Coming Home

Last week was a whirlwind storm comparable to a Cat. 5 hurricane. The whole week was jam-packed with an uncountable amount of homecoming activities. Much was in the name of alumni. Every organization had an agenda to impress the alumni and the alumni thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They had the benefit of experiencing one of the best weekends with our class at the helm. It was by far the most entertaining week of the semester.

Whether you're Greek or not, there were festivities to be enjoyed. Canned food drives began. Informational booths were set up. Organizations painted all the windows of local businesses. Intramural tournaments for bowling, dodge ball, basketball, and football were some of the most hardcore competitions I have ever experienced. Teams had homemade costumes, practiced specific plays, and had fan clubs as large as community colleges. Free movies, dance competitions, battle of the bands and homecoming queen elections all took place in the main hub of the student center.

All week long, the quad was sporadically dotted with tents and tailgaters. The university set up tents larger than high school gymnasiums and even regulation-size football fields. Alumni and current students merged underneath the big tops for free food and entertainment. Tailgaters participated in the free concerts on the quad just as much as the students did. The RVs showed up a few days earlier than usual in order to partake in all the revelry. Even a hermit could have found an event to his liking this week.

Since I am a pledge, most of my time during this sleep-depriving week was spent preparing for alumni and winning the different competitions for my fraternity. Every fraternity was paired with a sorority for the week. The two groups worked together on every aspect of homecoming in order to win the coveted homecoming award. It was entertaining to mingle with all the girls and hang out at their sorority house. We intensely “pomped” their massive lawn decoration and their extravagant float. In order to pomp, we systematically stuffed tissue paper into chicken wire and glued rolled pieces of tissue paper on to foam board to create letters, pictures, and detail-oriented items. Once the weekend began, everybody enjoyed themselves to the wee hours of the morning even though we could barely function with the slightest amount of rest. My pledge class was excited the grueling work was finished. As expected, the football game was a blowout.

It was a very enjoyable but long week. I could not have been more thankful for Sunday, my day of rest. Daylight savings time could not have fallen on a better weekend. It allowed me an additional hour for my 14-hour slumber on Sunday. Sunday allowed me to catch up not only on my rest, but homework as well. I am fully prepared for next week.

 

Blast from the Past

After spending four painful yet enjoyable years in high school, I thought I would never want to return to my previous torture ground. But, the bond between the teachers and me is too strong to be broken. We reminisced about past experiences, and I shared my collegiate adventures with them. I was even offered additional tutoring by my former educational advisors.

I enjoyed eating lunch with my underclassmen friends. I answered their generic questions and shared my personal stories about collegiate life. Imitating one of my aspirations, I acted as if I was one of the university’s recruiters. I believe I was effective, because several have made plans to visit me during their official visit to the university. I am glad to offer a dynamic, first-hand perspective into the real college life.

On the Friday evening of fall break, I watched my alma mater play an exciting, area football game. Even as one of the newest alumni, I felt a distance between the team and me. I did not have my classmates to watch the game with; my closest friends were not dressed out for the game; and, I am now a visitor to campus and not a student. For the first time, I was forced against my will to refer to my high school in the past tense.

I was very proud to observe traditions and trends that my class established. The students still tailgate before the game and cheer enthusiastically throughout the competition. Most of the students dress nicely and attend the large, social gathering. Throughout the evening, I conversed with parents, faculty, and friends. Once again, I was bombarded with generic questions and short conversations. I wish I could have full, quality conversations with every one of these individuals and not the impersonal greetings. After the buzzer, I was quickly reminded of the lack of post game events. College football activities continue for many hours after the conclusion of the game.

All in all, I cherished my visit home. I was refreshed of my roots which could have easily been skewed during the first two months of school. Now I can see how much of a positive symbiotic relationship my hometown, school, community and I have. I was reminded of how much I love both of my homes. My family was offended when I referred to my dorm as my “home.” In their eyes my house of eighteen years will always be my home. It will forever be my home, but now, I am back in my new home.

Home Sweet Home

First time to leave campus-- this is another milestone I have currently passed. I have not left before fall break because of such an intense home football schedule. For the first time, I have been faced with the dilemma of what to pack to live a few days in my home of eighteen years. The tables have turned-- I used to pack to leave the house, not to return to it. I tried to remember what I left in my desolate room, but I only unearth enough clothes to last a few days. Therefore, I only needed to take home my dirty laundry.

The solitude of the drive home allowed me to reflect upon my first two months at school. I have greatly enjoyed this new journey. Everything is wonderful, and I believe I am in love with the university. Although I can stand alone and have enjoyed my freedom, it was time to return to my roots.

Upon arriving, I felt compelled to tour my hometown to check up on things. I was prepared for monumental changes, but everything remained the same. I did not realize how much I missed the small town feel until I visited one of my favorite, local restaurants. The waitress served the “usual” to her numerous repeat costumers, myself included. No surprise-- I ran into many friends just driving through town, and I waved to the puzzled faces who wondered why I was back before Thanksgiving.

My family has visited me for many home games. For some reason, they were happier to see me in our natural environment. From the lack of my presence or for my arrival, the house was clean, and my table space was clear. I have experienced many situations in my lifetime, and the weirdest was walking back into my bedroom. My playpen of eighteen years was empty, stale, and lacking activity of any nature. All my items were stowed away in their proper places. The bed was made to army specifications. It appeared to be a mock bedroom from a museum. In order to destroy the awkwardness, I rearranged almost everything and ruffled the bed. That evening I enjoyed every inch of my queen size bed. I have not fully grown accustomed to the standard twin long bed which comes furnished in every college dorm room.

That evening my mom prepared a feast in celebration of my arrival. One would have thought it was Thanksgiving and Christmas combined into one holiday. The quality was ten times better than the cafeteria food and contained the extra ingredient of love within every dish. Since I was a guest in my own home, I was not required to do the dishes. When my family visited me, my mom was shocked to see the dirty dishes. Not only did my sister do the dishes from my homecoming dinner, but she also washed the dishes at my dorm. The who-can-make-the-most dirty dishes game between my roommate and me is a serious competition and can be considered a tie this round.

I look forward to visiting my high school and mingling with my former teachers. I also am looking forward to watching my alma mater play an area football game. This will definitely be a huge social event-- to visit with the current students and relive my memories. I will try my best to recruit some seniors to visit my campus.

Battle of the Walks

Unlike in middle or high school, you do not receive a kiss and/or a cheerful “good luck,” “have fun,” or “I love you” from your parent everyday when they drop you off in front of the school. Even when you left the house to drive or ride with someone, you would most likely get some kind parting words. Here in college, I am lucky to see my roommate when I leave. If I do see him, it is more of a “see you later,” and I am out the door to fight for space on the numerous sidewalks that weave across campus to network all the educational buildings. All the diverse students are eagerly wind around campus to arrive at their classrooms.

I try to squeeze in the last few minutes of studying or sleep before I leave in the morning. Therefore, I tend to be in a hurry to class while fending off the bikers, claiming my right on crosswalks, or passing casual strollers on the skinny sidewalks. To complicate the hurried task, I usually have a granola bar in one hand and a glass of orange juice in the other hand. I sip and contemplate my day as the tedious traffic lights change. Unless you have a fellow resident in your first class, the lonely sunrise walk is either reflective for the day or just a half-asleep stumble.

The ten minutes before the top of every hour there is mad rush out of one building and into another building. These students scatter out across campus like five-year-olds on a playground. Since practically nobody has similar classes or schedules, it is hard to casually meet anyone during the change of class exercise. It is impossible to talk with the individuals who have the famous white headphones jammed into their ears. The bikers definitely will not communicate in any fashion because they are too absorbed in fighting to maintain territory on the crammed sidewalk. No matter which category you fall into, you are also in a mad rush to your next class while struggling to remain on the busy, concrete highway.

To the benefit of the students’ health, there are very few hazards on or around the sidewalks. Luckily, I have only been caught in the rain once. Even then there were not many puddles or slippery spots. Most of the sidewalks are well maintained and level. There is always a pleasant shade tree or trash can within throwing distance. The greatest hazard of any walk on campus is always the bicyclist. The stealth bikers will creep up behind you and then barely squeeze by while blaming you for hogging the sidewalk. I wish they would ring their bell or clothes-pin a playing card to the frame in order to create a constant clicking with the rotating spokes. Even when the bikes approach head on, we tend to tango until one of us completely commits to one side of the walkway. These bikers are not my favorite individuals here at school.

The second greatest hazard would be the temper-flaring individuals driving or walking at the crosswalks. Pedestrians legally maintain right-of-way at crosswalks and will bravely walk on the crosswalks whether the oncoming car is moving or not. The drivers do not wish to be delayed by the selfish pedestrians. The crosswalks cause more congestion than flowers blooming in the spring. Be it vehicular or pedestrian, congestion will certainly be present the ten minutes before the hour.

If you wish to run wild on these concrete trails, the only time is during a jog early in the morning or at the traditional jogging time after dinner. Otherwise, you will be in a constant battle on the packed footpaths. And after this battle or any other conflict on campus do not expect any tender love from a guardian. The sidewalks are one of the countless aspects of college that will toughen an individual.

Crunch Time

After four weeks of strenuous note taking, all of my professors felt the need to test the classes on the covered material. I doubt it was a premeditated attack on the unseasoned freshmen, but all of our professors did attack in unison. I had finally gotten into the groove of college, minus the test taking. I understood the necessities in my day-to-day schedule but not necessarily the management skills required to balance all of my activities with academics. If I was smarter, I would have begun studying two or three weeks in advance, but I procrastinated. I hit reality like the roadrunner’s coyote-I ran into an oversized anvil.

During this one week marathon, I studied for three tests and presented one project to my engineering class. By the end of the week, due to my lack of rest, I became a walking zombie. Each night I got a maximum of five hours of sleep with a few five-minute naps during classes. The Thursday night for my third and final exam, I required high dosages of caffeine. The whole night and Friday I could not remain still or calm. If it was not my knee bouncing up and down it was either my trembling hand or tapping foot. After Friday’s dinner, I ran four miles to burn off the caffeine of a whole pot of extra-strong coffee. The next weekend I was practically in a coma recuperating from the week of hell. This is definitely not the successful way to study for college exams.

I am an honest guy. I believe in accepting the grade that I earned after many hours of hard studying. Thankfully, I received As or Bs on all of my exams. Unfortunately, during the examinations I noticed that some individuals wished to receive assistance on puzzling questions. I asked a student whom I observed cheating, “Why did you feel the need to copy from your neighbor?” He replied with, “If in doubt, look about.” After I gave him a disappointed face, he retorted, “Better to cheat than repeat.” Even after our discussion, I do not understand dishonesty. It is a war out there to earn the highest grades, but that definitely does not mean one should commit crimes of atrocities during battle.

This crunch week has prepared me for the upcoming semester. I now know my professors’ testing styles and how to approach the different tests in the future months. I have established my study habits and figured out which strategies do work and definitely which ones do not work for my personal schedule. Planning will definitely be of key importance for success here at college. I believe this week of hell was a preview of “dead week” which is the week before final exams.

Pledging

Unfortunately, we all stereotype different groups, and we all have our own preconceived notions about the typical Greek atmosphere. Animal House, Old School, Sorority Boys, and other Hollywood movies have lent a negative connotation to the word “Greek” and the organizations that it describes. I did not want to base my opinion upon such crazy, fictitious entertainment. Wanting to have a first-hand perspective, I replied to the various recruitment letters that arrived at my doorstep during the spring and summer of my senior year. I figured there must be some hidden good behind Greek life since at least a quarter of campus is involved in some Greek-letter organization. During the spring and summer, I attended numerous “Rush” events in order to meet and research the various fraternities. I found out each house, while having its own unique characteristics, still stands for roughly the same ideas-brotherhood, academics, fellowship, God, honor, citizenship, philanthropy, tradition, chivalry.

The first stereotype I wished to disprove was the idea that all Greek individuals drink alcohol on a frequent basis. As with anything in life, “If you seek, you will find.” I found alcohol is readily available if you want it, but it is completely up to you whether or not you drink. And, alcohol consumption on a college campus is not limited to those participating in Greek life. To my surprise, many Greek members do choose to remain substance free, even though others live like the wildest rock stars. Almost everyone will respect your decision on the subject, since we all are supposed to be adults here at college. Different fraternity houses have different viewpoints on the situation, but most of the houses have roughly the same attitude. Nothing gets too out-of-control because we have the University, Interfraternity Council (IFC), University Police, Judicial Affairs, chapter advisors, house Moms, and most importantly, our brothers to look out for us.

There is also the stereotype of the style of clothes which Greek members wear. Many members wish to have class and look sharp. Typically, an extra flare is used for a variation in personal style. Usually the flare adds character and personality. Pledges also are recommended to wear “pledge gear.” For most houses “pledge gear” consists of leather shoes, khaki pants, leather belt, and polo shirts with the absence of Ipods, hats, visors, and sunglasses. For this reason, pledges look uniform, pleasant, clean cut, and conversationally approachable. Once again you cannot judge a book by the cover, because there is more behind the cover than you would imagine.

 

So far I have noticed many benefits from pledging a fraternity. From the Rush events alone I met a wide variety of individuals. The active members at the parties allowed me to get a heads-up and prepare for the upcoming year. It was a hard decision to choose the fraternity for me but after many hours of thought and considering many factors, I found one that fit me well.

When I pledged myself to my fraternity, I instantly had a group of best friends who are now my pledge brothers. I can call anyone of them for support on any possible issue. We have already been through a lot of situations ranging from wingmen to teammates or classmates. We have thrown awesome parties for our favorite sororities. We have even reserved seats for the actives at the football games. As a pledge, I am required to record a certain amount of study hours per week. The planned study schedule is very helpful to our novice time management skills. In study hall my pledge brothers or actives are available, if necessary, for tutoring. Not only are we involved within the fraternity, but we are also engaged in the Student Government Association (SGA), forums, councils, committees, and/or intramural sports. No matter what we do, my pledge class acts as a single unit and work together to achieve common goals during our first semester at college.

Thus far, I have formed a wonderful brotherhood with world-class gentlemen. I thoroughly look forward to the remarkable days to come with such incredible company. It will definitely be an extraordinary symbiotic relationship throughout the next several years.