Do you know what today is? Today is the day I become glued to my TV. That’s right, its the Olympics! HEAVEN! Of course I’m totally rooting for Michael Phelps. My cousin got me intrested in him during the last Olympics.

Swimming, soccer, and gymnastics. Ya, I’m going to be getting a lot done. I guess I’m going to have to stop for a few minutes and call Cristaina on Sunday since it is her birthday…. hmmmm…. must make time for that or I’m going to get an ear full.

The first few days back to school are going to be so exciting! I have so many presents to give people, like the awsome birthday presents for my two amazing future roomates.

I’m talking about your social security number.

It’s a very important number to know if you are an American student leaving home for college. If you want to go to the doctor or need to go to the ER, chances are, you are going to be asked for your number. It’s a good idea to memorize it before you leave home.

Passport. Do you have one? Do you know where it is? Start talking to mom and dad about where they keep your imporant documents. If you want to be treated like an adult, start acting like one. Know your information.

If you are an international student and may have an address in the states where you want your mail sent, including bills, know the address by heart!

Are your forms all filled out? Are you sure? If you own your own car, where are the documents for it? Have copies of all your important information. Life happens, and you want to be prepared! Show your parents that you know what you are doing, or at least taking charge of your life. Mom and Dad aren’t always going to be around with all the answers when you need them, so it is a good idea to sit them down and ask them questions.

Where do they want you go to in case of a hurricane? What is your health insurance company? If your car breaks down on the side of the road, does your car insurance cover the tow to the shop? How far do they tow?

Then the big stuff for college students! Where’s the money coming from! How much money are your parents willing to give you each month or week to spend. Think about things you will have to spend money on each month like clothes, special food, bills, gas for your car, dues for greek life, etc. Growing up and being on your own means having to keep track of all your money.

Just a few things to think about. Talk to your parents before you leave college!

Here is a list of a few things you might want to think about getting for your dorm room. Your future home away from home.

• Lamps! During the day, the Florida sun floods the rooms with light. At night, it’s a totally different story. Lamps come in handy. Ones that are easy to move are great since it may take a few tries to figure out how you like your new dorm room.
• Two sets of bedding. Ah… college happens?
• Extra pillows. Sometimes friends come over and there aren’t enough places to sit. Pillows come in handy. Plus, they are soft and comfortable.
• Storage containers. All shapes and sizes. I put my CD’s and video’s in two small ones. My seasonal clothes in large ones.
• A night stand. Where else do you think your alarm clock is going to sit? Think about multi-functional. A chair that also can store things away? Space is limited.
• Bed padding! The most amazing thing ever created for college students! Grab a few and enjoy the soft bed full of comfort! Everyone should enjoy college, down to their bed.
• A few towels. One week to another can be crazy, wild or boring. Washing clothes and towels might wait 2 weeks.
• A TV
• A mini fridge. Things for snacks.
• A microwave.
• A shower basket to keep all your personal toiletries in and not mix up with your roommate or to get lost in the bathroom, you know, for those who share and have to carry their stuff in and out of the bathroom. Think about it, do you really want to be standing in a towel or a bath robe carrying 4 or 5 things in your arms, trying to unlock your door, praying that a bunch of crazy boys don’t run down the hall and yank your towel down.
• Cork boards. Yes, there is an ‘S’ at the end! Having a cork board on your door can be great! Let everyone know that some one’s birthday is coming up, or that Lynn won the basketball game. Plus, they are great for reminders, meetings and classes, etc.
• A place setting for two. The caf. gets boring. Some times students order out. Don’t forget the forks and knives!
• A hard pillow to lean on. I do most of my typing in bed, with a hard pillow behind me to keep me awake. I like to be comfortable while I write.
• Wall Art of course! White walls are no fun to look at for 8 months!

Stay tuned. More to come! Right now, I have some things to do.

I’m almost a little homesick for Lynn.  I miss the campus and I’m  so excited about next year, I can’t wait for summer vacation to end! Shocking, this is a first. Normally I only want summer vacation to go on forever.

Now I’m off to study and clean up the living room.

It’s the middle of the night and I’m about to talk about something that most people don’t ever speak of in public. The dark side of the first few weeks of college.

I remember my first few weeks of college feeling alone and confused. Why wasn’t I always happy to be free and running around like it seemed to be on every TV show and in brochures? I remember nights where I just wanted to run away from Lynn, to just go home to what I knew and understood.

I think this is really a big problem for international students. I’m American. I was born here, but I feel so much like a stranger because I spent 15 years overseas representing a country I never really lived in. I felt out of my element and just wanted to run back to what I knew. Not necessarily my house and back to my mother, but back to my comfort zone.

I think that is why Cristina and I are so close now. We met during that period of time where we just wanted to get away from this new crazy world. I felt 20 times better once I knew I was not the only one feeling the way I was feeling.

Some students cry each night. Some cry all day long. Others try and drink their problems away or get high. I used to get so upset that I would just hide in my room and just scheme at how I could get away from Lynn, even if it was for a day.

At one point, I started saving my money so I could buy a plane ticket to anywhere but Florida. All the new stress was overwhelming. Mom wasn’t there to fix anything and I felt like if I wasn’t happy my first few weeks, then I wasn’t ready for college.

I started to hate my mom for making me stay at Lynn. Cristina was always fighting with her family that she wanted to leave. The girls on my floor were always yelling at their parents late at night the first few weeks that they wanted to leave or they couldn’t handle it. Something was always wrong and panic was everywhere a freshmen could be found.

Seeing the upperclassmen was not much of a help. They always seemed to be so happy and set into their routine that it felt impossible to believe that they had once felt what I was feeling.

So what changed? I made friends and started talking about my feelings. I was open with my professors about how I was feeling so that they knew I was having a hard time adjusting to college life. I had made three great friends that helped me get through my first year. I ate lunch and dinner with them. I walked to class with them. I talked to them about everything. We supported each other through all the struggles.

I think about six to eight weeks into college, I started to truly fall in love with Lynn. I started to see the beauty of college. I started to enjoy my classes and having my own space. I had my car by that point so I could get off campus. I started watching movies in Eric’s room, eating lunch with Cristina, and dinner with Rob. We started our own traditions which I miss now. Good news, go to the movies or order dinner. Bad news or a horrible day, ice cream at cold stone. I went on drives with Eric to just get out, went for Wendy’s fast food with Rob when I was depressed, and late night walks with Cristina when neither of us could sleep.

I started my own life. I wasn’t part of someone else’s plan for the first time in my life which I think is why it was so scary. No one was telling me what I should be doing, it was all up to me. I was discovering a lot about myself. Things like, I think dorm rooms feel so sterile like a hospital because there are no plants or pets. I’ve always had cats around me so not having my two little angels was strange. I had to call my mom to tell her about my day, not when she got home from work. I got to pick my future. I was discovering me, and let me tell you, it is scary getting to know yourself.

It’s ok to be scared. Terrified is more like it. Lol. I think I spent so much time looking forward to leaving home and getting away from my mom that I lost sight in the fact that in reality, your parents drop you off and say good bye to you. They leave a teenager and then you are supposed to turn around and suddenly become an adult. Frankly, we are all still little kids running around trying to learn how to be an adult. Why do you think I’m always saying that being an adult is hard?

So what’s my advice? Blast some music and dance in your dorm room. If your RA comes knocking, tell her that you are stressed and trying to learn how to be an adult. Find comfort food. Make friends that you can talk to about what you are going through because they are feeling it too. Play hookie every once in a while. Call home and tell your parents that college isn’t what you thought it was going to be, that it isn’t all fun and games. Tell mom about the hard biology professor or dad about how you can’t seem to get anything to make your room feel like home. Kick a soccer ball around. Sing, do whatever you have to to get through those first few weeks. They are rough.

I have so many people to thank for helping me get through those first weeks. I went to Stefano’s office near tears telling him that I wanted to leave and he calmed me down and informed me of all the great things about being at Lynn. He made me stick it out a little longer. Rich the RD who is always more than happy to give advice and lend an ear or two. My poor mother had to deal with who knows how many calls of me demanding to let me come home.

Listen, next year, I don’t have any classes on Friday. I’m going to make that the day that freshmen can come to me and talk about what they are going through. You don’t have to feel alone. I’ve done it and it was hard and scary. Find me around campus, and stop me to talk. We can get coffee at Christine’s or have lunch in the caf. How many times did I wish to have someone to talk those first few weeks! Stop me, stop any of the bloggers, they are totally cool, understanding, and best of all, they’ve been there! It’s ok to be…. It’s ok! Scared, angry, terrified, traumatized, lol.

They say that it only gets harder each year, but I think it can only get better. I am so excited about my second year. I have the best roommates in the world. I’m going to be surrounded by my friends and Michelle is moving into the dorms! I miss Lynn so much right now, you have no idea.

So keep emailing me at manderson5@email.lynn.edu and know that once back at school, I’m always there to help. Come talk to me, or just ask me questions, even if it is to find out what building you are standing in, hehe.

Does it ever end!? I can’t stand paperwork and it seems like all it ever does is find its way back to me! And what is with all this mail doing here in my name? Only a few years ago the only mail I would get would be a package and it had to be a holiday. Now all I seem to see are forms and bills!

I must add that the puppy dog look no longer works on my mother when it comes to forms. It’s horrible! Lucky Cristina, her mom still fills out her forms! So not fair.

Hey, if you guys want to add me to facebook to get to know me, please let me know that you are a future Lynn student. I don’t add people I don’t know. So just send me a message saying who you are and  I’ll add you, thanks!

I’m partying with my family! My mom’s graduation from Grad school was this morning and the whole family is here!

I have gotten a few emails from worried parents of freshmen students. I’ve also got some very sweet emails from students who are curious about starting college. Well after answering many questions over past few weeks, I thought I would post some of the emails and my answers.

One from a parent:

Hi, my name is Linda. My daughter is coming this Fall from Ohio.

I am not sure if she reads these blogs, but I do. She is my only child and I am a single mother, so I have to do everything myself….

…She wants to bring like lots of clothes & I keep telling her she is not going to have the room.

What about laundry soap? Should I buy her a supply & bring it or is it better/easier to just buy it there?

Are the mattresses comfortable? I was going to buy her one of those down, mattress pad things do you think I should?

Can you suggest a hotel that is not to far away and/or in between the school & shopping? Is it better to bring a comforter or wait until she meets her room mate & see if they want a theme color & get it down there when we get there…..

I wrote back:

Buy the laundry soap when you get here. Thank goodness you are going to have a car when you get to Lynn. It will be really helpful the first few days. There is a Walgreens and a supermarket less than 5 minutes away in the same shopping mall area. Its VERY simple to get to. Turn left out of Lynn and go about 4 to 5 blocks. It will be on the left hand side.

Don’t fret to much over the clothes. My roommate had a ton. So did I. *sighs* girls will be girls. If its only clothes she’s filling up on, you should be good.

The mattress sucks. My advise, get one of those foam things and anything else that is thick and soft.

For the room. Well, just because they are roommates doesn’t mean that they will have to have the same colors…. ….I’ve seen plenty of rooms that have two very different sides and it looked fine. It should reflect your daughter in the end. This is her new space, her new life. It should feel like home to make the move easier.

One email from a student name Samantha made me laugh. I wanted to know everying like she does when I got to Lynn.

When is rush week and how do i find out more about both sororities?
Will i get something in the mail?
And tell me about weekends are they crazy?
Im coming from oklahoma not knowing a soul at lynn so I’m trying to�
find out all the facts..

Rush week is the same day as the activities fair. All organizations and groups on campus will be out infront of the student center, very hard to miss with all the signs. It’s normally the second or third week of school. Thats when you can learn about the sororities and all organizations on campus. All the greeks will be out, wearing their letters, just stop any of them and ask why you should join their sorority or what organizations they are in.

Define crazy. Weekends are weekends. We are so busy that normally we pass out on saterday and work on sunday. We sometimes go to parties and have BBQ’s on campus. Watch movies or chill in each others rooms. A lot of times we go out to eat. There are a few clubs in Boca.

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.