Getting My Feet Wet. In Flats.

I was only on USF’s campus for a grand total of 20 minutes, but it was plenty of time to remind me of all those irritating things I absolutely do not miss from being the new kid at college:
Parking. Parking. Parking.
Crossing the same street three times before finally turning my hand drawn map the right way to point me in the proper direction of the building I am looking for.
I forgot just how hot it gets walking around in Florida. To be more specific, I forgot it can be 85 degrees in January in Florida.
New places and strangers stress me out. This plus the heat is not a pleasant combo for anyone sitting next to me for an hour and a half class.

The culmination of the aggravation came when I finally made it to the third floor of the English building to find that the advisor I was there to see was out sick. Thanks for coming, but we can’t help you. Try your luck tomorrow.

This is probably the worst thing of all about being a college student: the sheer helplessness. There was not a thing I could do to change the situation. It is this way during every step of the collegiate career — getting a B for tardiness despite acing every test and assignment, disputing erroneous parking tickets and, perhaps the most infuriating of all, dealing with the financial aid department. You can only complain so much and plead your case so many times before realizing there isn’t anything you can do or anyone you can talk to who really gives a crap about the grade you got in Spanish I or that your parking permit WAS properly displayed. You just have to deal.

So I walked back to the parking garage where I had paid for parking for 2 hours and swerved through what seemed like a million 18-year old pedestrians in Rainbow flip flops, half the girls looking like Mary-Kate Olsen and the other half like one of the Girls Next Door. I couldn’t help but ask myself if I was completely certain that this is what I wanted to get myself into again. And it only took about a millisecond for me to answer with a resounding, unwavering yes!

I am headed back to campus today for another shot at meeting with the advisor (but not without calling first this time). After that, maybe I’ll go to work or maybe I’ll go pick up a new pair of Rainbows.