Adventure 4 - Questioning Faith

Also, how I consistently become the odd man out in my Spanish class.

Our class is conversational, so usually our professor doesn't really say much, other than to keep the discussion going, but today he started a discussion about faith and the effect that it has on someone's life. He'd recently lost his brother, plus his wife is expecting and his mother is moving in from Spain, so he talked about how faith has kept him together through all the emotional wear-and-tear, and how it's sad when someone doesn't have anything or anyone to believe in. Naturally, he mentioned religion specifically, and he didn't necessarily throw atheists and other nonbelievers under the proverbial bus, but he did question how someone can use science to justify everything, and he got a general survey of beliefs in deities from the class.

Now, as an equal-opportunity heathen, which is the term I prefer because it has a nicer connotation than "atheist," I didn't necessarily feel targeted by the discussion, but I also knew I was the only one on the non-god-believing side. In horribly broken Spanish, I explained that even though atheists don't believe in a god, they do believe in other things (like food and baseball, but I didn't say that), so it's not like we're poor, hopeless souls with nothing to look up to. I also brought up that not all things can be explained scientifically, and that some things just have to be left to chance. Knowing that I'm a journalismly/sciencely-inclined person, my professor gave me a few examples of books/articles/whathaveyou that... well, not necessarily prove the existence of a divine being, but highly suggest it, though it was hard to tell at that point if he was playing devil's advocate or honestly trying to figure out how/why I think how/why I do.

Naturally, I then proceeded to make myself look like even more of a teenage hooligan when our professor asked us what our presentations were about, since we didn't have time to present them. Most of the topics were important, serious things, like stereotypes in Latin America or the effect that the US has on the culture of other countries. Mine was about all the creative ways that Cubans use condoms. (I kid you not, it was a legit story.)

I personally don't mind discussions that question what you feel. If you can withstand the opposition and support your case, you know that your beliefs are genuine and strong and that you're doing the right thing for you; even if you don't, it gives you an opportunity to rethink things, and worst case scenario, you learn something about yourself and can make positive change.

I also sat on this idea for a good portion of today, and with all the minor existential crises I've had over the past year or so, it gave me yet another opportunity to rethink my life and if what I'm doing is the right thing. Thinking about college has done that a lot: I question if I'm in the right major, minor, even school, and I can't help but feel sometimes that I've messed up somewhere. Academically hasn't been so much of a problem because I'm a horribly compulsive plan-aheader (planner-ahead? Planner-aheader?), so I know that by the time I leave here in (I hope) four years, I'll have a solid foundation and the ability to launch myself into the real world. What worries me is my lack of social abilities. I wasn't exactly a social butterfly in high school, but I knew a lot of people and I was comfortable. With college, my non-partying preference seems to put me in either my friends' rooms or alone on the weekends, and I'm only just barely starting to make friends beyond people I met and hung out with at orientation. I don't want to have to become an inebriated baboon to make friends (nor do I want friends that become inebriated baboons, it works both ways). I don't want to have to join seventy different clubs and meet a bunch of people but end up sacrificing my academics or my sleep. And as much as I love the fact that the wifi is significantly better on Friday and Saturday nights when no one else is around to use it, I don't want to be in quarantine for the rest of my college career. I want people to take me for who I am. The task now is finding those people.

Adventure 3 - Paying the Bills

This (well, part of it) is a little overdue, sorry.

Because of financial aid and whatnot, I got a federal work-study so I can earn some money for school while in school. My original job is the stereotypical freshman job of working the dining hall, and I also have the opportunity to get paid to volunteer for a local organization through the community service program at school. Sounds like a pretty good gig, right?

Of course, it's never that easy. During the few days before classes started, there were various info sessions to attend, one of them being the one where you fill out your working papers and stuff. Fine, no problem, I've done it before. Problem is, I realize that, in my utter brilliance, I left my Social Security card in my file o' important stuff at home, and it's a 6-hour drive. They won't let me fill out the form without it (not even a faxed copy), so my mom overnights it as soon as I get home, supposed to get there the first day of classes, which, conveniently, is also the next info session. That day comes, no mail. I have to reschedule again, I get it the next day, go to the info sessions, life is good.

First day of my dining hall work is... well, it's a dining hall. My job was to clean tables. Not a very glamorous job, but I'm sure it could be worse. And we found a baby mouse after work on the loading dock, so I picked him up with my ID and put him over in a little grassy area so he wouldn't get stepped on or run over.

For the community service thing, I had contacted the local science museum thingy over Labor Day weekend, they sent me an app that I filled out, and my interview was today at 3:30. But again, it's not that easy. With the bus and walking, I was going to get there at 3:30, maybe a minute or two early. Then the bus was a minute or two late, and I had the misfortune of finding out that what Google Maps called a 4-minute walk actually took 14. Asthmatic, stubby-legged me made it to the place at least 10 minutes late, which I thought would ruin me, but since they're always looking for volunteers (plus they know how unreliable the bus can be), they took me anyway. That one will be sporadic, mostly working hours during the week when I don't have classes.

Plus there's that student group I joined that partners with a local organization that raises service dogs and uses students as puppysitters, but I haven't heard anything from them yet. Which is unfortunate.

Adventure 2 - The Field Trip

Technically it was my second field trip (last Friday, I took the bus to Walmart to buy some binders and stuff and it took me two and a half hours to get there and back), but today was my first walking field trip. The guys needed to stock up on arms for the Humans Vs. Zombies round that starts tomorrow, and I needed some milk, so we decided to take the bus to where we'd have to transfer and then just walk the rest of the way. It was a nice walk, about 3 miles round trip, so I also felt good knowing I got some exercise.

And then we had to stop at the local waffle place and get waffles with bacon and eggs. It was really strange, we all ordered the same thing without planning to. I had a bit of a blah stomach this morning, plus I woke up really late (between having gone to bed so late and the sick stomach), so I didn't eat breakfast anyway, but I'm sure I could've gone with a slightly healthier meal. But oh man was it worth it. It's crazy how something as simple as a plain waffle, two fried eggs and two pieces of bacon can taste so good.

The city (which really doesn't count as a legit city since it's the smallest in the state) isn't really much to see, but I wouldn't mind walking around more to see what's around. But for now, I have a Spanish presentation to prepare.

Adventure 1 - Adjusting to the Surroundings

Per request, I took some pictures every day of just random stuff around campus that I found interesting.

And I am going to be 100% honest and say that the formatting and graphics of the video were preset on my Mac. All I did was take the pictures.

(retroactive) Adventure xi - Love is a Battlefield

I promise, no more 80s music references for a while.

I'll make this post short because even thinking about it makes me mad, but it certainly qualifies as an adventure.

As a little bit of background, my boyfriend and I have been dating for 2 years and 5 months this Saturday. It's been a very atypical relationship to say the least, but it has worked out for the most part. A few months back, we started talking about what'll happen in college, since we'll be 6 hours apart, and we decided on an open relationship; that way, we could still stay together, but if one or both of us find someone else, it's not the end of the world. The idea took some getting used to, but I think I got to the point where I could handle it.

And then he has the balls to say, with 6 weeks left in the summer, that he wants to date one of our mutual friends also. Needless to say I did not take this well.

Long story short, we're still together but I'm not exactly friends with the other girl much anymore. Something about hearing your friend talk about baserunning (if you're familiar with the base system metaphor) with your boyfriend, especially when they got as far in those 6 weeks as we had in the entire relationship, just didn't sit right with me. I guess I'm just too attached, but we've done a lot together and it hurt to know that he was doing and enjoying stuff with someone else, possibly even more than what I had to offer.

What I learned from this: I sure as hell am not doing that again.

And we are here!

Ok so moving in should be considered its own adventure, since we had to do it a day early due to the mess of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene, but overall, it really wasn't that hard. My biggest problem was finding my phone charger this morning, since my last-minute things weren't packed logically like everything else and my phone decided to die last night.

So... on with the show!

Adventure x - Getting Old

I don't really feel old. Granted, I got up about 15 minutes ago, and I don't actually turn 18 til this afternoon, but birthdays have always been as surreal for me as graduation did, and as going to college is right now. And so far, the only perks I can think of are being able to get my own Google+ account (which, of course, is still in the trial period so they won't let me sign up anyway), and buy spray paint if I need it for something.

So instead I get to paint t-shirts, make myself a Nutella and strawberry waffle sandwich (always wanted to try), and run around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make my rounds before I leave this weekend.