*croons* My Graduation . . .

[dagas_isa]

Warning: Pseudo-profound ranting ahead

The end is near, folks.

Today is the day that the world as I know it ends, graduation. And, as always, ambivalence rears its ugly head. It's not that I don't want to graduate. Realistically, I can't spend the rest of my life being a high school student, nor do I really want to. But on Day 0, when I'm just standing at the edge of this thing, and I really can't go back I just have to be ambivalent.

And personally, anyone who says right now, at this very moment that they just can't wait to get out of here, that they won't miss anything about high school, is lying. If they've made any friends, and had any enjoyment inside these cold, brick walls, if there's something that they can look back on and smile about, then they'll miss it, eventually.

Graduation is a huge step: A rite of passage and the last barrier between childhood and adulthood. Okay, okay, turning 21 and buying alcohol might be considered that final barrier and some grads aren't even 18 yet, but that's not the point now is it? What I'm trying to say is that graduation is one of the huge things that happen in any life. One of those events that change it forever. And if anyone says that graduation is not that big a deal . . . they're wrong. I'd almost compare it to having your first true 'career', moving to a new place, getting married, having children, retiring, losing loved ones. It's a thing that changes your life forever, for better or for worse. We might be glad to take these steps, but we still can feel sad for those things left behind. What else are bachelor/bachelorette parties, but the understanding that freedom is the sacrifice of marriage?

To adapt a quote from a poem from Calvin and Hobbes: Graduation's what we're waiting for, but we can wait a little more

***

Okay, now that all of the pseudo-profound garbage is out of my system, let me just say. Yes, the gremlin with the sledgehammer has approved my absence from this journal. Even the laziest of us can be busy and not able to get on-line sometimes. Chalk it up to the U of I freshman orientation. They herded me, confused me, shacked me up in a room with rampant A/C, and stuck me in lecture halls with no left-handed desks. Otherwise, it was pretty fun.

Me-chan, you've seen all the garbage that they give you (well, that's only most of the garbage), and they expect you to be able to keep up with the explanations. Honestly, our OSL (orientation student leader) was surprised that we all had these blank, tired faces. The OSL's tried hard to make it entertaining, they really did. Maybe it was better that they did. Some were actually able to make us laugh. Jed at the U of I morning show thing they did, for example.

So, I woke up early for arrival at 9:15/9:30 for the foreign language placement exams. In carrying on with my irrational left-handed desk obsession, I must say that Lincoln Hall had none, and even if they did, seating is assigned so it doesn't really matter. Spanish, French, and German were all Scantron. Latin and Russian, I believe there's an essay involved. The test ended between 10:30 and 11:00. I can't really give a difficulty rating, except to say that ACT does the Spanish exam, so look at that level.

After testing, we hiked out to ISR, a.k.a. the prison cell of a dorm that they give tours of. Checked it, got the photo taken for the ID, and dropped off the stuff in my room. The meal ticket didn’t cover the first day’s lunch, so my parents and I went to the Union building and had lunch in the food court. Easily the worst pizza I ever had outside of the cafeteria.

Then we followed the herd towards the auditorium (left handed desks in the aisle on the left side of each row). Somebody spoke, although I’m not quite sure who. We saw a promotion video for U of I, which seems quite ridiculous, considering that we are all the people who choose to come here. Then they introduce the OSL’s. Think of the really peppy tour guides you see I actually met someone worth talking to, and I kinda tagged along for the rest of the time.

After that, the herd split off into smaller groups, led by a particular OSL. My group leader was Jed, a.k.a. the really loud one. We introduced ourselves, Name, Place, Favorite Actor, and Concert Most Recently Attended. Then we went to a classroom, talked about something, and were herded back to a different hall, where we had the meetings for the separate colleges. The guy from LAS was Welsh, and quite entertaining. The only problem was that the requirements weren’t any clearer then than they were before. They handed out the LAS course books, and we adjourned into smaller groups to set up our appointments.

And in yet another herd, we went to the first cafeteria meal. The food wasn’t all that bad, but it wasn’t all that great either. Just the typical college fare, really. Then we went to our small groups again and talked about campus issues. Then we went back to our college groups and worked on planning our schedule. Following that was the only two hours of free time we had before we went to bed. Some people played games, other people tried to figure out their schedule. One person was caught trying to contact her parents in order to get the next day set up.

Morning was just more of the same. More information presented to us in the form of a morning show. Then back to the smaller group for the last meetings. Finally that adjourned and then lunch and an appointment with the adviser to get schedules worked out. The last thing to do was pick up our IDs and then we were out of there.

So that was the experience. And yes, if you can’t tell, I am in a rush. Questions and comments are welcome.

Over and out.