The first week of college ended about 30 minutes ago. It’s sort of strange how quickly I’ve adapted to my new environment. It doesn’t quite feel like home of course, but it doesn’t seem as artificial as I expected. A few friends and I noticed how college seems sort of temporary. It feels like we’re on some trip or at summer camp, and it will all be over come next week. Hard to believe that the few square miles I’m sitting on will likely be my home for the next four (or more?) years.

I’ve been having dilemmas trying to deal with whether I should try to strengthen relationships with the many people I’m already friends with or if I should focus on finding new friends. Already I’ve met one kid I have a lot in common with, and I’m sure that on a campus like GT there are plenty of people with similar interests. However, it’s all frustrating when you make an effort to meet someone, and several days later they don’t seem to even remember you.

In the past five days I’ve spent quite a few hours in class, with anywhere from one to five classes a day. I’ve already spent entire classes sitting online on facebook and on AIM. I’m not sure how I feel about the setup of college courses. It’s so easy to get by with doing absolutely nothing until you get to the test. And after you fail the first test, your final grade has probably dropped ten points. To my knowledge, my grade in each class is made up from anywhere between three and ten grades. That’s a little overwhelming, and I’m definitely not looking forward to the first test.

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I was on a roll with updating my blog over the summer, so I’ve got to keep the trend alive.
I no longer live at home. I am a resident of Atlanta, GA and a student of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

I’ve been living on campus since Thursday, and I feel like I’ve already adapted to the new environment. I haven’t really missed home much yet, but I’m definitely not as clean as I would usually prefer. We didn’t even have showers on my floor until late yesterday, so we had to trek up to the third floor just to get clean.

My dorm has now reached reasonable temperatures after the A/C has been off for five days, and I’m getting used to my new bed. Food at the dining hall is not bad (no Persian food–what?!) and my unlimited meal plan is terribly convenient. I’m desperately trying to gain weight, and I think I’ve been eating a lot more. And walking far too much too.

Today was the first day of the semester, and I sat down for my first class at twelve noon. What a concept! I was out until 12:30 the night before the first day of school hanging with some of my friends from Dacula. My alarm clock is virtually useless now as the earliest I have a class is 11:00 on Wednesday. My Tuesday and Thursday don’t even start until 1:35. Glorious.

I already have reading assignments in two of my classes, and these will probably be the downfall of my college career. I’m really tempted to try and get by without reading, but I’m sure it’s not worth it. I can’t quite wrap my mind around the fact that a single test can be worth so much. I only have four graded assignments all semester for English, and three tests will make up my grade in CEE.

I’m going full swing college student tomorrow. I’m going to get up a little earlier, hit the gym in the AM, shower, eat, hit class (for only 80 minutes!), and spend some time reading afterwards. It’s definitely a whole new experience.

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My birthday was a few days ago. I don’t really care about birthdays, but they say I’m 18 now. I’m so enthused…

My sister took me to White Water, which was far more expensive and not as much fun as I remembered it. This was mostly due to it being the last operating weekday of the summer. They had a bunch of rides closed down, so essentially there were fewer rides and longer lines… It was probably still worth it though. I also had some cheesecake, which is always a good thing.

I ordered a reconditioned LaCie d2 Quadra external hard drive. I’ve been wanting to get one for a long time now, and with my Beta club pay coming soon, I got an advance from my dad to pay for it. I’m going to create a massive media archive full of all my music, movies, and TV shows. Hopefully I’ll start to properly back things up too, as I’m pretty sure my laptop’s hard drive is getting ready to spite me.

In other news, I only have three full days at home before I move on Thursday. Also, I have no toothpaste.

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I had FASET orientation this past Sunday and Monday, and the realities of college are starting to set in. Of course, orientation can never really be much fun, but it was nice to see some old friends and be on campus. I’m also really enjoying the fact that I know my way around campus fairly well thanks to my sister while others are just floundering around. “Student Center…?”

The first opportunity to move-in is a week from tomorrow, literally just around the corner. In all honesty, my only concern right now is how I will be able to do my regular downloading without attracting attention on the college network.

I’m getting paid $250 for some web “consulting” I did for my high school. That comes out to somewhere between $25-$35/hour, and would probably be two or three weeks of pay if I had been able to find a job.

Expect a post about my car and the work I’ve done this summer in the next week!

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