I enjoy college weekends (and college boys)
As I expected, I had a rather interesting past few days while on my college overnight visits. Be prepared for a rather lengthy blog documenting my activities over the three days and two nights. Unfortunately, and as expected, I am now even more confused as to where I want to go to college, but I will address that later in this entry.
On Thursday afternoon my mom, Morgan, and myself drove all the way out to Northampton, or NoHo as the locals call it, to visit Smith for Open Campus. I really didn't have any intention of attending this school, but Morgan encouraged me to come along so I could see the campus and NoHo, and because it would make a UMass sleepover the next night possible. First we embarked on the requisite tour of the campus. It was rather impressive, but not quite enough to make me want to go there. Afterwards Morgan and I sat in on a 30-minute Italian discussion class, which was quite interesting. I have been wanting to take Italian in college for some time now, and after seeing what an actual discussion is like, I am even more determined to do so.
Soon after we dragged our luggage all the way to Hubbard House to meet our host, Lindsay. She was, of course, a lesbian (it's probable that half of the Smith population, at the very least, is homosexual), and, much to my chagrin, a Catholic. An interesting and rather rare combination, I would say. Her fiancé, Jess, was also staying with her that night and had been for a week or so. We ate dinner with them downstairs in their unique dining setup: instead of having the typical dining halls, Smith has a sort of buffet-style dining room on the first floor of each house (they also have houses instead of dorms). The food was actually quite good.
After dinner we joined another Smithie, Kate, who also happened to be our tour guide from earlier that evening, and another prospie (yes, I have adapted to the Smith lingo quite well) and went to two concerts: an a cappella performance by several Smith a cappella groups and a small concert by the singer/songwriter/cellist Lindsay Mac. The a cappella performance was better than it may sound, though I was still rather bored. The Lindsay Mac concert was interesting, mainly because she is creative in that she plays her cello like a guitar, though I must admit that I enjoyed the free lemon squares that were offered to us more than the concert itself. I spent nearly the entire time quietly texting friends in my seat in the back of the room.
A few hours later we returned to Lindsay's dorm room, watched a movie, and went to bed sometime between one and two in the morning. When we woke up seven hours later, I decided to take my time to shower and get ready and such because there wasn't anything important going on that we needed to attend. We had already slept through the president's address and had no desire to attend any seminars or classes (I have been to so many of those already and would much rather spend my time staring at a wall than sit through one of those again), so there was no rush. Once Morgan and I were finally dressed and ready to go, we left campus and shopped around NoHo for a few hours. I left with many useless but wonderful items such as a John Lennon poster, a box of postcards that I will never send because I love them too much, and an extremely goofy ring. Money well spent.
Finally our time at Smith had come to an end. We boarded the bus to UMass and met TJ by the Fine Arts Center with our sleeping bags and duffel bags full of clothing and other necessities. We took the campus shuttle to his dorm at Orchard Hill, dropped our things off in his room, and went to hang out with his buddies. We went to the dining hall for a quick meal and then sat outside on the lawn, a few of them playing wiffleball. After this we moved to the basketball court for a friendly game of basketball. I only stayed for a few minutes because TJ, Morgan and I left to walk around the campus for something like a tour, and so Morgan could get some sushi.
On our way back to the basketball court, we noticed something a little bit out of the ordinary. There appeared to be someone sitting on top of the basketball hoop. Before we were close enough to visually determine who this was, his identity was confirmed by his bizarre freestyling while sitting atop the hoop, shirtless and swatting the basketballs that the others threw up to him. It was none other than Luke, the same guy who, during my last trip to UMass, was greeted by TJ with the question, "are you high right now?" He had to think for a bit before he carefully answered with a "no." I'm pretty sure that describes his personality quite well right there... you probably get the point.
After debating for a few minutes on how to get Luke safely down from the basketball hoop and successfully carrying out the plan in which he was to slide down the pole like a firefighter, we went to Fitzwilly's Pub in NoHo for Andy's 21st birthday party. Not only had I never met Andy, but out of the 26 or so people that were there, I really only knew Morgan and TJ, plus TJ's friends who were mere acquaintances. That was somewhat awkward at first, but after a few conversations I became more comfortable and I ended up having a really good time.
At midnight we returned to the dorms and hung out in Pat & Luke's room. At one point Luke tried to show us all his sexpertise by enacting his favorite sex positions on a cardboard box, one of which involved sending the box flying across the room with his crotch. I am still unsure of what kind of crazy sex position would require that, but I don't think that was the point of the entire demonstration. Actually I am unsure of what the point of the demonstration even was.
A bit later Phil entered the room, the stereotypical college kid that's always completely stoned and/or drunk out of his mind. That night was no exception. Apparently he is the main supplier of pot, booze, and other illegal substances in the dorm, especially to Luke. Luke left with him for a little while to get stoned, and Phil returned with a huge bottle of alcohol. Everyone called it a "forty," but thankfully I don't have enough experience with alcohol to know what that means.
At around 3 in the morning we decided it was probably time to get some sleep, so everyone returned to their dorm rooms. I have to say I fully enjoyed lounging on a bed with cute college boys and was disappointed when everyone began filing out the door. I was tired, though, and was ready to get some sleep myself, so I put on my pajamas, got into my sleeping bag on TJ's roommate's bed (to avoid confusion I should note that his roommate was away for the weekend), and quickly fell asleep.
We got up at around 10 that morning and packed our things. We met Morgan's parents and little sister at Bertucci's down the road, and after a fulfilling lunch of pizza, began the car ride home.
I definitely had a really good time this weekend. It made me certain that I didn't want to go to Smith, but at the same time it made me even more uncertain of whether I should choose Simmons or UMass. I have made more pros and cons lists, much more elaborate than the first table I made here, and each time they come out exactly even. Morgan and my mom have both suggested that I flip a coin. It's actually a good theory, because if I am disappointed with the outcome then I know I'm not meant to go there. This method won't work with me, however, because both of these colleges are equal in benefits and disadvantages, so essentially I would be disappointed with each outcome. I really like both colleges and I would love to go to either of them, but I can't for the life of me decide which one I like more. I have to send the deposit in by May 1, so I only have a week to decide. I don't know how I could possibly make my decision in that short amount of time.
Anyway, this has been one mammoth of a post. I think it's time to end it here, also because I only just remembered several assignments that I was supposed to complete over the vacation for school tomorrow. I should get going if I want to get enough sleep to function properly in school tomorrow (like that has ever happened anyway). Adios!
On Thursday afternoon my mom, Morgan, and myself drove all the way out to Northampton, or NoHo as the locals call it, to visit Smith for Open Campus. I really didn't have any intention of attending this school, but Morgan encouraged me to come along so I could see the campus and NoHo, and because it would make a UMass sleepover the next night possible. First we embarked on the requisite tour of the campus. It was rather impressive, but not quite enough to make me want to go there. Afterwards Morgan and I sat in on a 30-minute Italian discussion class, which was quite interesting. I have been wanting to take Italian in college for some time now, and after seeing what an actual discussion is like, I am even more determined to do so.
Soon after we dragged our luggage all the way to Hubbard House to meet our host, Lindsay. She was, of course, a lesbian (it's probable that half of the Smith population, at the very least, is homosexual), and, much to my chagrin, a Catholic. An interesting and rather rare combination, I would say. Her fiancé, Jess, was also staying with her that night and had been for a week or so. We ate dinner with them downstairs in their unique dining setup: instead of having the typical dining halls, Smith has a sort of buffet-style dining room on the first floor of each house (they also have houses instead of dorms). The food was actually quite good.
After dinner we joined another Smithie, Kate, who also happened to be our tour guide from earlier that evening, and another prospie (yes, I have adapted to the Smith lingo quite well) and went to two concerts: an a cappella performance by several Smith a cappella groups and a small concert by the singer/songwriter/cellist Lindsay Mac. The a cappella performance was better than it may sound, though I was still rather bored. The Lindsay Mac concert was interesting, mainly because she is creative in that she plays her cello like a guitar, though I must admit that I enjoyed the free lemon squares that were offered to us more than the concert itself. I spent nearly the entire time quietly texting friends in my seat in the back of the room.
A few hours later we returned to Lindsay's dorm room, watched a movie, and went to bed sometime between one and two in the morning. When we woke up seven hours later, I decided to take my time to shower and get ready and such because there wasn't anything important going on that we needed to attend. We had already slept through the president's address and had no desire to attend any seminars or classes (I have been to so many of those already and would much rather spend my time staring at a wall than sit through one of those again), so there was no rush. Once Morgan and I were finally dressed and ready to go, we left campus and shopped around NoHo for a few hours. I left with many useless but wonderful items such as a John Lennon poster, a box of postcards that I will never send because I love them too much, and an extremely goofy ring. Money well spent.
Finally our time at Smith had come to an end. We boarded the bus to UMass and met TJ by the Fine Arts Center with our sleeping bags and duffel bags full of clothing and other necessities. We took the campus shuttle to his dorm at Orchard Hill, dropped our things off in his room, and went to hang out with his buddies. We went to the dining hall for a quick meal and then sat outside on the lawn, a few of them playing wiffleball. After this we moved to the basketball court for a friendly game of basketball. I only stayed for a few minutes because TJ, Morgan and I left to walk around the campus for something like a tour, and so Morgan could get some sushi.
On our way back to the basketball court, we noticed something a little bit out of the ordinary. There appeared to be someone sitting on top of the basketball hoop. Before we were close enough to visually determine who this was, his identity was confirmed by his bizarre freestyling while sitting atop the hoop, shirtless and swatting the basketballs that the others threw up to him. It was none other than Luke, the same guy who, during my last trip to UMass, was greeted by TJ with the question, "are you high right now?" He had to think for a bit before he carefully answered with a "no." I'm pretty sure that describes his personality quite well right there... you probably get the point.
After debating for a few minutes on how to get Luke safely down from the basketball hoop and successfully carrying out the plan in which he was to slide down the pole like a firefighter, we went to Fitzwilly's Pub in NoHo for Andy's 21st birthday party. Not only had I never met Andy, but out of the 26 or so people that were there, I really only knew Morgan and TJ, plus TJ's friends who were mere acquaintances. That was somewhat awkward at first, but after a few conversations I became more comfortable and I ended up having a really good time.
At midnight we returned to the dorms and hung out in Pat & Luke's room. At one point Luke tried to show us all his sexpertise by enacting his favorite sex positions on a cardboard box, one of which involved sending the box flying across the room with his crotch. I am still unsure of what kind of crazy sex position would require that, but I don't think that was the point of the entire demonstration. Actually I am unsure of what the point of the demonstration even was.
A bit later Phil entered the room, the stereotypical college kid that's always completely stoned and/or drunk out of his mind. That night was no exception. Apparently he is the main supplier of pot, booze, and other illegal substances in the dorm, especially to Luke. Luke left with him for a little while to get stoned, and Phil returned with a huge bottle of alcohol. Everyone called it a "forty," but thankfully I don't have enough experience with alcohol to know what that means.
At around 3 in the morning we decided it was probably time to get some sleep, so everyone returned to their dorm rooms. I have to say I fully enjoyed lounging on a bed with cute college boys and was disappointed when everyone began filing out the door. I was tired, though, and was ready to get some sleep myself, so I put on my pajamas, got into my sleeping bag on TJ's roommate's bed (to avoid confusion I should note that his roommate was away for the weekend), and quickly fell asleep.
We got up at around 10 that morning and packed our things. We met Morgan's parents and little sister at Bertucci's down the road, and after a fulfilling lunch of pizza, began the car ride home.
I definitely had a really good time this weekend. It made me certain that I didn't want to go to Smith, but at the same time it made me even more uncertain of whether I should choose Simmons or UMass. I have made more pros and cons lists, much more elaborate than the first table I made here, and each time they come out exactly even. Morgan and my mom have both suggested that I flip a coin. It's actually a good theory, because if I am disappointed with the outcome then I know I'm not meant to go there. This method won't work with me, however, because both of these colleges are equal in benefits and disadvantages, so essentially I would be disappointed with each outcome. I really like both colleges and I would love to go to either of them, but I can't for the life of me decide which one I like more. I have to send the deposit in by May 1, so I only have a week to decide. I don't know how I could possibly make my decision in that short amount of time.
Anyway, this has been one mammoth of a post. I think it's time to end it here, also because I only just remembered several assignments that I was supposed to complete over the vacation for school tomorrow. I should get going if I want to get enough sleep to function properly in school tomorrow (like that has ever happened anyway). Adios!
posted by Patricia at 11:58 PM
1 Comments:
Patricia, be serious, UMass is where you want to go
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