First Semester of SLU [August]

Wednesday August 22 my mom, Dan, and I piled all of my boxes and duffel bags into the van and drove to SLU.

When we got there I checked in, and waited my turn. It wasn't too long before the upperclassmen in oriflamme dressed in bright orange t-shirts were helping unload the van and filling their arms with my belongings. We made a trip upstairs to room 918 in Reinert, my new home. I briefly met my roommate Alex and her mom who were finishing her unpacking. By the time we went back downstairs it was my turn to use the biggg cardboard box on wheels, big enough to take up the entire elevator and fit the rest of my stuff in it. Once everything was in my room my parents helped me start to unpack and make my bed. I chose the lofted bed in the corner of the room. I was very pleased with my set up, and especially the pictures that I clothes-pinned to twine that I strung on the wall beside my bed. As we were finishing my other roommate Erica and her parents had arrived so I said hello to them as well. However we were about done and headed off to find some lunch.

That night we ate dinner at Zia's on The Hill with Erica, Alex, and their families. Then that night the three of us stayed in our dorm for the first time. I liked the way everything looked, but I wasn't ready to stay there. I wanted to stay in the hotel room with my mom and Dan as I had the previous times we came to SLU.

The following morning Erica and I met our moms at the outdoor pool and started our day with yoga. The rest of the day I spent getting my text books and last minute things from Target and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I was happy to be back with my mom and Dan and not ready for them to leave that day. I didn't know what to do without them really.

The rest of Thursday (23), Friday (24), and Saturday (25) I spent with Alex and Erica participating in Welcome Week activities. It also seemed that the three of us never failed to somehow be running late and usually left behind by our floor. But at least we had each other to cling to. These events included a square dance on the roof top of a parking garage, midnight breakfast, new student convocation, a luncheon with Doisy College (the college of SLU that PT falls into), a soccer game against IU, late night at the rec, a tour of campus, and other small info sessions with important information about campus safety, the oath of inclusion, and tips for success and motivation.

Sunday August 26 I spent hanging out with Alex and her boyfriend Blake. I liked hanging out with them because they were both so nice and funny, and reminded me of being at home hanging out with Hilary and Colby. I was also happy to be off campus, and at the Galleria (the mall) and Target. These places felt much more familiar than the campus of my new school.

That evening I spent worrying, and preparing for my classes that started the next day. I had been getting lots of e-mails from professors and needing to print things to bring to class (which was a challenge because none of us had a printer). It was all very overwhelming and stressful. Then that night I went to the student mass at 9pm. People from our floor that wanted to go were going to meet together and walk there, however they all had left just minutes before I walked into the hallway. I found another girl from Ninert that was in the same position as me, so we stuck together. Her name was Maggie and I found out that she was a PT student as well. We also figured out that we had both biology and chemistry tomorrow so we planned on meeting on our floor in the morning and finding our way together (which included taking a shuttle to the medical campus which I had only ever been on once, and finding the right building and classroom). Besides making a new friend, I loved mass. It was the best part of everything so far. Not only was the church itself and the music so beautiful, but it was finally something I completely understood and connected with and knew what was going on. It was very comforting and made me feel an inner peace, taking away some of the anxiety about the next morning. We also got Ted Drewes (a famous St. Louis frozen custard place) after mass. Another great bonus.

Monday morning I woke up on time and piled my text books for biology, chemistry, and chem lab all into my backpack as well as my lap top. (I learned pretty quickly that it wasn't necessary to bring my textbooks to class, basically ever). Even though it was hot outside, I had to wear pants and closed toed shoes because of chem lab. But Maggie and I made it, and I made it to chem lab and then afterwards Spanish all on my own. Biology and Chemistry lectures were both fine, just took notes and followed along on the power points that the professors used. Chem lab on the other hand was awful. There were so many rules and it lasted almost 3 hours, plus you had to stand the entire time, and the grading was very strict. Eventually it got easier as the semester went on. The first week of classes I was in Spanish 110, but moved up to Spanish 115. It wasn't too bad, and the professor was really laid back and nice. The time was kind of annoying, but it always allowed for naps between my morning classes and Spanish (I even snuck them in on Mondays when I had chem lab until 2:15).

That night there was a hypnotist that I went to with Alex, and her friend from high school named Brooke. I had met Brooke Friday night after the soccer game and was glad they let me hang out with them since I didn't know anyone else before coming to school here.

Tuesday I just had one class, psychology. It ended up being my favorite day because I just had one class at 11am, but also because I always looked forward to that class. What we learned was interesting, the professor explained it very well and always gave real life examples, and he was overall just a jolly man.

Wednesday I was back to Biology at 9am and chemistry at 10am. Maggie and I texted and decided to meet up again. After about a week or two, it just became habit and we didn't need to text each other and check if we could walk together. Eventually we would meet 5 or 6 other Ninerts about 8:30am and walk to the med campus, rather than taking the shuttle. Even though it was about a twenty minute walk, this was much better. I also had DPT at 12pm on Wednesdays and then Spanish at 3:10pm.

Thursday August 30 I had no classes because my labs for this day didn't start until the following week, and there was a mass of the Holy Spirit in Chafiez arena during my psych class so it was canceled too. I went to that and Alex joined me too. Then that night I went to an info meeting about sororities. However, usually Thursdays I had Spanish lab at 9:30am, psych at 11am, and bio lab from 3:20-6:10. I found bio lab to be much more laid back, and easier than chem lab. I especially preferred that we were able to work in groups, sit in chairs at the lab benches, and didn't have as strict of grading or notebook keeping.

Then Fridays I had bio, chem, and spanish. I was happy that I made it to the weekend and through my first week of classes as a college student! However, I wasn't too excited because I found myself to be pretty lonely. Alex lives an hour away and went home for the weekend, and Erica's boyfriend had come to visit so she wasn't here over the first weekend either. On top of being lonely, there was a slight disaster with the fridge leaking/flooding the room. I think that weekend was spent crying because I missed home and everyone there, sleeping, and talking to everyone that I missed so dearly. It also made it worse because it poured rain all of Saturday so I was stuck inside.

Oh! Speaking of the weather, the during August and maybe even a few days of September I enjoyed myself laying out at the outdoor pool, SLUruba when I wasn't busy with classes.