hello. i have been a lurker here for quite a long time. so long, in fact, that i have grown to hate my former screen name (spew the dew) and have decided to start anew. i feel i must rant to someone about suddenly being thrown 800 miles away from home and having to live in a dorm, so here goes.
i miss the south incredibly. i'm from knoxville, tn, and am currently in poughkeepsie, ny. i thought it would be great to be so close to new york city. boy was i wrong. there's just this completely different feeling here. and everyone has to tell me about my southern accent. i have to share a room and use a public bathroom which completely sucks. there's no cable. i can't get any channels at all with rabbit ears. the in my hall all decide to talk really loud to each other in the hall outside my door at 2 am, and one of them has roller skates, which she rides down the hall and then slams into the wall. the people here are so happy and outgoing i want to kill them. i feel like enid in ghost world. i miss my car. there's no cheap way of getting around here. a cab to mall costs $12 and there's not a bus that goes by here. i don't feel like doing any work for my classes, but i have a huge amount of reading to do. there's no air conditioning in my room, and i come from a house where the thermostat had to always be on 70. and most of all...i miss my family, my friends, and my 3 cats. well, i feel a little better now.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Trade ya.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Me too. I miss college! Try being on your own with no job trying to make ends meet. College rocks! You'll get used to it once the homesickness wears off (whcih I never had...) and you start meeting cool people Though you have to admit, that noisy people in dorms is hell. I was lucky in college to live in small dorms and theme houses.
Posted by Ethics Gradient (Member # 878) on :
At least you didn't say "well" alot.
Posted by Toni (Member # 5620) on :
I would think it would take quite a bit of acclomating to make so many drastic changes. That's totally normal. When the winter hits, you're gonna hate upstate NY.
After the initial adjustment period, the noise may seem exciting instead of obnoxious, the lack of TV irrelevant instead of withdrawal-inducing, and the need for transportation an impetus to make some groovin' new friends instead of a major impediment.
I'll bet when you graduate in four years, you'll be bawling like a little sissy girl and missing it for years to come.
Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
Hi. Welcome to posting.
I had the same experience last year except for the loud dorm because I was on an all girls floor. And I wasn't too homesick since home was two hours away. But I was unmotivated. I'm going with my theory that I and others will be more motivated when we find something interesting to study. Yes that's right, I'm starting my second year and have no major. Ah well.
Posted by Ethics Gradient (Member # 878) on :
Hmmm. About the only thing that would make me take a room at an American college is the prospect of being put on these all-girl floors of which you speak... Rowr! Posted by Damander (Member # 4439) on :
That's nothing. I'm starting my third year and I still don't have a major.... Damander (atleast I can laugh at myself)
Don't worry, you'll get used to college life and begin to love it. Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
And you'll change your screen name again, too.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
3R, You at Marist or Vassar? I know a person or two at Vassar, and I know the Poughkeepsie area pretty well, having worked at IBM there for a year.
It's a tough place to live if Northeastern Rustic isn't your thing.
But in all honesty, almost everyone gets homesick a bit at college. I did, and I was in inner city Baltimore. If I can adjust to that, Pok will will be a piece of cake.
-Bok
Posted by celia60 (Member # 2039) on :
i went the opposite direction, PA to AL. they'll never stop asking about the accent, sorry to have to tell you that.
anyway, the culture shock sort of wore off after a few months. eventually, a few of the aquantences turned into friends. and, frankly, i had a fabulous time. don't sweat that stuff. you'll settle in eventually, and faster if you don't constantly tell yourself how much you hate it.
as for the homework thing. just freaking do it, already. i really don't have any sympathy for the cost of cab fare for someone who's blowing off homework.
Bok: profile says Vassar
[ September 08, 2003, 09:58 AM: Message edited by: celia60 ]
Posted by Professor Funk (Member # 5608) on :
Dorm life sucks - I'll attest to that, but college life I find rather fulfilling. It'll take a while, but soon you'll be well-adjusted and never want to leave.
At least I never want to leave. Maybe that's my main problem...
Posted by asQmh (Member # 4590) on :
Man - I even liked dorm life. My dorm was cool, though. An old-style building (it's now a landmark and in the national registry) complete with southern verandas, chandelier in the entry way, double stair case and just a nice, genteel feeling.
Those are the perks. There was also mold, noise and dust, but hey - you win some, you lose some. I had a very cool balcony and window seats in my room. It was spiff-city.
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