In the 32 Hours I Spent With These People

Current situation: It’s 12:32 a.m. and I am in the living room. I’m watching episode 15 of season 6 of Lost, and I’m not going to sleep until I’m finished because Jared watched ahead and I’m catching up so we can finish the show together. I’ve been in Dahlonega for the past two days at Orientation - which consisted of walking around campus is this infamous Georgia heat, sitting through tons of information-filled sessions (like, LOTS of information), tubing, games, new friends… and waking up at 6:00. Now, I’m back at home with new UNG merchandise, a notepad full of important scribble scrabble, a suitcase full of dirty clothes (that may or may not sit in my room for the next week), and the most tired eyes I have ever had. But through all of this exhaustion, the past two days were SO eye opening and exciting!

In the 32 hours I spent with these people, I learned that all the rumors are true - there are groups out there for everyone. I went to a Student Involvement session, and my suitemate and I left asking each other how we were both going to be able to balance ALL of the activities we wanted to be apart of! (Answer: We're going to have to learn to say no to ourselves.)

In the 32 hours I spent with these people, I also met so many people who cared about the same things I did, had similar goals as me, and even had random, itty bitty things in common with me. It made me realize that even though I may not have fit into a lot of groups at school, college is the place where I can be myself and it’s COMPLETELY okay.

In the 32 hours I spent with these people, I learned that I will always have a bathroom buddy. No really… there’s always someone else that has to pee and doesn’t want to go alone. Point blank.

In the 32 hours I spent with these people, I learned that people my age are incredibly friendly. I didn’t meet one person who wasn’t into conversating, laughing, making jokes, or getting to know everyone else. Everyone was SO involved and SO eager to meet people, it reminded me that everybody is in the same boat and everybody wants to have an awesome college experience.

In the 32 hours I spent with these people, I learned that one awkward moment turns into twenty wonderful moments. The most awkward feeling is when you’ve been sitting next to someone for a good 20 minutes talking their head off, then you realize you don’t know their name. Oh, but don’t get me wrong! You know where they’re from, how many siblings they have, their parents’ middle names, the type of fur their dog has, their sleeping position, the way they chew their food, their blood pressure, their social security number… you just forgot to ask them what their name was. That’s when the awkwardness sets in:

“Yeah definitely! That’s so cool how our socials both end with the same three numbers, wow!”

“Agreed, that’s crazy! Well… what’s your name?”

But after the following 6 seconds, the air clears and you’re back in business.

In the 32 hours I spent with these people, I realized that I’m blessed. I was constantly encouraged. I met people who I can laugh with at unnecessary times. I learned about the traditions that my parents have talked about since I grew ears. I have advisors and orientation leaders who have already poured so much care and effort into me. My prayers were constantly being answered whenever I was feeling unsure.

In the past 32 hours I spent with these people, I got ten thousand times more excited and prepared for college than I already was (I didn’t even know that was possible, but hey - HERE I AM). I just pray that I can savor every moment of the next four years, because I know it’ll fly by right before my eyes.

Well, my Lost episode is over and my eyes are taking longer to open when I blink, so I think we all know what that means…

GOODNIGHT!

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

-Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)