Struggles From My First Day of College

The first day of classes is always exciting, but it doesn't come without it's challenges. Even though it is my last first day, I found myself still struggling a lot throughout the day. It had it's ups and downs, but the best place to start is the beginning.

The Mile was Long

I woke up this morning to the alarm on my phone sounding next to my ear. I rolled over and ignored it, then fell asleep until my second one went off fifteen minutes later. I got up, brushed my teeth, and did something I haven't done in months: I put on my running shoes. I promised myself before the school year began that I would start working out again. This time with more focus on strength, because it has been brought to my attention lately that I have no upper body strength. Still, every time I go to the gym, I feel the need to run. I actually don't mind running as long as I'm in shape, but as I have aforementioned, I haven't ran in months. So as soon as I got to the gym, I went for the treadmill.

I promised myself that I would at least run half a mile. As half a mile approached, I was feeling sweaty and fatigued, but I knew that I could keep going. So I kept pushing. The mile didn't come easy though. As I got closer and closer to my goal, the harder it was to keep going. I tried to focus on things other than the number of miles I was running; the rain outside, the My Chemical Romance song bumping through my headphones, or the girl running next to me who was wearing a sweatshirt. Like, seriously, it was so hot in there. How was she not passing out?

Finally, the mile was over, but my workout was not. I took a swig from my water bottle and realized it still tasted like the dish soap I used to wash it earlier in the morning. I ignored it and started lifting weights, but was instantly intimidated when I looked around and noticed all these people who clearly knew what they were doing that knew I clearly did not. I decided to leave the gym earlier than I thought, because I was sweaty and ready for a shower. Still, I felt accomplished with what I did at the gym and that was enough.

The Wait

My classes today didn't start until 1:30. Since I woke up so early to go to the gym, I had a lot of free time when I got home. I started with breakfast, then a shower, then a nap and a "Jane the Virgin" binge (which I am continuing right now). I still had enough time to play through some songs on my guitar. Jacob has brought it to my attention recently that I have never sat and played for him, so I was practicing some songs to play for him if I ever sit down and play for him. After that I organized my stuff, packed my backpack, and got ready for class. As I was walking out the door, there was a big box right in front of my doorway addressed to me. I pushed the box into my room, then took off toward the English and Philosophy Building.

The EPB and Me

Fun Fact: being an English major means every single class I have this semester is in the worst building on the University of Iowa campus. It's old, one side is colder than the other side, and it's just kind of gross. However, the EPB is home. I've had a class in that building every semester I've had in college. I found my first class and picked a seat in the corner. In the last class I had in this classroom, all of my friends and I sat in the corner. My first class of the day is African American Autobiography. Since today was Syllabus day, we didn't do a whole lot in class, but we did discuss a Langston Hughes poem. I'm going to be honest though, I always feel the struggle of talking in class. I always have thoughts I could share with the class, but I struggle to speak up. I'm hoping that within the next week or two I'll be able to come out of my shell and really enjoy the conversations in my class.

My next class was an hour later and in a classroom just two floors above the last one. I sat for a moment contemplating what I should do with the next hour of my life, when I saw Hannah standing at the end of the hallway. Obviously, I decided to go hang out with her, because despite the fact that we live together, I don't really talk to her all that much. So we talked for an hour until our classes began.

My next class was Advanced Creative Nonfiction. It was actually a really cool class full of new introductions and an assignment that will be forcing me to make a new friend. Wednesday we have a 250 word introduction due about a person in our class and I was partnered with someone I've never met before. We agreed to meet up for dinner tomorrow night and I'm excited to make a new friend, even though we may not get the opportunity to be friends for very long.

My final class was my poetry seminar. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little nervous for this class. I enjoy poetry a lot, but I've always been self conscious about the poetry I write. I want to write something good, but I don't really know a lot about form and what it takes to write good poetry. I'm just hoping that I can write something worth while for this class. I'm going to work hard during this class, but it will be worth it, I'm sure.

I didn't take a first day picture, but this is my face after the first day.... so I think it counts.

Home Free

Finally, my day of class was over and I got to go home, call my dad, and open the package that arrived before I left for class. I opened the box and inside was a bunch of goodies courtesy of my mom. There was lots of mac and cheese and sweet treats, which I'm excited to eat. I had a nice long conversation with my dad while I ate dinner, then I started on my homework: an excerpt from "The Confessions of Nat Turner". I almost fell asleep while doing my homework at least twice, but I managed to finish all of the reading.

Now the rest of my evening has been spent watching the final season of Jane the Virgin and writing this blog post. It's been a pretty good day, but still exhausting. It's only 11:30 and I feel like I could sleep for a million years. I'm excited for the rest of the semester, and more importantly, to graduate. Bring on the year full of new adventures, experiences, and writing projects.