All Hail Twenty-Eleven

This has to be a fairly quick post. I need to leave in about 40 minutes to go cook dinner for my wonderful comgroup. Mmmm pasta bake!

Don't tell anyone, but I am listening to the Backstreet Boys. It makes me laugh.

So, the class of 2011 is here. Almost. I see them walking around on campus every morning with their parents, doing new student conferencing things. They are normally looking for the Pavillion.

The girls have all got tans (probably leftover from prom), and are all dressed up.

That'll change once they realize they would rather sleep than dress up cute for class.

The guys are all cool and hip and all, with their blonde highlights, surfer haircuts and Abercrombie clothes.

That'll change once they realize they're in college now, and no one cares.

They are all carrying maroon and white MSC Bookstore bags containing registration details, information on the leaving times of the campus tours, and about 17 campus maps.

Their parents normally walk beside them, and they are easy to spot from a mile away because they are either a maroon speck or are decked out in Aggie Mom stuff. I think I can count the number of parents on one hand I've seen who were not wearing some sort of Aggie item of clothing (my mom was one of those moms). I actually don't think that either of my parents owns anything that says "Texas A&M" on it. And both of my parents were Aggies.

I don't care who you are

Where you're from

What you did

As long as you love me

Great lyrics. Musical genius.

*barfs*

And yet, I just want to dance.

Back to the freshmen thing. Is anyone else excited? I am. I love freshmen. They stick out like sore thumbs on the first day of school, because they are the only ones who thought about what they were going to wear that day (it probably took them an hour to pick out an outfit), and they carry a map to class. They ask where the MSC is, and how you get to northside.

I say all of this jokingly, because I used to be one of those freshmen. I hope you know that I really do love freshmen. They are at a wonderful point in their lives, and it's exciting to see a lot of them grow and change, learning more about Christ and His love. I love talking to freshmen and listening to what God has laid on their hearts. They are brilliant. They are impressionable. A lot of times, they are alone and afraid.

I was.

I flew to College Station all by myself from England, crying the whole way. Leaving my family was so difficult for me. I remember the conversation I had with the U.S. customs officer guy once I arrived in Dallas.

"Why are you flying back to the States?"

"For college."
"Why were you in England?"
"My family lives there."

"Oh my goodness! Well, welcome home."

I think I burst into tears. I was home, but it was hard for it to feel that way.

I want to find the freshmen who had experiences like me. They are everywhere. I just have to find them. I know how they feel. It's so scary. It's too bad that I will have all my core classes out of the way once the fall comes. I will find a way, though. I will meet freshmen!

I honestly can't believe that I am a senior. What the heck!? Where did the time go? I remember my new student conference like it was yesterday. I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I didn't know what a credit hour was. I had never heard the word "kinesiology" in my life. I hadn't even used American money in a while.

I was so lost.

I went to Fish Camp and Impact by myself. My best friend Anna was there, but we weren't in the same camp for either one. When I got back from Impact, my mom was in College Station, which made things better. But she didn't know anything about college either, so we were these two clueless Americans who didn't know anything about... America.

People got a kick out of the fact that I lived in England. I told people that I had dated Prince Harry, and for the longest time, everyone believed me. One person was so gullable that they stood up and yelled that to the entire 12th Man cafeteria. Oh. Dear. That's when I realized I should stop telling Americans things that were incredibly stupid and yet they still believed them.

My best friends lived in the same dorm as me (and are now my roommates). We were so immature. We would do the stupidest stuff because we didn't know any better. We would run on that drill field by the SSG and then get yelled at. We would sneak into Dunn and blow an air horn in front of doors, then run out before the RA could catch us. We would jump out at people from behind walls at night. We thought that a trip to Sbisa was an exciting adventure. We hung out in the TV lounge because we didn't have TVs. We would eat at Rumours because they had the best food on campus. Our entertainment was daring each other to drink Tabasco sauce. We never got off campus because we didn't have cars, and so going grocery shopping was like heaven. I really miss freshman year.

Yet I am so glad that I finally grew up. :)

I am afraid that my reminiscing will have to come to an end now, since I need to go cook for comgroup.

Ahhh, memories.

-Katie