I'm kind of ticked right now, because I just had this pretty awesome intro all lined up about all of my activities, my first couple weeks, and all that jazz, but I was typing so fast I hit the key combination to move the browser back a page and it cleared out aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall that I wrote... for the past HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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Welcome to college life.
My first couple weeks have been bumpy. It's definitely a different dynamic, going from, for me, the same people I've gone to school with for the last 13 years to a bunch of complete strangers. Now by college standards, Albright's a small school (circa 1600 people, I'd guess) but I came from a graduating high school class of 140, so it's a big difference for me. I'm absolutely loving it, though. Albright was my first choice, and I'm glad that I made it. I'm just going to take a moment to toot the Albright horn, b/c, to be honest, that's kinda the point of an Albright blog, but I'm gonna keep it real for you. I'm not getting paid to say flowery stuff about how everything "tastes betta w/ that Albright flava," although I should totally put that on a t-shirt! I just want you prospectives to get my feel of Albright and see if it's right for you, b/c I'll tell you right off, if you're gonna be a mopey such-and-such who just wants to pick fights and disrupt the family vibe Albright has, then it really would be best if you expanded your college search options. That's what led me to Albright. The second I stepped foot on campus for an open-house, I felt like I could live there. Campus is gorgeous, but that wasn't it. It was just this aire about the place, like everyone knows you already and respects who you are, even if they're different, which they most definitely are. I mean, yeah, you tend to stay w/ the people in your dorm or the ones you have class w/, but I'm meeting new people every day who I find have something new to bring to my college experience. You're not a number at Albright, you're a real person. Your opinions and insights are a valued asset to the school, that's why they accepted you. Now, I'm a rather outgoing person. I'm involved in almost every club on campus and my schedule, with study, homework, eating, sleeping, and a healthy amount of social is rather booked solid. I'll just give you a feel for the variety of activities you can find time for on campus: I'm currently involved in Concert choir, chamber choir, Mane men (men's a cappella group), concert band (tuba!!), athletic band, volunteer my time to the Domino Players theater group (domino as in the stage mask not the little tiles), Ballroom dancing club, Xion step/dance team, ACF (Albright Christian Fellowship), and I'm a future POP (peer orientation person whom you'll meet a bunch of at orientation, go figure...) And that's not all, he slices, he dices, he makes julienned frys... just playin'. But that's actually not all! I there's anything on campus that's scheduled meeting time conflicts w/ something else, you can still offer to give them a hand w/ whatever they need. That's the beauty of it! You can get involved on so many different levels. But don't let my schedule scare you. I'm a trained insane-amount-of-activities-to-manage specialist. I've been doing it for years. But I guarantee you'll find a lot of things you want to get involved w/ here at Albright, just make sure you can manage your time effectively and "Don't spread yourself too thin!" That's a quote from my darling mother who's a trained specialist at giving-a-hard-time-to-the-son-who-likes-to-spread-himself-too-thin. But even w/ my hectic schedule I still have time to have fun. That's why I love this place soooo much! Even classes are fun! (I know, take a minute to let THAT one sink in) I'm not even that big of a nerd or anything, but I really love all of my classes and my teachers (of course... b/c they hold the grade book:) Seriously, though, I really am having the time of my life.
The biggest difference btwn college and high school, aside from the awesome attitudes of all the people around you who actually have goals and aspiritions, unlike high school, and want to be here, is the scheduling. You don't have classes from 8-3 then a few hours of homework and whatever practices you may have. My schedule, for instance, is pretty packed Mon. and Wed., but I only have a class and a lab on Tues., Wed. evenings pretty open, and a whole slew of time after my lab on Thurs., but I have to take the incentive to get my work done in my free time. Teachers kind of don't check homework or anything like that in college, typically, but if you start to fall behind in their class and go to them for a break after you've slacked off all year, don't expect any sympathy from them! Yes, you have more homework, but you also have more time to get it done. If you can, cut out the TV thing, b/c you don't really have the time to waste just sitting around. I mean, if you're one of those people who needs the background noise, whatever, but you don't wanna lose sight of your goals. It's a pretty on-the-go lifestyle, w/ meetings and studies and, of course, PARTIES!!! But I hate to burst your bubble... I can't speak for all colleges, but Albright is definitely no Animal House! The parties here are more like just chill get-togethers where everybody dances and talks and such. It's a totally different dynamic from high school. The learned discussion that you will have here is the kind of stuff that you'd expect world-changers to sit around the water-cooler mulling over. It's really indicative of the level of performance that is expected, at least, at Albright. Right now, however, I must get back to work, before you get here and don't see me b/c I've flunked out. It's been nice chatting with you, and if I can help you w/ ANYTHING don't hesitate to comment this blog. I'll holla back soon, my friends.
BTW: I plan on leaving a special bible verse at the end of each blog session. This one comes from a church service at St. Peter's Lutheran back home last Sunday. It just spoke to me about getting out there and getting active, and I just figured that prospectives could learn a little something from it:
"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,' and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."
(James 2:14-17 from the New Revised Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States.)