I haven’t really used my tumblr all that much. However, now that I’m a “responsible” college student (it still feels weird to say that), I think that I should document my adventures here at UCLA. Of course, this probably means I’ll keep it up for a week and then stop posting after that when midterms roll around. We’ll see what happens.
So here goes.
Things I’ve learned so far:
1) You can get used to anything.
No seriously. Even living in an eight by ten rectangle with two other people. Or using the sketch shower stalls/communal changing area. Or seeing urinals in the girls’ restroom. You get the point.
2) The whole “you can get anywhere on campus in 10 minutes” thing is a total lie.
People should really stop saying that UCLA is the smallest UC campus. Sure that might be true, but it is definitely the most “textured” (aka HILLY). Which means that 8am classes are not really 8am classes, they are more like.. 7:40am classes. Unless you like sprinting uphill to class in the morning. And I can’t really complain. Because I live at the bottom of the hill. Life must suck for those on top of the hill. That’s all I can say.
3) “Fellowshopping” could be a full time profession.
No joke. There are about…twentyish fellowships here at UCLA. And most of those fellowships have multiple events during the week. Do the math. If you want to check out, let’s say, half of them, chances are.. you’ll be at a fellowship every night. Don’t even think about visiting all of them. And when you’re not attending a fellowship, you’re trying to figure out which fellowship you think you want to be a part of. Or you’re trying to devise a plan to hit both Cru and AACF in one night. Or you’re reading emails and fielding phone calls about some new fellowship event. Very tiring.
4) College automatically transforms you into an extremely cheap, broke student. Regardless of how much money you have.
Something weird happens when you go to college. You stop wanting to spend money. You especially despise spending money on food.. Because hello. You have swipes. And spending $20 on kbbq seems like a small fortune… Even though you got kbbq all the time during the summer. Yeah. It’s strange.
5) Elevators are scary.
At least the Dykstra elevators are. But I guess it’s an adventure. You never really know where you’re going to end up when you get in! One time I was fortunate enough to get into the 7th floor elevator with the intention of going to the 2nd floor… only to go down to the super scary basement, then back up to the 10th floor (where no one got on) then to the 6th floor (again, no one got on) before finally reaching my destination. See what i mean? Of course, this also makes for some good conversation in the elevators, instead of the incredibly awkward silent elevator ride common to other dorms.
6) Phone usage increases exponentially.
Phone = essential. And, in all honestly, I barely used my phone when I was in high school. I left it at home all the time. Now, it’s seriously a crime if you don’t take your phone with you wherever you go. Forget about it for like five minutes and BAM 4 new messages. It’s like magic.
7) Having a good meal plan wins you some upperclassmen friends and some weekend visitors.
Maybe friends isn’t the best word if they’re just using you. I can’t say I blame them. The food is really good. Also, you stop liking fried foods and soda after about a week when you realize that they’re not all that good when you can have as much as you want.
8) You should get your name, major, and dorm tattooed on your forehead.
Then maybe you would be slightly more creative when introducing yourself to other people. I’m actually really curious to see what people would start asking each other if these three default icebreakers weren’t options…
9) You realize who your true friends back home are.
Because these are the people that you still stay in contact with when you’re in school. I actually think I got closer to some of my friends from home after I moved here. Because now we have a reason to text, call, or videochat with each other every day.
10) You find out who you really are.
The amount of freedom you have is scary. You don’t have anyone telling you what to do, nor do you have anyone keeping you from making bad decisions. Now, it’s all on you. You quickly begin to see what type of person you are without your parents watching your every move. And slowly, you begin to see if you’re really as strong or straight-edge as you thought you were.
