First Day + Ask For Help!

So yesterday I accomplished most of what I wanted to...

I didn't get to check my schedule until this morning, but I'll get to that later.

I went to my history lecture in the morning, followed by one of my classes. The lecture was pretty interesting and informative. We covered art and architecture history of the paleolithic and neolithic eras, contrasted against some buildings from the gothic era, and I was also presently surprised that many tribal buildings around the world parallel the types of buildings and Hawaiian culture...

...

Yeah, I'm weird and think that sort of thing is fun. (I noticed most others looked like they were about to fall asleep)

During the lecture I sat next to a girl I became friends with, which was also fun. Sadly, we had to part ways and head to our next classes.

My next class, also history, is classroom style, and the teacher just went over guidelines and answered questions and explained how to do homework, which, of course, is good. Afterward I met up with my friend from earlier, along with another guy, and I learned that most of the other teachers had pop quizzes and that sort of thing, so thank goodness I lucked out and got the nice teacher. : )

After that I ate lunch with my new gal pal, we went shopping for school supplies, hung out in her dorm, hung out in my dorm while I folded my laundry ( ^^; ), ate dinner, then hung out a bit more. : )

WE HUNG OUT FOR SIX HOURS. :D

Yaaaay new friend! We click really well and that makes me happy. Unfortunately we only have our lectures together (none of our classes : ( ) but that's alright. My best friend in high school / middle school and I only had a couple of classes together the entire time we knew each other, but it still worked out!

After my friend left I went to dormitory council, which is a lot like a student council, but for the dormitories... I got voted to be an officer, so I'm VERY happy because I really want to get involved during college. : ) Sadly, I don't know if I can keep the position because of the time the afternoon meeting is (it MIGHT overlap with one of my classes...) but hopefully everything will be able to work out in the end. : )

It was very, very eventful for my first day, but I had fun all the same : ) ...

...

And back to what I mentioned earlier about my schedule!

I didn't know where to go for English, so I went to see the office. I was extremely nervous and I didn't want to get yelled at for asking a stupid question. Went I walked in I explained that my online schedule and printed schedule put me in different classes, and that on the list posted outside the office I couldn't find my name...

We (the lady who was working in the academic office and I) were talking about what could be the reason, and eventually found out that the first two schedules were mistakes, because my first semester of English is waved so I don't have to take it!

The whole issue took, at tops, 3 minutes to solve. She did tell me "Well no wonder! *shakes head* Girl, I'm gonna BITE you!" when I mentioned I took AP English in high school. But she said it with a sort of smile and laughed it off before explaining to me how the credit is automatically used for my first year's first semester of English (I wanted to use it later so I was gonna save it, but that doesn't work... oh well!). She gave me some advice to just drop by the class I would've been in to get the syllabus from the teacher. She said that would be helpful because then I can know all of the books/essays/films that all my classmates in my major will be learning about so I can keep up with all of them (sometimes the design professors use the same reading material or have related projects, is why).

I followed her advice, the teacher didn't mind me being there, and I had been worried about getting yelled at for nothing! And on top of it all I got some good advice too!

Yes, it's college. But it's important to note that if you don't know something, just ask. I felt like in high school I couldn't ask because teachers would reprimand me for not paying attention, but it's different here. (That fact that it's the first week also helps, I think ; ) )

I learned today that you should go ahead and ask the question that makes you FEEL stupid, rather than not know what's going on and do something that IS stupid.

TOMORROW!!!

Okay, it's official according to my school's website; I start my first day of college tomorrow!!!

Eeeeee!!! I, I, I SO EXCITED. I SO EXCITED. :D

Today I was really, really bored. I drew some stuff, worked on english homework, ate mac and cheese, played around online, read manga, read a book, ate pizza, talked to my friend on the phone, made a painting, and watched more videos on YouTube.

Yeah... not very productive.

I think when the weather is finally 100% back to normal I'll head to Target or something so I can get more cooking stuff. Pre-cooking meals so I don't blow all my money on the cafeteria food is productive... (right?)

But back to tomorrow. I've decided to plan out my day!!! :D I'm posting my whole plan out here so that tomorrow when I blog about how my day went, I can compare and see how well I sticked to my plan.

My plan is, as follows:
- Get up at 7 a.m.
- Shower.
- Make my breakfast.
- Work on Hall Council speech.
- Check mail box.
- Go to my history lecture.
- Confirm my schedule with the office.
- Eat lunch.
- Relaxing break time!!! :D
- Start on laundry.
- Work on history homework (if I get any, if not, English homework)
- Dinner.
- Finish up laundry, if need be.
- Hall Council meeting @ 8 pm.
- Relax time!!! :D
- Bed.

I might switch around a few things here and there, but hopefully I'll do all of that. Maybe I can also squeeze in a few other things as well...

Oh, and if anyone wonders what Hall Council is, it's basically like student council, but for my dorm. I decided to get involved and I'm running for 3 positions. Floor Rep, Secretary, and Dining Service Rep. I reaaally want to be Floor Rep, but I'm running against four people in that so it'll be tough. Secretary, I've only got one opponent, and same with Dining Service Rep. Hopefully I can be Secretary, because I also really want to be that one! <3 It's taking notes and sending emails, which I can do no problem! ^_^

Well, it's getting late and I don't want to keep my roommate up with the lights/typing noises... plus I have to get an early start tomorrow! So I'll be heading to sleep now.

G'night everyone, and good luck to anyone else who's starting college this week. :)

False First Day / How to Handle A Hurricane by Yourself

First off, hello everyone and welcome to my new blog! This blog is going to be all about my college experiences while I'm studying at a school in New York City for five years. I hope that it'll be able to help those, like me, who are going to very faraway places for college. I will try to give advice here when I can, but keep in mind this is my first time so far away from home for such a long period of time, so any advice I give probably won't be super insightful or indepth.

Anyway, onto the actual post!

So I moved into the dorms roughly a week ago, and I've had a complete blast during the past week! Orientation went somewhat smoothly... but of course, as you know...

Oh hai Irene. =_=

(And right after the earthquake too! All these natural disasters remind me of home...)

So yeah... first day of class is canceled. So much for me blogging about THAT experience today.

But I will NOT let this get me down!!! D:< Instead, I will talk about how to handle a hurricane when you are on your own for the first time. I don't have much any experience with college yet, but being that I'm from an island that gets hurricanes every once in a while, I know how to handle this kind of thing.

First, do not panic, but don't keep calm completely. Be cautious and take the warnings seriously. I've noticed a lot of people here (in particular, students) act like they know everything, and they KNOW that the hurricane won't cause much damage. YOU DON'T KNOW UNTIL IT HITS. Maybe the damage will be minimal, maybe it won't. But it's better to prepare just in case. If you think it seems "dorky" to be so cautious, it's not. Just get everything ready quietly and follow the instructions your school gives you.

One of the first things you should do if you know a hurricane/storm/similar disaster is heading your way, is find websites with up to date information on the situation and check them regularly. This includes you college's website if they have up to date alerts. Also, if your college offers weather alert text messages like mine does, sign up for those too. Check these when you get up and before you go to bed, and maybe some times in between there too.

Next, gather your supplies. Find a grocery store in your area, and buy anything you don't have early, just in case the store runs out or the hurricane hits sooner than expected. Some of this stuff is heavy, so maybe go with your roommate and borrow a cart from somewhere.
Here is a list of everything you should have:

• canned food (at least 6 cans, try to pick a mixture of vegetables and meats, and go for the ones that you don't need a can opener to open. I prefer green beans and Chef Boyardee)
• dry food (stuff that you don't have to cook that will keep for a while, like granola bars or crackers or cereal, just so you have some snacks)
• bottled water (1 case of 24 bottles per person, at least)
• flashlight (2 preferably)
• extra batteries (at least 2 sets)
• umbrella and/or rain poncho (rain poncho is the best in case there's high winds because then the umbrella can break)
• mini first aid kit (premade, or make your own by filling a ziploc with antibiotic wipes, anti-itch stick or wipes, some band-aids, and painkillers)
• swiss army knife*
• battery-powered radio*

* = awesome if you can find one, but if not that's okay

I know you think "but what if it's not that bad?!". Then oh no! You've got food and water in your dorm room that you can eat later anyway and batteries that can be used for a variety of electronic devices! Whatever can you do with THOSE? /sarcasm

So now you've got your supplies. Make a "go-bag" if it's anything above tropical storm level and/or either the school or city says that there is a chance you will need to evacuate. Get a duffle bag or backpack and fill it with the stuff you'll need in case you have to evacuate. It should have a change of clothes, one or two pairs of underwear, a rain poncho, a blanket, food (maybe one can of something plus small dry food snacks, like a couple granola bars), a fork and spoon, two bottles of water, any medication you take regularly, your mini first aid kit, a flashlight, one change of batteries, a roll of toilet paper, and your wallet (with money and an ID). If you can manage it, stick a pack of playing cards in too. That should be just about everything the average person would need if they had to evacuate.

Make sure there's somewhere you can lock your valuables if you need to leave suddenly, like a trunk or something.

The day before or a few hours before it's supposed to hit, fill up any empty bottles, pots, or basins you have with tap water. If you lose power, you will also lose water pressure. And even after power comes back on, the water pressure may not come on just yet. This water is for flushing the toilet, should this happen. Leave these in your bathroom if you have a private bathroom that you share. Make sure your roommates know why you did this so they don't pour out the water or use it for something else. If you have a communal bathroom, empty bottles/covered containers will work best for this since you can take them back to your dorm room.

The last thing you need is to call your family. They will most likely be very worried about you. Keep them up-to-date on the situation and call so that they know you're okay. Call, not text or email, so that they can hear your voice and hear that you're alright.

Do all of that and you're set! : ) I know it seems like a lot, but it's better to be prepared, especially when you're on your own for the first time.