EEK!

College. I should have skipped all other areas of my life just to get to this place.

Let me start off saying that I've always been kind of a weirdie. Yes, a weirdie. I played weird games when I was a child, I got picked on in middle school, and I definitely received many a weird look in high school. But in college, especially at a large university, you can just move on from the people who look at you funny for talking about Pokemon in everyday life. You just skip right over them, on to the next. Plus everyone is so friendly! We're all in the same boat trying to meet new people. College gives you something in common, always something to talk about. Where you live, where you're from, major, blah blah blah....

Most kids go to college and freak out about all their new found freedom. Pfft. I didn't need freedom - I had that already. What I needed was VARIETY. And oh BOY did I get it! =D The diversity on campus is insane. There are sooooo many different people. There are 5,000 students in my class. 5,000! That's larger than my entire hometown! Plus there are so many different opportunities to get involved in interesting activities. Por ejemplo, the other night I went salsa dancing. YEAH, I SAID SALSA DANCING. =D I loved it so much. The instructor even asked me to be his partner, and I danced with him up on the stage! It was so much fun. I looked into it, and every Friday night I'm going to go swing dancing on campus for FREE. So much better than the....

"What do you wanna do tonight?"

"I dunno... what about you?"

"We could go out to eat, or see a movie..."

"We've eaten at all 5 restaurants in town already this week, and Mr. Popper's Penguins is playing. Gag."

"Hmmm. Let's get drunk instead."

THAT CONVERSATION DOESN'T HAPPEN FOR ME! =P

I'm just overjoyed, as you can tell. And I haven't even brought up the classes yet! I'll tell ya about my schedule.

Intro to Sociology

Intro to World Languages

Spanish 303 (Conversational Spanish)

"Newspaper Physics" - a learning community that parallels my English 250 class

Lyrica Womens Chorus

If you know me, you know that I adooooore almost all of these things. YAY YAY YAY.

I planned on doing a blog about my room and how I organized everything, but I do not yet have a laptop of my own, so I'm holding off on that for now. It will include pictures. =)

If any of you are already off to college, tell me about your experiences! Or if you graduated a long time ago, let me hear it! This is probably the best way I'll be able to update people back home. I love you all, but I wouldn't call myself homesick. Call me or something if you ever want to chat.

Peace out, ladies! <3

More moooooovies...

I love movies. You get it. It's going to hurt when I go to college and can't afford to go to them right when they come out all the time. It will physically cause me pain. Not to mention, it will give me significantly less to talk about in an awkward small-talkY kind of situation. That's the WORST. Anyway.

I've seen some rather AWESOME movies lately. Boom baby. They were all very good, so I couldn't really rate them... but the last I mention here is my favorite. Let's go!

COWBOYS AND ALIENS (PG-13)

I know, I was skeptical too. I saw this when I was in Omaha visiting family. My cousin's boyfriend invited us to go to the movie, and I was all for it. (Viewing bad movies makes for good bonding experiences, you know.) I kept expecting the combination of western + sci fi to be really awful, but it wasn't actually bad at all. Jake (Craig) wakes up in the middle of no where and has no idea who he is. As he tries to figure out who he is, he has to work with people he has apparently swindled in the past and fight off aliens who are abducting the village. He has a strange metal bracelet with strange powers, which Wilde helps him figure out how to use to their best advantage. This movie has a lot of shooting and violence, so if that's something you cannot handle, I would suggest not seeing this movie... but I myself really liked it. =)

Cast: 

Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace)

Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones)

Olivia Wilde (Tron, House)

IMDB rating: 6.8/10

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (PG-13)

Now, don't hate me. I've never actually seen the original Planet of the Apes. I have, however, seen the version from the early 2000s with Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter. So I don't know if I have a good enough background in the ape chronicles to give a good review, but I'm going to try. =) Franco, a talented scientist, is working on a cure for Alzheimer's disease. He makes a lot of progress and seems so close to the cure, but things go terribly wrong, so he takes in an orphaned ape and raises him. Caesar, Franco's ape, is extremely intelligent because of the drug Franco had been working on. He struggles finding a place to fit in, which causes problems... This movie was rather shocking and sad a lot of the time. I have been told, however, that all the apes were CGI, so no animals were harmed in the making of this movie. Smiley face!

Cast:

James Franco (Spider-Man, 127 Hours)

Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire)

John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun)

Tom Felton (Harry Potter)

IMDB Rating: 8.0/10

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE (PG-13)

I was sooo excited to see this movie just because of the cast, and it didn't disappoint me. Carell and Moore's marriage is falling apart at the seams, and things just get worse from there. Carell starts looking for advice in the wrong places, and everyone falls in and out of love all over the place. Ahem, and Ryan Gosling is beautiful. Reason enough to watch this movie. =)

Steve Carell (the Office, Despicable Me)

Julianne Moore (Magnolia, the Kids Are All Right)

Ryan Gosling (the Notebook)

Emma Stone (Easy A, Zombieland)

Kevin Bacon (Footloose, X-Men: First Class)

Marisa Tomei (What Women Want, the Lincoln Lawyer)

IMDB Rating: 8.0/10

You simply HAVE to tell me what you think of these movies. And probably what you think of my reviews. =)

Byyyyye. <3

So... getting ready for college is HARD.

Guys, I'm stressing.

There is SO much for just one person to do! Applying for financial aid, buying all the things necessary to living independently, and mentally preparing for taking college level courses. YIKES.

Yikes. We all know college is expensive, but you never truly understand just how much it will cost until you receive your financial award letter. Can someone say student loans? And then on top of that, there's the stress of buying the books... and HOPEFULLY they show up on time so you don't look like a loser when the first day rolls around!

Books are NOT the only things you have to buy. I have to invest in little units for storage - shoe rack and plastic drawer things and milk crates, school supplies, a first aid kit, a power strip, and any and ALL toiletries I will need when separated from my parents who usually just automatically buy them for me. The list doesn't stop there, but that's all I can think of for now. The list is literally too long for all the items to stick in your brain at any given time.

OHMYGOSH, freaking out. I'm taking a 300 level conversational Spanish class. I haven't practiced my Spanish in forever. It was pointed out to me that in a 300 class, the whoooooole class will probably be taught solely in Spanish. EEK! I had a hard time listening to my dear high school Spanish teacher sometimes! So I keep promising myself that I'll go over my HS Spanish vocab lists... I haven't yet. Spanish isn't the only class that worries me though. I'm freaked out that I'll be late to class, that I won't know where I'm going and I'll get lost, and that I'll flunk all my other classes. Do you understand my stress??? And I didn't even TALK about getting along with my roommate! haha (FYI, my roommate seems wonderful. I'm just noivous in general!!)

Now that I have completely and totally freaked out about my main college concerns... Maybe I should talk about how to override these concerns and just push through them, eh?

As far as money goes, I'm not an expert. At all. I plan on NOT getting a job my first semester so that I can have a little time to adjust to my new life. I have some money saved from graduation gifts, but that is all. So after that first semester is over, I'm going to start looking for a job and seeing what I can do to ease my debt. Another thing to consider, just for funsies... Poke around your college's town, and see what good deals you can find... For example, Ames has a Village Inn (as do many other towns... haha). Every Wednesday at Village Inn, if you make a purchase, you get a slice of pie for free. FOR FREE! You could go buy a drink and get a piece of pie that costs more than the drink itself. I really think that finding small, fun, free/discounted things to do during college will keep us college kids from going insane all the while being money conscious. Also, you can join any club that you're interested in. Some clubs will charge a fee when you join for various supplies you may need, but these kinds of things offer lots of FUN at little cost. Whoo!

Now... I was referring to the crazy insane list. Yes, it is ridiculously long, but it is still manageable. Why, you might ask? Because of the INTERNET.

Awesome List #1
Awesome List #2

Both of these links could save your life. They are very similar, although I do prefer the top one. (Probably just because it is prettier.) I suggest that one day, you carry a notepad around with you and any time you use an item, write it down. The list will surprise you because you don't realize just how much STUFF you need until you are left without it. Also, I suggest shopping around in shifts so that you can compare prices and find the things you truly want without being rushed. =)

As for the freak out over taking college level courses... Yeah, it's scary no matter what. All you can do is breathe, go to class, pay attention, and do your best. As for me, I WILL start looking at my Spanish vocab. I also told my mother (who had some Spanish instruction a while back) to feel free to speak to me in Spanish whenever she pleases. I am also going to ask my sister, a Spanish major, hablar conmigo en espanol por telefono. =) (to speak with me in Spanish on the phone) Holla at me, Theresa! haha

Honestly, if there is anything else you are worrying about, talk to people who have been to college before. Yes, people. Plural. No two people have the same college experience, so it's good to get a wider background of information. And if the veterans can't answer your question, go to your school's website and poke around, or find a number to call. The people who work at colleges are always friendly and willing to point you in the right direction. =)

I really hope this helped someone. It was rather therapeutic for me to write, helped to calm me down. =P

Byyyyyyyyyyyyyye. <3