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by Jennifer Bowman
I was told that college would be a life-changing experience, and I'd have to learn to be a part of the real world before I could succeed in it. As of yet, I think that the infamous "they" were wrong.
I live on campus at Lee University in the quaint little dorm of Tharp Hall. I live in a ridiculously small space, smaller than my room at home, and I share said space with one of my best friends.
There are two major no-nos in that last paragraph. One, I have been told that to live on-campus when your parents live in town is ridiculous and a waste of money. Maybe so, but since I got a scholarship, I figured I'd have to make my parents feel SOME burden for sending me off to college. Secondly, it is apparently a huge error to room with someone you're already close to, especially if you've known each other for seven years.
But my roommate, Stephanie Summers, and I get along marvelously. Perhaps it is because we are almost polar opposites, like "The Odd Couple." I have no problem killing bugs, which she is deathly afraid of, and she enjoys a clean, germ-free room, which I find incomprehensible and ridiculous. But we find ourselves compromising over and over again: if I kill the spiders that find themselves lost in our room, she vacuums the room. It's a fine partnership, in so many ways, and I know we will manage to make it through the rest of the year.
Then there's the prospect of living on-campus in the first place. There's nothing like waking up at 9:50 and making it to your 10:00 class on time, then taking a nap immediately afterwards, and waking up at 12:50 - just in time for your 1:00 class. Sleep comes in radical spurts, and food consists of Pizza Hut cheese sticks, water, and a stolen banana from the cafeteria, if you're trying to be healthy.
Being a "Cleveland family" at Lee is always interesting, too. You will meet up with someone you've known since birth, and give a simple wave. I like to drop my grandfather's name whenever some guy mentions living in O'Bannon. "That's named after my grandfather," I say. The response is usually "Oh, okay." They probably assume that I'm bragging. Even if I am, it's still pretty interesting. Five granddaughters and a boy's dorm named after you. Nothing's better than that.
One of my friends, who lives in Michigan, mentioned that when she went home this fall break, it wasn't the same. She said that it wasn't the same - that Lee was her home now.
I certainly do not have that feeling. I see or talk to at least one of my parents everyday. They've kicked me out of their (my) house on several occasions, screaming, "We can't miss you if you don't go away!" Even though my dad, on several occasions, has in secret, asked me to move back in. The cat misses me, he explains. Yeah right, dad. The cat.
So while I may not be having the full college experience, so far, it's been an interesting journey.
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