Things to think about before you ship off to college. Are there things you get on a monthly basis, face cream, percriptions, magazines, just remember to forward it to Lynn. Talk to your pharmacy about making sure you can get everything you need once you arrive in Boca. There is a Walgreens down the street from us which comes in handy if the school nurse wants you to take something. Yes, you are going to get sick… often. Welcome to college.

Now, cars. If you have a car, begin crying now. Gas prices sucked when I left. I don’t even want to think about how high it is going to be when I get back! I spent all my money filling up my tank. Hmm,  I wonder if depression is on the rise in America do to gas prices? That would be a cool research  project. Anyway, random moment for today. Now, if you are planning on getting a drivers license anytime soon, it would be a great idea. Most American kids already have one, but a lot of international kids might not. It will come in handy. You don’t have to have a car, some friends might let you borrow theirs when they have class or something. I just know that some days, it would have been great to have some one else who could drive around. Say the time I got stuck 10 minutes away from school, sick to my stomach, in a ton of pain and no one could come and get me because they didn’t have license. There were cars, but no one to drive them.

Also, the storm alert. It goes off when lightening hits 5 miles within the school. Its loud and is annoying at first but you get used to it. The first time I heard it, I thought we were under attack. lol. And it sucks to wake up to, half awake, still in that confused mode.

I’ve also noticed that a lot of freshmen are concerned about making friends. It’s funny. I’ve moved so many times in my life but I  was worried about making friends when I got to college as well. It is kind of silly looking back on it now since I did just fine. My advice, go to the freshmen meet and greet party. It sound pretty stupid, and I felt like I was back in high school again, but I met Michelle there and thank goodness! We are both bio majors and stick together. She’s moving next door to me which I am so excited about. All I have to say is, give it sometime. Wait a few days for everyone to relax. People will start to open up. Talk to the other freshmen in your classes. That’s how I met Cristina. Just be open minded and go for it!

Well, thats all for now. I’m helping to make dinner and fighting off two tuna hungry cats.

I have been getting a bunch of emails from new freshmen and their parents. It’s awsome! I love it.

For those of you who are curious about greek life, it is amazing. I love my sisters so much, and the frat boys are a ton of fun to hang out with. I am still sad that I missed Tie Date with the ZBT’s. If you aren’t sure, come to rush week. See what the greeks are about, meet a few of us, ask a ton of questions, and see if it is you. Its the best way to learn about the greeks.

BSU is awsome too. A smaller group, not only for Black Students, who love BBQ’s and helping kids. We plan a bunch of activies for children each year, bring in guest speakers and have a ball at each meeting. I think we spend 75% of our time cracking jokes in meetings. Of course we get stuff done, but we have the most fun doing it. BSU is really laxed. I’m trying to grow it for next year and maybe have a few more BBQ’s and bands come in. The guys were talking about having a poetry night…. of course with a band at the end to dance the night away.

Remember, all incoming students and parents of new freshmen can email me at manderson5@email.lynn.edu

Ask me questions, its what I’m here for! I’ve already lived my freshmen year, made the mistakes, ask me the questions so you make less mistakes, spend less time fixing your mistakes, and spend more time enjoying being a freshmen at Lynn.

Advise that will save you, fill out ALL your paperwork BEFORE you get to lynn and then check at least 3 times over one week to make sure that Lynn has all your paperwork. Now if mom and dad seem crazy embrassing by calling the school to see if your paperwork is in, don’t roll your eyes and act like they are treating you like a child. This will save you FOUR HOURS in the gym on the first day… I repeat 4 hours of your life that you will NEVER GET BACK standing around in the gym with all the new kids filling out the forms that you thought were sent in. Double check. It will save you so much time and allow you to enjoy your first day as a college student a whole lot more.

Lord knows I wish I had checked. And this goes double as a student coming from over seas. I was doing all my paperwork in Kuwait and well, that sucked, cause some of it got lost. I had to change addresses and sign stuff. My picture for my ID never got sent. Also, you are going to have that ID for 4 years, PICK YOUR PHOTO, do not take the photo in the gym. Security, professors, the caf people, pretty much anyone you buy something off of will see that picture. You are going to want it to look good. My advise, senior picture. It’s nice (well it should be, it is your senior portrait!) and it will look even better 4 years down the line then when you first roll out of bed at the crack of dawn to get to school because your parents are nervous.

This a personal note to all those graduating this year from high school. Congrats! I hope your graduation is all that you wanted. I know that I loved mine and still remember the after party. I mean…. my diploma.

You’ve worked hard. Trust me I know, you’ve signed all the forms, found the perfect outfit for prom and grad. You know where you are going and what you are doing with your life. You are on top of the world. This is a great mile stone in your life. Enjoy it. Truly take every bit of it in. And cut your mom some slack. Ya she’s crying a lot, but her baby is going to college!

Speaking of moms. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT allow them to over pack your bags. There is not that much room in a dorm room and mothers seem to forget that. Bring what you will need, a tooth brush,some clothes… not all of them, things for classes, your favorite posters. Keep it down. Trust me, I learned the hard way. I spent plenty of days trying to find space to put stuff and throwing the rest out. DAYS. In college, you don’t have days to be cleaning your room. Hug your mom and dad and inform them that they mean well.

So whats the best thing to do? Bring hardly anything. Now, I might sound crazy, but heres the plan. Have your parents put aside money for what you will need in college. The first month, make a list, have them order and send it to you. Yes this may seem like more of a hassle, but hello, Target anyone? The people in the mailroom are wonderful. They will help you get any large packages to your room. Now this way you don’t have a ton of stuff that you don’t need hogging up your room and you are getting packages sent with love from mom and dad. You will love packages from home around the third month.

Make a list of all your favorite things that you do with your mom and dad. Love mom’s cookies? Ask her if she’s willing to overnight a batch once a month. Watch the game with dad? Make a plan that when your fav team is on, you’ll watch it together, via web cam or on the phone. You will want a little bit of home when you get to college.

I remember my first night in my dorm room. I just plopped myself down on my bed and took it all in. This was my new life. MY new life. It’s a feeling I will never forget. A whole new stage of life that I was excited to begin. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, boy was I wrong. I learned so much the first few days. And don’t mind the upperclassmen. They arne’t mean, they just know the drill. Give them a couple of days to warm up to you. Like in high school, freshmen can be spotted a mile away.

Who you were in high school means nothing in college, you will grow up a lot and college will change you. Expect to learn a lot about yourself.

Again, congrats all high school grads of 2008! You did it! You made it, you are going to college! If you are like Kori, and have a ton of questions about Lynn, or college in general, feel free to email me at manderson5@email.lynn.edu. Its my personal school email account which I check every day. Feel free to ask me anything about college! Honestly! I’ll answer them as freely as you ask me. If I can’t answer it, I’ll direct you to some one who can. Ask me about classes, friends, parties, clubs, sports, how to get stuff done, where to pick up your mail, the food plans, anything! I have the whole summer to answer all incoming freshmen questions, and hey, if its really good, I’ll blog about it!

Alright class of 2008, you are now the class of 2012 at Lynn, welcome!

(P.S. This is my 200th post! Sweet!)

I’m home. It’s fantastic! Although, my mother ditched me for Africa. Lovely, but I still have my cats, the condo, her car, and TV! Its a mini party in here! The cats are thrilled, I have a ton of good food stocked up in the fridge. Everything is perfect! Now all I have to do is wait for my mother to get home so I can pretend like she didn’t ditch me the day before Mother’s Day.

Oh ya, I’m job hunting. It’s awesome. I’m looking for a job at Union Station at one of the stores.

I’ve gotten to the point where I hate the sound of my cell phone. I can’t get anything done because it is always going off. Its driving me nuts to the point that I am thinking about getting rid of it all together over the summer. I’m not really a big fan of phones anymore. It is 24/7 access to a person which in reality, do you really need 24/7 access to any one given person?

Last night, I couldn’t take it anymore. All the beeping and the ringing. I just turned it off. I just turned it back on after my exam to find a flood of missed calls and text messages.

I can’t get anything done with the damn thing around me! I really hate the annoying little bugger. I’m already under enough stress with packing and studying for exams, which is hard enough for me to focus on, but then the phone keeps ringing and its driving me insane. I can not focus with a cell phone. Its probably my number one distraction in college.

And everyone is all like, this is the last week of school. Ya well, I’m still in denial… so stop trying to pop my bubble! How can a year go by so quickly???? I just got my room the way I like it! Honestly, I’m terrified. Everything seems to be happening so quickly and so suddenly. It feels like weeks until I’ll be home, but really its only two days! I have so much to do, I think I need an extra day. Ugh, being an adult is hard!

I never thought I could be so happy to be packing in my life! After all the moves I’ve done in 19 years, I should be my normal grumpy self. But no! Not this time. I’m thrilled to be putting everything away and putting it in storage for a few months. Fly home to be with my cats and my mommy!!! Good food! Just… all the great stuff in life! haha.

I just got home from the movies with Cristina and Samara. We saw Made Of Honor. Great movie! We loved it so much that we couldn’t even remember what we had seen two days ago. It was a sad moment.

I’m off to bed so I can get up early to pack. More packing! Does it ever end? Well its got to by tuesday evening cause I’m flying home on Wednesday!!! Freshmen year is down to its last few hours! Oh and what an amazing roller coaster ride it has been!