<p>School - Since this is the internet I won’t be too specific. I’ll just say I’m attending a residential (live on-campus) joint-enrollment program.
Year: Freshman</p>
<p>Academics: C+ - It’s midterm. I’m doing alright. Not fantastic, not abysmal, just okay. I hope to have mostly As by the end of the semester, and I’ll still be satisfied if I have a B or two.</p>
<p>Social Life: D - I won’t blame my lack of social life on my introversion. That would paint introversion in a distinctly negative light, and I very, very much appreciate this aspect of my personality. That being said, my natural tendencies are ones which do not normally lead to the building of friendships, e.g. wanting to stay in my room, relishing silence and solitude. I suppose this is where I’m supposed to “step outside my comfort zone” and do things which have little to no appeal to me. Like, going and sitting in the common area of my dorm (an extremely popular hang-out for this dorm’s residents) to listen to mostly pointless conversation. It’s not that I can’t take part in these conversations, it’s that I don’t have anything I’d like to add. So, yes, I could do this, but would it be worth it? Hm…</p>
<p>However, my sister is also going to this school, and it would be an understatement to say that her presence here has been a blessing to me. She is what is familiar and comfortable, and I find myself quite comfortable around her friends, as well. It’s possible that her presence is hindering me from having to form my own bonds, yes…but I’d take her friendship and sisterhood over an uncomfortable period of awkward acquaintanceship any day.</p>
<p>Living Situation: F - I wish I could assign this section a grade lower than F. I’m living in a dorm, in a double (two person to a room) with community baths. I’m an extremely private person. I spend a lot of my time thinking, thinking thoughts that I’d rather be thinking completely alone. The mere presence of another person can be (is) really disruptive to me at times. I won’t be too specific about my roommate. I’ll just say that she’s rude, impersonal, not my type of person, and most importantly…a complete stranger! </p>
<p>I feel like screaming so much of the time. I feel like sawing off my fingers one by one, I feel like shooting myself repeatedly in both feet (not literally, of course, but you get the idea). I am so, so very uncomfortable! I cannot explain how incredibly frustrating it is to come back to the dorms after a day of classes and want to be alone and breathe in my own space, and have to be in the presence of a stranger, especially one who I’ve grown to dislike. Honestly, I’d be unhappy in any situation where I had to share a room (excluding a future spouse, or maybe a family member if money’s really tight?), but it’s especially bad to have to do so with a person who you have no prior knowledge of. Sharing a room is so intimate to me. </p>
<p>Besides having to share a room and all that entails, I also highly dislike having to see other people in the bathroom. Perhaps I’m just odd, but it irritates me to wake up to pee in the middle of the night with my hair a mess, not wearing a bra, and have to go see strangers (!!) doing God knows what in the bathroom (e.g. one time, a girl was coloring her hair around 2 AM). In summary, I’d have to say that I can (will) bear the rest of this semester and the next. I don’t have a choice. However, this is an experience which I hope to never repeat. I try not to be a whiner. I don’t think I’m overreacting. I just think that this affects me more than it affects other people.</p>
<p>Overall (not an average of the above): C - College has been better than high school in most aspects. However, I’d be optimally pleased if only I could live separately from my peers. It’s a little annoying how a lot of people are like “You hafta live in da dormz frashman yeer, if ya dont urr missn out!!1!” because not everyone is suited for it, as I’ve had a such pleasant time discovering.</p>