Hanging Tight

Last semester about this time (a little earlier actually), I was writing about how we're really a bunch of kids here at college, even more immature than we were during high school. Again, it's awesome. I look out the window and humans are fending off a zombie. And then I shake my head and do homework.

It's like Mines has told us: hey, welcome. Thanks for choosing a program that will give you security in the real world. Now here's four-five incredibly stressful years before you have to be an adult, so run with them and have fun! (But not too much fun- you have an exam next Tuesday). You can do, eat, dress, and act however you want. And it's been great so far.

But I failed to give us credit. Either that or us freshman have grown so much in nine months. (Nine months- wow!) Either way, we're at the part of the semester- no, year- where we have to buckle down and hang fast. And it's hard, but we're doing it.

This past week was registration for Sophomore year. It's so weird to think of Sophomore year, but I'm excited for my new classes and to meet the new Freshies. But you know, I'm just putting my sched together, meeting with my adviser, running back and forth getting things taken care of. Later this month I'll sign a lease for a house. Dang, I'm getting old. But I still need to do laundry.

But you know, I'm proud of us and how far we've come. All week I've been hearing about everyone's plans for next semester and life. We're starting to break apart into our individual majors, and it's sad but cool at the same time. For example, I'm so glad I don't have to take Thermo or Statics or any other real engineering classes. But it'll be weird not living together and comparing bad test nights because we share every class with everybody. Well not really. But still.

But look at us, thinking about our degrees and classes and stuff!

All we have to do is not break down or burn out with the rest of the semester....sigh. Go 2015, go!

The Kids Are Alright

Week Ten. It's going to be crazy. I have a Calculus test and Earth Systems paper due, which is a normal work load, but there is something else going on. Humans vs. Zombies is going on. A game where a bunch of nerds get to carry nerf guns and swords around, eat marshmallows, and swing socks. A game where your friends turn into zombies after going all out on weaponry. A game where you legitimately fear for your life walking back from EPICS in the evening, for dozens of zombies have their faces pressed up against the glass CTLM windows creeping everyone out. This is HVZ. This is Mines.

Oh, we're not immature. It's completely normal for us to run from building to building with toys in hand and scream and yell and would consider ditching PA or (heaven forbid) waking up early to get to a class super early. Why worry about stuff that is more important like homework and labs and tests and world peace and domination? Actually, I'm not gonna lie. This game, though only a game has altered me mentally and made me a little more stressed out than I normally am. I have to plot my way to and from classes and routes and how the heck I'm gonna eat. I've tried to bind together with other humans. My friends have been taken down. It's fun, but kinda a big deal. I suppose any other week (or at any other campus) it would be a nice distraction, but this week....this week is bad.

But survival skills are where it's at, right? I mean, we've survived almost 10 weeks of classes, and midterms are almost over. We bind together and try to get through, one week at a time. We combat homework and tests and then get sad when one takes us out. And when we get stressed out, we go shoot nerf guns at zombies....or go eat humans. Or make use of the many distractions we like to call "outlets".

The thing is, over halfway in, we're alright. We do our own laundry now. We get invited to fun things and then frown and say "I've got homework, sorry", and then do go and do homework. And we've always known how to eat, but now have further knowledge and creativity of meal preparation/acquiration. What else do we need? Eating bags of marshmallows and having massive pillow fights, I'm sure. Just for added maturity. Oh, and shooting off the nerf gun in Chem lecture. (Two of these three things are true for me).

It's not easy. I say this and everyone will say this, but there is so much I have to get done this week and I don't know how- yet I do. Time flies, and it's difficult to grasp that this....it's real. I'm really here at Mines in college doing all this stuff. It becomes a little bit more real every time I see an exam score posted, but I don't think I'll ever really grasp this...college thing...until I'm done, and it'll be too late, and I'll have a degree (hopefully). That seems so far away.

But I've been turned. Go zombies. I'm gonna miss carrying around weapons. The thing I put my sword in. The clank of my gun against my leg as I ran across Kafadar. That's the cool thing now- we're still kids, goofy and immature, but we're not anymore, with school shadowing everything in the back of our mind, getting done what needs to get done, and hoping it was the right way. Meaning: we make our own choices and choose to carry around foam weaponry.