Thursday (day 1)-I moved in and boy, that was a process. I cannot even fathom the total amount of moving done this weekend. It was crazy. I've moved before, but the degree of permanence with this move was there: I am an adult now. (Somewhat, at least. I mean, I've grown up anyway.) Dad drove in the mom gong (van) and I drove in Gus Gus (my bug). We didn't leave until about 11 (I actually ran into the high school lunch traffic on the way out. Suckers! Hahaha!) and arrived at about 5 or 6. On the way, I was idling Gus Gus in the Scipio petting zoo parking lot and a man came over, knocked on my window, and asked me to turn my engine off because "it kind of stinks." I wasn't too happy about that. I turned it off, but I may or may not have turned the engine back on as he drove away after looking at a map with his wife for a few minutes with their windows rolled down a few spaces away. This potential sassiness was probably passive aggressive and not necessary. Que pasa, pasa so whatever.
When we got to Provo (P-town?), Dad pulled over at the Maverick and took a nap, so I drove into SLC in a non-caravan fashion. I just drove along I-15 until I was afraid I was going to leave my college behind and start roadtripping into Idaho, and then took an exit and found my way to the University. I drove around and tried to find my check-in, but even though there were signs, it was not to be found! Luckily, I have the Olmsteads at my disposal, or at least they are just really nice friends and invited me to come have food with them and offered to help me check in. It was really so nice of them. I ended up waiting outside Kat's dorm, meeting Brother Olmstead outside, and then TA-DA! Bret arrives on the scene and is rearing to get me moved in, so we drove back to my building (the Donna Garff Marriott Residential Scholars Community--whew. What a mouthful!) and took several trips up the elevator with a dolly and a rented cart to bring all my boxes (dad says I brought too many, or at least that I brought too much stuff) into my 5th floor apartment. When I got into my apartment, I had two roommates already there! Sierra, who is from Juab and debated Irfan his final round (she really super admires Irfan), had been moved in since Tuesdays for UCrew (they helped students move in most of the day Thursday) and Miranda, who is from Cottonwood, had moved in earlier that day. I got into my actual room, and surprise, half of the room had already been set up! But where was this mysterious entity, moved in but not seen by early-arrival Sierra and not returning later that night? This question plagued all of us, but don't worry!--the mystery will be solved.
After somewhat moving in (putting clothes away and rifling through some boxes), Papasan del Brot Borgor and I went to Target, where I bought some necessary things (shampoo, conditioner, scissors, mousse), but forgot more than I remembered (body wash, mouth rinse, a brush...). Then we drove to Draper to ikea to get a bookshelf amidst an AWESOME lightning storm. We ended up getting not a bookshelf, but a rolling bedside table, some clothes hangers, a shoe rack, a lint roller (Taco/Biedermann hair has definitely entered the 801), and a 99¢ toilet scrubber. I still need a bookshelf, actually. *update: I now have my bookshelf*
Dad helped me take all the stuff up to my apartment and then we said goodbye. I just stayed in my room and set stuff up and ambled about, wondering what the heck I was doing. Lihuen (pronounced Lee-when unless I'm wrong, which would be embarrassing) showed up at some point and was talking to Sierra and Miranda in one of the latter two's rooms, which are upstairs across the small living room from mine. They came in and talked to me after a little bit and I decided I like them all. Eventually I took the rolling bedside table out into the living room and we all were just chatting. This was about 10pm. Lihuen said she was expecting a guest of the male persuasion, so when we heard a knock, we weren't at all surprised. Nor were we surprised when we heard a male voice. What became puzzling and prompted me downstairs was an influx of many loud male voices.
*enter the 4203 crew*
The 4203 crew is comprised of last year's 4203 (pronounced "forty-two oh three") inhabitants, seven of which payed rent and one of which actually attended UVU and lived here on the weekends. Apparently, this was the ultimate party place. Said one inhabitant, "I threw up on probably every surface here! It was so awesome!" If you wanted to play beer pong, you went to the 4203. If you wanted to party all night, you went to the 4203. Do an entirely inappropriate Harlem shake? The 4203. Do cocaine? Not the 4203. That gets you on the banned list as evidenced by Crazy Margaret. Oh yes, we do have a banned list. It accompanies our guest list (which also has a VIP list. When asked how one makes the VIP list, one of last year's inhabitants answered "they were just all super chill). Last year's inhabitants kept a guest list of everyone, EVERYONE that came in. They kept it in Excel and the copy they gave us is alphabetized. There were over 400 guests in the 4203 last year, around half girls, half boys. We were instructed to keep the tradition going and we have. We are to get over 700 (including last year's) guests on the list. They also bequeathed upon us their homemade doorstop which they signed. Its purpose is to fulfill the apartment motto, which is "the door is always open."
Nifty, right? Anyway, the 4203 crew WOULD NOT LEAVE! They just really wanted to relive the glory days (and scam on Sierra haha. Poor girl) I guess. They finally left at about midnight after describing all their shenanigans in detail and sipping on mysterious amber liquids while Miranda, Sierra, and I were nearly asleep at the counter (Lihuen, lucky duck, had disappeared somehow). Sierra, I might add, is just the sweetest girl and cleaves unto innocence and righteousness, so she was not very pleased with all this proposed partying. After they finally skedaddled, Sierra and I put together the remainder of my rolling bedside table. Then we FINALLY went to sleep. What a long day!
Friday, Saturday, Sunday (days 2-4)-I've gotta say, the first few days were rough. SLC is really different. It's actually a city and in places, it's a little ghetto. I was really struggling missing home, which was strange because I've gone on a lot of vacations and stayed away from my family a lot, so I was confused about that as well! I just really missed home, even a few days after moving out. Everything was really foreign to me. Something that really stuck out though was one of the nights I was driving back from a Target run, wondering if even being at college and away from home was something I could handle and feeling really lost, and then I drove by the institute building. I remembered that no, I wasn't nor do I ever have to be alone! I felt peace come into my soul and thought of Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail, when he cried unto the Lord and how the Lord responded "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment." Indeed, it was a small moment! It was humbling to know that my situation would be even a smaller moment; I can stand up in my living quarters and I have sufficient food and warmth and I can still talk to my family and drive home on the weekends! If living in the basement of a jail in winter is "but a small moment" of affliction, how small must my little heartache have been! I also really like verse 46, later in section 121 that says "The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion..." How neat is that? Even if I can't make any friends, which I have, I can still have the Spirit with me.
I spent a lot of time with Kat and the Olmsteads that weekend, which was nice. They were a little piece of home. They really are always so nice and welcoming. We kept busy with driving around and picking things up (I bought a really sturdy backpack with lots of handy pockets, almost to the point of annoying subdivisions--who needs a pocket for batteries?!) We also went to the institute building and figured out meeting times. While Kat was signing up for her institute class, Shari made friends with this really cool girl named Arianna (we're friends with her now too of course) with a really cool story. She's from Texas and just got baptized in May. She's the only one from her family and she doesn't know anyone here and she's paying her own way so that she can be here in Utah, which is where she believes she needs to be. Talk about walking in the paths of faith! It's really a blessing to know her.
Before I talk about Sunday, I should explain the mystery of the missing Alison, Nina, Cortney, and Emily! I got back on Saturday night and found four slightly worn-out girls in my kitchen. TA-DA! My missing roommates! They're all in the Outdoor Leadership Living/Learning Community and so they moved in early (except Nina, who moved in Sunday) and went on a four-day rafting trip down the Green River and got back Saturday night. I was so glad they came! I was starting to wonder if Alison, my roommate, got kidnapped or something. I really like all of them, by the way, my roommates. They're all really nice, sweet girls. Cortney really reminds me of Jill Boyce and Meghan Beatty from high school, actually. She's even a lifeguard.
Sunday was really nice! I walked to church with Sierra, which was cool. By the way, one must walk EVERYWHERE here! I'm sure I walk upwards of three miles here on a good day, half the time it's power walking uphill too! It's been good to my legs, though. Anyhow, church was good. It's one o'clock and Kat's in my ward, so win-win. Relief society and sunday school are first, which I think helps me better prepare for the sacrament. I'm a fan. I really like my Relief Society presidency; they're students and seem older and very mature as they are all upperclassmen, but they're also very relatable. They're smart and kind as well. Again, I'm a fan. Jessee Goates, our president, looks a little like Taylor Swift but prettier and not catty. She also has a pretty cool name. If I were to choose one thing I don't like about our ward though, it's the guy to girl ratio. There are probably six or seven girls for every guy. Luckily, though, this is not a stake dance but rather a congregation so it doesn't really matter. Maybe it would matter if I were older and my ovaries were about, to paraphrase Max Smart, philosopher, "shrivel up and fall out," (Get Smart, anyone?) I would be a little worried. But I'm a freshman so YOLO. Let's get onto the more relevant stuff: CLASS!
THE FIRST WEEK OF CLASSES-The first day was nerve-wracking. I got up at 5:50 and was ready by 7:20 and realized I still had an hour and fifteen minutes before I needed to be gone. I drafted some blog stuff and waited around (yes, I've procrastinated posting a bit, but hey! It's my first post.) until a little after 8:10, when I left for class. I thought I was leaving early, but I got to class late! I figured out I was talking the long route the Chemistry later in the week, but walking takes a long time! Here's a picture of us on the way to our first day of class (sorry it's blurry! L to R is me, Nina, and Alison):
I still have to leave around that time if I want a front row seat, though! The days all kind of meshed together in a confusing blur except for Thursday, when I decided to take a nap after brunch and slept through half an hour of my Chemistry lab and took another half hour to get down to the HEB (Henry Eyring Building of Chemistry) and then figure out it was actually in the Curie Club area of the Thatcher building, which is a new building attached to the HEB. Luckily, we were just working problems with the TA's which they wouldn't even collect and they didn't take attendance either. They wanted to keep it short and simple because of the game. I stayed after they had left and finished the problems, though. I was pretty proud of myself and my diligence. Go Maid.
Thursday was also the day of the first game, which was exciting. Kat, Becca, and I bought MUSS (Mighty Utah Student Section) tickets a few months back. We were on literally the back row. The only thing behind us was standing space. It was incredibly hot, even for a Saint George girl. Being on the back row, we also were in the sun for quite some time relative to the lower seated students/higher-tiered tickets. This brought to the forefront of our minds why MUSS tickets are so cheap: $40 for a season home game pass is a reasonable price for the seats that are almost always in the sun. Who else would pay but students? This also made us think of high school, where some numbskull made the home bleachers face the sun. I would still like to know who that was to give them my bill for cancer removal I'm sure I'll have later in life because there's no SPF high enough for a band geek in those bleachers, facing the sun and sweating off the best sunscreen available, playing for a great *cough cough at losing cough cough* football team. Anyway, so here are some pictures: the Rice-Eccles Stadium (IT'S HUGE), our "ripple selfie" (product of Kat's brilliance), the marching band (which was super good), and the final score (30-26 HAHA USU!)
So since I can't remember specific days, I'll just go over each of my classes. This is my schedule:
Honors General Chemistry: every morning from 8:35 to 9:25 in the WEB (Warwick Engineering Building) and the lab is Thursday from 12:55 to 3:55. Professor Richmond is really great. He is understandable and humorous. He reminds me a little bit of Mr. Lancaster, because his filler phrases are "and the like" and "and in other areas" which I feel like are the collegiate versions of "kinda thing." I am SO grateful, by the way, for good high school teachers like Mr. Lancaster because you really do build on the knowledge you get in high school here in college. I've been having a lot of flashbacks to very specific lessons in high school where we learned basically the same thing and it's so nice having a fairly solid foundation! The seating is super competitive, though. Being an honors group, everybody wants a front row seat. I leave at 8:05 and sometimes sit on the second row. There are only 49 kids in the class too, which is nice. Half of them are from my science cohort, and half are just really awesome.
Calculus 1: every morning M, T, W, and F from 9:40 to 10:30. Basically I'm taking the lowest level math out of anyone in my cohort. One kid got all his math done in high school at Georgia Tech. It's humbling to be in the cohort. I am, however, learning math I already learned (thank you, PK!). I didn't score high enough on the AP Calc AB exam to get out of this class, but I'm really grateful because I want a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if math builds, it cannot fall! I do feel a step ahead, though, because again, I had a good teacher. Speaking of, Professor Alfeld is like the German PK. They have very similar mannerisms and they both just really enjoy math. Prof. Alfeld described the mathematical argument that the square root of 2 is not rational as "most beautiful" which reminded me of when PK taught us the proof that 1.9999... =2, which I'm pretty sure he described with similar overtures. Prof. Alfeld even keeps a copy of his notes online, like PK does. CRAZY.
Honors Core in Intellectual Traditions I: Antiquity and the Beginning of the Common Era: M, W, F from 10:45 to 11:35. I seriously have to book it more than three-quarters of a mile uphill the whole way to this class from math. It's not my favorite thing, but it's worth it! Prepare yourself for another comparison; Professor Engar is in similitude of Mrs. Madden. They are both very intelligent, classy women and they speak similarly. We've been doing readings and having discussions in this class, and my goodness I cannot thank the heavens enough for AP English! Here's the course description:
(Emphasis added.) So far, we've read the Epic of Gilgamesh and our assigned reading for the weekend was Genesis. It's very analytical and so, so much fun. I really enjoy this class. It's definitely a throwback to AP, and I definitely will be sending Mrs. Madden my essay drafts because being in a college setting with distinguished honors professors who she teaches just as well as makes me respect her even more!
This course examines a variety of texts and thinkers from earliest times to the beginnings of the Common Era, with a focus on the ideas that have had an enduring, foundational influence on our understanding of both ourselves and the world in which we live, and that have thereby become canonical works. Topics covered will vary by individual instructor, but may include: the idea of the hero, fate and death, the development of Christian and non-Christian religious traditions, the nature of the state, and the roles of men and women. Some typical readings are the Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer, Sappho, Greek tragedy, the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, Chinese Daoist (Taoist) texts, the Bible, and early Church fathers. The course stresses careful reading, critical thinking, and good writing. Students interested in knowing more about authors and themes to be covered are urged to attend the Honors Preview or contact the instructors directly.
The Biology of Variation: Every M and W from 12:55 to 5:00. -_- It's pretty rough. The things I should have paid attention to more in high school are quite numerable, but Baggs teaching us how to run the program R is definitely one right now. This class is essentially studying variance in populations. "Populations of what?" you may ask. POPULATIONS OF ASPEN TREES, I TELL YOU. Because they clone themselves. First, we will map out which segments of aspen are clones in a grove an hour away (we drive up for class on Wednesday) and then we will use R to make science happen and study variance. No one understands quite what's going on. I think it has the potential to be great, but I'm so confused right now, not by the course material, but by the course. I don't think he's actually taught us anything yet. Class is very scattered because the course has never been taught before. I like Dr. Seger, or Jon, as we're supposed to call him, but I'm not sure what I should be doing. One thing I really did like, however, was talking about the difference between essentialism and variationism. Essentialism was the only vein of thought until Charles Darwin. Essentially, species were held together by and "ideal type" and any variation from that ideal type was an imperfection. Darwin's discoveries and development of the theory of evolution brought another paradigm: variationism. It held that species are only held together by a common ancestry, so every individual is equally representative of the species, so the "average" is just a statistical abstraction indicative of nothing but a middle ground and not normalcy. I really liked this idea because I think it applies to us as humans and children of God; it really underlines individual worth and how no person is better than the other because of this average, this statistical abstraction. We are all of equal value as humans because of this common ancestry. I thought it was cool, anyway.
Introduction to Family History: Every Tuesday from 10:45 to 12:15. I decided that every semester I want a class just for me, so my institute class I took just for me. I'm really excited to learn how to do my family history and I'm so psyched that the family history center is so close, as is the temple! There are no more than ten people in the class, just estimating, which I'm really excited about. Everyone is married or way older though, which I'm not sure how I feel about. Brother Wilson closed with his testimony and said that doing family history will help bring us to a spouse, and I'm pretty sure only one other girl and myself are single, so I'm hoping that was more aimed at her because I AIN'T THE FRESHMAN BRIDE, NO, NOT TODAY!
Finally, Engaging a Great University: Every Wednesday from 6-7:30. This class is just stellar. Essentially we're learning how to be awesome college students and how to navigate in a university. I should correct myself: we are learning how to EXCEL. This class is just for EA students (early assurance) and so it's super cool. We'll be touring labs and studios and doing readings and exploring ourselves (which reminds me of Delsy). We have a getaway to Moab in a few weeks, which we started planning on Wednesday. I took charge a little, which I'm glad of. I want to be helpful and lead! Here's the course description:
This course introduces first-year Early Assurance Scholars to the potential for gaining a truly rich undergraduate education at the University of Utah. Meeting every-other week throughout the academic year [THIS PART IS A LIE], the course is based 50% on students' participation in seminar-style discussions with Professor Newell about the meaning purpose and benefits of pursuing an undergraduate education anchored on the liberal arts and sciences - whatever a student's major may be. The other 50% of class time is devoted to ten of the University's most distinguished scholars and teachers, representing widely different academic and professional fields - each spending two hours in their field at their laboratory, clinic or studio. Student's are required to prepare for all class sessions by mastering the assigned readings from the professor and scholars or teachers and write systematically in a reflective journal. Students are encouraged to take initiative in helping to shape this seminar experience.It's really exciting. We have some essays to read and it's another throwback to the AP English days...oh! The glory days! How I lament them!
The Weekend- Did I go to the first of Crimson nights (http://www.upc.utah.edu/crimsonnights click on "about us")? NO. I stayed at my dorm Friday night and had no one grind on me unwelcome as I hung my posters and did my Chemistry homework (which, along with the Calc homework, is online, which I really like). I will add that I finished my Chemistry homework and read my scriptures. I think I'll go to the next one if I can find a person of the male persuasion who is wholesome and muscular for protective purposes. DIS BOOTY MINE.
On Saturday, I went shopping with Becca and got some pantry staples, ie oatmeal and on-sale granola bars. We chatted while I did my Calculus homework (which isn't due until Friday *high-fives self*) and went up to the PHC. I love the PHC. The food isn't always the best, but usually there's something super good. Sometimes you have to look, and a lot of people complain, but those are usually the people who eat pizza everyday. THERE'S QUINOA ON THE DAILY THERE! AND CHICK PEAS! They have an Asian selection including Mongolian BBQ style. They have sweet potatoes at breakfast and both chocolate AND coconut almond milk! Look what they had Saturday!
There were goldfish, teddy grahams, coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, peanuts, raisins, craisins, cashews, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, marshmallows, etc. How cool! Go Chase Peterson Heritage Center!
Anyway, so we met up with Diana, Kat's roommate (Kat was in Park City with family) and then watched the 25th anniversary in London of the Phantom of the Opera on Netflix (a filming of the play--this is difficult to explain) back at her dorm. Then I finally came home! To my apartment, that it. It was a long day. It was a long week!
Sunday, aka today-I woke up a little late and was consequently late to RS. We had an enjoyable lesson on the purpose of RS. I made friends with a girl that is actually not going to school this semester but will put her papers in to serve a mission soon. She said she's staying in the ward to go to mission prep, which she said was awesome. INDEED IT WAS. I went with--I had been wanting to go--and I was so glad I did! Fun fact: Autumn Shipp and Cody Timmons were there. Also, our teacher looked like Jesus, having a beard and long hair. That added. The teachers were RMs and knew what they were doing. I can't even describe how awesome it was.
Sacrament meeting was fast and testimony, and that was really nice. Arianna gave her testimony, which was also nice. I loved hearing everyone bear witness and I loved feeling the spirit there. It was a perfect culmination of a day of fasting. I really, really love having sacrament meeting last.
I came back to the apartment and got into leggings (who doesn't get out of their skirt ASAP?) and did calculus homework and blogged until ward prayer, in which there was more skittle-eating/get to know you games than praying, but there was still praying so that's nice. Then I came home and talked to Naythan on the phone and blogged and now we're caught up! I feel like a few things slipped through the cracks, so here they are (mostly pictures):
The backpack!
Honors Center plaque--I have Exploring Science here.
Becca's romantic gazebo!
The legacy bridge--nifty
COMIC SANS IN BIO 2005
The MHC (where I live) from Legacy Bridge
DEANYIL and I facetiming. I miss her!
Sitch the cute corgi outside the PHC. He was a little piece of home! Then tender mercies of the Lord include corgis!
This made our day.
Squirtle!
That's the college life as it stands! I'll write more soon, but not as much (hopefully!)
-Madeline
Madeline! I quite enjoyed reading about your first week, in comparison to mine. We will have to get together sometime and discuss various thoughts on this "college" thing. Ha ha! Also, if you're willing, I'd like to know more about this 4203 thing, and the interesting social dynamics surrounding them. Look forward to hearing from you!
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Laundry day has gone on for two weeks now. Mom and I saw Austenland last Friday.
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