch for the Band to be evolving in the next few months. Get your autographs now...
**Side Note: I would like to say that I think a large portion of my April reading time was transferred into time spent with my friends (you know who you are). I am very comfortable with this trade off.**
The Glass Castle (Walls) – A memoir of the author’s childhood and her family’s interactions as they lived a life you can hardly believe is true. It is not an exaggeration to say they put the “fun” in dysfunctional. A truly unbelievable but powerful perspective on a lifestyle that will make you thankful for the normality you enjoy. (9)
Ultimate Punishment (Turow) – My criminal justice class encouraged us to read this. A lawyer takes an in-depth look into the death penalty controversy and especially the role it has played in the state of Illinois. He deals with the question, “Is the risk of sending an innocent man to his death worth the benefit of killing a guilty criminal?” Interesting and thought provoking. (7)
Concise Theology (Packer) – I know we studied this in Relish this semester together, but seeing as we finished it this month, it makes it on the April list. My opinion of Packer was positive, but I wish the book had been laid out differently. Packer goes surface level on a lot of different topics. I wish he had gone deeper on not as many topics. As it is, Packer gives you a taste of many different issues of Systematic Theology, and leaves it up to you to investigate those issues further. (6)I've got some great stuff in my stack for this month, so start looking forward to May reviews.
Currently obsessed with: Gmail and Edith Piaf.
This month in music I like Sherree Chamberlain, some of the new Gavin Degraw album, and classic favorites like Patty Griffin, Damien Rice, and John Mayer.
The Katie Tracy Band saw a fancy lot of showtime this month. As a principal member is graduating, watch for the Band to be evolving in the next few months. Get your autographs now...
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