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I (DM) think I first came across Melissa over @ Rindy’s Blog. I was struck by her honest questions. I could tell several of her readers knew her from Church, so for her to be as transparent as she was spoke volumes to me about her courage. She is currently going to college to be a nurse. I think she will make a great one.
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Imagine me, a guest speaker. I feel a bit as if I’ve been asked to speak on Oprah, or The View, or one of those sorts of talk shows. Doug originally gave me free reign to discuss whatever I wanted to, which seemed a bit overwhelming, and so he graciously suggested that I talk about college. I can handle that. For the full effect, please imagine me seated on a platform in a plush chair, smiling slightly, and nervously tucking my hair behind my ears and smoothing my skirt before I begin…
I really only have two complaints about college, the first of which is pretty minor and is simply that I cannot have a coffee maker in my dorm room. It’s considered a fire hazard, and so I am thereby reduced to drinking instant coffee before leaving for clinicals in the mornings (please imagine me making a wretched face, here) or going without. The second of my two complaints is slightly more serious, and it is that it’s relatively difficult to find a space of one’s own on a college campus.
My roommate is incredible; she’s my best friend on campus and one of my closest friends in general. Even so, there are days when I cannot imagine being confined in the same room with her for an entire evening and am in desperate need of a private place to escape to. There were several occasions last year in which I climbed to the landing on the fourth floor of our building’s stairwell, sat on the concrete floor and just cried. No one ever came up to that level, because it led to the roof and the door was kept locked, and I was grateful for the privacy. It was usually all I could find, and it was usually very much needed. In those moments, I always wondered what other students on campus do when they need space and quiet.
Other than that, college is absolutely fantastic. I love being away from home and learning to be independent. I love making new friends and developing relationships with my professors. I love learning what I am capable of and the feeling that I am growing. I suppose that’s what I like best about it; the fact that living on campus allows me the opportunity to learn who I am and what’s important to me. I think that’s an opportunity everyone needs to have, and I’m very grateful that I opted to live in a dorm instead of commute
You can visit Melissa over @ Letting Go and Growing Up
August 31, 2008 at 5:35 am |
[...] you’d like, you can read my post here, on DM’s [...]
August 31, 2008 at 9:15 am |
Good luck with school Melissa. I never got the opportunity to go to college but some say it’s the best experience of their lives. I would really miss the privacy also. You are a cute little thing. My wishes will be with you.
August 31, 2008 at 12:05 pm |
Melissa; perhaps you could bring one of those nylon folding chairs up to that 4th floor landing and make it your own get away spot! Get one of those little lights that clip on to a book and you’re set. lol
Keep in mind that one day you will look back on these days as “adventerous”. I know sounds crazy. But hey, nursing college is only… how long?
August 31, 2008 at 2:07 pm |
Hi Melissa, you are beautiful… I’m glad you did this. I loved my space too (still do as a matter of fact). In My Freshman year, I stayed in a room that had a double bunk so I chose the top bunk and used pillows to form a sort of barricade then hid behind those. It was very effective.
Sorry about the coffeemaker, but instant isn’t so bad is it?
August 31, 2008 at 3:45 pm |
Hi, Melissa. When I was in college and needed space, our library had three floors that you could get lost in. I’d go up to the third floor and just sit on the floor in the most private place I could find. It was great. I also would take drives, but today with the gas prices, that’s sort of not much of an option as I remember how money-starved I was during my undergraduate years.
August 31, 2008 at 4:44 pm |
Melissa—you’re awesome! Doug—I love these interviews–they’re great!
September 5, 2008 at 8:30 pm |
Melissa: Welcome and great to read you!! I absolutely loved college, but I agree about the lack of privacy. Where I went, the school’s chapel was on the first floor of my freshman dorm, so if I needed privacy, solace in the middle of the night, I would go in there, and find such peace… it was wonderful…… Good luck with your studies and keep having fun; it goes so fast!!!