Be It Ever So Humble…

So. . . it's the day after yesterday now and I'm all moved in and stuff. I must say that this place is pretty sweet, even if it does have roaches. And, that means a lot coming from me because I hate roaches. (I can trace my roach phobia to when I was about four or five. I was sitting in our family room and there was a roach crawling on the wall and at that time I didn't care because I wasn't scared of roaches yet. But, then that roach decided to fly off of the wall and into my face and it was all freaking out and stuff and since then I've had a mortal fear of the creepy-crawly buggers.) I'll talk about the roaches later because if I tell that story now I'm going to get sidetracked. Now back to whatever it was that I was talking about.

The trip here wasn't terrible but I did have to wait through a two-hour delay on top of the two-hour layover that I was already facing. And then the cab ride here was alright until the driver dropped me off across the street from my dorm and left me to my own devices (I had the 50 pound rolling suitcase, the 50-pound cardboard box from the night before, a gym bag with all of my shoes in it, and a backpack that had my laptop and books in it). Thanks to him, I ended up propping the box onto the handle of the suitcase and dragging it all to my dorm which seemed like a mile away while hauling all of that stuff. But, in the end, I finally got there and luckily there was an elevator. Now mind you it was a service elevator with a history of getting stuck, but a risky elevator beats 4 flights of steps (while carrying more than 100 pounds) any day. So, I got to the top of the stairs, dragged my stuff through the deserted hall, and finally found my room.

Now for the roach story. So when I got to my room, the only light was a double light that shined into the two closets at the front of my room. The rest of the room was close to pitch black. So as I threw my bags and box on the bed, the door closed and sent a giant roach hurling out from under my bed and into a closet. A little startled but altogether okay, I started to unpack. So as I was storing my clothes into the dresser, the top drawer slammed shut and another giant roach shot out from under my bed. By that time, my nerves had had all that they could handle so I decided to go downstairs and eat. But the roach gods had one more trick up their sleeve. When I opened the door, I was greeted by another giant roach, at eye level, chilling out on the doorframe. Totally freaked out now, I karate kicked the bugger and then delivered the final blow when it hit the ground. I left it there as a warning to the rest of them. (I found out later that roaches are actually cannibalistic so leaving him there wasn't really a good idea lol.)

After my showdown, I finally headed downstairs to go eat dinner with the rest of the ITAs which was fun and then I went to bed. We had super-secret Senior ITA Vista training this morning and now I'm about to take a nap because I'm tired.

Dutifully Yours,

-theFroshPrince

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Time flies when all of your friends are gone. It seems like just yesterday I was complaining that I had an entire week left until I boarded that plane for the big city. But, last night I found myself packing until around 4:30 in the morning. That could have had something to do with my peculiar tendency to procrastinate, but I'm still not positive.

It may have also had something to do with the fact that for the past two days all that I've basically been doing is saying goodbye to parents and teachers. Thursday I dropped by school and said goodbye to all of my old teachers and then stopped by one of my friends' mom's jewelry store to say good-bye to her and to get my iPod and phone engraved. They're pretty sweet. I ended up talking to her and her coworkers about my adventures at Faber the weekend before and I skillfully dodged the safe sex talk that she had given to all of my other friends :-)

The next day was pretty much the same routine minus the school visits. I went to a parent's house and talked to her and my friend's sister for about an hour and a half before I left. Then I came home for a little bit and headed back out to go pick up my sister and then to pick up her dance shoes. So, we went by the dance store and I waited in the car while she did what she had to do. When she finished, we went to my friend's house. After that my sister was quite bored with it all so I decided to give her a reprieve and we drove home. That's when I remembered that I still had to finish AlcoholEdu which sucks and is boring. But, I did it and passed and everything was right with the world.

Later that night my friend came by and we hung out and then went to a coffee shop to go see a couple of my friends that came back from college for the weekend. After talking there for a little bit we went to one of their houses and hung out there for a while and watched Ms. Teen USA and stuff.

Then I went home and packed for what seemed like forever. I had to go find the boxes for my Wii and my Xbox 360 and then repackage those so that when they got tossed around by the airport people they wouldn't explode into a million tiny pieces. Then I packed my Tivo and everything else that I could fit into the box that seemed worthwhile.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog for an important bulletin *krrrshh*

-This just in. theFroshPrince went to eat lunch at the airport Wendy's today and they gave him a single cheese burger instead of the Spicy Chicken Sandwich that he ordered! More updates coming soon.-

Ok, so anyway I finally got to bed at around 4, which left an entire 3 hours for me to sleep before I had to get up and get ready to go to the airport. After taking a bunch of stuff out of the box that I had so meticulously packed the night before and the suitcase full of clothes that my mom packed a week ago (both were over 50 pounds and if your bag is over 50 pounds then you have to pay a fee), it was finally time to go.

And with that I made one final lap around the house, said goodbye to my dog, and soon after stole a last look at my house as it faded into the horizon. So now I'm here killing time during my two-hour layover. If my flight gets delayed, I'm going to shoot myself.

Over and Out.

-theFroshPrince

On the Road Again

After a long weekend, I'm finally back on the bus home. How was my visit? Well, let's just say that I am now positive that I made the right college decision. What I saw of that school was definitely different from what I was expecting. I basically discovered that if you don't drink and don't want to be around drinking, you'll more than likely have to make a special effort to find something to do there on a Friday night. I'll give you the recap.

****DISCLAIMER****

All names have been changed in order to protect the privacy of those mentioned

Friday – I got to the bus station and had to wait for about an hour until my friends got there to pick me up because they got lost. So they finally got there and we headed off to Faber. (I'm going to call the school Faber, bonus points for those who can spot the reference.)  Along the way we saw a funny building called "Bubba's Medicine Store. When we rolled in through the gates, my first impression of Faber was that it was definitely the kind of college you see in movies. I saw guys and girls criss-crossing campus with backpacks, big brick buildings, obsessively manicured lawns, and it just had that inexplicable feeling that this was college.  When we got to Faber, I put up my stuff in Flounder's room and then headed on over to Otter and Boon's room to hang out for a little bit. After hearing about how they've been holding up and their first day of classes, we went out in search of something to do. We went and did something that must not have been that much fun because I don't remember it now. Then we met up with some girls and went to a sushi restaurant. I had never eaten sushi before and that night I found out that spicy tuna is disgusting. Well I shouldn't say that, but it's not a good thing to start with if you're trying to develop a taste for sushi. But, California rolls are really good.  Next, we all went to a kid's apartment for a little pre-gaming (for the record that's their term, not mine. If you don't know what that is, ask somebody.)  

**Sidenote**

I try not to be preachy, but drinking is one thing about which I don't care if people disagree with me. If you want to do that it's fine with me, I personally don't need it because I'm crazy enough as it is. But I'm sure that this is just a newfound freedom phase that they'll grow out of...hopefully.  With that being said, I would just like to take the time to clarify that I don't dislike people who drink nor do I judge them. Well I guess I subconsciously judge them, but I can't help that. Anyway, don't dislike me for my beliefs because I don't dislike you :-)

    ***Super Sidenote***

        Smiley faces always lighten the mood :-)

    ***End Super Sidenote***

**End Sidenote**

But anyway back to Friday night. It was time to go to the frat party.  I ended up driving. Frat Row reminded me of ancient Greece for some reason. (Maybe because it's the center of Greek life.) So we arrived at the Delta house, and to my horror and dismay, the entertainment that night was a country band! Oh joy, oh rapture!

So there I was, sober and one of two black people at the entire party. Initially, we were only supposed to stay at that party for about five or ten minutes just to say hi to some people and then we were going to go to another party where a band called the 17^th Floor (it's a rap/r&b cover band) was playing. But, my friends decided otherwise. So I ended up just kind of wandering around looking for something to do. After that, I drove everybody that would fit in the car home and the people who didn't fit rode home in the vehicle affectionately known as "the drunk bus." Then after that we just hung out for a while and at about 3:30 in the morning we ended up taking a trip to Waffle House. Which at 3:30 in the morning was awesome. Because Waffle House rocks.  We got home at about 4:30ish and went to bed.

Saturday – On Saturday we woke up bright and early at about 12:30. That day was pretty dull come to think of it. We ended up doing pretty much nothing for a while and it took all of my powers of persuasion to get my friends to go see Superbad which was awesome and totally worth it in retrospect. Then, we just went back to the room and hung out some more. Initially we were going to go to a 17^th Floor concert but it ended up getting cancelled. Next thing we knew it was 10:00 and we still had no plans. We were going to go to the Lambda Lambda Lambda House but then Boon's car was dead and we ended up sitting in the parking lot for about 30 minutes trying to get a jump and when we finally did it still didn't work. So, eventually a couple of our friends ended up picking us up and we went to Taco Bell and then to one of their apartments. After staying there for a little bit (and eating a mango and a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches which were delicious because I hadn't eaten anything but Ramen Noodles that day) then Otter and Boon ended up going to another frat party where the same band from the night before was playing, and I went back to their dorm to go hang out with the kids in and we played video games and stuff. So I played poker for a while and after I got knocked out I decided to turn in early. Otter and Boon ended up coming in at about 5:30 but I was only half awake when they got there.

Sunday – Which brings us to today. The classes at Faber just started on Thursday, but already Otter was bombarded with homework, and since he had been partying every day since Thursday, he was stuck trying to finish it all today. I woke up to an empty room and after a little while Otter came in and asked if I wanted to come hang out while he did his laundry. So we went and waited there for it to finish and stuff and once that was done we went back to the dorm room and he started working on his homework, which he would end up working on even after everyone dropped me off at the bus station that night. Other than that the day was pretty uneventful. Everyone was doing the work that they had been putting off all weekend and the campus was pretty quiet. There was a quad party for a little bit but we didn't go. That night we went to eat dinner and then we went to the bus station. One of the homework assignments that Otter had was to bring in a potted plant to his class for extra credit. My bus ended up being late so he found a pot that was being used as an ashtray and emptied it and then went to the back and dug up some sort of shrubbery out of the ground—it was after all something growing :-). A short time later my bus arrived and here I am. So that's my wild and crazy weekend in a nutshell and I hope you enjoyed it.

Until We Meet Again,

theFroshPrince

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theFroshPrince's Movie Corner

Superbad  - Two high school kids who have been friends forever but got into different schools find themselves in search of alcohol for a party that a hot girl is throwing and hilarity ensues. In a word, awesome. ***** out of **** stars. No, that 5^th star wasn't a typo, the movie was that good. But it's not for kids and definitely not for parents who want to see a movie with their kids. See this one alone or with friends but definitely not with parents.

 

The Wheels on the Bus…

I am writing to you today from the Greyhound bus station where I am currently awaiting my only transportation option to the big state school that my friends are attending. My friend and I were supposed to drive up there together but he stepped on a tree root and fractured some bones in his foot so he bailed out. But anyway, since I've never driven that far alone, my dad thought it would be best if I just took a bus. He said he didn't want me falling asleep on the road or something, which is understandable under the circumstances. (I stayed up all night the night before last writing a speech for the middle-schoolers at my old school and I've only gotten about 5 hours of sleep since then.) I'm looking forward to sleeping on the bus because I'm tired.

In other news, I finally sold off some RAM that I had for my old laptop on eBay. So that's a plus :-)

I'm not sure what to expect when I get there. Seeing as the only colleges that I have ever visited were in the northeast, I'm curious to see how a southern school stacks up. I'll let you know when I get back.

Peace,

theFroshPrince

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P.S. I'm going to try to start a new thing which I will call "theFroshPrince's Movie Corner" (Or something, that name is tentative) In this section I will tell you what movies I've seen recently and whether I liked them or not.

The Boondock Saints - It's about these two Irish fraternal twins in Boston who kill a bunch of mobsters in the name of God. It was awesome. **** out of ****

Stardust – It's an adult fairy tale about an underdog character who sets out in search of a star fragment to give his love interest in order to prove his love for her. Once he finds that the star is actually in the form of a person, all sorts of craziness ensues but it's awesome and I definitely recommend it. **** out of ****

And Then There Were None

So now all of my friends are at college. Last Wednesday we had a nice little dinner with our parents and when it was over the goodbyes were said and we all left. On Thursday one friend left for college in an awesome, tropical location and then on Friday the rest of my friends left for a big state university.

So now I'm here alone.

Well, to be honest that's not entirely accurate; I have a couple of friends who are still here. But that core group that I've known since kindergarten is gone forever! It's really strange. I'm not totally shaken up by it, and actually it's more of an "I'm bored" feeling than anything else. I'm not really the sentimental type so I guess it's a little easier for me. And also, I'm going up to visit some of them for the weekend so it's all good.

As for what I'm doing now, for the past few days I have been splitting my time between playing Super Smash Brothers Melee and watching movies and documentaries. So far I've seen An Inconvenient Truth, Sicko, Who Killed the Electric Car, and Maxed Out. And I also saw this movie called Perfume: The Story of a Murderer which was pretty awesome. It's about a guy in 18^th century France who is born with an overdeveloped olfactory sense (sense of smell for you non-anatomy types) but he's all awkward and stuff and he ends up making perfume out of women. It sounds weird but it was really, really good. I'd definitely recommend it. And that's pretty much what I've been up to since all of my friends left. Luckily I only have about 2 weeks left before I head off to college and finally end this monotony. So just bear with me until then :-)

Later,

-theFroshPrince

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The Joys of Packing

I hate packing. I'm the kind of guy that haphazardly throws anything that I may need in a bag 5 minutes before I go somewhere. I haven't used a packing checklist since summer camp back in middle school. But now, thanks to that wonderful institution that we lovingly refer to as simply "college," I'm stuck listening to my mom ramble on about this, that, and everything else I haven't packed yet. Does it matter that I have almost an entire month until I have to leave? Of course not. Does it matter that I'm flying to college and that there is no possible way for me to bring everything on that checklist with me? Nope. If Fastweb says that I have to have it, then I have to have it. And, I have to get it before I leave. I can't get it all when I get up there because that would be too easy (even though I arrive at school 5 days before everyone else because I have to train for my work study job which means that when training is done I have a ton of spare time to go get all of that stuff).

By the way, I'm not talking about sheets/pillows, microwave, refrigerator, TV, Guitar Hero, and all of those other college necessities. I'm talking about paper plates, plastic silverware, plastic cups, and other random stuff like that which I could easily pick up from the grocery store that is a block from my residence hall. It's ok though because she's just trying to look out for me. As for what I have actually done so far to get ready for college: I bought my plane ticket, found a work study job (Senior ITA – it's like the Geek Squad of the dorm), contacted my faculty advisor, registered for classes, started our summer reading book,  and friended a bunch of people on facebook. I think I'm ready.

-theFroshPrince

Leaving

It just hit me last night: after this Friday I probably won't be seeing most of my friends again until Thanksgiving. Unfortunately for me, they decided to go to schools that start the semester about three weeks before I do which means that I'm stuck by myself for three weeks before I go to college.

I'm not really sure of how I feel about it (going to college).  On the one hand there is the obvious reaction of pain and reluctance that comes with leaving the familiar behind, but on the other hand there is an amazing sense of adventure and knowing I'm finally going to college-- that glorious place where for the first time ever I am held accountable to no one but myself.  Sure I'm leaving my entire life behind. I've lived here my entire life, been at the same school since pre-kindergarten, and known most of my friends since kindergarten. But, starting over should be an adventure.

Also, the world is a lot smaller than it once was, which means that keeping in touch will be easy (Yay AIM/facebook!) so it won't be that bad. I guess the only qualm that I really have is that four months can really change someone, especially in an environment like college. And since I'm not going to be around the people my friends will be with, all of our changes are going to be different. Whether or not those changes will further separate us remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic that they won't.  One friend (he's going to St. John's in Santa Fe) once told me that we don't really change but rather we continue to grow into whoever it is that we really are. I hope that's the case because if not I have no idea what's going to happen.

But, at least my family won't change. Leaving them behind won't be that hard I figure, especially because my dad has been reminding me that "I'm out of here once I turn 18" since I was a baby (he was being facetious of course, but the message stuck :-) ). I've never really been one for homesickness so I should be fine. As for leaving my school of 750 students in the deep south for an Ivy League school in the northeast … I think I'll manage ;)

 

-theFroshPrince

Parents? Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Parents.

Good morning/afternoon/evening fellow blogophiles! For the next 10 months you get the unique opportunity privilege to read about pretty much everything that happens in the life of this anonymous freshman. But be warned, this will be a raw, unflinching look into the seedy underworld known simply as "College." Since legally I'm not allowed to tell you my name or my school, I'll let you in on some juicy, personal stuff about myself that won't show up in my bio page that you should definitely read because it tells you how awesome I am. So now, without further ado, it's time for…

THE TOP TEN THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE FROSH PRINCE (Thanks, Letterman)

10. I love movies, music, television, and pretty much anything else pop culture related.

9. I don't read as much as I should but that is something that I'm hoping to change throughout my four years at the prestigious Ivy League institution of higher learning that I'm attending but can't tell you the name of.

8. I'm a fan of long, but grammatically correct, sentences.

7. I'm thinking about majoring in either Political Science or Film.

6. I like long, moonlit walks on the beach (Oh no he didn't!)

5. I play piano and DJ.

4. I have a little sister for whom I try my best to be a good role model (it's easier to stay on the straight and narrow when you have someone watching you).

3. I didn't go to my senior prom (By my own decision, and not because I couldn't get a date! Lol. I ended up visiting a college, but it was necessary and I don't regret it for a second.)

2. I'm left handed.

~-_AND FINALLY! (DRUM ROLL…..)_-~

1. I couldn't think of anything awe-inspiring enough to be put at number 1 so I think I'm going to leave it blank.

But anyway that's pretty much me in a nutshell. I'm also (at least so I'm told) really good with computers. So much so that I'm a senior ITA in my dorm (ITAs are the people who run around whilst fixing your computer, hooking up your internet, and doing all sorts of other techie stuff). To wrap up, I'd just like to thank you for taking the time to glance into my life. Hopefully we'll both get something out of this experience.

This is theFroshPrince, signing off.

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P.S. If you like what you see, please leave some feedback because writing to an empty audience is bad for the ol' self esteem.