Anywho, nothing major has happened over the past few days. I finally got my gym membership and have worked out 4 times since I got it on Monday, so I'd say I'm doing pretty well. I can't really survive without a gym, even if I am walking my arse off every day. I have missed the cardio blast enabling my endorphins. My leg muscles are getting pretty toned, but that's just from the steep inclines I hike, not the gym. The perk to living on the peak of a mountain. However, I applied to transfer residence halls today. It was not something I had considered until the girls (aka Kappa Alpha Awesome) convinced me to today while we planned our Spring Break travels-because I do like Tapton and I like my room setup (despite its archaic nature)- but they're forcing me to pack all of my crap and move out EVERYTHING before Spring Break, then expecting me to unpack EVERYTHING again after we return 3 weeks later. So, I agreed that would be annoying and I'd give it a go... no pun intended. Furthermore, though I could branch out and befriend more tenants of the likes of Tapton Hall, I'm only here between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. when I actually sleep here that is, so I haven't really had the opportunity. C'est la vie. Tap's really not that bad though and I don't mind the walks, but it's probably not the safest thing. I can see Mindy now clenching her fists and grinding her teeth at the thought of me walking by myself at night.
Yesterday, Chelsea, Genna, Monique, and I all went Trampolining. It was an activity planned by the Student Union's GIVE IT A GO campaign. We gave it a go and we will never go again. We thought it would be more like that crazy tramp stuff where you're strapped in and do flips and stuff... NO. It was a trampolining team. An actual club. We showed up in our layman's clothes, our good ol' American bluejeans, and I believe the fear on our faces was obvious when we arrived at the gym because one of the coaches said, "Don't look so afraid." His name was "Evil Coach LJ." No joke. Umm, so yeah, we thought this would be frivolous and fun, but really it was a club where they taught you the basics and then progressed you to flips and aerials and crazy acrobatics. I looked at Monique and was like, "do they expect me to do that by the end of tonight? because i'll walk out." Then, they made you pair off and go do conditioning training. WTF?! Mon-Mon and I did a dang push-up rotation game and then she chucked medicine balls at me while I was balancing on one of those physical therapy things. It was interesting to say the least. Definitely not your typical trampoline-backyard fun. But, it was kinda neat watching the people do their flips and I made "Evil Coach" laugh a ton, so I'd say that part was worth it.
Other than that, there's not much going on here except my 2 1/2 days of class, which is amazing by the way. One class on Tuesday night, 2 Wednesday morning, and 5 on Thursday. I'm not really sure how/where to do my Irish Writing homework, but I hope to figure it out in the near future. It's kind of funny, though. My classes are so different than they are at UNC. Everyone told me how independent the study would be, but students here really do nothing unless it pertains to the one essay they have to write for the class... so basically UNI is 10-11 weeks of fun and then 2 weeks of research per semester. I think I could get used to this.
On another note, I am amused by how people view me here... distinctly different from the person my friends think I am back home. Monique looks at me and says, "I can just see you thinking about how you'll word this in your blog." Today, somebody asked me if I wrote for the UNC Communist paper. Hahaha... I'm like why does everyone think I'm some kind of journalist? They think I'm some insane writer, which is totally ridiculous. I love writing, but I would never consider myself a writer. It's just really weird how I have this totally new self-established identity here... For once, it's nice to have no strings attached... the only person who really knows me, and knows who I am at home, is Alex. It's probably how most study abroad students feel, but it is a nice change of pace. Here, I'm just another soul searcher here in the UK. In fact, British people have told me on several occasions that they think it is so brave of me to leave home and spend the semester here. Then, they go on to say that they admire my courage. I'm not joking. It's hilarious because I don't feel brave at all, it's just another dream come true to me... I've craved an opportunity to see the world through my own eyes and not live vicariously through everyone elses adventures. Another thing I love about the British is that they love and cherish university students. They really do... students aren't expected to tip here and we get discounts at retail stores. It's pretty sweet. Though in reality, school is pretty much a cake walk so far and people go out every night, British people still want their students to get the most out of life and truly enjoy the experience whilst at Uni. I wish America was that way... no love for the haters. Bust your butt and never do squat only to get a C. We're just a bunch of misunderstood half-adults who are trying to figure themselves out, so a little understand would be nice sometimes. I also love that so many things have become clearer since I arrived. So many schemas and stereotypes that I thought existed have proven wrong. Like Europeans hate Americans. LIES. Most people love us and they are just as curious about us as we are them! I'm not explaining it correctly, but you have to see it for yourself to really understand it. Sometimes I just sit around and marvel at what's happening around me. I could literally sit there and listen to people and never say a word and be totally content. More often than not, I'm caught off guard and realize that I am actually in England and that I've been here for almost 3 weeks. It freaks me out. I'm like, "holy crap! I'm here!" I have no strings attached, and that is a remarkably liberating feeling.
Though I have limited experience, I recommend a study abroad-like experience to everyone. Not to sound poetic, but my vision was so skewed before, and now that this huge veil has lifted, I'm so ridiculously curious about everything. I feel like I could just wander aimlessly forever and still get to where I need to go. Become a nomad or whatever. Who knows. I'm just in this stage where I've realized that we constantly see the bad and the ugly on the news, and we get caught up in all that drama (by we I mean everyone who has an opinion), but meanwhile, we miss all the good and the beautiful that the world has to offer... that God created the world to be. Even though I complain about getting lost, in hindsight it's good to feel just intimidated enough to find your own way. You trip, you stumble, and more often than not you twist your ankle (dad, I did it 3 times in the last 2 days), but you always pick your feet up in the end. I could rant forever about this, but it's what I needed.
It's funny because my mom told me during my "last meal" in the states, which consisted of hamburgers and fries, that I never do anything the normal or right way and because of it she had great faith in me. It's the biggest praise I think I have received in the past year. Over the past few months, I have been so freaking plagued as to why I could never do anything right, or why I always felt like I was letting people down. What was so wrong with me that people would continually nag me for being things that I couldn't change about myself. Now I know that I am restless when most everyone else is content to sit; I want to do more and see more, which to some, appears as being ungrateful, but when in fact is not. This is who I am: a person who is discontent to take somebody else's word for it. People lie and they say things to make themselves look better when they're annoyed with how somebody else is living their life-- that I learned from Much Ado About Nothing, which I just read 2 days ago. Most are content to settle, and I will never nor would I ever knock that lifestyle. But, my whole life I have wanted and asked for things that people can't always give me because I am a sponge and desire to soak up every last bit of everything I can... maybe it's the Irish in me. I have learned this about myself... in 3 weeks I have discovered more about myself than I have in my whole life. So what if I have ridiculously high and often unreasonable expectations? I'd rather live that way than think that I didn't do enough at the end of my life. I'm not a settler. I'm an antsy girl with dreams. And I can't be somebody I wasn't created to be.
Over and out. Grace and peace to all.
No comments:
Post a Comment