Over the last two weeks I’ve had the great chance to adjust to college life. I’ve not yet attended wild keg parties or anything of that nature, but I think I’ve experienced enough to say I’m getting this whole thing down. This may or may not apply to every college student, but these are just some things relating to adjusting to life at Georgia Tech and just college at large:
1. The weather. Georgian weather is nothing like Utahn weather. Of course, who would expect it to be? That would be rather boring. Georgia has been, for the most part so far, quite warm and on occasions fairly hot. It’s only rained twice since I got here, so it feels like I’m back in Utah with the drought and all.
The main difference is the humid air. The humidity levels are much higher in Georgia. Now I can’t even feel it, so I’d say I’ve adjusted a fair bit in that regard. If you’ve never felt humid air, it’s hard to describe, it’s somewhat like the air in the bathroom after a hot shower has been running. Everything is just a tad bit wet, but as I’ve mentioned, I can’t even notice that wet feeling I used to have when I walked outside.
2. Dorm Life. Dorm life is an interesting aspect of college. Those of you who are attending college but sticking close to home may not get to experience it, but I think it adds to the whole college feel. Living in your own place with a roommate who hopefully can be your friend as well, staying up late, sharing showers… the whole bit just adds a little twist to the experience. You get to sort of feel that freedom of being away from home all the time, rather than just on campus.
Of course, there are negative aspects, the whole shower issue mentioned above, the people (apparently, I didn’t open my door to see) are pushing each other down the hall as fast as they can in a rolling chair at 1 in the morning, sharing a room, having to do your own laundry… but I’d say those are worth the benefit.
3. Classes. You make your own schedule, and it doesn’t necessarily have to start the same time or finish the same time as everyone else’s, as it did in high school. You also get to choose what goes into your schedule. Though you are restricted a bit toward what you plan on majoring in (provided you’d like to graduate, of course), it’s usually what you want to study anyway.
I for one love going to all these classes and learning new things at a level incomprehensibly higher than that of high school. We’ve already covered more in two weeks in Programming than we did in a year in high school. I enjoy the intellectual stimulation that brings.
4. Classes, con’t (freedom). That freedom I discussed is once again an issue because you don’t have to raise your hand to get a hall pass or any of that nonsense. While we’re on that, how ridiculous is it anyway that in high school they gave us all this crap about preparing us and treating us as adults and then they made us ask and get a special pass to use the freakin’ bathroom? In college you can simply walk out of a class. They don’t mind, for the most part.
Attendance isn’t even required in many of the classes. For a large part, neither is homework, excepting those classes that are on subjects that you can’t really test as well in a final exam (programming, writing). They simply expect that you’ll practice the material as much as you need to to pass the exams. A lot less hand holding.
That’s about all I’ve got to say for now. College life is pretty sweet, though it can be tough at times. Won’t it be horrible when I have to go out into the real world and do something besides the cushy job of learning? I hope it won’t.
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