Reflections on the college experience thus far

21 Sep 2009

It’s pretty different, to say the least. Living on my own poses some definite challenges. I have a nasty cold, and there is no one to bring me soup or tea. And I realized that I didn’t know where the Health Services building was. That’s no good. I had to go out and buy myself a thermometer and cough syrup. I mean, in normal life, these are just things that I expect to be there. But I guess someone had to buy them at some point. Which is an interesting thing to think about. At what point in your life, living on your own or with someone else, do you buy household things? Plates, Advil, soap, etc.? I guess I’m more self-sufficient now.

I’m swamped with work. And that’s even after I switched out of the basic freshmen Chem class down to an introductory one that is more appropriate to my level. I’m in a math class that’s intended more for math majors, so it’s very theoretical and proof-based. I like it, but it’s definitely my most difficult class.

I also don’t really like having huge lecture classes. There are so many people in them who have so many interesting things to say, but I don’t get to here most of them. It’s a bummer. It’s also demoralizing, and a hard thing to pay attention to first thing in the morning because of how impersonal it is.

I’m adjusting to the whole experience in some ways, but in others I think my Western-MA, small-homey-school mentality that I’ve been operating within my whole life is pretty deeply embedded in me. And I’m okay with that. I find myself feeling lost in such a huge place as this. Not to say that I don’t have friends or feel comfortable around people. I just don’t like not knowing everyone. It’s weird that I see people I don’t recognize every day. In my dorm, even. I feel like if you live in the same building as people, you should know them. It’s weird.

I’m definitely learning a lot. I do have one class that’s a small seminar, on Talmud, which is great. I mean, all of my classes are, but this one’s just very personal, and the other people in it are really smart and talkative. We’re going to cover various aspects of the Talmud, including historical background and context, legality, morality, ethics, and others.

Also, I am swing dancing weekly.

It’s going to be a good four years. Tiring, but good.